Chapter 34
Chapter 34
This time, unlike during the day,
very few lights were on inside the Aquarium, leaving it dim.
A staff member in a red uniform saw someone enter and hurried over.
“Hello. How may I help you?”
He addressed Su Chen in a friendly tone.
Su Chen relaxed.
The appearance of a normal-looking staff member meant his guess was correct.
The Aquarium was safe during this period.
“I got lost in the zoo and would like to stay here for the night. Is that possible?”
Su Chen asked tentatively.
The staff member in red frowned in confusion.
“You must be mistaken. However, we do provide accommodation. I’ll take you there.”
He hurriedly changed the subject.
Without waiting for another question, he headed toward the Jellyfish Exhibit.
Su Chen could tell that the man did not want to discuss the zoo.
That meant he must know rules Su Chen did not.
He needed to find a chance to obtain them.
Su Chen quickened his pace and caught up.
“Is there anything I should pay attention to here?”
He posed the question directly.
“You must turn off the jellyfish night-light before 1:00 a.m., and you must not leave the Aquarium before 6:00 a.m. There are no other requirements.”
“Oh? Have you ever met an uncooperative visitor? Someone who refuses to turn off the light, for example?”
“Of course.”
“What do you usually do?”
The staff member in red smiled.
“Naturally, we try to persuade them. But if they… Um, are you hungry? Let me get you something to eat.”
Halfway through, he seemed to realize something and hastily changed the subject again.
Then he walked toward a shelf beside the Jellyfish Exhibit.
Su Chen smiled helplessly. He knew he could extract no information from the man.
He would need another method.
The staff member’s expression suddenly changed.
He picked up a large package of something strange from the shelf.
Then he turned to Su Chen. “Please wait here a moment. I’ll be right back. Don’t wander around while I’m gone!”
Without waiting for Su Chen to respond, he ran toward the Whale Exhibit carrying the package.
As they passed one another, Su Chen faintly saw several words.
Goat meat!
“It looks like the Aquarium isn’t completely safe even during this period!”
Su Chen muttered.
He waited for a long time, but the staff member did not return.
Su Chen began to grow bored.
So he wandered forward.
The Jellyfish Exhibit soon came into view.
Countless glowing jellyfish drifted through the water, looking exceptionally beautiful.
Under their light, Su Chen once again sensed that he was being purified.
The holy glow was even restoring the missing parts of his body.
“Where did the bodies of those victims go? Did the staff dispose of them, or did they really turn into jellyfish?”
Su Chen was puzzled.
According to his earlier theory, that method could not turn people into jellyfish at all.
But if the staff had dealt with the bodies, wouldn’t the sight of so many drowned corpses terrify them?
And judging by the time, their shifts had only just begun. They could not possibly have processed so many bodies already.
Could there be another method of disposal?
Su Chen could not make sense of it.
Then he remembered a line from the note he had found.
[Fuck! The goat meat is actually raw meat! (This sentence was even more scrawled than the others. A slightly neater note beneath it read: “Can’t fucking believe it’s edible.”)]
“Raw meat? Corpses? Could the goat meat that staff member carried away have been made from the dead Chosen Ones?”
Su Chen shuddered.
He hurriedly shook his head as if trying to drive the horrifying thought from his mind.
The staff member in red finally returned.
He carried a loaf of bread and a bottle of water, clearly prepared for Su Chen.
“Why did you come over here? This food is for you.”
He handed it to Su Chen.
“Thank you.”
Su Chen accepted it and politely thanked him.
He had eaten nothing all day and truly was hungry.
“The room is just ahead. Please follow me. Since it is already past 1:00 a.m., we cannot turn on the lights, so it will be quite dark inside. Please take care not to fall.”
“All right. That’s fine.”
Su Chen agreed.
As he spoke, he glanced at the booklet tucked into the man’s pocket.
“If I’m right, that should be their Employee Handbook. I have to get it somehow. Perhaps I can use the darkness in the room to create an opening.”
Su Chen thought.
They passed through the Jellyfish Exhibit, turned left, and entered the rest area.
There were no lights here. They could only use the faint glow from the Jellyfish Exhibit to find the doors.
The staff member in red appeared experienced and walked steadily through the darkness.
He soon stopped and opened a room rented by the hour.
“This is your room. Have a pleasant rest.”
The man said from the doorway.
Su Chen frowned.
If the man did not enter, it would be difficult to make his move.
He could hardly seize the booklet by force!
“Um, I have night blindness. Could you help me inside?”
Pretending he could not see, Su Chen extended a hand and indicated that the man should support him.
“Of course.”
The staff member readily agreed.
Su Chen walked in front with the other man behind him.
Supporting Su Chen by the arm, the man carefully guided him forward.
The moment they passed through the doorway,
Su Chen knew his chance had come.
He deliberately caught his toe on the side of the doorframe
and fell into the man’s arms.
The staff member had not expected Su Chen to trip even here. Caught unprepared, he took Su Chen’s head squarely in the chest and had the wind knocked out of him.
Fortunately, they did not fall. The man even managed to steady Su Chen.
Thud.
At the same time, the bread and mineral water fell to the floor.
Using the noise as cover, Su Chen smoothly pulled the Employee Handbook from the man’s pocket and hid it behind his back.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. My night blindness is severe. Could you help me pick up the bread?”
Su Chen hurriedly steadied himself and stepped back twice.
“All right… Please… wait.”
The staff member spoke in broken gasps.
He clearly had not yet caught his breath.
Even so, he wasted no time. He turned, got down on the floor, and searched for the food that had fallen into the darkness.
Seizing the opportunity,
Su Chen tucked the booklet into the back of his waistband.