Leo met the truck owner at a nearby construction site where he believed there were no cameras.
The truck owner did not say much. He deliberately left some of his personal belongings and a bit of cash inside the truck before handing it over to Leo.
Before taking the truck, Leo noticed that the bank IBAN he had received belonged to an overseas bank, and he looked at the truck owner in surprise.
Given how unlikely it was to prepare something so detailed in such a short amount of time, it was clear that this plain-looking man had his hands in some shady business.
Leo did not think too much about it. After all, he had an ability called Eyes of Fear.
With this ability, he possessed combat power comparable to someone who constantly carried a weapon.
The moment Leo got into the truck, a sense of familiarity suddenly spread throughout his entire body.
Racer Level 3 was apparently a passive skill that also activated while driving a truck.
With a relaxed attitude, Leo drove the truck out of the construction site in one smooth motion.
After a five-minute drive, he turned off the truck's lights and entered a side street. Shortly after, Leo backed the truck up to the entrance of his grocery store, got out of the vehicle, and went inside.
After thinking for a while, Leo decided that there was nothing left for him to do and called out to the system.
[Connection established]
...
At the same moment, an SCP Foundation employee who was observing Leo from a distant building using infrared vision suddenly could not see anything anymore.
Within the field of view made up only of red and blue, a black area abruptly appeared.
The younger Foundation employee, shocked, told the other worker behind him, who was smoking a cigarette while reading a book, what he had seen.
Although everything returned to normal a few seconds later, the details of the abnormal situation that had just occurred were reported to the foundation headquarters.
Normally, decisions regarding SCP-0004 were made directly by the Council, but this time, the Council members, who were holding an online meeting from different countries, glanced at the incoming report and tossed it aside.
The only person who looked at the report for more than a few seconds was Miss 03, but even she could not afford to think about it at that moment.
Right now, everyone was facing a far more serious problem.
In a village located between Czechoslovakia and Germany, a disease known as the Purple Plague had begun to spread.
Because the hospital's research results related to the disease were incomprehensible, the German government reported the incident to the SCP Foundation.
The Foundation established a research base at the Czechoslovakian border to quarantine everyone involved and placed all patients there under isolation.
The problem emerged exactly one month later.
All personnel assigned to investigate this incident, which had been filed as SCP-700, suddenly began showing symptoms of the disease.
As a result, the entire research facility was placed under quarantine.
In an emergency meeting, the Council gathered and raised SCP-700's danger level to A, one step below the maximum level.
What was worse happened last night.
Just as the Council members were debating whether or not to destroy the entire quarantine zone, Mr 01 suddenly began coughing up blood.
Within an hour, Council members 01, 02, and 03 all began showing symptoms of the disease at the same time.
And that was not all. Reports of the Purple Plague symptoms began pouring in simultaneously from high-ranking officials across multiple research facilities.
Among the Council members, 04 and 05 were still in good condition, but every member of the Council was drenched in sweat.
The fact that the disease was appearing specifically among the upper ranks of the SCP Foundation caused a terrifying possibility to surface in their minds.
A possibility so dreadful that no one dared to voice it aloud.
Mr 01, sweating heavily, looked at the file lying on his desk.
...
File name: SCP-700
Threat level: S
Anomaly type: Abnormal microorganism-?
Known rules: Individuals affected by the virus exhibit plague-like symptoms. The method of transmission is unknown. All fatal cases involve individuals with low health levels.
Identities of deceased civilians: ****************
Virus carriers: ****************
Observed symptoms: ****************
Important information: the first location where the anomaly appeared is the Ore Mountains on the border between Germany and Czechoslovakia.
...
For the first time in his life, Mr 01 felt frightened and helpless.
When he remembered that just one night ago, his biggest problem had been a child capable of manipulating luck, he smiled bitterly.
At that moment, Miss 03's voice came through from the computer screen in front of him.
"It looks like there is nothing we can do here. I suggest that we send all information regarding SCP-700 to the world leaders and move to Czechoslovakia together with all infected Foundation personnel to conduct further research."
Hearing this, Mr 01 pulled himself together and began to think rationally.
Right now, the most important issue was not whether he would die at the hands of this virus or not, nor even whether the virus was being deliberately manipulated. The most important question was how to stop its spread.
"Miss 03, immediately gather all research personnel and do everything you can to find out how the virus spreads."
"For that, I will need human test subjects."
"You may use all Foundation employees who have been infected by the virus."
"In that case, I think I will take this opportunity to bring up the matter I mentioned before you again."
Mr 01 lowered his head, thinking with a headache.
In the end, he gave up.
"Mr 04, contact all countries around the world and tell them to hand over their death row inmates to us."
"I do not think they will agree, sir. If death row inmates suddenly disappear, the public will grow suspicious, and no country would welcome that. With the exception of some oppressive regimes like North Korea, China, or Russia, I doubt any country will accept this proposal."
"Then convince them first, and after that, use them to force the others. That's your job, not mine. I will not repeat myself again."