Time ticked by, second by second.

Thirty minutes had passed since Feng Bujue entered Billy’s containment cell.

During this time, the security team outside the door could only wait, constantly trying to contact the outside world.

However, after thirty minutes, this waiting… seemed impossible to continue.

“Deputy… I… I think I just saw something.” A team member walked up to Gore and said in a trembling voice.

Although he was wearing a full-coverage mask, his tone alone revealed the fear written all over his face.

“Don’t panic… I saw it too.” Gore replied, “Just a ghost, an illusion… just ignore it.”

“But… but…” The team member continued, “I can still feel… it’s hiding somewhere… watching me.”

“Yeah, Deputy.” At this moment, Dan, another team member, also walked over, “Ever since I heard the 513 ringtone, I’ve had this feeling…”

“Me too…”

“What do we do? Deputy.”

The rest of the security team also crowded around, their inner fear already reaching the breaking point. All it needed was a trigger for their cowardice and timidity to be on full display.

“Enough! You think I’m not scared?” Gore suddenly roared, anger born of fear. He shouted that to embolden himself and everyone else, “I heard the 513 ringtone just like you guys, I feel the same way! But fear solves nothing, so you all better pull yourselves together and face reality like men!”

“Hehehe… well said.” At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly came from the laboratory’s loudspeaker, “Deputy Captain Gore, you truly are the only Level 4 personnel on this team.”

Recognizing the voice, Gore looked up, scanned his surroundings, and said loudly, “How did you get through the broad…”

“That’s not important.” Feng Bujue knew what the other party wanted to ask, so he interrupted directly, “I know, you must be wondering ‘Why can I hear you talking?’, ‘Why can I talk through the loudspeaker?’, ‘Why can’t you open the containment room door?’, and ‘Am I still in the containment room?’ etc…” He paused for a moment, “I’m sorry, I don’t have the time or the inclination to answer these questions one by one. What I can tell you is… I left the base you’re in twenty minutes ago. Right now, I’m reminding you out of humanitarian spirit… the spatial loop that trapped you has disappeared, you can now leave through the cargo通道 (tongdao – passageway).”

At this point, Jue-Ge changed his tone, “Of course… even if you manage to run to the emergency shelter, your chances aren’t good.” He always announced terrible news in a rather cheerful tone, which was truly infuriating, “As for the reason… naturally, it’s the earlier SCP-513. I regret to inform you that most people affected by this SCP end up committing suicide.” He said it as if it were none of his business, “As time goes on, the frequency of 513-1’s appearance will increase, causing very serious mental devastation to you. Even if you force yourselves to sleep with sleeping pills or knock yourselves unconscious, it’s useless, because in a state of unconsciousness, it will appear in your ‘dreams’ and physically attack you… which will cause you to wake up quickly. Over time, you will collapse due to this constant psychological pressure. Severe sleep deprivation will lead to paranoia, hostility, hypervigilance, and depression. By then… death will be a relief.”

“You… didn’t you hear the 513 ringtone too!” A security team member shouted after hearing this, “Why can you still talk so easily?”

“Hehe… I’m afraid I can’t disclose the details.” Feng Bujue replied with a smile, “In short, I’m not the same as you…”

Jue-Ge was indeed fearless. First, as a player, he would not enter a state of sleep or unconsciousness in the script, so 513-1 could not attack him in his dreams. Second, he did not feel fear at all, and even if the “glimpse phenomenon” of 513-1 appeared repeatedly (usually at intervals of 14-237 minutes), it would not cause him any psychological pressure.

“Bastard…” Gore, hearing this, could not hold back any longer, “No matter who you are… even if you escape for a while, you won’t escape…”

“Lalalalala~ I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, lalalalala~” Feng Bujue shouted in the loudspeaker like a spoiled child, “Do whatever you want, it has nothing to do with me anymore.”

After saying this, his voice came to an abrupt stop.

Then, silence descended in the laboratory…

A minute or so later, Dan spoke, “Deputy, if what he said is true, then we…”

“This kid is cunning, we must not believe him…” Although Gore was furious, he had not lost his rational thinking, “According to my analysis… he has two purposes in saying this to us…” He paused, “First, to create panic. Even if the effects of 513 are as he says, we may not die. He described it so vividly… simply to scare us and put pressure on us.” He thought for a moment, then continued, “And his second purpose is to get us away… In my opinion, he is very likely still hiding in the containment room of that Anomalous project… the broadcast just now was sent by him using the project’s ability.” He snorted coldly, “Hmph… if he had really left this base twenty minutes ago, he wouldn’t need to bother with us anymore. Humanitarian spirit? Does he take us for three-year-olds?”

