Western Los Angeles, Foundation Paradise Island Base.
“To all of us making it back alive!” Ethan, Tony, and Dr.
Yinsen clinked their glasses together in celebration of escaping with their lives.
Ethan took a sip of vodka and cola over ice, then bit into a massive Angus cheeseburger.
He couldn’t help sighing in satisfaction.
“This is easily the best meal I’ve had in weeks.” Tony immediately agreed.
“Yeah.
Compared to whatever the hell they were feeding us in that cave in Afghanistan, this is paradise.” For the first time in quite a while, Ethan was finally able to relax.
After finishing their meal in the cafeteria, he took one of the base’s electric transport vehicles and brought Tony and Dr.
Yinsen on a tour of the facility.
Aside from highly restricted areas such as the anomaly containment sectors, most of the base was open to them.
Ethan also wanted to familiarize himself with his new Foundation base.
And frankly, even while following the facility’s internal navigation system, he was still shocked by just how enormous an A-Class Base was.
He drove Tony and Yinsen through the underground complex for more than an hour.
Even then, they had only managed a brief look at roughly half of the facility.
Tony was naturally most interested in areas such as the Research Institute and Engineering Station.
He would likely be working here and borrowing some of the facilities in the future.
To his surprise, many of the instruments and laboratories were every bit as advanced as those used internally by Stark Industries.
If everything went as expected, Tony would eventually use the Mark I prototype as the foundation for creating a properly refined version of the Iron Man armor.
Dr.
Yinsen, meanwhile, showed far greater interest in the base’s Medical Center and spent considerable time examining its facilities.
As Ethan led Tony and Yinsen past the Research Institute, Engineering Station, and Medical Center, a system notification unexpectedly sounded in his mind.
[S-Class Research Talent detected.] [B-Class Medical Expert detected.] Ethan immediately looked toward the two men.
A collection of status effects and bonuses appeared around Tony.
If Tony conducted research projects at the Foundation base, he would not only receive significant boosts to inspiration and research efficiency, but could even increase the experience and productivity of the entire research team working alongside him.
Tony being classified as an S-Class Research Talent didn’t surprise Ethan in the slightest.
What did surprise him was that Dr.
Yinsen had been recognized by the system as a B-Class Medical Expert.
According to the Foundation System’s talent classification standards, even F-Class already represented knowledge roughly equivalent to someone with a master’s degree.
The classifications were: F-Class — Entry Level E-Class — Proficient Level D-Class — Professional Level C-Class — Specialist Level By the time someone reached C-Class, they were already comparable to a respected academic authority or senior researcher.
Above that came: B-Class — Expert Level A-Class — Master Level S-Class — Legendary Level A B-Class talent was already the kind of expert capable of competing for something on the level of a Nobel Prize.
An A-Class talent was a true top-tier genius whose abilities could no longer be judged by ordinary standards.
A single A-Class researcher’s scientific capabilities could potentially surpass those of an entire nation’s elite research team.
As for S-Class Legendary talents…
They were individuals capable of advancing an entire era through their work alone.
Once the tour was finished, Tony naturally needed to return to his seaside cliff mansion in Malibu.
Dr.
Yinsen, however, didn’t even wait for Ethan to invite him.
He voluntarily asked to join the Foundation.
Yinsen no longer had any family waiting for him, so he decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life working as a doctor within the Foundation.
In other words, Ethan had practically acquired a B-Class Medical Expert for free.
Thinking about it, that classification actually made perfect sense.
Under the terrible conditions inside that Afghan cave, Yinsen had still managed to perform an extremely difficult operation with crude equipment and save Tony Stark’s life.
In the real world, a doctor of that caliber would be treated as a national treasure in almost any country.
After completing the tour, Ethan also gained a much clearer understanding of the various functions of the A-Class Paradise Island Base.
The Research Institute primarily existed to analyze anomalies, anomalous materials, and related phenomena.
It also served as the main location for technological research and advancement of the Foundation’s Technology Tree.
The Engineering Station, meanwhile, was responsible for experimental development and production of new equipment.
Once new technologies were developed by the Research Institute, the Engineering Station could turn those theories into practical weapons, equipment, and machinery.
The Mobile Task Force Training Center was specifically designed to transform Foundation recruits into qualified MTF operators.
Then there were the Containment Facilities.
These sectors existed to securely contain various anomalies, allowing Foundation personnel to observe and research them under controlled conditions.
Now that Ethan possessed an actual headquarters, his newly obtained E-Class clearance also allowed him to spend Rumor Points on an expanded range of Foundation support options.
For example— Mobile Task Force unit cards.
Basic Foundation vehicles.
Aircraft.
Tanks.
Powered armor.
And various other assets.
Unfortunately, practically everything required Rumor Points to exchange for or construct.
Ethan had only just started feeling wealthy.
Now, looking at all the things his base needed, his supply of Rumor Points suddenly seemed painfully inadequate again.
According to the system, once he successfully established several Mobile Task Forces, he would no longer need to personally participate in every low-level containment operation.
He could dispatch MTF units to handle routine missions while focusing his own attention on higher-priority containment targets.
In gaming terms, he could send his troops out on expeditions while personally concentrating on advancing the main campaign.
There was, however, one resource in the entire Foundation base that didn’t cost Rumor Points.
D-Class Personnel.
The “D” supposedly represented Delete.
Under the Foundation’s framework, D-Class personnel consisted primarily of individuals convicted of severe crimes who were considered expendable.
Alternatively, specialized clones could be produced specifically for anomaly testing.
Ethan’s next plan was to appoint Dr.
Yinsen as head of the Medical Department.
But managing a base this enormous clearly required far more personnel.
For example, he still needed a Chief Scientist for the Research Institute and a Chief Engineer for the Engineering Station.
Tony couldn’t fill either role permanently.
At most, he could collaborate with the Foundation and make use of its facilities.
In the future, Tony would still need to help establish the Avengers.
Ethan didn’t even have an adjutant yet.
It seemed he would have to find a solution through the system.
While Ethan was worrying about the growing list of vacancies in his Foundation…
He had no idea that S.H.I.E.L.D.
Headquarters had already been thrown into complete chaos.