"Let's see what we're dealing with first. Play it by ear."
*"Welcome to the Interdimensional Chat Group. Please enter your nickname."*
"A nickname?" Linray frowned. "What should I even call myself?"
Going with "Overseer" would be way too flashy — it'd look like he was there to boss everyone around.
"Screw it. I'll just go with 'SCP Foundation.'"
Straightforward as ever, Linray picked the thing he needed most as his username. If anyone asked, he could just explain it directly.
*Ding.**"SCP Foundation has joined the group chat."**Ding.**"Flame Pillar has joined the group chat."**Ding.**"Valkyrie has joined the group chat."*
Three notifications. Three newcomers. The previously dead chat group suddenly came alive.
Linray didn't introduce himself right away. First, he needed to figure out what kind of vibe this group had — and what kind of people were in it.
**Zheng Zha:** *"Haha, finally some new blood! It's been ages since anyone joined."*
> TL: Who the fuck is this? Don't worry — your translator has no idea either. We'll figure it out together.
**Lu Bu:** *"Welcome, newcomers. Are any of you strong fighters?"*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Welcome! You're not more handsome than me, right? Because guys as good-looking as me are usually the main character."*
**Sun Wukong:** *"Welcome, newcomers. Have a peach. 🍑"*
**Minor Deity:** *"Welcome, newcomers. Your group ranking just dropped by one."*
**Zheng Zha:** *"Great Sage, is it really okay to mess with people like that? 'Have a peach'? I'm dying 😂"*
The atmosphere seemed decent enough — at least nobody was at each other's throats.
Including himself and the other newcomers, there were only eight people total.
Linray's eyes lingered on the Minor Deity's username for a moment.
*A deity?*
That was either incredibly arrogant or incredibly honest.
Still, the guy kept a low profile in conversation — probably not hard to deal with. Anyone calling themselves a god who could actually get into this group wasn't likely to be an idiot. Hard to bullshit, too. Flashy name, humble attitude — a smart player.
**Sun Wukong:** *"Why aren't the newcomers talking? Did I scare you?"*
**Zheng Zha:** *"Great Sage, with your reputation of crushing demons with a single swing, offering someone a peach feels... kind of terrifying, you know?"*
**Minor Deity:** *"Everyone, let's calm down. The newcomers probably need a moment to adjust. Let's give them some space."*
**Lu Bu:** *"Newcomers, don't worry. Just be casual."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Yeah, yeah! But personally, I'm more excited about the ladies — Valkyrie, how about dropping a selfie? Measurements too! 📸"*
**Valkyrie:** *"If all mortals were as frivolous as you, perhaps divine punishment would be well-deserved."*
**Flame Pillar:** *"Hello, everyone! I'm not entirely sure what this place is, but it seems truly remarkable. If there's anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."*
**Minor Deity:** *"Allow me to explain. I was the first to join the group, so I'm fairly familiar with the rules here."*
*"First — the group connects different worlds. We all come from different dimensions and regions. No point arguing about that; everyone already knows."*
*"Second — the chat group has many functions. If you want the full rundown, check the Group Manual. There's a button in the upper-left corner. Just tap it."*
**Flame Pillar:** *"Much appreciated. Let me take a look."*
**Valkyrie:** *"If there was a manual this whole time, why didn't you mention it sooner?"*
While Flame Pillar and Valkyrie were responding, Linray had already opened the manual and was reading through it in silence.
But things weren't quite what he'd expected.
No overpowered legends. No world-ending monsters. Nothing like that.
After a while, Zheng Zha spoke up: "Looks like one of the newcomers still hasn't said a word."
**Zheng Zha:** *"@SCP Foundation, you there? Hello?"*
Linray had spent the time reading through the entire Group Manual.
It was... underwhelming. The manual itself admitted the system wasn't fully developed yet. A note at the very beginning stated that as more members joined, more features would gradually unlock.
What he could confirm: the group had basic features like uploading videos and images. There was also a daily sign-in for points, group missions, and — interestingly — a teleportation function.
Standard chat-group-isekai stuff. Nothing groundbreaking if you'd read enough web novels.
Linray let out a quiet breath of relief and figured he might as well sign in first.
*"SCP Foundation is the first to sign in today. Reward: 100 points."*
**Zheng Zha:** *"Ugh, damn it. Some people really are just built different. What kind of luck is that? I've been signing in for over ten days and never broke fifty."*
**Lu Bu:** *"That's absurdly lucky. My best first sign-in was thirty."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Hey, hey, hey! Isn't the protagonist supposed to have the super luck halo? Those 100 points should be MINE!"*
**Minor Deity:** *"This newcomer doesn't seem easy to deal with."*
*"Gets mentioned, doesn't respond. Sneaks in a sign-in. And gets insane luck on top of it..."*
Linray stayed silent, watching everyone carefully.
Even just from their usernames, he could identify most of them. The names were almost too obvious.
Zheng Zha — the protagonist of *Infinite Terror*, the grandfather of the "infinite loops" genre. A good-hearted guy with a savior complex.
Sun Wukong — no explanation needed. The one and only Great Sage, the legend who waged war against Heaven itself.
Lu Bu — plenty of warriors held the "Flying General" title throughout history, but his aggressive tone gave it away. This had to be Lu Bu, Lu Fengxian — the unrivaled warrior of the Three Kingdoms.
I Am The Protagonist — almost certainly Ezreal, the blond pretty-boy from a certain famous game.
Flame Pillar, who'd joined alongside him — that was obviously Rengoku Kyojuro, the big-brotherly Hashira from *Demon Slayer*.
As for Minor Deity and Valkyrie, he couldn't pin them down. There were countless valkyries across mythology, and "Minor Deity" could be any number of gods. He'd have to wait and see.
Linray figured Zheng Zha and Rengoku were the two best candidates for building alliances. Both were the cooperative, trustworthy type.
Sun Wukong was too hot-headed and impulsive — liable to cause problems.
Lu Bu seemed exactly like his reputation from the stories: brave but reckless, all muscle and no strategy.
And Ezreal? All talk, no follow-through.
Minor Deity and Valkyrie were unknowns, so he'd shelve them for now.
"The only reason I can even recognize these people is because I watch anime and read novels," Linray mused. "Never thought fictional characters from shows and books could actually exist in the flesh."
"The real question is whether Chu Xuan is with Zheng Zha right now..." The near-godlike strategist from *Infinite Terror*. If he was in play, that changed everything.
"At the very least, Zheng Zha is insanely strong. With this group backing me up, I might actually have a shot at containing those SCPs."
A long silence passed as Linray turned these thoughts over.
**Minor Deity:** *"What's going on? @SCP Foundation — are you seriously not here? You just signed in!"*
**Zheng Zha:** *"Oh, you just reminded me — I forgot to sign in."*
**I Am The Protagonist:** *"Right, right! Sign-in first!"*
And just like that, everyone scrambled to sign in.