…………

At the same time, in the B3 corridor.

Feng Bujue was carrying Billy on his shoulder, walking unhurriedly.

At this time, relying on Billy’s ability, he heard every word Gore said without missing a single one.

“As expected… the NPC intelligence in this script is quite high.” Jue-Ge said, “A LeveL4 security guard, under the premise of being affected by 513, can still make an analysis of this level…”

“Even so…” Billy replied, “Didn’t it still fall within your calculations?” He turned his head and glanced at Jue-Ge, “His reasoning is entirely under your guidance and within your expectations…”

“There’s nothing to be proud of.” Feng Bujue replied, “From escaping that containment room, to eavesdropping on their conversation, to communicating with them using the broadcast… all were accomplished with your help. I can’t do any of the above three things by myself.” His tone sounded quite sincere, “In short… without the support of ability, schemes are just empty talk.”

“Hmm…” Billy looked at Jue-Ge with a strange expression and said, “I didn’t expect… you to have moments of humility.”

“What are you talking about?” Feng Bujue retorted, “I’ve always been a pragmatic person.”

“Hehe…” Hearing this, Billy smiled without saying a word.

“Anyway…” Feng Bujue quickly changed the subject, “Those seven guys have stayed put in the laboratory as I expected…” As he spoke, he turned into a corner of the corridor, “Let’s just leave them there for now, waiting for the effects of 513 to gradually become prominent… and then you can go and collect ‘panic energy’.”

“Uh… Feng Bujue.” Billy continued, “You’d better not mention ‘panic energy’ so casually.”

“What’s wrong?” Jue-Ge glanced at him, “Could it be… that the way you absorb power… is still a secret?”

“That’s right…” Billy replied, “Even beings of higher rank than me don’t know that I grow in this form.”

“Sounds like… if this secret is learned by the Four Pillars Gods and their confidants…” Feng Bujue pondered, “You’ll be in trouble.”

“I can’t say ‘in trouble’.” Billy replied, “It’s just… they might use this to limit my power growth.”

“Then here comes the question.” Feng Bujue continued, “Is it really okay to reveal such vital information… to me?”

“To be honest… I’m extremely unwilling to tell you this.” Billy replied, “But in order to escape this universe, I can only tell you.”

“Hmph… that’s true.” Feng Bujue sneered, “In the case of power being restricted, you must constantly collect and use panic energy to escape. If you insist on hiding this setting, it is likely to cause many inconveniences in actual action.”

“Furthermore…” Billy added, “Given your wisdom, the possibility of you deducing this setting on your own is also very high. Weighing the pros and cons… I thought I might as well tell you myself.”

As they spoke, Feng Bujue carried Billy to the door of a containment room.

“Good, the guards here are gone too.” Jue-Ge opened the electronic door and said, looking at the empty space in front of him.

“I’m impressed that you thought of coming to get this gun…” Billy said.

“I wanted to come in and get it when I saw the sign in the corridor, but I couldn’t because I hadn’t gotten rid of those security personnel yet.” Feng Bujue said as he walked into the laboratory, “Logically speaking, this thing shouldn’t be in this base. I think the universe we’re in should be one of the parallel worlds where many exist******… so there are many details that are different from the information I know.”

As he spoke, he walked to the middle of the containment room and stood in front of a safe.

[Item Number: SCP-1998]

[Item Class: Safe]

[Special Containment Procedures: SCP-1998 is to be contained in a locked safe located at Site [Data Expunged]. Experiments with 1998 may only be conducted following these guidelines: First, a request must be signed off by the Foundation’s Ethics Committee, who will provide suitable D-Class personnel and appropriate testing parameters. Second, all experimentation is to be personally monitored by a member of the Ethics Committee, and displayed to the rest of the Committee via closed-circuit television. Third, under no circumstances is 1998 to be used for any purpose outside of controlled testing. Any personnel or departments found attempting to utilize 1998 to subvert the free will of D-Class personnel for personal gain will be considered for immediate demotion or project reassignment.]

[Description: SCP-1998 is an anomalous pistol of unknown make or manufacture. The pistol is manipulated by what appears to be a piston-shaped component located directly beneath the barrel. 1998 does not use ammunition of any kind, instead firing a pulse of energy via unknown means. The power source of 1998 is indeterminable; it requires no external power or energy source, though it does require a five-minute cool-down period between firings to recharge in some way.

