The journey from Anomalous Entity-3221 to Dushanbe Airport had taken nearly six hours by armored bus, covering roughly 500 kilometers.
From Dushanbe, the flight to Athens, Greece, should have been another 3,600 kilometers, taking about three and a half hours at the Gulfstream G700's cruising speed.
But the plane landed after just three hours.
That doesn't add up.
Realizing something was off, Luo Shu quickly looked out the window.
The airport terminal's sign read:
"Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Int'l Airport."
Huh?
Shouldn't it say "Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport"?
Then it hit him.
Tel Aviv—the former capital of Israel.
That was hundreds of kilometers off course from Athens. No wonder they'd landed early.
But why?
There was no way a Gulfstream G700 needed to refuel mid-flight.
Before Luo Shu could figure it out, Barbie strode over.
"Get off the plane. What are you waiting for?"
Luo Shu pointed outside. "Weren't we going to Athens? Why are we in Tel Aviv?"
"Official business." Barbie's reply was curt as she yanked him up by the arm.
This woman's grip is insane—
Wait.
Luo Shu was a master manipulator. He wasn't about to take Barbie's word at face value.
He distinctly remembered the flight plan from Dushanbe listing Athens as the destination.
Which meant the Gulfstream had changed course mid-flight.
Had a reality bender popped up in Israel?
Was Achilles' Heel diverting for an emergency containment?
Fine. Let's see what's going on.
After disembarking, a Foundation-branded van was already waiting.
Luo Shu followed the team inside, and soon they were speeding away from the airport.
The van left Tel Aviv's urban sprawl, eventually arriving at an ancient castle.
Though the castle bore a "Private Property" sign, Luo Shu spotted the subtle Foundation emblem hidden in the architecture.
No doubt—this was a Foundation Site.
But which one?
The Foundation had hundreds of Sites, most unmarked. Even Achilles' Heel's members seemed unfamiliar with this place.
A Site-403 staffer greeted them.
"MTF Omega-12? Identity verification, please."
Barbie pulled up her Level-4 credentials on her tactical terminal.
The staffer checked, then nodded.
"Apologies. Executing EP-37 (Splavrikle Protocol) is a serious matter. We must confirm all personnel."
Splavrikle?
The term tugged at Luo Shu's memory, but he couldn't place it.
The Foundation had dozens of experimental protocols, each with obscure codenames.
The only ones Luo Shu remembered clearly were like 110-Montauk (for the Scarlet Bride) and a few others.
But EP-37-Splavrikle rang a faint bell—yet he couldn't recall which anomaly it was tied to.
Barbie smiled politely. "No problem. We're the ones imposing on you."
Wait.
Luo Shu caught the phrasing.
This wasn't a mission request—Achilles' Heel had actively sought out this Site to enact the Splavrikle Protocol.
This is bad.
Barbie had diverted the flight specifically for this.
And given the timing… this was about Luo Shu.
As they walked through the castle's stone corridors, Luo Shu furiously racked his brain, trying to recall what Splavrikle entailed.
He even activated his W-Class Mnestic Enhancer, forcing his mind to dredge up buried knowledge.
Slowly, fragments came together.
The name. The castle. The location.
Ancient Canaan.
In the pre-Christian Levant, there had been a cult called the "Heart of Copper and Iron."
The cult worshipped Moloch, the Fire God—a deity later demonized by Christianity as a demon of child sacrifice.
(Modern fantasy often depicted Moloch as a balrog-like "Lord of Flames.")
The Canaanites, a Semitic people related to Jews and Arabs, had once thrived in coastal Palestine—land that now belonged to Israel.
Tel Aviv itself stood on ancient Canaanite soil.
During the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition had exterminated the cult, branding Moloch a devil.
Unlike the Sarkics or the Church of the Broken God, the "Heart of Copper and Iron" had no surviving legacy—save for one artifact.
A stone arch furnace, hidden in the ruins of a Crusader-destroyed Canaanite fortress.
The Foundation had excavated and restored the site, establishing Site-403 solely to contain the furnace.
Just like Area-13 was built for Mount Olympus.
And now, Luo Shu realized with dawning horror—
The Splavrikle Protocol was tied to that furnace.
As the pieces clicked, the group arrived at a heavy iron door deep within the castle.
The Site-403 staffer turned to Barbie.
"The chamber is ahead. How many phrases do you need? Are you supplying your own D-Class, or shall we?"
Barbie smiled and pointed at Luo Shu.
"He's the one. He only needs to say one thing inside."
Luo Shu's blood ran cold. "What thing?"
Barbie's grin widened.
"Say: 'I am not with the Chaos Insurgency.'"
The Furnace of Truth
The Splavrikle Protocol was simple:
The stone arch furnace could discern truth from lies.
Anyone who spoke inside it—
If they lied, the furnace would ignite, reducing them to ash.
If they told the truth, they would emerge unharmed.
Barbie wasn't just suspicious—she was burning her last bridge.
If Luo Shu was innocent, he'd walk out fine.
If he was lying—
He'd be dead before he hit the ground.
The staffer nodded. "Very well. Proceed."
The iron door creaked open, revealing a dark chamber.
At its center stood the ancient furnace, its maw gaping like a hungry mouth.
Barbie shoved Luo Shu forward.
"After you."
Luo Shu's mind raced.
I can't refuse. Not here.
But if I go in and say it—
Will the furnace kill me?
Am I… really not Chaos Insurgency?
Or have I been lying to myself this whole time?
He took a deep breath—
And stepped inside.
The door slammed shut behind him.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
Somewhere in the void, embers glowed.
A voice—not his own—whispered in the shadows.
"Speak."
Luo Shu clenched his fists.
Then, with all the conviction he could muster—
"I… am not with the Chaos Insurgency."
For a heartbeat—
Nothing happened.
Then—
The furnace roared to life.
Flames erupted.
And Luo Shu—
Was gone.
Outside the Chamber
Barbie waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
No scream. No burning flesh.
Just… silence.
The staffer checked the monitors. "No thermal spike. He's… clean."
Barbie's face twitched.
Impossible.
"God" was certain.
I was certain.
How…?
The iron door groaned open.
And there stood—
Luo Shu.
Unscathed.
Alive.
He met Barbie's stunned gaze—
And smiled.
"Happy now?"
Barbie's fists trembled.
Somewhere in the depths of Site-403—
A single ember flickered.
As if laughing.