But a moment later, Su Chen put on that same goofy grin again.
"My name is Su Chen. Nice to meet you."
As he spoke, Su Chen reached out and took the other man's hand.
He acted as though he was delighted.
Then he continued, "Could you tell me which rules are correct? I don't understand them!"
Kim Xiba was secretly delighted.
He hadn't expected the other man to be so easy to fool.
"Based on my experience, only the first rule is correct. Don't trust anything else."
"And judging by how these horror scenarios usually work, the sooner you act, the safer you are. Those who go later are in greater danger."
"So I suggest you get moving right away."
Kim Xiba spoke with a smile.
"Okay, thank you."
Su Chen smiled.
Then he took the lead and walked straight through the zoo's entrance.
At that moment, Dragon Country's livestream chat completely exploded.
"Su Chen is so fucking clueless! How can he still trust someone from Pickle Country?!"
"I'm so pissed my blood pressure's shooting up. Su Chen just cured the blood clot I've had in my brain for years."
"Heaven wants Dragon Country dead! Why did it pick an idiot like this as our chosen one?"
"I'm losing it. I bet Su Chen won't last ten minutes. If he does, I'll eat my phone."
Then the furious viewers flooded into Pickle Country's livestream.
"That little bastard Xiba is so vicious! He's setting up our Dragon Country contestant! Don't you people have a conscience?"
"What are you talking about? Our contestant Kim is helping Dragon Country out of respect for the friendship between our neighboring nations."
"Aren't you fucking ashamed of lying? You call this helping us?"
"You people from Dragon Country are so uncouth. Last time, you falsely accused our contestant Kim of getting your man killed. This time, our chosen one lets bygones be bygones and helps you, and you still come here to insult us. You really are inferior Easterners."
"So what if we're tricking you? It's Su Chen's fault for being stupid. If you don't like it, tell your country to hurry up and use its one and only chance to send a hint."
"Dragon Country dogs, get the hell back to your own livestream."
Dragon Country's viewers were so furious that their blood pressure shot through the roof.
The entire livestream chat was instantly filled with colorful curses.
Meanwhile, Su Chen strolled through the zoo's entrance.
The instant he stepped through the gate, he tried to back out.
Naturally, he failed.
An invisible wall blocked his retreat.
It seemed he wouldn't be getting out until he finished touring the zoo.
But Su Chen wasn't worried. After all, he had already saved his progress.
So he followed the path into the rabbit area.
As he explored, he soon noticed rabbits appearing out of thin air beneath several patches of shade.
From his earlier conversation with Kim Xiba, he had confirmed that the other man would follow the rules in blue.
With a control group available, Su Chen decided he might as well do the opposite.
He ignored every rule in blue.
So when he saw the rabbits in the shade, he simply acted as though they weren't there.
He walked straight through the entire rabbit area.
Meanwhile, once Kim Xiba saw that Su Chen had gone far enough ahead, he began moving too.
After all, in the world of horror scenarios, completion speed and ranking affected the final rewards.
He had already decided which rules to follow, so there was no reason to waste any more time.
Kim Xiba strode into the rabbit area, constantly looking around.
Soon, he spotted a rabbit beneath a secluded patch of shade.
A smile appeared on his face.
As he gazed at the rabbit, Kim Xiba felt his mind growing increasingly excited.
Countless flashes of inspiration kept pouring out.
He vaguely felt that his intelligence was about to reach a new level.
Seizing the opportunity, he hurried to analyze the rules.
The rabbit is in the shade.
Doesn't that prove the black text in rule two, [There is no possibility of the animals escaping,]
is wrong?
Then, working backward to the black text in rule six, [Do not linger in the shade of the rabbit area,]
doesn't that confirm that the black text is wrong, and only the blue text is correct?
Having figured it all out, he excitedly stepped into the shade.
Yet when the rabbit saw him approach, it didn't flee in fright.
Kim Xiba grew even happier at the sight, becoming all the more certain that his analysis was correct.
So he crouched down, extended his right hand, and began stroking the rabbit.
As he petted it, his mind grew even more excited.
A flood of thoughts kept surging through his head.
His entire body froze as though he had crashed, with only his right hand continuing to stroke the rabbit.
At that moment, the chosen ones from the other countries were watching Kim Xiba from a short distance away in the rabbit area.
Although they also believed the blue text was correct, since Pickle Country's contestant was willing to test the danger first,
they didn't mind watching a little longer.
After all, rankings mattered far less than staying alive.
Just as Kim Xiba stroked the rabbit for the tenth time,
an eerie child's laughter suddenly rang out from the shade in the rabbit area.
The onlookers' hair instantly stood on end, and cold sweat poured down their bodies.
But that wasn't all.
Kim Xiba remained oblivious, continuing to stroke the rabbit.
His face, however, gradually began to twist.
Another pair of eyes actually grew out of his cheeks.
Even more eerily, a pair of rabbit ears slowly emerged from the top of his head.
Everyone was scared witless.
They all swarmed backward, fleeing.
But the path was too narrow, and there were too many people.
Quite a few were shoved into the shade in the enclosure.
Without exception, every one of them crouched down and began stroking a rabbit.
Meanwhile, Lamb from Ugly Country was running for his life.
When he saw Yamashita Kenichiro from Sakura Country blocking his way ahead,
he instantly flew into a rage and kicked the chosen one in front of him off the path.
At the same time, he roared, "You dog from a lapdog nation dare block someone from Ugly Country?! Watch out, or your country will get nuked flat!"
Caught off guard by the kick, Yamashita Kenichiro rolled straight onto the grass.
He nearly tumbled into the shade.
When he looked up, he saw that the shade was right against his body.
He was so terrified that his hair stood on end.
He scrambled to his feet and stumbled and crawled his way back onto the path.
Before you continue