“I haven’t even used one Contra Medal yet, and my personal time has already exhausted forty minutes. Based on what the rabbit said, I will appear inside the prison around the forty-first minute of the map time and hand it the puppet. In other words… I will arrive at the front, enter the fourth corridor, capture the puppet, and then reach the end again, and that will take eighteen minutes…”
This was the first time that Feng Bujue had needed to keep track of so many things at once inside a scenario. It was not easy stamina-wise either. He could see a near future of constant running.
“If I don’t take down at least one mini boss on this return trip, when I reach the end again, I probably won’t have enough time left.”
Actually, when he rushed into the corridor earlier, he had already vetoed the plan of running directly down the corridor in his mind.
“The difficulty now is… When I left the prison, it was the eighty-fifth minute according to the map time, and thus, I need to deal with the mini boss in this corridor within seven minutes…”
With that thought in mind, he hurried faster.
“As long as I can do that and ensure that I can spend less than twenty-three minutes running down the corridor, I wouldn’t fail due to overspending the map time.”
Right then, a door appeared to block his way. Similar to the third corridor, the door to a room appeared inside the corridor. However different form the broken wooden door that led to Aldan’s room in the third corridor, this was a vault used to guard the treasure inside banks. The frame was metallic, and it shimmered in the light. The door was an incredibly thick metallic wall. There was no doorknob, but a circular valve was fixed onto the wall.
This reminded Feng Bujue of the Saw scenario that he had once experienced in the past. In the room that resembled a cold storage room, there had been a sturdy metallic door as well.
“He won’t have used the same trick, right?” That was what Feng Bujue was thinking, but his hands did not stop. There was no sign of hesitation. At that moment, Feng Bujue had a feeling that the mini boss behind this door would be one that he needed to kill.
Earlier, in the prison after the eightieth minute, there was only one mini boss trapped inside the four cells. It was Billy. Ravid only asked Feng Bujue to go back along the timeline to capture this one inmate.
Regarding the mini boss inside the first corridor, Ravid suggested that he approach it last. This was probably related to the scene that he had witnessed at the front earlier. In terms of personal time, there was a high possibility that Feng Bujue would take the first corridor last in the near future and never return to the prison after that… But that should be put aside for the time being.
He should focus on the matter at hand. The inmate in the second corridor was most likely killed. This hypothesis would be tested soon. In any case, Feng Bujue would arrive at the front in a bit, go inside the fourth corridor to capture the puppet, and when he reached the prison at the end, he would possess three potions—one from the puppet and the other from the inmate in the second corridor. That was why Ravid did not say anything about this particular inmate being in the prison.
Assuming that things really did go that way, when Feng Bujue arrived at the prison at the forty-first minute, his personal time would be the sum of forty, eighteen, and the time he needed to walk down this second corridor. The optimum prediction put it at more than seventy minutes. The last twenty minutes could be used for him to enter the first corridor. Without causing a temporal anomaly, the earlier scene had happened, but why? Well, time would tell.
Feng Bujue applied strength to his waist, bent his knees, and pushed with his arms. He used force from all over his body and barely turned the valve on the vault. But now that the first turn had been done, the rest should be easily. After turning the valve counterclockwise three times, there was a click, and the lock inside the metallic door sounded to have released.
The metallic door should open outward, so Feng Bujue pulled with all his might. When the door opened, the red light from inside shone out into the corridor.
Feng Bujue glanced subconsciously inside the room. It was merely zero point something seconds. He soon moved his head away. It was a series of interconnecting actions, but the strange sight inside the room was already printed inside Feng Bujue’s mind. The next second, unfortunately, he recognized the monster standing at the corner one second too late…
“What the f*ck!” When this curse escaped from Feng Bujue’s lips, the monster materialized inside the corridor. It stood next to Feng Bujue with its arms extended. With a mysterious power and speed, it snapped Feng Bujue’s neck.
…
Information on SCP-173
Project Code: SCP-173 (The Sculpture)
Project level: D
Biological Property: Animate object with biological signs
Source: Unknown
Body construct: Building materials
Internal construct: No living organs or life force
Metabolism: Yes, confirmed through process of excretion
Sentience: Yes, know when something is looking at it.
