Recaps

Su Chen reasoned that the Zoo’s plan used a staff member in black as a sacrifice to lure “it” into the otherworld, and he refused to take part. After entering the Aquarium, he found a hidden notice whose rules revealed more dangers and contradictions.

• Su Chen deduced that staff in black could draw “it” into a passage near the Ape Area, protecting visitors at the cost of becoming an ape, and decided not to be sacrificed.
• Su Chen entered the Aquarium, followed by visitors who hoped to escape by staying close to him.
• Several visitors grabbed black uniforms, but Su Chen warned them not to remove them, concealing that he was bluffing to prevent them from attracting “its” attention by changing clothes.
• Su Chen found a notice hidden opposite the Aquarium entrance notice, and the gathered visitors read its rules about the Aquarium’s hazards and staff.

Su Chen studied the Aquarium rules and tried to escape before the 16:00 deadline, but the guide appeared and targeted him. He turned back and played along, while the black-uniformed staff gathered behind the guide and Dragon Country’s viewers feared he was doomed.

• Su Chen reasoned that the Aquarium notices might screen for people who were severely contaminated and realized he could belong to that high-risk group.
• Su Chen noticed it was 15:59 and rushed toward the exit, fearing the Aquarium’s time limit and the guide’s arrival.
• A shrill voice offered visitors a whale tour, and Su Chen saw through the back of his head as his eyes distorted, revealing that he had been targeted.
• Su Chen turned around and acted cooperative, causing the watching sensation to recede and his vision to return to normal.
• Su Chen observed that most visitors trembled while black-uniformed staff stood expressionlessly behind the guide, apparently under its control.
• Little Li urged Elder Qin to stop watching, but Elder Qin insisted that Su Chen had not given up and that Dragon Country should keep watching until the last moment.

Su Chen recognized the drowned elephant in the whale zone as the security guard who had helped visitors escape, then challenged the cross-eyed staff member’s views about whales. As the group followed the staff member toward the jellyfish zone, Su Chen found a ball of paper beside the elephant and unfolded it.

• Su Chen followed the cross-eyed staff member to the whale zone, carrying a black work uniform as a precaution.
• The group saw a dead elephant floating in the whale zone, and Su Chen recognized a scar that matched the security guard’s.
• Su Chen concluded that the security guard had become an elephant and helped save visitors before the Zoo punished him.
• Su Chen told the cross-eyed staff member that whales might prefer living on land, and the staff member led the group toward the jellyfish zone.
• Su Chen bowed to the elephant, spotted a ball of paper nearby, and unfolded it in front of the group.

Su Chen studied a note of survival rules and theorized that jellyfish were remnants of humans killed by white lions, retaining enough humanity to draw away “it.” At the Aquarium, the glowing jellyfish seemed to restore him, confirming they were still protecting people.

• Su Chen read and shared the handwritten rules with the other contestants, then deduced that “it” appeared in shadows and was drawn to light.
• Su Chen theorized that people killed by white lions left fragments of their humanity behind as jellyfish, which could lure “it” away.
• The group reached the Aquarium, where glowing jellyfish drifted behind glass.
• Su Chen felt the jellyfish’s light make him whole again and realized they were giving him their remaining humanity.

Su Chen realized the Cross-Eyed Staff Member was throwing contestants into the jellyfish pool because he had misunderstood how jellyfish were created. As the man prepared to throw Su Chen in, Su Chen insisted that he was not a jellyfish.

• The Cross-Eyed Staff Member sent a contestant from Pottery Bowl Country into the jellyfish pool, where he drowned.
• The man sent a contestant from Marijuana Country and then five more chosen ones into the pool, and they all drowned.
• Su Chen noticed that every victim had been bitten by the White Lion, while those who had not been purified by it remained safe.
• Su Chen concluded that the man had misunderstood a message and believed that people bitten by the White Lion became jellyfish after dying.
• The Cross-Eyed Staff Member raised his hand to throw Su Chen into the pool, but Su Chen firmly declared that he was not a jellyfish.

Su Chen escaped the Aquarium by confusing the creature with claims about being a Jellyfish and an Ape, then fled toward the Lion Area. His survival renewed hope in Dragon Country, and Xiao Li and Elder Qin recognized and praised his courage and abilities.

