According to intelligence from the supercomputer "Bamboo Slips," a bizarre phenomenon had emerged in the grasslands northwest of Beijing.
The phenomenon included:
Mass deaths of livestock (cattle, sheep).
Disappearances of herders (over 10,000 missing).
Satellite imagery revealed that connecting the locations of the disappearances formed a Mongolian phrase:
"The world must perish—humanity must be sacrificed!"
Undoubtedly, this was a new Keter-class anomaly.
Preliminary investigations by Site-CN-02 suggested it was a highly contagious memetic effect. Affected individuals would manifest the same Mongolian phrase on their bodies.
So far, the Foundation had no viable containment measures.
Luoshu's Dilemma
With his current status, Luoshu should have avoided direct contact with the Foundation.
But this new anomaly was too enticing to ignore.
Regardless of its abilities, two of his milestones required containing new anomalies to level up.
He couldn't afford to miss this chance.
Site-CN-02 researchers were compiling data. Once formal documentation was complete, the anomaly would be numbered and named—locking him out of the "Discoverer" and "Namer" milestones.
After a moment's thought, he decided:
"Send me the full dossier."
"As you command, my Lord."
The files showed the Foundation, in collaboration with the Chinese government, had quarantined the area with heavy military presence.
But due to the memetic contagion, investigations were extremely difficult.
Site-CN-02 could only send D-class personnel equipped with cameras and comms for remote observation.
So far:
Multiple D-class had vanished.
Others were infected, manifesting the Mongolian phrase.
The sole silver lining: The meme didn't spread via recorded footage.
This wasn't the anomaly's first appearance. Thirty years prior, a similar event had wiped out an entire Pacific island nation, leaving it uninhabited.
The Foundation had linked the two incidents as the same anomaly.
Given this, the O5 Council's verdict was:
"Isolate the zone. Let it burn itself out."
In other words—abandon 100,000 people to die.
To the Foundation (with SCP-2000's cloning capabilities), 100,000 lives were a rounding error.
The O5s had nuked New Atlantis' capital—sacrificing a remote town was nothing.
But Luoshu refused to accept this.
As the god of his cult, he would change their fate.
What harm could a humble charlatan do?
He just wanted to make the world a better place.
The Quarantine Zone
Twelve hours later, Luoshu arrived at the perimeter.
The area was sealed by miles of barbed wire, with military outposts every few hundred meters.
Armored vehicles patrolled the fence. Helicopters and drones circled overhead.
No one was allowed out. Anyone attempting to flee was shot on sight.
Luoshu checked his phone—no signal. Comms were fully jammed.
Even contacting "Bamboo Slips" was now impossible.
Within minutes, armored vehicles converged on his position.
He'd been spotted.
The Foundation's satellites tracked his 250 Hume signature relentlessly.
A reality bender approaching a Keter-class memetic hazard?
Red flags everywhere.
The Foundation's Response
Barbie and her team were still en route aboard a Gulfstream G700, hours from landing in Beijing.
By the time she received the alert, it'd be too late to intervene.
Back at Area-13, the on-duty "Master" reviewed the satellite data—and connected the dots.
"LoI-CN-1451-2... That's the exit point of SCP-CN-1451's pocket dimension!"
He immediately called Barbie. "Do you know who you're dealing with? It's Luoshu! He survived the nuke by hiding in SCP-CN-1451's world!"
Barbie's blood ran cold. She ordered an emergency landing, then contacted "The God."
"The God" listened, then commanded:
Deploy Omega-7.
Prepare a nuclear strike on the memetic zone.
Luoshu's Move
Luoshu activated Unobservability, "borrowed" a vehicle, and drove toward the quarantine.
He knew his Hume levels betrayed him, but Reverse Warping's duration was limited. He couldn't stay hidden indefinitely.
This was the price of power:
The stronger he grew, the harder it was to conceal himself.
And that was exactly why he hadn't stayed in My Cult Leader World to push his Hume further.