10 Unveiling Fire: The Burning Man

Noah felt a bit embarrassed and touched his nose bridge.

After containing SCP-096, his physical abilities improved significantly. This sudden surge in power was manageable under normal circumstances, but when his emotions got excited, he did tend to exert excessive force.

"Sure! You can teach me some combat techniques."

Noah nodded and accepted Black Widow's proposal.

Although combat techniques and flashy moves might become less useful once you reach a certain level of strength, he wasn't powerful enough yet to overlook the importance of combat skills.

Some combat techniques were still necessary.

While getting dressed, Noah gave an order, "By the way, call Skye as well!"

He intended to groom Skye as a key member of the foundation. After all, Skye wasn't the kind of person to be taken lightly, and her values were aligned. Moreover, with her future potential and formidable strength, she indeed had great development prospects.

In terms of value alone, Skye surpassed Coulson by a wide margin.

After having breakfast together, the three of them entered the training room in the basement of the villa.

The old butler watched their backs with satisfaction.

"Master Noah has finally made progress! I knew it, which young man isn't interested in the opposite sex?"

In the training room, Natasha, dressed as an instructor, stood solemnly in front of the two, saying, "First, Sir, your physical abilities already far exceed those of normal humans. So what you need to do now is to calm your mind and control your power."

"Well, since you're the instructor, you have the final say!"

Noah surrendered.

After finishing with Noah, Natasha shifted her gaze to Skye, who was standing nearby.

"Skye, you'll train with me first. Let's start by improving your physical abilities, and then we'll focus on combat techniques."

.......

During these three days, Noah made significant progress. Lying on the sofa, he stared blankly at the ceiling.

He felt that if he remained idle any longer, he would waste away.

Currently, he had over 800,000 SP, but he still needed over 200,000 more to summon SCP-662, the Butler Bell.

Noah really wanted to release SCP-096 again to earn more SP, but since SCP-096 had already been contained, causing trouble outside would be like hitting himself in the face.

After much consideration, Noah decided to test his luck in this world once again.

If luck was bad and he ended up summoning an SCP capable of destroying the world, then it could only be attributed to this world's poor luck.

With this thought in mind, Noah silently said in his heart, "System, conduct two random summonings."

[Ding~ Congratulations, host, on successfully summoning SCP-458, the Infinite Pizza Box! Please contain it as soon as possible.]

[Ding~ SCP-457, The Burning Man! Please contain it as soon as possible!]

Hearing the numbers not matching those impressive world-ending entities he remembered, Noah secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

457 and 458?

Those numbers are quite close!

"I remember SCP-457, The Burning Man, its danger level shouldn't be too high, right?"

Noah squinted as he pondered.

Among the Foundation's SCPs numbering close to ten thousand, apart from the famous and incredibly powerful ones, Noah only remembered a few particularly interesting ones.

He had some vague impressions of the others, but they weren't very deep.

For example, he had no knowledge of the specifics of SCP-457, The Burning Man, this time.

Compared to SCP-457, Noah was more familiar with SCP-458, the Infinite Pizza Box.

After all, among the SCPs, it was one of the few that posed no danger.

Like its name suggests, SCP-458, the Infinite Pizza Box, was a pizza box that could continuously provide pizza. Other than that, it had no special features.

[Ding~ Congratulations, host, on acquiring a large-scale base (capacity of 10,000 people, equipped with a nuclear weapons arsenal capable of destroying a country, 20 artificial satellites, an independent satellite communication system, and a weather manipulation weapon, along with one S-Class doctor), and 100,000 Foundation firefighters]

[Ding~ Congratulations, host, on obtaining an excellent pizza cutter.]

Noah: "???"

The difference in rewards before and after is too significant!

They can't be compared at all!

Wait a minute!

Suddenly, Noah realized something very serious and terrifying.

The pre-reward the system sent was based on the strength of the SCP.

If the pre-reward for SCP-457, The Burning Man, is so generous, doesn't that mean SCP-457 is even more dangerous?

