**Apocalyptic Cultivator:** *"Thank you, SCP Foundation. Once I survive this, I'll repay you properly!"*
**SCP Foundation:** *"No need to thank me — this is just supply and demand. But remember: do NOT hold that item for more than one hour. The consequences are... not something you want to find out."*
Linray deliberately left out the specifics. Let the cultivator fill in the blanks with his imagination — fear of the unknown was a better motivator than any warning.
**Apocalyptic Cultivator:** *"Got it. Can't talk — my enemies are catching up."*
The cultivator went offline immediately after receiving the Hidden Stone. The rest of the group was still chatting away, especially Minor Deity, who wouldn't shut up.
Linray took the energy crystal from the trade and dropped it into Site-Ω's charging port.
*"Energy recharging. Current charge: 1.3 units."*
"One point three? Only one unit from that?!"
Two trades, two high-grade energy sources — and both had only added a single unit. Was the charge rate fixed? Was every energy source worth exactly one unit no matter what?
And there was no indication of what the maximum even was. The display just showed "1.3" with no cap, no ceiling, no context. How long would it take to charge like this?
"Even my phone charges faster than this. This is supposed to be the most advanced facility in existence and it charges like a Nokia from 2005?"
"Overseer, the truth is that all conventional energy sources can only provide one unit of charge to Site-Ω. There is only one type of energy capable of fast charging."
The Red Queen had read his frustration.
"What energy?!"
"World Energy. Also known as Source Energy."
"However, Site-Ω does not currently possess the ability to travel between dimensions, so..."
Linray's mood sank — then immediately bounced back. Site-Ω couldn't cross dimensions, sure. But the Interdimensional Chat Group could.
"Red Queen, how do I obtain Source Energy?"
"Complete containment missions. Restore order to the world — then Source Energy can be extracted from the stabilized environment."
"The extraction process is not complex — Site-Ω handles it automatically. Once the charge reaches 5 units, Site-Ω can be stored in a portable guidance space."
That changed everything. At 5 units, Site-Ω becomes portable. No more being trapped underground.
Linray immediately messaged Zheng Zha.
**SCP Foundation:** *"Zheng Zha, forget the hydrogen fusion reactor. Just get me five nuclear fission batteries instead."*
It took a while for Zheng Zha to reply.
**Zheng Zha:** *"Got it. Can't redeem them right now though — I'll get them for you when I'm back from this mission."*
*"They're way cheaper than the fusion reactor, at least."*
*"But five at once might be tough. I'll grab them when I've got enough reward points."*
Linray didn't push it. He still had the bulletproof raincoat — he hadn't rented that out yet. One more trade would mean at least one more unit.
He opened the group chat. The place that was buzzing with activity thirty minutes ago was now dead silent.
Not a single message. Nobody chatting, nobody online, nothing.
The cultivator and Zheng Zha had excuses — one was on a mission, the other was running for his life. But everyone else? The group that never stopped talking had just... stopped.
"If you don't shitpost today, you'll have the nerve to leave the group tomorrow."
**SCP Foundation:** *"Where is everyone? @I Am The Protagonist"*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Why are you @-ing me?! I'm studying my Arcane Gauntlet!"*
**SCP Foundation:** *"I've got something good to lend you. Interested?"*
The exclusive gift system could also work as rentals — Linray had tested this with Zheng Zha. With Zheng Zha, he trusted him enough to give it freely. Everyone else got rental terms: a set time limit, mandatory return.
The Chat Group itself enforced the contract. Break the terms, and you'd face punishment.
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Something good? I've seen more treasure than there are waves in Bilgewater."*
**SCP Foundation:** *"SCP-Y. A raincoat that dodges bullets. Any physical projectile — bullets, arrows, thrown weapons — the coat automatically evades them. Sound useful?"*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"...Okay, that does sound pretty good. Let me try it first — if it works, I'll consider renting."*
*"Same deal as before? You need energy?"*
**SCP Foundation:** *"Yes. High-grade energy material. Nothing low-tier."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Fine, let me test it. I've got two Hextech crystals on hand. Those are definitely high-grade."*
*"Ding. SCP Foundation sent an exclusive gift."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Holy shit. I just put this thing on and — what the hell is this material?!"*
*"This is stronger than anything I saw at the Battle Academy!"*
*"The Hextech stuff Jayce and the others built? Junk. Compared to this? Absolute junk!"*
*"I can't even put a price on it. No wonder you won't sell it outright."*
*"Is this the same thing you lent to the cultivator?"*
**SCP Foundation:** *"Similar concept, different function."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"How long can I rent it for two Hextech crystals?"*
**SCP Foundation:** *"Since you're being so straightforward about it — three days. Deal?"*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"DEAL! Haha, with this thing I can finally explore that place I've been eyeing!"*
*"This time I'm DEFINITELY stealing that thing..."*
Linray shook his head. "Explorer." "Protagonist." Right. The guy was a tomb raider with a marketing department.
Everything Ezreal called "exploring" was just grave robbing with extra steps.
*"Ding. I Am The Protagonist sent an exclusive gift."*
Two Hextech crystals materialized in Linray's hands — small as pinky fingernails, shimmering blue with an arcane glow, covered in faintly pulsing runic patterns.
Whether Ezreal was an explorer or a tomb raider wasn't Linray's problem. As long as he kept paying, Linray kept dealing.
He turned the crystals over in his hands. Based on everything he'd learned so far, these tiny things contained energy that dwarfed the atomic fission battery by several orders of magnitude.
"And they'll still only charge one unit each. What a waste."
"Low-grade electrical energy can't charge Site-Ω at all. These high-grade sources can... but only one unit per source. Doesn't matter how powerful they are."
"What a goddamn waste..."
He tossed both Hextech cores into the center of the round table. The Red Queen immediately began converting them.
*"Current Site-Ω charge: 3.3 units."*
*"Teleportation system available. Overseer, would you like to begin the second containment mission?"*
*"Due to the distance of this target, initiating teleportation will consume some charge."*
*"Please complete containment of all anomalous objects in this dimension as soon as possible."*
The Red Queen opened a light screen. A dimensional map spread out across the display — several locations marked in red, each tagged with an SCP designation code.
"The Overseer may select any containment target. All marked locations are within teleportation range at current energy levels."
Linray studied the map. Multiple red dots, multiple SCPs. His choice.
He grinned. This was starting to feel less like a nightmare and more like a job.
A weird, dangerous, underpaid job — but still better than sitting in the dark.