Under Luo Shu's direction, the supercomputer Athena began disseminating false intelligence, creating the illusion that Area-13's defenses had completely collapsed.
To avoid exposure, Athena also temporarily disabled all tactical comms for the MTF teams while fabricating footage of mass reality bender rebellions to deceive the monitoring room.
Faced with this flood of indistinguishable truths and lies, the two Tier-5 commanders of Achilles' Heel had no reason to doubt.
Even "The Mastermind", their strategist, failed to spot the deception—especially since he'd just been communicating with Barbie on Sublevel-4 via tactical comms, confirming the initial breaches were real.
After a brief discussion, the commanders decided:
Omega-12-C-002 would descend to suppress the breaches.
Omega-12-C-001 would remain on Sublevel-1.
Then, the PA system blared again:
"This site is now Code Black. To prevent further losses, O5 Council authorization granted for nuclear detonation. Tier-5 warhead activation confirmed. All personnel, evacuate underground facilities immediately."
"Nuclear detonation in 60 seconds. 59... 58..."
This sudden nuclear warning was the final straw.
The support staff on Sublevel-1 turned and fled in panic, scrambling for the exits.
Omega-12-C-001 and 002 exchanged glances—reluctant, but they too began retreating.
Only "The Mastermind" hesitated.
"Wait... The O5 Council couldn't have bypassed 001 and 002 to issue a nuke order! They've been here the whole time!"
But by the time he voiced this, he was alone.
Even the Tier-5 commanders had evacuated.
Meanwhile, from the containment zone corridor, a group emerged:
Luo Shu
Jianjia
Aiolos
The two Insurgency prisoners
In that instant, "The Mastermind" understood.
The nuke was fake.
He should've realized sooner—if he had, the commanders wouldn't have left.
Luo Shu's strategy was brilliantly layered:
Two waves of real breaches to establish credibility.
A rapid-fire barrage of fake alerts, leaving no time to think.
Even the Tier-5 commanders had been funneled step-by-step into his trap, convinced the situation demanded nuclear intervention.
Now, "The Mastermind" was the only Achilles' Heel member left on Sublevel-1.
He didn't dare block Luo Shu—just ducked aside and let them pass.
Once they were gone, he weighed his options:
Chasing Luo Shu? Suicide.
Reporting to Barbie? The safer choice.
So he sprinted toward Sublevel-4.
Escape and Pursuit
Luo Shu's group had escaped Area-13—but they weren't safe yet.
The entire Mount Olympus region was Foundation territory.
Worse, Omega-12-C-001 and 002 were waiting outside the entrance, guarding the tunnel.
Spotting this, Luo Shu turned to Jianjia and Aiolos:
"Any other exits?"
Jianjia shook her head—intel wasn't her expertise.
But Aiolos pointed: "There's a side tunnel leading to the summit. For temporary hiding, it'll work."
That tunnel went to Mytikas Peak—SCP-3480.
Luo Shu nodded. "Then we go up."
The Hunt Begins
Meanwhile, "The Mastermind" found Barbie.
The suppression operation had gone faster than expected—order was nearly restored.
Though Luo Shu had freed over a dozen reality benders, Achilles' Heel outnumbered them 6-to-1.
Plus, the strongest outsiders (like "Mind Lab") still wore restraining cuffs—they'd never truly escaped.
After hearing "The Mastermind's" report, Barbie snarled:
"You're saying Luo Shu did all this?!"
"Yes! His real targets were Jianjia and the Insurgency prisoners—and Aiolos was with them!"
"Then what are we waiting for? MOVE!"
Barbie delegated cleanup to others, hoisted "The Mastermind" onto her back, and raced upstairs.
She'd have called the commanders to trap Luo Shu—but Athena still controlled comms, keeping them offline until Luo Shu escaped Olympus.
Still, Barbie reached the surface quickly.
After briefing Omega-12-C-001 and 002, the three commanders pieced together the truth.
Hearing Luo Shu hadn't exited the tunnel, "The Mastermind" turned toward Mytikas Peak.
"He must've gone up!"
"Then we hunt him down!"
This time, even the Tier-5 commanders joined the chase.
Humiliated and outmaneuvered, they were determined to corner Luo Shu at SCP-3480.