"You're saying... there's a project in B3 that can achieve spatial transfer?" Gore asked.

"That's right." Feng Bujue replied, "If you still want to live, I suggest... you come with me to find that thing, and then leave this base."

"Hmph... a joke..." Gore sneered, "Just based on a few words from you, you think we'd disobey orders and help you, a Class-D personnel, escape?"

"It's just encountering an out-of-control 106; we're not so easily scared," Dan added from the side. "Even if we can't contact command for the moment, it doesn't mean anything."

After these two voiced their opinions, the remaining five team members also expressed their agreement. It seemed… Brother Jue's attempt at defection had failed.

"I see... then I have nothing more to say." Feng Bujue wasn't flustered. He stood up and brushed the dust off his body. "Do whatever you want."

"I will, without you telling me," Gore retorted, then turned his head. "Attention, everyone, move forward to the cargo passage."

"Cargo passage?" Feng Bujue questioned. "So there's such a thing?"

"Heh... what did you think..." Gore looked at Brother Jue and smiled. "You think I'd just come to B3 without a backup plan?"

"Tch..." Feng Bujue thought to himself, "It really is Nightmare Difficulty; these NPCs are hard to deal with..."

Brother Jue's initial plan was to... somehow trick these people into entering the containment procedures for that Anomalous project with him. Then, when the time was right, he could just find some excuse to deny the "spatial transfer" claim.

But he hadn't expected that these guys could still hold the line in this situation and wouldn't fall for it...

"Listen, kid, I'm warning you." After the team started moving again, Gore said to Brother Jue, "The orders we received didn't say we had to bring back live personnel. If you try any more tricks..."

"You'll just turn me into a corpse and carry me back, right?" Feng Bujue continued the other's words. "Alright, I understand..." He was still pretending to be calm. "Since you're so stubborn, there's nothing I can do. I can only wish you good luck."

Although he said "wish you good luck," Brother Jue was actually praying that they would quickly encounter something else like 106. Only a real, deadly threat could change the situation.

Clang clang... clang clang...

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Brother Jue's wish was soon fulfilled.

Just as the group was heading towards the cargo passage, the sound of a bell reached their ears.

This wasn't the crisp sound of a small bell, but a more muffled, solid sound quality.

"What... what's going on..." Gore, who was at the front, froze. He muttered to himself, his tone revealing unprecedented panic and fear.

"Hey... did you guys see that..." another team member not far from him immediately said.

"Y-yes... of course we saw it..." another stuttered, "What on earth is that thing..."

"It should be ***-513-1," Feng Bujue interjected at this moment.

Only Brother Jue's tone was normal. Unlike the others... who more or less showed some degree of fear.

"What the hell is that?" Dan asked loudly.

"Didn't you all see 'him'?" Feng Bujue replied calmly. "It's just that thing."

***

[Item #: ***-513]

[Object Class: Euclid]

[Special Containment Procedures: ***-513 is to be suspended within a one-cubic-meter block of gelatin, which in turn is to be contained within a soundproofed, environmentally controlled containment chamber. The gelatin is to be inspected daily for degradation or loss of mass. Following any seismic event, explosion, or sonic event of Level 2 or higher, the gelatin is to be inspected on an emergency basis. Personnel performing this inspection are to wear earplugs and earmuffs at all times while within 513’s containment chamber.

If the gelatin shows any signs of damage (tears, rips, punctures, melting, mold, etc.), 513 is to be immediately removed and suspended within a new block of gelatin by a team of surgically deafened Class D personnel. No other personnel are to enter the containment chamber during this process.

Any sentient beings exposed to 513 are to be monitored at all times by at least two security personnel. Under no circumstances are exposed subjects to be administered tranquilizers or allowed to enter unconsciousness. Any exposed subject who enters unconsciousness is to be terminated immediately.

Class D personnel are to be terminated at the first sign of psychological trauma. Other exposed subjects may be terminated at their request.

If possible, ***-513-1 is to be apprehended upon sighting.]

[Description: Physically, ***-513 is an unremarkable, severely corroded cowbell. Due to the severity of the corrosion, no markings or engravings are visible on its surface. Attempts to remove the corrosion via chemical or physical means have met with failure.

***-513 was discovered by Agent [DATA EXPUNGED] during reestablishment of Containment Protocol Mu at Site [DATA EXPUNGED]. The bell's clapper was found to be firmly secured with several layers of duct tape. A fragment of paper was discovered along with 513 (see Addendum).

Any sound produced by 513 immediately induces panic in all sentient beings who hear it, regardless of their prior psychological state.

