Chapter 142 The Solution of 173

Carrying a paper cup around all the time was obviously inconvenient, so after Feng Bujue left the lounge, he headed straight for the stairwell.

Behind the open electronic door, Brother Jue didn't find SCP-173, but it looked like there were a few more corpses in the stairwell behind the door...

"Yo-ho~" Then, Feng Bujue shouted into the doorway as if he were calling a pet, and winked.

The next second, the massive figure of SCP-173 really did appear instantly before Brother Jue's eyes.

"Heh... great, I was worried you'd run off to another floor." Feng Bujue said in a relaxed tone, took half a step forward, and splashed the liquid in his hand onto 173.

He waited patiently for a full thirty seconds, but nothing happened.

There were no light effects, sound effects, or smell changes, and 173 itself didn't move.

If it were anyone else, they might have panicked and started to question whether the liquid was effective. But Feng Bujue wouldn't do that. He firmly believed... even if there were no chemical reactions, the liquid's effect was beyond doubt.

So, he did something very, very bold—he blinked.

He stood directly in front of SCP-173, within arm's reach... and blinked.

The result... nothing happened.

At this moment, SCP-173 seemed to have become a statue in the truest sense of the word, unmoving, and it lived up to its name (173's designation is the_sculpture).

"Phew... done." Having eliminated this major hidden danger, Feng Bujue breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn't completely relax, because he couldn't be sure whether the liquid's effect was permanent or temporary. "Well... while you can't teleport around, let me cleanly and efficiently advance the main quest."

As Feng Bujue spoke, he walked past 173 and went down the stairs.

Although he could go back to B2 to investigate or use other SCPs, he didn't do so. Feng Bujue, with his extensive Nightmare Scenario experience, knew very well that in this kind of mode, it was best to advance the main quest whenever possible...

*Dee—*

Feng Bujue used the Level 3 access card to swipe the card reader next to the B3 floor electronic door, and the device replied in a voice: 【Your clearance is not sufficient to enter this area.】

"Level 3 personnel can't enter?" Feng Bujue thought, "What's going on on this floor..." Something flashed in his mind, "Could it be... there's a Keter-class item inside?"

Keter (Hebrew for "crown," the highest Sephirah in Jewish mysticism) class: Items classified as "Keter" not only display a strong and active hostility towards human life, civilization, and/or the four-dimensional space, but are also capable of causing significant damage in the event of a containment breach. Such items must be cataloged, contained according to special containment procedures, and destroyed if possible.

Most Keter-class items are non-sentient, and most are inanimate objects. An SCP that is merely hostile to humans will not be classified as Keter-class. A Keter-class item is not only capable of causing devastating damage to human life and civilization, but also requires large, complex, and precise containment protocols to prevent it from doing so.

Researching how to destroy Keter-class items has always been a priority goal for the Foundation. However, very few Keter-class items under the Foundation's supervision have been destroyed by Foundation personnel, mainly for three reasons: first, some items are difficult to destroy due to their impervious nature or similar circumstances; second, some items are retained because they have significant tactical value to the Foundation; and third, some items may cause even greater harm to humanity if destroyed, and are therefore permanently contained.

"That's not right... Generally speaking... would Keter-class things and Anomalous items be handled on the same floor?" Feng Bujue then thought, "If the item being evaluated is affected by nearby Keter items, the consequences would be unimaginable..."

Thinking of this, a flash of inspiration hit him: "Could it be..."

That's right, the answer was obvious. Clearly... the Anomalous item Feng Bujue was going to retrieve, although not yet classified, was already being regarded by the Foundation as an item with Keter-class potential, and therefore... it was being kept in such a high-clearance containment level.

"Hmph... interesting." Feng Bujue, having reasoned to this point, suddenly became interested. "Just what is it that they want me to take out of the base..."

…………

At the same time, on Sublevel Nine, in the command center.

This was located in the lowest part of the entire facility, with a higher security level than the emergency shelter on Sublevel Eight.

Everything in the base... including the security and monitoring departments on Sublevel Seven, was also under the supervision of this floor.

The walls here were imprinted with the Foundation's huge, black circular logo, with the Foundation's motto written below—to secure, contain, and protect.