• Su Chen convinced the creature that he was an Ape and that its eyes were crooked, leaving it confused.
• Su Chen and the other survivors ran for the Aquarium exit, but the creature regained control of him as he opened the doors.
• Su Chen fell out of the Aquarium and regained control of his body, then hurried toward the Lion Area.
• Dragon Country's livestream viewers celebrated Su Chen's escape and compared their relief with the despair in other countries' streams.
• Xiao Li admitted his prejudice against Su Chen had been wrong, while Elder Qin praised Su Chen as Dragon Country's hope.

After escaping the Aquarium, Su Chen rested in the Lion Enclosure and planned to return after midnight, when the red-clad staff might keep “it” away. While sleeping, he dreamed he was the Security Guard and found himself in the Otherworld, where a black sun began to fall.

• Su Chen recovered from his escape and reasoned that the Aquarium’s staff might work after 12:30 at night, making that the safest time to seek the exit.
• Exhausted and hungry, Su Chen fell asleep in the Lion Enclosure and dreamed he fought rabbit-eared elephants before noticing the Security Guard’s scar on his arm.
• Su Chen used his phone’s camera and saw the Security Guard’s face, then found himself in a foggy world beside a sign for the Goat Enclosure.
• Su Chen discovered that the Otherworld lay beneath a transparent canopy, with the Zoo above and the Aquarium spanning both worlds.
• After the Surface World’s sun set, a pitch-black sun began falling beyond the Otherworld’s western dome.

Su Chen dreamed of a horned shadow absorbing power from the Otherworld and suspected the Zoo’s entity had been corrupted there. After a goat transformed into a White Lion and weakened the Lion Enclosure’s protection, he hurried to the Aquarium, avoiding a group of surviving chosen ones in black uniforms.

• Su Chen awoke from a vivid dream of the Otherworld, where a horned shadow absorbed blackened smog, and reasoned that the entity might have originated there.
• Su Chen stayed awake to study the rules, then heard hooves and saw a snow-white goat approach him.
• The goat entered the Lion Enclosure and transformed into a White Lion, leading Su Chen to conclude the enclosure had temporarily lost its purifying effect.
• Su Chen headed for the Aquarium and avoided a group of survivors wearing black work uniforms near the roadside.
• Su Chen reached the Aquarium shortly after half past midnight and went inside.

Su Chen entered the Aquarium at night, learned its basic rules from a red-clothed staff member, and suspected the staff’s goat meat might come from dead Chosen Ones. He tricked the employee into helping him in the dark and stole the Employee Handbook, leaving the staff member searching for dropped food.

• Su Chen asked the red-clothed staff member for a place to stay, and the man told him to turn off the Jellyfish Night Light before 1:00 a.m. and stay inside the Aquarium until 6:00 a.m.
• The staff member carried a package labeled Goat Meat toward the Whale Area, prompting Su Chen to suspect it was made from dead Chosen Ones.
• The red-clothed staff member returned with bread and water and led Su Chen to an Hourly Room in the dark Rest Area.
• Su Chen pretended to have night blindness, tripped at the doorway, and stole the Employee Handbook while the staff member searched for the dropped food.

Su Chen read the Aquarium’s Employee Handbook and deduced that he could escape by leaving shortly before the staff ended their shift. After evading the returning staff member, he believed he had found a safe way out of the Zoo.

• Su Chen read the Employee Handbook and focused on the rules about working hours and visitors leaving before six in the morning.
• Su Chen reasoned that he could follow a staff member out when they left a little early and escape the Zoo safely.
• When the staff member returned for the handbook, Su Chen tossed it toward the door and pretended to sleep.
• The staff member retrieved the handbook and left, while Su Chen stayed still until the footsteps faded.
• Dragon Country’s livestream viewers celebrated Su Chen’s discovery and discussed the prospect of earning national fortune points.

After the livestream officials silenced Ugly Country’s insults, Su Chen searched the Aquarium’s rental room for clues and discovered a document titled Zoo Director's Rules. He read its fifteen rules, learning of the Zoo’s strange hazards and what to do if he violated any of them.