Subjects exposed to this effect report being under the intense scrutiny of an unseen entity and exhibit elevated heart rate and blood pressure.

Within one hour of exposure to 513, subjects will begin to glimpse ***-513-1 whenever opening doors, passing mirrors, turning their heads, or performing any other action that causes a sudden shift in their field of vision.

Subjects report that 513-1 flees from sight as soon as it is seen, never remaining visible for more than a moment. Questioning of individuals surrounding subjects exposed to 513 indicates that 513-1 is invisible to those not exposed to 513.

"Glimpses" of 513-1 will recur every 14-237 minutes. This "stalking" behavior on the part of 513-1 will invariably induce severe sleep deprivation, as subjects are frequently disturbed by 513-1 during their sleep. Subjects able to fall asleep prior to 513-1's appearance report being physically assaulted by 513-1.

Upon awakening, 513-1 will flee as usual. This sleep deprivation, combined with the psychological stress induced by 513-1's behavior, invariably leads to paranoia, aggression, hypervigilance, and depression. All tests have ended with the suicide of the subject, with one exception.

Descriptions of 513-1's appearance are highly unreliable. Subjects are wholly incapable of providing complete visual descriptions due to exhaustion, compromised psychological state, and the confusing nature of hypervigilance. However, all interrogations to date indicate that 513-1 is a gaunt, humanoid figure with abnormally large hands.]

[Addendum: Text from recovered fragment of paper –

you've seen it now he can hear you
you've touched it now he can see you
never ring it if you hear it he can touch you]

***

"A_Cowbell" was the name of this ***.

This was a very terrifying project. Although it couldn't be said that it had any malice towards humans itself, the effects it induced were enough to make a horror film series out of it.

Just now, Feng Bujue and the seven security team members around him had all heard the ringing of that cowbell together. Thus, all eight of them were inevitably... affected by the project.

However... for Feng Bujue, who had lost his fear, "panic" didn't exist. Although he had also seen 513-1, he didn't feel scared at all.

"Don't worry, that thing won't reappear for a while." Brother Jue said to the security team members in a very relaxed tone. "Let's keep moving."

"You're talking nonsense!" At this moment, Dan's voice was trembling, "I feel like... h-he's 'staring' at me..."

"Yeah... I feel it too."

"Me too..."

The other team members also echoed one after another.

"'Staring' what's the big deal?" Feng Bujue said, "Everyone who hears the bell will be stared at by him. I can feel his gaze too, but it's not a big deal..." He was definitely talking without a care in the world, "513-1 can't cause us any physical harm at all. To put it bluntly... he exists in the 'world of consciousness.' As long as we stay awake, all he can do... is just flash in our vision to scare us."

"You little..." At this time, Gore was the first to calm down, "Why do you know so much?" He had already felt something was wrong when he heard Brother Jue talk about 106's file, and now he felt even more that something was wrong. "You keep saying you're a Class-D personnel, but you seem to know the Foundation's project information like the back of your hand... No matter what strange situation appears, you can immediately tell which project it is..." He raised his gun. "Speak! Who exactly are you?"

"Heh..." Feng Bujue put on a profound look again. "Since you don't trust me at all, why bother asking so many times? Even if I answer this question, you might not believe it, right?"

"Hmph..." Gore snorted and didn't ask any further, because Brother Jue was right.

"Speaking of..." Two seconds later, Feng Bujue spoke again, "Rather than my identity, don't you think... there's another thing that's more worth thinking about?"

"Oh? What is it?" Gore replied.

"Don't you guys find it strange?" Brother Jue's expression sank, "Who rang ***-513?"

As soon as these words came out, the seven security personnel were collectively stunned.

"And the timing of ringing the bell was grasped perfectly..." Feng Bujue said as he turned his head to look at a fork in the road next to him. The sign at the fork read "***-513 Containment Chamber." "Without a doubt... the soundproofing equipment in this containment chamber has been damaged or turned off, and... the cowbell just happened to be rung when we passed by here... Heh... it feels like a premeditated attack..."

"Ignore him!" Gore ignored Brother Jue's sarcastic words and stubbornly ordered, "No matter what happened in that containment chamber, it has nothing to do with our mission. Keep moving!"

***

At the same time, the command center.

"Still unable to get a visual?" Director Kozmo asked the staff next to him again.

"No," the staff member replied.

"What about communications..."

"They keep sending communication requests, but every time we connect, we can only hear a series of noisy sound waves."

"Hmm..." Kozmo frowned after hearing this, falling into deep thought.

It turned out that from the moment Brother Jue and the seven security team members escaped into B3, all video and audio signals on the entire third underground floor had been completely cut off...