"The initial cause of the power outage has been confirmed as SCP-106's containment breach. That guy seems to have woken up from his 'false hibernation' and contaminated the motor room while killing security personnel."

At this time, an agent in a black suit was reporting the situation to another older suit-wearing man who looked very similar to him.

"Has Nine-Tailed Fox been notified?" the officer asked, staring at several monitoring screens at the same time, without turning his head.

"Yes, they're on their way and are expected to arrive within twenty minutes," the agent replied.

"Too slow," the officer continued. "What do they think they are? Firefighters? Want to get nuked? Get them here in fifteen minutes!"

"Yes, sir." The agent replied and prepared to turn around and make a communication, but he seemed to suddenly remember something and added, "By the way... sir." He paused for half a second. "The actions of a D-class personnel on B2... are a little concerning."

"What did he do?" the officer asked quickly.

"He... used SCP-294," the agent replied.

"A D-class personnel went to the lounge and had a cup of coffee, and you need to report that to me?" the officer replied impatiently.

"Uh... actually... sir... he..." the agent stammered.

"What is it?" the officer replied. "Did he order some weird drink, and then mutate after drinking it?"

"He seems to have subdued SCP-173 with a drink..."

"What?" the officer turned his head around with wide eyes.

"According to the information from security personnel watching the surveillance footage..." the agent continued, "this D-class personnel used SCP-294 a total of three times... The first time, the machine did not dispense any liquid; the second time, the machine dispensed an unknown liquid, and he used this liquid to stop 173's movement; as for the third time... the machine also dispensed liquid, and he drank it, but the effects of that third drink are currently unknown."

"Hmm..." the officer said, silent for several seconds after hearing this. "Where is this person now?"

"He..." the agent hesitated for half a second before replying, "He seems to be planning to enter B3..."

"What?" the officer exclaimed.

"Also... he has obtained access cards and weapons from some corpses," the agent added. "However, the clearance levels of the access cards he could find seem to be insufficient, so he has now run off to B1 and is searching the corpses on that floor..."

"Immediately find someone to bring him back," the officer ordered. "If he resists... kill him without hesitation."

"Sir..." the agent thought for a moment. "That drink he drank..."

"Eliminating the threat is the top priority. If conditions permit, we can recover his body and perform an autopsy after this incident is over," the officer replied.

"Understood." The agent nodded and turned to leave.

The officer quickly turned his head and looked at a staff member in the distance on the right: "Mark, switch the B1 footage to the main screen."

…………

On Sublevel One, in front of a certain containment measure door.

"Heh... found something interesting." Feng Bujue looked at the [SCP-738] printed on the door and revealed a meaningful smile.

【Item Number: SCP-738】

【Item Class: Keter】

【Special Containment Procedures: SCP-738 is to be kept in a holding cell secured at all times by armed guards, remote-detonated explosives, and audio/visual surveillance. Based on observed changes in SCP-738 during interaction, its strength and unknown limits, the following procedures must be strictly adhered to—

One, when SCP-738 is not in use, each component must be stored separately. Assembly or disassembly of SCP-738 must be accomplished using the on-site mechanics built into the holding area. If the mechanical assembly system fails, testing must be aborted until an engineer with an explosive collar is dispatched to repair the mechanics. If this engineer attempts to communicate with any component of SCP-738, the collar is to be detonated immediately.

Two, in the event of remote mechanical failure, SCP-738 is to be dismantled via pre-installed shaped charges, after which an engineer with an explosive collar is dispatched to repair and reset the system.

Three, all D-class personnel used in testing must be mentally deficient or slow-witted, and wear explosive collars. This is to prevent them from learning too much about SCP-738 and using it to harm the Foundation. Only D-class personnel with an IQ no higher than 60 may enter SCP-738's chamber. D-class personnel may only enter the chamber for experimental purposes and must be continuously guided by the experimenter.】

From the containment measures, it can be seen that this thing is extremely dangerous... Of course, 99% of Keter-class items are like this...

Generally speaking... most Keter-class items are causal weapons that pose a devastating threat and hostility to humans, and the SCP-738 in front of him is no exception.

The "description" of this item will not be written out in detail here, because... Feng Bujue will soon be using it.