Just thinking about how SCP-096, which only caused casualties in the thousands, nearly left a significant mark on human disaster history.

Now it's directly rewarding a high-level base, plus 100,000 firefighters.

In that moment, Noah, who had regained his senses, fell off the sofa.

While SCP-096 was eerie, it only caused harm to individuals.

But SCP-457 was different.

From its name alone, Noah could roughly guess that its abilities were definitely related to fire.

Fire-related and highly dangerous—under these two conditions, if SCP-457 didn't cause widespread damage, he wouldn't believe it even if you killed him.

Right...

Information!

"System, retrieve the information on SCP-457, The Burning Man"

[Ding~ it will consume 10,000 SP to view the basic information on SCP-457, The Burning Man]

"Take it"

Noah urged the system frantically in his mind.

Soon, the system panel displayed the description of The Burning Man.

[SCP-457 appears as a sentient being composed of flames. The specific composition of SCP-457 is still unknown. Its structure has been confirmed to be invisible and cannot be detected by any known means. It takes on a human-like form when provided with sufficient fuel, usually manifesting as a flame.

In this basic form, SCP-457 possesses only the most rudimentary abilities, not much different from other flames. However, it tends to suddenly burst into flames to burn human hands and 'jump' to more flammable substances or other flames, assimilating them to evolve into its complete form.

As SCP-457 grows stronger, it can assume various forms, increasing in size and acquiring more fuel, leading to higher intelligence.

The method by which SCP-457 gains sentience is still unknown, but when it can assume a humanoid form, it usually maintains the shape of a flame-formed humanoid.

It has been observed that SCP-457 can burn text onto walls or other surfaces to communicate and can 'speak' using high-temperature, high-pressure air and flame bursts, although it rarely does so.

Once SCP-457 reaches an unknown threshold in size and acquired fuel, it will split into two new entities, and this cycle continues.

However, the individual entities of SCP-457 harbor deep animosity towards each other and will try to burn or extinguish the other entities. This behavior becomes more prominent when fuel availability is limited.]

After reading the system's provided description, Noah was in complete shock.

This wasn't just a SCP; it was a freaking race evolution!

The characteristic of infinite growth, and once it reaches a certain level, it splits. Noah had no doubt about the danger of this thing.

SCP-457 reminded Noah of someone in the Marvel Universe—Surtur!

The terrifying existence that destroyed Asgard.

Although SCP-457's power might not match Surtur's after obtaining the Eternal Flame, its threat to the weak human race surpassed Surtur's.

Not to mention the fact that SCP-457 had a particularly terrifying feature—the infinite growth characteristic!

Apart from the SCPs with divine powers, the ones Noah feared the most were those with this characteristic.

Many excellent villains in novels were killed by being undermined by this characteristic.

Allowing the protagonist to grow freely in the early stages and then being overthrown by the protagonist when they grow strong.

This plot, Noah, who had read thousands of novels, was extremely familiar with.

Damn it!

He actually automatically assumed the role of a villain. There's definitely something wrong with his mindset.

After adjusting his mindset, Noah didn't immediately take action.

Although SCP-457's infinite growth characteristic was terrifying, it wouldn't grow completely out of control in an instant.

For now, the most important thing was to go and see the newly summoned Foundation base.

A large-scale base, equipped with a weather manipulation weapon. It should be specifically prepared to contain SCP-457.

This was the first time he received such a reward, and its richness was beyond imagination.

"Skye, Natasha! Pack up and get ready. We're going out later."

Noah shouted loudly towards the two women who were showering in the bathroom.

.......

The newly summoned Foundation large-scale base was located in New Mexico, different from the purely underground bases in New York.

The large-scale base was divided into two halves: the surface and the underground. The surface half of the base consisted of 40% dedicated to the weather manipulation weapon.

After arranging a private plane from the New York base, Noah flew to the New Mexico base with Skye and Natasha.

On the plane, Skye excitedly looked at the clouds outside and turned into a series of questions: "Is the New Mexico base big? Do we have to participate in training once we get there? Will I receive more specialized agent training? I feel like..."

