Chapter 238: GOC Commander
The Foundation was given three days by the Church of the Broken God to provide two SCP objects, failing which they would make SCP-217 public. They are interested in SCP-271 and SCP-629.
SCP-271 is a little disc with a diameter of over 4 cm formed of an unidentified natural metal. It has several characters carved on it that appear to constitute an unidentified alphabet system. Over time, these symbols spread across the neighborhood and progressively etch themselves into neighboring things.
Many years ago, the Foundation took SCP-271 from a shrine at a church somewhere in the Church of the Broken God. Its purpose is unknown, but the Foundation took great care to preserve it because it is thought to be connected to the Cult of the Broken God's doctrines.
SCP-629 is a Safe level object that resembles a humanoid robot, is 1.7 meters tall, 500 kilograms in weight, and has its own awareness. The whole body of SCP-629 is detachable and replaceable, and it should be noted that any component of its body can be put together to create another component of itself.
SCP-629 reportedly possesses a potential 73.4 billion reassembled forms, according to Foundation research. The Church of the Broken God is thought to operate the building where SCP-629 was also discovered. There, it was placed in the narthex and members attempted to merge it with other equipment. It's likely that the congregation thought it was a portion of their "god".
In summary, SCP-271 and SCP-629 were essential to the Church of the Broken God and held enormous significance for them both. But because that is how the Foundation operates, there can be no accommodation. because compromises can be made innumerable times and only once.
After setting this precedent, any dog or cat will be willing to bargain with the Foundation in the future, and the repercussions will be unending. Zhang Jue was thus forced out to attempt to handle this difficult issue without any tools.
Zhang Jue was only able to consider how he should actually resolve this issue in addition to the message from the entire O5 Council. If every attractive woman in the world turned out to be a machine, it would become too monotonous.
People can't, or at the very least shouldn't, do that. It was fortunate that Zhang Jue hadn't actually been left on his own to engage in combat by the Foundation.
The following day, Zhang Jue met a different individual at the hotel's cafe under Hansen's direction.
"Hello, Advisor Zhang. My name is Fulvio, and I'm in charge of this Global Occolut Coalition operation." A 30-year-old man grinned and reached out to shake his hand.
Zhang Jue raised his head and looked around. Fulvio, a Caucasian, resembled the foreign stars that star-crossed females adored with his high nose and deep blue eyes. However, Zhang Jue was aware that this man was not at all innocuous despite appearing to be in a position of authority at the GOC.
Although Fulvio's smile appeared honest, there must be more hypocrisy hidden beneath it. Zhang Jue shook the other man's hand in a symbolic gesture. While Hansen sent his trainee Kerr to stand watch outside, the two men took their seats.
They weren't ranked high enough to take part in such a crucial discussion. Fulvio was the first to speak after a brief greetings round.
"I'm wondering whether you, Advisor Zhang, have any solid recommendations for this operation."
"Can I say no to you?" Zhang Jue asked him
"Of course." Fulvio grinned broadly as he waved his coffee in front of his nose to smell it. He appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the aroma.
"Advisor Zhang, I'm not going to keep this from you, but this operation was actually first led by the GOC, but it had to be done more than once because it involved various operations with the Foundation. If there is no opposition from Advisor Zhang's side, then we'll handle it our way."
Zhang Jue didn't become aware that he appeared to have been taken advantage of once more by the Foundation until Fulvio had done speaking. He had previously questioned the GOC's lack of concern and willingness to enable them to endanger humanity in contrast to the Church of the Broken God's uproar.
For a very long time, the Foundation had been preventing the GOC from dealing with the Broken God Cult on its own. But unlike before, Zhang Jue did not warmly greet the O5 Council; after all, we all know exactly what type of feces the GOC is.
They were certainly not poor in terms of fighting ability. But they were certainly skilled at messing things up as well. It wouldn't be a big deal if the Foundation didn't send someone over to observe, but it would be regrettable if they actually made things out of control.
Thinking about this helped Zhang Jue finally comprehend the mission the Foundation had given him. He didn't even need to be on the front lines; instead, he had to serve as the GOC's brains and keep things in order.
