Compared to the thousand-word description of the Workaholic's Instant Coffee, Luo Shu was far more interested in the upgraded effects of his Anomaly Discoverer milestone.
After a brief glance at the coffee's abilities, he flipped the Anomaly Encyclopedia back to the front page to check what truly mattered.
[Milestone: Anomaly Discoverer]
[Level: 2]
[Effects:]
Sense anomalies within a 5-meter radius.
Rapidly grasp basic descriptions of anomalies.
Upon entering an anomaly's influence range, immediately discern its type.
The Level 2 upgrade did not disappoint.
Among Luo Shu's seven milestones, Anomaly Discoverer had previously been the most underwhelming.
Effect 1's range was too short, only useful for locating static objects with known approximate positions. Useless against mobile anomalies—or those with long-range attacks.
Effect 2 merely served to help the Encyclopedia's holder quickly understand new anomalies, offering little in terms of defense or countermeasures.
Now, Effect 3 filled those gaps.
"Entering an anomaly's influence range" meant Luo Shu could detect threats at the exact distance they could harm him—and identify their type in advance.
For example:
If he sensed a mental-type anomaly, he could preemptively activate SCP-148 (Telepathy Blocking) for protection.
Other types? Corresponding countermeasures. Survival odds: drastically improved.
Looking deeper, Effect 3 would be critical for locating SCP-3125.
Anti-memes were notoriously hard to detect. Before, finding SCP-3125 in Viñales Valley would've been pure luck. Now?
The moment he nears the valley, Effect 3 will alert him.
SCP-3125, though slightly less efficient than the SMS-Meme, was still apocalypse-grade. Its 1962 outbreak wiped out millions across Cuba—starting from Pinar del Río in the west, all the way to Guantánamo's Site-167 in the east.
The Anti-Memetics Division's thousands of personnel? No chance to flee.
That alone proved SCP-3125's range was massive.
With the upgraded milestone, Luo Shu's odds of finding it just skyrocketed.
The Next Anomaly
Leaving the coffee unit in high spirits, Luo Shu moved on.
Site-167 had an unusual number of Safe-class items—likely because the Anti-Memetics Division had relocated Euclid-class anomalies to Florida's Site-17.
His fourth find: a vial of essential oil.
The documents were again fragmentary, but he pieced together that it originated from Haiti, the island nation southeast of Guantánamo.
Haiti's dark history:
1492: "Discovered" by Columbus.
1502-1544: Spanish colonization → enslavement of indigenous Taíno people to extinction.
1640: French rule → mass import of West African slaves.
The oil was a product of Haitian plantations—though its exact era was unclear.
Not a historian, Luo Shu couldn't date the vial by design.
Solution? Test it himself.
He dabbed one drop on his wrist.
Instantly—
The Sahara Desert.
Scorching sun. Air like furnace blasts. In seconds, he was drenched in sweat, dizzy, weak.
Heatstroke.
And this was with the Anomaly Bane's 10% resistance. Without it? Worse.
A dose of SCP-500 (Panacea) saved him.
Note: Site-167's basement is 20°C year-round, 90% humidity.
He sealed the oil and checked the Encyclopedia.
[Page 131]
[Designation: Unnumbered]
[Title: A Vial of Oil (Named by Luo Shu)]
[Object Class: Safe]
[Description:]
A Haitian aromatic oil, crafted by enslaved Saharan Africans. Infused with blood, sweat, tears, and longing for home.
[Containment:]
Low threat, but users must prevent heatstroke/hydrate or risk death.
[Anomalous Property: Scent of Home]
"One man's heaven, another's hell."
For white colonizers: A silent curse—heatstroke/dehydration on contact.
For Black kin: A bond of solidarity (no effect).
For East Asians (e.g., Luo Shu): Mild symptoms (scalable).
[Test Logs:]
D-XXXXX (White): 1 drop → unconscious, fatal dehydration.
D-XXXXX (Black): No effect at any dose.
D-XXXXX (East Asian): 1 drop → mild heatstroke.
D-XXXXX (Mixed-race): Moderate symptoms.
D-XXXXX (White, pre-hydrated): Severe but survivable.
[Status: Contained]
Luo Shu exhaled in relief.
Being East Asian saved him. A white person? Instant collapse—no time for SCP-500.
Could this work on The God?
Pocketing the vial, he headed to the next unit.