Dr. Kondraki exhaled a cloud of smoke, the glowing tip of his cigarette dimming as he leaned back in his chair. His voice was muffled by the haze, low and expressionless.
"As you've probably realized, over the past three days, I've confird that at least thirty personnel at Site-17 have been compromised by 239's influence. Researchers, technicians, even mbers of the security division. They've all been affected."
Jas didn't respond. His eyes remained on the docunt in his hand, scanning every word carefully.
Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain the Genoa Blade before leaving Site-19, which ans I won't be able to use it to bypass basic security.
"Genoa Blade?" Jas asked, raising an eyebrow.
"SCP-668," Kondraki explained. "A thirteen-inch kitchen knife. Harmless-looking, but with a terrifying side effect. Anyone who sees it and isn't holding it instantly loses the will to stop the wielder. They don't fight back."
Kondraki took another drag from his cigarette and gave a half-smile. "Clef may be a bastard and a compulsive liar, but when it cos to terminating Keter-level anomalies, he's efficient. Cold-blooded, but efficient."
Jas nodded slowly. "He wanted to use SCP-668's apathy effect to neutralize personnel under 239's influence. Not a bad plan, actually."
"Too bad it didn't work out," Kondraki muttered. "Even Clef can't get every toy he wants."
Jas kept reading.
My outside connections have provided with alternative equipnt, which may prove sufficient. In the event of my death, my ocular and audio implants will transmit all data regarding this operation to the Global Occult Coalition, all O5-level Foundation mbers, and the FBI's Unusual Incidents Unit.
If vital signs cease, GOC Treble-Clef Unit is to execute Procedure Pizzicato: Planetary Extermination.
Jas's breath hitched, and the room fell silent.
The livestream audience was frozen, staring at the screen in disbelief.
"What did I just read?!"
"If Clef dies, they're going to wipe out the whole planet?! Is this a joke?!"
Jas's eyes narrowed in shock. "Pizzicato? Planet extermination? Are we seriously talking about ending the world?"
Kondraki scoffed. "Scaremongering. Classic Clef. Keep reading."
To anyone reviewing this after the incident—hello, l—I'm still a liar. There is no Treble-Clef Unit. No Procedure Pizzicato. No global data dump.
Probably. Maybe. Very likely.
Arrival in five hours. Mission begins.
"..."
The live chat exploded.
"Goddamn it, Clef!!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Natasha Romanoff facepald, her voice echoing with frustration. "This lunatic is joking around in the middle of a potential apocalypse?!"
The agents nearby shared her disbelief. So laughed nervously, others shook their heads. Only Nick Fury remained silent, staring at the words "Procedure Pizzicato."
It didn't matter that Clef claid it was fake.
Even if there was a chance the Global Occult Coalition had the power to wipe out the world…
That was enough reason to be concerned.
Back on the screen, Jas closed the docunt and exhaled deeply. "So, what's our move?"
Kondraki crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, surprising everyone with his response.
"We stop him."
The livestream chat blew up again.
"Stop him?!"
"You an... Clef? Why?!"
"He's trying to kill 239 before she breaches containnt!"
A terrifying thought spread like wildfire among viewers:
Had Dr. Kondraki also fallen under 239's influence?
S.H.I.E.L.D.
"This is insane…" Natasha muttered. "They were on the sa side—weren't they?"
She turned to Fury, concern all over her face. "You think Kondraki's compromised?"
Fury didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
Inside the video feed, Jas stood silently as Kondraki lit another cigarette.
"Let guess," Kondraki said with a bitter smirk. "You're wondering if I've been manipulated too?"
Jas didn't speak, but his stillness said enough.
Kondraki chuckled softly. "Believe , I've asked myself the sa damn question. The way that girl talks… the way she looks at you… you start to question everything. I'm scared, Jas. But not of her."
Jas tilted his head. "Then what are you afraid of?"
"That I'd have to kill her if I found out she had influenced ."
