Su Chen looked at the other man's ingratiating expression with disgust.
He also understood the implication behind his words.
He was trying to guilt-trip him.
Unfortunately, his little scheme was clearly doomed to fail.
Showing moral consideration to an enemy, especially one with a blood debt to repay?
That would be downright idiotic.
Su Chen was clearly no bleeding-heart saint.
After a moment's thought, he came up with a plan.
"It's simple. As long as people haven't started turning into animals, the white lions won't kill them. They can even remove the contamination from your body."
"If you don't believe me, look inside. Aren't all the normal people still alive?"
With that, Su Chen pointed at the gap in the iron gates.
Yamashita Kenichiro shuddered.
Since the gap between the iron gates was so narrow, he hadn't noticed the full scene inside the Lion Enclosure earlier.
When he saw Su Chen emerge alone, he had assumed Su Chen was the only survivor.
Now that he heard others had survived too, he hurried over.
He quickly approached the entrance, then cautiously gripped the edge of the gate and peered inside.
The sight reassured him. The survivors were making their way toward the exit.
Then he examined the dead.
Just as Su Chen had said, all the dead were people whose bodies had mutated.
The normal people were fine.
Kenichiro finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Since he was relatively strong-willed and cautious, he hadn't petted any rabbits or taken the right-hand path through the Ape Area.
As a result, he still hadn't begun turning into an animal.
Seeing so many survivors, he now believed almost everything Su Chen had told him.
Soon, the other survivors emerged one after another.
Yamashita Kenichiro's eyes darted around as he quietly questioned them one by one.
By the time everyone had come out, he was completely convinced.
Without wasting any more time, he prepared to head back into the Lion Enclosure.
Seeing this, Su Chen asked with a smile.
"Aren't you afraid of being fooled again?"
Kenichiro's expression darkened at those words as he recalled how Su Chen had tricked him earlier.
A tremor of fear ran through him.
But then he reconsidered. He had already questioned so many survivors.
Their accounts all matched, and the evidence was right before his eyes.
None of them had died.
So why would anything happen to him?
Having reasoned it through, Kenichiro snorted coldly without answering Su Chen.
He strode into the Lion Enclosure with his head held high and his chest out, heading toward the four white lions at its center.
Clearly, the bastard had turned his back on him already.
Su Chen had expected this reaction from Kenichiro all along.
People who valued pride and humiliation above right and wrong would grovel when they needed something from you.
Once they no longer needed you, they would remember how humiliating their groveling had been, and they would inevitably seek revenge.
Now that he felt confident again, it was only natural for him to turn hostile.
Yet as Su Chen watched him walk farther away, his smile grew brighter.
When he saw Kenichiro approach the white lions, Su Chen spoke.
He shouted at Yamashita Kenichiro, "Oh, right! I forgot to tell you. You can't enter the Lion Enclosure after drinking Rabbit Blood. So enjoy waiting for death!"
Kenichiro was shocked by those words and abruptly spun around.
But all he saw was Su Chen's brilliant smile slowly disappearing behind the heavy iron gates.
With a bang, the gates slammed shut.
Kenichiro's heart lurched. This is bad!
At the same time, he remembered what the employee rules said.
[If the number of white lions suddenly increases to more than four, take out the "Rabbit Blood" and show it to them, then splash it on the first white lion that immediately runs over. Once you have done this, leave immediately. Do not keep watch on the additional white lions during this time.]
"Baka! Su Chen, how dare you trick me again!"
Yamashita Kenichiro roared in humiliated fury.
Still cursing, he started running to escape.
But it was already too late.
As his heartbeat quickened and his emotions surged, his head began to swim.
His eyes felt painfully swollen, and even the top of his head began to tingle.
His anger instantly vanished, replaced by panic.
He felt as though he were a rabbit.
"I'm done for! I think I'm mutating! Why did it have to happen now?"
Yamashita Kenichiro grew increasingly desperate.
He had thought that although he had drunk Rabbit Blood, at least he hadn't mutated yet.
Perhaps he still had a chance to slip through unnoticed.
Yet he had begun mutating, right in the most dangerous situation possible.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that if he had been an idiot...
Or had known fewer of the relevant rules...
Or had simply been a little more carefree, nothing would have happened to him.
The problem was that he had received too many rules through his country's assistance, and he was suspicious by nature, exceptionally good at connecting the dots.
Every conversation Su Chen had held with him earlier had deliberately encouraged those suspicions and associations.
That was why, when Su Chen finally shouted that he had drunk Rabbit Blood and should wait to die, he immediately recalled the relevant rules.
And imagined the consequences.
Precisely because his emotions fluctuated so violently and he began to suspect the Rabbit Blood...
He triggered another rule violation.
[Do not look at the signs above the food, and do not concern yourself with what others call it. Ignore them. If necessary, buy it as ordinary food and eat it. Do not let "it" know that you have noticed "it."]
All these factors combined caused Yamashita Kenichiro to detonate the time bomb inside him at the most dangerous possible moment.
The next instant, just as Kenichiro's eyes turned blood-red...
The largest, most powerful white lion leading the group lunged at him.
Its enormous, bloodthirsty maw opened wide.
There was a wet squelch.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Kenichiro's headless body slowly sank to its knees, then toppled to the ground.
It was as though he were repenting before the citizens of Dragon Country whom he had tricked into their deaths.
At the same time, a death announcement sounded.
[Yamashita Kenichiro of Sakura Country has died. Following a comprehensive assessment, Sakura Country's national fortune has been reduced by 10 points. Current remaining total: 70 points.] [Mount Fuji will erupt for 10 days.]
As the announcement rang out, the people of Sakura Country completely broke down.
Especially those living close to Mount Fuji.
Before the livestream closed, they flooded it with furious curses.
"Baka! Yamashita Kenichiro was such an idiot! He actually fell for that devious Dragon Country man's scheme! Even dying ten thousand more times wouldn't erase this disgrace!"
"That Dragon Country man is even worse! So vicious, trapping the Chosen One of a friendly nation! He has no morals whatsoever. What an inferior race!"
This person selectively ignored everything Kenichiro had done in the previous horror world.
He vented his anger without restraint.
"Exactly! Our great Sakura Empire should seize this opportunity to rebuild our own armed forces and teach Dragon Country a lesson they'll never forget!"
"Agreed!"
Before you continue