Chương 253: Something's Wrong

I'm not sure if you've ever encountered someone like that in your life. You will feel at rest no matter how difficult the issue is or how urgent it is as long as he is present. He seemed to be capable of anything.

This is the sort of person Zhang Jue is.

He frequently loiters, is unreliable, enjoys trash talking, dislikes to take a shower, and has many other flaws. But he can resolve any problem that arises beneath the skies. And not just that. Also, he always has the appearance that "the opponent died before I could accomplish anything."

Make people helpless. While they envied him.

.....

Then Zhang Jue spoke. Yang Xue struggled to articulate her feelings. She had been ready to give up for a while. But it wasn't until this precise second—when she once more heard that familar voice—that she finally understood how weak her will actually was.

She still had a lot of things to do and say, both of which were very important. Even if she died, she would not be at peace if she passed away in this manner, never to see the owner of that voice again.

Fortunately though. He came.

even if a little tardy. But he always decides to support her in the final second.

A string of bullets began. Outside, silence quickly returned. The researchers in the hallway exchanged glances; they were unaware of the situation outside. Yang Xue also turned to face the trembling gate.

Three quiet, dry noises. The heavy gate then appears to have received a kick from the outside immediately after. The gate, which was already trembling, collapsed with a thud, creating a smoke and dust cloud in the process. The staff members were perplexed.

Before Yang Xue could dissuade the few brave employees from raising their firearms, the lethargic voice recurred.

"SCP-X-0001 Foundation Special Advisor Zhang Jue, come to the rescue. Come on, no one amazed?"

A hazy figure suddenly emerged at the front entrance as the words were finishing. He was quite lazily and leisurely as he carried a long knife on his shoulder. It didn't seem to fit in with the strained environment here. You report your number first when you first come, which is regarded as the Foundation's custom.

These individuals, however, were all stuffy, obsessed with their research, unaware that Zhang Jue had joined the Foundation, and they had never heard of such a number prefix. They were also unaware of the existence of the Foundation's special advisor at the time.

Was it a set-up by the adversary? Was someone sent in to entice them out? However, that didn't seem to be necessary. They wouldn't even be able to fight back as long as the enemy blew open that gate.

For Zhang Jue's arrival, nobody had made any mental preparations. No one dared to heed his advice for a little while as a result. Zhang Jue took a few more steps forward after noticing that no one was paying attention to him while carrying his long knife and scanning the area.

He then noticed Yang Xue. What a coincidence, Dr. Yang, you're also here.

Yang Xue was temporarily speechless as she stared at him with slightly reddened eyes. At her, Zhang Jue grinned.

"Hopefully I'm not too late."

...

The presence of Zhang Jue immediately altered the structure of Area-114. Smith returned right away to clear out the opponents who had infiltrated the facility after collaborating with the Yellow Warbler team to drive out the enemies on the perimeter.

The opposition had already taken up defensive positions, but Zhang Jue destroyed their bunker with three slashes, making the entire battle impossible. Sadly, they were unable to capture any survivors.

All of the attackers arrived as dead troops, and not one of them gave up even in the face of fierce opposition. However, these are insignificant particulars; these henchmen are useless even if they catch more. The shape of the city of Arcadia has actually been rather obvious for some time now.

In about 48 hours, the Great Warlock Saarn will carry out her ascension ritual, and if it is not halted, everyone will perish at once. The commander of the Yellow Warbler squad, Kenneth, returned to the main structure after the opponents had been vanquished. He was wounded in his left arm during the fighting with the adversaries.

However, he considered this level of damage to be minor, and after applying a quick bandage, he was free to move. Intent on talking with Yang Xue about the next strategy, he grunted and made his way back to the main building when he suddenly spotted Zhang Jue.

Without needing to be introduced, he was surprised, "You're... Advisor Zhang?"

This caused Zhang Jue to freeze. "You know me?"

The Red Ying squad, directed by Guan Peng, was one of numerous MTF units in the Foundation, and Zhang Jue was most familiar with it. He barely interacted with these foreign teams.

Initially, he believed that this Captain Kenneth had read his profile; however, this was not the case.

