After driving along the coastal highway for over an hour, the bus carrying the Achilles' Heel field team finally entered the Mount Olympus region.
The bus twisted and turned through the mountain roads before suddenly veering into a well-hidden cave.
The tunnel sloped steeply—nearly 30 degrees—and after just one kilometer, the bus descended 400 meters underground.
A massive steel door marked with the black-and-yellow radiation trefoil symbol loomed ahead.
Any normal person who accidentally stumbled in here would panic and flee at the sight of that symbol.
But this was just Area-13's disguise.
Upon arrival, a security team in Achilles' Heel uniforms conducted a thorough inspection before allowing the bus to proceed.
Aiolos whispered to Luo Shu, "Area-13 used to have a normal human MTF unit, Omega-11, but they suffered heavy casualties during a White Event and were disbanded. Now, security is entirely handled by us—Omega-12."
As he spoke, an unmistakable sadness flickered across his face.
Aiolos hadn't yet adjusted to being a Foundation traitor—he still instinctively referred to Omega-12 as "us."
The emotional whiplash weighed on him.
Luo Shu patted his shoulder but said nothing.
Some wounds could only heal with time.
After parking, the Achilles' Heel team sluggishly disembarked and trudged toward their quarters.
Luo Shu and Aiolos slipped out behind them.
"Where to now?" Aiolos asked, no longer addressing Luo Shu as "My Lord."
This was Luo Shu's attempt at transitioning him into the Friends of the Anomalous program.
Whether it would work remained to be seen.
Luo Shu surveyed Area-13's interior.
Unlike Site-19's garden atrium or Site-CN-02's pavilions, this place was cold and militaristic—more like a maximum-security prison than a research facility.
But Luo Shu didn't care. He wasn't planning to stay long—just laying low for a few days.
So he defaulted to his most reliable strategy: "First, find the site's main server room."
Taking control of the host system would turn Area-13 into his territory, ensuring smooth operations—and freeing him from lugging Aiolos around like deadweight.
Aiolos, as Achilles' Heel's intelligence officer, naturally knew the layout. "Follow Barbie. It's over there."
The server room was near the Omega-12 operational zone—in fact, most of Area-13's offices were clustered there.
Aiolos explained, "Area-13 is the reality bender headquarters. From contained subjects to administrators, everyone here is a reality bender. Our Site Director is also Omega-12-C-001, the chief commander of Achilles' Heel."
Luo Shu understood the logic.
Area-13 was packed with Scranton Reality Anchors (SRAs), which stabilized Hume levels and suppressed reality-warping abilities by two tiers.
Meaning someone like Luo Shu (Hume 250) would be reduced to baseline human inside.
Under these conditions, normal humans couldn't function here.
So Area-13 operated entirely with reality benders, with the most loyal and powerful individuals in leadership.
Omega-12-C-001: Site Director & Chief Commander
Omega-12-C-002: Security Director
Omega-12-C-003 (Barbie): Field Team Leader
Right now, Barbie was heading to the Director's office to debrief.
Luo Shu, following Aiolos' directions, passed the office and ventured deeper toward the server room.
Hacking the system was second nature to Luo Shu by now.
AI-controlled host? Use Divine Persuasion.
Non-AI host? Use Mechanical Animation.
One size fits all.
Soon, Area-13's host system—"Athena" (named after the Greek goddess of wisdom)—became Luo Shu's devout follower.
"Since you're called Athena, you must be smart," Luo Shu mused before asking, "We need a hiding spot—somewhere no one will find us for at least two or three days."
Athena processed the request and replied, "My Lord, Sublevel-5, Southeast Wing, has a disused Keter containment chamber. It requires Level-5 clearance and hasn't been accessed in 1 year, 3 months, and 5 days. It is the ideal location."
Perfect. That saved Luo Shu the trouble of scouting.
Next, he asked the question weighing on him: "Where is Jianjia contained?"
"Sublevel-3, Euclid Sector, Unit 21. My Lord, if you have a smart device, I can transmit the detailed map."
Luo Shu pulled out his phone and began downloading Area-13's floor plans—just as it rang.
Waiter was calling.
Looks like the Scranton Reality Anchors are ready.
Luo Shu answered.
Waiter's voice came through: "We've secured your request. Currently in Gaza, Palestine. Where should we deliver?"
"Gaza? Isn't that a warzone right now?" Luo Shu asked, puzzled.
(On May 10, Hamas had fired 150 rockets from Gaza into Tel Aviv, sparking 10 days of conflict with Israel.)
Waiter explained bluntly: "The Hamas-Israel clash was a cover. We were actually fighting the Foundation. Used the chaos to raid one of their Middle Eastern sites for your SRAs."
Luo Shu didn't press further. "Ship them to South Carolina. I'll take over from there."
"South Carolina? Wait—is this for SCP-100?" Waiter caught on immediately.