Chapter 234: Full Responsibility
Actually, the people sent by the headquarters couldn't have said so much to Robert given his rank. However, the special agent from headquarters was unaware that the lounge they were in was equipped with multiple surveillance probes and listening devices.
Initially, Zhang Jue prepared for something like this. Robert had unintentionally heard something he shouldn't have and that also rendered him relatively powerless. A cult like to the Church of the Broken God recently lost control and took control of the Foundation's SCP project, undoubtedly for malicious purposes.
I honestly have no idea what's going through their minds because they're now threatening to go to war with the Foundation.
...
Site Director Walnut didn't emerge because the two special agents from the headquarters were here to locate Zhang Jue. Zhang Jue had to be brought to the lounge by Robert. The two special agents didn't need an introduction to recognize Zhang Jue because he had black hair and black eyes.
The three of them were given space to converse after Robert spoke a few friendly words to them, located an interface, and left the lounge. Of course, he also turned off the switch because he didn't want to unintentionally hear any more horrific news.
The two special agents, one named Kerr and the other Hansen. Their age were like an apprentice and a master. Actually, they were just Foundation agents at first, but due to various circumstances, there is currently a severe manpower shortage at the Foundation headquarters, so they dispatched the two of them over.
You can imagine that things have indeed gotten rather serious because at this point, instead of calling and sending emails, they were dispatched directly to explain the issue.
"Advisor Zhang, something has happened." After Robert left, the old agent called Hansen said.
Zhang Jue handed him a glass of water, "Speak slowly, what's going on?"
"Uh..."
Hansen struggled to begin for a time because there was so much going on. Even after giving it some thought, he still felt like saying, "Advisor Zhang, there is a Foundation site that has fallen."
"Hmm?" Zhang Jue had not expected that the first news he heard would already be so shocking. "Where is it?" He asked.
"Area-125."
As mentioned previously, the Foundation essentially classified security facilities into a number of tiers, ranging from large to minor, based on their size and utility: site, area, Sector, Unit, etc. Sites with the prefix "Area" should not have a large facility or a large number of employees. In most cases, they are dedicated to a particular project. Area-125 is one of them.
"If I'm correct, this matter is also related to the Church of the Broken God, right?" Zhang Jue asked.
Hansen gave a head nod. Zhang Jue covered his forehead, and sure enough, it appeared that this gang of maniacs was not prepared to stop until they had gathered all the pieces of the Broken God.
He asked again, "Which object is stored in Area-125, please? Who or what is it?"
"It's SCP-882" Hansen muttered as he nodded and glanced around.
...
SCP-882 was a collection of conveyors, pulleys, cables, screws, and gears that had been built at random. They were all constructed of the same alloy, which was created from several metals. Any metal that comes into contact with SCP-882 bonds to it permanently and eventually becomes a part of it; organic material is unaffected.
Hallucinations, predominantly of grinding and tapping sounds, will be experienced by people who are in close proximity to the project for an extended period of time. The only way to stop these noises from getting worse is to add metal to the project.
Extremely delirious subjects will push themselves into the project, crushing themselves to death nearly instantly, and their bodies are typically drawn in and cannot be recovered.
SCP-882 needs to be kept in seawater, and only real seawater can stop its movement.
...
Simply said, this SCP project is another one that has a close connection to the Church of the Broken. Naturally, those mad fanatics grasped it to revive the noble cause, as is only natural.
"Why isn't Area-125 still a little more cautious?" Zhang Jue questioned, "Since there have been multiple incidences of thievery by the Cult of the Broken God."
"Actually, the headquarters had already sent an MTF team over there before to the incident." Hansen sighed.
What was the outcome, Zhang Jue said with a raised eyebrow.
"They were all destroyed." Hansen shook his head, "The members of the Church of the Broken God destroyed the entire place with rocket launchers."
Wow, really?
Zhang Jue noticed that something wasn't quite right right away. Except for the mechanical features of their adherents, the Church of the Broken God normally behaved in a reasonably reasonable manner, despite the Foundation and the GOC's recognition of them as an evil religion. However, recently it appeared that they had modified their behavior.
Those individuals sought to use SCP-217 to infect the entire facility at the time of Site-14, but today they are more direct and are advancing with rocket launchers. They won't hesitate to annoy the Foundation, locate their hideout, and then eliminate it all at once?
Why can't they tolerate it now when Broken God has remained dormant for such a long period, regardless of whether it is raised from the dead today or tomorrow? Questions began to surface one by one in Zhang Jue's mind.
Zhang Jue hurriedly remarked, "What else? hurry up and explain it together, you are even more nosy than Simmons," after observing Hansen's bloated face.
Although Hansen didn't know who Simmons was and appeared ashamed, he didn't seem like a kind guy.
"The Church of the Broken God has declared war on the Foundation, which is the final and most significant news."
"What in the world?" Although Zhang Jue had once heard Robert mention that, he still couldn't believe it when it actually happened. Zhang Jue zippered his ears.
"Wage war against the Foundation? only with them? How did he get the courage? The birthday boy is honoring the ruler of hell in this way. They were really tired of living!"
When Hansen noticed Zhang Jue's emotion, he spoke up and said, "It's not a full declaration of war, but they placed a condition that the Foundation hand up two SCP projects within three days, or else-"
"Or else what?"
"Or they will pour "God's Tears," also known as SCP-217, into the ocean. so that the entire human race would get sick."
"..."
When Zhang Jue heard this, he was at a loss for words. The Church of the Broken God was able to persist for so long without being destroyed by the Foundation and the GOC because, on the one hand, they were adept at hiding, and, on the other side, the Foundation was reluctant to give up the fight.
Church of Broken God undoubtedly has a lot of SCP-217 lying around that others wouldn't. Zhang Jue does not believe they can poison the entire ocean, but as long as a few major cities are taken care of, it won't be a problem.
Using such a thing as a threat, it looked that the Church of the Broken God was truly intending to throw in the towel. However, as more of this occurred, the Foundation became less apprehensive about giving them the object and became increasingly aware of their true intentions.
The Foundation wouldn't be able to pay the consequences if something more significant occurred, like the wicked deity actually coming back to life.
Zhang Jue stretched his hands as he considered this "So why were you sent to see me by headquarters? Do they really believe I can exterminate tens of thousands of members of the Cult of the Broken God in just three days?"
Speaking of this, Hansen also looked helpless, "The O5 Council said they don't care how would you deal with this matter, you have you take full responsibility for it."