"Advisor Zhang, my cousin Varengus once told me about you, saying that you once saved his life,"

Varengus?

Zhang Jue struggled to remember the name, and it took him a while to realize that he was in charge of the Daisy Eagles, an additional MTF unit. When they had protected SCP-076, the two had cooperated.

Zhang Jue carefully recalled, to say that to save Varengus a life is not to talk, but he should give the other party a deeper impression, after all, and Able and the scene of the same death is still very spectacular.

Zhang Jue carefully noted that although it is not necessary to speak in order to preserve Varengus' life, he should nevertheless leave the other party with a more profound impression because both Able and the scene of the same death are still highly dramatic.

Varengus was relieved to see him unharmed thereafter, but he also moaned at the profundity of Chinese martial arts. With such a layer of connection established, the separation between the two shortened quickly.

Yang Xue and Kenneth were shocked to learn that Yarn would become God in 48 hours, and they both realized what kind of situation they were about to encounter.

Unlike Zhang Jue, who frequently considered killing God. Knowing that their attacker was genuinely a figure on the level of a quasi-god gave them both a peculiar feeling in their hearts, despite the fact that they were both entirely and utterly mortal in flesh.

Although the Foundation has hosted similar events, this was the first time they both had to deal with them head-on. Zhang Jue fiercely laughed as if he could read their minds.

"What, do you feel scared? Not at all, you should see how fearless I am."

Not only was Zhang Jue unfazed, but he also rubbed his hands together, showing signs of excitement, as if the adversary standing in front of him were a lovely woman, or the kind that stripped nude. Kenneth glanced at him and quietly nodded, agreeing with his cousin that this consultant Zhang was indeed exceptional.

However, Yang Xue grumbled, "Just don't compare us to you."

Although you are inferior to me, Zhang Jue chuckled, "Don't be little hearted; if you work harder, it's still feasible to catch up to one ten thousandth of me."

It must be acknowledged that the mood has really brightened up since this joke. Smith, who was a capable subordinate, dutifully posed his own query: "Advisor Zhang, what should we do next?"

Zhang Jue said, "According to what I've heard from the leader of the Church of the Broken God, Saarn will not manifest physically until the very last second of the Enthronement Ceremony, which is the finest opportunity to kill it if you so choose. Angelo reportedly asked you to wait here for three days while performing this calculation. I now have a strong suspicion that missile has entered the launch countdown phase and will fly itself into Arcadia City when the time comes, and everyone will play along."

This theory, which Zhang Jue mentioned, had some merit and even represented the most likely outcome. After all, the nuclear device had been installed in the silo and was ready to go off at any time. If it were Zhang Jue, he would be completely free to remain or slink away as he pleased.

Yang Xue and Kenneth couldn't possibly be deserters because they were both staying here freely and on a mission. Zhang Jue did not say anything further since he had previously prepared the backhand and understood how to convince them to stay put.

Zhang Jue heard that their side had also been attacked last night after asking Kenneth to send someone to the GOC's initial station and Viper's captain Strang to alert them. Because of their preparation, they had few casualties.

Evidently, the adversary had sent two waves of personnel as a test after learning of the movement of the GOC and the Foundation, just as Zhang Jue had suspected. It was fortunate that he arrived in time to prevent anything undesirable from happening; if the nuclear weapons were undamaged, anything else was fine.

...

Inside a home in Arcadia City.

An elderly man dressed in a scarlet robe was fervently praying while seated on the ground with his eyes closed. A knock on the door was heard a short while later, the old man opened his eyes, and the door automatically opened. A staff member entered the space.

"Lord Nadox, the scouts' report indicates that the Chaos Insurgency's operation was unsuccessful."

"I see." Nadox shook his head in agreement while appearing unsurprised.

Saarn was in charge of practically all affairs in the city of Arcada and was on his way to becoming one of the gods. He was the sole holder of this power among the Four Saints of Desire for Flesh.

He has always been in charge of making contact arrangements for working with the Chaos Insurgency, notwithstanding the Saarn's approval. Although he had never seen the commander of the Chaos Insurgency, he had heard that he was a rather powerful man.

