Five minutes later, at the command center...

"Sir!" The same agent, still running anxiously, arrived at his superior's side and reported, "According to the footage from B1..."

"Alright," the superior interrupted. "I saw it... He destroyed all the video and audio recording devices within the SCP-738 containment procedures, correct?" He stared at the large screen in front of him, his gaze fixed on a blacked-out area.

"Shall we detonate the cone-shaped bomb, sir?" the agent immediately followed up.

"What would be the point?" the superior retorted without turning his head. "Since he knew to destroy all the surveillance equipment, it means he came prepared. How could he possibly move the object to the area where the cone-shaped bomb is located for operation?"

"This..." The agent was momentarily speechless.

"This incident reminds us... there's still room for improvement in the containment of 738," the superior continued. "Simply placing a cone-shaped bomb in the middle of the room isn't enough. We didn't consider the scenario of 'the room being invaded when the facility encounters a major crisis and loses security personnel.' Obviously, the intruder wouldn't be wearing an explosive collar..." He paused. "Hmph... speaking of which, the actions of this D-class personnel today have sounded the alarm on many levels. In the future, we should add a set of 'final defense measures to all SCPs in case their base experiences a full-scale loss of control crisis.'"

"Then... what should we do now, sir?" the agent immediately asked again.

"Aren't the people sent to apprehend him already on their way?" the superior replied. "We can only hope... that before they arrive, the D-class personnel hasn't completed some kind of 'transaction' that threatens us."

"That shouldn't be a problem, sir," the agent replied. "Generally speaking, the most that a D-class personnel would choose to trade for is 'freedom' or something like that."

"Heh..." The superior smiled and straightened his suit. "Steven, what do you think is the IQ of this D-class personnel?"

So, the agent's name was Steven.

"Uh... I already retrieved his file, sir," Steven said, taking a form from his pocket and looking down to read it. "This D-class personnel is designated 00250, real name Rudy Austin, twenty-five years old this year; after dropping out of high school, his criminal record has been almost continuous, until he was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for first-degree murder... According to testing, his IQ is 83, with a slight tendency toward violence."

"83?" The superior turned to look at Steven and took the form. "Hmph..." he snorted coldly. "Something's not right here."

"What is it, sir?" Steven asked.

"Do you think someone with a below-average IQ (even by American standards) would think to use SCP-294 to deal with SCP-173?" the superior replied pointedly. "And before that..." He looked at the form again. "Where did he hear about the characteristics of SCP-294?"

"This..." Steven's expression grew increasingly uneasy. "Could it be that he is..."

"That's right..." the superior replied in a deep voice. "I suspect he's someone planted by the Chaos Insurgency through some means." He stuffed the form back into Steven's hand. "If that's the case, then this information is meaningless..."

The more Steven thought about it, the more he felt that the superior was right. "That's right... ordinary D-class personnel might not even understand the SCP they're operating, let alone other SCPs. But this person... the first time he used SCP-294, he caused the project to 'fail to generate input content,' which shows that he not only understands the characteristics of SCP-294... but also immediately tried to test its limits."

"In any case... the capture and elimination operation for this person must be implemented as soon as possible. The potential threat of him being active in the base is too great," the superior continued. "We have to control or kill him before he comes into contact with more Keter-class projects, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable..."

…………

Meanwhile, inside the containment chamber of SCP-738.

Due to the current situation of the base, the security personnel who were originally responsible for guarding this place were long gone. They were either taking refuge in the underground emergency shelter or had already died somewhere else... In any case, Brother Jue hadn't encountered any obstacles along the way.

The door of the containment chamber was opened by the operating table in the external laboratory and didn't require any access cards.

After arriving in this experimental area, Feng Bujue carefully destroyed all the surveillance cameras and sound recording equipment in the room and laboratory, and then began moving the three-piece furniture set. He knew very well that he just had to be careful to avoid the cone-shaped bomb in the center of the room when moving the tables and chairs.

To make a long story short, after some busy work, Brother Jue finally sat on SCP-738-2, the high-backed chair. In front of him was the table labeled SCP-738-1, and the "throne" SCP-738-3 was located behind him.

"Hehe... I never thought we'd meet in this way."

Before long, a gentle, mysterious voice rang out from behind Brother Jue.

Feng Bujue turned his head and saw a black-haired man.

It was a man with an extraordinary temperament, he could show the youthful vigor of a twenty-year-old, or the mature humor of a forty-year-old. But how old he actually looked was anyone's guess...

Secondly, this was also a very charming man, although objectively speaking, he couldn't be considered a handsome man...

"Judging by your tone... you know me?" Feng Bujue replied calmly.

"Yes, you're quite a celebrity..." the man replied with a smile, "... Feng Bujue."

"I see..." Brother Jue smiled.

