Becoming Stark’s Mentor 6: The Spirit of the Foundation!
Becoming Stark’s Mentor Ethan had never expected that simply revealing some information about the anomaly would cause the Atala leader to imagine so much on his own.
After all, Ethan had accurately identified and sketched SCP-939 based on only a few scattered details from the Atala leader’s report, then casually provided information about the creature.
That alone was enough to inspire all kinds of speculation.
It suggested that the Foundation truly existed—and that this terrifying organization had already systematically cataloged and studied anomalies in extraordinary detail.
Meanwhile, the Atala organization had lost dozens of capable fighters merely investigating that valley village, and even then, they had obtained only a tiny fragment of useful information.
The more the Atala leader thought about it, the more terrified he became of the Foundation’s supposed power.
How could he possibly know that, at this moment, the Foundation was nothing more than an organization Ethan had invented on the spot?
Because of this, the Atala leader temporarily lost all interest in trying to contain the anomalies himself.
Who knew whether touching something like that would offend the Foundation?
Worse still, he had technically “captured” one of the Foundation’s agents.
The thought alone made him increasingly uneasy.
The Atala organization was, in fact, receiving support from Obadiah Stane, currently the second-most influential figure at Stark Industries.
But the Atala leader didn’t believe satisfying his financial backer’s demands was worth provoking an unfathomable organization like the Foundation.
In his eyes, even if they forced Tony Stark to manufacture the Jericho missile and then eliminated him afterward, they would merely offend the powerful interests behind Tony.
At least Obadiah, their sponsor, could help smooth things over.
But offending a mysterious organization as terrifying as the Foundation?
They might not even understand how they died.
That left the Atala organization in an awkward position.
Only moments ago, they had planned to coerce Ethan into helping them contain the anomalies.
Now they had suddenly realized…
The Foundation ran far deeper than they could possibly handle.
A small organization like Atala simply wasn’t qualified to get involved.
Caught between two bad options, the Atala leader ultimately decided to stop thinking about it.
He would set the matter aside for now and keep Ethan comfortably housed at the base.
And so, Ethan was politely escorted back to the cave.
Seeing him return completely unharmed, Tony and Yinsen finally relaxed again.
With his extraordinary intelligence, Tony seemed to have already guessed why Ethan had been taken away.
“They brought you out because of the anomaly, didn’t they?” Having just harvested another round of Rumor Points, Ethan couldn’t help smiling when he saw the concern on the faces of his two fellow prisoners.
“That’s right.” Tony frowned.
“You’re really going to help them deal with that anomaly?” Hearing the question, Ethan’s expression became solemn.
His entire demeanor suddenly carried an almost sacred sense of conviction.
“Yes.” “If anomalies aren’t contained, they can bring catastrophic consequences.” “The Foundation exists precisely to prevent disasters like that.” “When I joined the Foundation, I swore an oath.” Ethan’s voice grew firm.
“Secure.
Contain.
Protect.” “We walk in darkness so that others may live in the light.” “We are humanity’s final line of defense.
We cannot retreat.” We walk in darkness so that others may live in the light?
Humanity’s final line of defense?
Tony and Yinsen were both visibly moved by Ethan’s impassioned words.
So this…
Was the spirit of the Foundation?
Tony Stark had long been burdened by guilt over being a weapons manufacturer.
He increasingly felt that his hands were stained with blood.
But now, hearing Ethan’s words, he seemed to glimpse a possible direction for his own life.
The normally carefree playboy became unusually serious.
There was even a trace of admiration in his expression.
“Uh…
does the Foundation recruit?” Tony hesitated for a moment.
“Or maybe you need funding?” “Stark Industries could probably make a…
modest contribution.” Looking at Tony, who appeared to have been completely won over by his fabricated story, Ethan suddenly felt a faint sense of guilt.
After all…
The anomaly in the valley had only appeared because he had summoned it into this world.
His actions had ultimately been motivated by self-preservation.
That didn’t exactly seem consistent with the noble principles he had just attributed to the Foundation.
As though sensing his thoughts, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly sounded inside his mind.
[Host does not need to feel guilty.] [This world had already begun suffering anomalous erosion.
Even without the host’s intervention, anomalies could eventually descend into this world on their own.] [By deliberately summoning anomalies and then containing them, the host is, in fact, protecting this world.] [If the host does not actively summon and contain anomalies, this world will eventually be destroyed by anomalous erosion.] [Furthermore, according to system calculations, even without the host’s summoning, those who died would still have suffered fatal accidents.] [If the host had not summoned the anomaly, the unnamed valley village would have been destroyed that same day by a chemical leak.] After hearing the system’s explanation, much of Ethan’s guilt finally faded.
He looked at Tony and Yinsen, both of whom still appeared deeply inspired, and gave a solemn nod.
“Yes.” “That is the spirit of the Foundation.” “We operate in darkness, but everything we do is in service of the light.” “That is what the Foundation stands for.” “So even if cooperating with Atala to deal with this anomaly is like bargaining with a tiger…” Ethan’s expression became resolute.
“For the sake of the innocent lives throughout this region, I have a responsibility to act.” [Ding!
Tony Stark and Dr.
Yinsen have been deeply inspired by the ideals of the Foundation.] [Rumor Points obtained: 2,000.] [Ding!
Host has accumulated a total of 5,000 Rumor Points.] [System Shop unlocked.]