This was the Anomaly Bane mentioned in the Anomaly Namer milestone—and it turned out to be its own separate milestone!
A pleasant surprise.
The first effect of Anomaly Bane wasn't particularly impressive.
If he was already a target anomaly's natural counter, why would he fear it?
But the second effect?
A flat 10% reduction in all anomalous effects applied to him.
For quantifiable anomalies, this was huge.
Take SCP-035 (Possessive Mask), for example:
Normally, humans within 2 meters feel an irresistible urge to wear it.
With Anomaly Bane, Luoshu's safe distance shrank to 1.8 meters.
Twenty centimeters might not sound like much—but in life-or-death situations, it could mean everything.
Excited to test this, Luoshu realized he was in a cooldown period:
SCP-055's Unobservability: Expended
SCP-126's Perception Block: Expended
SCP-005's Lock Manipulation: Expended
Guess I'll have to wait.
But when he entered SCP-055's unit to recharge, an idea struck him:
Does the 10% reduction apply to anti-memetics too?
Heart pounding, he activated W-Class Mnestic Boosters and stepped inside.
"Hey, buddy. Mind repeating that 'truth' for me? Maybe I'll understand more this time."
SCP-055 obliged, its voice still garbled but—
Different.
"This world... S█X█J█D█... The Foundation... Y█Z█C█D█J█X█..."
The first syllables of each word were now audible.
Progress.
If Anomaly Bane leveled up further, he might eventually decipher the full message.
But leveling it wouldn't be easy.
Among the Catalog's four milestones:
Containment Specialist (earliest, still at Lv.1 after 22 pages)
Anomaly Bane (latest, triggered after countering three anomalies)
If Containment Specialist required 50+ pages for Lv.2, Anomaly Bane might demand countering 10+ anomalies.
Not impossible, but far from simple.
Still, Rome wasn't built in a day.
Patience.
The Storm Arrives
The next morning, chaos erupted.
Luoshu had just entered the Epsilon-11 mess hall when Big Beard Jack stormed in.
"Eat fast, then gear up! We've got a job!"
No PA announcement? Unusual.
Jack explained: "Not a containment op—an investigation. We suspect a Chaos Insurgency mole's been using SCPs to sabotage Site-19."
So IR1901's been made.
Luoshu considered selling him out for rewards—but what good were credits when he was still D-class at heart?
Better to keep the fool on a leash.
If caught, Luoshu would just enslave him preemptively.
Then Jack's gaze landed on Luoshu—weighing, assessing.
Suspecting me*?*
I was a death-row inmate dragged here by—
Wait.
MacDonald.
That's the real weak link.
If they dug into HR's corruption, Luoshu's own origins would come under scrutiny.
Trouble.