"Hey, hey, hey, why are you pushing me?"
Tucker staggered as he tipped the bowl, spilling the thick porridge onto the robot's head. The gooey substance slowly dripped down, obscuring the robot's red light.
That's more like it.
Tucker nodded in satisfaction, tossing the bowl onto the table and clapping his hands as he prepared to leave.
"Sizzle, warning! Attacking staff! Activating automatic attack mode!"
The robot's screen displayed green static, and the current in its belly gathered. Its view was obstructed, only a blurred silhouette of Tucker visible.
A powerful electric current shot out rapidly, producing a crackling, piercing sound in the air.
"Damn! It's real!" Tucker quickly ducked aside, watching as the current blackened the table and started to smoke. He was frightened.
Wouldn't getting hit by this instantly kill someone?
Shaking all over, Tucker's mind raced. He began shouting for help.
"Help! Boss, save me! Your robot is trying to kill me!"
As he shouted, he threw food from the counter at the robot and nimbly avoided the robot's electrical attacks.
[Warning: Malicious vandalism detected in the restaurant. Should we capture?]
In the bathroom, Charlotte: ???
The restaurant? She thought of Tucker, who was eating inside.
Could he be causing trouble in there?
"Capture!"
...
Inside the restaurant, Tucker was about to pour a pot of porridge on the floor when suddenly a cube appeared out of nowhere, enclosing him and lifting him off the ground.
"What is this?! Let me down!" Tucker beat on the transparent walls in panic.
At that moment, Charlotte appeared at the door with a stern face.
The restaurant was a mess, with precious food spilled on the floor, liquids mixing together, the table damaged by the robot's electric current, and oil stains on the walls.
"Boss, your robot attacked first! I was just defending myself! Look at my arm—" Tucker rolled up his sleeve, revealing a dark bruise on his arm, the result of accidentally hitting the table edge while avoiding the current.
But if he didn't say it, who would know?
After all, a robot is just a robot—how can it be compared to a person?
Besides, he noticed that the cameras weren't even connected with wires; how could they possibly be working? He suspected they were just there to scare people!
"—It's all black and purple! I was eating just fine, and then this thing zapped me right away!"
"Boss, my daughter said your place is great and mentioned it several times. That's why we came here right after the rain! And everyone at the base knows about your hotel, so we came to check the environment. If it's indeed good, everyone will move in! Crystal cores are no problem at all!"
Tucker made a distressed face. "But I never expected your robot to attack people indiscriminately! How can I explain this to the people at the base? I'm a person of importance there, with a significant say. Creating such a scene..."
With his honeyed words and flattery, Tucker hoped to bewilder the young boss!
Want to do business? I have plenty of people behind me, and I have as many crystal cores as you need!
Want to kill me? Ha, I've said it before—I'm a leader sent by the base. Before you mess with me, you'd better consider whether you can go against everyone at the base!
Tucker was confident. Anyone with any sense wouldn't trouble him at this moment.
All he had to do was wait for the boss to let him down and then apologize profusely.
How big a storm could this young female boss possibly stir up?
Tucker had used this tactic to get rid of countless people before, and he wasn't afraid he wouldn't be able to handle this little girl!
But why hadn't the boss let him down yet?
Charlotte expressionlessly opened the surveillance screen and began playback, turning the volume up to the maximum.
As Tucker watched the screen appear in the air, he felt a chill. The playback showed him smashing the bowl, forcibly barging in, throwing porridge on the robot's head, cursing filthy language at the monitor, and throwing food from the tray on the ground...
Tucker was stunned, never expecting the surveillance cameras to actually be working!
"Boss, listen to me! It's not like that! I was... overwhelmed by something! Yes, possessed by a ghost! It wasn't my intention!"
Seeing that Charlotte didn't even glance at him and coldly watched the footage, Tucker began to feel fear. He had no idea how she would deal with him!
The unknown was always the most terrifying!
At this moment, he recalled the store rules and his eyes widened in realization!
"I'll pay for everything! All the crystal cores! There are several second-tier cores in here! Enough to buy all the food here!" Tucker, his face pale, pulled a handful of crystal cores from his pocket, including several second-tier ones.
He desperately hoped that the young boss would be persuaded by the crystal cores and spare him.
For some reason, the quieter the young boss remained, the more frightened he became.
Charlotte looked at the crystal cores in his hand, waved her hand, and all the crystal cores, including those still in his pocket, floated out of the cube and into her hand.
Seeing her accept them, Tucker felt there might be hope. He clung to the transparent wall, eagerly shouting, "Since you've accepted my payment, hurry up and let me down! I'll act like nothing happened today! I'll make sure everyone at the base comes to stay here! I'll promote you thoroughly! Do you hear me? Listen—"
"Shut up."
Charlotte stared at him expressionlessly, her gaze as cold as if she were looking at a dead person. After the command system sealed his mouth, she took him to the lobby and hung him beside the rule board.
Tucker felt as though his throat was encased in a cube, no matter how loudly he shouted, his voice couldn't escape the small space, only making his throat itch and ache.
He desperately pounded and kicked the barrier, trying to break free.
Charlotte sat back on the sofa, turned on the remote, found the variety show she watched yesterday, and watched the program with a tight-lipped expression.
Tucker, with his large fists pounding furiously, yelled curses at Charlotte.
After exhausting his efforts and still unable to escape, Tucker sat in despair inside the cube, hoping that Belle would come back soon to rescue him.
At this moment, the boy staying in room 302 came downstairs with an elderly woman.
At first, they noticed the stern-faced Charlotte on the sofa, then the television showing the broadcast. Before they could react, they saw Tucker next to them.
Tucker also saw them and initially didn't recognize them, as they were clean and their clothes were still the same.
"Help me!!" Tucker exclaimed in joy, standing up and pounding on the barrier, pleading for help.
"Isn't that Tucker?!" The elderly woman exclaimed, pointing at him.
The boy immediately looked at Charlotte. Although he didn't understand why Tucker was locked up, he felt that he must have offended the young boss!
Charlotte turned her head, her eyes curving into crescent shapes, looking sweet as she asked, "Do you know him?"