SCP Appears

Listening to the system's words, William felt like his whole world had fallen apart.

Halsey had still been grinning, but when she noticed that her boss seemed off, she stopped joking around and asked worriedly:

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. My stomach feels a little uncomfortable. You go ahead and get back to work."

William gave her a perfunctory reply, then turned and ran out of Halsey's office.

Although Halsey was puzzled, she did not pay it much attention.

Meanwhile, on William's side.

Inside the men's restroom at the end of the Hive's corridor, he chose the stall furthest inside.

He opened the door, closed it, locked it, put the toilet lid down, and sat on it—all in one smooth motion.

Then he said to the system inwardly, I'm ready. Go ahead.

[From this moment onward, various anomalies will begin appearing one by one.

When this system detects an anomalous object, it will use the agents the host has deployed around the world to investigate through subconscious guidance.

The agents will report the locations of those anomalous objects to the host.]

Hearing this, William slightly furrowed his brows. In other words, I won't learn the specific details of those anomalous objects, right?

[Correct. However, when the host's employees report their findings, this system may be able to detect which world those anomalous objects originated from.

That is all. This system is merely an assistant, not omniscient or omnipotent.]

All right, then. William helplessly shrugged.

Although he could not know the details of what he was facing, knowing where it came from would at least give him some idea of what to expect.

"Whoosh—!" The toilet flushed.

He pressed the button on the lid and pretended he had finished using the restroom.

He left the stall and came to the sink, where he carefully washed his hands.

"Thud, thud!"

William had just stepped out when he heard the sound of orderly footsteps.

He turned to the right and saw a group of USS personnel in specially tailored suits heading toward him, led by Hunk.

Soon, Hunk brought the USS personnel before William and saluted.

"Boss, Colonel Andre has an urgent matter to discuss with you."

"Understood."

William nodded and followed Hunk and the others to the Control Room on the second floor of the Hive.

When they passed Halsey's office, the female genius followed them as well, driven by curiosity.

Second floor of the Hive;

Compared with the Hive's other levels, this one was much more spacious.

The lighting was not the harsh white of incandescent bulbs, but gentle, warm lighting instead.

There were even windows displaying projections of virtual streets, while artificial air currents slowly blew in.

Without looking too closely, one might feel as though they were on the upper floors of a skyscraper. It kept the people who worked underground for long periods from feeling oppressed.

Escorted by the USS personnel led by Hunk, William and Halsey passed through the corridors toward the Hive's Control Room in the center of the second floor.

Inside the Control Room;

Dozens of technicians operated various instruments, ensuring that the enormous Hive functioned normally.

On the large screen hanging in the center was Andre, dressed in a black Umbrella military officer's uniform.

The vigorous old colonel said with a slightly angry expression:

"The signal blocking in your Hive is really troublesome!"

"Sorry about that, Major." The person in charge of the Hive's technical department immediately greeted him with a smile and explained, "This was the boss and Dr. Halsey's decision. It allows us to research and work here in peace while guarding against corporate espionage."

"Hurry it up. The military situation is tense!" Andre did not ask any more questions, but his expression remained unfriendly.

As for everyone present, none of them dared voice the slightest complaint. After all, the colonel was a member of the Olympus Board of Directors.

"Whoosh—"

As the automatic doors opened, William and the others streamed into the Control Room.

Seeing them, all the technicians stood and respectfully said, "Boss."

"Mm. You can all sit down." William instead gave them a genial smile and gestured for everyone to continue working as usual.

"Yes!"

Compared with the colonel's attitude, everyone held the corporate giant's boss in even greater esteem.

However...

Andre's display of a short-tempered soldier was actually something William had specifically asked of him.

William himself played the role of a "good-natured man," winning the sincere respect of everyone in the company.

Andre naturally had no complaints whatsoever and cooperated fully with all of William's requests.

"Boss." When Andre saw William appear, he did not waste time and got straight to the point. "An agent in Alberta Province sent urgent intelligence to our armed forces not long ago, and then lost contact.

"After confirmation, the first anomalous incident has occurred."

[This anomalous phenomenon originated from the world of the SCP Foundation.]

Hearing the system's reminder in his ear, William did not show much surprise.

However, the distinct crease between his brows showed how heavy his mood was.

Several seconds later, William looked at the screen and said calmly, "Very well, Colonel. I will head to Troy Base now and discuss the matter with you in person."

"Yes, Boss." After receiving his instructions, Andre cut off the video connection with the Hive.

William then turned and ordered Hunk, "To the suburbs."

"Yes."

Hunk signaled for two men to stay behind and protect William, then led a large contingent of USS personnel out of the Control Room to prepare the convoy on the surface.

William steadied his restless emotions and, protected by two USS personnel, also prepared to leave the Hive.

"Hey."

Halsey, however, grabbed William by the hem of his clothes with one hand. With an unusually serious expression, she asked, "Should we have the T-103s assist with your operation?"

"?"

William had been somewhat distracted, but his eyes lit up at the female genius's reminder.

He had almost forgotten about the Tyrant.

He immediately nodded and hurriedly asked, "How many T-103s do we have available for deployment?"

"Hmm..." Halsey tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying, "Three. The others haven't been fully calibrated yet."

His gloom vanished all at once!

Unable to hide his excitement, William placed both hands on Halsey's shoulders and said with a smile:

"It's a good thing I have you, Catherine!"

"Uh..."

Halsey was suddenly touched by William, and when she recalled how he had seen her in such a filthy, disheveled state earlier, her cheeks reddened.

She had no idea what she should say.

William, meanwhile, failed to notice anything unusual. He ordered the technicians in the Control Room, "Send the three T-103s Dr. Halsey mentioned to the surface. Sorry for the trouble, everyone."

"Yes, Boss." The technicians responded respectfully.

"Let's go." Once everything was ready, William had the two USS personnel escort him to the surface.

Only after William had left did the technicians in the Control Room relax.

No matter how good-tempered the boss was, he still possessed absolute power over life and death. A single mistake could get them demoted to D-Class personnel.

And Halsey?

"Hehe... hehe..."

For some reason, she stood there with a flushed face, giggling foolishly and murmuring softly:

"Catherine? He called me Catherine..."