Found You

Zhang Jue picked up the clay pot and continued to fool around, "Gentlemen, this is not an ordinary clay pot. After a few tests made by the Foundation, it was found to have a very useful feature. The questioner asks the question and that person shall answer it, it can measure whether that person is telling the truth or not. The person will put their hand on the bottom of the clay pot and if the answer is false, then his hand will be glued to it and cannot be pulled out."

So that's it. Maxim was overjoyed, it sounded like it would be an easy job. If he had known that Advisor Zhang had this kind of magic item, he would not have worried about it.

For some trained people, an ordinary lie detector could be fooled. Except for some very important interrogations, the Foundation usually does not use ordinary polygraphs. Even if they do, they are only used as a reference.

The Foundation does have an SCP that can be used for lie detection, SCP-1531 (the Perfect Lie Detector). But that is an SCP with a very high level of confidentiality, and it was not in Site-118. Even if Zhang Jue sent an application to the Foundation now, when the headquarters approved it and then shipped SCP-1531 over, the perpetrator would have run away.

He didn't have that much time to waste in this shithole right now, so Zhang Jue planned to find out the imposter in his own way. The two gone quiet and muttered in whispers, while the employees below were a bit impatient to see if the clay pot was as magical as Zhang Jue had said.

Seeing that the time was perfect, Zhang Jue waved his hand.

"Okay, the time has arrived. The lie detection experiment officially begins."

Under the command of Site Director Maxim, the employees of Site-188 formed a long line of their own accord and waited for Zhang Jue's questions. The first man put his hand into the clay pot and touched the bottom of it.

Zhang Jue looked at him, "What's your name?"

"Zakolov."

"Did the theft of SCP-1139 have anything to do with you?"

"Report sir, it has nothing to do with me."

"Okay, take your hand out and I'll take a look."

Zakolov did as he was told and took his hand out of the clay pot, nothing happened except for some white ash stains on his fingertips.

Zhang Jue nodded, "That's fine, you can go now."

The process was that simple, one didn't even take ten seconds. The crowd saw the scene and all of them were shocked. No need to detect the heart rate pulse, put the hand inside to determine whether a person is lying. This lie detector is too good to use.

They usually studied it and has a certain degree of danger, because a safe and useful project was really hard to find.

As time the time passed, each person placed their hand on the bottom of the jar and answered Zhang Jue's questions.

Like the first person, Zhang Jue's questions to everyone else were pretty much the same, "Are you an inside man sent by the enemy, and is the theft of SCP-1139 related to you?"

Of course, all of them denied it.

Ten minutes had passed and the line gradually shortened. Leaving only the last dozen staff members. Not surprisingly, the enemy would be one or several of them. The last few in line, without exception, were all mid-level cadres within the site, highly valued by Maxim and the backbone of Site-118.

If there are enemies among them, it will be the biggest joke since the establishment of Site-188. Site Director Maxim unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The queue dwindled a little, and his heart was in his throat, but the clay pot still did not stick anyone's hand.

Another two minutes passed and the line was still down to the last person who had not been tested. It was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, he was the Head of Experiment of Site-188, Vaughn.

Everyone looked at him with an odd look and whispered. It seemed that Vaughn was not well liked, and no one came up to defend him even at this time. Vaughn walked up to Zhang Jue's seat with a calm face.

Zhang Jue looked at him and asked with a smile, "How about you? Do you have anything to say?"

"No." Vaughn shook his head, his tone was not salty, "Please ask Advisor Zhang to hurry up, I still have an experiment to finish."

With just this one sentence, Zhang Jue knew the reason for his unpopularity. But working at the Foundation wasn't quite the same as working elsewhere. As long as one was strong, they wouldn't usually be buried.

After all, no one was stupid. It didn't matter if they were joking around, but when it came time to vote, they all knew who they should vote for. Because after all, their lives were at stake.

Zhang Jue looked at him and repeated the two questions, "Are you the enemy's mole? and is the theft of SCP-1139 related to you?"

Vaughn shook his head calmly, "No, I am not."

