I... I Can Understand What Dogs Are Saying?!

A tremendous surge of joy crashed through Lin Feng's head like a tsunami!

He moved his fingers in disbelief, savoring the long-lost feeling of precise control over his limbs.

Then he tried bending and straightening his knees. The familiar sensation of his joints moving nearly brought tears to his eyes.

Freedom!

This was freedom from the confines of his Cat Cake form!

But just as Lin Feng tried to raise an arm for a closer look at the body he had regained, an electronic voice shattered his dream again—

[Data stream depleted. Mimicry ended.]

"Hum—"

Like a balloon being popped, the force sustaining his body's form vanished in an instant.

His field of vision plunged, and the human limbs that had felt so powerful a moment ago dissolved like illusions.

Once again, he felt the chill of the floor and that familiar soft, round sensation.

He had turned back into the Cat Cake lying on the floor.

Lin Feng: "Meow (What's going on)???"

The huge reversal left his entire cake self stunned. He lay there in a daze, as though his brief experience as a human had been nothing more than an all-too-realistic hallucination.

Fuck! What the hell... what is going on?!

He was really a little rattled...

Somewhat to his surprise, the system's electronic voice sounded again and answered his question.

[Answering host: The complete basic data stream concerning the host himself (Cat Cake form), left in the instrument, has just been fully absorbed. This automatically triggered the first "mimicry construction," simulating the life-form most familiar to the host (human).]

The cold electronic voice paused for a moment, seemingly waiting for Lin Feng to take in its explanation, before continuing:

[Maintaining mimicry requires a continuous expenditure of data streams. When the data stream is depleted, mimicry naturally ends.]

Lin Feng was puzzled. Data streams? The data devouring skill didn't seem to include any of that.

[The system will automatically identify and absorb data energy in the surrounding space that has dispersed, is ownerless, or is compatible. The host need not worry about the source.]

[The first mimicry was guided by the system. From now on, when the absorbed data stream reaches the mimicry construction threshold, the host may choose whether to activate and maintain mimicry.]

[Additionally, the greater the total amount of data streams absorbed, the longer each instance of mimicry can last, and the longer the transformation can be maintained.]

So that's how it works!

Lin Feng understood at once.

This was like a transformation skill that had to be charged before use!

And it was more than just a transformation skill. It meant he wouldn't forever be a Cat Cake at the mercy of others.

He had the ability to turn human again and even remain human for longer!

That was what mattered most!

Who would want to be a Cat Cake forever?

Emm... other than cuddling up to Ruan Mei, what else could I do?!

Lin Feng nodded firmly, then quickly realized something.

This was Ruan Mei's laboratory, and the entire area was under surveillance. Had what just happened been caught on camera?

He looked around nervously, paying particular attention to the surveillance cameras.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the interference caused by his absorption of the data stream, several nearby surveillance screens had flickered briefly and weren't operating normally.

Thank goodness!

Lin Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

He decided to keep this ability hidden for now. He absolutely couldn't let that madwoman Herta see it.

Otherwise, he had no doubt that Herta would dice him into mincemeat for research.

This ability absolutely couldn't be exposed!

At least, not until he had the power to protect himself.

At that moment, he understood deeply that as a "harmless" Cat Cake, he was far more likely to be accepted and... "pampered" by Ruan Mei than as a "human" of unknown origin.

After all, who could resist a Cat Cake they could pet whenever they wanted?

On the other hand, if a Cat Cake could turn human, he would probably face nothing but endless questioning and research.

The rest of his life as a cake would be completely ruined!

At the very least, he had to keep this secret until he had grown strong enough.

Just as his thoughts raced and he planned for the future, the laboratory door was gently nudged open a crack.

A furry, beige little head peeked in—

It was Peppy, the space station's beloved pet!

Peppy's dark eyes darted around curiously before quickly settling on the conspicuous lump on the floor, the "new species"—Lin Feng.

Peppy trotted over, leaned close to Lin Feng, and sniffed him carefully with a wet nose, tail wagging in a friendly manner.

"Woof!" (Translation: Huh? A newcomer? You smell strange, but a little familiar?)

When the bark reached Lin Feng's ears, it automatically turned into words he could understand!

I... I can understand what dogs are saying?!

Lin Feng was stunned again. This system came with quite a few perks!

Just then, a set of hurried footsteps approached.

A gray-haired youth in practical, functional workwear strode into the laboratory, a serious expression on his face. It was Arlan, the head of the space station's security department.

"Peppy, don't run off! This isn't..."

Arlan stopped abruptly in the middle of his sentence.

His gaze swept quickly across the laboratory, and he immediately realized this wasn't where he had meant to go.

"...Ms. Ruan Mei's laboratory?" He frowned slightly, a trace of confusion on his face.

Not long ago, he had picked up something very unusual: a mask.

He had intended to take Peppy along to look for its owner, but Peppy had suddenly raced off in one direction.

And after that, he had arrived at Ms. Ruan Mei's laboratory.

Arlan crouched down and gently stroked Peppy's head, his voice helpless:

"Peppy, did you lead us the wrong way?

We're supposed to be finding the owner of this mask, not coming here to interrupt Ms. Ruan Mei's experiment."

"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!"

(Translation: Arlan! I didn't lead you the wrong way! You can't go wrong listening to me! It's him! There's something wrong with him! The energy fluctuations around him just now were really strange!)

Peppy anxiously pawed at the floor, then barked twice more in Lin Feng's direction, gaze certain.

Following Peppy's indication, Arlan looked again at Lin Feng, the Cat Cake on the floor who appeared "pitiful" and "utterly harmless."

Arlan's eyes were filled with obvious doubt.

The little fellow before him was soft and squishy. Aside from his unusual appearance, there was no way he seemed connected to the owner of this fox mask.

"Could this fox mask belong to Ms. Ruan Mei?"

Arlan swept his gaze around the laboratory and found that Ruan Mei wasn't there either.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, was feeling a little uneasy.

He didn't know why Peppy had appeared here. Could Peppy have noticed something strange about him?

That can't be right. Right now, I'm just a harmless Cat Cake!

He immediately put his acting skills to work, trying to curl himself into a ball. He looked timidly at Arlan with his innocent, beady eyes and let out a faint, pitiful:

"Meow... ow..." (Translation: I don't know anything. I'm just a weak, helpless, pitiful Cat Cake...)

Seeing Lin Feng like this, most of Arlan's doubts melted away, replaced by a barely perceptible softness.

He stood up and said to Peppy:

"All right, Peppy, don't disturb Ms. Ruan Mei's creation while he's resting.

We should get back to what we were doing. We need to find the mask's owner quickly; she must be worried by now."

As he spoke, he nodded slightly to the empty laboratory, as though apologizing for entering by mistake, then left with Peppy, who still seemed reluctant and kept looking back.

Only after the footsteps faded did Lin Feng fully relax, slumping limply on the floor.

That was close!

He had almost been exposed by a dog.

Wait, Peppy can't even talk. What am I worried about?

Lin Feng put those thoughts aside and wriggled toward the door. He needed to find a data stream he could absorb as soon as possible.

As good as being a Cat Cake was, it was only a temporary pleasure. Only after regaining his human body could he accomplish great things.

"Ooh..."

After much effort, he finally made it to the doorway. Just as he poked his body out, trying to see what was happening outside, his vision suddenly darkened.

A soft, fair bare foot, with a hint of playfulness, squarely blocked his path.