Claiming the Rewards

Meanwhile, in the Zoo, Su Chen brushed past the rabbit that was busy thrusting away.

He paid no attention to the rabbit's passionate antics.

He strode toward the entrance and cautiously tried stepping through.

Something like a resilient curtain of air stopped him from moving any farther.

His raised left foot could not come down at all.

Sure enough, without the shadow's help, he would have to follow the rules to get out.

He could not leave through the entrance.

"All right, pleasure working with you. Open the gate for me."

Su Chen smiled as he spoke to the dark shadow beside him.

This time, the shadow did not form any words. Instead, it nodded like a person.

Then it lightly flicked its arm, and a gentle breeze swept past.

Su Chen's blocked left foot stepped smoothly through the Zoo's gate.

At the same time, an ethereal mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations on successfully clearing the Zoo Rules Horror instance. You have currently deciphered 98% of the rules. Based on your completion rate and the instance's difficulty, you have received an S rating and earned a total of 1,000 points.]

A moment later, another mechanical voice rang out from the sky.

It came from the Supreme Rule of the Horror Story World.

[Dragon Country's Chosen One, Su Chen, has successfully cleared the Zoo Rules Horror. Following a comprehensive assessment, Dragon Country's national fortune has increased by 10 points. Its current total is 80 points.]

[The lifespan of every citizen of Dragon Country has increased by 10%. Dragon Country has also received a buff that increases farmed meat production by 10% for one year.]

As the Supreme Rule of the Horror Story World made its announcement, the scene before Su Chen began to distort.

He knew he was about to be teleported out.

He just did not know whether he would be sent back to reality or to the place he had been before entering the Zoo.

While the teleportation was still charging up, Su Chen turned to look at the dark shadow inside the Zoo.

"Heh, don't worry. We'll see each other again very soon."

He called out cheerfully.

The shadow's entire body trembled slightly at his words, and it was about to ask him something.

But Su Chen's figure flickered and vanished into thin air.

A sense of foreboding rose in the shadow's heart.

Meanwhile, Su Chen's vision blurred, then brightened.

Once he focused and took a brief look around, he realized he had returned to the place where he had first arrived in the Horror Story World.

Unlike now, there had been plenty of Chosen Ones from other countries around him back then.

Now, however, he was the only one who had survived.

Before he could think any further, a voice rang out from the distant sky again.

[Congratulations on clearing the Zoo Rules Horror. The Horror Story World will open again in three days. You now have three days to rest. Would you like to return to the real world or remain in the Horror Story World?]

[If you choose to remain in the Horror Story World, we will provide you with five-star hotel service.]

Upon hearing the voice, Su Chen made his decision without a second thought.

Right now, he just needed some time to get a few items from the system. Where he went did not really matter.

He would be reloading his save once he was ready anyway.

Staying in the Horror Story World was better than being teleported back to reality.

Who knew what things were like in Dragon Country right now? If a crowd of citizens came looking for his autograph after he returned, that would be nothing but a waste of time.

"I'll stay in the Horror Story World."

Su Chen gave his answer.

The moment he finished speaking, he appeared out of thin air in a guest room.

He glanced around. By the look of it, this was the hotel the Horror Story World had just mentioned.

Su Chen was tired, too, so he flung himself straight onto the bed.

"Open the System Mall."

A moment later, the system screen, visible only to Su Chen, appeared in the air before him.

Thanks to his earlier preparations, he quickly found the item he had already picked out.

"Purchase the Subconscious Amplification Device."

[Ding! Purchase successful. A total of 500 points has been spent.]

[Would you like to claim it now?]

A compact, palm-sized tower-shaped device appeared in the air before Su Chen.

The metal lines at the top of the tower rotated constantly, giving it a futuristic look.

At first glance, it looked a little like the Mind Controller from Red Alert, a game he had played in his previous life.

But this device was nowhere near as badass as the Mind Controller. It only looked impressive; its functions were not all that powerful.

Compared with the outrageously expensive products in the System Mall, this thing was small fry.

Simply put, within its coverage area, sounds transmitted through the device could enhance subconscious retention to a certain extent in anyone who heard them.

In simpler terms, it was a device that strengthened deep memories.

Although its functions might have been better suited to memorizing textbook passages, the device had given Su Chen an idea.

Used properly, it would be an incredible weapon against the strange entities in the Zoo.

"Store it in the system space for now."

[Understood. It has been stored in the system space. You may retrieve it at any time.]

With the key item secured, Su Chen saw that he still had 500 points left. He thought for a while but could not come up with anything else to buy.

In the end, he decided he might as well try a prize draw.

A draw cost exactly 500 points.

He could earn another round of points after reloading his save anyway, so there was no reason not to spend them.

As for why he did not buy another Death Rewind Trial Coupon, he simply could not afford one.

"System, do a prize draw."

[Understood. Drawing a prize!]

[Congratulations! You have received mental power +3!]

[Character attribute panel unlocked.]

As the system's voice sounded, an attribute panel appeared before Su Chen.

[Name]: Su Chen

[Age]: 19

[Constitution]: 6

[Strength]: 5

[Agility]: 6

[Endurance]: 5

[Mental power]: 10

[Note: The maximum value for each attribute of an ordinary person is 10.]

After reading the attribute panel, Su Chen gained a fresh understanding of his own condition.

According to the system, the limit for an ordinary person was generally 10 points.

That meant his mental power had actually reached the limit of an ordinary person after the increase.

He would be even more formidable in the Zoo now.

His resistance to Memetic Contamination would be much stronger than other people's.

His other attributes looked decent, too. At least they were slightly above average.

At the very least, they were enough for the Zoo.

[Ding! Reminder: The system recommends that you participate in more prize draws. After four more draws, the quality of the prize pool will improve significantly.]

Hearing that, Su Chen nodded instinctively.

At first glance, these prize draws really did seem to offer much better value than buying items.

I'll definitely have to do more draws in the future.

With all his preparations complete, Su Chen finally relaxed completely.

He could return to the Zoo whenever he wanted now.

Suddenly, he yawned and felt his eyelids grow heavy.

Come to think of it, he had barely rested all day.

He had also been tense the entire time.

When he had finally managed to sleep briefly, he had even had a nightmare.

Now, he had finished all his preparations.

As soon as he let his guard down, exhaustion naturally washed over him like a tide.

"Then I might as well get a good night's sleep first."

Muttering to himself, Su Chen rolled over and soon fell into a deep sleep.