I created a foundation

He said the Shinomiya family coordinated this.

At that time, she only felt that the organization had amazing energy.

But it was not until this moment, when she witnessed the tip of the iceberg with her own eyes, that she truly realized how pale and powerless the four words "amazing energy" were.

This organization called "SCP Foundation" probably possesses power beyond the scope of any country or any conventional force.

Eriri looked at the rare look of shock on Yukinoshita Yukino's pretty face, which had never changed for thousands of years, and felt a sense of inexplicable pleasure in her heart.

Back then, when she was first brought here by Lin Qing, she behaved even worse than Yukinoshita Yukino.

At least Yukinoshita Yukino's breathing was just a little faster, and she opened her mouth wide and couldn't close it for a long time.

"where is this place?"

Yukinoshita Yukino finally found her voice.

Her voice was still clear and cold, but with a barely perceptible tremor, which came from the vibration deep in her soul.

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned around and a meaningful smile appeared on her delicate face.

Her red lips parted slightly.

"The SCP Foundation."

"And your new home."

Yukinoshita Yukino was led into a room by Kasumigaoka Utaha.

The walls of the room were made of some kind of grayish-white composite material, with a cool metallic sheen, yet strangely absorbed most of the light, giving the entire space a soft, non-glaring illumination. A simple, long black table sat in the center of the room, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the strip lights embedded in the ceiling. Apart from the table and a few matching metal-framed chairs, there was nothing else.

There were no interrogation lights, no one-way glass, and not even the oppressive atmosphere that usually characterizes an interrogation room.

Lin Qing was already sitting at one side of the long table, a glass of water in front of him, the surface of the water calm and undisturbed. His posture was casual, as if he was just waiting for an ordinary visitor.

At the door, Kasumigaoka Utaha made a "please" gesture to Yukino, then turned and left, closing the door silently.

Only Lin Qing and Xue No were left in the room.

"Sit down." Lin Qing's gaze fell on Xue Noi, his voice calm.

Yukino pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down gracefully and standardly, her back still straight and her hands flat on her knees, just as she would in any occasion.

"Yukinoshita Yukino-san," Lin Qing said, breaking the brief silence. "Tell me in detail what you saw and heard at Izu Beach."

His tone didn't contain any hint of interrogation, but more like a routine information gathering.

Lin Qing listened quietly, without interrupting or making any unnecessary expressions. His eyes were focused and deep, as if he could penetrate her deliberately maintained calmness and see her true feelings deep in her heart.

After Yukino finished her last word, the room fell into a brief silence again, with only the faint hum of the air circulation system.

"In other words," Lin Qing finally spoke, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the cool wall of the cup, "you, by chance, glimpsed another side of the world. One that is deliberately concealed by the existing order, officially defined as an anomaly, but here, is known as the real side."

He paused slightly, his eyes sharpening. “Then, you were drawn in, becoming a part of this reality, a witness that can no longer be easily separated.”

Xueno's breath caught almost imperceptibly. Lin Qing's words accurately summed up her situation.

"Well, Yukinoshita-san." Lin Qing leaned back slightly, crossed his hands on the table, and looked at her calmly, "Now, you have two choices."

He raised a slender finger, the fingertip shining white under the soft light.

"First, forget everything you experienced today. Forget that monster, forget this base, forget me, and forget the SCP Foundation. We will use a technique that is absolutely safe and will not cause you any sequelae to erase your relevant memories. Afterwards, you will return to your original life trajectory, continuing to be the impeccable second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, the unattainable top student of Feng Zhiqi Academy. You will continue to live your daily life, which seems flawless but is actually full of hypocritical rules, cold calculations, and invisible expectations..."

Lin Qing's tone was calm, as if he was just stating a trivial fact.

Xueno's heart suddenly sank.

"Hypocritical rules," "cold calculations," "invisible expectations." These words, like fine needles, precisely pierced the scars beneath the "perfect" facade she had so diligently maintained. Aren't her family, her school, the world she lived in, made up of these very things?

She saw Lin Qing raise his second finger.

"Or..." His voice remained steady, but Yukino could hear a different meaning in it, a deeper meaning that begged her to explore. "Stay. Choose to embrace this world that may be cruel, dangerous, and may even cost you a heavy price, but is absolutely real."

Lin Qing leaned forward slightly, and his eyes, which seemed to be able to see through everything, were fixed on Xue Noi.

"I heard," he lowered his voice a bit, but with a strange penetrating power, every word was clearly heard by Yukino, "Yukinoshita Yukino-san seems to have been pursuing something called the real thing."

"boom--"

Yukino felt as if her brain was struck by a bolt of lightning, and everything went blank in an instant.

"The real thing"!

These two words, like a key, instantly unlocked the long-sealed gate deep within her heart. They were the cornerstone of all her codes of conduct, her sole belief in resisting this hypocritical world, and the most secret and stubborn desire in the depths of her soul.

She detests those false smiles behind masks, those insincere flattery, and those false performances for the sake of profit. She longs for a pure and profound connection between people that is uninterrupted by external factors and untainted by utilitarianism.

She had always believed that this pursuit was lonely and misunderstood. She had never fully confided in anyone, and even her sister, Yukinoshita Haruno, only vaguely knew of some of her "quirks."

But now, this man in front of her, this mysterious head of the foundation whom she had just met, had revealed the deepest secrets in her heart so easily and so accurately.

How could he know?

This thought flashed through her chaotic thoughts, but was quickly overwhelmed by an even stronger, indescribable shock. She felt that all her disguises, all her pride, all her persistence, at this moment, were seen clearly and clearly by the other party.