• People from Ugly Country mocked Su Chen in Dragon Country’s livestream, and officials banned the abusive accounts.
• Su Chen stayed awake in the dark rental room, wary of losing his chance to escape and unsettled by his nightmare.
• Su Chen searched the bedside table and opened a small metal box containing a sheet of paper.
• Su Chen used his phone’s glow to read the Zoo Director's Rules, including instructions about employees, animal enclosures, the Aquarium, and the office.
• Su Chen read that anyone violating a rule must remain in the office for thirteen hours and remember that humans have two eyes.

Su Chen discovered a hidden letter on the back of the Zoo rules, which warned that reading it by light was dangerous and promised to reveal the Zoo’s truth. Although he had planned to wait safely until morning, he chose to keep reading, hoping to uncover the sacrifices made by the Zoo’s staff and earn greater rewards.

• Su Chen realized the director’s rules exposed the director to severe dangers, including the Otherworld, uncanny animals, and power outages.
• Su Chen found densely packed writing on the back of the rules and read the letter’s warning that keeping a light on was dangerous.
• Su Chen turned off his phone light, and viewers in Dragon Country urged him not to risk reading further.
• Su Chen thought of the staff who had sacrificed themselves and decided the Zoo’s secrets were worth pursuing.
• Su Chen turned his phone light back on and continued reading the letter.

Old Zhou recounted the Zoo's history, from the organization's first efforts to restrain its power to repeated disasters that cost the team members their lives. After the Zoo altered the Visitor Rules and killed every visitor, Old Chen and Old Li left, leaving Old Zhou as the last hope to protect it.

• Eight years earlier, Old Chen discovered that the Zoo used memetic contamination to turn visitors into animals, and the team created Visitor Rules and staff protections to keep them safe.
• After five years without a visitor dying, a strange white, rabbit-eared elephant appeared in the Elephant Enclosure, and Old Zhang died after fighting it.
• Old Zhao failed to destroy the Zoo, and the White Lion Area became a place it would not enter.
• When the organization could not spare support, Old Chen took charge as director, revealed the truth to the staff, and many employees chose to stay.
• On July 23, 20XW, the Zoo altered every copy of the Visitor Rules, and every visitor died after becoming an animal.
• Old Chen gave Old Zhou the director's badge and left with Old Li; the next day, two more white lions appeared in the Lion Enclosure.

The surviving Zoo Director overcame his fear, rallied the employees, and recorded how the Zoo’s rules and territory changed as the Otherworld spread. Facing his final battle, he left the Director’s Badge and the responsibility of protecting humanity to the next successor.

• The Zoo Director turned back from fleeing after employees gathered at the gate and a lion roared, then led them into the Zoo to fight.
• The employees devised new rules and reorganized, but from July 23 onward the Aquarium and other areas fell into the Otherworld, causing deaths and making the Aquarium unusable as an exit.
• The Zoo Director discovered that the entity drew energy from the Otherworld and resolved to leave the truth for future people to use against it.
• On August 1, the Zoo Director prepared for his successor but left the position unfilled so someone with a fresh perspective could take over.
• On August 2, the Zoo Director went to buy time for his successor and asked them to retrieve the Badge from his office.

After reading Old Zhou’s letter, Su Chen realized the Zoo had been deteriorating for two years and its employees were close to collapse. Torn between securing his own survival and taking up the Zoo Director’s burden, he asked Dragon Country’s viewers what he should do, and they voiced their support for him.

• Su Chen noticed that the Zoo had far fewer employees than Old Zhou’s letter described and realized the letter was two years old.
• Su Chen deduced that the Zoo’s protections had weakened, visitors had died, and the remaining employees had lost hope.
• Su Chen considered leaving the employees to their fate so he could clear the scenario, but remembered the guard and employees who had sacrificed themselves for him.
• Su Chen asked the sky whether he should take on the burden, and Dragon Country’s viewers debated the choice before many declared their support for him.
• A Sakura Country commenter wished for Su Chen’s death, and the livestream moderators deleted the comment and banned the account.

The Strange Tales Department debated whether Su Chen should risk taking over the Zoo, while Elder Qin suspected the people in the Horror Story World might be real. Su Chen chose to head for the Zoo Director's Office, and a message from “it” challenged him to come.