"Yes, that's right," the other party replied.

"May I ask for your esteemed name?" Feng Bujue then asked.

"Vincent," Vincent replied indifferently.

"Oh?" Feng Bujue's eyes changed slightly, and he immediately looked the other person up and down. "Hehe... I've heard so much about you... I've heard so much about you..."

These two "I've heard so much about you" didn't carry any sarcasm or hypocrisy. Brother Jue had truly heard a lot about his name.

"Heh... Woody must have said a lot of bad things about me to you, right?" Vincent leaned his right elbow on the armrest of the throne, supported his cheek with one hand, and looked down at Brother Jue with a dashing posture.

"If you're really Vincent, there's no need to ask this question." Feng Bujue tapped his temple with his finger. "Can't you just go inside and find the answer yourself?"

"My dear friend..." Vincent showed a charming smile. "You need to know that many times, the 'answer' isn't the most important thing." He paused for half a second, then continued, "Whether it's the limit of mortal wisdom or the deified strongest wise man... in the end, they all stop at the level of 'answer.' But what's the point of that? When the former is asked what one plus one equals, he instantly gets the answer 'two'; before someone asks the latter what one plus one equals, he already knows the question and also knows that the final answer is 'two.'"

Speaking to this point, he gazed at Feng Bujue, waiting for a moment: "Hehe... but why do you, I... have to be so two?"

"You're indeed not two." Feng Bujue said, grabbing the chair and turning it around, changing to a state where he was sitting face to face with the other party. "You said a bunch of seemingly reasonable nonsense, not only didn't give me the 'answer,' but also negated my 'question' altogether."

"Hahaha..." Vincent shook his head slightly and laughed heartily a few times. "Your reaction is very 'shrewd,' Feng Bujue... The first sentence you said to me was a test. When I directly called out your real name, the test had a result, and you smoothly entered another state... I'll call it—'Feng Bujue's serious state' for now. In this state, your thinking speed, methods, etc., have also improved significantly, and you've clearly reached a 'super-dimensional perspective.'"

He pursed his lips, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Brother Jue also became a bit complicated: "Observing yourself from your own perspective, while observing yourself from the perspective of an observer, and then observing this observer with a personality as vast as the universe... using this to solve all the problems in time, space, subjective consciousness, and objective reality..."

As he spoke, Feng Bujue's expression also changed. A rare, genuine solemnity appeared on his face.

"There are only a handful of people in the human realm who can reach this level..." Vincent said with a smile. "You truly deserve to be the existence 'chosen' by Woody, hehe... it seems that his transaction with 'that person' wasn't a loss after all..."

"His transaction with whom? What transaction? What does it have to do with me?" Feng Bujue asked three questions in a row.

"Don't worry..." Vincent raised his left hand and waved his fingers. "Some things, when the time comes... you will naturally know, I guarantee it."

"Can you respond to my questions with something other than nonsense?" Feng Bujue said coldly.

"Yes." Vincent replied with two very brief words, and then stopped talking.

"Hey, hey..." Brother Jue was also silent for two seconds, then complained, "You're not going to tell me that this 'yes' counts as an answer that's 'not nonsense,' right?"

"That's right." Vincent smiled. "This 'that's right' counts too, oh."

Bang—

The next second, a gunshot rang out.

"Why did you have to do that?" Vincent looked down at the bullet hole in his chest. Although the bullet went in, no blood came out at all. "I thought you and I had a similar sense of humor?"

"Yeah, I'm using that sense of humor." Feng Bujue said, raising the assault rifle again and aiming at Vincent's crotch.

"Alright, alright... let's talk nicely." Vincent turned to the side and crossed his legs. "Don't do these unnecessary things."

"Then I won't beat around the bush with you." Feng Bujue knew that the wisdom of the devil in front of him was on the same level as Woody's. When smart people spoke to each other, they could be very profound or very direct. "Be sensible and tell me everything you can tell me."

"Don't be like that~" At this moment, Vincent's tone suddenly changed. It couldn't be said that he was deliberately acting cute, but it did have that kind of meaning. "You're on SCP-738 right now... the_devils_deal, as the name suggests... we're going to make a deal." He leaned back on the back of the throne and spread his hands. "If you don't pay the corresponding price, you won't get any substantial rewards. I can't do anything about it."

"Is that so..." Feng Bujue said. "Then next, are we going to have a scene of 'the devil enticing mortals to bite the hook'?"

"If you don't mind, I'll start now," Vincent tilted his head slightly, looking at Brother Jue with a very sincere gaze.

"Sure~ you go ahead." Feng Bujue replied weakly.

"Ah~ fame, power, wealth... everything in this world... is here with me..." Vincent recited in a passionate manner, like a poetry recitation. "Mortal ah~ what do you want? Say it!"