Judging from the results of the computer detection, those lines were normal, and it didn't seem like a mechanical failure. It couldn't be a power supply problem either... because both the third underground floor and the command center had dedicated power generation devices. Even if 106 had destroyed the generator room, it wouldn't have affected these two places.

"Director." After a moment, Agent Steven, who was standing not far away, saw that Kozmo looked troubled and stepped forward to remind him in a timely manner. "Could it be... that some project is causing the monitoring equipment to malfunction?"

Kozmo looked back at him, "Before you spoke, I was thinking... which project has this characteristic."

As the person in charge of this base, Kozmo could basically recite the names, codes, and corresponding characteristics of all the projects in the facility.

"Oh? Do you have any ideas? Director," Steven asked.

"Yes." Kozmo replied calmly, "As far as I know, no *** in B3 can do this."

"Uh... this..." Steven seemed not to understand what the director meant.

After a two-second pause, Kozmo said again, "Then the only remaining possibility is..." He paused. "The Anomalous project that has not yet established a file is playing tricks."

As soon as Steven heard this, his expression changed drastically. "Director, that project is..."

"See for yourself." Kozmo said, picking up a document on the operating table in front of him and handing it to Steven.

Steven took the document and looked at it intently...

[Pending Evaluation Project: Anomalous-01]

[Object Class: ?]

[Special Containment Procedures: Anomalous-01 is to be kept in a 1.5-cubic-meter cuboid alloy container, made primarily of [DATA EXPUNGED]. The container is placed within a standard 5x5 meter containment unit. The room must be under constant surveillance.

Before the evaluation is complete, no personnel below Level 5 are to communicate with or come into contact with Anomalous-01, except for testing personnel. All personnel who interact with the project must undergo a psychological evaluation immediately after leaving the containment procedures. If abnormal words or deeds occur, on-site execution is recommended.]

[Description: Anomalous-01 is a humanoid puppet approximately one meter tall, who identifies itself as "Billy." Its body is similar to that of a human child, wearing a black suit and trousers with a white shirt underneath, fastened with a red bow tie. It wears red children's shoes on its feet and white gloves on its hands.

Anomalous-01's head is significantly larger than its body in proportion, and has black hair "growing" from the back of its head. Its face is like a white mask, with red spiral patterns on its high, protruding cheekbones, and black eye sockets with red irises and black pupils.

Anomalous-01's mouth is painted with red lipstick, has a jaw that can move up and down, and is always smiling.

Anomalous-01 has a hoarse, vocoder-like voice.

Anomalous-01 is not an inanimate object and is fully aware of the fact that it is "alive."

X-ray examinations show that Anomalous-01's structure is no different from that of an ordinary puppet, but the clothes, hair, shoes and other objects on its body are inseparable.

It has been proven that conventional weapons have almost no effect on Anomalous-01, and the application to use chemical weapons has not been approved.

On the 148th day after the ***-079 disappearance incident, Anomalous-01 suddenly appeared in the former containment procedures of ***-079. Surveillance footage shows that it emerged from a rift that resembled a "space-time fissure."

The MTF team near the facility was immediately dispatched to capture it.

During the capture process, Anomalous-01 put up a very fierce resistance and used a powerful, seemingly telekinetic ability to cause [DATA EXPUNGED] to related facilities.

After being contained, Anomalous-01 has repeatedly attempted to escape and has demonstrated a considerable degree of knowledge about other *** projects. In a total of [DATA EXPUNGED] escape incidents, Anomalous-01 has caused a considerable amount of damage.

In conversations with Dr. [DATA EXPUNGED] and several researchers, Anomalous-01 demonstrated a very high IQ and EQ. It can usually take the lead in conversations with a polite attitude and extensive psychological knowledge. Multiple recordings show that its favorite phrase is "I want to play a game with you."

The evaluation of Anomalous-01 will undoubtedly take a very long time, and this information is still being improved. Considering the special nature of the project, it is recommended to prioritize the establishment of a "disguise file."]

After reading this material, Steven broke out in a cold sweat.

"Director..." He looked at Kozmo. "You mean... this project may have already escaped?"

"Heh... what 'may have.'" Kozmo replied, "I'm sure that Billy 'has' already escaped." He paused. "I participated in that capture operation a few months ago, and I still remember it vividly... The danger level of that puppet is by no means inferior to any Keter-class project, except that it doesn't have such obvious hostility towards humans." He muttered to himself, "I personally feel... that Billy is more like a highly intelligent life form from another dimension who came here with some kind of purpose..."