Another Test!

The sudden change stunned all the creations.

Dumpling Boss's headbutt froze in midair.

It looked down at the floor beneath it, which had suddenly gone dark, then looked up at Lin Feng, who was still lying on the cushion and seemingly hadn't done a thing (in reality, Lin Feng had simply acted through his thoughts). For the first time, doubt and alarm appeared in its beady eyes.

"Meow... ow?" (Translation: You... what did you do?)

Lin Feng didn't answer. He simply gazed back at it calmly, his eyes slowly taking on an inscrutable look.

For a moment, the creations' nook fell silent. Only the little robot continued beeping innocently.

Dumpling Boss's beady eyes darted between the extinguished light and Lin Feng. Its pitifully small brain was clearly unable to process what had happened.

The Cat Cake underlings behind it also stopped jeering, and an eerie silence settled over the scene.

Lin Feng sneered inwardly.

Did you really think I was an ordinary mochi?

He didn't move. He simply shifted the target of Data Devouring from a floor panel to something else—

The little robot beeping away nearby as it tried to mediate the dispute.

[Data Devouring—Lv. 1, activate!]

"Beep... beep... bzzzt—!"

The little robot's once-friendly electronic voice suddenly rose into a piercing electrical wail.

The indicator light on its head flashed frantically several times, then went out completely with a snap.

Immediately afterward, the mechanical arm it used to dispense nutrient paste twitched as if it had hiccupped, and all the paste stored inside shot out with a splat.

Its aim was perfect. The paste hit Dumpling Boss squarely, smearing its head and face.

The thick, sweet-smelling nutrient paste slid down its snow-white body, making a complete mess of its distinguished "dumpling wrapper."

"Meowww—!?"

A shriek filled with terror and humiliation rang throughout the entire Seclusion Zone.

Dumpling Boss shook its head like mad, trying to get the sticky stuff off.

But the more it shook, the worse the mess became, until it looked like a failed creation covered in sauce.

The surrounding underlings recoiled in unison. The contempt in their gazes as they looked at Lin Feng turned to fear.

Without making a sound, this newcomer had disabled the robot administrator they revered and humiliated their boss!

What kind of sinister magic was this?

Lin Feng remained on the cushion, not moving so much as the tip of his tail.

He merely raised his "head" and stared at the thoroughly bedraggled Dumpling Boss with his inorganic, beady eyes.

A silent threat was the deadliest kind.

Dumpling Boss finally stopped struggling. With its head covered in nutrient paste, it looked at the unfathomable newcomer before it and shrank back involuntarily.

Its pitiful self-esteem was crushed to pieces in the face of absolute "strength."

It let out a faint "Mrrr..." and cautiously waved the tip of its tail, as if trying to curry favor.

Then it slunk back into the corner with its equally silent and terrified underlings, none of them daring to look Lin Feng's way again.

[Robot standby power devoured... energy +0.5]

["Awe" detected in nearby life-forms. Spiritual power increased slightly...]

A hint of satisfaction at becoming the "boss of the crowd" had just risen in Lin Feng's heart.

But before he could savor it, the wall behind him suddenly lit up, turning into a huge one-way transparent screen.

Ruan Mei stood quietly behind the screen.

She held a data pad, her face composed with the calm characteristic of a researcher.

She had just witnessed the entire episode of "cake-on-cake bullying" and Lin Feng's counterattack.

From the beginning, this had also been a data test.

It had merely been conducted in a different place.

A line of small text appeared on the data pad:

[Social behavior and stress response test—subject CN-01—evaluation]

[Low aggression, highly strategic, capable of unconventional countermeasures.]

[Overall value: to be continued...]

Lin Feng's "cake heart" sank.

So after all that, this wasn't workplace bullying at all. It was a placement test for a new student?!

"It seems your ability to adapt is stronger than I expected." Ruan Mei's voice came through the speaker, betraying no emotion.

"You know how to use your environment and intimidate your own kind rather than engage in direct physical conflict."

"Emm... that's quite interesting data."

Lin Feng, the master of PUA, felt like he'd had PUA turned back on him.

He was like a lab mouse placed in a transparent cage, his every move observed and recorded, with no privacy to speak of.

Just then, the space beside him warped.

The puppet he least wanted to see appeared out of thin air in Ruan Mei's observation room, arms folded, and stood beside her.

"Interesting data?" The Herta Puppet tilted her head. The indifference of a genius in her voice sent a chill through Lin Feng.

"Ruan Mei, doesn't this just prove my point? The more interesting it is, the more reason there is to cut it open and see how it's put together.

Maybe its core logic is different from all our previous creations. Direct dissection would give us the clearest data."

Cut... slice me up!?

Again?!

That word was practically a switch for Lin Feng's nightmares!

Ruan Mei didn't immediately object. She merely tapped the data pad with her fingertip, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Lin Feng panicked completely.

He couldn't leave his life in the hands of an academic debate between two mad scientists!

Run!

That thought occupied his entire mind.

Using all his strength, he suddenly propelled his mochi-like body forward and rolled off the cushion.

Then, without regard for direction, he wriggled frantically toward the airlock door that had yet to close completely after Ruan Mei had left.

He looked utterly ridiculous, like a tangyuan thrown onto the floor, rolling and twisting along in the most undignified manner possible.

"Oh? Its stress response is to run away?" Herta's voice held a hint of amusement. "Let's record its movement data while we're at it."

Despair! Despair that chilled him to the bone!

Just as Lin Feng was about to reach the gap in the door, thinking he could squeeze through and seize that slim chance of survival,

A researcher pushed the door open and stepped lightly in front of him, blocking his path.

"Ms. Herta, Miss Asta would like to discuss the space station's expansion with you."

The Herta Puppet waved a hand. "All right, I know. I'll go see her in a bit."

The Herta Puppet turned her gaze to Ruan Mei. "I'll go take care of something first. Keep an eye on him, and don't let him get away. It's been a long time since I've seen something this interesting."

As she spoke, the light gradually faded from the puppet's gaze, and a mechanical glimmer appeared in his vacant eyes.

Herta had left. What remained was truly a puppet.

Lin Feng hid in the corner of the wall, his Cat Cake body trembling nonstop.

This time, he really was out of options!

[I can't do this anymore].jpg