A man and a dog

Zhou Ze sat up in bed, clutching his head. Faint whispers still seemed to echo in his mind, but they gradually faded as he became fully conscious.

He felt as though he had slept for a long time. No one had woken him, and there was no irritating chewing sound in his ears.

Old Yang was not here.

This was the first time Zhou Ze had been alone in the room without seeing Old Yang.

What had happened?

Zhou Ze struggled to recall what had happened before he passed out, fumbling for the light before getting out of bed.

All he remembered was Old Yang saying a whole lot of incomprehensible things before he lost consciousness.

What exactly... was sealed inside me?

And what was Old Yang?

Before, he had simply thought of himself as a jinx, bringing misfortune to others while surviving because of it.

But now, that understanding seemed rather incomplete.

The many questions he had unconsciously ignored lately were like sharp, jagged rocks scattered across a beach after the tide receded.

Zhou Ze was still in the staff dormitory for levels 0-1 at Site-17.

It was pitch-black outside the window, and everything was quiet. The outlines of buildings were barely visible in the moonlight. It seemed to be the middle of the night.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

A knock came at the door, unusually clear in the silence.

Then came a sharp scraping sound, as though something pointed had dragged across the door.

Zhou Ze approached the door and squinted as he gently pushed it open, peering through the gap into the hallway.

The hallway was deserted. Only the alarm lights kept flashing.

Something had gone wrong...

Zhou Ze's heart tightened as he immediately reached that conclusion.

So whoever had just knocked was...

"D-... Zhou Ze, right?"

A paw hooked around the edge of the door and pulled it open, startling Zhou Ze into an instinctive jump backward.

He looked closely. As the door slowly opened, a canid came into view.

A Golden Retriever was sitting at the door, with a leather bag beside him.

"This is an emergency, so I'd appreciate it if your first question wasn't why I can talk... okay?"

The Golden Retriever spoke in a human voice, picked up the leather bag in his mouth, and hurried into the room.

Zhou Ze took two steps back, frowning as he studied the talking Golden Retriever who had barged into his room without permission.

"What are you?"

"What a great question..." The Golden Retriever set down the leather bag and scratched his head with a hind leg before answering, "Kane. You can call me Dr. Kane."

Zhou Ze's frown deepened.

Perhaps because of what that fellow named Dai had done, Zhou Ze now had no fondness whatsoever for the so-called "doctors" at the Containment Facility.

As for why a dog could talk and even become a researcher at the Containment Facility...

Compared with all the bizarre things he had experienced lately, that was hardly difficult to accept.

"So has something happened outside?"

"Yes." Kane nodded. "Listen, Zhou Ze. SCP-239... Alice, that is, is in trouble. She's in grave danger, and we have to help her."

Zhou Ze's heart tightened, and he blurted out, "What happened to her?"

But as soon as he said it, he frowned again. Something felt off.

"About ten hours ago, Dr. Clive from Site-19... you should have heard that name. He's the so-called 'Archwizard Clive.' He announced that he would personally execute Alice. That sounds insane, but judging by his personnel file, he really is a dangerous..."

Kane paused, then said solemnly, "The entire site is now on high alert. Most of our armed personnel are concentrated at the entrances to prevent Clive from infiltrating. We have to stop this madness."

Zhou Ze finally realized what was wrong.

Leaving aside how plausible it was for a lone researcher to storm a heavily guarded site, Site-17's response alone seemed extremely strange.

Shouldn't the proper response have been to locate Dr. Clive first, then take him into custody before he could act?

Most importantly, Zhou Ze's concern for Alice's safety could be explained by his sympathy for her circumstances and his genuine fondness for the little girl. But why was this Dr. Kane showing such heartfelt concern for a dangerous contained entity?

That was a far cry from the Containment Facility's usual cold-blooded approach.

"Dr. Kane..." Zhou Ze wore a strange expression. "You seem... very concerned about Alice?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Kane replied as though it were only natural. "From the perspective of evolutionary psychology, mammals' desire to protect their young is an instinctive response deeply rooted in their genes. This behavioral pattern is especially pronounced in higher primates..."

But you're a dog...

"So why did you come looking for me specifically?"

"Your experimental reports indicate that you possess luck far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Although I haven't done any research in that field, I know that luck is the deciding factor in many successes and failures..."

Kane said evenly, "And I'm very familiar with how you and Alice interact. I have reason to believe you're quite fond of that little girl, aren't you?"

That sounded... perfectly reasonable.

Within a few breaths, the strange feeling in Zhou Ze's heart vanished.

After thinking for a moment, he grew serious as well. "What should we do now?"

"You go find Alice and make sure she's safe..."

The Golden Retriever paused, then continued:

"And I'll defeat Clive..."

You were going to fight Clive?

That dangerous, insane fellow you'd just described?

Zhou Ze raised an eyebrow at the Golden Retriever, who hardly seemed capable of fighting, and hesitated to speak.

As though noticing Zhou Ze's doubtful gaze, Kane glared at him.

"Of course I've made other preparations..."

With that, he picked up the leather bag beside him in his mouth and placed it at Zhou Ze's feet.

Under the Golden Retriever's gaze, Zhou Ze bent down and opened the leather bag.

Inside were a Tactical Belt, a Triangular Military Dagger, a medieval-style longsword, and a Blue Keycard. The longsword looked exceptionally sharp, and intricate patterns were faintly visible on its blade.

"These are all from my collection. They should come in handy." Kane lifted his head. "I've given that keycard special authorization. It can only open SCP-239's containment chamber."

Zhou Ze fastened the Tactical Belt around his waist and deftly toyed with the Triangular Military Dagger, giving it an elegant flourish before slipping it into his belt.

Then he picked up the longsword and gently ran a finger along its sharp blade, feeling its icy touch.

"No gun?"

"Why are you so demanding? You're only Class-D Personnel..."

Seeing Zhou Ze's expression suddenly darken, the Golden Retriever stuck out his tongue and put on an innocent look.

"All right, that was an excuse... I told you, these are from my collection. Do I look like someone who collects firearms?"

"...A dog."

"Thanks for the reminder..."

Kane turned toward the door. "Are you ready? First, we need to go to my lab. The key to defeating Clive is there... and it's also my favorite."

Zhou Ze gripped the longsword, hefted it to test its weight, then followed.

"Why don't you go yourself?"

"That's the trickiest part... Something has gone wrong with Site-17's Central Control System. The containment chambers of some highly intelligent anomalies have opened automatically, and my lab isn't far from the Containment Zone... As you can see, we're completely short-handed right now..."