After reading through all the rules, Su Chen looked visibly shaken.
The sheer amount of information in these rules was staggering.
For instance, why could the map be fed to the rabbits?
And why was it safe to stay in the Aquarium at night?
These mysteries and more gradually unfolded in Su Chen's mind.
But of all these rules, the eighth shook Su Chen the most.
[The office lights must remain on from 1:15 a.m. to 6:00 a.m., even if no one is there.]
Since "it" was attracted to light,
doing this in the pitch-black night was practically a deliberate attempt to draw "its" wrath.
Having clashed with "it" several times, Su Chen knew exactly how powerful his opponent was.
Against an enemy like that, the director's actions left Su Chen utterly astonished.
And that was not all. The other rules also hinted at danger.
Take the eleventh rule, for example.
[You may take an afternoon nap, but if you decide to work the night shift, stay alert by whatever means necessary. Do not doze off. If you cannot ensure that you will remain mentally alert, do not work the night shift.]
This rule immediately reminded Su Chen of that nightmare.
Perhaps being on duty in the Zoo Director's Office made it easier to enter that nightmare.
In other words, one careless moment could send the director plunging into the Otherworld, contaminating their perception.
Nor was that all. The rules also made it clear
that animals would occasionally charge into the Zoo Director's Office and wreak havoc.
One careless moment, and those uncanny animals could lure someone into their trap.
But beyond all that, there was an even more dangerous possibility: a power outage.
According to the rules, the Zoo Director's Office had a robust power supply system. In theory, an outage should have been impossible.
If the power could still go out under those conditions, there was only one explanation.
The Zoo Director's Office had sunk into the Otherworld, or at least into the space between the Surface and Otherworld, just like the Aquarium.
This uncanny phenomenon displaced the wiring, cutting off the power.
"This is fucking suicidal."
Su Chen frowned.
To him, these rules for the director were nothing less than a death sentence, sacrificing the director to give everyone else a window of safety.
But that left Su Chen with one thing he simply could not understand.
If the Zoo was so dangerous, why keep it open?
Wouldn't the best outcome be to shut it down and leave "it" inside to fend for itself?
Why drag so many people into walking a tightrope over an abyss of horrors?
Su Chen pondered it for a long time, but still could not make sense of it.
Finally, he sighed and decided to stop thinking about it.
There was nothing he could do to change any of this anyway.
His most important task right now was to escape safely.
As for the rest, whatever. It had nothing to do with him.
Su Chen lit up his phone screen again, intending to use its glow to put the paper and box back where they belonged.
But just then, his body suddenly went rigid.
Earlier, he had spread the paper on the bed, leaving its reverse side obscured. Combined with the dim light, that had kept him from noticing anything unusual.
Only now, as he picked up the paper to put it back, was its reverse side unobstructed. When the light shone through it,
the strokes of some writing actually became visible.
He hurriedly turned the paper over.
Then he discovered that the back was covered in densely packed text.
He spread the paper on the bed again and leaned closer, his face full of confusion.
The faint glow of his phone first illuminated the paragraphs at the very top.
Dear visitor,
Hello. First, please allow me to offer you my sincere greetings.
If you have discovered this letter during this particular time window, you must be resourceful, cautious, and not lacking in courage. Someone as resourceful as you has surely noticed that something is wrong with this Zoo. Indeed, this Zoo is extremely dangerous, and below, I will reveal the whole truth about it.
Before that, I must remind you that keeping a light on during this time window is extremely dangerous and may put you at risk. If you are too frightened, you may choose to stop reading. This will not affect your ability to escape this uncanny Zoo.
At this point, Su Chen paused and immediately turned off his phone screen.
He felt conflicted.
Since the letter said its contents would not affect his escape from the Zoo,
was there really any need to keep reading?
Wasn't getting out of the Zoo safely the most important thing?
The viewers in Dragon Country, however, felt little of his indecision. Seeing Su Chen turn off his phone's light, they were profoundly relieved.
"I was losing my mind! I was terrified Su Chen would get curious and keep reading. Everything's ready now; all he has to do is wait. There's no reason to keep taking risks. Wouldn't it be better to just sit tight until morning and escape safely?"
"Exactly. Good thing Su Chen turned off his phone screen. I guess he figured that out too!"
"Curiosity killed the cat. Su Chen, please don't go courting death again. I'm begging you, just play it safe."
"Uh, guys, did anyone with good eyes make out the rest of the text? I'm pretty curious."
"It was too dark to see anything, but I'm also pretty curious about what secrets this Zoo is hiding."
Su Chen deliberated in the darkness for a long time.
In the end, he still disappointed the viewers in Dragon Country.
He turned on his phone screen again.
He had actually intended to give up too.
But as he stared into the darkness before him, images of that security guard and the various staff members kept surfacing in his mind.
What kind of secret was worth their willingly sacrificing their lives?
In the end, those figures moved Su Chen.
"I've come this far. I have to uncover every secret! After all, the more of the Horror Story World I decipher, the more rewards the system will give me when I clear it."
"Besides, I still have my save to fall back on. With what I know now, I could definitely get a perfect clear if I tried again."
In the end, Su Chen convinced himself.
By the faint glow, Su Chen looked at the rest of the text.
Before you continue