Chapter 1 The Connection

Feng Bujue followed the "system's" instructions, drinking a bottle of survival value supplement as he ran towards the connecting passage, replenishing all the survival value he had lost.

Then, guided by the system voice, he ran all the way back to the entrance of the passage.

Given Jue-ge's previous performances, the Foundation didn't bother sending ordinary guards to intercept him… In their view, such an act was no different than throwing their lives away.

[The door to this corridor is very sturdy. It is recommended to summon Ma Sun to destroy it.]

"Understood." By this point, Feng Bujue basically obeyed everything the "system" said.

After acknowledging in his mind, he immediately summoned Ma Sun.

The golden spirit general shadow suddenly appeared, raising his blade to strike.

After a set of "Zhonghua Blade Dance," the metal gate in front of them became a pile of metallic fragments.

Buzz—

However, the next second, a dense laser grid appeared in front of Jue-ge.

This grid was layered upon layered, crisscrossing in a chaotic pattern, and each beam was moving at varying speeds; this defensive measure extended all the way to the other end of the corridor. Forget a person, even a fly… might not be able to get through.

"What to do?"

[Destroy the top of the corridor, run across from above, be sure to reach the other side within thirty seconds and re-enter the building, and hold your breath throughout the process.]

"Hmm?" This prompt made Feng Bujue think of something. "What's wrong outside the building?"

[The Earth's atmospheric environment is no longer suitable for human survival. Breathing the air outside may damage your body.]

"Heh… I see." Feng Bujue muttered to himself, while already manipulating Ma Sun to cut open a path.

Opening a hole in the corridor ceiling wasn't difficult. Once it was done, Jue-ge jumped out and sprinted forward above the passage. In less than twenty seconds, he had reached the other side and, using the same method, cleaved through the ceiling beneath his feet.

Jumping back into the corridor, he then shredded the gate connecting to the other end of the corridor, and just like that… he successfully returned to the right half of the base.

[The central control room is on the third floor. The base commander has deduced your target, and all the forces in the right half of the base have now been deployed to the third floor to defend it.]

"So… approach the target room directly from the second floor, then blast open the ceiling…" The most reasonable strategy immediately flashed in Feng Bujue's mind. "...How about it?"

[That's the best option at the moment, but the walls above, below, and around the central control room are all made of reinforced super-alloy, and that doesn't even include the defensive layer between the second and third floors,] the system replied. [It is recommended to first use the "Super Death Ma Sun Golden Double Fist Hammer" to unleash a series of blows on the target area to disrupt the stability of the alloy structure, and then use the technique you used to break through the elevator car.]

"Alright, lead the way." Feng Bujue had no objections and readily agreed.

Two minutes later, Jue-ge arrived at a corridor located beneath the central control room without incident.

Just as the "system" had said, all the forces in the right half of the base had been diverted to defend the third floor, so Feng Bujue's journey here had been completely unobstructed.

Ma Sun's default existence time was five minutes, and Jue-ge had the [Alchemy King's Taunt], which could extend this time by a few more minutes, so Ma Sun's time limit was still remaining and he could continue to fight.

[After you go up, destroy the equipment in the control room to the greatest extent possible. As long as the control room is destroyed, the base's "means of information transfer" to the outside world will be cut off.]

"In other words… there are still communication methods other than the 'means of information transfer'?" Feng Bujue asked as he controlled Ma Sun to begin "pummeling" the ceiling.

[Yes,] the system replied. [Those projects that "will trigger a nuclear attack program upon failure of containment" all have independent transmission mechanisms.]

"Heh… I understand." Feng Bujue sneered. He understood the "system's" plan as soon as he heard it.

As long as he went up now and made a big commotion, cutting off the Foundation's channels for transmitting information about SCP-3232, then the mission would basically be accomplished.

Next… what he had to do was simple: just find an extremely dangerous project that would trigger a nuclear strike if released, and destroy its containment measures.

Bang bang bang bang—

While Jue-ge was communicating with the system, Ma Sun's attacks had already deformed the ceiling above his head into a concave, rumbling mess.

[That's enough.]

As the system gave the affirmative signal, Feng Bujue stepped on the ground, twisted his body, spun upwards, and unleashed an upward "Electric Light Drill."

Seconds later, like a human drill, he "drilled" into the machine room on the third floor.

[They are preparing to send data externally. Please start destroying things as soon as possible,] the system urged again.

Without needing to be urged, as soon as he reached the third floor, Feng Bujue placed his hands on the ground, stretched into a split, and swept out a [Tempest Kick - Circular Severance] with all his strength; immediately after, he changed to a one-handed stance, kicked out sideways, spinning and kicking in all directions, unleashing a chaotic and indiscriminate series of kicks like a rainstorm.

"I've named this move [Tempest Kick - Whirling Lotus Flower], what do you think?" Since there was no one else around, Feng Bujue simply started talking directly to the system.

[No comment,] but the system didn't seem interested in chatting with him.

Before long, Feng Bujue had ravaged almost all the equipment in this huge machine room… even the automatic fire sprinklers on the roof had been kicked and burst open by him.

