"I asked around about your whereabouts but got no leads. How did you end up here? I noticed you’ve lost quite a bit of weight—do you even need to diet?"
Qi Xu, with her usual ease, shook the black three-tailed fox’s paw and straightened the little bowtie around its neck before pulling out some jerky made by Xiao Dang and starting to feed it...
The black three-tailed fox chewed the jerky in a daze, bewildered at how she had effortlessly taken control of the situation again. It had stepped out intending to ease the tension, but now...
Xiao Hei (Little Black) was at a complete loss for words.
Qi Xu wasn’t in a hurry. She kept feeding it—some jerky, some cucumber sticks, and finally squeezed a fresh glass of orange juice for it.
The other animals nearby watched hungrily. Am I seeing things? Is this the same human who was beating people up earlier? Is this some kind of split personality?!
Most crucially, Qi Xu casually pulled out twenty or thirty survival coins and stuffed them straight into the black fox’s pocket.
Two seals clapped their flippers in envy.
"Take these. Let’s exchange contacts. If you ever run into trouble, just tell me. Don’t just stand there and take it—look at the crowd around you. Most of them aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed."
The tiger was about to roar again, but one glare from Qi Xu turned its outburst into a silent yawn...
Xiao Hei hesitated. "We’re all... just trying to survive. I—"
"No need to explain. I get it. No hard feelings after a fight, right? Why are you all standing so far away? Come closer."
The seven little rabbits that had been thrown onto the stage earlier huddled together, trembling, but were the first to move, shuffling forward in a tight group.
When Qi Xu reached out, the rabbits flinched, bracing for a hit—but instead, she gently patted their heads. "What would you like to eat?"
The rabbits shook their heads, too scared to speak.
Qi Xu dug out some leafy greens from the BoBo monsters’ stash and made each of them a fresh carrot juice...
"Rewards for the ones who cooperate first."
She handed each rabbit a survival coin.
The two seals clapped enviously.
Seeing that the rabbits hadn’t been beaten but had instead gotten coins, the other animals cautiously approached. Even the grumpy tiger, who couldn’t get up from the floor, was carried to the edge of the stage by the big black bear.
The dolphin rested its head on the pool’s edge, unable to reach the food on the table without hands, so Qi Xu took out twenty or thirty small fish and fed them one by one.
She didn’t forget to praise the black bear either. "Such a team player, helping classmates in need! You’re amazing, Black Bear!"
With that, she gave the bear three survival coins.
The two seals clapped enviously.
Qi Xu didn’t lay a hand on anyone. Instead, she brought out an endless supply of food and drinks, letting everyone eat their fill.
During the earlier scuffle, she’d heard the black bear and gorilla’s stomachs growling, noticed how bony the tiger was (to the point its ribs hurt when fighting), and pieced together that Xiao Hei had lost weight and the cafeteria prices were sky-high.
They’re all starving.
So even the high-tier zoo animals aren’t treated well? In pre-survival-game zoos, animals had dedicated keepers—they’d never let the kids go hungry. The conditions here are way worse.
Only one kind of animal was deliberately starved: those being tamed or disciplined. But... Qi Xu couldn’t shake the feeling that monsters with sentience weren’t much different from humans.
Lost in thought, Qi Xu stayed silent while the animals devoured the food, not daring to speak either.
Only when they’d eaten until their bellies were round and seams strained did they finally glance at each other, then at Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei hesitated before speaking reluctantly, "Should we... start rehearsing?"
Qi Xu pretended not to notice Xiao Hei’s frantic eye signals, secretly giving its paw a reassuring squeeze.
Then she asked casually, "No rush. Can human players move freely around this zoo?"
Xiao Hei nodded. "Of course, but the animal zone is huge. Where do you want to go?"
"Where’s the one place I shouldn’t go?"
Xiao Hei’s mouth twitched. How am I supposed to answer that? You’re asking where you shouldn’t go... because you want to go there? What kind of logic is that?
Before Xiao Hei could reply, a little red bird chirped, "I know! Humans aren’t allowed in the Human Restricted Zone! No human can enter without a pass!"
Qi Xu’s eyes lit up, and she tossed the bird five survival coins. "Sweetheart, your voice is lovely! What’s your name?"
The red bird hid its face shyly behind a wing. "I’m Ding Ding."
"Let me guess—are the other birds named Dong Dong, Dang Dang, Hua Hua, La La, Ha Ha, and Ga Ga?"
The birds she named nodded eagerly.
Like a kindergarten teacher, Qi Xu rewarded each "student" who nodded with a survival coin.
The two seals clapped enviously.
Qi Xu pressed further. "So what’s inside the Human Restricted Zone?"
The gorilla, eyeing the coins greedily, stood up and announced loudly, "Corpses! Anyone who dies in the zoo can go lie in there!"
Qi Xu nodded. "Impressive. Correct answer—here’s your reward."
She tossed the gorilla five survival coins without hesitation!
The gorilla was overjoyed. Sure, this human’s scary, but she pays up! Five coins—that’s a week’s worth of good meals! It thumped its chest excitedly.
The two seals clapped enviously again.
The tiger watched the animals celebrating and snorted. Hit them first, then bribe them—smooth move. Too bad it’s useless.
"Class, listen up! The next correct answer earns a big reward!"
The animals fell silent instantly—even the clapping seals and the dolphin swaying its tail in the water froze.
"How do you get a pass for the Human Restricted Zone?"
The tiger spoke first. "Die, obviously."
Qi Xu ignored it, scanning the "students" expectantly.
But they all clamped their mouths shut, shaking their heads violently.
Just as Xiao Hei sighed and prepared to answer, the gorilla slapped a hand over its muzzle, gripping tightly as it hissed in panic:
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? One more rule break, and you’ll lose your sentience—reduced to a mindless low-tier animal! If you hadn’t meddled with the human players, you wouldn’t have been exiled here, you dumb fox!"
..........
(Continued—don’t forget to click free little gifts~)
