Chapter 68 A Five-Star General? The Task Force Operator Who Stood Watch for Half a Century

[Ding! Esteemed Commander, you have revealed the existence of the Foundation and anomalies to the entire world, attracting the attention of human civilization.]

[Rumor Points obtained: 1,000,000.]

[Extra Item Capsules obtained: 10.]

Ethan’s smile widened when he saw the rewards.

As expected, educating human civilization about anomalies had earned him an enormous return.

He had received one million Rumor Points in a single stroke, along with a bonus ten-pull from the Extra Item Capsules.

He had struck it rich.

He truly had to thank the Chaos Insurgency and the Twelve Round Table Council for generating so much publicity.

Without the Council causing trouble, Ethan would never have found such a perfect opportunity to deliver a worldwide address.

If he had attempted the same global broadcast during peacetime, most people would probably have dismissed him as a clown and treated the whole thing as entertainment.

The circumstances were completely different now.

A biological crisis caused by a daughter strain of SCP-008 had nearly destroyed the United States—the most powerful nation in the public’s eyes.

Humanity was gripped by constant fear.

Only under these circumstances could Ethan openly reveal the Foundation and be taken seriously by the entire world.

One of humanity’s greatest flaws was its shortsightedness.

Without an immediate crisis, who would take a distant threat seriously?

Had this biological disaster never occurred, Ethan couldn’t possibly have earned so many Rumor Points.

Of course, Tony Stark had also contributed considerably to the broadcast’s success.

Without Stark Industries providing assistance, arranging a spectacle of that magnitude would have required far more effort.

Publicly revealing the Foundation technically contradicted its original principles.

The Foundation was supposed to conceal its existence indefinitely.

Whenever a catastrophic containment failure occurred, it would sooner detonate a nuclear weapon at the scene than allow evidence of its existence to survive.

However, this world faced far too many threats.

Keeping the Foundation hidden no longer served any purpose.

To protect human civilization, its existence had to become public.

Ethan had also begun to notice that the system seemed to be deliberately guiding him—or perhaps guiding the Foundation itself.

It appeared to be pushing the Foundation toward becoming the leader of human civilization, uniting humanity against threats from beyond its world.

Was the system doing this because a Marvel universe filled with anomalies was simply too dangerous?

Whatever the reason, the Foundation’s Mobile Task Forces were now ready for battle.

Division agents were fighting throughout the cities to reclaim their homes and restore their ordinary lives.

Ethan—the Foundation’s Supreme Commander and Director of the Strategic Homeland Division—would become the central figure guiding them.

Inside the studio where the broadcast had just ended, Miss 2B approached with an organized report on the latest developments.

She was currently serving as his temporary adjutant.

“Commander, the latest battlefield reports have been compiled.”

“The Hammer Down and Helljumpers Mobile Task Forces have completed deployment and are standing by for immediate mobilization.”

“The Strategic Homeland Division’s first wave of agents, totaling one hundred thousand personnel, has begun conducting stabilization operations and assisting the JTF in rebuilding safe zones throughout affected cities.”

“In priority areas—including New York, Los Santos, New Chicago, and Raccoon City—the first wave of agents has established preliminary safe zones and secured defensive footholds.”

After efficiently delivering the operational report, Miss 2B mentioned one final, seemingly unimportant matter.

“Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are waiting outside and have requested a meeting.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. agents?”

“Yes. One is an older man with a receding hairline who introduced himself as Coulson.”

Coulson?

A strange expression appeared on Ethan’s face.

He had heard plenty about Coulson—the man who seemed to serve as the friendly guide waiting in the starting area of every Marvel storyline.

Yet Ethan had never met him.

He had been in the Marvel universe for quite some time now.

He had already met Natasha, Skye, Tony, and numerous others.

Strangely enough, this was his first opportunity to meet Coulson.

Ethan had no idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. had already elevated its assessment of him to the highest possible level.

He had always assumed that his own presence remained relatively insignificant.

The Foundation’s Supreme Commander had essentially been shadowboxing against an imagined giant, unaware of how badly S.H.I.E.L.D. had declined.

It wasn’t entirely his fault.

After consuming so much Marvel media in his previous life, Ethan had naturally heard of the famous S.H.I.E.L.D.

Who could have expected the organization to be in such poor condition before the Avengers were even established?

It was already halfway to becoming HYDRA’s personal agency.

Since Coulson had come to him directly, Ethan readily accepted the meeting request.

“Let them in.”

Before long, Ethan immediately recognized Phil Coulson and Melinda May.

They looked almost exactly as they had in the television series *Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.*

Ethan adopted a polite American-style smile.

“Agents Coulson and May? Welcome.”

To Ethan, it was merely a diplomatic smile accompanied by a routine handshake.

However, he was no longer the powerless nobody who could be slaughtered at will inside Atala’s cave.

Ethan had become an enormously influential figure.

His identities as Supreme Commander of the Foundation and Director of the Strategic Homeland Division carried tremendous weight.

Even Coulson and Agent May felt honored by his personal reception.

Coulson first expressed his gratitude before carefully stating his purpose.

“Thank you for personally receiving us, Mr. Ethan.”

“I’m here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. to discuss possible cooperation with the Foundation.”

“May we take some of your time?”

Looking at the ever-polite Coulson behaving so cautiously, Ethan smiled.

“Of course, Agent Coulson.”

Miss 2B immediately interrupted him.

“My apologies, Commander, but the remainder of your schedule is already full.”

