章 233: Declaration of War

Some island in the distance, 15 million kilometers from the nearest shore. On it was a vast metropolis of machines. From a distance, the entire island appeared to be formed like a massive gear.

The City of Gears, the final bastion of the Church of the Broken God, is located here. Let's close the distance a bit.

The buildings are connected by numerous tunnels, and one of the tunnels has a fast-moving vehicle with an odd design in it. Numerous shuttles are circling above the tunnels, on the lookout for any potential hazards. It appears to be a futuristic metropolis.

A blond man was sitting in an office in the main structure of Gear City and gazing out the floor to ceiling windows into the distance. He appeared rather slender in a black suit, white shirt, and glasses with gold rims.

People would assume that he was presumably a civilian employee of some department if he showed up in a government building. Nobody would have imagined that he was Robert Bumaro, proprietor of the City of Gears.

Without a doubt, Bumaro is the most powerful guy in the Church of the Broken God at the moment. Even the three main branch churches at this time have given up their earlier misgivings and fully obey his commands.

The Church of the Broken God's fighting prowess reached an all-time peak under his direction. Even the GOC did not dare to assault them since they were unsure of their chances of success. Bumaro's face remained devoid of delight in spite of this, and his deep eyes were filled with unceasing worry for the future.

When the door behind him rang, Fuchsia, Bumaro's personal secretary, entered the space. A pale blue gem was put over her eyes on her left side.

"Lord Bumaro" She owed a very small bow.

Without looking around, Bumaro let out said, "Speak."

"SCP-1139 and SCP-2105 have both been successfully collected by the four teams who left last month and are returning to Gear City, but SCP-882 and SCP-629 have yet to be reported" Fuchsia read in a robotic voice as she opened the report in her palm.

"Miley and the others have applied for reinforcements, and I expect there will be results soon. What's going on with SCP-629?" Bumaro said slowly. "SCP-882 is the Foundation's primary defensive project. It is enormous and has a very strong sense of machinery, not good to operate."

Fuchsia said, "Miranda's crew attempted to call the folks in the station after arriving in China using the way left by our people, but their called never reached. After some research, we discovered that the earlier incursion most likely caused the death of the inside guy who had initially resided at Foundation Site-14. They stated in their most recent report that they would utilize the "Tears of God" to infect the site's visitors, but because they haven't replied in two weeks and can't be reached here, I assume the situation is not very hopeful."

"Two weeks without communication indicates that something has happened." and Bumaro hummed, "They've definitely ended up in the custody of the SCP Foundation."

After a little pause, Fuchsia questioned, "So, are you going to save them?"

Bumaro shook his head and said, "The Foundation is not the GOC. Miranda and the others will not currently be in danger of losing their lives even if their plan fails. What I am most concerned about is where SCP-629, or the Heart of God, has been hidden by the SCP Foundation. Without the Heart of God, all our plans are meaningless talk."

"Ignore it," Bumaro sighed, "No matter the strategy, we have to get all of God's body back."

Bumaro spoke without much enthusiasm yet with a distinct presence.

"God, will be complete." Fuchsia said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Fraser let out a sigh of relief as if he had just finished a very significant rite. She observed Bumaro's back as she hesitated to speak.

"Say what you want to say." Bumaro murmured, as if he could sense the pain in her eyes.

"He left the City of Gears this morning, my lord."

Bumaro hummed; he was well aware of this situation. That person deserves a lot of credit for helping the Church of the Broken God expand to its current size and bring the three main branches together.

Bumaro would not have been able to decide to seek out every god's body without him. He spent a lot of time working for the SCP Foundation and is not a part of the Cult of the Broken God.

Even Bumaro feels ashamed of himself since he has a deeper understanding of the Broken God than any of them. Bumaro also finds it difficult to justify compelling him to remain.

"He won't reveal the location of the City of Gears, right?" Fuchsia hesitantly questioned.

Finally, Bumaro turned around and regarded Fusha. "Do you really believe that the SCP Foundation and GOC won't be able to locate us considering how small the Earth is overall? Even if they know the location of the City of Gears, they will not come to test our bottom line as long as we don't affect their bottom line. They simply believe that employing a lot of men and resources to get rid of us will involve a significant risk and the loss won't be worth it."

Bumaro's gaze abruptly became more subdued as he continued. "If he does, that also implies that God has given up on us."

Fusha hesitated to speak for a minute because the subject was so serious. Bumaro seemed to be considering something crucial as he paused for a while. He then let out a sigh as if he had already made up his mind.

"Fuchsia, alert the church staff that time is running out and ask them to prepare."

Bumaro turned around and returned his gaze to the water through the window. "We must give the Foundation an ultimatum."

...

After lengthy exchanges with Zhang Jue and Simmons, SCP-079 drew a cross on the screen impatiently. The difference was that whereas Zhang Jue had been bugging this computer for over an hour, Simmons had only spoken to SCP-079 for a little under twenty minutes before being ignored.

The surveillance staff were unsure of exactly what they had said because Zhang Jue had covered SCP-079's room camera. The rules and regulations of the Foundation were truly gravely violated by this. They would have been taken into custody at the drop of a hat if it had been anyone else.

He doesn't mind teaching each other how to draw the word "death" on their faces if they really aren't afraid of it and dare to interrupt his talk with SCP-079.

Even the site director, Walnut, is taken aback. He readily understood what Zhang Jue meant to the Foundation as the director of Site. He had already predicted when the personnel enquired if he planned to break into the SCP-079 containment room under the guise of fiddling with it.

He didn't resurface until Zhang Jue left the containment room, when he painstakingly explained what was at risk and promised to make a report about it and send it to headquarters.

Whoever wants to submit a report should do so without hesitation; if he is hesitant, his name is not Zhang. Zhang Jue has long observed nothing remarkable about this form of "impeachment."

He also understands that Site Director Walnut is only a temporary period, thus we are exempt from duty.

Who made the claim that the software has low emotional intelligence? This elderly man is not bad at tricks. Zhang Jue was going to flirt a little when he wrapped his arm around walnut's shoulders and stroked his sparse hair. There was an uproar outside, and Robert, the Site Director's Secretary, hurriedly approached the two of them while appearing to have an urgent matter to attend to.

"Robert, what is it?" Site Director Walnut frowned.

"Advisor Zhang has been called by someone from headquarters," Robert quickly stated, "Something's wrong," as he turned to face Zhang Jue.

Robert had a reputation as the Site Director's Secretary for being a very trustworthy person who never overstated. He was absolutely correct when he indicated there was something wrong. His depressing expression tells you that nothing will be tiny.

Zhang Jue had an odd expression on his face and was muttering to himself. Site Director Walnut's report hasn't even been prepared yet; it's not the correct time to send someone to arrest me.

When he noticed Robert's grave expression, he inquired, "What's going on, can you tell us more about it?"

Robert hesitated briefly before continuing, thinking of a correct word to say.

"The Cult of the Broken God has declared war on the Foundation" said Robert.