The beam fired by 1998 is ineffective against all inorganic, inanimate, or non-human materials, dissipating upon contact with any object that is not a human body or clothing in direct contact with a human body. The pulse will also dissipate if fired at a range exceeding twenty meters.

The energy pulse fired by 1998 primarily affects the human brain, specifically the motor cortex, primary auditory cortex, and hippocampus; these regions are affected regardless of the part of the body struck by the pulse.

Individuals struck by 1998 will undergo three continuous effects. One, the affected subject will turn to face the manipulator of 1998 and sit down before them. Placing obstacles in the subject’s path will result in unsteady movement and loss of balance; once the subject is facing the manipulator in a non-standing position, its movements will cease—regardless of how uncomfortable the posture it is in is.

Two, the subject will undergo functional paralysis, and will be incapable of any free manipulation of the motor organs that does not relate to maintaining eye contact with the manipulator.

Three, the subject will meticulously listen to and remember everything spoken by the manipulator during the period of paralysis. Any statements made to the subject during this time will be perfectly and completely memorized for the rest of its life, and any commands issued to the subject during this time will be followed as closely as possible once the paralysis has worn off. This period of “information uptake” will last for approximately nineteen minutes, after which motor control will return to the subject.

Typically, subjects affected by 1998 will enter a state of sustained shock and psychological trauma, believed to be related to the physically traumatic pain (described by two test subjects as “excruciating” and “hellish”) caused by exposure to 1998.]

[Addendum 1998-1: SCP-1998 was discovered by a group of hikers walking along the Natchez Trace Parkway in western Tennessee. It was contained within a cardboard box labeled in a mixture of Latin and Cherokee grammar written in Greek characters. Translations of the labels remain incompletely understood.]

[Note: Testing has determined that giving impossible tasks (orders violating the laws of physics) will result in the subject not following the command. However, they will experience feelings of regret and lowered self-esteem, as they consider themselves to have “failed”. Subjects given commands that would result in physical discomfort or danger will carry out the command regardless of potential harm, and will invariably attempt to refuse treatment for injuries sustained during the process.]

This SCP project, although classified as “safe” level, from its actual effect… if it fell into the hands of someone like Feng Bujue, destroying the world would be just around the corner.

When Jue-Ge saw this entry, his first reaction was… this so-called “standard mental concentration enhancer” is just a pistol version of “geAss”? And there are no side effects. Then his second reaction was various**展开了 (gezhong buke miaoshu de zhankai le - various unspeakable developments unfolded)… those will not be detailed here.

“Hmm… as expected, it needs a key to open it…” After trying it in front of the safe, Feng Bujue said.

“This is troublesome…” Billy continued, “The key to this kind of project is either on the administrator of this floor or in the hands of the management of this base. And those people… are either in the emergency shelter or in the command center at the moment.” He paused for half a second, “Of course… they may have already died somewhere in the base.”

“Can’t you use your ability to take out the things inside?” Feng Bujue asked.

Billy hesitated for half a second, “I can, but…”

“It will consume a lot of energy?” Feng Bujue probably guessed the other party’s concerns.

“Using spatial splicing to get you out of my own containment room, using the ability to enhance perception in the area to help you eavesdrop on those security team members, and then using the ability of mechanical interference to help you speak through the broadcast… all of these consume a lot of energy.” Billy continued, “In addition, I have to maintain the video and audio signal shielding of B3… Although I have been dormant for quite a long time before today, accumulating a lot of energy, but…”

“Okay, I won’t trouble you.” Feng Bujue said, “But speaking of which… are you really ‘restricted to a great extent’? You can still use so many abilities at the same time…”

“They’re just small tricks.” Billy said with a wry smile, “I’m different from Samodier or Rabbid, those guys who have physical combat abilities. All my power is reflected in telekinesis, spatial abilities, and various remote intervention abilities.” He shook his head, “Do you think I’m still very strong now? Don’t be ridiculous… In the main universe, as long as it’s within the scope allowed by the ‘system’, I can even write the structure of the script myself. But what about here? Even I can’t stand the folded space I created… a straight corridor, a section looped every few hundred meters… what the hell…”

“Hmm… so you still have pursuits.” Feng Bujue said with narrowed eyes.

“Okay… instead of testing and mocking me…” Billy had already seen through what Jue-Ge was doing, so he directly exposed the other party and continued, “You should think about how to open this safe.”