Facing the Horror Head-On

Just as Su Chen was about to push open the doors and leave the Aquarium.

The familiar Red-Clothed Staff came running over.

As he ran, he shouted anxiously.

"Please calm down! Don't leave the Aquarium right now. It's dangerous at this hour!"

Hearing his voice, Su Chen turned to look at him.

"I know it's dangerous, but that's all right. I have a reason I absolutely have to go. And thank you for being so dedicated to your duties."

The Red-Clothed Staff froze.

Su Chen's words sounded rather cryptic, and he couldn't make sense of them right away.

Then, as though remembering something, Su Chen asked, "By the way, do you know where the Zoo Director's Office is?"

At those words, realization dawned on the Red-Clothed Staff, leaving him shocked.

A trace of fear even appeared on his face.

His voice trembled slightly as he said, "You... you found that letter?"

"Yes."

Su Chen was a little surprised to hear that he knew about the letter too.

"You mustn't go to the Zoo Director's Office! Things have changed. We've lost completely! Going there now would be suicide!"

The man spoke in terror.

"Maybe a miracle will happen. Tell me where it is and save me the trouble of searching everywhere."

Su Chen answered with a smile.

His smile was filled with determination.

And the man in red could feel Su Chen's determination.

At last, he sighed.

"The Zoo Director's Office is in the woods between the Lion Enclosure and the Aquarium. Look for a light, and you'll find it soon enough."

"All right. Thank you."

With that, Su Chen pushed open the doors.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned back to the Red-Clothed Staff. "Oh, and thank you all for everything you've done. I think Old Zhou would be very proud!"

Without waiting for a reply, Su Chen strode away.

The Red-Clothed Staff heard this, felt a sting in his nose, and his eyes reddened slightly.

Watching Su Chen's resolute figure recede, he briefly seemed to see it overlap with the image of Old Zhou in his memories.

"Old Zhou, I think the person you've been waiting for is here."

He lifted his head and spoke to the sky.

At that moment, everyone in Dragon Country's livestream chat was filled with mixed emotions.

They were torn, hoping Su Chen could turn the tide while fearing he would fail and wishing he would hurry up and escape.

Those feelings left them in no mood to retaliate against the flood of sneering remarks from other countries.

"Hahahaha! Dragon Country People, how do you feel now? Your Chosen One has gone mad. He's actually going off to die."

"I'm dying laughing. Didn't you see that the horror itself invited him over? And he still dares to go? He's really rushing to his next life."

"Don't say that. Maybe this guy was corrupted and brainwashed by the horror ages ago. That would explain why he made it the furthest."

"This feels good. So damn good! I knew there was no reason only Dragon Country should clear it. Turns out this guy went crazy ages ago. See? He had it in the bag, and now he's throwing his life away."

"Come on, Dragon Country People, say something! Don't play mute!"

Still, being in no mood was one thing.

If the other side insisted on being assholes, they didn't mind tearing them apart with insults.

And so another massive wave of choice national profanity filled the entire screen.

At that point, people from other countries discovered, to their surprise, that their accounts had been muted.

The stated reason was offensive language.

Watching Dragon Country's accounts spew profanity all over the screen without ever being muted, their faces darkened.

Their own people could curse however they wanted without getting banned, but a few unkind words from another country, and they'd sew your mouth shut!

Could they really be this unreasonable?

They flooded customer service with complaints, appealing the unfair bans and attaching screenshots of comments from Dragon Country People as they angrily accused Dragon Country of double standards.

Dragon Country's customer service gave an extremely blunt reply.

"Calling dumbasses dumbasses doesn't count as offensive language."

Meanwhile, inside the Zoo.

Su Chen had reached the patch of woods the staff member had described.

After a brief search, he soon spotted a faint light flickering in the distance.

He immediately walked briskly toward it.

Before long, a small, somewhat dilapidated building appeared before him.

