It took Jianjia a while to fully calm down, after which she immediately began worrying about how Luo Shu had infiltrated Area-13 and whether he was in danger.
Luo Shu gave her a brief rundown of the situation and promised to take her away in two days.
The two-day delay was necessary because the Chaos Insurgency still needed to make arrangements.
First, they had to transport the Scranton Reality Anchors (SRAs) they had seized from the Foundation to South Carolina—a process that would take at least a full day.
During their earlier phone call, Waiter hadn't known Luo Shu's exact plans, so they hadn't discussed the details.
But after understanding Luo Shu's intentions, Waiter proposed some adjustments, which Luo Shu approved.
A full set of SRAs was far too bulky for Luo Shu to smuggle into SCP-100 by himself. The Insurgency would need to modify the equipment first.
Given SCP-100's nature, Luo Shu decided the best approach was to disguise the SRAs as scrap car parts, allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into the site.
This would require another day of work from the Insurgency.
In other words, the earliest the SRAs could be fully installed underground at SCP-100—creating a sanctuary free from Foundation satellite surveillance—was two days from now.
With all the details settled, Luo Shu could finally rest in the abandoned containment chamber Athena had arranged for him.
By now, it was 2 AM local time in Greece (7 AM in China).
From the moment he left "My Cultist World," Luo Shu had been on the move for over 20 hours without rest—his eyelids were practically leaden.
Just as he drifted into peaceful slumber, "The Administrator" and Barbie were fuming.
A series of bad news—all linked to Luo Shu—had come in rapid succession, like slap after slap to their faces.
First, the Chaos Insurgency's military operations in the Middle East had provoked a conflict with the Foundation.
While local MTF units were distracted, the Insurgency successfully raided a Foundation site, stealing the SRAs.
Given the timing, there was no doubt—they did it for Luo Shu.
Now, the Foundation would have a much harder time tracking Luo Shu via Kant Counters on satellites!
This outcome left "The Administrator" deeply unsettled.
After months of confrontation, he had realized one thing: Luo Shu was growing stronger over time, while he and the Foundation remained stagnant.
Even in the tortoise-and-hare race, if the leading side stops moving, the underdog will eventually overtake them.
If the hare loses to the tortoise, it's just a race.
But if the Foundation loses to Luo Shu, it could mean losing the entire world.
Compared to this, the incident at Thessaloniki Airport was trivial.
The deaths of the Gulfstream G700 pilots and the unconscious flight attendants were barely losses to the Foundation.
The only thing "The Administrator" and Barbie couldn't figure out was: Who did it, and why?
It still hadn't occurred to them that Luo Shu had hitched a ride on their own plane straight to Area-13.
With such an information asymmetry, even "The Mastermind"—despite his genius—couldn't conceive of this possibility.
He would never imagine Luo Shu being so bold, so insane, as to shadow them the entire way.
In fact, the Foundation still assumed Luo Shu was hiding in China.
In the end, "The Mastermind" could only deduce the most plausible explanation:
"The Chaos Insurgency killed the pilots to restrict Achilles' Heel's mobility."
But this raised a new question:
What were the Insurgency and Luo Shu planning next?
"The Administrator" wasn't truly omniscient—he couldn't guess.
"The Mastermind", though brilliant, was kept in the dark about too many things, making the correct conclusion impossible.
At that moment, he was sitting in the Achilles' Heel office, venting to Barbie:
"This can't be discussed, that can't be disclosed—what's so damn unspeakable?!"
"Watch your words!" Barbie glared at him.
She understood his frustration—without full intel, even a genius was powerless.
But there was nothing she could do. If "The Administrator" refused to talk, no one could force him.
Not just Barbie and "The Mastermind"—even the O5 Council wasn't privy to Luo Shu's secrets.
"The Administrator" had classified all Luo Shu-related intel as Security Clearance Level 6—only he could access the truth.
The Forgotten Truth
A similar conversation was happening within the Chaos Insurgency.
Waiter: "What's the real secret about Luo Shu? Even you don't know, Alpha 'The Bandit'?"
The Bandit: "The Administrator never said! Back when I was O5-4, I asked him. He told me it was 'above my clearance.'"
Waiter: "Even an O5 wasn't cleared?!"
The Bandit: "Yeah. The ultimate secret… known only to Level 6 Overseers."
Waiter: "So that's why you defected with Red Right Hand?"
The Bandit: "Not entirely. The real reason… I don't remember. Literally don't remember."
Waiter: "You were given amnestics?"
The Bandit: "Maybe. I don't recall. It's the same for 'The Impossible,' 'The Jailer,' and 'The Conductor'—all of us."
Waiter: "Then the truth can only be uncovered by Luo Shu himself? We can't help at all?"
The Bandit: "Don't ask me. I only remember one phrase, imprinted as a memetic deep memory: 'Leave everything to the Revealer of Truth.' That's why we just assist him."
Waiter: "Come to think of it… I feel like I've forgotten something too. In my memories, I was always waiting for the 'Revealer of Truth' to appear. I don't even know if this was a mission you assigned me."
The Bandit: "Heh. No idea. Seriously, stop asking."
The Dream
Meanwhile, the source of all these headaches was sleeping soundly.
In his dreams, a voice whispered:
"Persist… Uncover the truth… Let this world ████…"
Luo Shu murmured in his sleep:
"Even my dreams are redacted? What the hell is this world hiding?"