Arc 2The Seal Breaks

Zhou Ze joined Site-17 under special observation as Wang Lei and Dai Yong'an investigated his anomalous nature. After Zhou Ze transformed during a deadly experiment and killed Dai Yong'an, time reversed, and he later raced through a collapsing Site-17 to reach Alice before Clive could execute her.

  • Wang Lei revealed herself as Site-17’s director, while Dai Yong'an challenged her over her handling of the Illusion Butterflies and D-87465.
  • Dai Yong'an assigned Zhou Ze to guide Alice, and Zhou Ze grew close to her as he told her stories and learned about her hopes and fears.
  • Dai Yong'an forced Zhou Ze to swallow nanobots linked to his heart, then sent him with Liu Xin to collect secretions from Number-075.
  • Number-075 killed another Class-D subject, and Liu Xin sacrificed himself to save Zhou Ze, whose sealed divinity erupted and transformed him into a tentacled monster.
  • The monster killed Dai Yong'an before collapsing, but time reversed at Site 108 and restored the dead and destroyed facility, and Alice also wrote that she had revived her canary, Colin.
  • Clive announced his plan to execute Alice, and Kane gave Zhou Ze weapons and asked him to find her while he confronted Clive.
  • Zhou Ze and Kane fought a giant winged hound and a reanimated guard as Site-17’s control system failed, while Clive approached the facility to carry out his plan.
  • After Kane told him to protect Alice or pursue Clive, Zhou Ze chose Alice and reached the B9 Containment Zone, where he encountered Shi Yaming.
Chapters 26–50 Vol. 1 Read

Ch. 26A Moment of Peace

Zhou Ze reached the office area and found Wang Lei waiting in her office, where he recounted the terrifying incident he had survived. When he began to describe what emerged from the broken wall, Wang Lei’s demeanor changed and she confronted him with an icy, mind-piercing voice.

  • Zhou Ze cautiously left the elevator and entered the quiet office area, deciding it was safer than searching the Site for an exit.
  • Zhou Ze found Wang Lei in her office, where she explained that she had stayed behind rather than evacuate.
  • Wang Lei offered Zhou Ze black tea and invited him to describe the incident that had triggered the alarm.
  • Zhou Ze recounted his experiences while Wang Lei listened and asked questions.
  • Wang Lei’s smile vanished, blue light flashed in her eyes, and she told Zhou Ze that he knew it.

Ch. 27Changing faces

Zhou Ze discovered that Wang Lei could manipulate appearances and exert strange influence, then learned she was the Site-17 director. Wang Lei said she wanted to ease the facility’s aggressive policies, leaving Zhou Ze uncertain whether he could trust her.

  • Wang Lei startled Zhou Ze by recognizing what he was thinking and briefly overwhelming him.
  • Old Yang reassured Zhou Ze that Wang Lei could not read the mind of someone who distrusted her, and warned him not to provoke her.
  • Wang Lei revealed herself as the Site-17 director and used a solidified smoke ring to guide Zhou Ze into shaking her hand.
  • Wang Lei explained that people with unusual abilities could work in offices or be confined, depending on their abilities and attitude.
  • Wang Lei admitted she had lied about her younger years but claimed she wanted to cool down the facility’s aggressive approach.

Ch. 28Item-408

Wang Lei offered Zhou Ze a choice between facing interrogation and erasing his memories after the Illusion Butterflies incident; Zhou Ze pretended to consider the offer. Two days later, Wang Lei confronted Dai Yong'an over his handling of Item-408, and he accused her of covering something up.

  • Wang Lei explained that Zhou Ze's existence mattered and offered to erase his memories with a spray bottle so she could manage the fallout.
  • Zhou Ze asked how to use the spray bottle and acted as though he was weighing Wang Lei's offer.
  • Two days later, Wang Lei challenged Dai Yong'an's report describing Item-408's escape as a harmless accident caused by hungry butterflies.
  • Wang Lei accused Dai Yong'an of favoritism toward the intelligent Illusion Butterflies and of violating clearance rules by showing them materials related to Item-682.
  • Dai Yong'an stopped joking and accused Wang Lei of covering something up.

