Chapter 872: Please, I Beg You

Heimu's expression did not change, lips pursed into a thin pale pink line, the body floating in the air remained motionless, only the mechanical Tail behind her gently swayed.

"The lower passage requires answering a question to unlock."

"Each question corresponds to a step. Answer correctly, the Barrier lifts, and you may proceed downward. Answer incorrectly, refuse to answer, or remain silent, and it is considered forfeiture of passage rights."

Heimu squinted.

Her gaze lingered on those Corrosion markings for a moment, then shifted to Ke Lai Yin's left eye.

The vertical pupil was clouded, still retaining a gradient of pink‑green, but deep within the pupil a faint green light slowly rotated.

"On your face—"

Heimu lifted her right hand, traced an invisible line with her index finger at the corresponding spot on her own face, and said, "—those green markings. Corroded?"

Ke Lai Yin stiffened slightly.

But she did not answer.

Her left eye continued to stare unblinking at Heimu, lips still pursed, the floating height still unchanged.

Heimu lowered her hand, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly.

She stepped forward, the soles of her boots pressing on the stone rim at the stair entrance, body leaning slightly forward, the distance between her dark‑purple eyes and Ke Lai Yin's serpentine pupil shortening considerably.

The brim of the Witch Hat cast a shadow over Ke Lai Yin's face.

"What if we don't answer?"

Her voice was very soft, yet each word carried a blade‑like chill.

Ke Lai Yin remained silent for about three seconds.

The left eye narrowed briefly.

Then she spoke.

The voice remained that Calm mechanical tone.

Yet the content of the sentence and her tone created a temperature difference that sent a chill down the back of the neck.

"You won't want to know the outcome."

Heimu leaned back slightly, one brow arching upward.

Well, that's bold.

She quickly flipped through the Past World Paradise file on Ke Lai Yin in her mind.

Combat effectiveness assessment: non‑combat doll, primary function data maintenance.

This thirty‑centimeter‑tall, arms so slender they could be pinched with chopsticks, little creature spoke to her in a tone like "I have a hundred ways to keep you from leaving this subway station."

After being Corroded, can even the personality change as well?

Or does Ke Lai Yin truly have the confidence?

Either way, since Ke Lai Yin is controlled by Corrosion, Heimu has no need for politeness.

Apologies, Mei Bi Wu Si's little assistant.

She opened her right hand slightly, fingers flexed gently in the air, a strand of violet‑black light at her fingertips flickered—

At that moment, Ke Lai Yin descended from mid‑air.

The mechanical Tail behind her drooped, the tip's phosphorescent green dimming by half a degree.

The tuft of hair on her head collapsed onto her mint‑green curls.

Then she raised both hands, interlacing her ten fingers across her chest.

The serpentine pupil of the left eye strained open, the faint green light in the pupil forced to the deepest recess, making the whole eye appear slightly clearer than before.

"Please....."

Her voice remained flat, but the tail of each word trembled slightly.

The tremor was well controlled, just enough to evoke the greatest possible sense of guilt in a human eardrum.

"Answer the questions."

Heimu's mouth twitched.

Before she could react, Ke Lai Yin moved forward another small step.

It was truly only a small step, about three centimeters.

But given her thirty‑centimeter height and the delicate hands clasped at her chest, that three centimeters generated an emotional impact roughly equivalent to an ordinary person kneeling directly before you.

"I have been standing here for a very long, very long time. So long that the system logs overflowed three times, so long that I missed my own maintenance cycles over seventy times. I don't urge you, I don't push. But could you just... answer a question? Once you answer, you can go down, and I can also finish my task. It's convenient for everyone."

As she spoke, the mechanical Tail behind her swayed gently, just like a wronged kitten Tail.

"Please."

Heimu stood in place, watching her.

Her right hand fingers still held the posture she had just prepared to condense, the violet‑black light strands at her fingertips already fully dispersed.

She had been ready to fight, but the opponent started by kneeling, kneeling decisively and confidently.

The feeling was like taking a deep breath to sprint, only to discover the path ahead wasn't a track but a children's playground covered in soft mats.

"So—"

Heimu finally spoke, a hint of unrestrained helplessness in her voice, "That line you just said, 'You won't want to know the outcome,' was you bluffing?"

Ke Lai Yin's clasped hands at her chest tightened slightly.

Her left eye did not blink, but the Tail wavered leftward by half an inch, feeling guilty.

"According to my data analysis of the current force comparison, the win rate for a direct confrontation against me is about 0.3 percent. Therefore I choose Persuasion instead of deterrence. Persuasion's success rate is estimated at 78.5 percent, and at present the data is shifting in a favorable direction."

Heimu stared at her for several seconds.

Then she raised her right hand, rubbing her temple with her index finger.

Being Corroded yet still able to analyze win rates so rationally and switch tactics on the spot—Corrosion for loneliness?

How does it feel that after being Corrosion, my IQ actually got higher?

When Sakura was previously Corrosion, she was directly controlled to attack herself; when it came to Ke Lai Yin, it simply staged a "hard can't go, soft comes."

This is not Corrosion at all; it's plainly having the Ren and Du meridians opened and learning human worldly affairs.

"You just kneel like that, is that really okay?"

Heimu lowered her hand from her temple, clasped both hands to her chest, and bowed her head to look at the thirty‑centimeter‑tall doll before her.

"Where's your integrity?"

"I'm an armed doll. The factory settings do not include an integrity module."

"…Aren't you Mei Bi Wu Si's assistant? Does she usually teach you like this?"

Ke Lai Yin fell silent for a moment.

The mechanical Tail swayed left and right behind her twice, as if performing a difficult internal calculation.

Then she spoke, her voice still steady but her speech half a beat slower: "The doctor taught me that when an unexpected Variable appears in an experiment, the priority is to ensure the experiment can continue. Everything is subordinate to experimental progress. Personal dignity is a Variable that can be sacrificed."

Heimu's eyebrows twitched.

"She taught quite well, actually."

"The doctor has always been pragmatic."

Heimu opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She realized she had been rendered speechless by a doll.

And this doll is still kneeling before her, looking at her pitifully with a pair of snake eyes, its Tail gently swaying behind it; the frequency and amplitude of that sway, how to put it, are precise as if calibrated by a meticulously designed cute‑mode program.

She felt that if she refused again, she would probably face some indescribable moral condemnation.

"Fine, fine."