Feng Bujue knew that the system would not allow him to use SCP-294 that often. Even if he was optimistic, there would not be more than ten 50-cent coins in the whole scenario. Taking into account his own moral standing … it was not impossible that there would only be three.
Therefore, when it came to the choice of the third drink, Brother Jue gave it some thought.
"Hmm … For this part … I have to use reverse thinking and elimination to narrow down the range of options …" He scratched his chin and stood in front of the machine. "The first thing I have to avoid is … getting an 'out of range' response when I enter the content."
That was not a bad idea. The coffee machine would not refund coins. If the input could not be generated, then it would be a waste of the opportunity … just like when he entered a cup of Woody.
"Let me think … the few options for this thing to have an 'out of range' reaction are …" Brother Jue instantly tried to think back to the related appendices of this SCP project and tried to figure out what was going on.
There were a few examples that would cause the machine to respond with an 'out of range' response.
The first was' a specific, solid substance '. For example … diamonds.
From the results of many experiments, it was not hard to speculate that SCP-294 had a certain 'cognitive' ability. Based on the understanding of this machine, only when carbon reached a specific state, or solid, could it be called a 'diamond'. Therefore, the machine could not generate it. However, if one entered the word 'carbon' directly, the machine would produce a cup of liquid carbon.
The second was' a substance that is related to the alternate universe or dimension '. An example was' a cup of antimatter water '. This had been confirmed in the appendices, SCP-294j. (Obviously, 'a cup of Woody' was the same case. Brother Jue had entered it with a fluke mentality.)
The third was' a substance that no longer exists in this world '. For example, 'a cup of the blood of a saber-toothed tiger (a prehistoric feline that went extinct around 10,000 BC)', 'a cup of the blood of a pigeon (a classic example of a species that went extinct due to human wanton hunting and environmental destruction. It went extinct in 1914)', 'a cup of the blood of Thomas Jefferson (the third president of the United States of America. He died on July 4, 1826)', and so on.
Substances that fit the above three situations were the first that Feng Bujue had to eliminate.
Then, Brother Jue was going to eliminate the 'scammers'.
There were many examples of this, and most of them were due to the input of 'unclear or beyond the user's knowledge'.
For example, "Blood of Christ," the results of the experiment were as follows: SCP-294 vibrated and displayed a message: "This cup is my blood." Then, it put down a paper cup filled with about 0.12 liters of red wine.
Another example would be … "Ambrosia _ of _ God". After entering it, he would get a cup of an unknown amber liquid that exuded the fragrance of honey. Its meaning was unknown.
Also … "It's not SCP-500, but it has similar properties." The recorded result was that SCP-294 released a cup of boiling hot liquid that smelled like coffee. However, after analysis, it was not found to have any healing properties.
Of course, the most fraudulent of all was the 'perfect beverage'.
Appendix [SCP-294q-01]: Subject entered 'perfect beverage'. The machine delivered a cup of odorless, light purple liquid. After drinking it, the subject seemed to have suffered a great blow and committed suicide. He left behind a suicide note saying, 'I am very sorry, but I am now completely disheartened.' Yan Zheng objected and asked for the same beverage again. Currently, the composition of the beverage was unknown.
In short, if you made this seemingly cool request to the machine, you would receive the same fraudulent substance with unknown meaning.
After eliminating these options, Feng Bujue's focus shifted to some of the more successful examples, such as' a cup of music ',' my life ',' a cup of medical knowledge ', and other tangible concepts and knowledge.
This kind of conceptual but relatively clear request usually received a more effective and pleasing response, thus allowing the user to obtain something beyond their knowledge.
"Hmm … For now, I will decide to seek some kind of knowledge …" Feng Bujue scratched his chin and thought about it. "Based on my understanding of the appendix … the 'feeling' or the 'information' or 'skill' gained after consuming this kind of substance are all temporary. They will disappear after some time … But this should have something to do with the user's memory and comprehension ability. The disappearance of the 'feeling' is unavoidable, but the 'information' and 'skill' … might be retained."
"Then I have to consider whether this SCP is willing to cooperate with me …" Brother Jue immediately thought, "The example of 'a cup of medical knowledge' was not an experiment, but it happened under the premise of a large-scale security failure. According to the description of the subject, the machine provided help to 'save its own life'. Other experiments after that also proved that the attempt to obtain the 'Thought Juice' was not very successful, so … "
Thinking of this, Feng Bujue made up his mind.
He boldly typed a line of words on the keyboard: [Helping me is also helping yourself.]
The content of this sentence was not asking for anything at all, in a sense … it was more like a kind of blackmail.
However …
"Buzz!"
After a series of buzzing sounds, SCP-294 quickly took out a paper cup and poured a strange purple liquid into it.
Feng Bujue picked up the paper cup and examined it. The strange color, the perfect viscosity, and the disgusting smell all revealed the word "suspicious".
"Heh …" Brother Jue laughed, raised his neck, and drank the liquid in one gulp.
He could do things that normal people could not do without hesitation.
Just after he finished the drink, the system notification rang: [Due to the effect of the special item, your "title ability" has been unlocked.]
"Not bad, thank you for your cooperation." Feng Bujue smiled at SCP-294.
Then, he threw away the empty paper cup in his hand, walked to the table in the lounge, and sat down.
"Hmm … I'll use this." After sitting down, Feng Bujue thought for a moment, then took out a bullet from the pocket of his jumpsuit.
He raised one arm, palm up, and used [Divine Foresight]. The cooldown time of this title ability was 90 minutes, so it was better to use it early. As the bullets fell, the content of Brother Jue's divination, the "location of the Anomalous Project", was displayed on the table.
"It's on the third basement floor …" Looking at the bullets on the table arranged into a "-3" pattern, Brother Jue had an idea.
After receiving this information, he picked up the cup of [Liquid that can make SCP-173 unable to move without being directly looked at] and left the lounge.
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