Ch. 29Madman

Dai Yong'an confronted Wang Lei about the butterflies’ transformation and suspected she knew something about D-87465, but she refused to help his research. Zhou Ze woke in a comfortable Site dorm room under surveillance, where Old Yang told him their conversation was hidden from everyone except the Higher-Dimensional Observer.

  • Dai Yong'an reasoned that the butterflies had transformed because they sensed an overwhelming threat and suspected Wang Lei had learned something after wiping a Class-D Personnel member’s memory.
  • Wang Lei briefly strangled Dai Yong'an with smoke, then released him and refused to share her findings or support his research.
  • Dai Yong'an left after insisting he would uncover D-87465’s secrets himself, and Wang Lei muttered that she had miscalculated.
  • Zhou Ze woke in a spacious Site dorm room, noticed its surveillance camera, and cautiously checked his surroundings while Old Yang sat beside his bed.
  • Old Yang told Zhou Ze that only the Higher-Dimensional Observer could theoretically notice their conversation, and Zhou Ze was shocked by his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Ch. 30Transition

After waking from a brief sleep, Zhou Ze learned that Alice had affected him and found that the Containment Facility had granted him limited privileges under special observation. He reviewed the mysteries surrounding his body and the people at the facility before Old Yang warned that Higher-Dimensional Observers expected him to grow stronger.

  • Zhou Ze shaved off the thick stubble that had grown while he slept, and Old Yang said Alice had affected him but offered no clear explanation.
  • Zhou Ze read the notice making him Class-D Personnel under special observation, with cafeteria and recreation access provided he was escorted by security.
  • Zhou Ze considered the unknown history of his body, his possible connection to Lu Fei, and the roles Dai Yong'an and Wang Lei might play.
  • Old Yang told Zhou Ze that Higher-Dimensional Observers sought extreme emotions and would be disappointed that he had not grown stronger.
  • Zhou Ze heard only the end of Old Yang's warning and asked what strange nonsense he was talking about.

Ch. 31Seeing Alice again

Zhou Ze returned to Alice’s containment chamber and was tasked with teaching her about good and evil. When Alice showed him a drawing of Santa Claus modeled on his face, Zhou Ze suspected her wishes could alter reality and began considering whether he could use that ability to escape.

  • Old Yang delivered an enigmatic speech and vanished before Zhou Ze was called to work.
  • Dai Yong'an instructed Zhou Ze to guide Alice toward distinguishing good from evil, preferably through stories without supernatural powers.
  • Zhou Ze met Alice again in her cottage, where she greeted him warmly and invited him to sit on a strangely animated sofa.
  • Alice showed Zhou Ze a lifelike drawing of Santa Claus whose face resembled his own, and Dai Yong'an urgently asked Zhou Ze to describe it.
  • Zhou Ze concealed the drawing’s resemblance to himself and suspected Alice’s wishes could come true, but decided he needed to proceed cautiously.

Ch. 32Zhou Ze the Night Watchman

Zhou Ze learned that Professor Gear visited Alice weekly and that Dai Yong'an presented himself to her as the Light Knight, then tried to influence her view of him by inventing a heroic past. The chapter ended as Zhou Ze began the story he had promised Alice.

  • Alice worried that her canary, Colin, had become listless and told Zhou Ze that Professor Gear visited her once a week.
  • Zhou Ze suggested that Alice keep a diary, then realized her writing might have anomalous effects.
  • Alice described Archwizard Clive as stern and said his gaze softened around Professor Gear and Dai Yong'an, the Light Knight.
  • Zhou Ze told Alice that he had once been a Night Watch Knight and spoke of his dreams of magic, earning her admiration.
  • Zhou Ze began telling Alice the story he had promised her.

