“What the hell are those monsters?!” Natasha and Skye exchanged stunned looks.
In the span of only a few moments, an Atala force roughly the size of a reinforced battalion had suffered a catastrophic defeat.
They hadn’t even had time to properly deploy their formation.
Once command broke down and their leader was killed, morale collapsed almost instantly.
The militants lost any will to resist and began fleeing in every direction.
The Atala organization might not have been particularly powerful, but many of these fighters were still battle-hardened veterans.
At the very least, its elite members had spent several years fighting guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan.
Yet after being ambushed by a pack of SCP-939, “With Many Voices,” in such difficult terrain, they lasted less than ten minutes before being completely routed.
Ultimately, the problem was simple.
Nearly all human military training and battlefield experience had been developed for fighting other humans.
Against anomalies, much of that experience suddenly became far less useful.
With this number of fighters, the Atala organization could probably have overwhelmed a small American military outpost.
But when confronted by a colony of SCP-939, they collapsed almost immediately.
Unless the force was replaced by a properly equipped mechanized military unit, ordinary light infantry would have little chance of faring much better against a large SCP-939 pack.
At that moment, a series of system notifications appeared in Ethan’s mind.
[Ding!
Event triggered: Atala forces have been destroyed after encountering an anomaly.] [The incident will increase the vigilance of human factions toward anomalous threats.] [Rumor Points obtained: 5,000.] [Ding!
S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents witnessed an anomaly rout the Atala forces.] [Rumor Points obtained: 1,000.] [Ding!
Milestone achieved.] [Total Rumor Points obtained: 10,000.] [Rewards obtained: Extra Item Capsules ×3.] [Reward obtained: Foundation Agent Basic Tactical Gear Set.] [Reward obtained: Resurrection Cross ×1.] The Extra Item Capsules could draw items originating from additional worlds.
The Foundation Agent Basic Tactical Gear Set was standard equipment issued to Foundation field agents.
As for the Resurrection Cross, after activation, it would allow the host to resurrect in a safe body of water near the location of death.
Another notification followed immediately.
[Reward obtained: Foundation Aerial Gunship Support Card ×1.] The card could summon a Foundation AC-160M Super Gunship to provide ground-support fire.
Then came yet another reward.
[Limited-Time Exchange Reward unlocked: 90% discount voucher for Foundation Air Assault Company Card.] A Foundation Air Assault Company normally cost 50,000 Rumor Points.
With the discount, Ethan could exchange for one using only 5,000 Rumor Points.
Hearing the flood of notifications, the corner of Ethan’s mouth twitched.
He hadn’t expected the destruction of the Atala organization to bring him such generous rewards.
Even more surprising was the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D.
agents had actually been nearby and had personally witnessed Atala’s defeat.
Ethan immediately asked the system the question on his mind.
“System, why did I receive so many Rumor Points just because Atala was wiped out?” “Are you encouraging me to convince other armed organizations to fight anomalies?” The system responded.
[Host, allowing other armed organizations to confront anomalies is one of the most effective ways to make humanity recognize the threat they represent.] [Rather than allowing Iron Man to defeat these militants as in the original storyline, it is more meaningful for them to die fighting anomalies and contribute to humanity.] [Without sacrifice, how can humanity be made sufficiently vigilant?] [As a human yourself, Host should understand the fundamental flaws humanity displays when confronted by a crisis.] [If a threat does not create severe consequences or an existential crisis, humanity will never truly unite.] [And if humanity cannot unite, how can it resist the real threats that will eventually arrive?] Ethan fell silent after hearing the system’s explanation.
It wasn’t entirely wrong.
Humans really were creatures like that.
Even while facing possible extinction, they might still be busy fighting among themselves—or doing something that made the situation even worse.
Without some overwhelming threat capable of endangering civilization itself, humanity might never genuinely unite.
It might destroy itself through internal conflict before anything else had the chance.
Ethan wasn’t an expert on Marvel.
Most of his knowledge came from watching the movies in his previous life.
Even so, he knew that humanity in the Marvel universe was already exceptionally good at fighting itself.
There were aliens.
There were supernatural disasters.
There were cosmic threats.
There were countless catastrophes capable of annihilating millions.
And yet, the greatest source of suffering for humanity was often still humanity itself.
Perhaps this really was a necessary evil.
By this point, Ethan had escaped into the abandoned village.
He found a relatively secure house and immediately entered.
“System, claim the Foundation Agent Basic Tactical Gear Set first.” [Acknowledged.] [Deploying Foundation Agent Basic Tactical Gear Set.] A moment later, a metal equipment case nearly half as tall as a person materialized on the floor.
A fingerprint scanner was built into its locking mechanism.
Ethan pressed his thumb against it.
Beep.
An indicator light flashed.
Protective gas hissed out of the case before the entire container unfolded.
The first thing Ethan noticed was a rifle resembling an AR-platform weapon.
MTF-E11-SR Assault Rifle.
Although chambered in 5.56mm, this wasn’t an ordinary rifle.
It was a Foundation weapon specifically designed for operations against anomalies.
Its ammunition consisted of specially manufactured high-velocity armor-piercing explosive rounds and high-velocity armor-piercing incendiary rounds.
The rifle also came with a complete set of tactical attachments.
Without exaggeration, Ethan estimated that the rifle alone could probably sell for four or five hundred thousand dollars if it somehow entered the outside market.
The case also contained eight grenades.
Four were white-phosphorus incendiary fragmentation grenades.
The other four were high-intensity cryogenic grenades.
Then there was the uniform.
It was a standard black camouflage combat suit.
The headgear included a ballistic helmet, thermal night-vision equipment, protective goggles, and a camouflage face covering.
The combat uniform itself had been specially designed for Foundation agents operating in a variety of environments.
It offered protection against infrared detection and biological or chemical threats.
The tactical trousers, combat boots, and holster were similarly customized.
Even elbow protection had been included.
The tactical vest used a customized, high-performance nanofluid ballistic protection system, with an integrated tactical communications suite.
Inside the multipurpose backpack were even more supplies: A tactical tablet.
Survival equipment.
A medical kit.
Amnestics.
Field rations.
And various other useful tools.
What shocked Ethan the most, however, was the final piece of equipment.
An entire MTF-I Basic Tactical Exoskeleton.
Taken together, this supposedly “basic” Foundation agent equipment set would easily be worth at least two million dollars on the open market.
With equipment like this…
His chances of surviving the containment operation had increased dramatically.
Ethan discarded everything he no longer needed and began putting on the Foundation tactical gear.
Five minutes later, a fully equipped operative slowly stepped out of the abandoned house.
Ethan adjusted his weapon and looked toward the valley.
“Foundation Agent Ethan.” “Containment operation begins now.”