Just a moment ago, she was acting like a senior, haughtily lecturing Serie about respecting elders and being proactive.
And now?
Her revered Dr. Lynette had personally ordered her to get water for this newcomer, this rookie she thought she could easily manipulate?!
Could this world… ever be normal again?
Melinda felt as if her entire worldview was being overturned.
Serie, holding Lynette's hand, looked at Melinda's expression, as if the sky had fallen, and seemed to feel a little pity.
She hesitated, then whispered, "Um…"
A faint glimmer of hope instantly ignited in Melinda's dim eyes!
Serie looked like a very well-behaved little girl; she must want to help me out!
She's definitely going to say, "You don't have to trouble Senior Melinda" or "I'll go myself"!
Meeting Melinda's hopeful gaze, Serie gave a well-behaved, slightly embarrassed smile and added, "…I actually want iced cola, is that okay? I'm troubling you, Melinda… Senior?"
The last address, she called out clearly and innocently.
Melinda's vision went black, and she felt the entire laboratory spin.
Lynette seemed not to have heard Serie's small, whimsical request, or rather, she tacitly approved it.
She simply led Serie, walking steadily towards the experimental area, leaving Melinda petrified in place once more.
Just as Melinda felt her life was utterly bleak, wishing she could lock herself in a high-risk containment unit, a steady footsteps stopped beside her.
It was Jared.
He had walked over at some point, holding a newly printed data report.
Melinda clutched at him like a drowning person, forgetting all about her image, and with a tearful voice full of grievances and confusion, she urgently whispered to Jared, complaining, "Senior Brother! Look! That Serie! She… how could she be like that!"
"And the Doctor! The Doctor, she… she actually told me to get her water! And iced cola! I… I'm a senior! This… what is this even supposed to be?!" She was incoherent, trying to get some validation or comfort from the senior brother she admired.
Upon hearing this, Jared did not frown in displeasure or sympathy as Melinda had expected.
Instead, he sighed softly, a bitter, helpless smile playing on his lips.
"Melinda, face reality."
"The two of us combined," he paused, his gaze returning to the backs of Serie and Lynette, his voice carrying a nearly resigned clarity, "probably don't weigh as much in Dr. Lynette's heart as a single strand of Serie's hair."
Melinda's eyes widened instantly: "Wh-what?! Senior Brother, you… you're joking, right?!"
She couldn't understand at all, that little girl, why her?!
"Instead of complaining, think about how to curry favor with this favorite of Dr. Lynette."
"Perhaps, then Dr. Lynette might, for the sake of this precious darling, be a little… well, gentler with us." He finished, no longer looking at Melinda, and turned to his workstation, leaving a tall but strangely desolate figure.
Melinda stood frozen, Jared's words shattering her last bit of senior dignity and illusion.
Curry favor with… Serie?
That newcomer?
To make Dr. Lynette treat her better?
Has this world… truly gone mad?!
What exactly is the background of this Serie?
To make Dr. Lynette so… so partial?
Even making Senior Brother Jared say such almost fawning words?!
Ignoring Melinda, whose worldview had collapsed.
Serie followed Lynette through two sealed airlock doors requiring identity verification, finally arriving before a large one-way observation window.
Behind the window was a containment unit simulating a natural cave environment.
The ground was covered with wood chips and hay, and a few pieces of fluorite emitting a soft, warm yellow glow were embedded in the corners, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
In the center of the observation room, a plump creature was facing away from them, its rump sticking out, its small paws rapidly digging at something in front of it.
That was C-1155, code-named the Hoarding Rat.
Its appearance indeed resembled an enlarged, plump rat with a warm caramel-colored skin, but its body texture was very peculiar, as if molded from the most elastic dough, without any fur, and as it dug, ripples would undulate across its body surface.
Most striking were its bulging cheek pouches, which almost occupied half of its body volume, and were currently stuffed full.
At this moment, the Hoarding Rat seemed to have found a cherished treasure, emitting a satisfied, baby-like sucking sound of "smack-smack."
It held up a resin arm of a mannequin with its two front paws and unhesitatingly stuffed it into its mouth, then, like holding a giant long candy, it contentedly wrapped its tongue, covered with fine barbs, around it, its cheeks bulging, emitting happy purring sounds.
If it weren't for the mannequin being white, clearly distinguishable from a human body, this scene would indeed be a bit unsettling…
Around it were piled various strange collections: the torso of a mannequin missing an arm, a small piece of energy biscuit with bite marks, the remains of an old television set casing with a shattered screen, and a plastic chair with three legs.
Quite… unique taste.
"It looks like a rat, but it's actually far from it.
The Hoarding Rat possesses an extremely strong instinct for holding and hoarding, and its oral structure is special; the barbs on its tongue can firmly secure items, hoarding them into its stomach-like organ or habitat," Lynette's voice rang in Serie's ear.
"It's worth noting that it doesn't need to eat anything; swallowing things into its stomach is merely for hoarding, not for digestion.
It will instinctively be stimulated by any item it deems valuable, or simply takes a liking to, to develop a strong desire to collect."
Serie watched intently, and couldn't help but murmur, "So… in the simulated exam, tracking them would be an efficient strategy?"
"They're like living treasure radars…"
"You could even directly get supplies from them, snatching their hoarded treasures, wouldn't that make points easy to get?"
Lynette was startled, clearly not expecting Serie, a new student, to be interested in the simulated exam that even older students avoided, let alone that she would have such an understanding of an anomaly she had just met.
She nodded admiringly: "You're right, but…"
"Hoarding Rats are also very dangerous.
They have an extremely strong possessiveness over items in their mouths and will not ignore you if you snatch or covet their treasures.
Forcibly taking them will trigger a violent stress response, such as…"
"Swallowing you whole…"
Serie couldn't help but feel a chill upon hearing this…
Fortunately, there was still a considerable amount of time until the next simulated exam opened.
Serie could prepare in advance for the exam.
It's worth mentioning that to reduce the mortality rate of students, all students must enter the examination room in groups of three.
As for Serie's choice of teammates…
She had, of course, already thought it through!
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