I Became a Mad Scientist for the Foundation

Episode 200. Monkey Spanner (1)

Lee Se-ah, this idiot…

[Oh, it’s not dead.]

“No, would they send a monster that could die from one shot of a recoilless rifle charging into the Foundation facility?”

A mysterious full moon suddenly appeared in the Garden’s sky, opening its grotesque eyes. Beneath it, a bizarre moonlight monster emerged.

The monster didn’t seem hurt by the recoilless rifle and was slowly looking around, like someone spotting a passing mosquito.

Lee Se-ah… just threw it away!

I folded my Clockwork Wings, wrapped myself in the Invisibility Cloak, and moved away. The terror from the moon would be Lee Se-ah’s problem to handle.

Right now, I needed to find the attackers.

Assuming the attackers were the Foundation’s Special Forces or Fixers. It would be too hard to pull this off from outside the Garden, so they must be hiding inside…

If the enemies were hiding deep in the Garden’s tropical rainforest, finding them wouldn’t be easy.

They might be expecting the moon monster and beasts to destroy the facility. Anyway, if I find the summoners, the fight would end.

What should I do to find them?

One thing I’ve definitely learned over the past few days:

There’s always a countermeasure. If it’s something done by humans, there’s a human weakness; if not, there’s still a weakness.

Acasia, who commanded thousands of soldiers, fleets, and paratroopers, died when her soldiers were paralyzed by chaos and fear.

The rulers of Beijing, who prided themselves on systematic bureaucracy and disciplined armies, quietly accepted the rise of a new emperor due to their lack of conviction and inability to make independent decisions.

Pixel, who relied on machines to eliminate human weaknesses, was quickly defeated when the machines’ weaknesses were exposed.

There’s always a countermeasure.

Remember the Foundation’s policy: always prepare three solutions for every problem. Stay calm and think strategically…

I tapped my helmet’s radio. No Geiger counter needed. The radio was already buzzing with electromagnetic noise.

“This is Gold-1. Command Center, respond.”

[This is Garden Command Center. Restoring communication as much as possible. It may not be stable.]

As long as I could connect, it was fine.

“Evacuate the ground floor as much as possible, and maintain the strategy of preventing enemies from entering the facility. Multiple unidentified biological entities are approaching the facility.”

[Understood.]

“Type Black, one Divine-Class Entity is holding its ground in front of the facility. Multiple monsters are approaching. Please assess if troops can be deployed outside the facility.”

I didn’t feel good about this.

In this chaotic battle, if soldiers went outside the facility, some of our side would definitely die. The people in the Garden now are just the facility’s security team, not the Special Forces.

I sighed.

“Tracking the enemy.”

[This is Command Center. We’ll provide maximum support as facility functions are restored. Deploying the security team to the field outside the facility now.]

“Thank you.”

This bought us time, but I needed to eliminate the Special Forces infiltrating the Garden. Let’s think. There probably aren’t many infiltrators.

At most, one or two Special Forces teams.

“Ah…”

Trees. If the enemies wanted to observe and hide, they’d naturally be hiding in the trees, looking down at the situation.

I hid among the leaves and looked around. There were hardly any trees tall enough to overlook the facility. We’d cut down most of the big ones.

The Garden’s trees grow too fast, so some new ones are unavoidable. But anyway, there are only a few big trees where enemies could hide.

I held the monkey spanner, wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak, and slowly scanned the area.

Let’s see.

As I thought, one enemy Special Forces team was sitting on a giant tree branch, waiting. They were staring at the facility like they were watching a show.

These are the guys who used tactical nukes in a family feud? I slowly and quietly surveyed the area.

The enemy Special Forces were spread out as per their operation manual. Only one branch had two people sitting on it.

The Invisibility Cloak has optical properties, but its anti-memetic cognitive disaster feature is much stronger.

These guys were completely focused on the nuclear explosion at the facility, the moon with its open eyes, and the Divine-Class Entity. That’s one of magic’s weaknesses.