This time, Noah didn't bring Coulson and May, his two lackeys.

On the one hand, it was because this base had a weather manipulation weapon, and if S.H.I.E.L.D. caught wind of it, it could cause a lot of trouble.

Unless necessary, he really didn't want to lose S.H.I.E.L.D., his "free points."

On the other hand, it was also a test for Natasha.

He wanted to know how loyal this woman was to S.H.I.E.L.D., and if she would betray him for the sake of the organization.

Although human nature is susceptible to temptation, out of possessiveness, Noah still proceeded with his plan.

"This base... seems even bigger than New York!"

On the plane, Natasha looked down at the base below and said from a high vantage point.

"Could this be the Foundation's headquarters?"

Natasha pretended to be surprised and tested Noah.

Noah denied, "No, the New Mexico base is just a slightly larger branch base."

As a former hacker, Skye looked excitedly at the base below and exclaimed, "If even the branch bases are this big, I don't believe it when you say the Foundation has no official backing!"

Skye had her reasons for saying so. To establish such a massive base in this place, it wouldn't be possible without official backing.

Skye didn't know that the process of creating this large-scale base was straightforward—it simply went from nothing to something.

Upon hearing Skye's words, Noah began to contemplate.

With the Foundation's increasing number of bases, he realized that they needed to find a way to legitimize the organization.

A massive organization that relied on human resources couldn't exist independently of or above humans.

Politics is an art of compromise.

But Noah didn't want to compromise. After all, the Foundation had too many hidden secrets, and if they had any interaction or cooperation with the authorities, it would inevitably expose many problems.

"No! The Foundation must possess weapons capable of threatening the world, even the entire universe. Only then can we gain an advantage in future cooperation and negotiations!"

Noah thought firmly.

If they didn't want to compromise, there was another way—threat!

As long as they possessed enough deterrent power, they could force the other party to continuously compromise.

After getting off the plane, a middle-aged man with a physique comparable to Sylvester Stallone stood on the tarmac. As soon as he saw Noah, he immediately stepped forward to greet him respectfully, "Sir, welcome. I am Dr S96!"

Looking at this doctor summoned by him, Noah's eyes showed a strange expression.

He found that all the top-level doctors he summoned were a bit off.

Doctor S46, who was par with Black Widow in terms of appearance and physique, and Doctor S96, a muscular man who could rival Sylvester Stallone.

What kind of freaks were they!

Were all Foundation doctors like this?

"Hello, Doctor!"

Although he felt quite strange, Noah politely reached out his hand and shook hands with him.

However, as soon as they shook hands, Noah felt even more weird.

The doctor's hand was too strong, especially his arm, which was almost as thick as Natasha's thigh.

After chatting for a while, Doctor S96 led the way.

"Oh, by the way, our base recently acquired something very interesting, also a SCP, but different from the regular ones."

Hearing Doctor S96's words, Natasha was once again speechless and very curious.

"SCPs can be normal? That's really rare!"

"And different from regular SCPs," she added. It was quite sudden.

Soon, the group arrived at the cafeteria of the base, and they stopped at a particular serving window.

There were no staff at the serving window, only a pizza box placed on top.

Seeing the pizza box in front of them, Natasha, as the assistant, reminded, "Um... we just had breakfast, so maybe we can eat lunch later."

"Hahaha! I didn't call you here to eat, but to show you something special," Dr. S96 said with a cheerful smile, holding the pizza box.

"The Infinite Pizza Box, a SCP that doesn't require containment. Its danger level is almost zero. Its special ability, just like its name suggests, is the ability to generate an infinite number of pizzas."

"The flavor of the pizzas produced by the Infinite Pizza Box is determined by the person interacting with it. Now, the Infinite Pizza Box has become a part of our base cafeteria."

Although Noah already knew the approximate abilities of the Infinite Pizza Box, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed.

Such a normal SCP that wouldn't bring any negative consequences was considered abnormal within the Foundation.

"Is it really that amazing? Can I try it?" Skye eagerly looked at the pizza box in front of her.

