Chapter 2
Chapter 2
[Dear visitors, welcome to the largest zoo in our city. We house most of the world’s animal species and guarantee that every animal has been provided with a suitable environment. We hope you enjoy your visit! While touring the zoo, all visitors must obey the following rules to ensure their safety. Otherwise, you bear the consequences.]
1. If you are arrogant and obstinately set in your ways, you may disregard these rules and enjoy yourself as you please.
2. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the zoo’s safety measures. No animal could possibly escape, and small herbivores in particular are kept in sealed enclosures where they cannot be touched. Therefore, if you see a rabbit running loose, soothe it and carry it to a staff member. Rabbits can comfort you. (The latter portion was printed in blue.)
3. The Primate Enclosure has only one street and exhibits only primates. If you discover two streets and see primates dressed in black, choose the street on the left and finish your visit to this enclosure as quickly as possible.
4. If the elephants you see look different from what you know elephants to be, do not panic. Open your eyes wide and tell yourself that seeing is believing. (The final sentence was printed in blue.)
5. The zoo’s beverage shop does not sell “rabbit blood.” If you see it on a shelf, ignore it and buy something else. (The final sentence was printed in blue.)
6. Do not linger in the shade of the trees in the Rabbit Enclosure, but you may go to the Aquarium to cool off during the day. (The latter clause was printed in blue.)
7. This zoo has an Aquarium. If a staff member offers to sell you an Aquarium ticket, accept. There is a backup exit there. (The entire rule was printed in blue.)
8. Rabbits do not laugh. If you hear a rabbit laughing, tear the dotted section off the map and keep it in your hand. Do not let go until you have completely left the zoo.
9. If you violate any of the rules above, find the nearest staff member in a blue uniform within fifteen minutes. He will take you to the Lion Enclosure. Do not be afraid. The lions there will not attack you. Once all the white lions begin roaring, the staff member will escort you out of the enclosure.
10. This zoo has only four white lions. If you see more than four white lions roaring, do not leave the enclosure. Inform a staff member and wait until the number of white lions returns to four before leaving.
11. If you see someone wearing rabbit-ear accessories following the crowd into the Elephant Enclosure, open your eyes wide and watch the show. This will ensure your safety. (The latter portion was printed in blue.)
12. The Lion Enclosure is safe. If you encounter a dangerous situation you cannot resolve and cannot obtain help, proceed to the Lion Enclosure immediately, by any means necessary and at any cost.
13. You may buy any animal-themed toy for a child aged twelve or younger. If a child aged thirteen to seventeen buys a stuffed animal, discard it within one month. Adults aged eighteen or older may buy only rabbit toys. (The final sentence was printed in blue.)
After reading the rules, Su Chen’s head buzzed in confusion.
Cold sweat continually broke out across his back.
Before he transmigrated, he had heard of the zoo horror story.
Although he did not know its exact contents, he knew that following its rules would certainly keep someone alive.
But now there was a problem.
Why did this list of rules contain so much blue text?
Worse, the black and blue text in quite a few rules contradicted each other logically.
Take the black text in Rule Two: [Small herbivores in particular are kept in sealed enclosures where they cannot be touched.]
If the black text was correct, did that mean a rabbit outside its enclosure was not an herbivore?
Then what did it eat?
Wouldn’t obeying the blue text and petting the rabbit be the same as seeking death?
But then again, there was the blue text in Rules Five and Seven.
One identified the location of a backup exit.
The other stressed that visitors should not buy rabbit blood.
No matter how he looked at it, that rabbit blood seemed sinister.
It certainly could not be anything good.
Ignoring the rabbit blood should be the right choice.
More important, there was the black text of Rule One.
[If you are arrogant and obstinately set in your ways, you may disregard these rules and enjoy yourself as you please.]
Disregard the rules in a rule-based horror world?
What kind of joke was that?
Did they think everyone had a Gatling gun spitting blue fire?
Looking at it that way, the blue text was actually more likely to contain the correct rules.
Su Chen subconsciously leaned toward believing that the blue text was correct as well.
It was not because he was being arbitrary.
It was because, if the blue text was false, then the implications were terrifying.
The Visitor Rules handed out by the staff were nothing but traps.
Didn’t that mean the staff were his enemies too?
That would make the opening difficulty utterly brutal. Su Chen was somewhat dumbfounded.
He soon recovered, however.
He remembered that he still had Death Rollback.
He could simply try both possibilities, one after the other.
As for which one to choose first, he would see what the other Chosen Ones chose.
Su Chen decided to do the opposite. That way, he could use their actions as a reference.
Once he had thought it through, Su Chen read all the rules once more.
After making certain he had memorized every one, he put the map into his pocket.