At this point, everyone's eyes were focused on his arm. Vogniew completely ignored the others' gaze and calmly took his hand out of the clay pot.

Maxim let out a long breath of relief. Site-118 site doesn't have Deputy Site Director. In addition to him, Vaughn has the second highest authority. If he was the enemy, then the entire site already done for.

And at this moment, everyone's eyes are focused on Zhang Jue. Everyone was waiting for him to say something. The experiment had been going on for nearly two hours by now. Hundreds of people had also waited for two hours, but in the end, nothing had happened.

Facing the questioning eyes of the crowd, Zhang Jue sat steadily on the podium with a smile on his face, as if he had it all figured out. Seeing Zhang Jue did not say anything, while the staff below seemed to have the tendency to storm out.

Maxim knocked on the table, "What's the matter, you guys want to complaint? I'm still here!"

Although Maxim had just become the Site Director not long ago. He had served in Site-118 for more than thirty years and had a high prestige. Seeing his anger, everyone dared not speak up. Maxim turned to Zhang Jue and changed his smiling face.

"Advisor Zhang, all the people in this conference room have been asked the question. It looks like everyone is not the enemy. There are still a few security personnel outside, should we call them in and test them as well?"

Although the experiment was held, the most basic security facilities had to be manipulated and monitored by someone. Otherwise, the site would be deaf and blind once the enemy launched an attack.

However, these people who remained at their posts were personally screened by Zhang Jue, and their security levels were all very low. It was impossible to know information about SCP-1139.

Maxim said this to give Zhang Jue some help. But Zhang Jue didn't need it at all.

"No need, those people can't be the inside man." He said.

Hearing him say that, Maxim was a bit puzzled. At first, you were the one who said that the enemy had an inside man, and now you were the one who couldn't be found. Does he know how to handle the situation?

Zhang Jue stood up, "Site Director Maxim, you just said that all the people in this conference room have passed the test, and it seems to me that they haven't."

They haven't? Site Director Maxim wondered in his heart.

It was clear that everyone was waiting in a long line for your test. Zhang Jue looked around with his hands on his head, and everyone's eyes followed him and Zhang Jue's eyes circled around and finally rested on Maxim himself.

"If I remember correctly, Site Director. You haven't passed my test yet, have you?"

"Huh?"

Maxim's eyes widened, and the expression on his face seemed to say, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Zhang Jue didn't care what he thought and said, "Site Director Maxim, if you don't want to be suspected by me and everyone else. Then how about also sticking your hand into the jar and touching its bottom, and let's test it?"

"So that's it, huh." Maxim nodded his head.

All of them were suspected as the thief of the SCP inside this site, and as the Site Director, he was actually a blind spot. But Advisor Zhang did not make such a mistake. From the very beginning, the other party had put himself into the ranks of suspects.

Maxim's opinion of Zhang Jue had gone up another level. But he was righteous and not afraid of it.

Site Director Maxim said boldly, "Fine, let's try it! I'll also see if Advisor Zhang's stuff is really that amazing."

Saying that, he put his hand into the jar. His fingers touched the bottom of the pottery jar, and the touch was not different from what he imagined.

At this moment, even he doubted it. But the jar that was on Advisor Zhang's hand was not a fake. Zhang Jue asked as before, "Site Director Maxim, may I ask if you are the enemy's inside man sent to the Foundation?"

Maxime held his chest at the head of the case and said aloud, "I am not!"

The questioning was finished. Zhang Jue gestured for him to take his hand out. Maxim did as he was told and smoothly took his arm out of the clay pot. At the end, he also held his hand up high. As if to show all the employees that he did not have a problem.

Everyone let out a cheer. After the test, everyone was fine. Although there are some regrets because they did not uncover the so-called "traitor". But everyone was relieved. They hugged each other and were glad that their colleagues were still colleagues and their friends were still friends.

However, after a few minutes, everyone was quiet. Because they saw that the consultant Zhang sent from headquarters was still sitting on the podium looking at them. He was smiling, with his arms crossed.

This time, the Site Director Maxim sat down and asked directly, "Advisor Zhang, is it now possible to state that there is no enemy in our site?"

