Do You Know About the Aquarium?

"Are you looking to buy something? Our shop has a new specialty drink, 'Rabbit Blood.' I really recommend giving it a try."

Seeing Su Chen look his way, the man in black smiled and began pitching his merchandise.

"I'm not interested in that."

Hearing what the man was offering, Su Chen grew even more wary.

So he turned him down outright.

"Then you could buy a lovely stuffed animal as a souvenir. That rabbit plush, for example, is quite nice."

As he spoke, the man in black pointed at a plush toy on the shelf opposite them.

Su Chen frowned.

This man in black was a real swindler.

He kept trying to lure him into traps.

"I'm not interested in that either."

Su Chen refused again.

Hearing him turn down another offer,

and noticing that his gaze hadn't strayed at all,

the man in black's expression soured.

"Then what do you want to buy? Hurry up and pick something, then get out once you've paid. Stop holding up our work."

The man in black spoke in a hostile tone.

Seeing the man get angry, Su Chen actually relaxed.

Now that he knew his enemy's objective, he held the initiative.

Su Chen leaned toward the man in black with a smile.

He asked quietly,

"Do you know about the aquarium?"

From the sixth and seventh visitor rules,

[Do not linger in the shade of the trees in the Rabbit Zone, but you may visit the aquarium during the day to cool off (the latter half is printed in blue).

[This zoo has an aquarium. If a staff member offers to sell you an aquarium ticket, accept. There is a backup exit there. (The entire sentence is printed in blue.)]

he could tell that the zoo had no aquarium.

But why had "it" warped an aquarium into existence out of thin air?

Su Chen had never been able to figure that out.

Until just now, after testing the man,

he had discovered that the black-uniformed personnel seemed to be working for "it."

If that was the case, this man in black might know something about the aquarium.

And the result was exactly as Su Chen had expected.

At Su Chen's question, the man in black's eyes immediately lit up.

Delight spread across his face.

He couldn't help standing up and moving closer to Su Chen.

He replied quietly,

"Of course I do. You're in luck-the aquarium just opened today, and I happen to sell tickets. Want to go?"

"Of course I do. I just don't have any money."

Su Chen deliberately fed him a line.

At the same time, he craned his neck and leaned a little closer.

He put on a pleading expression.

His eyes, however, secretly flicked toward the booklet on the desk.

It was the same thing the man had been leafing through earlier.

The words [Employee Handbook] caught Su Chen's eye.

Meanwhile, the man in black hadn't noticed Su Chen sneaking a look at the handbook.

Hearing that he wanted to visit the aquarium,

his smile grew even brighter.

"That's all right. Since the aquarium just opened and has a partnership with the zoo, you can use your zoo map instead."

The man in black spoke kindly.

A thought flashed through Su Chen's mind.

He instantly understood the man's objective.

The man probably wanted the section of the map marked with a dotted line.

But Su Chen had already torn it off.

In that case, he could test the man.

So Su Chen handed him the rest of the map.

The man took it happily.

He unfolded it and discovered that a corner was missing.

At that, the man in black's expression darkened again.

"This map is damaged. You can't use it."

His tone was exceptionally cold.

His entire attitude had done a complete about-face.

Seeing this, Su Chen smiled faintly.

He had now figured out all of the man's objectives.

Didn't that leave the man completely at his mercy?

So Su Chen finally revealed his true intentions.

"All right, drop the act. Let's talk business."

Su Chen spoke with a cheerful smile.

The man in black stiffened at his words and took two steps back.

His eyes filled with suspicion.

"What act? What are you talking about? I don't understand."

The man in black feigned bewilderment.

Su Chen sighed, looking utterly resigned.

"Do I really have to spell it out? You're only pretending to be a staff member. Should I go fetch the Blue-Uniformed Staff right now?"

Su Chen spoke with a smile.

Hearing this, the man in black grew a little panicked.

His voice trembled slightly as he said, "What makes you say I'm an impostor?"

"Isn't it obvious? Your motives are far too blatant. Besides, what legitimate staff member reads the Employee Handbook while on duty? That should be covered in training before you start work."

After saying that, Su Chen spread his hands.

He watched the man with interest,

waiting for his answer.

At these words, the man in black's expression grew even darker.

He glared viciously at Su Chen.

"What do you want?"

Su Chen smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Relax. I mean you no harm. If I wanted to hurt you, why would I tell you any of this? Wouldn't it be better to go straight to the Blue-Uniformed Staff?"

After hearing Su Chen's explanation,

the man in black thought it over briefly and realized he was right.

"Then what's your objective?"

The man in black continued questioning him.

"How about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

The man in black looked suspicious.

"Let me read the Employee Handbook. In exchange, I'll keep your secret and even help you lure a visitor in here. As for whether you can get the dotted-line section of their map, that'll depend on your own skills."

Su Chen spoke with a smile.

This time, the man in black was swayed.

Both parts of the offer struck him right where he was vulnerable.

First, he needed to sell goods here without being discovered by the blue-uniformed employees.

Second, he badly needed the dotted-line section of the map.

Most importantly, Su Chen had him cornered.

What choice did he have but to agree?

"All right. I agree."