I can still update shit, yayy~

====

Shinkawa Shoichi waited anxiously.

His greatest fear right now was that this was all a scam.

His rational mind kept telling him—There couldn't possibly be any place in the world…

Where thirty days of labor could earn a criminal like him release.

This was a prison.

And he was a criminal.

What could possibly override the law?

That thought alone nearly drove Shinkawa Shoichi to the brink of a breakdown. Even though he knew the probability of being released was infinitesimally small,

He still forced himself to believe.

Otherwise, the future truly would be utterly hopeless.

The wait was agonizing.

Shinkawa Shoichi felt like several hours had passed.

But in reality—

At exactly 23 minutes and 47 seconds—

The door to the visitation room opened.

Shinkawa Shoichi eagerly looked up.

Only to see several figures enter, all dressed in identical uniforms with no distinction of gender. Their outfits completely covered their bodies, leaving no skin exposed. They resembled hazmat suits, like something straight out of a movie.

The only identifying feature—

Was the symbol on their left chest, roughly over where the heart would be.

An open circle at the center, surrounded by a symmetric polygon. Three arrows pointed inward toward the hollow circle.

Shinkawa Shoichi had seen this symbol recently.

Because of its distinctive and recognizable design—

He immediately recognized it.

It was the emblem of the organization he was about to work for. Apparently called the SCP Foundation.

So, these people must be employees of the SCP Foundation.

At that moment, Shinkawa Shoichi felt a wave of relief.

"Thank goodness. You're here to take me, right? Are we going to start the release process now?"

He asked excitedly and with urgency.

But no one responded.

Two of the Foundation staff members walked over. One of them pulled out a key and unlocked the handcuffs binding Shinkawa Shoichi to the table.

Then, the two of them lifted him by each arm—

Without a single word of explanation—

And began walking him out of the visitation room.

Shinkawa Shoichi felt a creeping sense of unease.

"Uh… I can walk on my own, you know? No need to carry me. I swear I won't try to run.

Um... okay. Looks like you guys aren't exactly talkative, huh? Hahaha... why aren't you saying anything?

Can I at least ask what kind of job I'll be doing? Surely that's okay to tell me?"

He kept talking, trying to coax some kind of information out of the staff.

Even though the prospect of leaving prison thrilled him—

The uncertainty of what lay ahead chilled him to the bone.

Unfortunately—

No matter what he said, not a single person responded.

At one point, he even began to suspect—

Were these guys robots?

Just mindless automatons executing preprogrammed actions?

But, if there was any comfort to be had—

It was that he was actually leaving the prison.

There was no paperwork to fill out for his release. No bribing guards or sneaking through backdoors.

These Foundation members simply—

Walked him straight out the front gates of the maximum-security prison.

All the checkpoints along the way were left open. And even though this should've been work time for the inmates, not a single one could be seen in the public areas or laundry room.

It was as if all prisoners had been locked back in their cells.

It gave Shinkawa the eerie feeling—

That the entire prison was currently operating for his sake alone.

"God, you people really are something else. Are you some international assassin syndicate? Or maybe Japan's official black-ops agency—dealing with shady political business?"

He swallowed the frustration of being ignored earlier—

And tried flattering them instead.

Still, the response was silence.

So Shinkawa Shoichi gave up on talking.

He realized he wouldn't get a single word out of these Foundation members.

Once outside, a pitch-black vehicle with darkened windows waited silently.

Shinkawa Shoichi was thrown into the back seat.

The rear compartment was completely sealed off from the driver's area. And the blackened windows made it impossible to see outside.

It felt like being stuffed into a soundproof black box—

Functionally similar to having a bag placed over his head.

"Damn it… what the hell are these guys?"

He cursed under his breath.

Now alone in the back seat—

His mind began racing.

Shinkawa Shoichi started inspecting the vehicle interior, trying to find any weak point—Maybe he could escape unnoticed before the next round of supervision.

Or when one of those mute bastards came to open the door—

He could catch them off guard, knock one out, and run for it.

But reality soon crushed all such fantasies.

There was not a single detachable part inside the vehicle.

He tried ramming the window with his elbow—

Only to nearly break his arm.

He concluded that the glass was likely extremely thick, possibly bulletproof.

Inside this dark space, he had no sense of time.

Panic slowly crept in.

Then, without warning, the door opened.

The harsh light from outside flooded in, causing him to instinctively shield his eyes.

Once he adjusted—Shinkawa Shoichi found himself inside a room. Pure white walls, a single chair, and nothing else.

"How did you drive the car into a room?"

He asked instinctively.

He had assumed, like before, that there would be no reply.

But this time, a voice answered.

"An elevator. Not a big deal. Even a truck could fit in here."

Shinkawa Shoichi froze for a second.

He turned toward the source of the voice—And saw one of the white walls was now projecting a figure.

A young woman in a lab coat, with dark circles under her eyes.

He stared in shock.

Was this entire wall a screen? He couldn't even tell.

The woman spoke again.

"Hello. Welcome to the SCP Foundation. You may call me Dr. Murasame."

Shinkawa Shoichi hesitated, then nodded.

"Dr. Murasame, is it true that if I work for you for thirty days, I'll be freed?"

That one point still bothered him deeply.

"Yes. Just as stated in the agreement. Work for us for thirty days, and you'll be returned to society."

Dr. Murasame Reine answered calmly.

It instantly lifted Shinkawa Shoichi's spirits.

"Then what kind of work will I be doing?"

He asked eagerly.

"Please sit down. Before we get into your duties, you have the right to be informed about the Class-D Personnel Contract."

At her words, Shinkawa walked over and sat in the only chair in the room.

The moment he sat down—

The seemingly ordinary chair emitted a series of mechanical sounds.

Before he could react—

Something cold touched his neck.

He instinctively reached up—

And felt a metallic collar ring around it.

"Wait, what the hell is this!?"

Shinkawa Shoichi shouted in anger.

"Now, I will read the Class-D Personnel Contract. Please listen carefully."

Dr. Murasame ignored his outburst entirely.

That only enraged him more—

But her next words quickly silenced him.

"Class-D Personnel must wear a 'Black Orb Collar' at all times. The following actions will result in execution:

Violating SCP Foundation confidentiality rules, tampering with or attempting to remove the collar, resisting orders or tasks, leaving the designated D-class area without permission, harming others, etc. A demonstration will now play."

Dr. Murasame's image vanished—

Replaced by footage of a man in an orange jumpsuit. He was trying to use a contraband screwdriver to remove his collar.

After a single warning—

The collar detonated and blew his head apart.

Shinkawa Shoichi went cold all over at the sight.