I’m In Charge of SCP

Chapter 257: Flipping The Chessboard

The sky has risen to the white of a fish's belly after a night of battle. The surroundings could be seen through the haze. Black Pearl and Yellow Warbler, the two teams, cleared the battlefield, mostly by recycling some damaged tools and weaponry.

The Yellow Warbler squad suffered 10 light wounds, three serious wounds, and two fatalities during this conflict, compared to the Black Pearl squad's eight light wounds, two serious wounds, and zero combat fatalities. This degree of damage will almost not even be noticed after Sarn is killed.

It is one of the Sarkic Cults' four saints. The other three saints, who were all wreaking havoc in different places, were not well received by the Foundation. Even with the two squads combined, Smith and Kenneth were fully aware that they would not be able to defeat that enormous snake without Zhang Jue.

The MTF squad had cutting-edge gear and could defeat common monsters, but if the adversary's might surpassed a certain point, they would be powerless to combat it.

It was already eight in the morning after clearing the battlefield and tending to the wounded. Two teams of players battled all night, and since everyone was exhausted, Kenneth put a few people in charge before sending everyone to bed. Along with Smith, he entered the meeting room.

He pushed open the door and noticed that Advisor Zhang and Dr. Yang had arrived early. Advisor Zhang was seated in a chair, but his head was resting on Dr. Yang's leg and his body was leaning to one side.

Dr. Yang was rubbing her temples. Yang Xue pushed Zhang Jue as soon as he saw Smith and Kenneth come. Zhang Jue impatiently waved his hand but remained seated. Dr. Yang, who had a history of being disloyal to people, cast a glance down at Advisor Zhang, and Kenneth spotted it, but he did not nudge him to stand up.

He made an unpleasant cough. Smith, on the other hand, had already noticed it and was sitting down.

Zhang Jue remained in his tender position after the two had taken their seats. When Strang, the leader of the Viper team, came, Kenneth was wondering when the door to the conference room was forced open once more.

Yang Xue immediately requested assistance from the Viper squad stationed in the GOC camp when the conflict started yesterday night. Even if the battle is done at this point, it is still vital to sit down and chat since they have finally arrived.

The only topic they were now debating was what to do with the Vipers and Yellow Warblers once the nuclear silo was destroyed. Zhang Jue served as the team's de facto commander. When Angelo leaves, he gives the two captains, Kenneth and Strang, the lethal order to remain here for 72 hours no matter what.

When the moment of Saarn's ascent to God was calculated, it was precisely the late night of this day. Yang Xue and the site workers are the only ones who have the option to leave if they are already unable to protect themselves.

Kenneth, with whom Smith had a fight last night, gave the following advice, "The nuclear bomb was unable to launch since the launch zone had been damaged, staying here would only mean death, it's pointless."

Because he had already spoken to Smith about this last night to get an answer, Kenneth remained silent. Strang sighed as well. They couldn't leave this location without a new instruction from Angelo, the general commander of this mission, or a new notification from the Foundation headquarters.

The only person who could currently get in touch with the Foundation's headquarters and have some influence over them was Yang Xue, who turned to stare at Zhang Jue. Zhang Jue laughed as he realized that everyone was looking at him.

He turned to face Strang after looking at Kenneth. The Foundation seems to believe that the Angelo kid placed you here to actually murder you, so please don't get upset, I beg you.

Kenneth and Strang's gaze sharpened the moment Zhang Jue said it. Zhang Jue and Strang didn't get along well, so Strang gave him a glum face. "What exactly do you mean by that, Advisor Zhang? By "simply asking us to come and die," what do you mean?"

Strang's furious aura radiated forth, and it was clear that Zhang Jue's comments appeared to have made an impact on him. He believed that the Foundation had always been stringent; how therefore could it have done something so unthinkable?

Zhang Jue responded to the shocked looks on everyone's faces by asking, "Don't you see that the so-called nuclear bomb is only a fake?"

Zhang Jue surprised everyone one more with these statements.

In disbelief, Strang questioned, "What makes you say that?"

"Because yesterday night I saw that silo, Even if the equipment inside hadn't been harmed by that enormous snake, it would be impossible to launch a nuclear bomb from there." Said Zhang Jue.

Kenneth's eyes grew wider. He was fully unaware of the fact that he and Smith had only cleaned that debris this morning.

Zhang Jue added, "When I saw that they still didn't believe it, If I'm not mistaken, Angelo only just now assigned you guys the job of inserting the nuclear device into the silo. Do you think that makes sense after all? And among you, I don't believe any of you were tasked with starting the launch, is that correct? Considering that it just cannot be completed up to that point."

A soldier never questions why he is obeying an order. However, Zhang Jue's investigation showed that there were indeed a lot of inexplicable elements in this situation.

After giving it some thought, Strang remarked, "I still don't believe it."

And Kenneth added, "Me too."

"Okay, I'll let you people die so you can understand since you guys can't see the coffin. Let's go now and check to see if that nuclear bomb is real or not." said Zhang Jue as he got up from his chair and patted himself on the butt.

...

It was still the same workplace and location thirty minutes later. The tone of Strang and Kenneth was very different from previously. They were not unwelcome or unwilling to give their lives for the benefit of the Foundation and all of humanity as an MTF member.

However, they were worse off than dead due to their sense of betrayal. Jue Zhang had previously stated that the nuclear bomb was a hoax and that what was inside that enormous carriage was not even a nuclear bomb but rather a gigantic blank bomb.

They would have been quite proud if they had sacrificed their lives to safeguard the nuclear bomb. But why were they making a false bomb in the first place?

The crew's sacrifice appeared to be a joke. The Foundation had left them behind. Naturally, no one would come to their aid because the launch silo and the nuclear weapon were both forgeries.

Advisor Zhang was correct; Angelo, or more precisely the Foundation, had abandoned them here to perish.

"But why? What is the value of doing this for the Foundation." Kenneth scowled

"The most obvious benefit is using you to draw the enemy's attention so they can get three or four elsewhere. There are several others as well. The Foundation intends to play a massive game of chess with the Sarkic Cults, and that Angelo is the chess player, in his eyes we are all just disposable pawns, and we will all perish. Don't think of yourself as too significant. I'm just bait."

Zhang Jue's comparison was incorrect, yet everyone got what he was trying to say. But that dead end still had a knot in it. Even if the nukes weren't real, the two squads, Yellow Wrabler and Viper, couldn't leave the area without orders.

It would be a betrayal to give up on the task. It was simply impossible to do so because the two captains had spent the most of their life in the Foundation. They were somewhat dejected and hopeless.

Yang Xue was undoubtedly the one in the small group who knew Zhang Jue the best. She could tell he was planning something because of how well he spoke.

"Don't talk like that, what do you have in mind? you might as well talk to the two captains," she said gently tugging at Zhang Jue's sleeve.

With what little optimism they still had, Kenneth and Strang's eyes moved back to Zhang Jue as she finished her sentence.

"He knows me, Dr. Yang." just Zhang Jue chuckled.

"The two captains don't have to worry, clearly I won't let those team members die for nothing with me around, how about we just flip the chessboard? I'm not excellent at playing chess or anything."