At the same time Lucifer hid in the lab, General Mills finally realized that some of his men were missing. He first noticed when his right hand man had not shown up all evening and into the morning. Usually, his right hand man was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Alerted by this anomaly, he ordered his men to systematically do a roll call of everyone who should be present. He also encouraged people to self report if they noticed their fellow soldiers were missing. Everyone went on high alert as they didn't want a zombie in their midst.
Using this method, they were able to determine that roughly 16 people had either gone missing or had been killed. Behind the wall, they found a few unconscious men who were stuffed into trash cans and stripped of their clothes. Outside the wall, they also took a closer look and found that there were a few bodies lying out there.
General Mills took this extremely seriously. It confirmed his suspicions that there were imposters behind the wall! He immediately ordered more stringent checks at every base exit and every important location at the wall. While the population guarding the wall wasn't extremely large, it wasn't small either.
Everyone at the wall base took it seriously as well. There was widespread panic within the base at the thought of getting infected and turning into a zombie. There was a severe deficit of information on the infected within the base so most believed that they would die the moment they got in contact with an infected. Everyone walked around the area with a haunted look in their eyes. The unknown was the scariest thing.
In contrast to General Mills and the soldier's reactions, Noah's eyes lit up when she heard that there were probably around 16 people on the base who were infected. She was the only one on the base who knew that Variants were not able to transmit the infection. The virus that they had been infected with was all collected at their heart which is what formed the gem. For this reason, one wouldn't get "infected" by the virus unless they ate the gem itself.
After much research, she discovered that the gems were found in the heart and not the brain because it doesn't actually affect the brain. The virus travels through the body using the blood and collects itself in high concentration in the heart, which is what allows the infected to have a greater life force. The virus enables the body to pump blood at a significantly faster rate than normal people which also means that their metabolic rates are significantly higher. This is a large part of why the Reapers and Enraged are so set on killing anything that moves. Their bodies are unable to support the metabolic rate without actively consuming flesh and other gems for energy.
Charging back out of the lab, she went directly to General Mills to request that every Variant caught dead or alive was to be brought to her lab for dissection. General Mills shuddered when he heard this request but quickly acceded.
***
On the other side of the base where Ace had disappeared from Lucifer, he was staring coldly at the man before him. After he called out in surprise at Noah's presence, he also recognized the presence of another man. His face had turned from happy go lucky to stern in a matter of seconds. Seeing the man's presence, he knew there was no chance for him to hide any longer. He quietly disappeared from Lucifer's sight and followed the person he saw.
Sitting in a tent, Ace had the presence of a king as he faced the man who had his head down and knelt on one knee. "Speak," Ace commanded as he looked down with an icy glare. If Aida were to see him now, she wouldn't even recognize him. He seemed like a completely different person from the silly, cheerful puppy-like personality.
"Master, welcome back." The man greeted him as he remained in his position.
"Who allowed you to call me master?" Ace abruptly kicked the man in the face, sending him flying. Blood was running down his nose as he scrambled back to Ace's feet and bowed his head.
"Master, forgive my boldness. Please return to the organization, we need you to lead it."
"No." Ace stated flatly before rising from his seat. He made his way towards the exit but the man threw himself at his feet, preventing him from walking.
Enraged, Ace's eyes turned red like a demon's as he kicked the man again. However, the man clung on this time, refusing to let go.
Ace placed a foot on the man's neck with just enough weight to strangle him but not kill him instantly. His face had an eerie smile.
Choking and gagging, the man reached out desperately towards Ace as if to convince him. He didn't seem to fear the threat of death. "Have… information… woman…"
He narrowed his eyes and paused for a moment before letting off. Kicking him away, he walked out of the tent. "Lead the way now."
There was no resentment and only reverence in the man's eyes as he scrambled up from the ground. Without even minding his near death experience, the man quickly ran to hold open the door flap with a bow.
Ace indifferently followed the man back to a high rise at the center of the city. While exiting the base, the checks still remained lax as General Mills hadn't pushed out the order yet. Regardless, the man presented a badge to the soldiers upon exiting which caused every soldier present to salute. From this, it was clear that the organization was extremely powerful and had a lot of influence with the government and military.
From the base, the man opened the door to a Maserati and then moved to sit in the passenger seat. Ace's eyes finally changed slightly as a wicked smile crossed his face. He hopped into the driver's seat and stepped on the gas. The car took off, kicking dust into the faces of the saluting soldiers.