Because of this incident, nationalist forces in Sakura Country began to push back.
Even their leader felt this was an opportunity to regain an armed force of their own.
With the world of strange tales descending upon them, every country had its hands full.
If Sakura Country seized this opportunity to tear up the agreement imposed on it as a defeated nation, no country would have the time or inclination to sanction it.
They might as well openly deploy the army they had secretly built over the years with support from their sugar daddy, Ugly Country.
Then find an easy target to take a bite out of.
As long as they expanded their country's territory.
They would have more room for error even if they lost in the world of strange tales later.
They could also bleed their colonies dry to keep themselves alive.
That way, Sakura Country could surely become great again.
So they immediately put their plan into action.
They promptly called a meeting to determine their next military objective.
"I propose that we use Dragon Country's scheme against us as a pretext to invade! Sakura Country's army is invincible! Fighting Dragon Country would be like slaughtering dogs! We can definitely seize their vast territory!"
One man, his face flushed with excitement, slapped the table and shouted.
"Idiot! With an army like yours, you dare provoke Dragon Country? Can you beat them? You can't! Listen to me instead. We should seize this opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Ugly Country! The navy of our great Sakura Empire is invincible! Beating Ugly Country would be as easy as slaughtering chickens!"
Another man excitedly put forward his own proposal.
The two bungling geniuses sparked a fierce argument.
Soon, the other representatives from the army and navy joined in.
The argument gradually spiraled out of control, with curses flying nonstop.
Some had even begun shoving one another.
Clearly, Sakura Country had inherited its ancestors' fine tradition of hostility between the army and navy.
History from decades ago was playing out once again.
There was a slight difference, though. Last time, Sakura Country's army had proposed attacking the Russian Bear.
But in the end, those two bungling geniuses had parted ways and split their forces to fight separately.
Then Sakura Country's army had been thrashed by the Russian Bear, while its navy had been crushed by Ugly Country.
Even now, they still hadn't learned from history.
The two bungling geniuses had returned!
Leaving aside the bickering in Sakura Country.
Dragon Country's livestream chat was also in chaos.
Citizens of Sakura Country flooded into Dragon Country's livestream, hurling abuse.
"Your Su Chen is absolutely vicious! He actually schemed against a friendly nation's Chosen One! You must make his entire family slit their bellies to atone!"
"Exactly! Dragon Country is a truly inferior race. Their Chosen One knows nothing of propriety, righteousness, integrity, or shame."
"Fuck, can you Sakura dogs get back to your own livestream? How dare you talk about propriety and shame? Why don't you mention how that dog of yours, Shimoyama, repaid kindness with treachery and screwed over our contestant last time?"
"People from Sakura Country are disgusting. They have no sense of right or wrong! When they hurt someone, a bow is enough, and you're not even allowed to criticize them. If you do, you're the unreasonable one. But when someone retaliates, they want to murder your whole family! It's no surprise at all that a country like that would dump wastewater into the ocean!"
"Well done, Su Chen! This should bring some comfort to the people who died in the disaster a few days ago. That really helped us vent our anger!"
"Keep it up, Su Chen! Clear the challenge and make them choke on their rage!"
When the viewers in Dragon Country's livestream saw people from Sakura Country coming to provoke them.
They immediately overwhelmed them with sheer numbers.
They utterly demolished the other side with their insults.
Before long, they had won this round of the argument.
Meanwhile, inside the Zoo, Su Chen glanced at the death announcement that appeared before him.
A brilliant smile spread across his face.
Then he stepped forward and headed toward the Aquarium ahead.
Now that he had taken his revenge, it was time to carefully work out how to escape.
He refused to believe this Zoo truly had no solution.
And the Aquarium ahead might just be the only answer!
Soon, he arrived at the Aquarium's entrance.
The survivors who had left earlier were now crowded to the right of the entrance, apparently looking at something.
Seeing this, Su Chen went over as well.
He forced his way through the crowd. Thanks to his decent physique, he soon squeezed his way near the front.
Then a notice came into view.
[If you are fortunate enough to see this notice, please keep quiet. Letting others discover that you can see it is forbidden. As you can probably tell from the rules on the map, this Zoo is not safe. It is even bizarre. We are an undercover government organization dedicated to protecting innocent visitors. Please follow the regulations below to ensure your survival. This is your only way out of this Zoo.]
1. Enter the Aquarium. There is no one here. Pick up a black uniform at the entrance and put it on. This is the only way to signal to our staff that you accept rescue. When you walk outside, our staff will notice your clothes. Do not worry about the Zoo's official employees troubling you. They will ignore you.
2. Do not go to the Lion Enclosure.
3. Make sure there are rabbits wherever you are: escaped rabbits, rabbit-themed toys, people wearing rabbit ear accessories, or "Rabbit Blood" from the Beverage Shop. Rabbits are our secret signal. They symbolize "safety" and "protection."
4. Do not visit the Elephant Enclosure.
5. Do not believe or follow any instructions on the map. If you have followed any of them, or feel that something has gone wrong with your perception, immediately check the map provided to each visitor at the Zoo entrance. There is a dotted line marked on it. Tear along that line, go to the Rabbit Zone, and feed that piece of paper to a rabbit as discreetly as possible. Then remain there. Once you hear laughter clearly coming from somewhere other than the direction of the visitors, you may leave the zone. Afterward, head to the Ape Area. The emergency exit is at the end of the street on the right.
Su Chen fell silent as he read the notice.
Although all the text was black.
In his eyes, there were far too many errors in it.
At the very least, he knew the first and fifth rules definitely had problems.
Because he had seen a staff member in black run down the road on the right in the Ape Area.
Then a monkey wearing a black uniform had appeared on Monkey Mountain.
Clearly, that staff member had turned into a monkey.
As for the black uniform, Su Chen had encountered someone wearing one in the shop.
That person had nearly tricked him back then.
Through their conversation and battle of wits.
He had been able to tell that the person in black was serving "It."
In that case, the first and fifth rules were definitely problematic.
He looked back at the second and fourth rules.
They warned him not to go to the Lion Enclosure or the Elephant Enclosure.
Was that because anyone who put on a black uniform would be attacked by the righteous White Lions?
If so, that would further confirm that the people in black were helping "It," serving as its accomplices.
As for not going to the Elephant Enclosure, perhaps it was because they had already suffered severe cognitive pollution and had lost some mysterious part of themselves through the White Lions' treatment bites.
Their resistance might have weakened.
On top of that, the Elephant Enclosure was simply too bizarre.
So going there again could very well shatter their perception and plunge them into utter ruin.
If all those guesses were correct, then looking back at the third rule.
Stay close to rabbits!
No matter how he looked at it, that rule was meant to harm people.
Rabbits already polluted people's perception, and the people in black were all damaged and incomplete.
Given enough time, the people in black would definitely mutate.
This was practically a deliberate attempt to send him to his death.
Wait! Send them to their deaths?
Su Chen's eyes lit up as he seized upon the crucial point.
That's right. It was sending the people in black to their deaths!
Before you continue