Translator-Rhapsodite
Editor-PerpetualMreow, Proofreader-adjective
The dial of the pocket watch consists of seven concentric circles that overlap each other.
The first circle had a turquoise gemstone in the center, and the following six circles surrounded the central gem, forming six equally spaced circular rings. Each ring was engraved with numerous markings and letters on the inner side and there was a delicate little pointer at the twelve o’clock position.
If you took a closer look, you would notice that each pointer had a different shape and pattern. The top of the pointer was also adorned with gemstones, each of them being the size of half a grain of rice, and they came in various types and colors.
This pocket watch had signs of age on it. The brass dial was inevitably worn and corroded, causing the markings and letters on it to become quite difficult to make out.
Ji Dong had better eyesight than Mo Tiangen and the Fan siblings, so he was also the fastest person to distinguish the slender floral letters on the dial.
“On these concentric circles, each circle’s letters forms a word. From outer to inner, they are power, time, space, control, soul… and, truth?”
“Wow, you have a great eye for detail, my friend!”
Yao Wanguan immediately flapped his wings in applause.
“Each of these concentric circles represents the inclination of an SCP item.”
The whale headed stork began explaining, in great detail, the functionality of this A-class collectible called the [Energy Meter].
“You know what? Regardless of how bizarre SCP items may be, their essence is a collection of various energy tendencies.”
As he spoke, he used the tip of his wing feathers to tap on the dial.
“Generally speaking, based on the abilities of various SCP items, their energies could be categorized into six types: power, time, space, control, soul, and truth.”
“Oh, wow!”
Mo Tiangen couldn’t help but sarcastically comment, “If it weren’t for some subtle differences, I would have thought you were plagiarizing the Infinity Stones concept from ‘The Avengers!’”
The Whale Stork’s wings, resting on its back, involuntarily cringed a bit.
He had a deep impression of this muscle-bound man who had once haggled him down by a significant margin. Now, with this interruption, all the old grudges and new grievances surged up, creating an urge to give him a good beating.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Profiteer Yao silently repeated “The customer is God” three times in his mind, trying to force a smile.
“Qfii, jmaejiis, sbeg ecvfgrajcvlcu lr cba fcalgfis kgbcu.”
Tjb Qjcuejc mbcalcefv klat tlr fzqijcjalbc:
“Mbg fzjwqif, lc atf olgra mlgmif, ‘Ubkfg,’ kf tjnf asqfr remt jr wbcrafgr, vfwbcr, jcv uljcar klat fzmfqalbcji mbwyja jylilalfr, jr kfii jr mgfjaegfr atja mbwf lc ugbeqr, fnfc lafwr klat qbkfgoei fzqjcrlbc jylilalfr jgf jii lcmievfv lc atlr ilra.”
“Mhm, mhm.”
Everyone nodded, indicating that they understood.
“For example, when you approach a massive monster, the pointer on the ‘Power’ circle of this pocket watch will start to shift. The closer you get to the target, the more noticeable the rotation of the pointer becomes.”
“I see, I see!”
Ji Dong, Mo Tiangen, Fan Hemian, and Fan Luming all spoke together, while Ren Jianmo nodded slightly.
According to Yao Wanguan’s explanation, the remaining five circles each corresponded to their own SCP items.
The pointer on the “Time” circle reacted to creatures or objects that could manipulate time.
For example, there was a very famous microwave in the SCP item catalog that can make time pass quickly, as well as an immortal old man whose true age is unknown.
The “Space” circle would respond to any item that could manipulate space.
They were often seen in fantasy novels, such as portals or teleportation arrays, as well as spaces that never seem to end. There are also SCP items that could cause spatial disturbances or expansions within a certain area. For example, in Indian mythology, there was a mustard seed that can contain an entire Mount Sumeru, which belonged to this category.
The “Control” circle, as the name suggests, corresponds to SCP items that can influence or manipulate the senses, perception, mind, consciousness, and memory of other beings.
Things like mind control, hypnosis, brainwashing, and more were all included.
The “Soul” circle may sound mystical, but it could be broadly divided into two main categories.
The first kind includes SCP items that are invisible to the naked eye but give off abnormal energy, like a supposedly “haunted” house. The second kind consists of AI with inexplicable intelligence and reasoning abilities, or inorganic items that can interact with humans, such as the “Omniscient Diary” – just write a question on a blank page, and the answer to that question will automatically appear on the next page.
Yao Wanguan explained the first five items very smoothly, but when it came to the “Truth” item, he seemed a bit at a loss for words.
“Hmm, how should I put it…” Yao Wanguan scratched his large bird beak with his wing, seemingly trying hard to find a more appropriate explanation:
“SCP items that can move the pointer of the ‘truth’ ring, although very rare, often cause significant accidents that affect the fate trajectory of the ‘world’ when used.”
