NOVEL NEXT Chapter 219
Chapter 219. The Heart of the Foundation (3)
[※ Top-Level Foundation Military Confidential ※]
[※ Violation of security protocols related to this document may result in immediate termination without procedure. Proceed with caution. ※]
[※ This document is protected by an extremely dangerous cognitive hazard. Proceed with caution. ※]
[※ &&& &&& &&& ※]
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[Summary Report on the Vacuum Operation of Facility No. 1]
[This is a summary for upper-level reporting.]
[Overview.]
[Foundation Facility No. 1 is surrounded by a vast desert. It is a battlefield with its own advantages and disadvantages.]
[While it may be difficult to take cover, it also means that armored vehicles and the like can be easily deployed.]
[For this operation, 820 soldiers from the Foundation and its allies, 32 tanks, 32 infantry fighting vehicles, and 40 other vehicles will be deployed.]
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[Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau.]
[Preparation for the Vacuum Operation of Facility No. 1.]
[Eastern Offensive.]
[The main objective of the eastern offensive is to draw the enemy’s attention with overwhelming firepower. Multiple rocket launchers and tanks will be deployed.]
[The Black Dragon will support the eastern offensive.]
[Thanks to the multiple rocket launchers, a barrage will be formed, allowing eight infantry fighting vehicles to approach the facility with eight squads of the Special Forces ‘Blue Dragon’.]
[Additionally, the mage Hasti will be deployed for cover and support in the eastern offensive. Hasti will only support the eastern offensive and will not enter the facility.]
[Most members of the Special Forces ‘Blue Dragon’ participating in this operation are soldiers from the Anomalous Phenomena Response Bureau who have been administered the Popo Serum.]
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[Thule Branch.]
[Preparation for the Vacuum Operation of Facility No. 1.]
[Western Offensive.]
[The Special Forces ‘Walpurgis’ and Cernunnos will support the western offensive. They will not attempt to enter the facility.]
[These two combat assets will create a ‘forest’ to generate cover. Using this cover, Foundation soldiers in small vehicles will be deployed into Facility No. 1.]
[The Foundation members participating in the western offensive are soldiers who have been administered the Popo Serum for various reasons.]
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[Shanghai Branch.]
[Preparation for the Vacuum Operation of Facility No. 1.]
[Southern Offensive.]
[Dr. Chae and Dr. Chloe will provide support.]
[The goal of the southern offensive is to get the infantry fighting vehicles of the Special Forces ‘Golden Rooster’ as close to the target as possible and to have them enter the facility.]
[All members of the Special Forces ‘Golden Rooster’ participating in this operation are soldiers from the Beijing Branch who have been administered the Popo Serum.]
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[Seoul Branch.]
[Preparation for the Vacuum Operation of Facility No. 1.]
[Northern Offensive.]
[The main objective of the northern offensive is to approach the facility with eight Foundation tanks and eight infantry fighting vehicles.]
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Iris lay on the floor of the isolation room. Even Iris’s power had its limits. Even with the eyes that could see everything.
Nanami’s team had taken the Ivory Tower in this way. No one knew where they got it from.
Nanami’s team released dozens of Dr. Kim-shaped dolls around the Ivory Tower, using them as mediums to create dozens of Dr. Kim doppelgangers.
Iris could find, see, and hear any target, no matter where or what it was. She could remotely observe more than 20 targets at once. But…
The truth of the matter was this. When Dr. Kim’s hounds came for Iris, she immediately located the hunters remotely.
Iris first checked the location of the most dangerous opponent, Dr. Kim. Dr. Kim was in Thule and did not come to Iris.
Next, Iris located Dr. Kim’s hounds. Cruise missiles, drones, and helicopters were dispatched, but Dr. Chae scattered dozens of Dr. Kim dolls near the Ivory Tower.
Using the dolls as mediums, doppelgangers were created.
Iris was ultimately forced to make a choice.
How can I survive? Should I use my all-seeing eyes to chase the doppelgangers? Should I watch Dr. Kim’s hounds?
Dr. Kim had killed Ninetail with just doppelgangers. They couldn’t be underestimated. Iris’s abilities were effectively rendered useless…
If she really wanted to, she could have tried to escape. But Iris decided not to run.
She would stay and fight.
And then…
Iris quickly surrendered.
After all, most of the Foundation’s Special Forces had already given up fighting Dr. Kim’s group.
Iris had no other plan besides her absolute remote vision.
