Chapter 161: How many people in the world have never encountered an anomaly

"I think that's a good question. I think when the Mangras build a planet, they should mix in No. 42 concrete, because it easily affects proton unfolding, you know? When you smash it in, it instantly generates a large amount of high-energy protein, commonly known as a supernova explosion..."

"At this rate, I'm afraid even a dog in this town will have a Foundation badge."

"I have a question: if a police officer and a fugitive both discover that the other has a Foundation badge, what happens next? Do they follow judicial procedures, or do they handle it directly according to Foundation regulations?"

"Let me state my identity first: intern at the Ten-Lords Commission of the Xianzhou 'Luo Fu'. Your question is very sharp. Essentially, it's a conflict between national judicial sovereignty and the Foundation's supra-national power. Ultimately, it depends on the relationship between the two sides... However, looking back from now, I guess it's judicial process first, then the Foundation takes over in secret."

"In this world, only taxes, death, and the Foundation are inevitable."

……

The scene shifts to a somewhat crude office.

The Foundation's icon hangs on the white wall, and the filing cabinet is stuffed with various document bags.

Behind an aged desk sits a lady of some years.

"……I am very sorry, but this is classified. Even I don't know."

Her name is Mu Ruyun, and she is a Site Director under the Foundation's C-Area.

Standing opposite the desk are five couples, ten people in total.

Yesterday, Yan Xiang Yang called his good brothers one by one and told them about his discovery.

Consequently, all the men revealed the secret to their wives after returning home.

At that time, they held an ID badge in one hand and amnestics in the other.

Fortunately, not a single pill was swallowed.

Unfortunately, not a single pill was swallowed.

Seeing that the Director did not want to violate Foundation rules, Pang Xiangrong's wife thought of a roundabout way:

"Alright, how many employees are in this site?"

Mu Ruyun shakes her head:

"I don't know."

Silence for a moment.

Yan Xiang Yang asks:

"How many people in our town work here?"

"I don't know."

Tian Yongan purses his lips, having figured out the crux:

"Please, Director Mu, we don't need an exact number."

He coaxes her.

"We just need a rough percentage."

"You can administer amnestics to us afterward. Aren't you even a little curious about such an astonishing coincidence?"

"Imagine, your children, your parents, after seeing a Foundation badge, show theirs to you..."

Mu Ruyun hesitates for a moment, blinking continuously.

After a painful struggle, she finally turns her gaze to the screen on the side, and after layer-by-layer unlocking, enters the personnel database.

She bypasses multiple firewalls preventing full access to the data and finds the number of staff members from the town.

Then she finds the total population of the area on the Statistics Bureau's official website.

She opens the calculator and divides the two results.

Then she falls into silence, like a plaster statue, staring at it.

Finally, the group approaches her desk to check the result she calculated.

0. **……

"How many people does the Foundation actually employ?"

This time it's her turn to ask the question.

……

"Lol, so this Director didn't even know how many people were under her command before?"

"Looks like most people in the Foundation don't draw a salary, otherwise this Director would definitely have a deep impression of it."

"I bet this Director's superior knows nothing about it either."

Qingque yawns, rubs her waist, and changes her posture.

She now envies the characters in the story:

"If you could get a salary without having to go to work or see your boss, and do whatever you want the rest of the time, that would be great."

Then, she chuckles, remembering the big hand she made today—"Dragon Seven Pairs."

……

The scene shifts to a luxurious yet simple conference room.

The Foundation's icon is projected onto the white wall, and below it is the Foundation's motto:

"We secure, we contain, we protect."

Around a round table sit several people, most of them wearing formal attire, with Foundation badges on their chests and corresponding nameplates in front of them.

But regardless of the badge or the nameplate, their real names are not written, nor is there a long string of numbers.

Instead, it starts with "O5", followed by a short hyphen as a connector, and then a small number.

For example, "O5-8", a woman who looks at least 50 years old.

"O5" refers to the O5 Council.

If you like, you can also give it another name, such as: "O5 Command", "Overseer", "Supervisor".

But no matter how the name changes, its essence always points to—the highest controllers of the Foundation below the Administrator.

Every O5 member knows almost everything about the Foundation and all its activities.

Added together, everyone knows every secret held by the Foundation except for those known only to the Administrator.

Most Foundation personnel never see them throughout their entire career. Personnel below Level 2 don't even know they exist. Most people outside the Foundation have never heard of them, or don't believe they really exist.

And in this conference room, there are several members of the O5 Council.

"8" refers to the seat, and can also be called "Number Eight".

A number does not correspond to a single person.

It is possible for multiple people to hold the same number designation simultaneously.

Among them, fake is true, true is fake, used to confuse potential enemies while also protecting themselves.

O5-8, a woman in her fifties.

She is holding the telephone receiver, frowning:

"……Tell the Director that the information is classified, just as she knows."

Then, she puts down the phone and looks at another member not far away.

"O5-4", this is his codename.

"What do you mean by saying we don't know either?"

O5-8's tone is full of disbelief.

This…… is too absurd.

As the highest authority of the Foundation, they actually have no way of knowing how many employees the Foundation has in total.

And this isn't some top-secret information; it doesn't involve memes, anti-memes, reality benders, or supreme divinity……

Why is it like this?

This situation generally means an organization would be infiltrated by opponents like a sieve.

"Well, you know how we work, Number Eight."

O5-4 shrugs and tries to put his feet on the conference table.

But under the pressure of others' gazes, he abandons this attempt.