I created a foundation

No one speaks.

The only sounds in the car were the low roar of the engine and the almost inaudible, suppressed breathing of the three people.

The neon lights outside the window were like flowing ribbons, constantly flying backwards. The bizarre colors were reflected on their pale and dazed faces, alternating between light and dark, just like their confused emotions at the moment.

Hayato Hayama clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white from the exertion. He tried to straighten his back and maintain his usual composure, but the slight trembling of his shoulders betrayed his inner turmoil.

He looked out the window, and the familiar street scenes now seemed so strange and distant.

He knew that from the moment he stepped onto the car, the world he was familiar with, the world built of sunshine, smiles and carefully maintained "daily life", was moving away from him.

Everything that happened last night, like a wedge, forced its way into his once perfect life, prying open a crack and allowing him to glimpse the bizarre, bloody and dangerous reality behind the crack.

Yumiko Miura leaned her head against the cold car window, staring blankly at the shop signs that flashed by.

Her beauty, family background, and status as a queen on campus, which she was proud of, seemed so vulnerable in the face of absolute power and unknown terror.

She thought of her good friends whose lives were devoured by nightmares in their sleep. Their voices and smiles were still vivid in her mind, but in the blink of an eye, they were gone forever.

A deep feeling of powerlessness and fear gripped her, causing her to hug her arms tightly, as if this was the only way to absorb a tiny bit of warmth.

Yuigahama Yui kept her head down, tears still staining her long eyelashes. Her body trembled slightly from time to time, and her hands were tightly clasped together, her fingertips cold.

She didn't dare to look out the window, nor did she dare to look at Yukino's back, and she didn't dare to think about what would happen next.

She just felt very cold and scared, and wanted to go back to her home, which was a bit boring but at least safe, and hide in the warm bed.

But she vaguely understood that she might not be able to return to that home. At least, not in this state.

The vehicle drove steadily, gradually moving away from the hustle and bustle of the city center and heading towards the suburbs where the lights were gradually becoming sparse.

There were fewer and fewer buildings on both sides of the road, replaced by vast expanses of darkness.

Yukino remained silent the entire time, her gaze occasionally sweeping through the rearview mirror at the three people in the back seat, her eyes calm and composed, as if she was observing three "items" waiting to be processed.

This silence is more depressing than any harsh rebuke.

Time passes minute by minute.

Hayato Hayama suddenly noticed that the car turned into a fork in the road he had never seen before.

There are no street lights on this road, and there are towering walls on both sides. There seem to be surveillance devices with flashing red lights on top of the walls.

At the end of the road was a huge, unmarked steel gate with a cold metallic sheen.

As the vehicle approached, the gate slid silently to the sides, revealing a deep, sloped entrance leading underground.

The vehicle drove straight in without stopping.

As the vehicle went deeper, the last bit of light from the outside world was completely swallowed up.

They seemed to be being taken deep into the center of the earth.

Hayato Hayama subconsciously held his breath.

He looked at the pure darkness in front of him that seemed to be able to swallow everything, and an idea emerged in his mind with great clarity.

Can not go back.

That familiar world has been completely left behind.

What awaits them ahead is a complete unknown.

The special car drove down the slope for several minutes and finally stopped in a slightly open underground parking lot.

The cold incandescent light made the surroundings appear pale.

"We're here." Yukino's voice broke the silence in the car, "Get off."

Chapter 128: Red Pill or Blue Pill? Hayato Hayama's Choice: Reality

An interrogation room numbered "SR-07" in a Foundation outpost.

Hayato Hayama, Yumiko Miura, and Yuigahama Yui sat side by side on one side of the long table.

Yukinoshita Yukino sat alone at the other end of the long table, two meters away from them.

She changed into a form-fitting black uniform, a silver fleur-de-lis badge adorning her chest, the insignia of a formal Foundation member. Her long, dark hair was meticulously tied back, revealing a smooth forehead and eyes as sharp as cold stars. She looked completely different from the agile, battle-hardened girl of last night, more like a calm and dignified judge.

The room was dead silent, with only the slightly rapid breathing of three people echoing in the small space.

Yukino didn't say anything, but just stretched out her slender fingers and tapped lightly on the metal table.

"Om-"

On the wall in front of the three people, an area that was originally integrated with the wall suddenly lit up and turned into a huge display screen.

There was no sound, only shocking images flashing across the screen like a kaleidoscope.

Twisted humanoid monsters writhe in dark corners. Ancient artifacts, emitting an ominous aura, sit quietly on display. Vast cracks, unexplained by science, suddenly appear in the city. At the disaster site, individuals wearing uniforms similar to Yukino's, armed with a variety of bizarre weapons and equipment, engage in a brutal battle against beings beyond imagination.

The images switch extremely quickly, full of visual impact, but many key details are deliberately blurred, as if through a layer of frosted glass, making it difficult to see clearly, but making people feel the fear and shock from the unknown.

Hayato Hayama was able to maintain his composure at first, but as the images continued to impact him, his breathing gradually became heavy, and his hands on his knees unconsciously clenched.

Yumiko Miura let out a short scream and subconsciously covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were filled with incredible fear, and she leaned towards Yuigahama next to her, as if trying to draw some strength from her companion.

Yuigahama Yui's face was as pale as paper. She clutched Miura's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white from the exertion, and her body trembled like a leaf in the wind. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she couldn't let them fall because of extreme fear.

"As you can see."

Xueno's cold and steady voice, like a sharp blade breaking through the ice, reached the ears of the three people clearly.

