The Cuban rum bottle had set its sights on the Pickup Truck Transformer for one simple reason:
It had terrible judgment.
To it, Luo Shu was just a harmless human, while the hulking truck was a menacing threat.
Thus, it lurked, waiting to ambush the bigger target.
Had Luo Shu let the truck lead, he might've spotted the bottle earlier.
But now, it hovered silently, cork pointed at the truck's tailpipe—poised for a point-blank strike.
If the truck had Malice Detection, it would've felt its exhaust pipe clench in dread.
Ambush!
The moment the truck bent over to pry open a door—
THUNK.
The cork shot out, spiraling through the water like a torpedo, jamming straight into the tailpipe.
PFFFT—
The truck's engine sputtered, nearly seizing up. Thankfully, its "rear end" was roomy enough to dislodge the cork with a revved burst.
But the bottle wasn't done.
A new cork materialized, ready to fire again.
Infinite ammo.
(Though each cork vanished seconds after impact.)
Now alerted, Luo Shu and the truck whirled around—just as the bottle shifted targets, pelting the windshield with cork after cork.
Weak individually, but relentless.
Given enough time, even dripping water wears through stone—and this bottle had punctured reinforced containment doors the same way.
The truck's glass creaked under the barrage.
Counterattack
Luo Shu, after observing the bottle's pea-shooter offense, decided to grab the damn thing.
Bad idea.
The bottle swiveled, aimed at his face, and—
BONK.
A cork slammed into his nose, drawing blood.
Thank god I shredded that "immortality" vellum earlier.
Worse, the bottle used the recoil to propel itself backward, maintaining distance.
Even with his thruster, Luo Shu couldn't catch up.
Hit-and-run tactics.
A kiting strategy—with him as the punching bag.
Failed Strategies
Stealth (Unobservable State):
Useless. The bottle didn't rely on sight—it tracked water displacement, like passive sonar.
Sensory Block (Perception Isolation):
No effect. Waves don't care about "stealth."
Pincer Maneuver:
The truck and Luo Shu tried flanking it, but the bottle dodged like a minnow, using cork recoil to dart away.
Ever tried catching a fish barehanded? Now imagine the fish shoots back.
Solution: Taunt It
Luo Shu growled, "Back off—I'm pulling aggro."
As the truck retreated, he activated SCP-053's "Brattish Aura"—a magnetic taunt that forced enemies to target him.
Instantly, the bottle lunged, cork-first, ramming into his grip.
"GOT YOU!"
He wrenched the bottle, pinning it neck-and-base as it frantically fired corks to escape.
But Luo Shu had had enough.
No containment unit? No mercy.
He slammed the bottle against the wall—
CRACK.
[Page 134]
Designation: Unnumbered (Foundation rights reserved)
Title: The Drift Bottle (Named by Luo Shu)
Object Class: Euclid
Description:
A Cuban rum bottle that yearns for freedom. It fires infinite corks (which vanish post-impact).
Special Containment Procedures:
Must be kept in a reinforced safe, replaced every 3 months.
Anomaly Ability: "Go With the Flow"
Tracks targets via water displacement.
Uses enemy movements to boost its own speed.
"Not the strongest anomaly, but the most annoying. Smash it!"
Status: Neutralized
Post-Battle
Luo Shu massaged his bruised face, glaring at the shards.
Five anomalies down.
The Anomaly Slayer Milestone inched closer to Tier 3.
Next time, he vowed, I'm bringing a net.