"Of course!" Dr. S96 nodded and handed the Infinite Pizza Box to Skye.

"I want a banana sausage pizza!" Skye excitedly held the box and murmured.

After murmuring, Skye eagerly opened the pizza box, only to find a banana sausage pizza neatly placed inside, with steam rising from it, as if it had just come out of the oven.

"Oh my gosh! It really works! This is incredible!" Skye screamed while holding the hot pizza.

Natasha, standing beside her, also curiously looked at the Infinite Pizza Box.

It seemed that not all SCPs were dangerous. She wondered how many harmless SCPs the Foundation had.

Natasha silently pondered in her heart.

If possible, she hoped that most SCPs were harmless like the Infinite Pizza Box. But she also knew that this was just wishful thinking.

After all, the doctor said that harmless SCPs were abnormal within the Foundation and were extremely rare.

Looking at the SCP in front of him, Noah also felt speechless.

He didn't expect this thing to be so low in prestige. It appeared in the Foundation base without him actively searching for it.

This was definitely the easiest containment he had encountered, and it didn't even have any threshold requirements.

After retrieving the Infinite Pizza Box from the containment space, Noah directly placed it inside the containment area.

[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for successfully containing the Infinite Pizza Box!]

[Ding~ Congratulations to the host for gaining the ability: Infinite creation of pizzas (the flavor of the pizzas can be determined by the user).]

Is that it?

Noah's face darkened.

This was definitely the cheapest containment he had done. There was only one reward, and not even a card or any additional rewards were mentioned.

Infinite creation of pizzas?

What use could I have for this?

Become a flying pizza man on the streets of New York?

Or open a pizza shop?

Feeling too exhausted to even complain, Noah took the Infinite Pizza Box out of the containment space and returned it to Dr. S96.

There was no practical use for keeping this thing by his side. It was better to leave it here to save on living expenses for the New Mexico base.

When they were about to leave the cafeteria, Skye looked reluctantly at the window of the cafeteria.

It could be seen that Skye was quite attached to the Infinite Pizza Box.

Skye had lived a nomadic life before and had experienced hunger many times. So, SCP 458 was definitely a top-tier artifact in her eyes.

After leaving the cafeteria, the group went to the command center of the base.

"Sir, here is the list of SCPs we recently acquired."

"SCP MC-24: Thor's Hammer. It currently exhibits the ability of being unmovable. The Foundation attempted to move it using a crane but was unsuccessful."

"Containment recommendation: Establish a small containment facility at the location of the Thor's Hammer for on-site containment."

"SCP MC-25: Extraterrestrial Visitor. Similar to SCP MC-24, it descended with a colorful light. This man claims to be the God of Thunder and demonstrates the ability to withstand more blows than an average person."

"Containment recommendation: Personnel can directly subdue and bring him back to Foundation headquarters for containment."

"Thor storyline has already begun?"

Looking at the information in his hand, Noah raised an eyebrow.

Compared to Thor, he was currently more interested in his Hammer.

"Where is Thor's Hammer? Can you take me to see it?"

"Sure, do you want to go now?"

"Yes, let's go now!"

Dr. S96 did not accompany Noah; instead, he called a Foundation operative.

"Reporting to Commander, I'm 7744!"

7744 was a middle-aged Asian man with a serious and no-nonsense military appearance.

Driving a military Hummer, the group took about an hour to reach their destination.

Perhaps because Thor's Hammer had just descended, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't reacted yet, so the area was not under strict control. Many ordinary people were trying to lift the Hammer.

A group of idle civilians, curious about the hammer they couldn't lift, had even organized an unofficial contest without any rewards.

"This hammer is definitely an alien weapon! It has a genetic recognition system, and only aliens can lift it!"

"Nonsense! This thing clearly fell from a god, only he can lift it!"

"In my opinion..."

"The plot development feels off," Noah calmly stated as he led the two women through the crowd, looking at Thor's Hammer with confusion.

According to the original storyline, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s response shouldn't have been so slow. After all, when the Bifrost Bridge opens, there would be a huge energy reaction that S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't possibly miss.