[Destruction successful, the information has not been sent. Restoring communication will take at least forty minutes,] the system followed up. [Fifteen seconds ago, the base commander issued an order that two Level Four personnel are attempting to evacuate this location and transmit the message externally.]

"Should I go intercept them?" Feng Bujue asked.

[There's no need. As long as you trigger a nuclear strike within ten minutes, they won't have time to escape the blast radius,] the system replied. [Now, return to the second floor through the hole you drilled out earlier.]

Hearing this, Feng Bujue flashed and darted out of the hole in the ground. As soon as he stabilized himself, the next prompt arrived.

[Seven o'clock direction, go straight for fifty meters, turn right, go straight for ten meters, then turn right again...]

A series of clear and logical instructions rang out one after another in his mind, and Jue-ge's reception and execution were also extremely efficient.

Long story short… just three minutes later, Jue-ge arrived at the door of a containment room located on the first basement level.

"Is this the place?" He stood at the door and asked, "What's inside?"

[SCP-1440] (i.e., "The Old Man from Nowhere". This project originates from the legend of "the old man gambling with three grim reapers". Its characteristics are that it is immortal itself, but it will constantly bring death and destruction to all human-related things around it that have contact with it)

"He was actually successfully contained?" Feng Bujue instantly recalled the project's data and asked doubtfully.

[Yes, because the Foundation of this era has already analyzed the components of SCP-409; they have applied this technology to the containment facilities of some special projects. The inner walls of the room where 1440 is imprisoned are made of a variant material of 409, achieving a balance between proliferation and disintegration effects when suppressing the project.]

"So… this room…" Feng Bujue immediately thought, "At least Level Four personnel or higher must have the authority to open it, right?"

Another meaning behind his question was… "Should I go find another high-level personnel and chop off another hand?"

[No, the door to this room is sealed. The Foundation never intended to open it again after completing the containment. However, the room is equipped with sensors. When the room is damaged to a certain extent...]

Boom—

Before the system could finish speaking, Feng Bujue unleashed a Tempest Kick.

The power of this kick couldn't be said to be very great, but that didn't matter… as long as a visible crack appeared on the wall of the room, the result would be…

[Well done, Feng Bujue.]

[The nuclear missile has now been launched. After the nuclear strike, all observation records will be eliminated, and I can also sever contact with this world.]

As soon as the "system" finished speaking, then…

[Current mission completed. Main quests have all been completed.]

[You have completed this scenario. Automatic transfer will occur in 180 seconds (after this version update, the stay time after the end of a single-player scenario has also been changed to 180 seconds).]

Finally, two more familiar system voices sounded, telling Feng Bujue that his "mission" in this scenario had been completed.

"Phew… in a way, this walkthrough was really easy…" At this moment, Feng Bujue breathed a long sigh of relief.

…………

At the same moment, in the real Foundation facility.

Dr. Cox, sitting behind his desk… also breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at Feng Bujue on the big screen in front of him and revealed a smug smile.

"Doctor, the assessment of 'well done' should be given to you," Two seconds later, a colleague from the observation team praised the doctor in the communication channel.

As his voice sounded, several cheers and laughter could clearly be heard coming from the side. It seemed that… the staff in the observation room were quite satisfied with the results of this experiment.

"Heh… it's okay, it's not the first time I've impersonated the 'system'," Cox also pressed the button on the communicator and responded, "However… this is the first time I've communicated directly with the subject like this, and said so many words…" As he said this, his eyes couldn't help but look at Jue-ge on the screen again, "However, this player named 'Feng Bujue' is indeed very strong… even aside from the data, just in terms of his brain… he is the most outstanding project I've ever seen."

"Well, that's right…" The voice in the communication channel continued, "After all, he is the first player to successfully break through to the 'second layer of the mirror world'. I wonder if other players will be able to do it in the future."

"I think… that's unlikely," Cox replied, "In the end… the level of civilization in their universe, or rather, era, is far behind us; even in East Asia and Europe, where the average IQ is the highest, the average IQ of adults does not exceed 110; and here… since the popularization of gene adjustment technology, 95% of people score above 130 in IQ tests before school age. In addition, with the gap in technology and education systems, they will be even more ahead when they grow up…"

At this point, he paused for two seconds before continuing: "And this 'Feng Bujue' in front of us is undoubtedly an extreme example. Those other subjects… can't even perceive the existence of 'prompts', but he… not only successfully deciphered 'the prompts given by the real system in the first layer world', but also quickly understood 'the hints given by the system I played in the second layer world'. It's a pity… but that's all there is to it."

The doctor's tone changed slightly, and he said with a hint of melancholy: "In the end, it's still a dimensional gap. When he arrives in the 'second layer of the mirror world', that is, an environment where "all the details are under our control", he will eventually be unable to escape the fate of being a puppet on a string."

…………

Obviously, at this moment, Dr. Cox thought that everything was fine.

However, just as he was chatting with his colleagues…

"Heh… hehe…" Feng Bujue in the picture inexplicably laughed.

When he laughed, the smiles on the faces of Dr. Cox and the observers… all disappeared in an instant.

