บท 6: Unveiling Incompetence: Training required
Next, a horrifying event occurred.
In front of the screen, Johnson's expression was tense as he finally saw the appearance of the entity in the footage, huddled up and seemingly crying.
What kind of monster is this?
Its limbs were long, its skin pale, and it had no hair anywhere on its body.
But what was most unsettling was its face. Johnson couldn't find the words to describe it. It was a face that left a deep impression but couldn't be put into words.
After seeing the creature's appearance on the screen, Johnson felt the temperature in the room drop significantly.
"What's going on? Did the air conditioning malfunction?"
Johnson got up and walked towards the nearby air conditioner.
"No issues here!"
Johnson lightly tapped the air conditioner in front of him.
After inspecting it, he found that there was indeed nothing wrong with the air conditioner. Johnson was about to get up to cut off the video of the creature.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in.
A face that couldn't be described in words appeared right in front of Johnson, with their faces less than 5 centimeters apart.
Seeing this familiar yet indescribable face, Johnson shuddered.
Before the terrified Johnson could draw the pistol at his waist, the creature on the other side had already moved.
SCP-096's elongated arm swung like a sword, piercing through Johnson's chest in an instant.
"Why..."
Johnson watched as the lips of the creature in front of him moved.
He couldn't understand why this creature had come for him.
He had never interacted with this creature in any way, at most he had only seen its picture just now...
Johnson never expected to die here. As a triple-agent, he had thought about dying during missions or being killed due to exposure.
But he never imagined that he would die in his own room, killed by an inexplicable and eerie creature.
After killing Johnson, SCP-096 quietly left the room as if it had never appeared.
.........
Noah, who had been monitoring changes in his SP, raised his mouth slightly, looking in the direction of Hell's Kitchen and muttered to himself, 'Have those two SCPs started killing?'
Observing Noah, who seemed to have something on his mind, Natasha, who had just finished a phone call, walked over and respectfully reported,.
"Sir! Coulson just sent a message. After an hour of operation, there hasn't been any actual progress, and... the D-class armed team suffered losses. Four excellent agents were lost in the recent operation."
"Only four deaths? It seems Coulson and his team are quite skilled."
Noah was somewhat satisfied with this death toll.
If it weren't for the loyalty issues of those people, he wouldn't have been willing to let the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents become cannon fodder.
After all, the agents trained by S.H.I.E.L.D. were much stronger than the Foundation's C-class personnel.
But unfortunately, loyalty was the most important thing to him! Everything else was secondary.
He casually made a promise to the unfortunate Coulson, "Tell him later that I appreciate his efforts and dedication. In a couple of days, I will promote him to an A-class member. Once he becomes an S-class member, I will personally take him to headquarters for certification!"
Black Widow's mouth twitched when she heard this.
She had serious doubts about the authenticity of Noah's words.
However, as an excellent assistant, Natasha didn't say much.
Maybe she wasn't sure before, but now, Natasha was certain that this guy in front of her absolutely knew the identities of herself and the others.
But for some reason, he seemed to appreciate her, and he even refused to let her carry out dangerous missions.
The feeling of being cared for by someone was truly wonderful.
Completely unaware that the beautiful agent next to him was in the process of self-reflection, Noah, who was beside her, was thinking about how to cause greater losses to S.H.I.E.L.D.
After all, rivals were enemies. Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Foundation had too many conflicting areas, and both sides wished for the other's demise.
Looking at the agent by his side, Noah narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"But then again, keeping this woman by my side is indeed a good choice. Seeing a beauty every day improves my mood."
On the other side...
Having waited in his office for a long time without Johnson coming to submit the video, Coulson was starting to get impatient.
"Daniels, go call Johnson."
Coulson told an agent outside the door.
After a while...
Daniels returned.
Anxious, Daniels shouted, "Sir, something's wrong. Johnson was killed in his dorm room!"
"How is that possible? There are nearly 60 agents living here. What kind of person can silently infiltrate here, assassinate an agent, and leave without a trace?"
Coulson couldn't accept it.
"You'll see when you go and check."
Daniels, knowing that actions speak louder than words, reluctantly made way.
Soon, Coulson arrived at the crime scene.
"This method of murder..."
