Chapter 239: Negotiation Plot
Since the last time provided by the Cult of the Broken God, three days have passed before Zhang Jue finally heard from the Foundation. The Church of the Broken God consented to negotiations following communication, which would happen the following day.
Six hours before to the start of the negotiations, the Church of the Broken God gave notice of the site. This was probably done out of concern that the GOC and the Foundation would set up a trap beforehand. City of Gears.
When Fuchsia knocked on the door of the office, she discovered Bumaro still sitting with his hands on his lap and gazing out the floor to ceiling windows. It seems that this behavior had never changed.
"Sir, General Canter is already waiting outside."
Bumaro nodded, "Let him in."
Fuchsia hummed, but unlike normal, instead of running off to do anything, she gave Bumaro an enigmatic stare. This is quite impolite behavior coming from Bumaro, who is the head of the Church of the Broken God.
Fuchsia would have likely been tossed overboard and fed to the fish if it were a dictator. Bumaro, however, didn't seem to be that kind of person; instead, he consistently came across as quite refined and gentlemanly.
"Why Fuchsia? What's wrong?" He asked.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Fuchsia confidently addressed Mr. Bumaro, saying, "Mr. Bumaro, I heard that you have decided to talk with the SCP Foundation."
Bumaro gave a head nod. "Yes, tomorrow is the day.|
"Why take the chance? Didn't you say it's doubtful the Foundation will accept our demands?" In addition, Fuchsia said, "There is no going back."
Burmaro grinned. It was something so obvious that even a young child like Fuchsia could see it. The Church's criteria could not possibly be accepted by the Foundation, and their promise to discuss was purely a stall tactic.
Even less likely at the moment to change their plans is the Church of the Broken God.
This negotiation was impossible to conclude since both parties had insurmountable goals. "Yes, there is no turning back; this time, the strategy must be successful, but theFfoundation is unaware of our resolve." Bumaro stated, "I am using this negotiation to convince the SCP Foundation not to underestimate our tenacity. They assume we still want to remain the same as before, just to live, to have more believers."
Fuchsia found Mr. Bumaro's statements difficult to comprehend. But she persisted in choosing to trust this ruler. Bumaro merely had a magical ability to compel everyone to carry out his will.
The statements made by Mr. Bumaro were hard for Fuchsia to understand. She persisted on picking this ruler, nevertheless. Bumaro only has the magical power to force everyone to comply with his will.
A tall, muscular man entered the room after Fuchsia left it. He has a powerful machine gun for his right arm and a sniper scope for his left eye.
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Bumaro." In a low voice, he said.
"That's right, General Canter." Bumaro said while holding up his spectacles and moving back to the middle of the room to sit on the sofa, "Tomorrow is the day of our negotiation with the Foundation, therefore there are certain things I need to explain to you to do."
The Church of the Broken God has its own armed forces after years of conflict with the Foundation and the GOC. These armed forces are now solely under Bumaro's command following the union of the three Church of the Broken God, Church of the Gears, and Maxwell Sect branches.
Bumaro's most trusted individual is General Canter, who guards Gear City instead of engaging in combat on a regular basis. This time, Bumaro enlisted his services for a crucial assignment. Bumaro pulled out two maps.
"The negotiation will take place in the confluence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where highly peculiar currents will ensure that the support forces from the Foundation and GOC will not come as quickly and you will ambush the team in the sea nearby this evening."
"Our present agreement states that the Foundation will deliver SCP-271, SCP-629, Miranda the captured agent, among other things, in exchange for us providing a means of containing SCP-217. We'll ask them to send SCP-271 here first as a gesture of good faith, and as soon as the negotiators decide that the material is acceptable, you will start the attack."
General Canter was stunned for a minute before comprehending that Mr. Bumaro had intended to steal the goods from the start and had no intention of engaging in negotiations with the Foundation.
There was no way out because the negotiation took place at sea. The success rate of this approach was not low given the objective behind it. General Canter nodded, but he had a different concern on his mind.