Noah glanced at Natasha, hoping to get an answer from her.

As top agents who knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, Natasha immediately noticed Noah's confusion.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. issued new orders to avoid interference from the Foundation as much as possible and give Coulson the opportunity to shine."

Noah: "..."

Was S.H.I.E.L.D. really being so considerate?

Did HYDRA not have any objections?

Natasha, acting as a wise advisor, suggested, "If possible, I recommend you call Coulson over. With him here, the Foundation's operations should go much smoother."

This was the first time Black Widow didn't conceal her identity and dropped her disguise in front of Noah.

Noah was extremely satisfied with this response and outcome.

"Can't you handle it here?" Noah asked in response.

"I can't! After all... I joined S.H.I.E.L.D. halfway through. The reason I became a Level 8 agent is because of my abilities, not loyalty," Black Widow shook her head.

Noah understood and nodded.

In an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow, who joined halfway through, becoming a Level 8 agent was already considered a miracle.

"In that case, call Coulson and ask him to come and oversee the containment of SCP MC-24: Thor's Hammer."

Noah did not reject Natasha's suggestion.

After arriving in front of Thor's Hammer, Noah looked at the hammer in the pit, hesitating.

Should he take the risk and temporarily contain Thor's Hammer? Would Odin come down to confront him?

Weighing the risks, Noah decided to take the risk.

As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.

He was just containing it temporarily, and he could release it later. Odin, with his power and responsibilities, shouldn't mind, right?

"Ancient One, please help!"

After silently praying in his heart, Noah slowly reached out his hand toward the Hammer.

As for why he prayed to the Ancient One?

Did the Ancient One seem more reliable than God when it came to resisting extradimensional entities?

Thinking of a variant of Natasha in another universe who had once lifted Mjolnir, Noah paused and turned to Black Widow beside him, asking, "Natasha, do you want to give it a try and see if you can lift it?"

"Me?" Natasha pointed at herself in astonishment.

"Forget it, I'm not interested in this thing. It's something that can't be lifted even with a crane. How could I lift it?" Natasha refused.

Encouraged by Noah, she said, "Give it a try, anyway, there's nothing to lose."

Under Noah's encouragement, Natasha finally reached out her hand toward Thor's Hammer.

Natasha grasped the handle of the hammer and exerted force, causing the Thor's Hammer to actually move slightly.

What did this mean?

It meant that in this universe, Natasha was also worthy of lifting Thor's Hammer. She just didn't currently have the worthiness.

Just like Captain America, he only lifted Mjolnir during the final battle.

After several attempts without success, Natasha smiled wryly and said, "See, I told you I couldn't lift it."

"Indeed, you still can't lift it," Noah nodded.

Then, he also reached out his hand towards the handle of the Hammer.

He exerted a little force.

The Hammer didn't budge.

"This damn hammer!" Noah grumbled unhappily.

But he was mentally prepared for this result.

If someone like him could lift Thor's Hammer, it would be a huge insult to Captain America and Natasha.

What kind of person was he inside? He had some self-awareness now.

Before his transmigration, he was a good young man who had nothing to do with gambling or drugs. But after the transmigration, due to the influence of the broken system, he had dabbled in gambling, and he even gambled with the entire world.

He had two out of the three things that could ruin a person's character, so how could he lift Thor's Hammer?

Not to mention lifting the hammer, it required both worthiness and a spirit of guardianship and dedication.

He had neither...

"So what if I can't lift it? You still have to listen to me!" Noah said evilly as he contained Thor's Hammer in his containment space.

[Ding~ Congratulations on successfully containing SCP MC-24: Thor's Hammer]

[Ding~ Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the rune 'Thunder' (with this rune, you can wield the power to control lightning, convert dark energy into lightning, and be immune to lightning attacks that exceed the authority of the 'Thunder' rune)]

[Ding~ Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the authority to control SCP MC-24: Thor's Hammer]

Listening to the system's notifications, Noah laughed loudly with excitement.

"Hahaha! I knew it! Thor, your hammer is great, but now it will listen to me!"