The moment Mechanical Animation activated, the Roomba—duct-taped to the UMP45—whirred to life. Its red-dot sight blinked rapidly, like an eager eye.
Success.
Luo Shu had inherited SCP-100-1's "brilliant" craftsmanship: slap parts together, ignore stability, and let the anomaly handle the rest.
As long as Mechanical Animation recognized the contraption, it worked.
Luo Shu crouched, addressing his creation sternly:
"Stick close. If anyone tries to attack me, open fire. No slacking—and don't wander off. Your predecessor upstairs is now a lifeless hunk of metal. Learn from its mistakes."
The UMP45-Roomba blinked its sight once in acknowledgment.
Thus, the most absurd fireteam in Foundation history advanced.
The Encounter
Sublevel -2's corridor was eerily quiet. Luo Shu descended toward Sublevel -3.
At the stairwell, a man in a lab coat sprinted up toward him.
Dark skin. Middle Eastern features.
In a nation where racial profiling ran deep, an Arab researcher in an East Coast Site was unheard of—let alone one Luo Shu had never seen in Site-19.
The stranger pointed downward, his voice oddly mechanical:
"Breaches below! Help!"
Then he dashed past, vanishing around the corner.
Luo Shu smirked and continued down.
Two steps later—
Gunfire erupted behind him.
He spun to see the stranger had doubled back, a knife in hand, creeping toward him.
The man's coat was riddled with bullet holes—yet no blood.
Instead, the UMP45-Roomba sparked and sputtered, its chassis peppered with self-inflicted damage.
Luo Shu chuckled.
"You're SCP-073, aren't you? 'Cain'?"
The stranger froze. "Indeed. But how…?"
His demeanor shifted—now poised, almost aristocratic.
The Revelation
Luo Shu had known from the start.
His Anomaly Detection Milestone had flared the moment Cain entered range.
He'd played along to gauge the entity's intent—hence the exposed back.
Cain's feigned retreat, the ambush, the damage reflection—all confirmed it.
SCP-073's signature traits:
Harm Reversal: Any attack on him rebounds onto the attacker.
Soil Sterilization: Kills anaerobic bacteria in a 20m radius, rendering land barren.
If SCP-166 was the bane of machinery, Cain was nature's nemesis.
But Luo Shu cared only about one ability.
Damage immunity.
If he could secure Cain's containment—better yet, his friendship—he'd gain access to a near-invincible shield.
The Negotiation
Luo Shu activated Persuasion.
"I'm Luo Shu. I mean no harm—and you've no reason to attack me."
Cain's nose wrinkled. "You reek of soil. I despise it."
Luo Shu glanced at his boots—still caked with mud from SCP-100's junkyard.
He kicked them off. "Better?"
Cain nodded, turning to leave.
Not an option.
Luo Shu blocked his path. "Wait! Why the rush?"
Politeness compelled Cain to respond. "A man who freed me requested aid upstairs."
Chaos Insurgency. They'd exploited Cain's helpful nature to trigger his breach.
Now, Luo Shu had to counter-manipulate.
"It's a warzone up there. Let me help instead."
Cain hesitated.
Luo Shu pressed further, channeling SCP-035's silver tongue:
"What's the task? Maybe I can assist."
Cain's posture softened. The gambit worked.
The Stakes
Luo Shu needed two things:
Contain Cain to exploit his reflection ability.
Befriend him for remote activation via Friend of the Anomalies.
But how to override Chaos's request?
He leaned in, voice conspiratorial:
"Those men lied. They're hurting people upstairs. You'd be aiding killers."
Cain's eyes widened. "I… cannot abide that."
Hook set.
Now to reel him in.