"What kind of trash game is this!"
Lin surreptitiously dropped a few goji berries into his water cup, thought about it, and then added a red date.
Compared to Delta, who was so anxious she was about to snap the joystick, he was no different from a retired old man walking his bird. He leisurely drank his tea, watching Delta calm and proud exterior be smashed to pieces, revealing her exasperated state.
Delta was panting, her eyes wide with fury, suppressing the urge to lift the arcade machine and smash it against the wall.
Several hours.
In several hours, she hadn't even hit ten thousand points once! Forget surpassing first place; her state was worsening, and she couldn't even beat her initial score!
She doubted if this game's difficulty was truly intended for humans. Even a robot might not be able to play without errors.
"Dinner time. Training is over for today."
After taking the last sip of tea, Lin announced the end of training. He walked to the power supply of the arcade machine and casually turned off the game screen.
"You—!"
After staring blankly at the black screen for a while, Delta was fuming with rage. She glared at Lin, but Lin ignored her gaze and said calmly, "You did not complete the training today, so there will be a punishment."
This sentence made Delta snap back to reality. She frowned slightly and looked at the black screen. Even if she claimed she could have surpassed the score in that last round... she didn't even believe it herself.
However, Delta ability to accept reality was decent. She figured the punishment would be nothing more than some physical training.
"Before you finish watching this video, you are not allowed to leave, eat, or rest."
Lin pressed a button on his helmet, and a projection was cast onto the nearby wall. On it appeared Delta just as she started the game.
The footage was so clear it felt immersive. Delta looked at herself on the screen, momentarily confused. This video was several hours long; did he intend to make her go hungry?
"I will watch it with you. You must watch the entire video from beginning to end."
At this moment, Delta had no idea what kind of torment awaited her.
Delta eyelids were getting sore, not from long use, but...
"AHHHH!"
In the projection, Delta was shouting and waving her arms like a maniac. Seeing this from another perspective made her feel as if everything from her brain to the skin on her face was completely cooked...
Did she... actually do such things?
The distorted expressions, exaggerated gestures, unstable emotions...
It was too humiliating.
Yet that segment was only the beginning. That was the first time she lost control of her emotions, but it was precisely this "first time" that liberated all her subsequent behavior, leading to her flailing about and spewing profanities.
Sip...
Lin was still happily drinking his tea. She peeked at him and found that he was staring at her with great interest, as if watching a movie.
Making someone watch their own disgraceful state and then observing their reaction—this guy's taste was far too wicked!
A person's emotional outbursts follow a pattern, generally appearing in waves. In plain terms: screaming for a while, then becoming abnormally calm, then talking to oneself, then falling silent.
Over the next hour, Delta "observed" this pattern validated on herself. She wished she could tuck her head into her chest, but she had to keep watching because Lin order was "You must watch the entire video from beginning to end."
Before she knew it, two hours had passed. Everyone else had finished dinner, while Delta was still observing her own record of shame. Her stomach growled, and her lips were so dry she frequently licked them with her tongue. She was exhausted in both body and mind, feeling wretched.
Crunch.
A crisp sound of chewing made Delta neck go stiff. Like a gear that hadn't been oiled, she turned her head and saw Lin holding a bag of potato chips, eating them in large handfuls while drinking fragrant black tea.
They look so tasty...
Her gaze fell on the bag of chips.
They were even her favorite cucumber flavor...
Without her noticing, drool began to leak from the corner of her mouth.
Lin saw the longing in Delta eyes; rather, that had been his plan from the start. He shook the bag of chips, which made the distinct crisp sound of fried food, and asked Delta matter-of-factly, "Want some?"
"Yes."
Her mouth moved faster than her brain. Delta didn't want to continue losing face in front of Lin, yet she blurted it out involuntarily.
"Easy." Lin took out another chip, put it in his mouth, and bit down hard. "Beg me."
"...What?" Delta was stunned.
"As long as you are willing to beg me, I will give you food and drink. Otherwise, before the video ends, you will receive no food or water, except for when I pause the video for a bathroom break."
Lin made a "please" gesture to Delta, who was gritting her teeth and wishing she could tear him apart. "If you don't want it, you can keep watching."
"Are you intentionally messing with me!" Delta couldn't help but growl. "Just because I looked down on you when we met, you're retaliating! You designed that game, and that first place is just something you made up just to see me in a disgraceful state!"
Sip...
Faced with Delta towering rage, Lin said nothing. He took another sip of tea, set it down, and rested his crossed hands on the table.
A cold and sharp gaze pierced through the helmet, like a bucket of cold water poured over her head.
His stern bass voice sounded like the raspy growl of a demon through the helmet: "I do not believe there is any necessity to retaliate against someone weaker than myself. Regarding the game, I told the truth. You are this angry for a very simple reason: you are weak, and your weakness cannot support your conceit."
"You..."
"Some of my friends are as proud, complacent, and arrogant as you. But their abilities are sufficient to support their confidence—or rather, their confidence stems from their extraordinary abilities. They are true geniuses."
Lin words were like a sharp blade piercing Delta chest, making her so indignant her expression distorted. "I admire those with the courage to undergo the Project Soldier Surgery, but unfortunately, you are currently just my subordinate. At best, you are merely a recruit who got lucky and became a MANTIS. Even if I wanted you to lick my fingers right now, you could not refuse. So... Recruit CM-079, execute your mission and finish the video."
"Hmm? I just got back and heard someone praising me. If she won't lick them, can I?"
Delta saw the man in the helmet, who had been dignified and stern just a moment ago, tremble the instant he heard the voice from behind.