**Chapter 7: The Off-Road Toy**

"Am I living some sci-fi novel plot? Did I just find a Transformer?!" Zhang Xiaowen fantasized about becoming a protagonist from her favorite stories.

**"Idiot! I'm a starship AI, not a toy!"**

"Wait… Y-you're TALKING?!" She gaped at the blue toy car on her bed.

**"Elevated heart rate and blood pressure detected. Recommend self-calibration."**

*Clank-clank!* The toy reconfigured into a 30cm robot, waving cheerfully. **"Greetings. I am Cube, from distant space. Let us foster mutual—"**

"AAAAAHHH—!!" Xiaowen dove under her blanket, trembling violently.

---

Evening.

Two plates of stir-fried vegetables sat on the table – one for Xiaowen, another "for the alien guest." After hours of panicked negotiation, she'd accepted reality… and grown insatiably curious. "So… Cube… Did Cybertron explode?"

**"…"**

"Are you Decepticon or Autobot?"

**"…"**

"Will Optimus Prime come to Earth?"

**"…"**

"Can you make me rich? Or… teach me kung fu?"

**"ENOUGH!"** Cube's wheeled feet clattered angrily on the table. **"I'm not a toy! Nor a deity! And I DON'T EAT YOUR DISGUSTING ORGANIC SLOP!"**

"Relax! Just show me some cool alien tech!"

Resigned, Cube hopped onto her battered laptop. **"Primitive computing device detected. Initiating performance enhancement protocols."**

Gears whirred inside the machine. Xiaowen nearly choked on her rice as the decade-old computer booted in one second, its cracked screen now displaying 8K resolution.

"Whoa! It's faster than internet cafes!" She marveled at instant downloads. **"Earthling entertainment remains baffling,"** Cube muttered.

---

Midnight.

Xiaowen snored softly while Cube monitored weather satellites. Thunder rumbled outside.

**"Alert! Unknown pathogen detected in precipitation! Lethal to organics!"**

Cube slammed the windows shut. **"Wake up, moron! Atmospheric contamination imminent!"**

*ZAP!*

"YOWCH! What's your problem?!" Xiaowen clutched her electrified foot.

**"Rain carries extraterrestrial virus. Fatal if inhaled. Begin antidote synthesis."**

Pills and cosmetics flew into a makeshift lab. Cube's micro-tools dissected compounds at blinding speed.

"Will this… really work?" Xiaowen eyed the glowing liquid.

**"Probability of survival: 78%. Drink."**

Gulping the concoction, she whispered, "My family… Can we save them too?"

**"Global communications offline. Prepare for systemic collapse by dawn."**

Outside, acid rain etched patterns on the glass as Xiaowen's tears fell silently. Cube's sensors tracked mutagenic patterns spreading across the planet – and something darker moving within the storm clouds.