"What about SCP-629, my Lord? The Foundation removed it from Site-14 after Miranda and their operation was unsuccessful, but we are still unsure of its new location."
After giving it some thought, Bumaro remarked, "You only need to do your assignment; SCP-629 doesn't need to be in your consideration."
"Yes!"
General Canter had no issues because Bumaro had said as much. The Foundation and GOC representatives who came to talk would be eliminated as soon as tomorrow arrived.
...
Meanwhile, the GOC frontline command headquarters. Fulvio held the information that had just arrived in his palm and carefully examined it as he sat on the sofa.
After finishing reading it, the staff officer sitting next to him said, "My Lord, based on the information we got, I'm afraid there is something fishy about the Church of the Broken God's negotiation this time, and there is a great probability that they want to directly seize what the SCP Foundation is holding."
"That is precisely what I need." With a menacing grin on his face, Fulvio sealed the intelligence and placed it on the table.
"In preparation for tomorrow's negotiations, I told Squads 1 and 2 to not even relax tonight; be ready to fight at any time; as long as the Church of the Broken Gods dares to make a move, we will quickly respond."
The staff member nodded and asked, "Should we inform the folks over at the Foundation?"
"The Foundation?" Fulvio grumbled, "Didn't that Advisor Zhang boast about being extremely strong? You don't need to warn him; if he perishes unintentionally during the battle, he can only blame himself for speaking like that."
...
Time slowed down. Miranda, who had earlier been attacked at site 14, was also dispatched to the front lines early on the day of the discussions. The Foundation simply shifted a few of the detainees between different cells instead of abusing them.
Miranda's face appeared a little pale, maybe from not having seen sunlight in a while. The man who had earlier caught them was eating noodles when she arrived at a restaurant.
"Hello, I didn't anticipate seeing you again so soon."
When he was ready to put another cucumber in his mouth after finishing the noodles, he paused and handed it to Mirada instead, saying, "You just got here, you haven't eaten yet, right? Why don't you have a bite?"
Mirada silently shook her head, unsure of what he was about to do.
Please excuse me if I do.
He appeared to be waiting for her to say that and couldn't wait for her to put the cucumber in her mouth and chew it with a click since he was so ecstatic. Miranda couldn't help but swallow when the air was filled with the scent of cucumber.
After he finished eating, he wiped his mouth before putting his eyes back on Miranda.
He finished eating and wiped his mouth before turning to face Miranda once more.
"Could you please explain the Church of the Broken God's current aggressive behavior? Why are you so eager to revive the Broken God when it has been silent for an unknown amount of time?"
The Foundation had questioned her similarly numerous times, but she would sacrifice her life to keep this a secret until she obtained the Church's approval. However, Zhang Jue merely inquired, and it didn't matter if she responded or not.
"Let me share some wonderful news with you. You're all going back tomorrow" Zhang Jue said. He waved his hand, and the staff brought Miranda down.
...
In actuality, Zhang Jue met with each of the four prisoners to observe their responses to being freed. Each and every one of them was astonished. They appeared to be prepared for abandonment.
Old Smith appeared behind Zhang Jue as he was lying in his chair contemplating something.
"How are things going?" Zhang Jue asked.
"There is a very evident military movement on the side of the GOC, as you could have predicted."
Zhang Jue laughed aloud. The GOC side would not have mobilized their troops against the Foundation if they hadn't gone insane, believing that there must be some sort of action on the Church of the Broken God's side.
However, Fulvio didn't discuss it with him at all and was probably not trying to be helpful. The SCP-271 that the Foundation had given Zhang Jue was placed in his hand, and he began to play with it.
"Old Smith, it seems like nobody wants to get this negotiation properly."
"Advisor Zhang, you shouldn't go unless there is significant danger." Old Smith nodded.
"You think I would go? I'd like to see what the heck these folks can get up to." Zhang Jue added as he was laughing.