• Elder Qin asked Xiao Li and the others whether Su Chen should prioritize Dragon Country or try to save the people in the Zoo, and they urged him not to take the risk.
• Elder Qin pointed out that the Horror Story World's staff, rules, and names were in Chinese, raising the possibility that its people were real or even from Dragon Country.
• Su Chen decided to go to the Zoo Director's Office because he believed he would regret not trying to change the Zoo.
• The writing on Su Chen's letter rearranged into a message from “it” inviting him to come over.
• Su Chen calmly put his belongings away, switched on his jellyfish night-light, and headed for the Aquarium's main entrance.

Su Chen entered the Zoo Director's Office and found the badge the black shadow wanted him to destroy. He realized the shadow had lured him there to eliminate the badge, and stood his ground as their confrontation continued.

• A staff member in red warned Su Chen not to leave the Aquarium, then told him where the Zoo Director's Office was after Su Chen asked.
• The staff member in red thanked Su Chen in his thoughts and believed he might be the person Old Zhou had been waiting for, while viewers argued in the livestream chat.
• Su Chen found the Zoo Director's Office in the woods and entered, where animal dolls turned toward him and a black shadow filled the room.
• Su Chen endured the dolls' cries, moved them aside, and found a bronze badge pinned to a White Lion doll.
• The black shadow used the dolls to demand that Su Chen destroy the badge, but Su Chen realized it wanted to remove the badge as a threat to its control of the Zoo and faced it without fear.

Su Chen learned that the shadow tried to kill him because wearing the badge would make him appear to be a white lion, then faced the problem of inheriting the Zoo Director Position without protection. Four white lions arrived to confront the shadow and urged him to take the badge, giving him a chance to break the deadlock.

• Su Chen provoked the shadow with the badge, but stopped when its killing intent caused the security office to grow dangerously cold.
• Su Chen asked why the shadow could attack him despite seeing him as a monkey, and it explained that the badge would make him a white lion in its eyes.
• Su Chen realized taking the Zoo Director Position would put him in danger because the shadow would attack him as a white lion.
• Su Chen turned around and found four white lions had left their enclosure and were approaching the shadow.
• The lead white lion nudged Su Chen's pocket, urging him to wear the badge, while the other lions stood ready to protect him.

Su Chen used the standoff between the four white lions and the black shadow to plan his next move, confirmed he could keep system rewards after reloading a save, and prepared to transform the Zoo. After securing the organization’s promise to reimburse supernatural-related expenses, he stopped the battle and faced both sides.

• Su Chen learned that deciphering 98% of the rules would earn him 1,000 points and found a useful item in the System Mall.
• Su Chen pinned the badge to his chest, provoking the black shadow to attack, and the four white lions fought it off.
• Su Chen searched the Zoo Director’s Office for a telephone directory and texted the department directors to report his appointment and ask about funding.
• Jiang Tian confirmed that the organization would verify Su Chen’s identity and do its utmost to reimburse expenses related to the Zoo’s supernatural problems.
• Su Chen returned to the battlefield and called for the fighting to stop, and the white lions and black shadow turned to look at him.

Su Chen secured the white lions’ support and struck a deal with the black shadow to help remove the badge from the Zoo in exchange for being escorted to the exit. As he left, the livestream audience argued over his choices and spotted Pickle Country’s transformed contestant behaving like a rabbit in the Rabbit Zone.

• Su Chen demanded the leading white lion’s absolute trust, and the lion agreed to support his methods.
• Su Chen promised the black shadow he would take the badge out of the Zoo, and the shadow agreed to guide him to the exit.
• The white lions suppressed their anger and returned to the Lion Enclosure while Su Chen retrieved a flashlight.
• The black shadow told Su Chen it had come up from below and that having no shadow took a heavy toll, then led him toward the entrance.
• Su Chen followed the shadow’s directions, shining his flashlight into the roadside woods as they headed for the exit.
• Viewers debated Su Chen’s actions, then saw Kim Xiba, transformed into a rabbit, mechanically thrusting against a tree in the Rabbit Zone.

