Once he recovered, he recalled what had just happened.
Yamashita Kenichiro's expression darkened.
He glared venomously at Lamb, who was fleeing into the distance.
At that moment, everyone was in chaos.
Yet the people of the countries whose chosen contestants had petted the rabbits were even more panicked.
Pickle Country's livestream chat was in utter turmoil.
"Shit, Kim Xiba deserves to die! How dare he be the first to test the rules!"
"We're doomed! Disasters and supernatural horrors are going to descend on our country! Please, anywhere but Seoul City!"
"Go kill every last member of his family! Make them die alongside our suffering people!"
"Serves you right! You Pickle Country bastards tried to screw over Dragon Country, and now you've got your just deserts!"
"Don't get cocky, you Dragon Country dogs! That idiot of yours won't last long either. If he doesn't die within ten minutes, I will!"
Meanwhile, Pickle Country's president made a phone call.
"Go arrest every member of Kim Xiba's family. Don't let them escape. If necessary, we can drag them out to appease the public's anger."
"Understood. I'll get on it right away."
After hanging up, Pickle Country's president slammed his palm onto the desk before him.
"Kim Xiba deserves to die!" he roared.
Unlike the fury in Pickle Country, Dragon Country's livestream chat was full of cheer.
"They say fools have a fool's luck. The ancients really didn't lie."
"That Kim Xiba got what he deserved. Not only did he accidentally help us, he got himself killed too."
"Heaven bless Dragon Country! Heaven bless Su Chen!"
"Keep going, Su Chen! Trust the black text, and you'll definitely clear this!"
By then, Su Chen could faintly hear children's laughter drifting from the Rabbit Area far behind him.
As the laughter continued, he gradually felt as though something had fixed its gaze on him.
Then his mind began to grow hazy and confused.
Suddenly, he remembered Rule Eight.
[If you hear rabbits laughing, tear off the section along the dotted line on your map and hold it. Do not let go of it until you have completely left the zoo.]
He hurriedly took out his map and tore off the bottom-right section along the dotted line.
He gripped the piece of paper firmly in his hand.
With the paper in his grasp, the feeling of being watched gradually faded.
Su Chen let out a long breath.
Looks like I've been lucky.
The black text was right!
The danger had passed for now.
Holding the section torn along the map's dotted line, Su Chen strode forward.
Before long, a sign for the Ape Area came into view.
Su Chen recalled the relevant rules once more.
After making sure he remembered them all, he stepped into the Ape Area.
Meanwhile, in the Rabbit Area.
Everyone was in a panic, watching the people petting rabbits in terror.
A few had reacted quickly, such as the contestants from Sakura Country and Ugly Country.
They had already realized that the blue text might be a trap.
They hurriedly followed Rule Eight and tore off the section along the dotted line on their maps.
They clutched it tightly in their hands.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
Pickle Country's contestant, Kim Xiba, gradually lost his four eerie eyes and returned to normal.
But the rabbit ears on top of his head did not disappear.
He picked up the rabbit and walked toward the black-clad staff member watching from the side.
"I want to hand over this rabbit."
Kim Xiba looked into the staff member's eyes and spoke in a stiff voice.
The black-clad staff member took two steps back.
His voice trembled slightly as he said, "Put the rabbit on the ground and give me your map. That's all."
"All right."
Kim Xiba's voice returned to normal.
He nodded.
He obediently did as instructed.
The man in black took the map and carefully tore off the section along the dotted line.
Then he fed the torn-off piece to the rabbit.
The rabbit looked ravenous.
At the sight of the paper before it, it opened its mouth and began gnawing on it.
Before long, it had eaten every scrap.
The next instant, that eerie laughter rang out again.
This time, however, the laughter carried a hint of displeasure and confusion.
At the same time, the black-clad staff member ignored Kim Xiba, turned, and ran.
He dashed toward the Ape Area.
Watching the staff member sprint away, Kim Xiba was baffled.
He unconsciously raised a hand to scratch his head.
Strangely, his hand passed straight through the rabbit ears on top of his head.
It was as though they existed in different dimensions.
The sight stunned everyone watching from a distance.
"Yamashita Kenichiro, am I seeing things? Did you see what Kim Xiba just did? Did his hand pass straight through those rabbit ears?"
"Lamb-san, you weren't seeing things. I saw it too."
"How could that happen? Could all of this be an illusion just meant to scare us?"
"Possibly. That might be the tricky part of this supernatural scenario. Following the blue text creates extremely bizarre but harmless illusions to scare us into making the wrong choices. In that case, the blue text is actually right. But we can wait a little longer and see what happens to the others under the trees."
"You're pretty clever for someone from a lackey country. That makes sense. Let's wait a little longer."
With that, Lamb burst out laughing.
He slapped Yamashita Kenichiro hard on the back.
The blow made him stumble, almost dropping him to his knees.
The cold gleam in Yamashita Kenichiro's eyes intensified.
In the Rabbit Area, the others' faces gradually returned to normal as well.
They all picked up the rabbits in front of them and began looking for staff.
But the only black-clad staff member nearby had already run away.
They could not find anyone for the moment.
Left with no choice, they could only hold their rabbits and walk slowly onward.
They hoped to find a staff member as they continued looking around.
Before you continue