Coulson frowned as he looked at Johnson's wound.
Daniels said, "Three agents were killed in 96th Street with similar wounds."
"It seems to be the work of an SCP."
Coulson stood up, his expression grave as he muttered to himself.
Each SCP one had its own abilities or rules, according to the Foundation's knowledge. For example, SCP-307 had the rule of not preying on cold-blooded animals and had a particular fondness for warm-blooded ones.
Attack type?
But that didn't fit...
Coulson looked at the opened window.
Incredibly fast speed? Skilled with a longer weapon? These wounds seemed to have been caused by a cylindrical object, a stick, or something else?
But what about the consistency?
Coulson began to consider the characteristics of the four deceased individuals, including Johnson.
Skin color?
It shouldn't be the case, as one of the four was black.
Coulson felt a headache coming on.
Without knowing the nature of the SCPs, it was extremely difficult to understand their patterns and characteristics when it came to killing.
"Mike had his neck twisted from behind, right?"
A glint of light flashed in Coulson's eyes.
Suddenly, Coulson realized something terrifying.
There might not be just one SCP present in Hell's Kitchen, but two.
One of them enjoyed breaking people's necks from behind, but the rules of the other were still unclear.
"This needs to be reported!"
Understanding the severity of the situation, Coulson didn't dare to linger and immediately left the crime scene.
He needed to personally report this to Fury and then to the President of the Foundation.
If this was true, it was truly horrifying.
Unaware that he had narrowly escaped death, Coulson returned to his office.
However, Daniels wasn't as fortunate.
"The computer is on?"
I remember Johnson was planning to compile the case's video.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Daniels opened the laptop that had gone to sleep due to inactivity.
As soon as he opened it, a horrifying and indescribable face appeared on the screen.
Seeing this terrifying face, even Daniels, who had a strong mental fortitude, was startled.
"What the hell is this?"
"Could Johnson be watching a horror movie in his room?"
"No, this seems to be surveillance footage from the combat helmet. Could it be..."
Daniels sat down on the chair and then opened the video file to confirm his suspicions.
That's it!
The killer in 96th Street was actually a monster. What kind of abomination was this? Could it be a product of some laboratory experiment?
But that didn't make sense either. If it was a murder to cover up something, why not destroy the evidence?
That's how Daniels analyzed the cause and effect of the situation.
A gust of wind blew, followed by a strong wind aimed at his neck.
Daniels instinctively lowered his head, narrowly avoiding the sneak attack from behind.
"Boom!"
The laptop in front of Daniels was sent flying and smashed into the nearby wall.
The sound of the laptop shattering startled the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had come to collect Johnson's body.
"Is there a fight going on inside? The assailant hasn't left yet?"
Several agents swiftly drew their pistols and kicked the door open.
Daniels, narrowly escaping a fatal blow from SCP-096, shouted as soon as he saw his comrades coming to support, "Damn it! It's this monster, this monster killed Johnson and the others."
"What kind of monster is this?"
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat when they saw the hideous SCP-096.
"Bang, bang, bang...!"
Without hesitation, the four agents emptied their magazines.
Then they quickly loaded another one.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Daniels ran out of the room and took cover behind the four agents.
Daniels reminded them, "Bullets don't seem to have much effect on this creature. We need to call for backup!"
"Then report to the high command quickly!"
One agent urged impatiently.
Facing a creature that seemed impervious to bullets, it was only natural to feel nervous. After all, no matter how well-trained the agents were, they were still mere mortals.
Daniels quickly took out his communicator, preparing to contact Coulson.
But unfortunately, Coulson was currently reporting to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, and the line was busy...
With a grim expression, Daniels could only console the others, "Damn it! We can't reach them right now. Hold on for a little longer. With this much gunfire, reinforcements should be arriving soon."
At that moment, Coulson was in a secure room in his office, having a video conference with Fury.
In order to be able to report the Foundation's situation at any time, Coulson had prepared a soundproof room with the ability to block any communication devices.
Except for contacting Fury, no communication device would work inside the room.
Being inside the secure room, Coulson was oblivious to the commotion outside. Even if someone came to his office, they wouldn't be able to find him.
Outside.
A massacre had begun.
SCP-096 finally revealed its terrifying nature to the world.
