Even though Luo Shu didn't reply to Gaia's letter immediately, Big Beard Jack's sharp eyes caught the contents.
"Huh? A love letter from some girl? Let me see!"
Who would've thought this burly, rough-around-the-edges man had such a strong gossip streak?
Faced with Jack's curiosity, Luo Shu felt a twinge of guilt. After all, he'd been hiding quite a few things from his boss.
If he acted evasive now, it'd only raise suspicions. So he handed over the papyrus letter obediently.
The moment Jack touched the delicate, fragrant paper and saw the Eye-Pod couriers, realization dawned.
"Wait… this is from 166, isn't it?"
Luo Shu nodded awkwardly. "Yeah. But it's not a love letter."
"Not a love letter? Then what's this 'I miss you' nonsense? Don't bullshit me, kid—I was young once too!"
"It's really not what you think," Luo Shu explained, exasperated. "Back during the Chaos Insurgency attack, I helped her out. She just… invited me to visit her sometime."
"Oh, right." That was the incident that convinced Jack to recruit Luo Shu into MTF Epsilon-11.
"Point is," Luo Shu continued, "I haven't even seen her since then. How could we be dating?"
A few drinks in, Jack became chatty, slinging an arm around Luo Shu's shoulders like a seasoned love guru.
"Look, kid, romance is normal. But know your limits. Some people… they're just not in your world. Don't get ideas above your station."
"I really don't have any!" Luo Shu insisted.
Gaia was undeniably attractive—a goddess in every sense.
But that was precisely why she was out of reach.
Half of Site-19's male staff fantasized about her. Anyone who actually made a move would become the site's public enemy, drowning in jealousy.
Luo Shu was too smart for that.
And then there was Clef.
What father would want his daughter dating a D-class convict?
If Clef found out, he'd terminate Luo Shu's existence with a flick of his administrative pen.
Jack's warning echoed the same sentiment.
"If it were any other girl, I wouldn't care. But 166? Her dad could squash me like a bug, let alone you."
With that, Jack stood up and unceremoniously kicked both Eye-Pods out the door, declaring their courier duties terminated.
Just like that, Luo Shu's correspondence with Gaia was cut short.
He exhaled in relief—though a faint pang of disappointment lingered.
Who wouldn't enjoy being adored by a goddess?
Fortunately, MTF duties soon distracted him.
The Michelin Mystery
Epsilon-11's new assignment: a Michelin three-star restaurant plagued by bizarre cooking failures.
Dishes emerged half-raw or burnt—like clockwork, every two weeks.
The timing matched SCP-173's cleaning cycle and SCP-049's visitation schedule.
"Coincidence?" Luo Shu muttered. "Or Foundation-mandated anomaly intervals?"
Jack glared. "Just focus."
The team posed as diners, spread across the restaurant.
Their target: a portly middle-aged man who always appeared when the kitchen failed.
Yet surveillance showed he never entered the kitchen.
"Classic competitor sabotage," Luo Shu deduced. "But with anomalous help."
As the man entered, Anomaly Detection pinged.
5 meters. Anomaly present.
Luo Shu wiped his mouth and stood.
"Time to investigate."