Chapter 40
Chapter 40
After finishing the letter, Su Chen could not calm down for a long time.
He had never imagined that so many stories lay hidden within this bizarre zoo.
The five investigators who had sacrificed themselves heroically.
The many iron-willed employees who stepped forward one after another.
And the countless innocent civilians who had been killed.
Their figures kept appearing in Su Chen’s mind.
When he first began reading, he only wanted to learn more of the truth so he could exchange it for greater system rewards after clearing the scenario.
But halfway through, he could barely hold back his emotions.
The brilliance of humanity shown by those staff members in the face of endless hardship was simply too dazzling.
Old Zhou had even transformed from a coward into a worthy director.
At the end especially, he had been calm, decisive, optimistic, and full of hope.
Perhaps those qualities were precisely what allowed the zoo to endure after his death instead of falling.
Then Su Chen remembered something that did not seem right.
According to the letter, the zoo should have had many employees.
Yet throughout the day, he had seen very few.
Even after the mutation in the Elephant Enclosure, not many staff members arrived.
There was a huge discrepancy from the number described in the letter.
“Could it be the date?”
Su Chen was startled as he identified the key.
Years were recorded differently in this world than in reality.
After finishing the letter, he had unconsciously assumed Old Zhou had written it recently.
He hurriedly checked the date on his phone.
July 23, 20XZ.
Two years had already passed since the letter was written!
“It’s been that long? Has no one else seen this letter in those two years?”
Su Chen frowned.
What he did not know was that during the first year, Old Zhou’s heroism had restrained “It” completely.
Visitors had therefore been extremely safe that year.
But because they were not contaminated, they could not see the Aquarium.
One year after Old Zhou’s death, “It” broke through the restrictions he established.
“Its” strength advanced another step.
This time, “It” distorted not only rules, but reality itself.
Everyone was caught unprepared.
With the director’s position vacant, the staff also lacked leadership.
The zoo’s defenses approached complete collapse, and visitors died in large numbers.
The situation continued, and countless staff members gave their lives plugging one breach after another.
Their numbers dwindled further.
But fewer staff meant more gaps in the defenses and even more dead visitors.
It became a vicious cycle.
The zoo’s defenses deteriorated with each passing day.
Naturally, no visitor discovered this final letter.
Su Chen was the only one in two years.
After considering the matter, Su Chen soon inferred the zoo’s general course over those years.
“This zoo is already on the verge of collapse. Far too few staff remain.”
Su Chen thought.
Then his attention returned to the final lines of the letter.
[Please do not make us wait too long!]
They had already waited too long. In two years, everything had changed.
Su Chen could see that the current employees had no light left in their eyes. They resembled rigid machines.
That meant their hearts were dead. They no longer held any hope.
Relying only on their remaining human virtues, they stood their final watch until the end of their lives.
At that instant, an impulse rose in Su Chen.
He wanted to take up the burden and save these tragic heroes.
But reason simultaneously told him to remain calm.
“They’re only NPCs inside a scenario, not real people. There’s no need to risk myself for them. Countless people in the real world are still waiting for me to clear this!”
Su Chen squeezed his eyes shut and tried hard to persuade himself not to take another risk.
The means to clear the scenario was already within reach. All he had to do was play it safe for a while and secure victory.
Why create further complications?
But the next moment, the image of the security guard with the scar on his left arm surfaced in Su Chen’s mind.
Without that man’s sacrifice, Su Chen might have failed completely back then.
Then there were the staff members whose eyes had grown dim but who still selflessly offered their lives.
Su Chen could not deceive himself into believing they were cold, lifeless NPCs.
In his eyes, they were living, breathing people, more human than some Chosen Ones!
“If you were me, what would you choose?”
Su Chen raised his head and asked the sky.
At the same time, the scene of his question appeared in Longguo’s livestream.
Every viewer in Longguo was stunned.
They too had read the final letter.
Its contents had moved them deeply.
For a moment, their own desire to fight had even flared.
But when Su Chen truly asked them, everyone was struck speechless.
After a long time, comments finally appeared.
“Reason tells me not to go. They’re only NPCs in the Horror World. But as someone from Longguo, my emotions tell me that we people of Longguo possess the greatest brilliance of humanity.”
“It’s truly an impossible choice. On one side are the countless citizens of Longguo. On the other are desperate heroes and innocent visitors in the Horror World. Can you really convince yourselves they’re just lifeless NPCs? What if they’re people from another world?”
“If it were me, I’d clear the scenario immediately, because I know my own limits. Even if I became director, I couldn’t accomplish anything. But if Su Chen chooses to inherit the position, I’ll support him unconditionally. I’ve watched everything he’s done. I trust him.”
“Exactly. I believe in Su Chen’s abilities too. Looking at it optimistically, perhaps the moment he acts, he’ll settle the entire zoo.”
“Haha, that makes sense. If God Su dares risk his life, I dare follow him. He’s fighting on the front line without fear, so what the hell are we afraid of? I support Su Chen unconditionally.”
“Hahahaha! Stupid people of Longguo. I hope your Su Chen hurries off to die and thereby consoles the victims of Sakura Nation!”
No one cursed in response to that final comment,
because the officials moved faster, immediately deleting it and banning the account in one seamless operation.