Su Chen cleared the Zoo horror story with an S rating, boosting Dragon Country’s national fortune and earning points. He stayed in the Horror Story World, bought a Subconscious Amplification Device, won a mental-power increase in a prize draw, and went to sleep before returning to the Zoo.

• Su Chen used the dark shadow’s help to leave the Zoo and earned an S rating with 1,000 points for clearing the instance.
• The Supreme Rule announced that Dragon Country’s national fortune rose by 10 points, citizens gained 10% more lifespan, and farmed meat production increased by 10% for one year.
• Su Chen chose to stay in the Horror Story World during the three-day break and appeared in a five-star hotel room.
• Su Chen spent 500 points on a Subconscious Amplification Device and stored it in his system space.
• Su Chen spent his remaining 500 points on a prize draw, gained three mental-power points, and unlocked his attribute panel.
• Su Chen finished preparing for his next Zoo run and fell asleep.

Su Chen loaded a save to return to the Zoo with his memories intact, while the rest of the world was rolled back for a second attempt. The supreme rule revoked the Lake Kingdom’s extra chance after its protest, bringing back the country’s drought and sparking unrest.

• After waking from a long sleep, Su Chen told the system to load his save and returned to the Horror Story World’s waiting area with his memories intact.
• Su Chen and the other Chosen Ones were teleported back to the Zoo, and the livestreams reopened, confusing officials who believed the next round was days away.
• The supreme rule announced that every country would receive another chance, while Dragon Country kept its lifespan bonus and Su Chen kept his memories; no country would receive hints.
• The Lake Kingdom protested the rollback, so the supreme rule revoked its reward, erased its Chosen One, and brought back the drought.
• The Lake Kingdom’s citizens blamed their leaders and began gathering to rebel.

After the rollback, Su Chen used his knowledge of the previous run to keep events on course, sending Kim Xiba into the Zoo first before beginning a plan to save allies. He asked Iron Pakistan’s contestant to wait outside, and the contestant agreed to trust him.

• Other countries’ leaders decided not to give their Chosen Ones hints, while Dragon Country’s viewers speculated that Su Chen had anticipated the rollback.
• Kim Xiba approached Su Chen and offered to reveal the correct Zoo rule, but Su Chen angrily dismissed him.
• Kim Xiba hurried into the Zoo first, unaware that he was repeating the mistake that had killed him before.
• After Kim Xiba disappeared inside, Su Chen approached Iron Pakistan’s contestant and asked him to wait before entering the Zoo.
• Iron Pakistan’s contestant agreed to trust Su Chen and delay entering.

Su Chen warned contestants from friendly countries about the Zoo’s hidden danger, prompting grateful nations to pledge support for Dragon Country. Italy became the first major country to switch sides, offering restitution and trade cooperation in exchange for help in future scenarios, and its cultural artifacts began returning to Dragon Country.

• Su Chen gathered contestants from friendly countries and led them away from the crowd, while others who doubted him entered the Zoo.
• Countries whose contestants Su Chen had helped issued fervent statements of gratitude and support for Dragon Country.
• Western powers grew alarmed as countries openly aligned themselves with Dragon Country and canceled planned condemnations.
• Italy’s leader offered to return looted cultural artifacts, pay compensation, and serve as a trade hub in exchange for Dragon Country’s help in a future horror scenario.
• Dragon Country accepted Italy’s proposal, and Italy sent Dragon Country’s cultural artifacts home by plane the next day.

Su Chen entered the Zoo during a calculated safe window, took the Zoo Director's Badge from the Director's Office, and gained the white lions' support as the new director. He began gathering the employees and ordered them to seal off the dangerous Elephant Enclosure.

• Su Chen noticed that the contestants' actions had changed after the rollback, while Yamashita Kenichiro obtained a rabbit and grew rabbit ears.
• Su Chen told his group to stay outside, then entered the Zoo and took the shortest route through the woods to the Director's Office.
• Su Chen kept his eyes shut against the plush toys' cognitive pollution, found the badge and white lion plush toy, and ran to the Lion Enclosure.
• Su Chen pinned on the badge and declared himself the Zoo's director, winning the trust of the four white lions.
• Su Chen asked a staff member to gather the employees and ordered the staff near the Elephant Enclosure to seal it off.