He looked up, eyes hard. "So what's your choice?"
Jas looked him in the eye. "239 can be terminated."
Kondraki's pupils dilated. The tension in the air could have snapped steel.
Jas continued, unflinching. "But not now. And not like this."
Kondraki paused, then burst into laughter—dry, relieved laughter. "I'm starting to like you, mid-level researcher."
The chat lit up again.
"WHAT?!"
"I thought Jas supported Clef?!"
"Now he wants to stop him too?!"
"This is getting wild."
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Natasha rubbed her temples. "I don't get it. She's dangerous, right? Shouldn't she be terminated?"
Fury's expression hardened. "He didn't say she shouldn't be dealt with. He said not like this."
He flipped through Clef's docunt again in his mind.
"It's the thod. Not the goal. Maybe Clef's approach risks making things even worse."
As theories flooded in from the livestream, Jas and Kondraki had already made their move.
The cara followed them down Site-17's labyrinthine hallways.
When they reached the intersection, Kondraki turned toward SCP-408's chamber, while Jas headed the opposite way.
He stopped in front of a holding room, where a security guard stood at attention.
"Researcher, please show your clearance badge," the guard requested.
The next mont shocked everyone.
Jas grabbed the guard's elbow, then slamd his other arm into the man's stomach.
Pfft!
The guard collapsed forward with a wheeze.
Before he could cry out, Jas pressed his fingers against his neck, and the man slumped to the ground, unconscious.
Jas carefully laid him down and adjusted his position.
The livestream erupted in confusion.
"What the hell?!"
"Why did he just knock out a guard?!"
"He snapped!"
Inside the video, Jas unlocked the door to SCP-105's containnt chamber.
Viewers imdiately recognized the room—and the young woman inside.
Iris.
Years had passed since she first entered containnt, but she was still composed, still sharp.
Sensing sothing off, she approached the door.
"Who's there?" she asked, voice steady but cautious.
Jas didn't speak. Instead, he passed a photo through the door's narrow slot.
A simple landscape—Yellowstone National Park.
The mont Iris laid eyes on it, her hands trembled. A thousand mories surged back. Her throat tightened.
She looked toward the sealed door, eyes glassy.
"…Is it you? The junior researcher?"
In response, the door slid shut.
The livestream audience finally understood.
It was for her.
Then, without warning, the footage switched again—this ti to surveillance cara data.
4:45 a.m.
A VTOL-505 helicopter landed on helipad seven.
Six security agents stood at the ready as Dr. Clef stepped out.
But he wasn't t with greetings.
"Dr. Clef," one agent barked, "your clearance has been revoked."
"You are not authorized to enter Site-17."
"Please vacate VTOL-505 imdiately."
Clef didn't argue. Slowly, he raised his hands and lay on the tarmac.
It seed like everything might end peacefully.
Then, like lightning, Clef pulled out an odd device from under his coat.
Before anyone could react—
BANG!
A brilliant flash—like a stun grenade—erupted across the helipad.
Four agents dropped imdiately, unconscious. The remaining two were dazed.
Clef moved quickly, injecting all six with heavy anesthetics.
The audience heard his voice—cold, calm, cruel.
"No one can stop ."
4:52 a.m.: Additional security is mobilized.
5:02 a.m.: Defensive lines collapse.
5:10 a.m.: Clef breaches Site-17's interior.
The livestream watchers were shell-shocked.
He'd gotten inside.
Even as more guards mobilized, the footage glitched—jumping five minutes ahead.
The scene had changed drastically.
No sign of Clef. Only fallen security personnel and structural changes—a hallway turned into a dead-end, altered signage, chaos.
Then—
BOOM!!!
A white-hot light engulfed the screen. An explosion of pure energy.
Buzzing.
Static.
And through it all, Clef's voice echoed from a recording:
"This is worse than I thought."
"Reality distortion has already begun."
End of Chapter 78.
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