He is in contact with the chief's two sons, though. The younger son, on the other hand, has a fantastic general's mannerism and speaks and behaves rather calmly. The oldest son, Watts, is youthful and intelligent but not a person who achieves great things.

Although he doesn't say it, Watts, his oldest son, has consented to collaborate with him this time around; they do not, however, hold one another in awe in their hearts. Additionally, it was assumed that this raid on the Foundation would be unsuccessful.

Nadox did not get why the Chaos Insurgency commander consistently refused to transfer his authority to his younger son, Watts, and insisted on letting Watts go unchecked. Naturally, he came up with this concept when he was bored; he had little interest in the activities of other people's groups.

The squire, who was undoubtedly his adored, expressed concern, "Should I go over there and burn the place to the ground? There are less than thirty hours until Lord Saarn's God Enthronement Ceremony, and there is a nuclear bomb at the Foundation site. We should still be careful, my lord."

Naturally, those who have the ability to occupy Nadox's loving hand are not common individuals. Ally was the name of the servant, who Nadox had raised as his own since infancy.

His adoption story is likewise quite straightforward; his biological parents intended to use him as food and Nadox intervened to save him. Ally is ruthless to himself and much more ruthless to his foes since he has witnessed the most heinous aspect of human nature.

He now has a lot of power thanks to Nadox, and he can even control the flesh and blood monsters affected by SCP-610. The fact that he would level the Foundation and GOC camps was not concerning.

Nadox shook his head. "You don't need to worry about this," he said, "since we already have a very trustworthy partner waiting in the enemy's heart. She's like a snake waiting to strike at any moment, and all we need to do is wait for her good news."

...

The final day before Saarn's ascent was that evening. Yang Xue and Kenneth's hanging hearts eventually fell when Zhang Jue showed up. Even though the adversary was an evil deity, Zhang Jue's attribute, "Gods and Ghosts fear wicked people," made it look as though there was no issue.

It didn't matter so much if they could halt Saarn's ascension at this stage as long as they gave it their best effort.

Everyone will pass away in the end. They everyone relaxed once they had this mental anticipation and even started cracking lighthearted jokes. In contrast, Zhang Jue believed that he hadn't come here to die with anyone. He was unable to do an action like sending someone's head 1,000 miles.

He had been considering the potential benefits. Smith took advantage of the darkness to take his group on another stroll around the borders of Arcadia, but this time it was obvious that the Sakir Cults was more fortified.

They won't go outside because a flesh-and-blood monster guards every few hundred meters; Smith also failed to enter. In actuality, it makes no difference whether you enter or not. Everybody will die if we wait until this time tomorrow for Saarn to become a god.

Smith feels a little off about this. Why did the enemy give up after the first fruitless assault when they obviously knew that something that could endanger Saarn existed in the Foundation's station?

He confided in Zhang Jue his reservations.

There are two options, Zhang Jue said, "Either the other side feels that this bomb doesn't harm their boss, or, they have a means to deal with us, or both, which is more likely." Zhang Jue nodded.

In either case, the launch well side defense was a major priority. Smith and his Black Pearl unit took over the guard job on the outer border once Zhang Jue arrived in Area-114.

In this instance, though, just Kenneth and his Yellow Warbler team were to blame. The moon was shining brightly in the sky around 2:30 in the morning. Surprisingly, a figure materialized outside the launch well.

Two vipers eventually climbed on their shoulders as the two members of the Yellow Warbler squad were preparing to ask him a question while giving him a wary look.

"Ugh..."

Due of the poisonous snakes' bites, the two team members collapsed to the ground. The figure, which was concave and convex in the moonlight, and which was obviously a lady, emerged from the shadows.

It was Sienna, the injured young girl who Smith and the others had managed to save, who was finally visible in the moonlight as she slowly advanced. Just as she was ready to open the silo's exterior building door, dazzling lighting suddenly erupted in the vicinity.

She was hit by a number of searchlight beams coming from various angles, leaving her with nowhere to run. Zhang Jue observed the action from a tower perched above the ground.

"See, I told you there must be something wrong with her for not being drawn to my gorgeous appearance when she spotted me." he yelled to Smith standing next to him.