Anyone who saw SCP-096's face had to die!
Even Fury was unaware of this massacre, as SCP-096 was too dangerous for him to even monitor.
Half an hour later.
The massacre gradually came to an end.
Coulson had finally finished reporting the situation to Fury.
As he left the secure room and returned to his office, Coulson immediately detected a strong scent of blood.
The nauseating smell of blood instantly snapped Coulson out of his complacency.
With a terrified expression, Coulson quickly pulled out his pistol and nervously opened the office door.
But what he saw startled him.
In the office area, Coulson saw a variety of corpses scattered throughout the base, each holding a pistol, their faces filled with fear, lying on the ground.
"What..."
Coulson looked at the scene in confusion.
Illusion?
Coulson's mind jumped to that possibility.
He couldn't accept this reality, so he tried to convince himself that what he saw was just an illusion.
How could his large base, filled with so many top-level agents, be raided?
He had only gone to report his work.
Less than half an hour had passed, and the base was gone?
Refusing to give up, Coulson pinched his thigh, feeling the pain.
He then approached one of the bodies and touched the still-warm corpse.
Just yesterday, he had transferred 50 top-level agents from S.H.I.E.L.D., and within 24 hours, they were all annihilated.
How was he going to explain this to his superiors?
At that moment, Coulson finally understood the hardships of the Foundation.
Every day, the Foundation faced these SCPs. The sacrifices made were immense!
Holding his pistol, Coulson, filled with profound sorrow, searched the entire base.
After confirming that there were no survivors, Coulson agonizingly took out a satellite phone.
At this point, he didn't care about secrecy anymore.
"Reporting to the Director... We have a new situation here. In the half-hour I was reporting to you from the secure room, our temporary base was attacked. Except for me... the entire base was wiped out..."
After finishing his report, Coulson collapsed to the ground in pain, despairingly looking at the blood-soaked base.
On the other end.
Fury held the communicator in his hand, unable to recover from the shock for a long time.
Fifty top-level agents were gone just like that?
Even though it was a temporary base, the defense system was top-notch.
Fifty top-level agents and the most secure base, and they couldn't even last half an hour...
"I need an explanation!"
Fury's face turned dark as he gritted his teeth and demanded answers.
Coulson nodded, biting his lip.
"I will give you one! Right now, I also want the truth."
Regardless of what SCP it was, from this moment on, Coulson and it would be sworn enemies!
At this moment, Coulson no longer cared about containment protocols. He only wanted to destroy that SCP!
After hanging up the phone, Coulson contacted Noah, reporting the information from his end.
When Noah heard the news, he was also slightly surprised.
Did the top agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. really perform so poorly?
Although SCP-096 was eerie, it shouldn't have been this vicious, right?
Beside him, Natasha was equally shocked.
She didn't expect S.H.I.E.L.D. to suffer such a heavy blow, and not even during a mission.
"Never mind, you don't need to be responsible for this anymore. I'll send someone else. Come back for now! It seems you can't handle such anomalous events."
After speaking, Noah added, "Coulson, I'm disappointed in you!"
As Coulson listened to Noah's words and heard the phone line being disconnected, his face turned pale, and he trembled with the satellite phone in his hand.
"Damn it! This bastard!"
Coulson, in a fit of anger, slammed the satellite phone hard on the ground, repeatedly cursing at the phone lying on the floor.
He had never felt so strongly that the sacrifices his comrades made were utterly unworthy.
The sacrifice of fifty top-level agents, and all he got was a "I'm disappointed in you"?
Soon, Coulson and May returned to the villa with darkened faces. It was evident from their expressions that Coulson had shared the situation with May.
Observing their somber expressions, Noah felt somewhat uneasy and spoke up to encourage them, "Come with me! It seems that what you need now is to learn. So, for the next period of time, I hope you can calm down and learn from the experienced individuals within the Foundation."
After consoling them, a towering man walked in from outside.
"Foundation Class-B Armed Operative 4466 reporting to the Commander!"
"Let's go! We're heading to the New York base. Two new SCPs have appeared there."
Noah nodded and followed 4466 onto a military Humvee. They swiftly made their way to the city center of New York.
Suppressing his emotions, Coulson calmly asked, "Our base is in the heart of New York City?"