Yao Wanguan’s furry face wrinkled, his small eyes squinting into two inverted triangles. After pondering for a moment, he finally remembered a suitable specific example.
“When you guys were going through the information, I’m sure you all had an impression of the ‘Prophet’s Illustrated Magazine’, right?”
Everyone nodded.
That was also quite a unique SCP item.
The so-called ‘Prophet’s Illustrated Magazine’ refers to an anomalous phenomenon that occurred in a certain town.
In that small town, at irregular intervals, a seemingly nonsensical news report without any factual basis would be published in a mainstream media publication.
Once this news report was published, whether it was about murder, arson, mass violence, cult activities, or even natural disasters, regardless of how absurd its content may be, it would inevitably become a reality at some point in the future.
After noticing such anomalous phenomena, the SCP Foundation tried many times to prevent those events from happening.
They attempted countless methods, such as preemptively sealing off the locations where the events occurred or even trying to directly eliminate the culprits causing the events. However, due to uncontrollable circumstances, all their efforts failed and caused significant casualties among their personnel.
In the end, the SCP Foundation had to surrender.
They compromised with the inexplicable phenomenon of the “Prophet’s Illustrated Magazine” and stopped futile attempts to prevent the occurrence of these “prophecies.” Instead, they focused on providing immediate rescue and assistance to the affected civilians after the incidents, to minimize the harm caused.
“So, what you’re saying is that SCP items like the ‘Prophet’s Illustrated Magazine’ fall under the category of ‘truth’?”
Fan Luming said:
“So, you mean it represents certain irreversible forces that can directly impact reality, right?”
Yao Wanguan flapped his wings vigorously and enthusiastically applauded the clever Dr. Xiaolu. “Exactly, that’s it!”
He paused for a moment, then added the final characteristic of this collectible item.
“Of course, the properties of most SCP items are not so easily categorized.”
Then, whale headed stork provided a very simple and understandable example:
“Well, let’s take the participant who obtained this collectible item as an example. His target at that time was a non-physical female phantom, and this phantom could make people who approached her feel fear and tremble involuntarily. This means that she possesses both the attributes of ‘soul’ and ‘control.'”
Yao the scheming merchant said, pointing to the two pointers embedded with obsidian and amethyst:
“Afterwards, the participant discovered that the pointers on both the ‘soul’ and ‘control’ rings had deviated, although the deviation on the ‘soul’ ring was more pronounced.”
Everyone understood and glanced at each other, seeing astonishment in each other’s eyes.
Indeed, this collectible item was incredibly useful to them.
This pocket watch could not only warn them about unknown SCP items but also allowed them to learn about the nature of the item through the deviation of each pointer on the rings. It was truly an essential tool for navigating the SCP “world” and carrying out various activities.
Fan Hemian thought of another question, “What is the effective range of this pocket watch?”
“Well, that’s hard to say,” Yao Wanguan replied.
“Because it relies on detecting the energy of SCP items to provide indications. If it’s just a prank-level small thing with weak energy, you might have to enter the containment room of that thing to detect it.”
Speaking of this, he deliberately made a turn.
“However, if it’s something that can affect an entire area or even cause a world-class disaster, then the energy would be strong. I estimate the detection distance can be measured in ‘kilometers.’”
Fan Hemian nodded, indicating that he had no further questions.
Yao Wanguan rubbed his wings, twitched his facial muscles, and put on a flattering smile. “So, are you all planning to buy it?”
Generally speaking, when the seller personally acts as customer service and explains a product’s features and usage so clearly, buyers would feel guilty if they only ask questions without making a purchase.
But the problem was, this cunning merchant, Yao Wanguan, was particularly good at seizing opportunities. Seeing that Ji Dong and others seemed very interested, he immediately made a bold move and quoted a high price of 120,000 points.
“Wait a minute, this is just a Class A collectible!”
Mo Tiangen immediately shouted, “Last month, our jar of [Thousand Years Drunkenness] was also a Class A collectible, right? You only sold it for 12,000 points, after deducting the commission, you only gave us 8,200! And now this pocket watch has multiplied by ten, how dare you!?”
Yao Wanguan scoffed lightly.
He thought to himself, “It’s a seller’s market now. You poor souls who are about to face the SCP [Film], you’re still hoping that this thing will save you!”
“Because the value of this collectible is much rarer than a high-end sleeping pill that can only be used three times.”
Yao Wanguan thought for a moment, then added earnestly, “And, when you come back from the SCP [Film], you can sell it again!”
Of course, there was one thing he didn’t say.
——Assuming you can come back, that is.
Pocket watch gives me alethiometer vibes.
cunning merchant
✨💖✨💖