"Put me back! Hey, you human! Do you think your life has any meaning? Stop! No!"
The possessive mask tried to persuade Haruto to put it back on the Plague Doctor.
However, Haruto ignored it completely.
In fact, he even found it a little funny.
He pulled out a containment box he had prepared in advance and directly threw the possessive mask into it.
This containment box was specially designed based on the properties of the possessive mask.
The inner lining was made of extremely corrosion-resistant carbon fiber.
The middle layer was over seventy centimeters thick with lead metal, within which special soundproof glass was embedded.
The outermost layer was made of a psychic-blocking alloy.
This containment box could completely block the effects of the possessive mask.
The box would be placed inside a lead-shielded room wrapped in steel, operating around the clock.
As the containment chamber for the possessive mask, the room's door must always be secured with three locks, except during authorized entry.
At all times, no fewer than two armed guards must be stationed outside the containment chamber.
The guards must remain outside the chamber at all times and are never allowed to enter under any circumstances.
The site must always have a trained psychologist available.
Researchers are strictly forbidden from touching the possessive mask at any time.
The possessive mask must be transferred to a new sealed containment box every two weeks.
Although the process was a bit tedious, considering the possessive mask's cognitohazardous abilities—
And its intense hatred for humanity—
The complicated procedure was perfectly reasonable.
Meanwhile, with the mastermind eliminated, the Plague Doctor regained his calm.
The site personnel gradually returned and began to take back control of the facility.
The site itself hadn't suffered much damage.
Only one main gate and a standard containment chamber were destroyed—
Plus some D-Class personnel.
But as everyone knew, D-Class were consumables anyway.
Doctor Shizu, who had always been responsible for communicating with the Plague Doctor, also returned at this time and began persuading him to return to his containment chamber.
Doctor Shizu: "I think you were just subjected to some kind of mental manipulation. Let's return to the 'laboratory' now."
Plague Doctor: "Ugh, my head hurts a little... but has the outside world already been ravaged by the plague?"
Doctor Shizu: "Actually, no. Look at all the people here—no one is infected with any plague."
Plague Doctor: "(Pause), (slightly agitated) But I can smell the plague!"
Doctor Shizu sighed and unwrapped a colorful lollipop.
The item was a containment object: Rainbow Lollipop (SCP-3329).
After securing the Plague Doctor, the Foundation actively communicated with him.
On certain issues, the Plague Doctor and the Foundation had strong disagreements.
To address this, the Rainbow Lollipop was transferred to the current site.
Its ability: when the user tastes sweetness in their mouth, they can unconditionally persuade others.
The Plague Doctor had a certain degree of resistance to cognitive effects—
But clearly, only a little bit.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been hypnotized and controlled by the possessive mask.
Doctor Shizu: "No, there's no plague outside—it's just a bit of seasonal flu."
Doctor Shizu: "As I've told you before, a bit of flu—we can control and cure that easily."
Plague Doctor: "(Hesitant) But… that is still a plague..."
Doctor Shizu: "You should trust us. We are doctors too, born to cure plagues, aren't we?"
Doctor Shizu: "If a real uncontrollable pandemic had broken out, would we all still be alive and well?"
Plague Doctor: "Right… you're right. I suppose that's how it is. Please take me back to the laboratory."
Thanks to the Rainbow Lollipop's persuasive effect,
The Plague Doctor voluntarily allowed himself to be led back to a new containment chamber at the site.
Thus, a zombie crisis was quietly nipped in the bud.
The site was quickly repaired.
Meanwhile, in USA, the Foundation simultaneously took action to clean up.
Infected individuals were isolated and cured.
All Chaos Splitters members and Illuminati members were executed on the spot.
Normally, for non-supernatural organizations like the Illuminati, especially ones capable of influencing human society—
The Foundation would maintain an attitude of observation and restraint.
However, the Illuminati's actions this time had already endangered human society.
Their execution was only natural.
Still, without the Illuminati's overwhelming control, the America was bound to experience serious upheaval.
And the Foundation—
Had absolutely no intention of taking over that mess.
Currently, America's society was extremely chaotic, and its politics were a complete mess.
As for such non-anomalous disasters, the Foundation had no interest in dealing with them.
After all, the Foundation couldn't just start recruiting a few black, transgender, minority humans just to handle PR for America.
Such behavior would be utterly stupid.
After dealing with the mastermind behind the Chaos Splitters—
Haruto was in a great mood and prepared to leave to meet Aleister.
But Doctor Shizu stopped him.
"President, I think you should take a look at this."
Saying that, he handed Haruto a glass container.
It was about the size of a palm, completely transparent, shaped like an hourglass.
Inside, the container space was arranged like a DNA double helix.
Within it was a pale green liquid.
[Containment Object Name: Zombie Virus (SCP-008), Containment Level: 4 - Destruction.]
[Containment Object Description: Ever seen Resident Evil? If you don't want to experience it firsthand, make sure this is properly contained. Those infected will appear as rotting corpses, defy biological logic, crawl in twisted ways, exhibit extreme aggression toward living humans, and spread infection through bodily fluids.]
[Containment Object Properties: The virus has moderate-to-weak transmission capabilities. Infected individuals can only be stopped by destroying their spine.]
Looking at the peculiar properties of the item in his hand,
Haruto twitched the corner of his mouth.
"This thing—was it found in those derivatives (SCP-049-?)?"
Doctor Shizu nodded.
"More precisely, it was extracted from the spines of derivative zombies. This liquid completely replaces the original human cerebrospinal fluid and drives the corpse's movement. Preliminary tests show there's no actual virus or bacteria present—instead, it's a brand-new compound. Although it defies common sense, this non-cellular compound appears capable of influencing itself. Just like the many neurons in the human body, through combination, it can control and transmit information."
Haruto nodded, roughly understanding the zombie virus's operating model.
"Preserve some samples, then destroy all infected D-Class personnel. Conduct a full inspection of the site to prevent any lingering compounds."
"Oh, and by the way—is the Panacea (SCP-500) effective against the infection?"
After issuing instructions, Haruto asked curiously.
"We haven't conducted interaction experiments yet, but it's probably ineffective."
Doctor Shizu answered honestly.
After all, the zombie virus wasn't functioning like a traditional disease. It acted more like a chemical compound, rather than a virus or bacteria.
Haruto shrugged when he heard this.
If it didn't work, so be it.
It seemed the Panacea wasn't as omnipotent as its name suggested.
After this brief exchange, Haruto left Paris site and headed toward Academy City.
By now, news of the newly formed island in the Pacific Ocean had spread worldwide.
Moreover, the Momobami Clan and the Shinomiya Clan had announced their plans to develop the island.
A project called "Academy City" had officially begun.
Satellites across the globe had had their data tampered with.
Images from elsewhere appeared normal.
But whenever satellites tried to capture Academy City, AI would replace the images with ongoing development scenes.
Meanwhile, Academy City was gradually connecting to the main world's network. Strict restrictions remained—any public postings from Academy City still required approval.
But at least inside Academy City,
People were starting to accept the reality of arriving in a whole new world.
And because the main world and Academy City's history and culture were extremely similar—
Except for a lower emphasis on religion due to the lack of magic—
Everything else felt familiar.
The students of Academy City were very accepting of this.
It was necessary to connect to the main world's internet sooner rather than later. If Academy City's information flow stayed sealed for too long, chaos would inevitably follow.
When Haruto arrived at Academy City once again,
He saw that in the central area, the windowless, doorless building—
Had now opened a door.
Haruto smiled and stepped through it.