[(This passage was crossed out) If you are unfortunate enough to be attacked by a White Lion in its normal state but do not die on the spot, rules 6 and 7 no longer apply. Do not rush to the hospital. You will not die. After leaving the Lion Enclosure, head to the Aquarium. You will find it very soon. You will put on a black uniform.]
First, this passage confirmed that there really was an Aquarium here.
And one way to find the Aquarium was to be attacked by a White Lion and survive.
At the same time, this also meant that the Lion Enclosure was not completely safe.
At least, when cognitive contamination ran deep, White Lions were extremely dangerous.
After this analysis, combined with his encounter with the man in black that day, Su Chen had begun to piece things together.
He already had a few guesses.
Perhaps the Aquarium really did offer a way out.
And perhaps it was the only possible escape from this Zoo, where the rules were becoming increasingly twisted.
However, there was one thing he had to keep in mind.
Once he put on a black uniform, escape would be impossible.
The note in the security office had also warned him.
Remember the color of your clothes. Do not change them.
Perhaps that was the true key to escaping.
Once he figured all this out, Su Chen felt much better.
He handed the Employee Handbook back to the man in black.
Then he smiled and prepared to leave.
Just then, several rules suddenly flashed through his mind.
The first was rule five of the Visitor Rules.
[The Zoo's Beverage Shop does not offer "Rabbit Blood." If you see it on the shelves, please ignore it and purchase other food instead (the final sentence is printed in blue).]
The blue rule told him to ignore the Rabbit Blood and buy other food.
Su Chen had not paid much attention to it at first.
He had simply thought he could avoid buying anything.
But now he realized something was wrong.
He considered it alongside the security guard's note.
[Food that inexplicably appears on shelves anywhere is a test. Do not look at the labels on the food, and do not concern yourself with what others call it. Ignore it. If necessary, buy it as ordinary food and eat it.]
Didn't that mean he should buy the Rabbit Blood?
Otherwise, "it" would notice his response to this test.
Su Chen also recalled what had happened after the rabbit doll had assaulted him.
The staff member in black had deliberately tried to sell him both Rabbit Blood and a Bunny Doll at the same time.
That had suggested that Rabbit Blood and rabbit dolls were the same kind of supernatural object.
Perhaps buying the Rabbit Blood was actually the right thing to do.
So Su Chen stopped and turned toward the shelves.
He kept his eyes fixed on the Rabbit Blood, not daring to look too closely at anything else.
Then he picked up a bottle of Rabbit Blood and handed it to the staff member in black.
"I'll buy a bottle and try it."
Su Chen spoke calmly.
The man in black was startled and looked Su Chen up and down again.
Then he quickly resumed his indifferent expression.
He took the Rabbit Blood, scanned its barcode, and motioned for Su Chen to pay.
The change in his expression did not escape Su Chen's notice.
Now Su Chen could relax. He knew his guess had been right.
He paid without hesitation, picked up the Rabbit Blood, and walked out of the shop.
As he pushed the door open, sunlight spilled into the shop.
In that sunlight, something changed.
Meanwhile, the viewers in Dragon Country's livestream were once again being driven crazy by Su Chen.
"Guys, I can't take this anymore. Su Chen's IQ is practically Schrödinger's IQ-sometimes it's there, sometimes it isn't. I was just about to praise him for how beautifully he fooled the man in black, and now this guy actually has the nerve to buy Rabbit Blood? He's going to give me high blood pressure."
"I know exactly what you mean. Watching Su Chen is like riding a roller coaster. He's cured my low blood pressure."
"To the guy above, have you considered that Su Chen might have a deeper reason for doing this, and we've all underestimated him?"
"What deeper reason? Isn't he just fucking throwing his life away? If there's a deeper reason, I'll eat my phone!"
"Stop arguing! Look at the Rabbit Blood in Su Chen's hand and the shelves!"
At that comment's prompting, everyone looked at Su Chen's right hand.
In the sunlight, the bloody color of the Rabbit Blood in his hand was slowly fading.
Gradually, it became clear.
And the eerie lettering on the bottle turned into the words "mineral water."
Everyone was stunned.
Like the viewers, Su Chen was also a little startled.
Although he had guessed that something was wrong with the Rabbit Blood, he had not known exactly what.
He had never expected this.
At that thought, he hurriedly turned to look at the shelves inside the shop.
In the sunlight, the shelves had changed.
The entire row that had held Rabbit Blood had turned into mineral water.
Everywhere else was a sea of blood-red.
Those shelves were filled with "Rabbit Blood."
Su Chen shuddered.
His perception had still been distorted while he was inside the shop.
No, perhaps the entire shop had been distorted!
There was simply no guarding against "its" tricks.
Fortunately, he had remembered the relevant rules and bought the Rabbit Blood.
Only then had he seen through this trap.
Otherwise, he would have fallen into it sooner or later.
After all, he could not go without food and water forever.
If he tried, hunger and thirst might cloud his mind before the supernatural contamination could distort his perception.
Having unraveled this trap, Su Chen was in an excellent mood.
He flashed a brilliant smile at the man in black inside the shop.
Then he headed toward the Elephant Enclosure.
Before you continue