Ch. 33Digestive tablets

Zhou Ze told Alice a heroic story, and she shared her wish to see the world beyond the facility before praying for his safety. After the story caused a sharp rise in the containment chamber’s Hume Index, Zhou Ze met Dai Yong’an, who handed him a suspicious mud ball and ordered him to eat it.

  • Zhou Ze told Alice a story about a hero defeating a black dragon, and she spoke of the places she hoped to visit outside the facility.
  • Alice prayed that Zhou Ze would stay safe and find hope through the dangers ahead.
  • Dai Yong’an and Kane lost the containment chamber’s surveillance feeds as the Hume Index surged, but Dai Yong’an dismissed the fluctuations as normal.
  • After leaving the chamber, Zhou Ze encountered Dai Yong’an in the facility corridor, where Dai handed him a mud ball and called it a digestive tablet.
  • Dai Yong’an told Zhou Ze to eat the ball, and Zhou Ze recognized that the man expected him to comply.

Ch. 34A stunning young model

Zhou Ze ate in the Site 7 cafeteria with Shi Yaming, who told him about Instructor Lu Fei’s confinement and reflected on the dangers of working at the Containment Facility. A striking blonde woman approached Zhou Ze, flirted with him, and ended by asking whether he usually masturbated.

  • Shi Yaming told Zhou Ze that Instructor Lu Fei had been placed in solitary confinement after clashing with upper management.
  • Shi Yaming described joining the Containment Facility and said he imagined dying in battle alongside his comrades.
  • A blonde woman approached Zhou Ze and asked to pet him, then stroked his face and neck instead.
  • The woman asked Shi Yaming to move so she could sit across from Zhou Ze, and he reluctantly agreed.
  • The woman asked Zhou Ze whether he usually jerked off.

Ch. 35Mentor

Zhou Ze was caught off guard when a blonde woman asked him an intimate question, then Jack Bright visited Dai Yong'an at Site-17 and revealed he had tested Zhou Ze. Dai shot Jack before Dr. Gears arrived to discuss the Ethics Committee's concerns about an experiment involving D-87465.

  • A blonde woman asked Zhou Ze whether he usually masturbated, then left after saying she had wanted to see his reaction.
  • Jack Bright entered Dai Yong'an's office in a woman's body and explained that he had found his own way into Site-17.
  • Jack told Dai that Zhou Ze's Hume levels remained stable during emotional fluctuations, indicating that Zhou was not a reality bender.
  • Dai shot Jack in the forehead and began wiping down his gun.
  • Dr. Gears arrived and raised the Ethics Committee's concerns about Dai's application for D-87465 to participate in an Extreme Hazard Class experiment.

Ch. 36Hatred

Dai Yong'an argued with Dr. Gears that Zhou Ze’s repeated survival suggested an anomalous ability and said he would pursue an Anomalous Interaction Experiment. Back in his dormitory, Zhou Ze learned that Dai Yong'an had made him swallow a nanobot bomb, and his hatred surged as Old Yang reacted strangely to it.

  • Dr. Gears challenged Dai Yong'an over involving D-87465 in high-risk experiments without proper approval.
  • Dai Yong'an claimed Zhou Ze’s improbable survival indicated possible probability manipulation or causal interference and proposed treating him as a potential threat entity.
  • Dr. Gears accepted Dai Yong'an’s explanation and told him to submit a new experimental application report.
  • Zhou Ze returned to his dormitory, examined himself, and learned from Old Yang that Dai Yong'an had made him swallow a gen+3-generation nanobot bomb.
  • Zhou Ze felt intense hatred toward Dai Yong'an while Old Yang sniffed the air and traced strange gestures with his fingers.

Ch. 37A new experiment

Zhou Ze learned that nanorobots inside his body would kill him if Dai Yong'an's heart stopped, then was sent with another Class-D subject to an experiment outside Site-17. As the armored vehicle carried him toward an unknown destination, he met the optimistic Liu Xin.

