I'm Crushing on Gorgeous Faces in Variety Shows!

Chapter 623 - 622: SCP-902 Final Countdown

There’s a photo at the bottom of the locker.

After struggling to pull it out, I saw it was a photo of Li Yang, squatting on the street in his school uniform from the side.

"When was this taken? Before the recording?" So Li Yang was predetermined to have a special identity? He even had special treatment before the recording.

"No, look at his expression, and then look at the clarity of the photo. This should have been taken after the show started when the cameraman snapped it while he wasn’t paying attention."

Mu Qiu turned the photo over, and there was a sentence written on the back.

Too bad we can’t be, Yu left it.

Zhao Yu: "......What the heck???"

"Don’t tell me this is a story about a love triangle with heartbreaking drama, that’s too cliché."

Mu Qiu stifled a laugh, stuffed the photo into her little backpack, and said, "Alright, let’s keep looking to see if there’s anything else."

With a popular star being given this kind of plot, it’s shocking once or twice, but more than that and fans might say we look down on Li Yang.

The two of them searched the dance studio again and finally found a lost wristband key under the large mirror wall. It was so small that it was nearly impossible to notice.

"It’s concealed so simply, it must be important."

The key had the number 19 on it, and Mu Qiu and Zhao Yu squatted in front of the locker and found the 19th one. Just as the key was about to be inserted into the keyhole, there was a beep from outside, and a cold electronic voice rang out clearly.

"The third monster dossier has been activated!"

"The third monster dossier has been activated!"

"The third monster dossier has been activated!"

There was no need to wait for the repetition to finish. As soon as the sound rang out, Mu Qiu was startled, her hand shook, and the key missed, scraping the locker door with a screech.

The sound was as grating as nails on a chalkboard, making people uncomfortable and giving goosebumps all over.

Zhao Yu tilted her head and shrugged, rubbed her ear against her shoulder, and whispered, "Who found the third one? What kind of monster could it be?"

Just after the words were spoken, the outside notification repeated three times and then continued. The sound of a second hand ticking could be heard coming from all directions.

Tick—Tick—Tick—

The mechanical sound made people anxious. In the silent environment, the psychological effect elongated the interval after each tick invisibly.

It felt like being hidden inside a pitch-black cabinet, listening to the enemy with knives and swords getting closer and closer. They knew when the countdown inside their mind ended, the swords would surely break open the cabinet door and aim for their heads.

In this waiting process, the person waiting remained stiff and held their breath, not daring to move, even when sweat dripped down, they dared not.

They automatically went silent, waiting for about two minutes, but the sound continued.

Yet outside, no special footsteps or movements could be heard, unlike a monster approaching.

Mu Qiu slowly and carefully sat on the ground, rubbing her slightly numb calf, and whispered to Zhao Yu, "This card is a bit special."

Zhao Yu also sat down and asked her, "Do you know what monster it is? Is it also from that monster foundation?"

"SCP-902. It’s a lead box, about the size of your head, seemingly harmless."

Zhao Yu touched her head and sincerely requested, "Please don’t compare it to my head, that’s a bit scary. But is this monster really just a box?"

"It’s just a box, with nothing inside when opened."

"How can it make this countdown-like sound? And how does it kill?"

Mu Qiu recalled the description of 902 from before and summarized:

"Although it’s an empty box, it inexplicably emits a countdown sound. Its destructive power isn’t in physical attacks, but rather psychological.

Anyone who hears the countdown will inevitably believe there’s something extremely dangerous inside the box, and the countdown will definitely end someday, resulting in extreme danger.

The SCP Foundation placed this box under special custody by the Arctic Army to prevent world-destroying dangers. Once the countdown ends, someone will remotely detonate a hydrogen bomb to end this thing."

Zhao Yu’s mouth widened in awe: "This is quite detailed, they even use hydrogen bombs. So how is this card played? How does it kill?"

"I think," Mu Qiu furrowed her brows and sighed, "this is a massive weapon that’s out of control. It’s likely that once activated, the countdown starts for everyone. When the countdown ends, except for the cardholder, everyone else will be done for."

Absolutely, the production team placed 902 here, it’s brilliant, this is no different from placing an Ancient Divine Sword into the Cultivation World—both are bugs.

"...That powerful?! So as long as the cardholder ensures he’s not killed by other monsters before the countdown ends, he ascends as the ultimate winner?" Zhao Yu exclaimed.

"Yes. This is complete annihilation."

"What luck, drawing the most powerful monster. What do we do now? Keep looking for clues or go out to find the cardholder?"

"Finding the cardholder and eliminating him won’t help; once a monster is activated, it doesn’t stop. But another feature of this monster, like 813, is that we have time to struggle."

They could use the time before the countdown ends to delay and extend their survival.

Ugh, saying it out loud is so heartbreaking, the goal to survive to the end gradually becomes a struggle for a little longer.

"Sigh—"

The two of them sighed in unison, gazed wistfully at the camera.

Mu Qiu: "After surviving for so long, one card can eliminate us all in one go, it’s too cruel."

Zhao Yu: "This countdown sound really makes me uncomfortable all over."

Mu Qiu: "Cameraman dude, what do you think about us just sticking here and not going out? We’ll just wait to die here."

Cameraman dude: "..."

What could he say, he didn’t want to go out and bake under the sun either, but without going out, there’s no exciting plot to watch.

Zhao Yu leaned back against the locker too, not in a hurry to open it and search for clues, she mimicked Mu Qiu’s dialogue with the cameraman.

"Bro, you must be exhausted right? We are too, mentally."

Cameraman dude: "......"

Since they didn’t speak, the two began to talk to themselves.

Zhao Yu: "Suddenly a bit hungry, no more motivation to fight."

Mu Qiu: "Suddenly feel like having instant noodles with Brother Huai."

Zhao Yu: "I want to see the world outside the ruins."

Mu Qiu: "I think surviving as the last one in this frightening apocalypse is pretty sad."

Zhao Yu: "Hearing this just makes me want instant noodles more. I wonder if the supermarket still has noodles other than mushroom stew chicken flavor."

Mu Qiu: "I still have seaweed, if we find an egg, then when we’re eliminated, let’s ask for a pot of water and have seaweed egg drop soup."

Zhao Yu: "Don’t even say, I’m already looking forward to that kind of life."