Chapter 149: Haruno’s Breakdown, the Absurd Entry Test

Haruno awoke from her drowsiness.

As she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. The goggles and headphones had been removed.

Looking around, she saw that the walls were made of some kind of black, opaque glass, giving off a strange sense of oppression.

Perhaps, beyond the glass, many people were watching her.

Adjusting her sitting posture, she cleared her throat to ensure her voice was normal.

Speaking of which, after being drugged and waking up, her head didn't hurt at all. It felt more like she had simply had a good sleep.

That surprised Haruno.

After all, most anesthetic substances typically had some effect on the brain's nervous system. Even after regaining consciousness, one would usually experience severe headaches, similar to a hangover.

Time passed second by second.

Just as Haruno had suspected, beyond the dark glass, someone was indeed observing her.

Right now, they were assessing and analyzing how she reacted to a sudden and unexpected situation.

Rationality and composure, impulsiveness and anger, panic and fear, one's reactions directly reflected their personality.

If someone fell into a state of panic or impulsiveness when faced with unexpected circumstances, the Foundation could not accept them.

After all, the Foundation's duty was to contain anomalies and handle sudden crises.

Moments later, an agent behind the black glass checked something off on their tablet before stepping forward and approaching the glass-walled room.

A soft sound was heard as a door opened in the glass wall.

A man and a woman entered the room.

"Miss Yukinoshita Haruno, hello. We are personnel from the SCP Foundation's Human Resources Department. We have already reviewed your background, experience, and application form, everything checks out."

"Since you already have knowledge of anomalies and the Foundation, we will skip certain test questions."

"Here is a Foundation personnel assessment questionnaire. Please answer it carefully. Your responses will affect whether you pass this evaluation."

A questionnaire was then handed to Haruno.

Receiving it, she felt a sense of relief.

Had she not known about anomalies and the Foundation beforehand...

Then these test questions would have been a nearly insurmountable challenge.

However, as she glanced at the questionnaire, her body froze.

What were these questions?!

"Do you have a personal faith? If not, please elaborate on your personal dreams and values."

"If you do have a faith, please describe it in detail, including its entity, concept, and the reason for your belief."

"Do you believe in the existence of gods? Please define what you consider to be a god."

"A fire has broken out at the Tokyo Art Museum. You can only save either a cat or a million-dollar painting. Which do you choose?"

"A train has lost control. On its current path, five people will be hit. On an alternate track, only one person will be hit. You have control over the switch, what do you do?"

"If the five people on the original track are all over eighty years old and suffering from cancer, while the one person on the alternate track is a newborn, would you change your previous answer?"

"If you encounter an omniscient and omnipotent 'god' and can ask three questions, what would they be?"

"Subject A is a woman under a curse—if she gives birth or dies, the world will be destroyed. She is in a perpetual state of pregnancy.

"She must undergo the 110-Montauk Procedure—an abortion without any anesthetics. Would you carry out the procedure?"

And these were just a small portion of the questions.

As she read them, Haruno's hand trembled slightly as she held the pen.

Were these questions deliberately testing human morality?

'If I want to align with the Foundation's ideals, I should...'

She instinctively began to think that way.

She had always used appropriate lies to achieve her goals.

In social interactions, speaking differently depending on the person was the key to success.

This was the fundamental difference between herself and Yukino.

However, she quickly abandoned that train of thought.

Taking a deep breath, Haruno began answering the questionnaire honestly, according to her own beliefs.

She had a strong premonition that if she wrote insincere answers just to pass, there would be terrifying consequences.

The sound of her pen scratching against the paper continued for a long time. When she finally capped her pen, she let out a long sigh.

Answering this questionnaire had been pure torment.

Yet, when she handed it in, the Foundation staff didn't even glance at it before tossing it into a shredder.

As she watched the paper she had agonized over being shredded into tiny pieces, Haruno felt her sanity wail in despair.

"A reaction test?" she asked.

The staff member nodded with a smile.

"Miss Yukinoshita Haruno, you are quite perceptive. Yes, it was a reaction test."

The questions were never meant to be answered.

What the Foundation truly cared about was the test-taker's psychological state while answering them.

Her fists clenched.

She struggled to calm herself.

"Congratulations, Miss Yukinoshita Haruno. You have passed the preliminary assessment. Now, please follow me to the next stage: the Cognitive Level Test."

After saying this, the staff member opened the door and led Haruno outside.

As she walked down the hallway, Haruno saw people being carried out from rooms on both sides.