  • Old Yang explained that nanorobots in Zhou Ze's blood were synchronized with Dai Yong'an's heart and would destroy Zhou Ze if it stopped for more than three minutes.
  • Old Yang warned Zhou Ze that the seal inside him had loosened and then vanished.
  • Shi Yaming told Zhou Ze to report for an experiment and escorted him to an armored transport in the garage.
  • Zhou Ze rode away from Site-17 with another Class-D subject, Liu Xin.
  • Liu Xin told Zhou Ze that he had been imprisoned after a woman accused him of rape and said he hoped to survive the experiments and leave early.

Ch. 38A shiver

Zhou Ze was transferred to an old, sinister Containment Facility while Liu Xin volunteered to join the same project. At the ominous chamber door, Zhou Ze realized Liu Xin had followed him and shivered at the thought that his good luck brought misfortune to those around him.

  • Zhou Ze questioned Liu Xin about the experiments and began wondering why his good luck supposedly caused others to suffer bad luck.
  • Guards brought Zhou Ze and other Class-D personnel to an aging facility and assigned them to enter in number order.
  • After Zhou Ze was sent inside, Liu Xin volunteered for the same project rather than remain behind.
  • Zhou Ze entered the facility’s decaying Containment Zone with another trembling Class-D personnel and reached a huge, rusted door.
  • Liu Xin appeared beside the door, and Zhou Ze shivered as he recalled the price of his luck.

Ch. 39Number-075

Zhou Ze and Liu Xin entered the containment chamber to collect secretions from Number-075, a giant snail that burst from a safe and killed the other Class-D man. As the snail fixed on Zhou Ze, the whispers in his mind overwhelmed him and Liu Xin shouted a warning.

  • Dai Yong'an announced an experiment requiring Zhou Ze, Liu Xin, and another Class-D man to collect Number-075's secretions.
  • A mist filled the chamber, triggering a humidity warning and Emergency Protocol A-23.
  • Zhou Ze shoved Liu Xin aside and dodged as Number-075 burst out of the safe and struck the other Class-D man, killing him.
  • Liu Xin recognized the creature as the source of the secretions while Zhou Ze became dazed by chaotic whispers.
  • Number-075 finished digesting the dead man's head, turned its pseudopods toward Zhou Ze, and prompted Liu Xin to shout, "Watch out!"

Ch. 40Utter madness

Liu Xin died after saving Zhou Ze from the giant snail, and Old Yang explained that the price of Alice’s gift had not been paid. Zhou Ze transformed under the influence of the sealed divinity and subdued the snail as Site 108’s containment chamber began to fail.

  • Liu Xin shoved Zhou Ze out of the giant snail’s attack but was fatally dissolved by its corrosive mucus.
  • Liu Xin asked Zhou Ze to tell his parents that he loved them and was sorry, then died.
  • Old Yang told Zhou Ze that he was too weak to keep holding back the sealed divinity and warned that Zhou Ze himself would become the price.
  • The giant snail struck Zhou Ze, triggering a transformation that covered him in screaming faces and dark red tentacles.
  • Zhou Ze’s tentacles bound and stabbed the giant snail while its acidic mucus damaged the containment chamber.
  • An alarm warned that Biological Containment Zone 23 had suffered severe structural damage and that Site 108 would enter lockdown in five minutes.

Ch. 41A Tough Problem

After devouring a giant snail, the tentacled creature broke into another containment chamber, frightened a flower-like anomaly, and continued toward the Alpha Office Area. The Lava team tried to stop it in Area C, but their suppression rounds failed and one sniper was injured.

  • The tentacled version of "Zhou Ze" devoured the giant snail as the containment chamber began to collapse.
  • The creature broke into a chamber containing a flower girl, who recoiled in terror as it passed through the wall without attacking her.
  • The Lava team reported that the target was heading toward the Alpha Office Area and gathered in Corridor C to intercept it.
  • The team's snipers fired XR-7 Biological Suppression Rounds, but the creature deflected them and hurled one back, dislocating a sniper's shoulder and knocking him unconscious.

Ch. 42God did not care

At Site 108, Dai Yong'an realized D-87465 had become a divine-level entity as the creature rampaged through the facility. Zhou Ze killed Dai Yong'an, then froze and began to collapse as an ominous force gathered around his remains and storms engulfed the world.

