Setting out

Meanwhile, inside the Dragon Country Strange Tales Department.

Xiao Li and the others were torn as well.

Su Chen's question had struck right at their weak spot, leaving them at a complete loss for an answer.

Fortunately, Dragon Country had already used up all its chances to send hints. Otherwise, they really would not have known how to answer his question.

Amid the silence, Elder Qin turned around with a genial smile.

"Why so quiet? Relax. Let's talk. If you were Su Chen, what would you choose?"

Elder Qin's gaze swept over the group and settled on Xiao Li's face.

"Tell us what you think, Xiao Li. You're about the same age as Su Chen. Maybe you see things the same way."

Xiao Li jolted when his name was called. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Don't be nervous. Just say whatever you think. We're only chatting."

Elder Qin saw his concerns at a glance and offered some reassurance.

Hearing this, Xiao Li steeled himself and simply voiced what was on his mind.

"I think Dragon Country has to come first. We can't afford to play savior. Besides, those people are probably just NPCs."

Xiao Li looked utterly resolute.

Elder Qin nodded without saying anything, then looked at the others.

"What do you all think?"

He continued asking.

"Elder Qin, we agree with Xiao Li. He's so close to clearing the scenario. There's no need to invite more trouble, especially with how dangerous this Zoo is!"

"I feel the same way. There's really no need to gamble with the lives of the Dragon Country People."

"I'm with Xiao Li. We can't afford to play savior!"

Everyone offered their opinions.

After listening to them, Elder Qin lowered his head and took a sip of tea.

The large tea mug hid his aged face.

His voice came out muffled. "You're right. But what if those people are real? Or, to take it a step further, what if they're the Dragon Country People too?"

The moment Elder Qin said this, everyone was stunned.

That was far too absurd.

It was absurd enough to suggest that the people in the Horror Story World were real. The Dragon Country People, too? How could that be possible?

Could parallel worlds actually exist?

"That can't be possible, can it, Elder Qin?"

"Exactly, Elder Qin. You're overthinking it."

"How could the Dragon Country People possibly end up in the Horror Story World?"

Everyone voiced their disbelief.

"Haven't you noticed that everyone in this Horror Story World speaks Chinese? At first, I thought the Horror Story World changed the language for each country, but I watched the other countries' livestreams." Elder Qin paused and took another sip of tea.

"The staff speak Chinese in their livestreams too. It's just that the Horror Story World's mysterious power allows every viewer to understand them."

Elder Qin took a deep breath and continued, "And all the rules are written in Chinese. The letters are in Chinese too. I've checked those in the other livestreams as well. It works the same way as the spoken language. And don't names like Old Zhang and Old Chen sound familiar to you?"

Elder Qin's calm words sent waves of shock crashing through their minds.

After a moment's thought, a terrifying possibility occurred to everyone.

Xiao Li said in a trembling voice, "If that's Dragon Country, and they aren't NPCs, how did Dragon Country fall into a world of rules? Is it a parallel world?"

Elder Qin shook his head.

"Perhaps. Or it could be something even more terrifying. Let's watch the livestream and see what Su Chen chooses."

With that, Elder Qin fell silent, turned around, and returned his attention to the screen.

What no one knew was that Elder Qin silently added one more thought.

I have a feeling Su Chen will unravel every mystery.

This mysterious intuition had saved him many times on the battlefield, and Elder Qin trusted it deeply.

Su Chen would uncover the truth.

Meanwhile, in the Aquarium's hourly room.

Su Chen gritted his teeth, deeply conflicted.

The figures of those who had sacrificed themselves kept lingering in his mind.

He felt that heroes should not meet such an end.

Moreover, for some inexplicable reason, he felt certain that he would regret it later if he did not take over the Zoo Director Position.

In the end, Su Chen steeled himself and decided to head to the Zoo Director's Office.

In fact, he already had a rough idea of how to change this Zoo.

If he could successfully take over the Zoo Director Position, he would not mind facing off against "it."

I'll just treat it as an adventure game. I have a save, anyway.

If I fail, I'll just reload and clear the scenario without trying anything else.

Having worked through all this, Su Chen got out of bed and prepared to leave.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed that the writing on the letter had changed.

Su Chen hurriedly looked closer.

The densely packed characters on the letter had begun to twist into a chaotic jumble.

The characters slowly moved and rearranged themselves.

Eventually, all those characters formed a single line of large text.

[Come on over. I can hardly wait~]

A chill ran down Su Chen's back as he stared at the words.

He knew "it" had arrived-and had challenged him to a fight.

He took a deep breath and quickly calmed himself.

Faced with this eerie sight, he did not feel the fear he had before.

Instead, a flicker of excitement stirred within him.

Maybe, deep down, I'm someone who craves a thrill!

The corners of Su Chen's mouth lifted into a smile.

Since his opponent had already issued the invitation, there was no point dragging things out.

He switched on the Jellyfish Night Light and put the letter and everything else back where they belonged.

Then he opened the room's door and headed toward the Aquarium's main entrance.