Elsewhere, Kim Xiba happened to take out his phone to check the time.
His face appeared in the reflection on the screen.
A pair of snow-white rabbit ears swayed above his brownish-yellow hair.
They stood out glaringly.
Kim Xiba was startled. Cold sweat broke out all over him, and his mind reeled.
His left hand instinctively reached toward the top of his head.
But his hand passed straight through the rabbit ears.
Kim Xiba froze.
He hurriedly tried again.
The result was the same.
Then he quickly checked his body.
He found that nothing felt unusual.
Now Kim Xiba was confused.
But soon, he figured it all out.
A smile appeared on his face.
He had reached the same conclusion as Sakura Country's Chosen One.
The blue text would trigger strange, terrifying illusions.
But those illusions would cause no actual harm.
They were only meant to scare people.
Once he understood this, he hastily hid his smile.
Putting on a frightened expression, he ran toward the onlookers.
When he was about ten meters away from them, he stopped.
He shouted, "Don't touch the rabbits! The blue text is wrong! I feel awful right now! I think I'm turning into a rabbit!"
After shouting this, Kim Xiba did not wait for a response.
He turned and ran off along the visitor path.
You idiots. First place is mine.
Kim Xiba thought silently to himself.
Meanwhile, in Pickle Country's livestream chat.
The viewers had already noticed Kim Xiba's expression.
In an instant, their crushing despair turned into wild celebration!
"Oh my god, what's going on? Kim Xiba actually went back to normal."
"Judging by Kim Xiba's reaction, I reckon the blue rules only look scary, but they're actually the real rules."
"Great analysis! Kim Xiba is so smart! Just what you'd expect from Pickle Country's Chosen One!"
"Those pigs from the other countries are being played like fools by our Chosen One! Pickle Country really is the center of the universe!"
"Just you wait, Pickle Country. Our Ugly Country intelligence agencies must already know about this. You're dead!"
In the rabbit enclosure, the remaining people exchanged looks.
Most of them did not believe someone from Pickle Country would be so kindhearted.
After all, they were all competitors.
At that moment, the Chosen Ones from many countries received tips from their own nations.
Their countries had used their one and only chance to provide outside guidance without hesitation.
"Based on expert analysis of his microexpressions, Pickle Country's contestant is lying. The blue text must be correct."
"(A whole bunch of analysis)"
Now everyone felt reassured.
They surged into the rabbit enclosure and began searching for rabbits in the shade of the trees.
Although the two contestants from Ugly Country and Sakura Country had received no tips from their countries.
Seeing what everyone else was doing confirmed their suspicions.
So they hurried to join the crowd scrambling for rabbits.
Elsewhere, Su Chen was exploring the Ape Area.
Nothing unusual had happened along the way.
It was far too peaceful.
Just then, rapid footsteps suddenly sounded behind him.
He quickly turned to look.
A staff member dressed in black was sprinting toward him from the distance.
Su Chen frowned.
He vaguely remembered that all the staff at the main entrance wore blue uniforms.
Why was this person dressed in black?
He could not help becoming wary.
The figure in black drew closer and closer to Su Chen.
Seeing this, Su Chen quickly stepped back a few paces to clear the path.
Then the figure in black brushed past him and raced onward.
Throughout the encounter, the staff member paid Su Chen no attention.
Not even a glance.
Su Chen watched the retreating figure with a puzzled expression.
The person in black looked panicked, as though fleeing.
What exactly was chasing them?
Just then, Su Chen's vision seemed to blur for an instant.
A fork suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the right side of the previously straight path up ahead.
The figure in black chose the right-hand path without hesitation.
Su Chen was startled.
He still remembered the relevant passage in the second rule.
[The ape enclosure has only one path and displays only apes. If you discover two paths and the apes are wearing black clothes, choose the left-hand path and finish your visit to this enclosure as quickly as possible.]
Remembering this rule, Su Chen hurriedly looked at the apes on the artificial rock formation to his right.
What he saw made every hair on his body stand on end.
An ape wearing a black staff uniform had appeared on the rocks.
Its uniform was identical to the one worn by the staff member who had just run past.
Su Chen shuddered.
He turned to look at the fork ahead again.
But wisps of white mist had risen over the fork, and the figure was nowhere to be seen.
Su Chen took a deep breath and suppressed his panic.
He quickly picked up his pace as the rule instructed.
Meanwhile, Dragon Country's livestream chat had erupted into an argument.
"This is bad! I saw in other countries' livestreams that those terrifying things are just illusions. It looks like the blue text is the real deal!"
"But Su Chen has been perfectly safe following the black text all this time!"
"Safe, my ass! Didn't you see that ape wearing black clothes just now? And the path split into two! How is that safe?"
"We're screwed. I think the rules have played Su Chen!"
"What the hell is our country thinking? Why haven't they sent Su Chen a message yet?"
"Su Chen is a complete fucking idiot for believing Pickle Country! He's going to get me killed!"
Dragon Country's viewers were frantic with worry.
They wished their country would notify Su Chen immediately and tell him to turn around and go pet the rabbits.
Before you continue