  • Dai Yong'an learned that the creature in the containment corridors was generating immense Akiva radiation and concluded that D-87465 had been divine all along.
  • The monster tore through Site 108, destroying surveillance equipment and leaving the containment team screaming over the radio.
  • Dai Yong'an tried to escape the surveillance room, but Zhou Ze burst through the ceiling in monstrous form and impaled him with a tentacle.
  • Zhou Ze ripped Dai Yong'an in half, then froze as his body collapsed into sludge after Dai Yong'an's heart stopped.
  • An unseen force drew Zhou Ze's remains together as black clouds, violent winds, lightning, and earthquakes swept across the world.

Ch. 43Alice's diary

Zhou Ze fought his way out of a sea of blood after Alice’s voice and memories urged him to keep going, while time at Site 108 reversed the disaster in Biological Containment Zone 23. At Site-17, Alice recorded that she had revived Colin and feared Archwizard Clive would kill her, ending her diary entry by hoping someone would save her.

  • Zhou Ze heard Old Yang and Alice calling to him in the blood sea, then grasped Alice’s hand and struggled back toward the light.
  • Time reversed at Site 108, restoring the destroyed area, healing Zhou Ze and the containment squad, and drawing Dai Yong'an’s remains back together.
  • The giant snail stopped moving, and the alert for Biological Containment Zone 23 was lifted.
  • At Site-17, Alice wrote in her diary that Colin had died in her arms and that she had brought him back to life.
  • Alice feared Archwizard Clive would kill her and imprison her soul, then wrote that she hoped someone would save her.

Ch. 44Clive

Clive’s growing compulsion to kill SCP-239 nearly made him send a warning, but he instead publicly posted an execution proposal under the influence of her reality-altering power. At Site-17, Kane and Dr. Gears recognized that Clive’s apparent mistake meant they faced a serious problem.

  • Clive developed an escalating urge to kill SCP-239 and began drafting an email warning personnel to secure her and stop him.
  • Clive’s resolve shifted before he sent the email, and he decided to plan SCP-239’s execution instead.
  • At Site-17, Kane took over duties after Dai Yong'an disappeared and reviewed a report about D-87465’s anomalous blood and survival of an experiment with Number-075.
  • Dr. Gears’s public proposal log showed that Clive planned to kill SCP-239 with an SCP-148 implement and SCP-668, volunteering to act as executioner.
  • Kane questioned Dr. Gears about the post, and Dr. Gears confirmed Clive was likely serious and that Site-17 had a problem.

Ch. 45A man and a dog

Zhou Ze woke to find Old Yang gone and learned that Alice was in danger after Dr. Clive threatened to execute her. Dr. Kane recruited Zhou Ze to help rescue Alice and retrieve something from Kane’s lab that could defeat Clive, while Site-17’s containment chambers had begun opening.

  • Zhou Ze woke alone in the Site-17 dormitory, unsettled by the unanswered questions Old Yang had left behind.
  • Dr. Kane, a talking Golden Retriever, entered Zhou Ze’s room and told him that Alice was in grave danger because Dr. Clive had announced he would execute her.
  • Kane explained that Site-17’s Central Control System had malfunctioned and several intelligent anomalies had escaped their containment chambers.
  • Kane gave Zhou Ze a Tactical Belt, a dagger, a longsword, and a specially authorized keycard, then asked him to find Alice while Kane confronted Clive.
  • Zhou Ze followed Kane toward the lab, where Kane said they could find the key to defeating Clive.

Ch. 46The demonic giant hound

Zhou Ze and Kane headed through the alarm-lit Containment Facility corridor toward the containment sector, hoping to rescue Alice and escape. They encountered a hostile winged giant hound, and Zhou Ze narrowly dodged its first charge while striking at it with his longsword.

