Zoo

Biodata

Layout and Key Locations

Supernatural Properties

Memetic Contamination

“It” changes people’s understanding of themselves and the animals around them, eventually transforming humans into animals 38.

• Early symptoms include rabbit ears, additional eyes, distorted vision, and loss of bodily control 4 19.
• Contamination can erase ordinary knowledge: Su Chen forgets what elephant ears should look like while watching rabbit-eared elephants 19.
• Reaffirming human identity can resist the influence temporarily. Su Chen repeatedly reminds himself that he is human 10 18 19.
• Closing the eyes can interrupt some visual contamination, but it is not a universal defense; in the Elephant Enclosure, Su Chen continues seeing from multiple directions after shutting his eyes 19.
• Completely transformed visitors become accomplices that strengthen “It.” During the Zoo’s early containment period, rescued visitors could recover fully through later contact with normal people 38.

Rule and Reality Distortion

The Zoo’s written instructions are not inherently trustworthy. “It” first bypasses the containment rules, then gains the ability to alter the rules themselves and eventually warp reality 38 40.

• Every visitor’s copy of the rules was altered during the July 23, 20XW disaster 38.
• The rules encountered by Su Chen contain blue additions contradicting surrounding black text 2.
• Plush rabbits and the Director’s Office dolls can contaminate cognition; even touching the dolls produces intrusive thoughts 10 50.
• Failing to act like an ordinary visitor can also attract attention. Su Chen concludes that running without looking at the animals caused “It” to target him 19.

Connection to the Otherworld

The Otherworld supplies the energy that allows “It” to withstand years of attempted attrition. Old Zhou discovers that the entity did not create this world—it is a supernatural being that happened to fall into it 39.

• Sections of the Zoo sink into the Otherworld, creating new routes and escape opportunities for dangerous animals 39.
• In Su Chen’s dream, the Zoo lies above a transparent canopy while the Aquarium extends through both worlds 32.
• A black sun appears in the Otherworld after sunset in the Surface World 32 39.
• By comparing lighting schedules and the ten-minute switch between worlds, Su Chen calculates a safe window for reaching the Director’s Office 50.

Perceptual Weaknesses

The staff’s countermeasures exploit distinctions that “It” cannot reliably understand 39.

• Humans and apes: It cannot distinguish them; a recovered note states that standing with apes prevents discovery 9 29 39.
• Blue and black: Employees discover that it does not understand the difference between these colors 39.
• White lions: Their roars drive it away, and they can fight its manifested black shadow 29 43 44.
• Light and enclosed spaces: A recovered note says it likes light, particularly at night, and hates enclosed spaces 29.
• Time of day: Its powers are weakest during daytime, which Su Chen uses during his second takeover 50.

Rules and Protective Measures

The following measures are documented protections or staff procedures, not a guarantee that every displayed rule remains valid. The Zoo’s original Visitor Rules were safe, but “It” later altered them 38.

Rabbit Blood and Goat Meat

• Both substances originate from the remains of transformed visitors consumed by “It”: Rabbit Blood appears in the Surface World and Goat Meat in the Otherworld 39.
• Old Zhou records further casualties after visitors mistakenly consume them 39.
• Their instructions are contradictory. One recovered note says only Goat Meat can be eaten, while another explicitly identifies it as raw meat and says it is edible 8 29.
• Rabbit Blood also has a staff use: the handbook directs employees to splash it onto the first approaching white lion when the enclosure’s lion count exceeds four 12.

Background and History

Discovery and Initial Containment

According to Old Zhou’s letter, the Zoo appeared without warning in the suburbs eight years before he wrote his account. People entered and disappeared, prompting the organization to send Old Chen, Old Zhang, Old Zhao, Old Li, and Old Zhou to investigate. Old Chen identified memetic contamination as the mechanism turning visitors into animals. The investigators also learned that an unchecked Zoo could expand far enough to engulf the city 38 39.

Old Chen proposed enlarging the Zoo, introducing more animals, and attracting visitors to exhaust the entity’s energy. The team developed Visitor Rules and an Employee Handbook to prevent those visitors from becoming completely contaminated. Generous pay and benefits attracted a large workforce. For five years, every visitor survived, including those who needed staff intervention 38.