The twelve surviving Dr. Kim doppelgangers dragged Iris before Nanami. It was the first time Iris had seen such a horrific sight.
The Dr. Kim doppelgangers turned to dust shortly after Iris was subdued.
No one knew why. Perhaps Dr. Kim’s mages decided to destroy the voodoo dolls. Iris was then taken to the Seoul Branch.
Iris stared blankly at the camera in the isolation room. There wasn’t much left in the Foundation.
She couldn’t think of anything that could stop Dr. Kim. What was even left?
This is the command center of the Seoul Branch.
We were brainstorming ways to assault Facility No. 1. All the high-ranking officials of the Seoul Branch were gathered.
Some were participating via video call.
Not for any other reason, but to avoid being wiped out in case of a nuclear assassination attempt or other serious situations.
Anyway.
Facility No. 1 had one peculiar feature. Actually, it had more than one, but…
Facility No. 1 is hexagonal in shape.
It is surrounded by a 25-meter-high concrete wall enclosing an area about 1 kilometer in diameter, with various structures inside.
There are a few bunkers outside the wall.
The peculiar thing was this. While the concrete wall is heavily guarded, there is a massive gate on one side of the wall.
I looked at the sketch of Facility No. 1.
“So, what’s this gate for?”
“It’s the gate for the gods to enter.”
“Huh…?”
The Recovery Department Head pondered for a moment.
“Facility No. 1 is a place where all supernatural phenomena are nullified. The Foundation uses Facility No. 1 to contain captured gods, but since magic can’t be used to move things inside the facility…”
I nodded.
“Ah, I see. So, they move the captured gods to a location some distance away from Facility No. 1 using magic, and then transport them into the facility using conventional means?”
“That’s the assumption behind the facility’s design. We don’t know how often they need to move captured gods, but… it’s probably been used more than once or twice.”
“How do they move them?”
“I saw this too… There’s a truck. A super-large truck with a load capacity of 1,000 tons is waiting outside Facility No. 1.”
“So, you’re saying we should hijack the super-large truck and ram it into the facility gate? Since there’s no other way to get in?”
“The facility… Yes.”
I’ve seen several high-level Foundation facilities.
They’re not designed to be breached. Airstrikes are fundamentally impossible, and the only usual way is to target the entrances used by the people inside.
Take the Seoul Branch, for example.
It has multiple layers of missile defense systems, several Phalanx CIWS, and in case of emergency, hundreds of portable anti-aircraft missiles can be deployed.
And that’s just for air defense.
But even that’s nothing compared to the highest-level Foundation facilities we’ve assaulted, which are protected by causality distortion devices or reality anchoring devices.
Bombing is only done to suppress enemy actions. In the end, the only way is for people to go in and take it over. The Recovery Department Head is planning to hijack the truck and ram it through the gate.
“Let’s give it a try.”
The Beijing Peacekeeping Force Headquarters breached the wall using magic, but in this case, that’s impossible.
As you get closer to the facility, supernatural phenomena weaken, so breaching the concrete wall with magic is impossible. In the end, the only options are to ram the gate with the truck or climb over the wall.
“Climbing the wall isn’t a good idea.”
“I agree.”
The wall surrounding Facility No. 1 is as tall as a five-story building. There’s no way to climb it, and how many people would die trying?
After some thought, I spoke up.
“Still, there’s an advantage.”
“What is it?”
“The people inside the facility can’t use supernatural phenomena, but we can use them until we reach the wall.”
The Research Department Head nodded.
“That’s true.”
“Until we reach the wall, let’s make the most of supernatural phenomena. Can we use magic to hide our troops or create decoys?”
Dr. Chae spoke up from the screen.
[It’s possible. We can use the black fog from the Jeju Island siege, and it’s also possible to create illusions of our troops.]
“Okay.”
[If we go the conventional route, we could deploy cardboard tanks to inflate our numbers. Once we put camouflage nets on them, they won’t be able to tell the difference.]
Oh… That’s good.
The Support Department Head raised his hand.
“All this strategic discussion is great, but the U.S. or Foundation air force will arrive at the scene in no time. At most, 30 minutes.”
“Understood… So, we have to get into Facility No. 1 within 30 minutes at most?”
“Yes.”
I sighed.
It’s not impossible to resolve a siege in 30 minutes. It won’t be easy, though.
“We’ll need to discuss more methods, but it’s good that we’re having a productive conversation. Keep talking.”