He even believed that the GOC's ability to reduce the size of the Church of the Broken God was of little concern to the Foundation. It would be sufficient as long as the Church of the Broken God was no longer a danger to humanity.
After considering this idea, all of the earlier uncertainties were resolved. to emphasize how smart these O5 individuals are. The GOC was an even greater uncontrollable factor than Zhang Jue, who was an uncontrollable factor in and of himself.
It was a smart move to use Zhang Jue to constrain the GOC. The need was, of course, that he had the capacity to do so.
Fulvio continued, "Advisor Zhang, we already know where the Church of the Broken God's headquarters are, so if you don't have an opinion, we can issue a joint statement. The Foundation and the Global Occult Coalition together to attack the Church of the Broken God's headquarters, Gear City, even if there is no guarantee of taking it down for a while, at least they have no spare capacity to threaten the entire world."
Fulvio's strategy fit in perfectly with the GOC's standard operating procedure, which is to attack the opposition instead of defending. This strategy proved effective in certain situations. However, Zhang Jue was not in agreement at this time.
Fulvio put the coffee on the table and gave Zhang Jue a sidelong glance before saying, "Advisor Zhang, it appears that you don't agree with my tactics."
"Ah, yes." Zhang Jue spoke idly.
"Why?" Fulvio's eyes, which were as sharp as hawks', narrowed.
"There are two reason." Zhang Jue made a two-finger gesture.
"First, the Church of the Broken God must have its own cards in order to have survived for so long under attack from the Foundation and the Global Occult Coalition. If we attacked hastily, we would lose, so I'm afraid."
Fulvio scoffed as he heard what Zhang Jue had to say "You don't have to be in the front, Advisor Zhang. What are you frightened of? Do the GOC and the Church of the Broken God not share the same playing cards? How dare you tremble at the sight of this!"
Zhang Jue exhaled loudly "The second point I want to make is exactly this. The Church of the Broken God will not be able to stand a chance against the Foundation and the GOC in a true battle, and after their headquarters are destroyed, they are left with little choice but to use their weight as leverage. Can you take on this duty, Commander Fulvio?"
Fulvio had not before considered the point that Zhang Jue made. This was after all the GOC's style. Didn't think of anything but to just finish it
After Fulvio thought about it, this was indeed the truth. This time Church of the Broken God's actions were obviously very different from before, even going so far as to use all of humanity as a threat, seemingly ready for an all-out fight.
Fulvio realized that this was the case after giving it some thought. Church of the Broken God's behavior this time was plainly extremely different from what it had been in the past; it even went so far as to portray all people as threats and appear to be prepared for a full-scale conflict.
"Advisor Zhang, I've heard you're resourceful, so what do you think should be done?" Fulvio asked, turning to face Zhang Jue.
"I am a wise and resoursceful? From whom did you hear that? He must have been lying to you, Zhang Jue hummed. "I'm not just resourceful, I'm tall and imposing, graceful and suave, elegant and elegant, with more talent than Pan An, Pan Lang, and Che Man,"
Zhang Jue spoke a lot, mostly through his mouth, and smacked his lips at the conclusion as if he still had more to say. If he didn't become out of breath, it seems like he could continue until tomorrow.
Fulvio could only make out a portion of it, but he could tell that Zhang Jue was being modest about himself and that this was the first time in his entire life that he had encountered such a ruthless individual. But Zhang Jue appeared to be a villain as he proudly elevated his head and chest.
The mission was crucial, so Fulvio could only fight the temptation to be repulsed and ask, "Advisor Zhang, since you are so, what do you think we should do now?"
"What should we do? How is that a question?" Only to observe Zhang Jue relaxingly reclining on the couch with his legs crossed.
"Commander Fulvio, I advise you to study Chinese history and the old art of war, since there is frequently a unified solution to this kind of predicament."
Fulvio asked with a faint frown.
Five syllables flew out of Zhang Jue's mouth as only the corners of his mouth slightly curled up. "Negotiation."