Risk And Opportunity

Even if no one had asked, Luo Shu would've entered Site-17 on his own.

Containment breaches meant opportunity.

But large-scale breaches also meant extreme danger.

Walking into Site-17 now was a gamble. So he decided to negotiate.

Rubbing his hands, he turned to Big Beard Jack. "Boss, can I at least get a gun for self-defense?"

Jack chuckled. "How many Euclid-class anomalies die to bullets? If guns worked, we wouldn't need containment specialists."

A backhanded admission that MTF firepower was useless here.

Luo Shu dropped it. He understood—Jack still didn't fully trust him.

Who'd hand a gun to an ex-con with three kills on his record?

Not that he needed one. Guns were easy to scavenge here.

Site-17's corridors were littered with corpses—Foundation and Chaos alike—most still armed.

The Red Right Hand leader cut in. "No gun. But MTF Site-17 will escort you down."

A fair compromise. Without them, Luo Shu wouldn't even know how to enter the underground facility.

The Site-17 squad leader led Luo Shu inside, while the rest stayed topside to hold off Chaos.

Unlike Site-19's mirror portal, Site-17's entrance was a hallway.

To normal eyes, it dead-ended. But stepping on specific tiles at precise angles revealed a hidden staircase leading to Sublevel -1.

"Layout's similar to Site-19," the squad leader explained. "If we get separated, regroup at the Site Director's office."

The stairs were strewn with corpses—Chaos raiders and Site-17 security.

All armed.

But under the MTF's watchful eyes, Luo Shu couldn't grab a gun.

So he improvised.

Flipping open the Anomaly Catalog to Page 30, he activated Mechanical Animation—targeting a UMP45 submachine gun with a red-dot sight.

The gun twitched. The red-dot blinked at him like a curious eye.

Luo Shu whispered, "You're a big boy now. Follow us quietly and cover me."

The MTF finished checking the bodies—no survivors—and moved down.

Sublevel -1 echoed with gunfire. The Director's office was under attack.

The squad leader took most of the team to reinforce it, leaving Luo Shu with three escorts.

Fewer witnesses. Perfect.

Deep Into the Breach

The quartet descended further—where the real breaches were happening.

Then, disaster.

A Chaos Insurgency strike team ambushed them at the Sublevel -2 stairwell.

Luo Shu had little intel on Chaos units from his world, but their skill was undeniable.

One MTF dead. One wounded.

A bullet grazed Luo Shu's temple, embedding itself in the wall behind him.

Almost used SCP-173's teleportation reflex—but appearing behind enemies might've gotten him shot by friendly fire.

With two men down, the last MTF operative stood his ground. "Take him and go! I'll hold them!"

Luo Shu gave a thumbs-up, dragging the wounded man into a nearby lab.

Then he realized—the animated UMP45 hadn't followed.

Beyond 100 meters, the effect wore off.

Stupid oversight. Guns don't have legs.

The wounded operative was fading. Luo Shu applied field dressings, but that was all he could do.

Outside, gunfire grew distant—the last MTF had lured Chaos away.

Now alone, Luo Shu assessed his options:

SCP-055's "anti-memetic" effect—used up during SCP-100's containment.

SCP-126's sensory void—his last resort. Better save it.

He scavenged the lab.

In a corner, he found a roomba.

A glorified vacuum cleaner—no AI, just pre-programmed paths.

Luo Shu grinned.

He taped the wounded MTF's UMP45 to the roomba at a 45-degree angle, then activated Mechanical Animation.

The roomba whirred to life, the gun's red-dot blinking awake.

"Let's see if this works."