Chapter 978: Penguin

Heimu led the three of them along the main road for a while.

A red arrow stretched straight ahead on the ground, but every few steps a line of white small text appeared beside the arrow, each more absurd than the last, e. g., "Please do not feed any animals walking toward you," and also "This park does not sell balloons; if you see balloons, please ignore them."

Heimu's eyebrows jumped; this Rule's spooky vibe was overwhelming, as if someone had taken all those overused internet ghost story posts and jammed them into the amusement park's guidebook.

"Miss, don't you feel we're getting more and more like we're touring some indecent haunted house?"

Pa Duo clung to Heimu's foot, the three‑flower cat's paw pads stepping carefully, Tail hanging low, the tip of the Tail sweeping side to side in small motions.

She looked up at each colored flagpole she passed, fearing something might be perched atop it.

Heimu gave no reply, because a huge blocker appeared ahead.

It was a cartoon penguin mascot, about two meters fifty tall, its round belly bound with a bronze gong, and a tuft of hair on its head curled into a comical question mark.

It stood in the exact center of the main road, like a black‑and‑white soft wall, two orange webbed feet firmly planted, round eyes black as holes staring this way.

It didn't move or wave, just stood quietly, holding in its hand a wooden mallet longer than its body.

The mallet's head was painted red, with the words "Happy Stick" brushed in white paint.

Heimu's steps halted, Pa Duo let out a "meow" and leapt aside, her head slipping behind Ying's calf, only her heterochromatic eyes showing.

Ying's expression was Calm, hand still on the hilt, Fox Ears slightly tilted forward, appraising the penguin.

A Bo Ni Ya, at the rear, let out a soft "ah," as if recognizing the shape.

"It's blocking the middle of the road."

Ying whispered, voice like water beneath ice, "The mallet hasn't hit the ground, the floor is trembling."

Heimu looked closely; indeed the tiles beside the penguin's feet were gently undulating, as if some mechanism had been triggered and was pushing up from below.

A bronze sign slowly rose from behind the penguin, white background red text, displaying a new Rule: During the park's parade, please strike the bronze gong three times with the Happy Stick.

The gong‑striker must wear a smile.

If the smile is insincere, the parade procession cannot pass.

Heimu hadn't spoken yet, but Pa Duo burst out, "Smile? This place only has ghosts that can laugh! Besides, we're just a cat—how can we give that plump penguin a genuine smile!"

"The Rule says strike three times." A Bo Ni Ya stepped closer, tilting her face up to look at the gong.

Her expression was flat, as if examining a chessboard, "The gong is covered with a sensing pattern, likely Wei Er Wei's device for detecting facial muscle changes. A perfunctory smile will trigger the next stage's dilemma."

"Then how do we count as sincere?" Heimu asked, a hint of irritation she hadn't noticed herself in her tone.

"Smile with the eyes."

A Bo Ni Ya lifted a small hand, fingertip hovering toward Heimu's lower eyelid, "The way you tease Pa Duo, the smile that curves down from the corners of the eyes."

Heimu's mouth twitched.

She hadn't ever teased Pa Duo, only occasionally pinched the cat's neck, which isn't a smile at all.

But there was no time to argue; she sighed, walking toward the penguin.

The penguin's black pupils slowly drifted downward as she approached, making the onlooker's skin itch.

Heimu took the "Happy Stick" from the penguin's hand; the mallet was lighter than she expected, almost paper‑thin, weightless in her grip.

"Fine, three strikes." Heimu raised the mallet and brought it down onto the gong.

"Dong—" The first muffled thud rang through the park, the penguin remained motionless.

A faint golden aura rippled across the gong's surface, but it didn't disperse; instead it seemed drawn back into the gong's core.

Heimu followed with the second strike.

This time she deliberately lifted the corners of her mouth, revealing a textbook‑standard yet emotionless smile.

The gong emitted another "dong," the golden light still undispersed, and the penguin's pupils seemed to gain a bit of brightness, as if a calculation was underway.

Heimu inhaled deeply, picturing Pa Duo rolling with her Tail, forced a laugh from her throat, then delivered the third strike.

The gong rang.

The golden light quivered twice, then "pop" shattered, like someone burst a tiny lamp.

The penguin's body leaned back, then straightened, and slowly shifted one step to the right, clearing half a lane.

"Cleared?" Pa Duo poked her head out from behind Ying's leg, still nervous, "It really moved aside!"

Heimu shoved the Happy Stick back into the penguin's hand, just as she was about to step forward, the penguin suddenly slid back to the center, its massive body generating a gust that lifted Heimu's skirt.

The fragmented golden light on the gong reconvened, this time turning from pale gold to eerie red, like coagulated blood beads rolling across the surface.

The penguin's mouth opened slowly, a long string of sharp laughter spurted from its throat, intermittent, like a record player with a stuck needle.

"What's happening?" Ying instantly drew her blade, the red‑black long sword half an inch out of its sheath, cold light flashing white under the eerie red.

Her Fox Ears flattened back, her voice tightened, "Did the check fail?"

"The smile wasn't sincere enough." A Bo Ni Ya calmly added from behind, "Your last strike introduced irritation into the muscle trajectory; the device registered negative emotion."

Heimu watched the penguin trembling with laughter, inhaled deeply.

The mallet in her hand "clack"ed, golden patterns surfacing on its head, the three words "Happy Stick" began to twitch as if alive, clearly urging her to strike again.

She steadied herself and lifted the mallet once more.

This time she tried to think of warm things, like teasing Aisida in the Black Tower Space Station, like……

She spread her mouth, the corners of her eyes curving down, forcing her whole face to exude genuine delight.

Then "dong dong dong" three times, the gong rang brighter than before.

The penguin fell silent.

The eerie red light faded.

It moved aside again, this time farther, opening an entire passage.

Heimu exhaled, just as she was about to beckon the people behind her to pass, the penguin suddenly extended a webbed foot, "pop" blocking her path.

When the foot hit the ground, the whole main road shuddered, the colored flags on both sides rose together.

"It's backtracking again!" Pa Duo leapt three feet high, Tail puffed up wildly.

Heimu's smile on her face was still stiff, and the blue veins at her temples were already pulsing.

A Bo Ni Ya floated a sentence: "Although your last three strikes smiled sincerely, you knocked too fast; the rhythm doesn't meet the parade standard, it judges it as hurrying, which is insincere."

"Huh?" Heimu finally broke her composure, her voice rose, "I have smiled and I have knocked, what does this fat penguin want from me? Should I pay it a New Year's greeting?"

The penguin, as if understanding, actually nodded.

The light on the gong shifted to a dim crimson, the penguin's belly surged, emitting a low "buzz" from within, as if some mechanism were rebooting.

Heimu lowered her head to glance at the Happy Stick in her hand; the white wooden mallet's surface had already cracked with fine lines.

She squinted, and the lingering patience in her mind snapped with a "bang."

"Fine." Heimu said a single word.