  • Zhou Ze considered using Alice’s incident as a chance to escape the Containment Facility, though he had no plan for evading pursuit.
  • Kane told Zhou Ze that he had survived a fatal accident in the body of a golden retriever and described how his new body’s instincts had affected him.
  • Zhou Ze and Kane heard heavy footsteps and labored breathing near the end of the corridor.
  • A giant winged hound appeared and became hostile when it noticed Kane, prompting Kane to urge Zhou Ze to help kill it.
  • The hound lunged at Zhou Ze, who dodged aside and swung his longsword as metal clashed against its claws.

Ch. 47Bloody Battle

Zhou Ze killed the giant dog with its own corrosive blood but suffered a severe shoulder wound that also corroded his clothes. As he recovered with Kane’s help, a security guard charged toward them, prompting Kane to warn Zhou Ze.

  • Zhou Ze wounded the giant dog with his dagger, then used his corrosive blood to blind it and stabbed its abdomen with the Longsword.
  • The giant dog died, and Zhou Ze wondered whether his corrosive blood meant he was still human.
  • Kane tore away Zhou Ze’s damaged uniform and instructed him to press two points to stop the bleeding.
  • A battered security guard appeared and charged at them, and Kane warned Zhou Ze to watch out.

Ch. 48Designation-049

Zhou Ze killed and dismembered a reanimated security guard, while Kane explained that the corpse was likely the result of Designation-049, the Plague Doctor, recently brought to Site-17. They realized the Site’s control system had failed, and Kane hinted at the conflict between the Containment Facility and the GOC before Zhou Ze asked about the giant winged dog.

  • A reanimated security guard charged Zhou Ze, who cut its throat, crushed its neck, and dismembered its still-twitching body.
  • Kane explained that the corpse no longer relied on ordinary human physiology and that entities like it were usually destroyed in a high-temperature incinerator.
  • Zhou Ze recognized the guard and asked what anomaly might have transformed him, while Kane concluded that Site-17’s central control system had malfunctioned.
  • Kane recalled that Site-19 had brought Designation-049, the Plague Doctor, to Site-17, and described his hostility toward humans he believed were afflicted with pestilence.
  • Kane contrasted the Containment Facility’s approach with the GOC’s policy of eliminating anomalies, then dismissed the giant winged dog as a beast that deserved to be put down.

Ch. 49Mission start

Zhou Ze and Kane reached Kane’s lab, where Kane prepared his Invincible Tyrannosaurus Mecha as a weapon against Clive. Meanwhile, Clive approached Site-17 and began his mission to investigate and confront the threat surrounding SCP-239.

  • Zhou Ze and Kane made it to basement level nine without encountering further trouble.
  • Kane brought Zhou Ze into his lab and showed him the Invincible Tyrannosaurus Mecha, explaining that he still needed to install its weapons module.
  • Zhou Ze rested in a corner of the cluttered lab while wondering where Clive was.
  • Clive approached Site-17 by helicopter and recorded a declaration that his actions were his own, while warning that SCP-239 might cause a world-ending scenario.
  • Clive said he had prepared mind-shielding weapons and arranged to transmit mission data to the Global Occult Coalition, then announced that he would reach Site-17 within ten minutes.

Ch. 50Mass Loss of Control

Clive broke into Site-17 and headed for Sector B while Zhou Ze chose to protect Alice. In the B9 Containment Zone, Zhou Ze encountered Shi Yaming, who warned that security personnel had turned into dangerous monsters.

  • Clive blinded and incapacitated the guards at Helipad 8, then headed toward the western entrance to Sector B.
  • After the security system announced an intrusion, Kane told Zhou Ze to protect Alice or pursue Clive, and Zhou Ze chose Alice.
  • Zhou Ze reached the B9 Containment Zone and nearly fought Shi Yaming when the elevator doors opened.
  • Shi Yaming said he had become separated from the Instructor and explained that anomalous security-team members had turned into zombie-like monsters.
  • Zhou Ze told Shi Yaming he had already killed one of the monsters, and Shi Yaming asked why he was there.
Arc 2 of 2
Arc 2 of 2