“Have you forgotten that you’re due to meet with the Strategic Homeland Division’s former director shortly?”

Ethan gave Coulson an apologetic look.

“Ah, my apologies, Agent Coulson. I forgot how crowded the rest of my schedule was.”

Coulson and May were already preparing themselves to leave disappointed when Ethan suddenly changed direction.

“Why don’t you and Agent May accompany me to meet the old gentleman?”

Their disappointment immediately vanished.

Coulson’s face lit up.

“Would that really be acceptable, Mr. Ethan?”

“Of course.”

“You’re a Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Agent Coulson. You possess the necessary clearance.”

Not long afterward, Ethan boarded a custom-built, extended Cadillac based on the president’s official vehicle.

The car cost $150 million and was reportedly capable of protecting its passengers from even a nuclear attack.

Its interior was extraordinarily spacious.

Although Coulson and May were senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, this was their first time riding in such a luxurious official vehicle.

They had Ethan to thank for the experience.

The car had been assigned specifically to the Director of the Strategic Homeland Division.

It even contained a small temperature-controlled wine cabinet.

Ethan casually removed a bottle of 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild and poured a glass for each of them.

Coulson and May were once again flattered by the gesture.

Ethan’s years of navigating social relationships had made him highly skilled at winning people over.

Strictly speaking, someone with his current identities and authority outranked even Nick Fury.

Yet a person of such status had personally poured wine for Coulson, a Level 8 agent—to say nothing of Agent May.

Neither had ever received such treatment.

They immediately concluded that Supreme Commander Ethan was remarkably approachable.

Powerful figures who treated others so graciously were rare.

Heavy snow had begun falling across Washington.

Military vehicles enforcing martial law lined the roads.

However, every heavily fortified checkpoint immediately opened when it saw the Strategic Homeland Division convoy approaching.

Wherever Ethan’s presidential-grade vehicle passed, American soldiers stood at attention and saluted.

The convoy soon arrived at an apparently ordinary farm outside Washington.

In reality, the property was under exceptionally tight security.

In addition to professional PMC guards, numerous active Strategic Homeland Division agents who had never entered dormancy protected the site.

Yet every checkpoint immediately opened for Ethan’s vehicle.

The Division agents watched the convoy with curiosity and anticipation, as though they were witnessing a sacred transfer of authority.

“Mr. Ethan? The former director has been awaiting your arrival. Please follow me.”

The moment Ethan stepped from the car, a beautiful female secretary in a tailored business suit approached and escorted the group into the farmhouse.

She eventually led them to a room that served as both a study and reception area.

A mounted deer’s head was the room’s most prominent decoration.

Beside it hung two flags.

One bore the insignia of the Strategic Homeland Division.

The other displayed the emblem of the Foundation.

An elderly man wearing the uniform of an American five-star general stood inside.

His hair was white, and deep wrinkles covered his face.

The instant he saw Ethan, the old man instinctively straightened his back and set aside his cane.

An attendant hurried forward to support him but was immediately pushed away.

Eyes glistening with emotion, the elderly general struggled forward and raised his right hand in salute.

“Mobile Task Force Alpha-1, Red Right Hand…”

“MTF operator 0596-1 salutes the Supreme Commander of the Foundation!”

“Mobile Task Force Alpha-1 has not yet completed its containment mission.”

“Operator 0596-1 requests permission to return to active duty and complete the final containment operation!”

Ethan remained silent for several moments.

Then he returned the salute and placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder.

“Supreme Commander of the Foundation acknowledges.”

“Operator 0596-1, permission granted to return to active duty and complete your final containment mission.”

The elderly man sighed, his expression filled with emotion and regret.

“Sixty years, Supreme Commander.”

“If you had waited much longer, these old bones of mine would already have been buried.”

“Thank you for standing watch alone for sixty years, General Ryan.”

“The Foundation is proud of you.”

“Don’t call me General, Commander.”

“I will always be a Mobile Task Force operator.”

“And I will always be a Third-Class Sergeant Major of the MTF.”

A Third-Class Sergeant Major?

That rank could only be earned by someone who had participated in at least ten containment operations and survived them all.

Even Ethan looked at him with newfound respect.

As expected of the eternally loyal Mobile Task Forces!

This was what true loyalty looked like.

Coulson and May stared at the scene in stunned silence.

Coulson’s mouth hung open wide enough to fit an apple.

Agent May quietly asked in disbelief, “Is that really General… General Ryan?”

“The legendary hero from World War II who fought beside Captain America?”

“Yes. It has to be General Ryan!”

“General Ryan was actually… a Foundation Mobile Task Force operator?”

“My God!”

The revelation was explosive.

The Strategic Homeland Division’s former director was the legendary General Ryan.

Even more astonishingly, the American five-star general had already been a Foundation Mobile Task Force operator sixty years ago!

Coulson and May had no idea how much weight the rank of Third-Class Sergeant Major carried among Mobile Task Force personnel.

Someone with that rank had repeatedly snatched lives from Death’s grasp, beaten Death senseless for good measure, and returned alive.

Such people were living legends.

No wonder General Ryan considered the titles of five-star general and Director of the Strategic Homeland Division unimportant.

Instead, he took immense pride in being a Third-Class Sergeant Major of the Mobile Task Forces.

The Strategic Homeland Division’s previous director was the famous General Ryan—one of the most influential figures in the American military.

Even General Shepherd had to take his words seriously.

Ethan finally understood why cooperation with the military had progressed so smoothly.

It was all because of this living fossil of an earlier era!