Foundation Angel, Containment Breach!

Object Class: Keter

Description: Entity-173 was originally a concrete statue that could not move when observed. 173-1 hatched from SCP-173's concrete body.

173-1 appeared as a red-haired female Angel. Two light wings with no fixed source extended roughly 0.4 meters to her forearms from behind her. She was genderless and approximately 1.56 meters tall.

173-1 possessed human intelligence and considerable counter-surveillance capabilities.

She had two known methods of attack. The first was forming modern firearms in her hands for combat. Their known power could penetrate four times the armor of a current main battle tank, while the upper limit remained unknown.

When 173-1 came into contact with a human body, she could break the victim's ankle bones. It was not yet known whether this ability could affect other body parts.

When unobserved, 173-1 inherited SCP-173's traits and could reach Mach 465. Under observation, 173-1's speed was greatly reduced to roughly 4 m/s.

File 1: Due to a guard's negligence, Entity-173-1, disguised as a guard, entered Entity-682's containment chamber and used SCP-641 to subdue Entity-682. It had been confirmed that SCP-641 could control Entity-682.

File 2: According to Mobile Task Force member GSL-, who had fought 173-1 and survived:

[My God, she was so beautiful. It even felt good when she stepped on my face! I'll never forget that kick for the rest of my life.]

Dr. L: [Get ahold of yourself, Agent. We're documenting 173-1 right now.]

GSL-: [She only broke our team members' ankles. She could have broken our necks.]

Dr. L: [Then do you think it showed mercy?]

GSL-: [Of course. But I always feel like she has a special fondness for me.]

Dr. L: [...]

The conversation ended there. Mobile Task Force member GSL- had received a Level 5 task force punishment. [Two months of grunt work.]

From this, it could be inferred that 173-1 seemed resistant to killing. Whether this was true remained unknown.

For the time being, its danger level was designated Keter.

No one noticed that the steel archway inside a containment chamber was emitting a faint hum.

Invisible currents of energy flowed across its frame.

But as time passed, that energy was dwindling.

It would likely dissipate completely in a few days.

"How is it? My outfit's pretty nice, right?"

Inside Angel's room, Xiao Huasheng was now wearing the same work uniform as her.

It was now even harder to tell the two apart.

The fabric was quite sturdy, and overall, it could be considered high quality.

But for some reason, Xiao Huasheng felt stranger the longer she wore it.

She hesitated slightly, then tugged at the black stockings along her inner thigh and asked,

"Why do I have to wear black stockings? Do they mean something special?"

"Because they're fun, and because they look good."

Looking at herself in the mirror, she was practically Angel's duplicate. Aside from the fact that the bottom felt too short, making Xiao Huasheng feel somewhat...

Exposed?

She had always dressed like this in her memories, but she still had the mindset of a transmigrator.

All in all,

this was the first time Xiao Huasheng had exposed so much of her legs without taking her clothes off.

"Wearing this makes me feel really unsafe."

That was her final conclusion. Angel merely smiled. "Come on, one last step."

A pair of slender hands wrapped around her waist, mischievously holding a strap with a plastic buckle before quickly fastening it.

The strap firmly secured the entire outfit, making everything look harmonious.

"Now you don't have to worry anymore~"

Angel chuckled softly. Xiao Huasheng stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror. She was so beautiful, yet so familiar.

Taking advantage of that moment, Angel suddenly launched an attack.

"Got you! Hehe!"

She wrapped her arms tightly around Xiao Huasheng's waist.

Huh?

Huh?!

Xiao Huasheng instantly snapped out of it, and a panicked cry escaped her mouth.

"Y-you're too close! Back up a little!"

Angel was afraid of close physical contact.

Naturally, the same applied to Xiao Huasheng herself.

Those who pranked others would eventually be pranked in return. That was an eternal truth.

This time, she had thoroughly tasted the bitter fruit.

Fortunately, Angel stopped after teasing her until her face turned red.

"Alright, what's with the embarrassment? Hurry up and let's go~"

Angel's mood immediately improved. Seeing someone identical to herself become shy was truly a novel experience.

Xiao Huasheng sighed helplessly, while inwardly gritting her teeth.

