Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece, is located in the northern part of the country and serves as the capital of the Macedonia region. It is also the Gulfstream G700's destination.
Traveling west from Thessaloniki, about a hundred kilometers along the northern coast of the Thermaic Gulf, lies Mount Olympus.
Faced with the incoming transmission from the airport tower, Luo Shu and Aiolos had no idea how to respond.
After all, aviation communications involve specialized jargon that ordinary people can't imitate.
So Luo Shu blurted out: "Uh, the pilots aren't feeling well... I'm the substitute pilot?"
Since when do planes have substitute pilots?!
Aiolos stared at Luo Shu in shock.
Was this really the god he worshipped?
This guy could lie through his teeth!
To prevent the tower operator from reacting like Aiolos, Luo Shu even activated Persuasion, making the idea of a "substitute pilot" seem perfectly reasonable.
The tower operator sounded confused. "So... what's the situation? Are you landing or not?"
With midnight approaching, Thessaloniki Airport had almost no other flights, meaning the Gulfstream G700 didn't need to circle for clearance.
Yet the jet showed no intention of descending—instead, it continued flying westward.
At this rate, it would cross into Italy before stopping.
Hence the tower's question.
"Ahem, give me five minutes. First time flying a G700, still getting familiar with the controls," Luo Shu continued bullshitting.
The tower operator sounded concerned. "Are you sure you can handle this?"
"Yeah, yeah, totally."
But despite his words, Luo Shu could only watch helplessly as the Gulfstream G700 kept flying away.
Luckily, five minutes passed quickly. Before the jet could leave Greek airspace, midnight struck.
Luo Shu immediately activated Mechanical Animation, turning the Gulfstream G700 into his obedient "metal bird," then commanded it to turn around and land at Thessaloniki Airport.
Now that it was "alive," the jet joyfully performed aerial acrobatics—barrel rolls, Pugachev's Cobras, falling-leaf maneuvers—
It pulled off stunts only fighter jets should be capable of.
The tower operator gaped at the spectacle. "Uh… substitute pilot, are you a fighter jet pilot or something?"
While the tower staff were fooled by Persuasion, the Achilles' Heel team in the cabin wasn't so easily convinced.
Barbie's furious roar shattered through the cockpit door: "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! FLY NORMALLY!"
She was already in a terrible mood and just wanted some peace.
Instead, the pilots had subjected her to turbulence and extreme maneuvers, turning a luxury business jet into a rickety tractor.
Unforgivable.
Fortunately, the "awakened" jet stopped fooling around—because it was scared of Barbie.
If that walking powder keg lost control, she could reduce the entire plane to scrap metal without breaking a sweat.
In the end, the Gulfstream G700 landed smoothly on the runway.
For a pilot, flying is about control inputs—but for the jet itself, it was just moving its own body, making precision effortless.
Like how turning a car around is harder than turning your own head.
After landing, Area-13's transport vehicles were already waiting on the tarmac to pick up the Mobile Task Force members.
As for the flight crew (who were also Foundation personnel), they wouldn't be returning to Area-13 with Barbie but staying in Thessaloniki on standby.
So Barbie didn't even glance at the locked cockpit, storming off the plane with her team and boarding the waiting bus.
Unnoticed, the cockpit door quietly slid open.
Luo Shu, once again in a perception-blocking state, carried Aiolos (under Reverse Distortion) and sneaked onto the bus, taking the empty back row.
To delay discovery of the cockpit's condition, Luo Shu had drugged the flight attendants with SCP-165's paralytic toxin, ensuring they wouldn't wake for hours.
By then, he and Aiolos would already be safely hidden inside Area-13.
The bus sped westward along the coastal highway, the Aegean Sea glittering under the moonlight.
Ahead, a towering 2,917-meter peak loomed under the pale moonlight—Mount Olympus' highest summit, Mytikas.
Mytikas is not only Greece's tallest mountain but also the mythical home of the Olympian gods.
However, within the Foundation, Mytikas has another designation—
SCP-3480.
Under the Foundation's influence, the Greek government had sealed off Mytikas, citing "cultural heritage protection" to keep civilians away.
And 400 meters beneath Mytikas lay Area-13, a containment site specifically for reality benders.
These reality benders shared a collective designation—
SCP-3480-2.
Before becoming reality benders, most SCP-3480-2 instances were ordinary humans.
But after experiencing SCP-3480's "White Event," they were transformed by an unknown force, leading to their current all-expenses-paid containment lifestyle.
Most SCP-3480-2 instances suffered physical or mental defects from the White Event, becoming "flawed" reality benders.
The Foundation selected the healthiest SCP-3480-2 instances as Omega-12 candidates, observing them for a year.
Those who proved sufficiently obedient were promoted to full MTF members.
As Aiolos explained, both he and Barbie were originally SCP-3480-2—products of SCP-3480.
If not for their good behavior, they'd still be locked underground in Area-13.
As for Jianjia, who "failed" the evaluation, she had been recontained in Area-13, with no chance of release anytime soon.
One major reason Luo Shu wanted to hide in Area-13 was to find Jianjia—and possibly break her out.