They were clearly in a state that suggested they had undergone memory erasure procedures.

Obviously, these people had failed the preliminary test.

Yet, Haruno was not surprised at all.

She had passed this test, but even she didn't understand why she had passed.

The Foundation's evaluation criteria were impossible to grasp.

Following the staff member, Haruno arrived at another sealed-off room.

The staff member stood at the doorway, motioning for Haruno to enter, while keeping a clear distance from whatever was inside the room, as if avoiding it at all costs.

Haruno, though puzzled, still stepped into the room.

Inside, there was nothing but a transparent wall made of alloy and glass, dividing the space into two sections.

Standing on one side of the transparent wall, Haruno curiously observed her surroundings.

There was a broadcasting speaker, but no cameras, which felt rather odd.

Just then, the speaker came to life.

"Miss Yukinoshita Haruno, please observe the object on the other side of the wall and describe your feelings."

As the broadcast ended, a pillar rose on the other side of the transparent wall.

The pillar was hollow, with several small holes at the top and bottom, and a transparent glass section in the center.

Haruno looked at the object inside the glass, then began describing it.

"I see a hollow pillar, with something inside the transparent glass section in the center..."

"I think it's a strand of hair. I don't feel uncomfortable, but I am very confused."

"A strand of hair... it seems to be wriggling... Wait a minute, is that Tomie's hair?! You guys are using that monster's tissue for testing?!"

(T/N: Thought for sure she undergone some memory erasure in the Tomie Event...)

After recognizing the true nature of that strand of hair, Haruno started cursing furiously…

She really couldn't hold it in anymore.

Who in their right mind would use Tomie as a test subject?!

After cursing for over an hour, Haruno felt her throat go dry.

"I actually think that strand of hair looks quite nice now."

At that moment, the previously silent broadcast finally spoke:

"Then, do you now have the urge to attach this beautiful strand of hair to your own head?"

Haruno thought for a moment, then immediately replied:

"No, I don't."

Haruno's cognitive level was classified as Level 3, placing her in the top 7% of all humanity.

Additionally, she was aware of Tomie's properties, so she displayed excellent resistance to cognitive contamination.

(Even though her memory had been partially wiped, only the visual aspects of Tomie were erased—Haruno still retained knowledge of the anomaly.)

(T/N: Ohhhh.)

Cognitive assessment complete.

Flames immediately sprayed out from the other side of the transparent wall, incinerating the strand of Tomie's hair.

An exasperated Haruno was released from the room, awaiting memory erasure procedures.

This membership screening was pure torture!

After undergoing several more evaluation tests, Haruno finally succeeded in joining the SCP Foundation.

Upon hearing the result, Haruno felt no joy whatsoever.

"Miss Yukinoshita Haruno, you have been appointed as a C-class administrative staff member (clerical position)."

After making the announcement, the staff member immediately fled the scene.

Screening personnel was truly a thankless job, after this, he was definitely requesting a transfer!

--------------

"Santa Claus, a magical sleigh and magical reindeer, talking nut cookies, and elves…"

Haruto looked at the anomalous encounter report and felt utterly speechless.

What the hell was this, a fairy tale scene?

Three days ago, on the outskirts of Osaka, an orphanage was observed experiencing an anomalous event.

An aurora appeared in the sky, but only over the orphanage, nowhere else.

When Foundation personnel arrived at the site, they captured a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

An old man in red pajamas, with a long white beard, rode a red sleigh across the aurora-filled sky. The sleigh was pulled by nine reindeer-like creatures radiating multicolored light, leaving behind snowflakes and auroras with each step.

The sleigh stopped above the orphanage.

Then, several nut cookies and a group of strange, tiny humanoid creatures, each only a few dozen centimeters tall, jumped down from the sleigh.

These beings danced strangely on the orphanage roof, laughing and chatting among themselves.

Meanwhile, the old man in red pajamas carried a massive burlap sack and stepped off the sleigh.

"Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!"

After saying this, he squeezed into the orphanage's chimney.

Despite the chimney being only half as wide as his waist, he still managed to fit inside.

Then, he reemerged, climbed back onto his sleigh, and prepared to leave.

Foundation personnel immediately attempted an interception, deploying a carbon fiber net to trap what appeared to be Santa Claus.

However, the sleigh and reindeer simply passed through the net.

The old man laughed heartily—"Ho ho ho!"—as he drove his sleigh off into the distance.

Haruto: ?