"This world is not as peaceful and tranquil as you think it is."

The image on the screen froze on a slowly rotating Foundation emblem—a circular pattern surrounded by three inward-pointing arrows, symbolizing secure, contain, and protect.

"Beneath the bright and daily lives you take for granted lies countless darkness and anomalies capable of easily overturning existing civilization." Yukino's gaze swept over the three people, their mouths slightly open in shock, her tone steady. "And our responsibility as the SCP Foundation is to effectively control, thoroughly contain, and protect these anomalies beyond human cognition, thereby maintaining the delicate balance of this world."

She paused, giving the three of them some time to digest this subversive information.

The interrogation room fell into a suffocating silence once again. Hayato Hayama lowered his head, seemingly contemplating something. Miura Yumiko and Yuigahama Yui stared at each other, their eyes filled with confusion and helplessness. The worldview they had built over the past decade was completely shattered in just a few minutes.

After a long while, Yukino spoke again, her voice even deeper than before, with an unquestionable solemnity.

"Now, based on Section 7B of the Foundation's Ordinary Witness Handling Regulations, you have two options."

The Foundation emblem on the screen disappeared, replaced by a capsule emitting a soft blue light.

"The first path I call blue oblivion." Yukino's index finger tapped lightly on the table, making a monotonous and rhythmic sound. "You will undergo the Foundation's highest level A amnesiac treatment. Everything that happened last night, about the anomaly, about the Foundation, all related memories will be completely erased, leaving no trace."

"You will forget everything you saw and heard tonight, forget those unpleasant experiences, and forget me." Her voice was calm, almost cold. "Then, you will return to your original bright, ignorant, and safe daily lives. The Foundation will place you on the Class-D protected list and, without your knowledge, send agents to secretly ensure that you will not be easily exposed to similar anomalous events in the future."

"Simply put, you can pretend nothing happened and continue to enjoy your seemingly perfect youth."

The blue capsule on the screen slowly rotates, emitting an alluring and reassuring light, as if swallowing it would free you from all nightmares and anxieties.

There was a glimmer of desire in Yuigahama Yui's eyes, and she seemed quite tempted by this choice.

Yukino didn't give her too much time to hesitate and tapped the table again.

The blue capsule on the screen shattered and vanished, replaced by a sharp, angular crystal blazing with a fiery red light. The background image shifted to a scene of countless new recruits sweating profusely on a muddy training ground, engaging in brutal combat amidst a simulated ruin. The sound of gunfire, explosions, and roars drifted faintly from the screen, a scent of iron and blood.

"The second path, I call it the red truth." Yukino's voice suddenly rose a few notches, with a barely perceptible hint of excitement. "Give up the false peace and comfort and choose to join us."

Her gaze became as sharp as a knife, as if it could pierce through the souls of the three people.

"You will retain all your memories and face the world's deepest darkness and cruelest truth. You will receive the most rigorous training, learning how to fight against anomalies and how to survive in this dangerous world."

"You will have the opportunity, with your own hands, to gain the right to know all the truth. One day, you may even have the power to change yourself, change others, and even change the fate of the world."

Yukino stood up, placed her hands on the cold metal table, and leaned forward slightly. An invisible sense of oppression instantly enveloped the three of them.

"But I must warn you." Her voice was like a shard of winter ice, each word clear. "Once you embark on this path, there's no turning back. You'll bid farewell to your past, comfortable lives. What awaits you in the future is only endless danger, sacrifice, and a fate that walks on the edge of a knife."

"Now," Yukino slowly straightened up, regaining her previous composure, but the sharpness in her eyes remained unchanged, "make your choice."

The interrogation room fell into deathly silence again.

Only the burning red crystal emitted a heart-pounding light on the screen, like a portal to an unknown abyss.

Hayato Hayama still kept his head down, and the loose hair on his forehead covered his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression.

Yumiko Miura bit her lower lip tightly, her nails almost digging into the flesh of her palm.

Tears glistened in Yuigahama Yui's eyes, filled with confusion and struggle.

Yukino looked at them calmly, her white index finger tapping rhythmically on the cold metal table top, again and again.

There was a suffocating silence in the interrogation room.

The air seemed frozen, carrying the coldness of metal and the faint scent of disinfectant that had not yet completely dissipated.

The pale light from overhead shone down, making the outlines of the three young figures exceptionally distinct.

Yuigahama Yui's shoulders trembled slightly. She lowered her head, her hands tightly wrung together, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Yumiko Miura pursed her lips tightly, and her usual queen-like pride was gone, replaced by a kind of fragility mixed with fear and confusion.

Hayato Hayama.

The once perfect gentleman is now like a statue about to collapse. He maintains calmness on the surface, but inside he is already in turmoil.

The multiple-choice question given by Yukinoshita Yukino is like an invisible sharp blade hanging at the crossroads of their fate.

It is to forget everything and return to the daily life that seems beautiful but false like a mirage.

Or face this cruel and subversive "truth" and embark on a road full of thorns and unknowns.

Every passing second was like a heavy hammer hitting their tense nerves.

The heavy breathing sounds were infinitely amplified in the silent space, interweaving into a depressing prelude.

This choice was too heavy for them.

It is not only about the future, but also questions the entire worldview they have built in the past.

Yukinoshita Yukino sat quietly opposite them, her eyes calm, like the most fair referee, waiting for the final judgment.

She didn't push or put any extra pressure.

She knew that such a decision had to be made by them themselves.

Any external interference will make this choice lose its due weight.