Aquarium

Biodata

Background / History

The Aquarium once served as the Zoo’s backup exit. It also became the site of deaths caused by “it” imposing its distorted understanding of animals upon humans. Old Zhou’s letter records that Old Zhang, who transformed into an elephant to protect visitors, was later found dead in the Whale Area 38 39.

On July 23, 20XX, part of the Aquarium sank into the Otherworld. The Penguin Area, Dolphin Area, and other sections became “its” territory. Visitors were evacuated without casualties, but uncontaminated people could no longer see the building. Contaminated visitors could still enter, only to be lured into the fallen sections by “its” servants. This destroyed the Aquarium’s usefulness as a backup exit 39.

On July 25, a path appeared in the Ape Area connecting to the Aquarium’s fallen sections. Three days later, another security guard died in the same manner as Old Zhang. Unable to recover his body while visitors were watching, the employees described the elephant corpse as a 3D projection—an explanation subsequently repeated in the Aquarium’s rules 39.

Location & Layout

• Surface location: After surviving a White Lion’s attack, Su Chen sees a huge Aquarium occupying the place where the Zoo’s normal exit should be. The black shadow later confirms that the Aquarium blocks that exit 23 45.
• Otherworld position: In his dream as the Security Guard, Su Chen sees the building embedded at the edge of the two worlds, with its upper half in the Zoo and its lower half suspended in the Otherworld’s fog 32.
• Lighting: The lobby is exceptionally bright during Su Chen’s first visit. On his nighttime return, only a few lights remain on 26 34.

Rules & Notices

The Aquarium is described differently by different documents. These contradictions are part of its hazards, not a single consistent set of visitor instructions.

Conflicting Claims

Su Chen suspects that the exterior notice is visible only to severely contaminated visitors, while the interior notice is visible to everyone. Under this interpretation, the notices screen visitors by contamination level. This remains his theory 27.

Interior Visitor Rules

Night Shift & Safety Procedures

Supernatural Properties & Hazards

Visibility and Cognitive Contamination

• Yamashita Kenichiro briefly sees the Aquarium after consuming rabbit blood, while Su Chen sees only a blur. The sight disappears when Kenichiro refocuses his attention 17.
• Su Chen gains sight of the Aquarium after surviving a White Lion’s bite, matching the crossed-out handbook passage 23.
• Old Zhou’s account establishes that, after the sinking, untainted visitors could no longer see the Aquarium 39.
• Dragon Country’s analysts propose that cognitive contamination permits movement between the Surface and Otherworld, with the Aquarium at their boundary 17 18.

Jellyfish and Restorative Light

• The jellyfish’s glow makes Su Chen feel whole again. During his nighttime visit, it appears to fill the missing parts of his body 29 34.
• Su Chen theorizes that jellyfish preserve fragments of humanity left by people killed by White Lions, using their light to draw “it” away from others 29.
• Old Zhou’s letter records that the jellyfish redirected “it” to the Zoo Director’s Office during a power outage, describing them as the spirits of fallen heroes 39.
• Night-light use is tightly restricted. The director’s office must instead remain illuminated from 1:15 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.; Su Chen connects this with deliberately attracting “it” to a fixed location 35 36 37.

The Black-Uniformed Guide

• A cross-eyed guide appears during Su Chen’s daytime visit. Black-uniformed people gather behind it, apparently under its control 27 28.
• Its attention distorts Su Chen’s eyes and later threatens his control over his own body 27 31.
• It throws contestants into the Jellyfish Area while insisting that they are jellyfish. Two contestants, then another five, drown without transforming 30.
• Its violence follows its distorted beliefs: elephants are “whales” that belong in water, and people identified as jellyfish are placed underwater 43.
• Su Chen regains bodily control immediately after falling through the Aquarium’s main doorway to the outside 31.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ticket Scheme and Discovery

A black-uniformed shopkeeper claims that the Aquarium has just opened and offers a ticket in exchange for Su Chen’s Zoo map. His rejection of the damaged map reveals that he wants its dotted-line section. Su Chen exposes him as an impostor and bargains for access to the Zoo Employee Handbook 11.

After surviving a White Lion’s attack, Su Chen follows the handbook’s crossed-out instructions and finds the Aquarium blocking the exit. He refuses to wear a black uniform, suspecting that accepting this “rescue” would make him a sacrifice rather than a free visitor 23 26.

Daytime Tour and Escape

Su Chen enters with other survivors and discovers the hidden interior notice. At 15:59, he attempts to leave, but the guide targets him and forces the group into a tour. In the Whale Area, he identifies the drowned elephant as the scarred security guard who protected visitors 26 27 28.

After reaching the jellyfish, Su Chen uses contradictory claims about being a jellyfish and an ape to confuse the creature. The survivors flee, and he escapes by toppling through the doors just as it takes control of his body again 29 31.

Nighttime Return and the Director’s Letter

Su Chen returns after 12:30 a.m., receives accommodation from a red-uniformed employee, and steals the Aquarium Employee Handbook. He identifies a possible escape window shortly before 6:00 a.m., when employees are allowed to leave slightly early. This is a proposed route, not a demonstrated escape 33 34 35.

In his room, he finds the Zoo Director’s Rules and Old Zhou’s letter inside a small metal box. These documents reveal the Aquarium’s sinking and the employees’ sacrifices. Rather than wait for his proposed escape window, Su Chen leaves to seek the director’s badge; the red-uniformed employee warns him of the danger and helps him locate the office 36 37 39 41 42.