Seeing Ethan agree so readily to cooperate, the Atala leader wasted no time.
“Since you’ve agreed to help us, tell us what you know about the anomaly in that valley village.
What exactly is it?” Ethan spread his hands helplessly.
“I don’t know.” “You don’t know?” The man stared at him.
“Aren’t you a Foundation agent?
How could you not know?” Ethan looked completely innocent.
“Wasn’t I sent here precisely because we didn’t know?” “The Foundation detected an abnormal pattern of disappearances in this region, so I was dispatched to investigate.” “You should be giving me the intelligence you’ve collected.
Only then can I determine what kind of anomaly we’re dealing with.” It was a perfect case of getting information without offering anything in return.
Unfortunately, the Atala commanders had little choice but to cooperate.
After all, Ethan was the only “Foundation agent” they had.
The Atala leader’s expression turned grave as he began recounting everything they knew.
“According to the surviving fighters, by the time they reached the village in the valley, there wasn’t a single living person left.” “They found numerous mutilated corpses throughout the village.
Most of them were missing their heads.” “During the search, they also discovered several severely decomposed human heads.” “When the first squad entered the valley, they heard someone calling for help and immediately went to investigate.” “Then they were attacked.” “Only a few members of the first squad managed to escape.” “According to one of the survivors, they saw some kind of strange creature that looked like a red-skinned dinosaur.” The leader paused before continuing.
“Later, when the remaining men prepared to withdraw from the village, they heard what sounded like the screams of their missing comrades coming from the forest.” “They went in to rescue them…” “And the monsters attacked again.” As soon as the Atala leader finished his report, the system’s voice sounded inside Ethan’s mind.
[The village and the Atala investigation force have been attacked by an entity highly suspected to be SCP-939.] [Rumor Points obtained: 1,500.] [Ding!
First anomaly incident triggered.] [Achievement reward obtained: F-Class Foundation Agent Training.] [Would you like to claim the reward?] Of course he would.
Ethan was still essentially an ordinary person.
If triggering an achievement had granted him practical abilities, there was no reason not to claim them immediately.
The moment he accepted the reward, information and instincts flooded through him.
His current body had already possessed the physique of a trained contractor, but now Ethan could clearly feel himself improving further.
His five senses became sharper.
His strength, endurance, reflexes, and other physical capabilities all received a noticeable enhancement.
More importantly, knowledge began appearing inside his mind.
It was as though he had personally undergone years of Foundation field training.
Firearms handling.
Close-quarters combat.
Tactical movement.
Combat awareness.
Operational procedures.
Even the muscle memory required to properly use firearms had been engraved into his body.
After absorbing the F-Class Foundation Agent Training, Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly.
At this distance…
He was confident he could take down everyone in the room with his bare hands.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he made a simple request.
“Could I have some paper and a pen?” They were quickly brought to him.
Ethan lowered his head and began sketching.
Within a short time, the outline of a terrifying creature appeared on the page.
It resembled some kind of grotesque reptile.
Its skin was a translucent shade of red.
The creature moved on four limbs, each ending in a clawed structure composed of three long digits and a fourth opposable digit.
They looked more than capable of tearing apart a human body.
Bristle-like growths covered the claws, apparently improving their ability to climb.
Its jaws were filled with densely packed, red, needle-like teeth at least six centimeters long.
Terrifying spines ran along its back.
But its head possessed neither eye sockets nor eyes.
Once he finished, Ethan calmly pushed the drawing across the table.
The moment the Atala leader saw the horrifying creature Ethan had sketched from memory, goosebumps rose across his skin.
A chill ran down his spine.
Ethan spoke as though discussing something utterly ordinary.
“This should be SCP-939, ‘With Many Voices.'” “They prey on humans.” “After feeding, they’re capable of imitating the voices of their victims to lure in new prey.” “There should be a pack of SCP-939 specimens somewhere around that valley.
They’re social predators.” “Your survivor was lucky.
He probably never got too close to them.” Ethan pointed toward the drawing.
“These creatures release an aerosol-like substance through respiration that can cause memory loss.” “It’s colorless and odorless.” The Atala leader stared at the almost lifelike sketch and swallowed with difficulty.
For the first time, he began regretting the decision to pick Ethan up while clearing the battlefield.
Before this, he had only half-believed the claims about anomalies.
But anyone capable of leading an organization like his couldn’t be a complete fool.
The intelligence they’d gathered had already confirmed far too much.
And now that Ethan had identified the creature almost immediately from a handful of scattered details…
The leader felt as though he could barely breathe.
Cold sweat appeared across his forehead.
He suddenly had the horrifying feeling that he had become involved with something far beyond his understanding.
The organization was called the Foundation.
A vast and mysterious organization that operated from the shadows, supposedly protecting humanity from things like this.
Ethan had only needed a few fragmented pieces of information before casually sketching the creature and identifying its designation.
SCP-939.
The number alone was terrifying.
If the Foundation’s anomalies were numbered sequentially, didn’t that mean the organization had already encountered at least 939 of them?
Perhaps there were already more than a thousand.
The Atala leader was ambitious.
But ambition didn’t mean he lacked the ability to recognize things he could afford to provoke—and things he absolutely could not.
Looking at Ethan’s calm expression, the man almost wanted to respectfully escort him out of the base immediately and let him go investigate the anomaly on his own.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
Ethan knew that Tony Stark was being held here.
As for killing Ethan?
That suddenly seemed even worse.
As long as Ethan remained alive, perhaps the Foundation would simply ignore them.
But if they killed one of its agents…
Wouldn’t that directly provoke the Foundation?
The leader certainly wasn’t confident that he could make Ethan disappear without anyone finding out.
After all, Ethan had supposedly been officially dispatched to investigate this region.
If he suddenly vanished while carrying out his mission, would an organization as terrifying as the Foundation really fail to trace what had happened to him?
[Ding!
The Atala leader has developed fear and reverence toward the Foundation after becoming convinced of its immense power.] [Rumor Points obtained: 1,000.] As for actually trying to contain the anomalies himself?
That idea had already disappeared from the leader’s mind.
His small organization was supposed to contain an entire pack of creatures like these?
Who knew how many men would die?
Caught between several terrible choices, the Atala leader finally waved his hand.
His voice had become noticeably less forceful than before.
“Please…” He hesitated.
“Please escort Mr.
Ethan back so he can rest.”