The spray canister in the stranger's hand looked familiar—Big Beard Jack had used one on him before.
If you hadn't guessed already: amnestic agent.
The moment Luo Shu realized this, he flipped to Page 6 of his Anomalous Item Compendium and activated Enhanced Memory.
Class-W Mnestic Enhancers could resist even the antimemetic effects of SCP-055, let alone standard amnestics.
His real concern was their motive.
If they were here to capture him—a Foundation fugitive—they'd have backup plans.
And right now, Luo Shu couldn't use Unobservable State—he'd already exhausted today's activations at midnight. He'd have to wait until past 12 AM to reactivate it.
If push came to shove, he'd forcibly borrow IR1901's Sensory Block.
As the saying goes: Better you die than me.
Besides, IR1901 might survive exposure, but if Luo Shu fell into The Administrator's or Barbie's hands again? 80% chance of death.
Anyone would make the same choice.
But what happened next relieved him.
After spraying Luo Shu in the face, the stranger withdrew their hand and said:
"Mr. He, your gift has been delivered. Sleep well—tomorrow, you'll forget everything from today!"
Then they walked away.
Luo Shu instantly understood: False alarm.
They weren't here to capture him—just to erase his memory of seeing MTF-Theta-18 ("Blind Bard") earlier.
Playing along, he shut the door with a dazed expression, staggered to the bed, and lay down, closing his eyes.
Meanwhile, in Site-CN-02's Security Monitoring Room, an agent watched the feed and radioed:
"Target memory wiped! Over!"
Luo Shu wasn't asleep. Thanks to Enhanced Memory, he reinforced the day's events, preventing the amnestic from fully taking hold.
The memory of Blind Bard wasn't related to anomaly containment, so it wouldn't be recorded in the Compendium. If he lost it, it'd be gone for good.
Sure, with his intelligence, he might rediscover the 3rd-floor west wing's secret, but the cost would be much higher.
Just approaching the area once had triggered a memory wipe.
If he went back?
Site-CN-02 would know he was suspicious.
No ordinary person would repeat the same actions after having their memory erased—unless they were obsessed.
Meaning, from now on, any trips to the 3rd-floor west wing had to be under Unobservable State.
The memory flickered under the tug-of-war between the amnestic and Class-W Mnestics—sometimes blurry, sometimes clear, even distorting slightly.
But thanks to the Anomaly Buster Milestone, the amnestic's effect was weakened by 10%.
In the end, Enhanced Memory won.
The memory survived—barely.
Luo Shu could still recall needing to search the 3rd-floor west wing and vaguely remembered encountering an MTF there.
But details like "Blind Bard" and their emblem were too fuzzy to make out.
No matter. He wasn't here to visit them anyway.
The mental strain left him exhausted, like a student cramming all night before an exam.
Soon, he passed out from fatigue.
2:07 AM
The phone under Luo Shu's pillow vibrated silently, waking him.
He'd learned from his Area-14 mistake—back then, Achilles' Heel had discovered his 2 AM alarm through "White Eyes'" surveillance, leading Barbie to grow suspicious.
If he'd been more careful, he might still be safe in Area-14.
But he wouldn't repeat that mistake.
This wasn't just any hotel—it was a Foundation front.
Normal hotels hid cameras to spy on guests. Here? They'd be watching him like a hawk.
Luo Shu didn't open his eyes immediately.
First, he activated Unobservable State.
Then, he moved.
Minutes later, he left his room and headed straight for the 3rd-floor west wing.
Though he'd narrowed down the entrance's location, finding the exact spot was still tricky.
The corridor had six guest rooms, all doors shut.
Luo Shu pulled out a photo and used Picture Passage to retrieve another stack from SCP-055's containment unit.
From a different photo, he took out SCP-005 (The Skeleton Key).
Then, he unlocked all six doors.
The rooms looked identical at a glance, but subtle differences stood out:
Three were occupied.
Three were empty.
After inspecting all six, Luo Shu concluded:
The entrance was in Room 302.
Two reasons:
The "guest" in 302 wasn't sleeping—just sitting on the couch, watching TV.
People stayed in hotels for business, travel, or… other activities.
None of those explained sitting alone at 2 AM.
This wasn't a guest—it was a guard.
The other two occupied rooms? Shift rotations.
The carpet in 302 was noticeably dirtier than the others.
More foot traffic = more wear.
People came and went constantly.
The entrance had to be in 302.
But where?
And how to access it?