Two seconds later, the doctor quickly returned to the front of the screen, staring intently at the various readings on the screen, and his hand also returned to the keyboard, ready to "speak by pressing a key" at any time.

"Alright, alright, no more acting…" After laughing for a few seconds, Feng Bujue continued, "Anyway, I've cleared the level, so let's chat for a few more words." He raised his head and said weakly, "I don't know who you are, but I know you're not the 'system'." He paused for half a second before continuing, "The real system… only gave two prompts after I entered this 'second layer sandbox', that is, the two sentences half a minute ago."

Listening to his words, the observation room, which had been cheering just now… suddenly fell silent.

And Dr. Cox, who was sitting at the desk pretending to be the system, also widened his eyes, not knowing how to respond.

"It was you who removed the restrictions for me, and it was you who changed the mission…" Feng Bujue continued, "I think… I performed pretty well. After reading the information on SCP-3232, I immediately understood your intention to 'change the mission', and this… became your capital to 'impersonate the system'." He smiled again, "Heh… speaking of which, if I hadn't seen through the information implied in the task of [Destroying all observation records about SCP-3232 in the Foundation], it would have been difficult for you, right? In that case, you would have had to give an additional explanation for the 'system directly ordering the player' incident."

Having said that, Dr. Cox knew that there was no need to hide anything anymore. He immediately pressed the speak button on the keyboard and said, "How did you find out?"

When his words reached Jue-ge's ears, they were transformed into the same voice as the "system voice", but… at this time, the doctor was no longer deliberately imitating that robotic tone, but was speaking in his own tone.

"Oh? Is that Dr. Cox?" Feng Bujue could tell who it was just by the tone, "Or… in a higher layer of the world, do you have another name?" He didn't give the other party time to respond, and immediately continued, "Heh… forget it, you don't have to tell me. In short… the basis for seeing through that you are a 'fake system' is very simple - I did a test."

"What test?" Dr. Cox asked eagerly.

"In the previous ten minutes, while I was cooperating with your command, I kept conveying various information to you in different ways and at different thinking speeds," Feng Bujue continued, "However, you only reacted to the information that 'I fully recited in my heart in linguistic form', but you did not react to graphics, logical assumptions, or faster thoughts at all."

"Just based on this!" Cox exclaimed.

"That's enough," Feng Bujue replied. "Indeed, you have a high IQ and the ability to read ten lines at a glance; your reaction is also very fast. You can communicate with me in real time and respond fluently based on the 'my inner voice' fed back by the observation program. But… you never established a true connection of consciousness with me; the optical brain processes all my neural signals, while you only process 'language signals' and 'language signals that exist in thoughts'… Based on this alone, I can determine that you are not the system."

Speaking of this, Jue-ge tapped his temple lightly with his index finger: "If it were the 'real system' prompting me, then… heh… it wouldn't need to communicate with me through 'voice' at all, because that… is too! Slow!"

"Humph…" Hearing this, the doctor also smiled, "Okay… Feng Bujue, it seems that you are smarter than I thought, I underestimated you."

"It doesn't matter if you underestimate me, but…" Feng Bujue replied, "You, and your colleagues, underestimated the system… or rather… underestimated SCP-3232, and that is a fatal mistake."

"Oh?" Cox's attitude was still relaxed, and he asked with interest, "How did you come to the conclusion that 'we underestimated the system'?"

"Ha! Hahahaha…" At this moment, Feng Bujue burst into wild laughter. After laughing for a while, he suddenly revealed a ferocious look, "Doctor, to be honest… the question you asked, and the tone you used when asking it, can only be described as 'not knowing whether to live or die'."

Hearing this, Dr. Cox's expression changed drastically.

"What do you mean?" He immediately asked.

However, just as these words reached his lips, Feng Bujue in the picture turned into white light and was teleported away.

Beep—beep—beep—

One second later, the base's alarm suddenly sounded, startling the doctor.

"What's wrong?" He immediately pressed the communication button on the desk and shouted loudly, "Report the situation!"

A full ten seconds passed… no one responded to him. All he could hear was the continuous beeping of the alarm.

"Is anyone there?" The doctor also switched to the public frequency and shouted into the communicator, "What happened?"

Another ten seconds passed, and there was still no response.

"What a joke!" Dr. Cox stood up, "Could it be that everyone in the entire base has lost the ability to respond to communications in an instant?" He shook his head, "No… it's impossible… maybe there's something wrong with the communication system."

As he thought about it, he walked outside.

In any case, now that the alarm had sounded, he had to follow the evacuation procedure even if he couldn't contact anyone.

Buzzing—

Soon, the doctor opened the electronic door of the office through fingerprint scanning.

However… after the door opened, he did not step outside.

Because, at this moment… there was someone standing outside the door.

It was a man wearing a black suit. He was slender, fair-skinned, and handsome.

But for some reason, this handsome guy exuded a kind of wretched and gloomy temperament from all over his body. Even the lenses of the glasses on his nose shone with white light, he could not conceal his extremely malicious eyes.

"Hee hee hee… hello, Doctor. Let me introduce myself, my name is…"