Moving method: Unknown, teleportation
Habit: Snap the neck of every living lifeform
Method of containment: SCP-173 should always be preserved inside an area (known later as vessel) that can be sealed. If someone is needed to enter this area, the total number shouldn’t be less than three, and the door must be sealed after entry. Before completing the work and reactivating the door, at least two workers must maintain eye contact with SCP-173 at all times.
Description: SCP-173 was moved to Site 19 in 1993. Its origin has always been unknown. It is made from concrete and rebar, painted with Krylon-brand spray paint. SCP-173 is mobile and possesses high hostility, but when it is watched, it remains still.
Therefore, eye contact with SCP-173 mustn’t be broken. Employees in the same room must warn each other should they need to blink. When not gazed at, SCP-173 will teleport before the target and snap the neck connecting one’s shoulder and head. During an emergency, members need to follow the Class Four danger protocol to detain it.
There is report of stone grinding coming from inside the empty vessel. This is considered normal. Any changes beyond that should be reported to the supervisor on duty immediately. The reddish brown substance on the floor is made up from feces and blood. The origin of this substance is an unknown.
The vessel needs to be cleaned once every two weeks.
…
White light flashed before Feng Bujue’s eyes, and he soon appeared next to the fan-shaped area, at the start of the corridor. The system said, “A Contra Medal has been exhausted.”
“Why would I appear here?” That was the first question in Feng Bujue’s mind, and he soon provided himself the answer. “After death, I’ll appear at the ’start’ of the current space…
“Depending on the corridor that you die in, you will appear at the beginning of said corridor, and beyond the fan-shaped area…” He thought back to the other self who was shot earlier. “But if you’re outside and die inside the fan-shaped area… you should be revived inside the dead-end where the scenario started.”
When he was thinking, he was looking at the fan-shaped room that was one door away. At the same time, a buzzing sound came from behind it, as did the sound of stone brushing against wood.
A bad omen wrapped around him, but when Feng Bujue realized the problem, it was already too late. He had just turned around when two arms wrapped around his neck, and he was killed a second time.
“A Contra Medal has been exhausted.”
Earlier, he had been contemplating the uses of the four medals, but he had just lost two within seconds…
Feng Bujue knew a thing or two about SCP-173’s properties. Therefore, after he was killed the second time and revived where he was, he immediately widened his eyes to stare at the strange creature before him.
SCP-173’s body was just like cement; it was a dirtied white. The ’head’ that was disproportionately large had the print of a red, black, and green business trademark. Its body was more than two meters tall. Compared to its large body, the limbs appeared much shorter. However, as a monster that did not need to rely on a second skill to kill its target, the short limbs did not mean that it was not good at combat. If anything, it often killed its targets with one blow, especially humans. The neck-snapping that happened to Feng Bujue twice was the best example.
The main way to deal with SCP-173 was to maintain a constant ’gaze’. When it was observed by another lifeform, SCP-173 could not move, but if there was a gap, like during a blink, SCP-173 would teleport and kill the target. Feng Bujue did not wish to be killed a third time. He did not have superpowers that allowed him to kill anything in his sight, and he did not think that he could communicate with SCP-173.
Therefore, the next second, the One-Shot-Kill Pistol rang out. SCP-173’s body was hit by the bullet from this small pistol and exploded.
Feng Bujue had never once imagined what SCP-173 would look like when dead, but he was being given a chance to witness one of the possibilities. The white cement body shattered, and a few pieces the size of a fist even hit Feng Bujue, but they were nowhere near lethal.
A pool of blood gushed out from inside SCP-173, and it showered all over Feng Bujue. He did not even have a chance to avoid it. Lastly, about one meter inside this second corridor, only a pool of reddish-black liquid about the shape of a human and pieces of strange rocks remained of this strange creature.
Feng Bujue wiped at his face and sniffed at the ’blood’.
“Hmm… It does smell like blood.”
Actually, he was merely convincing himself. He was worried that the blood was mixed with feces or things like that…
Among the pieces on the ground, one was shining. It reminded Feng Bujue of one of the old RPG-maker games where important items would shine when they were on the ground.
With such an obvious hint, Feng Bujue naturally did not ignore it. He walked over to touch it, and at that moment, the light morphed into an object. At the same time, the system rang in his ear.
“Main quest progress updated. Find chemical potions (1/4).”