"Is that how you entice others to make deals?" Feng Bujue responded to Vincent with a contemptuous gaze. "I can't help but ask... how did you become Satan's confidant?"

"Hehe..." Vincent smiled. "Alright, I'll be serious." He cleared his throat. "How about I give you Li Ruoyu?"

"What did you say?" Feng Bujue's expression changed instantly when he heard those three words, becoming cold and intimidating.

"Look~" Vincent replied triumphantly. "Someone's angry... why is that? Because I touched the most undefended part of his incomparably powerful heart." As he spoke, an invisible shadow seemed to cover his face. "This is 'mortal,' Feng Bujue, experience your own fragility... that's why the human soul is beautiful and brilliant. In contrast... we, these 'deified' existences, are just some ugly rascals, lackeys, opportunists, destroyers... I hate myself, Feng Bujue, but at the same time, I don't care... can you understand this contradiction?"

"I'm afraid I can't," Feng Bujue replied coldly.

"Yes..." Vincent said in dismay. "I know you can't... but I just hope you'll think about it."

"What if I think about it? Will it get me closer to your so-called deification?" Feng Bujue said.

"Heh... who knows?" Vincent evaded the sharp question. "Let's get back to the main topic... you can see that I... know how to tempt you, or threaten you... in this regard, I'm no different from Woody." His tone changed slightly. "But don't get me wrong, you're not 'acting according to our will.' I'm not saying this to spare your self-esteem... this is the truth, you understand that yourself."

As he spoke, he gently shook his finger. With his movement, a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink flew out of the drawer next to the throne.

"I'll ask again, how about I give you Li Ruoyu?"

"What do you mean by 'give'?" Feng Bujue didn't give an answer, but instead asked further.

Since it was about the substantive content of the deal, Vincent had to tell the truth: "As long as you agree, she's yours, from her heart to her body, everything about her..."

"You mean... control her mind?" Feng Bujue interjected.

"Of course not." Vincent said. "With her soul strength, I can't control or change her autonomous consciousness."

"Then what are you going to do?" Brother Jue asked again.

"It's very simple..." Vincent said, "Just undo her 'seal.'"

Hearing this, Feng Bujue's expression changed instantly. "You can undo the seal that Woody put on her?"

"Who told you... that the 'seal' was put on by Woody?" Vincent asked rhetorically.

In that instant, countless fragments flashed through Feng Bujue's mind: "So it was you..."

"Yes," Vincent said. "It was me." He paused for a second, then continued, "Li Ruoyu is also in this 'gamble,' and I am her bettor." He had already taken the quill in his hand, dipped it in the ink, and said to the parchment floating in mid-air, "I can tell you clearly that as long as I undo the seal, she will find that she has fallen in love with you, how about that? That way, you don't have to be blackmailed by Woody anymore, want to make a deal?"

"What are the conditions?" Feng Bujue asked immediately.

"Hehe... it's very simple." Vincent said, "In a few years, at the moment your life ends..."

Boom—

A loud explosion interrupted Vincent's words.

The door that Feng Bujue had closed was destroyed by external pinpoint demolition. In the smoke and dust, a dense team of figures poured in. One of them shouted at Feng Bujue, who was still ringing in the ears, "Don't move!"

Frequent footsteps and the sound of guns being loaded quickly surrounded Feng Bujue.

"Alas... what a pity." Vincent sighed. "Perhaps this is fate..."

"Wait..." Feng Bujue said. "Even if we can't make the deal now, in reality..."

"That's impossible." Vincent knew what he was going to say, so he directly denied it. "I don't have the authority to provide this level of deal in other situations. It's only a special case when you sit on this SCP-738, and... this is the only opportunity. The next time you sit on this chair, the devil that appears might not be me."

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue also snorted. "Alright... perhaps this is really fate."

"Don't talk! Throw the weapon on the ground, stand up, and raise your hands!" The fully armed security personnel were yelling at Brother Jue. They couldn't see or hear Vincent, and could only vaguely hear a distorted, distorted sound echoing around the throne.

"I'm sorry, let's meet again if fate allows." Vincent said, and disappeared out of thin air from the throne. And those parchment, quill, and ink floating in mid-air also flew back into the long drawer at lightning speed.

"Do it quickly! Or we'll shoot!" The security personnel gave the final warning.

Feng Bujue had no choice but to put down the guns in his hand, raise his hands, and stand up. He knew... these bastards weren't police officers. This group of people really didn't mind "executing" the target. Not to mention D-class personnel, they wouldn't even blink an eye when killing their own people.

Three seconds later, several strong men swarmed up, subdued Feng Bujue on the ground, and re-handcuffed him.

The security team member who had just shouted then picked up the communicator and reported, "Sir, the target has been controlled, request further instructions..."