"Of course!"
Noah smiled confidently and led the two of them to a shopping mall.
Once inside the elevator, instead of pressing a floor number, Noah entered two sets of numbers.
The elevator, responding to the specific command, descended continuously.
B1, B2, B3, B...
After nearly a minute, the elevator finally stopped.
"This is the Foundation's sub-base in New York. The base has a population of around 20,000 and is equipped with three nuclear bombs, each with a yield of 50 million tons of TNT, as emergency measures," Noah explained with a smile.
The three members of S.H.I.E.L.D. simultaneously cursed at the same time, shocked by the information.
What did it mean to have nuclear bombs with a yield of 50 million tons of TNT?
It meant that if the Foundation wished, New York could be wiped out three times over.
After all, the most powerful nuclear bomb in the world had a yield of only 58 million tons of TNT.
The three of them gained a new understanding of the Foundation's power.
Fortunately, the Foundation was on the side of righteousness. If it were an evil organization, it could easily trigger the Third World War.
Thinking about this, both Natasha, who had a tenuous relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D., and Coulson and May, who had no loyalty to the Foundation, broke out in a cold sweat.
The people of the Foundation were a bunch of maniacs!
They had already made plans. If containment failed, they were prepared to sacrifice the entire population of New York to ensure containment!
Keep in mind that New York had a population of over 20 million! It was the center of the world, one of the most developed cities on Earth.
'Maniacs! The people of the Foundation are a bunch of maniacs! An organization like this must be monitored by S.H.I.E.L.D.!' Coulson clenched his fist, hidden within his sleeve.
Noah paid no attention to the visibly disturbed expressions of the three. He smiled and said, "Alright, come with me and meet the person in charge here."
"Dr. S46 is one of the top-ranking experts in the Foundation, with profound knowledge in researching SCPs."
Dr. S46 was not the gray-haired old man the three had imagined. Instead, she was a stunning woman with golden hair and a voluptuous figure.
"President, you've arrived."
Dr. S46 respectfully inquired.
Noah nodded and explained his purpose for this visit.
"The newcomers have been unreliable in their work, so I plan to have them trained by you."
"You must be the unlucky kid who took over fifty people to investigate an SCP, only to have the SCP raid your base without even confirming what it was," Dr. S46 said with a strange gaze fixed on Coulson.
Coulson's mouth twitched, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across his weary face.
He moved his lips to retort, but after considering it for a moment, Coulson realized that what she said seemed to have a logical basis, and he couldn't find a suitable counterargument.
"Fuck!"
Coulson cursed in frustration.
Dr. S46 sighed, adopting a reluctantly tone, "Forget it, come with me! I'll teach you how to investigate SCPs in the Foundation's way."
Coulson: "..."
Led by Dr. S46, the group arrived at a conference room.
"This time, two SCPs have appeared in the Hell's Kitchen. We've designated them as SCP-096 and SCP-173."
"First, SCP-096. According to our simulated calculations, SCP-096 is estimated to be an abnormal creature over two meters tall with elongated limbs. Based on our deductions, this SCP should be immune to bullet attacks, possess highly resilient bones, unparalleled speed, and possess super-regeneration abilities and hyper-awareness."
"As for SCP-096's method of killing, we are still in the process of analyzing and deducing. It will likely take a few more days to obtain results."
"SCP-173 is relatively safer. We are almost done analyzing SCP-173, and we have identified its patterns and abilities. We can conduct containment tests at any time."
Coulson reluctantly accepted the files handed to him by Dr. S46.
The more detailed the information on the files, the more it emphasized his and his subordinates' incompetence.
"How did you analyze this information?" Coulson questioned as he held the documents in his hands.
If he had received this information earlier, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't have suffered such heavy losses.
"We simulated and deduced based on the data we obtained from the warehouse incident," Dr. S46 explained in a calm tone. "By the way, SCP-096 might only attack individuals who have seen its face, including those who have seen its depiction. We still can't confirm this, but I have sent someone to retrieve the storage card from your previous temporary base, and we should have results soon."
Coulson's expression turned grim upon hearing this.
'Damn it! I hope the secret room wasn't discovered,' he said, his forehead breaking into a cold sweat.