Dr. Chae said it. All magic comes with a price. Something that can divert the enemy’s gaze, change the weather, or alter the sky’s color.

Magic that’s unimaginably large and flashy naturally comes with a huge price.

One of them is this.

I looked at the Special Forces members sitting on the branch ahead. They were chatting, unaware of my presence. One was wearing a gas mask but no helmet.

Clang!

I smashed one Special Forces member’s helmet with the monkey spanner and kicked them off the branch.

The second one turned their head toward me but also got hit with the monkey spanner and fell from the tree. Now the enemy knew my identity. I unfolded my Clockwork Wings.

“Enemy attack!”

Yeah.

An enemy attack. One Special Forces member shouted, but two were already dead or incapacitated. I set off smoke grenades and hid—

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire. Seriously, aren’t you supposed to be witches?

Most of the Walpurgis Special Forces wore robes over protective suits and carried staffs like witches, but if they see an enemy, they shoot first. Probably a Foundation-wide thing.

High ground isn’t always advantageous. Tree branches limit vision and don’t provide meaningful cover from bullets. On the other hand, tree trunks can block bullets.

I set off a few more smoke grenades and hid among the trees. Their target is me anyway. Now they’ll chase me.

I picked up my gun.

Bang!

The bullet hit near the enemy, but a blue flash suggested it hit some kind of defensive magic circle. I moved positions.

The enemies didn’t come down from the trees. They must think the high ground is advantageous. Well, wouldn’t it be better for them to come down?

I don’t know.

Special Forces Walpurgis. Presumably, a Special Forces team entirely composed of witches. Not sure if it’s all of them, but there are definitely many witches.

I already smashed two heads, but six remain. There might be more, but I’ve only seen six so far.

I can’t expect reinforcements. But the enemy’s resources are also being consumed fighting the facility.

Now—

Boom! A fireball exploded near me. I set off another smoke grenade and hid. A sense of unease began spreading around.

Like when fighting Paint or Silver, they must’ve warped space using magical means. I won’t be able to leave until the fight’s over…

Reinforcements won’t arrive either.

“Earth of Ymir!”

Ah.

I spread my wings and lifted off the ground just as the ground beneath me collapsed. Trees fell into the newly formed sinkhole.

Dizzying.

Fireballs fell around me, the ground collapsed, and trees bent to grab me.

Damn, I should’ve brought Dr. Chae. Even with wings, dodging this barrage of attacks wasn’t easy.

“Popo! Go attack!”

The Popos charged, but it didn’t seem like they could kill the witches. Still, they could divert the enemies’ attention, right?

Now, let’s start the main game. I have a supernatural phenomenon I brought from the Peacekeeping Force facility.

Supernatural Phenomenon O-1502, Crab Arm.

A mechanical gauntlet made of steel, equipped on the hand, allows telekinetic control over objects within line of sight.

The downside is you need clear visual contact. Huh, wait. Clear visual contact… Might be harder than I thought.

Let’s try it.

I aimed the gauntlet into the air.

Boom! The tree visible between the mechanical pincers shattered. The movement wasn’t precise due to the weather, but the raw physical force was insane.

“Fog of Oblivion.”

As expected, they’re quick. Realizing I need clear sight to use the arm, they immediately blocked my vision with black fog.

I moved positions.

Boom! Boom!

I activated the gauntlet again, and the trees visible through the black fog shattered. Wood splinters and leaves scattered everywhere.

Boom!

This time, I picked up a rock from the ground and threw it toward the enemy. Dust flew everywhere as the rock slowly flew.

Another heavy sound of stone breaking.

The enemy Special Forces made a mistake.

Six mages could attack from a distance, but they gave up their overwhelmingly advantageous position and blocked their own vision, fearing the supernatural phenomenon…

The tide has turned. The enemy stepped into their own trap. The initiative is now mine. I put the Crab Arm back into the Subspace Bag. What I need now isn’t a large-scale supernatural phenomenon but a compact close-combat weapon.

I gripped the monkey spanner tightly and charged toward where the enemy had been.

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