SCP Corporation: Contain Bonfire

"Where did all these weird and bizarre gadgets come from?"

Colin couldn't help but complain. He had hoped to find some powerful items to buy, but to his dismay, it was all incomprehensible stuff.

And then there's this one selling fire-breathing crows...

This note somewhat gives off a vibe of 'protesting too much.'

However, after a casual browse, Colin unexpectedly found something—

[Book of Fate: Fragment" for sale: 200 points.]

[Quantity: 1.]

[Note: Using it will allow you to foresee the fate you are about to experience so you can adjust your future. But, be extremely careful!]

[Do not use three parchments in a row within 24 hours!!! Otherwise, it may trigger "The Dice of Probability."]

[While it might make your luck better for the next 24 hours, there's a higher probability that it will make your luck extremely bad for the day, possibly bringing misfortune to those around you as well—severe misfortune!]

[And this probability, as tested, the chance of good luck occurring is only one percent...]

["The Dice of Probability": Those who attempt to change their destiny will be made fools of by fate.]

"The Dice of Probability? Why didn't I see these notes before? Was I looking at a censored version?"

Colin's eyebrows raised. Could the dice sound he had heard earlier be "The Dice of Probability"?

Why did he see a censored version of the notes?

Was it an unintentional or a deliberate act by the company?

He pondered for a moment and felt it was probably intentional; otherwise, with his character, he would never gamble...

"This is literally gambling with my life!"

Colin was somewhat displeased; if he had failed, wouldn't he have been killed on the spot?

If he died, would they just move on to the next person to continue the mission?

Colin now understood where that ninety-nine percent and one percent probability came from.

The only thing to be thankful for now is that, although he used it three times in a row and failed on the third, he still triggered "The Dice of Probability" and rolled "Luck."

Immediately after, the entire future trajectory changed.

"From now on, I must be extremely careful when using this thing!"

Colin felt a bit frightened by the more than ninety-nine percent probability of misfortune and the less than one percent chance of luck...

He could afford to gamble once, but not every time.

However, he still had to buy the [Book of Fate: Fragment].

Just need to be more careful.

This thing is truly useful.

After purchasing it, Colin was left with 1899 points. He scanned the marketplace for a while and didn't find anything useful, so he opened the "Interaction Hall," which had been flashing before.

This place appeared to be Bonfire Company's internal communication channel, with forum posts and chat groups like those on social media...

Upon opening it, the first thing Colin saw was a pinned post at the top of the list.

[Bonfire Company Employee Authority Usage Guidelines (Applicable for F-E-D Level Authority)]

Preface: The following information was compiled and edited by the employee "Lifecoach Kawaii-Many" and is relatively accurate, but not guaranteed to be completely accurate.

1. On the parchment, avoid revealing any information that may expose your geographical location to anyone, in order to prevent tragedy.

Supplementary Explanation: Some mole employees may deceive or hunt other employees to obtain more Parchments, or for other matters. The reasons are uncertain; in any case, be cautious.

...

2. Each Authority Level in the company does not equate to the actual strength of an employee. For example, a fully equipped F Level Employee could, by chance, defeat a D Level staff member. However, the Gene Compensation and the Mission Vouchers, which can only be obtained by completing missions, ensure that each employee's strength has a lower limit, making such occasions rare. This is merely an illustrative example.

.....

3. Missions occur once a week, typically designed for individuals, though occasionally for teams. Regardless, when a mission beyond one's delegated authority appears, one should decisively refuse, as this is one of the basic rights of an employee. The consequence is the absence of any missions for the following month. While such instances rarely occur, there are always exceptions.

Supplementary Explanation: A higher-level mission's difficulty and complexity is at least three times greater than that of a same-tier mission. Taking on a higher-tier mission often leads to failure. The Bonfire Company was probably established to cultivate people who can handle anomalies. Therefore, they would not intentionally throw you into dire situations, waiting for a sudden awakening—this does not align with the company's interest in sustainable exploitation, no, sustainable development.

Moreover, there are special types of missions, such as "Out-of-Control Copy," "The Arrival Project," and "Support Missions," which are uniformly characterized by high difficulty and mortality rates.

What specifically happens is unclear due to too few instances.

Once they appear, except for "Out-of-Control Copy," all others can be refused.

...

4. It is clear that "invaders" exist within the Bonfire Company, mainly distributed in the [Interaction Hall], appearing in humanoid forms and attempting to coax an employee into revealing their real-world geographical location through conversation. Once it is disclosed, they vanish instantly.

Supplementary Explanation: As their human-like appearance is unconvincing, distinguishing them is not difficult. First, their names uniformly start with "Unnamed" followed by six random numbers. Some believe this stems from their lack of a [Character Resume] function, preventing them from changing their name. Moreover, their speech usually ends with a line such as "....let's meet up in private to talk."

...

5. Currently, we can only see messages sent out by F-E-D Level company employees. It is speculated that one must reach C Level to see messages from higher levels. However, there is either a confidentiality agreement above this level or simply too few individuals. For now, we only know of their existence through certain items, and we have neither seen nor heard of their deeds.

...

Upon silently finishing this information, Colin's expression grew increasingly odd—was the Bonfire Company really that dangerous?

"One and four convey a similar message, not to expose real coordinates, though the former mainly concerns people, and the latter who-knows-what. Two and five seem quite ordinary, just general knowledge. The main issue is three..."

When Colin saw the term "The Arrival Project," he suddenly had an unsettling premonition.

If he wasn't mistaken...

His current mission wouldn't happen to be "The Arrival Project," would it?

Recalling his previous experiences…

If it hadn't been for a "huge success," the mortality rate would indeed have been high.

The former colleague who was turned into a sacrifice was one such example.

"No one told me missions could be refused at the beginning!"

Looking at the countdown at the top of the Parchment, Colin felt a headache brewing but ultimately could only heave a deep sigh.

It was all too late now.

Afterward, Colin scrolled further down, only to see various thank-you messages left by other employees, like "Wishing the original poster safe travels," "Thanks to the original poster," "Original poster, want to meet offline? I'd like to thank you in person," and the like.

Then, he surprisingly found a tip option.

Considering it, Colin tipped one Point.

[Thank you for your tip. Our company operates with full transparency. After deducting processing and other costs, 0.1 Point will become the original poster's income.]

"?"

Colin was flabbergasted.

This 'full transparency' wouldn't just involve the original poster's income, would it?

Opening his mouth but not knowing what to say, he silently marveled at the company's vampiric nature and then exited the post to join a chat group to see what was happening.

At that moment, the group seemed quite active, with messages continuously scrolling on the Parchment.