Coulson realized for the first time how absurd fate could be. It seemed to echo the ancient saying: "With great fortune comes great misfortune."
"During these days, the two of you will stay here for further training. You won't participate in the next containment mission," Noah said before turning away, not paying any further attention to the two remaining in the room.
"This is terrible! It seems that our incompetence has left a unreliable impression on them," May said bitterly to Coulson.
Coulson, always having a good attitude, realized that the situation had reached a point where they couldn't salvage it anymore. He tried to find some humor in the situation and said, "Let's focus on learning here! We should collect as much information as possible. Dealing with SCPs is indeed something we need to learn how to handle. Maybe we can try to spread this knowledge within S.H.I.E.L.D. when the time comes."
May curiously asked, "Wait! How does the Foundation assign serial numbers to SCPs? Do they get stronger as the numbers go up or...?"
May felt that there was something peculiar about the sequence numbers assigned to the newly appeared SCPs. They seemed to be moving closer to the beginning, and the gaps in numbers were significant.
"Well... it depends on the assigned number of the testing personnel at the time. SCP-096 was assigned to testing personnel with the code name C96, so it was named SCP-096," Dr. S46 explained earnestly.
"Fuck!"
"You guys at the Foundation are so sloppy!" Coulson and May wore expressions of disbelief.
They had naively thought that the Foundation's numbering system had some special meaning, but it turned out to be like this.
After leaving the base, Noah didn't return to the villa but went to Stark Industries instead.
He was here to collect a debt.
Upon arriving at Stark Industries, Noah didn't meet Tony Stark himself. Instead, he was received by Stark's playboy secretary, the strong-willed woman who had tamed Iron Man and was known as "Pepper" Potts.
To be honest, Pepper wasn't particularly attractive.
If a woman's appearance were rated on a scale of 100, Natasha would score above 90. But Pepper would only score around 60 at most, barely above average, or even slightly below.
Yet, despite her average appearance, Pepper successfully won the heart of Tony Stark, proving to all the materialistic women out there that talent triumphed over beauty.
Pepper was a woman who used her talent to surpass her appearance.
In her office, Pepper received Noah and, upon hearing his purpose, handed him a document.
"You must be Mr. Noah, right? Tony told me about your situation. This is a logistics company, and the circulating capital is exactly $50 billion. Once you sign, the money will be yours."
"How thoughtful," Noah said, looking somewhat puzzled as he held the document.
With such a large transfer of funds, Noah had initially wondered how to bypass the tax bureau, but now, that wasn't a concern anymore. Tony had already taken care of it.
"Please convey my thanks to Tony for his dedication to the Foundation! May humanity's glory endure!" Noah smiled and expressed his gratitude after signing his name.
Pepper nodded with a smile, but she felt concerned in her heart.
She wondered if Tony had joined some kind of cult organization.
With that thought, Pepper felt a twinge of anxiety. She decided that she would ask Tony directly when she got back, to understand what was going on.
After obtaining the funds, Noah didn't linger at Stark Industries but left Pepper's office.
As they rode the elevator, they coincidentally bumped into Obadiah accompanied by several bodyguards.
Seeing Noah and the others leaving, Obadiah frowned.
"Why is this bastard here? Is he here to make trouble?" Obadiah had a bad feeling.
Realizing that what he had done might be exposed by Noah, Obadiah couldn't sit still.
"Send him a gift tonight. I hope to hear news of his death tomorrow," Obadiah said with a dark expression, speaking to the bodyguards beside him.
"No problem, boss!"
One of the bodyguards, who had taken care of many dirty deeds for Obadiah, confidently nodded.
"Also, arrange a flight to the Middle East. According to the intelligence, Tony created something remarkable during the time he was captured. I need to go to the Ten Rings and see for myself."
.........
"Sir! Obadiah may have seen us just now in the elevator," Natasha said anxiously.
"That's a problem. I hope that old man will be sensible. Otherwise..." A cold flash appeared in Noah's eyes.
Stopping the nuclear warhead deal was indeed unjustifiable on his part, considering that he had broken the agreement first.
Noah did consider returning the warheads if the other party was reasonable and didn't cause trouble. However, if they were not sensible, he would have to change his plans for returning the warheads.
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