As he unfolded the crumpled paper, densely packed words filled his vision.
(The top and edges of the paper were covered with "I'm so scared," "I want to get out alive," "Don't believe," "Believe," "It's all a mess," and "I have to write this down." Where the title should have been, thick black pen strokes declared, "If you don't do this, you'll never get out.")
1. Apes and white lions can see "it." Jellyfish and rabbits can comfort "it." Elephants and goats are "its" dolls.
2. Trust the white lions; white lions bite those who can be saved, and white lions bite those beyond saving. Their roars are alarm bells that drive "it" away, and their roars are laments mourning the dead.
3. Changing clothes will get you discovered. Don't change clothes.
4. The security guards in the Elephant Area can be trusted, but their shifts end at 1:00 a.m. every day. Seek their help before then.
5. "It" likes light, especially at night. "It" hates enclosed spaces. Rest in a dark, enclosed room.
6. Fuck! The Goat Meat really is raw meat! (This sentence was scrawled more messily than the others; beneath it was a slightly neater annotation: You can actually fucking eat it.)
7. You won't be discovered while standing with the apes.
8. Ignore visitors who smile as they tour the zoo. They haven't noticed anything. Find visitors who are as frightened as I am. They can be trusted. They already know.
9. Thank the dried-out jellyfish and the drowned elephants; remember that they all died to protect humans. (An annotation in frantic, messy handwriting: Unity, courage, and unwavering loyalty are humanity's greatest virtues.)
10. There is an exit. It isn't in the Ape Enclosure. I don't know what lies beyond the Ape Enclosure.
11. Always remember that you are human, not an animal.
Su Chen read the words several times.
Once he was certain he had memorized everything, he casually tossed the crumpled paper to the person beside him.
Since everyone had seen it, he wasn't going to keep it to himself and risk unnecessary trouble.
The contestant from Iron Pakistan took the paper and thanked Su Chen in halting Chinese.
In this Horror Story World, some power of the rules allowed all the chosen contestants to speak their own native languages.
Yet anyone listening would naturally understand what they meant.
The contestant from Iron Pakistan had chosen to thank him in Chinese, which came as a surprise to Su Chen.
Su Chen smiled at him, indicating that there was no need to thank him.
Then he hurriedly began examining and analyzing the rules in his mind.
First, the fifth rule was a key clue.
It revealed that "it" was attracted to light.
He combined this with the information about tree shade in the Visitor Rules.
Su Chen soon reached a conclusion.
"It" would appear in shadows.
This clue was important. It would definitely come in handy later.
Having figured that out, Su Chen wasted no time considering the other rules.
As he thought, Su Chen realized that these rules merely provided further confirmation of his theories.
For instance, he shouldn't change clothes.
"It" couldn't distinguish between apes.
The road to the right of the Ape Area wasn't an exit.
There was also information about what the white lions could do, and so on.
Of all this information, only the ninth rule truly caught Su Chen's attention.
The dried-out jellyfish and drowned elephants had all died to protect humans?
He could understand the elephants.
But what was the deal with the jellyfish?
After a little thought, Su Chen came up with a bold theory.
"It" had once left a message on the security guard's note.
[Because jellyfish don't have brains?]
He drew an inference from that sentence, combining it with his theory that all the animals had once been human.
Perhaps the lingering light of humanity in people bitten to death by white lions would turn into jellyfish.
After all, when the white lion had bitten him earlier, Su Chen had vaguely felt that he had lost part of his body.
But matter couldn't appear or disappear out of thin air.
That meant part of his body had fallen into the Otherworld.
This would also explain why he had been able to see the Aquarium after being bitten.
Those bitten to death by white lions had suffered extremely severe cognitive pollution, so more of their bodies would fall into the Otherworld.
Perhaps all that remained of them in the Surface World were scraps of humanity.
That was precisely why, in "its" eyes, jellyfish had no brains.
It made sense. With only fragments of lingering thoughts left, how could they have brains?
After working through this theory, Su Chen gradually pieced things together.
First, "it" was attracted to light.
Second, jellyfish still retained the light of humanity.
So, under certain circumstances, jellyfish would act as light sources to lure "it" away.
That was also why the note said the dried-out jellyfish had died to protect humans.
While Su Chen was deep in thought, the group stopped.
They had reached their destination.
Su Chen looked around and saw countless jellyfish drifting behind glass on his right.
Bathed in the faint glow they emitted, he felt as though his body was being purified and made whole.
Su Chen was astonished. The jellyfish could actually do this, too.
Were they giving him their own remaining humanity?
Su Chen felt a little moved.
After all, they were already dead. These jellyfish were nothing more than their lingering thoughts, with no minds of their own.
Even in this state, they were still helping and protecting humans.
Their spirit reminded Su Chen of the sentence on the note.
[Unity, courage, and unwavering loyalty are humanity's greatest virtues.]
There was no doubt that both the jellyfish and the elephants had lived up to those words.
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