Above its rickety door hung a sign bearing three large characters.

Zoo Director's Office!

Su Chen pushed the door open without hesitation.

Since he was already here, there was no point dragging his feet.

Whatever scheme the other side had in store, he had the courage to face it.

The instant he opened the door, the room's interior came into view beneath the bright light.

A dust-covered floor and cracked walls.

The furniture was covered in cobwebs, making the place look especially desolate.

At the very center of the room stood a desk and a chair.

The desk was covered in animal dolls: rabbits, goats, and elephants.

The instant Su Chen stepped through the door.

Every doll on the desk turned around at once to face Su Chen.

Those countless pairs of blood-red eyes sent chills crawling through anyone who saw them.

Su Chen couldn't immediately spot the badge the Zoo Director had mentioned. Perhaps the dolls were covering it.

So he shifted his gaze to the office chair.

That was where the danger lay.

A mass of twisted black shadow sat in the chair, as though it were the Zoo Director, busy handling its work.

"I'm here. Want to talk?"

Su Chen spoke first.

But no sooner had he finished than he burst out laughing.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot. You're a moron. You can't talk. All you can do is scream your fucking head off."

As soon as he finished speaking.

The black shadow in the chair abruptly swelled.

It filled the entire room in an instant.

Leaving only a small patch illuminated by the fluorescent light overhead.

It was as though a demon king of darkness had descended.

"All right, all right. Quit showing off. No matter how much you posture, you're still just a brat."

That made it furious.

A piercing shriek erupted from within the black shadow.

The sound waves struck the walls and rebounded again and again. Standing inside the room, Su Chen's eardrums nearly ruptured.

Yet he didn't retreat. Instead, he walked resolutely toward the desk, one step at a time.

First, he kicked the office chair away, showing his contempt for it.

Then he reached out and began pushing aside the dolls on the desk, searching for the badge the Zoo Director had mentioned.

As he continued touching the dolls, all sorts of animal cries gradually filled his mind.

Some whispered, while others screamed in anger.

Those countless cries gradually grew louder than the black shadow's shrieks.

Su Chen felt as though his brain was about to split apart from the noise.

But his hands never stopped.

At last, he found the badge.

It was a bronze badge engraved with a lion roaring toward the sky.

It was pinned to a White Lion doll.

The White Lion doll lay at the very bottom, buried beneath countless other dolls.

Clearly, it still feared the White Lion, even though that badge represented unfinished business for it.

It didn't dare take the badge or destroy it.

All it could do was resort to this crude method, using countless dolls capable of corrupting people's perceptions to cover the badge.

Su Chen pressed his right hand against his splitting head and picked up the White Lion with his left.

Then he gave the black shadow a provocative smile.

Only, his head hurt so badly that his smile looked uglier than a grimace.

But Su Chen knew it could tell he was provoking it.

Sure enough, he was right.

The enormous black shadow suddenly shrank.

It became a shadow with goat horns atop its head, but the body of an eight-year-old child.

With a sweep of its arm, the countless dolls arranged themselves into a line of large words on the wall.

"Destroy the badge, and I'll let you leave the Zoo. Otherwise, die!"

As the dolls formed those words, the clamor in Su Chen's mind gradually subsided.

He rubbed his temples and looked at the words.

Then he smiled.

A brat really was a brat. It had no cunning whatsoever.

So this badge was what it wanted.

As long as the badge existed, it would always remain a wildcard.

Perhaps one day, someone like Su Chen would take up the badge, regroup, and stand against it.

It didn't want this to continue. It wanted complete control over the Zoo.

It needed someone to help it destroy the badge.

That was why it had twisted the letter and written that sentence, urging Su Chen to come quickly.

Come to think of it, that sentence hadn't contained any mockery at all.

It was just a brat that truly couldn't wait any longer!

Having figured all that out, Su Chen felt even less afraid.

He straightened his back and stared directly at the pitch-black shadow.