What was this?

I was supposed to be the one in control.

What a total defeat!!

Sure enough, even between two Angels, one of them had to be on the receiving end—or maybe both were?

That remained unknown for now.

At that moment,

in the garage, Emperor glanced at his watch as its hands ticked away.

An hour had already passed since Angel went to change clothes.

How morally depraved did one have to be for changing clothes to take an entire hour?

Wasn't that far too outrageous?

"Croissant, are Angel and 173 slacking off together? How could changing clothes take them this long?"

Croissant rested against her shield and gave a faint laugh.

"Don't overthink it, don't overthink it. Girls take time to put outfits together. Boss, you're Emperor—an Emperor should be patient for a while."

Sora, standing nearby, answered with great confidence as well.

"Girls naturally take a while to dress up. For me, it usually takes three hours, though that's only at the longest."

Texas silently ate Pocky. No one even knew how many boxes she had already gone through.

Emperor, who had found Texas, naturally knew that, but he had not expected it to take this long.

Just as Emperor grew so annoyed that he kept stomping his penguin feet, the door finally opened with a creak.

Two Angels who looked like copies of one another appeared.

One of the two Angels emerged with a bashful, awkward gait and muttered, "H-hello, everyone."

One look was enough to tell that she was the coward.

Emperor let out a penguin roar.

"They're still the same style of clothes! How did changing take a whole hour?!"

Before Penguin Logistics set off.

Elsewhere.

On the road to Chernobog.

Chapter Fourteen: Life, Can You Let Me Off Just This Once? [1st update]

"Skullshatterer, are we really waiting here?"

"That's right. We wait here. This sinful city of Ursus must pay the price!"

The wasteland wind swept up their yellow robes, blending them into the land devastated by Catastrophes.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but barren ruins and exhausted Originium mining pits.

They shared one name: the Reunion Movement, a newly risen organization.

Someone in the group looked anxiously into the distance.

They did not know exactly whom they were going to intercept, but intelligence indicated that Chernobog needed a specially refined piece of Originium to reinforce its engines.

As long as they intercepted that Originium, the city's defense system would become vulnerable within two months.

But the identity of the escort team was a mystery.

Cunning Ursus had placed orders with several logistics companies at once, confusing matters to the greatest possible extent.

"At least a convoy." A Reunion Movement member silently judged.

Meanwhile, at Penguin Logistics' Lungmen branch.

"Using this for practice should be fine, right?" Emperor sat in his chair, somewhat worried, but ultimately decided to trust his team.

It was just a commission from Ursus.

Alright, Emperor was actually still a little nervous.

He knew exactly what was inside, and he hoped nothing would go wrong.

At the Lungmen Outer Ring border checkpoint, Chen was processing departure procedures for people leaving the city.

In this age of mobile city-states, leaving a city was equivalent to international travel in the old era.

"Alright, here are your passes." Chen worked with remarkable efficiency, completing Penguin Logistics' paperwork in one minute.

As couriers, they enjoyed special treatment.

"Oh? Officer Chen is handling the paperwork herself today?" Xiao Huasheng rolled down the window and grinned playfully.

Chen had naturally heard about Xiao Huasheng.

But when she saw two Angels in the car, she could not help feeling slightly surprised.

Their personalities were largely alike, but there were differences in certain details, which allowed her to tell them apart.

Chen did not have much to say in response to Xiao Huasheng's teasing.

"Working at the grassroots level helps uncover many problems," Chen replied coolly.

"Bye-bye, Miss Serious~" Xiao Huasheng made a gesture, slammed down on the gas, and sped away, leaving behind dust and deafening rock music.

The mobile city-state's exit passage slowly closed.

Chen rolled her eyes at the empty window. "That fake Angel."

The black sedan raced across the wasteland, startling herds of wild animals.

The sun blazed outside, while the inside of the car remained pleasantly cool.

In the back seat, Croissant and Angel held up cocktails and swayed to the music. "Cheers!"

Liquor splashed as the two drained their glasses in one gulp.

Wearing sunglasses in the driver's seat, Xiao Huasheng floored the accelerator.

"Hey, want to play a game?" Angel held up her glass with a wicked grin.