The First Major Defeats

On July 23, 20XV, a white elephant with rabbit ears and crimson eyes appeared in the Elephant Enclosure. Old Zhang transformed into an elephant to protect visitors and fight it. He was later found dead, still in elephant form, in the Aquarium’s Whale Area. Old Zhao subsequently attempted to destroy “It” but failed; the White Lion Area emerged as his legacy 38.

With the organization unable to spare reinforcements, Old Chen established the director’s position and told employees the truth. Many stayed to help restore containment. On July 23, 20XW, however, “It” altered every copy of the Visitor Rules, and every visitor that day became an animal and died. Old Chen passed the badge to Old Zhou before leaving with Old Li. Two additional white lions appeared the following morning 38.

Old Zhou’s Countermeasures

Old Zhou initially intended to flee, but nearly a hundred employees gathered at the gate and pledged to continue fighting. He accepted the directorship and organized a collective investigation into the entity’s weaknesses 39.

His letter records the subsequent deterioration and response:

Decline Before Su Chen’s Arrival

Old Zhou’s final actions restrained “It” for another year. During that period, visitors were safe enough that they did not become contaminated and therefore could not see the Aquarium. Afterward, the entity broke through his restrictions and began warping reality 40.

The director’s position remained vacant, and employees died while compensating for failing protections. Fewer staff meant more gaps, more visitor deaths, and further losses. Su Chen discovers that Old Zhou’s letter is two years old and becomes its first reader during that interval 40.

Administration and Personnel

Director’s Badge

• A bronze badge serves as the symbol of the Zoo Director’s position. Su Chen finds it pinned to a white lion doll in the office 42.
• Wearing it causes “It” to perceive the wearer as a white lion, making the new director a target for direct attack 43.
• The white lions recognize Su Chen’s succession and protect him during his confrontation with the shadow 43 44.
• The organization promises to do its utmost to reimburse expenses related to resolving the Zoo’s supernatural problems 44.

Key Personnel

• Old Chen — Investigator who devised the original containment strategy and later became director 38.
• Old Zhou — Successor who coordinated employee countermeasures and left the account revealing the Zoo’s history 39.
• Su Chen — New director who returns after clearing the instance to reorganize its defenses 46 50.
• Blue-uniformed employees — Official Zoo staff responsible for visitor rescue and enclosure safety 12 21.
• Elephant Area security guards — Protect visitors by helping them anchor their perception; a scarred guard saves Su Chen before being killed and left in the Whale Area 28.
• Red-uniformed Aquarium staff — Manage overnight accommodation and enforce Aquarium procedures, including removing black-uniformed overnight visitors 34 35.
• Black-uniformed personnel — The shop worker is exposed as an impostor. The Zoo handbook warns that black-uniformed workers interfering with rescues are not colleagues 11 12.
• Four white lions — Protective figures linked to the investigators’ final resistance; support Su Chen’s claim to the directorship 38 39 43 50.

Story Role

First Run and Escape

• Su Chen enters with a save point already established, allowing him to investigate dangerous rules with the possibility of returning after death 1.
• He survives the Rabbit Area, investigates the shop, and discovers that the Aquarium may provide an escape route 5 10 11.
• The scarred security guard’s sacrifice and Old Zhou’s letter lead him to pursue the Zoo’s truth rather than merely leave 28 37 40.
• He takes the director’s badge with the white lions’ protection, then negotiates for the shadow to let him leave with it 43 44 45.
• The shadow removes the entrance barrier. Su Chen clears the instance with 98% of the rules deciphered, an S rating, and 1,000 points 46.

Return After the Rollback

• Su Chen delays his allies’ entry while other contestants draw the entity’s attention 48 50.
• During a calculated safe window, he retrieves the badge and white lion doll, then reaches the Lion Enclosure and declares himself director 50.
• The lions and a veteran employee welcome his succession. He orders all employees gathered and the Elephant Enclosure sealed, intending to prevent the security guard’s previous death 50.