SCP-239, the Witch Child

"Old Yang, do you know what this instructor Lu Fei's background is?"

Zhou Ze lay on his bed, staring blankly at the mottled ceiling.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Old Yang sitting beside the table. The man faced the wall without moving, as silent as a statue.

"I don't know any more than you do."

Old Yang turned his head. His gaunt face looked even more haggard in the dim light. "If you don't know something, I have no way of knowing it either," he said hoarsely.

"Like hell I believe you!" Zhou Ze pursed his lips.

"Believe what you want..."

Old Yang turned back and continued staring silently at the wall.

Things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. At least, after today, there was a clear difference between how Zhou Ze was treated and how ordinary Class-D Personnel were treated.

Was this what they called "good luck"?

But Zhou Ze couldn't shake the feeling that something was inexplicably strange.

It had only been a little over ten days since he had transmigrated, yet quite a lot had already happened around him.

Zhou Ze quickly sorted through the events of the past few days in his mind.

First, there was Old Yang.

Old Yang was the first person Zhou Ze had met after transmigrating, and the first person in this hellhole to show him kindness.

Zhou Ze glanced at Old Yang, who was gnawing on something nearby, only to find that he had produced a piece of bloody meat from somewhere and was noisily chewing it with his back to him.

He hurriedly looked away.

Hmm... there was nothing wrong with Old Yang. He might not look particularly dependable, but he really was a good buddy he could trust.

Then there was Instructor Lu Fei, whom he had only just formally met.

Unlike Old Yang, Lu Fei was clearly helping him for some particular reason.

After ruling out all the wrong answers, the only possibility was that Lu Fei had some connection to this body's original owner.

Next was Wang Lei, the counselor who had assessed Zhou Ze's psychological state.

The young woman had been friendly, and she had indeed given Zhou Ze a deeper understanding of the Anomaly Containment Facility's existence and his own situation.

Her kindness hadn't come out of nowhere. It made sense to attribute it to empathy and the requirements of her job.

Finally, there was the young guard with the notch in his right eyebrow, who had escorted Zhou Ze to the interrogation room.

It was perfectly normal for him to treat Zhou Ze differently from other Class-D Personnel under Lu Fei's influence.

All these people who had shown Zhou Ze some degree of kindness had encountered him through chance circumstances.

Somehow, they had all given him the impression that the staff here were pretty decent people.

Was it an illusion? Or just a coincidence?

After all, Zhou Ze was nothing more than one of the Class-D Personnel being used as guinea pigs.

Where was the problem?

Zhou Ze scratched his head and sank into thought.

An office in the Beta Zone, Site-17.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the spacious office, bathing the floor in gold. Dai Yong'an sat behind a heavy mahogany desk, engrossed in the documents in his hands.

Every so often, he lowered his head to jot a few notes in the file, his brow slightly furrowed as though pondering some important question.

Not far away, an enormous golden retriever lay lazily on a soft blanket, resting with closed eyes.

"Old Dai, I still find it hard to believe..." The golden retriever lifted his eyelids and drawled, "They closed the case on that accident just like that. The higher-ups even approved your nomination for promotion..."

At those words, the fountain pen in Dai Yong'an's hand paused. Without looking up, he said:

"Kane, you really have gotten slower than you used to be. Looks like you've been pouring all your energy into tinkering with your 'little toys'... You still haven't figured out the situation?"

"Sorry, I'm just a dog now." Kane rolled his eyes. "If you had a body like mine, you wouldn't be making those snide remarks."

"Isn't that asshole Liang in the same boat?"

"Dr. Liang... that's completely different." The golden retriever shook his head.

"Fine. Then you at least understand the Anomaly Containment Facility's current situation, don't you?" Dai Yong'an put down his pen and turned around, stretching as he looked toward the setting sun outside the window.

"In what respect?"

"Externally... the steady increase in anomalous incidents and the growing audacity of anomalous organizations over these past two years have long since left us struggling to cope."

Dai Yong'an paused, then continued, "Our previous strategies against hostile forces are no longer enough to handle the current situation. Calls for cross-anomaly experiments and anomaly weaponization are growing louder.

"But whatever the 'Radicals' advocate, opposition from the 'Conservatives' remains strong. If the 'Kings' want to actively pursue change, they naturally need 'Pawns'... Apparently, they appreciate the way I operate."

The golden retriever's eyes snapped open, and he turned to his old friend. "Dai Yong'an, you do realize you're in a very dangerous position, don't you?"

"Of course. If this path ultimately proves to be a failure, I'll inevitably become a casualty of the struggle between the two factions. But until then, I'll receive the greatest possible support..."

Dai Yong'an spoke evenly, utterly unconcerned. "You know me. I've always cared only about the research itself. Since they're willing to open every door for me, I have no reason to refuse."

Kane remained silent for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

"Yes, once you've made up your mind, nothing can drag you back... There's no turning back now. What's next? What are you planning to do next?"

"Do you remember the Class-D who survived the last accident?" Dai Yong'an turned to the golden retriever with a meaningful smile.

"Of course. That was one lucky kid."

"He certainly has some luck on his side, but that's not the point. I found that, as a Class-D, both his judgment and the strategies he carried out during the accident demonstrated an extraordinary ability to keep his emotions steady at all times. I'm conducting his final assessment now."

At this point, a flicker of fanaticism flashed through Dai Yong'an's eyes. "If everything goes smoothly, I'll formally launch the SCP-239 weaponization experiment. Its aim is to use her powerful anomalous properties to capture and contain other anomalous entities. If this experiment..."

"Are you joking?!" The golden retriever loudly cut Dai Yong'an off, leaping up from the blanket with his fur bristling and his eyes full of disbelief.

"Of course not." Dai Yong'an smiled faintly. "In fact, a month ago, 'Poker Face,' 'Liar,' and I jointly designed an experiment involving SCP-239. Using the original suppression protocol, we've already successfully awakened her from her deep sleep..."

"Insane... you've all gone insane..."

The golden retriever leaped onto the desk in a single bound, braced his forepaws against its surface, and bared his teeth as he growled at Dai Yong'an. "Do you want to drag the whole world into your suicidal gamble?"

"Calm down, my old friend." Dai Yong'an frowned and tapped the desk. "The O5 Council approved our proposal. At the very least, the peace we've had over the past month proves that the situation is entirely under our control."

"Ah... of course. Whatever you say..."

At those words, the golden retriever's expression crumpled, as though he had aged ten years in an instant.

He jumped listlessly down from the desk and trudged toward the blanket in the corner, muttering to himself.

"SCP-239, the Witch Child... an Apex-Class Multi-Functional Reality-Bending Entity..."

"A young... god..."