Strangely, she didn't feel the shame of being offended, nor the panic of having her secret revealed. Instead, after the initial shock, an indescribable sense of relief...of being understood, like a warm tide, quietly surged over her heart.

It was as if a traveler who had been trekking alone in the desert for a long time finally heard the call from his fellow travelers.

"The real thing you want," Lin Qing's voice rang out again, breaking Xueno's trance. His tone held a hint of guidance, "perhaps it's not some unattainable castle in the air. It might be hidden behind the cracks in this world, hidden among those concealed anomalies and truths."

"The hypocrisy you detest has no place here. Every day we face crises that overturn common sense, challenges from which even the slightest negligence could lead to irreparable consequences. In such an environment, any pretense is futile. Only absolute honesty and trust can sustain us."

"The deep connection you seek may be realized here in a way you never imagined. Because shared beliefs, a shared mission, and the shared experience of facing life and death will forge a bond that far transcends worldly emotions."

Yukino's breathing became a little rapid. Her hands clenched unconsciously, her nails digging deep into her palms, but she felt no pain at all.

Her mind was racing.

Should she forget everything and return to the daily life that she has long been tired of, which is like an exquisite cage? Or should she stay and step into this world full of unknowns and dangers, but where she may find the "real" world she has always pursued?

The answer is almost obvious.

At this moment, the terrifying power of the Foundation and the vague fear of an unknown future no longer seemed so important.

Because she knows that if she chooses the former, she will always live in a false peace, and the "real thing" she pursues will always be just an unattainable dream.

The latter, at least, gave her a chance. A chance to touch the truth, change herself, and even... change this imperfect world.

She suddenly raised her head, and in her eyes, which were always as cold as ice and snow, there seemed to be a flame burning, bright and resolute.

Her voice was not loud, but it carried a decisive firmness that echoed clearly in this simple yet solemn room.

"I choose the latter."

She no longer needed to hesitate, because she knew very well that only this choice could allow her to truly touch the truth that she had been pursuing, the truth that was not distorted or tainted.

Lin Qing stared at the rekindled fire in her eyes, and finally a barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. The curve disappeared in a flash, so fast that people thought it was just an illusion.

His voice remained calm.

"A wise choice."

Chapter 63 The Boundary of Knowledge, the Deep Sea King's Declaration of Revenge

"Welcome aboard, Researcher Yukinoshita."

Lin Qing's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

Yukinoshita Yukino nodded slightly, without much expression on her cold face, but in her ice-blue eyes, there was a barely perceptible glimmer of light called "determination".

She knew that from this moment on, the trajectory of her life would change completely.

"President."

Her voice still had a certain distance, but it also had a more formal feel than before, that of a member of an organization.

Yukino didn't offer any politeness or small talk; she seemed to be born lacking such social lubricants. After confirming her membership in the Foundation, she almost immediately got into work mode, or rather, what she understood as the proper state of a "researcher."

She habitually tried to push up her glasses on the bridge of her nose, but found that there was nothing there. It was just a subtle movement that she had developed over a long period of time.

"Regarding that fish-man," she cut straight to the chase, her tone tinged with scholarly rigor and seriousness. "Does the Foundation have any relevant detailed information? I'd like to review it immediately to learn about its specific origins, known biological habits, and verified weaknesses."

She paused and added, "Especially its ability to transform and infect other organisms. This characteristic should be given a very high priority."

Yukino believed that since the Foundation was a specialized organization specializing in dealing with these kinds of "anomalies," it must have systematically documented and studied the anomalies that had already appeared. She desperately wanted to acquire this knowledge, not only to satisfy her own curiosity, but also to quickly understand the rules of the "real" world and the enemies she would face in the future.

She was ready to accept any information that would overturn her worldview.

However, Lin Qing's answer was beyond her expectations.

Facing Xueno's eyes full of curiosity and expectation, Lin Qing did not immediately give an omniscient and all-encompassing answer, nor did he retrieve a thick file from a mysterious database.

He just shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, Researcher Yukinoshita."

His voice was still calm, but with a hint of honesty.

"No."

Yukino's brows furrowed slightly. No? This wasn't what she'd expected.

Lin Qing seemed to see through her doubts and continued to explain: "We have tentatively named it the Deep Diver variant, but this name is more of a descriptive summary based on morphology."

"Similar creatures, or rather, intelligent beings with similar marine and fish characteristics, have indeed been recorded in numerous myths and legends around the world."

He paused briefly, as if organizing his words.

"For example, in some of the more ancient and obscure Western mysteries, which you often call the Cthulhu Mythos, there exists a race called the Deep Ones, an underwater tribe that serves the Old Ones. And in the folk tales and ancient legends of Neon Japan, there are also stories about Umibozu, Isobushi, and various creatures with fish characteristics.

Description of the sea monster."

Yukino listened quietly. She had heard of these terms more or less before, but she mostly attributed them to literary creations or the imagination of ancient people.

"However," Lin Qing changed the subject, "most of the descriptions in those records vary, with vague details and even contradictory. They are more of a cultural symbol, a projection of fear of the unknown deep sea, and lack rigorous, scientifically verifiable biological evidence."

"More importantly," his gaze deepened, "in our Foundation's existing, rigorously verified containment database, there's no clear record of this type of intelligent fish-man-like creature capable of materializing physical attacks and, through some unknown means, rapidly and forcibly transforming and infecting other organisms."

"To put it simply," Lin Qing concluded, "the fishman you encountered, along with the characteristics it exhibited, is a completely new anomaly for us."

Yukino's heart sank slightly.

Brand new anomalies mean unknown dangers, unknown characteristics, and... the need to study and confront them from scratch.