Everyone's eyes burned as they waited for his reply. Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Jue stood up again.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you all." Zhang Jue smiled faintly, profoundly, "After the round of experiments just now, I already know who is the enemy in this site."

"What?"

Everyone including the Site Director Maxim was stunned. It was clear that no one had had their arms glued to that clay pot. Zhang Jue turned to Maxim.

"Site Director, could you please ask the security team to seal all the entrances and exits of this place?"

Maxim looked into Zhang Jue's eyes and realized that he wasn't joking, he had really found the person.

"Lennov! Order your team members to guard all the doors and windows of the venue, no one is allowed to enter or leave without my orders!"

"Yes, sir!"

Lennov was the captain of the only exclusive MTF squad "Wasp" at Site-118. With his squad guarding, this venue instantly turned into a turtle-catching urn.

Seeing the loaded MTF team members were deployed, the employees in the room realized that this Advisor Zhang Jue was planning to do something for real.

Maxim looked at Zhang Jue, "Advisor Zhang, now you can tell me who the enemy is, right?"

At this point, Maxim's tone was less respectful, but more murderous. If Zhang Jue could uncover the imposter, he would naturally not spare that person lightly. But if Zhang Jue had tossed and turned for so long and ended up just fooling him and so many staff members, then he wouldn't mind letting this Advisor Zhang know what it meant to be a fighting nation.

Seeing everyone's eyes focused on himself, Zhang Jue's face was calm. "According to my observation, there is indeed an inside man in this site and that enemy is her." He said, pointing his finger towards a certain corner of the venue.

The people in front of him all side-stepped out of the way, afraid of being killed as an inside man. Along the direction of Zhang Jue's finger, the crowd opened up a path. Zhang Jue's gaze finally fell on a woman in her forties.

The woman wore black-rimmed glasses and had sharp eyes, so it was clear from a glance that she was not a person to be messed with. Seeing this scene, Maxim was very surprised. Because this woman is not just a random person, it is the site's Head of Logistics, Valerie.

Valerie's seniority in Site-188 is not shallow, and can be said to be second only to the Site Director Maxim and Head of Experiment Vaughn. He never expected that the mole Zhang Jue had identified would be her.

Maxim said to Zhang Jue, "Advisor Zhang, are you mistaken? Valerie she is-"

Zhang Jue waved his hand, interrupting him. "I'm pretty sure that it's her." Zhang Jue looked at Valerie, "Lady, do you have anything to say?"

Seeing everyone looking at her, Valerie remained calmly standing in place, not showing the slightest abnormality.

She spoke calmly, "Advisor Zhang, let's talk about the evidence. You say that I am the imposter in this site, but what's the proof? Just that clay pot in your hand? With all due respect, I have never heard of such SCP in all the years I have worked at the Foundation, it can't be true."

Valerie was worthy of being a researcher who had been immersed in the Foundation for many years, and she seemed to defend herself. But in reality, she pointed the finger at Zhang Jue.

Zhang Jue had trapped everyone in this large conference room for nearly an afternoon, and these employees were actually on the verge of an outburst. If they knew that Zhang Jue was just pretending to be here with a fake. Even with Site Director Maxim's presence, there was no way he could get out in one piece.

Taking a step back, even if these researchers didn't dare to do anything to Zhang Jue, then no one would believe what he said. Valeria was the patriarch of the Site and there were very many people who stood in solidarity with her.

As soon as her words fell, several of her colleagues spoke up for her. "Advisor Zhang, that clay pot of yours, can it really detect lies? Or I'll tell a lie on purpose and see if it actually works?"

"Yes, it can detect lies, shouldn't Head Valerie be stuck with it?"

"Advisor Zhang. You're not fooling us, are you?"

Even Site Director Maxim looked at Zhang Jue, expecting him to give a reasonable explanation. However, the next scene that amazed everyone happened. The imagined explanation did not happen.

Only to see that Advisor Zhang who was sent from the headquarters nodded his head.

"Yes, you guys are right. This clay pot in my hand is indeed just an ordinary pot and I'm not going to lie to you guys. I used this jar just for storing pickles."