Anomalous Item-682 (The Hard-to-Destroy Reptile), like Anomalous Item-173 (The Sculpture) and Anomalous Item-076 (Abel), was one of the most infamous anomalies in the Foundation.
Anyone who had heard of the Anomalous Item Foundation would recognize these three.
SCP-173 set the tone for the Foundation—the weirder, the better.
Meanwhile, 682 and Abel represented the pinnacle of defensive and offensive capabilities among anomalies.
After them, creators tried to outdo each other with increasingly world-ending threats, but in Luo Shu's current anomalous world, apocalyptic-level anomalies were exceedingly rare—the power ceiling was capped at Tier-4.
Thus, 682's indestructibility became the ultimate benchmark for defensive and regenerative abilities in this world.
During his last visit to Area-14, Luo Shu had been itching to log 682, but the opportunity never arose.
At first, he didn't even know 682 was contained in Area-14.
Later, after learning about it from the mainframe system, he was stuck in Area-51.
The drive from Area-51 to Area-14's containment zone took over two hours—and at the time, Barbie had been breathing down his neck, making it impossible to move undetected.
But now?
Barbie was busy being led on a wild goose chase by the Chaos Insurgency across the continent, completely unaware that Luo Shu had doubled back to Area-14 for 682.
Meanwhile, "Him" was frantically searching for the missing Anomalous Item-196, leaving no one free to interfere.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Soon, Luo Shu drove through Area-51's logistics hub, entering the passage leading to the Keter containment zone.
The long, straight road to Ruby Mountain was deserted at night, allowing the Transformer pickup to activate its second-stage transformation, cruising at high speed as a ground-effect vehicle.
In less than half an hour, Luo Shu had traversed over 200 km, arriving at the real Area-14.
Anomalous Item-682 lay in the deepest part of the containment zone.
Area-14 was just as he remembered—vast, cavernous, and eerily silent.
Only the Peterbilt 389 heavy trucks bustled back and forth, transporting reinforced steel plates for maintaining The Dark Heart's Unit.
The Dark Heart seemed to still be in its cycle of sleep and rage.
Had Fernand grown tired of his life as the King of France?
Was The Thousand-Mawed Beast still waiting for Luo Shu to release it?
Was Peter, the helicopter squadron commander of MTF Omega-7, doing well?
Though Luo Shu might never see these old friends again, he wouldn't forget them—they were important figures in his life.
His sudden sentimentality came from an impending milestone.
In just a little while, it would be June 13th—his birthday.
He was growing older, another year of life slipping away.
Whether he was just a character in some story or not, in this moment, he felt his own existence had meaning.
Even if he couldn't live entirely by his own will, what mattered was that he found purpose in living.
To live was to seek meaning, goals, and value—otherwise, what difference did it make if his fate was predetermined or not?
The thought that 682 might hold the key to this world's greatest secret made Luo Shu's heart race.
But he pressed forward without hesitation, moving closer and closer—
Until the Transformer pickup stopped before a massive door.
This was the thickest door Luo Shu had seen across nearly ten Foundation sites.
A solid steel blast door, thicker than the Federal Reserve's underground vault, embedded in over ten meters of bedrock.
For fifty kilometers in every direction, there were no other Units—this was 682's private suite.
Such treatment was well-deserved for the infamous Hard-to-Destroy Reptile.
To date, it had attempted containment breach 17 times, succeeding 6 times.
For the Foundation, these 17 breaches were equivalent to 17 full-scale wars.
The Syrian Civil War, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, Kashmir clashes, the Crimean War, Gaza rocket attacks—none of these compared to the firepower the Foundation had unleashed on 682.
Forget conventional weapons—they'd even nuked 682 multiple times.
Some legends never die.
In fact, just a glance around revealed a heavy tank battalion stationed directly outside the Unit, along with a drone squadron.
These were the first line of defense against a potential breach—though they likely couldn't stop 682, their purpose was to slow it down, buying time for further countermeasures.
If you ever read stories where MTF Nu-7 tried stopping 682 with assault rifles, sorry—that version of the Hard-to-Destroy Reptile was either a knockoff or severely nerfed.
A Keter-class that could be hurt by rifle rounds?
If that were true, the Foundation might as well shut down.
Even a rhinoceros wouldn't go down that easily.
Area-14's official documentation explicitly stated:
Minimum requirement to pierce 682's hide: 155mm howitzer.
Recommended loadout: Tungsten or depleted uranium armor-piercing rounds.
Though Luo Shu was now just meters away from 682, several major obstacles remained:
How to enter the Unit without alerting the tank battalion?
The Area-14 system could open the door, but a blast door this thick would make one hell of a noise.
Even if the tanks couldn't see Luo Shu, they'd know something was wrong.
How to log 682 into the Anomalous Item Catalog?
Befriending 682?
Bold strategy. Let's see how that works out.
Luo Shu was a science prodigy, not a beast whisperer.
Releasing 682?
Bad idea.
The moment 682 stepped out, Luo Shu would face a barrage of tank shells.
Tungsten/uranium armor-piercing rounds would reduce him to paste in seconds.
What now?