Ch. Midnight Zoo 10 Midnight Zoo 10

[What a show! If only these guys had gotten those animal items from the start, they might have actually stood a chance!] 

[Luck is part of the game. My money’s on them all dying.] 

16:47 

I calmly found a corner and laid out all my items on the ground: The Madcap Stone, The Elephant’s Dentures, The Gorilla’s Washboard, The Hippo’s 

Bath Mitt, The Giraffe’s Neck Brace. 

The audience erupted. 

[WTF, am I seeing things? How does that one girl have so many items?!] 

[You must have missed the last few days‘ stream. The thieving monkey gave them to her!] 

Marcus, Leo, and Mia all turned to look at me, their eyes fixed on my pile of loot. The expressions on their faces were a sight to behold. 

“So it was you,” Marcus snarled. “You took all the items.” 

“The real pro was you all along!” 

Mia was furious. “That’s so unfair! You didn’t leave a single thing for the rest of us?” 

But it was too late for complaints. Without items, how could a normal player possibly defeat these frenzied beasts? 

Whenever an animal charged at me, I simply tossed out its corresponding item. Each one would give me a complicated look before turning to attack one of the other three. 

The clock ticked down. 

Leo, after using his one and only item, was torn apart by the alligator. 

Mia was cornered by the hippo, which pinned her down and began scrubbing her like a dirty shirt. “Must be clean!” it grunted. “Clothes must be clean!” 

Only Marcus was left. In his hands was a familiar axe–t 

e–the one I’d left in the dorms. He swung it wildly, a trail of bloody mist following each strike. The animals he hit collapsed to the ground. 

As the thirty–minute countdown neared its end, the remaining animals stopped their attacks. They all turned to face Marcus. 

He threw his head back and laughed, a crazed, triumphant sound. “I knew it! This axe was the ultimate weapon all along! The warden lied to you all. Items can be stolen!” 

I stood up and walked towards him, the animals parting for me. “Was it worth it?” I asked, my voice steady. “Sacrificing your teammates just to win? Agnes cleared several instances with you, but you threw her away at the first opportunity.” 

Marcus sneered. “The strong survive. She was an idiot. She deserved to die.” 

I took a deep breath. “And the middle–aged man? Why did you kill him?” 

His smirk widened. “He was greedy. And careless.” 

I looked him in the eye. “The animals wouldn’t have killed anyone before the final day. All you had to do was earn their trust, and you would have cleared the instance. But you chose slaughter.” 

“It was the fastest way.” 

“Was it?” Lshook my head, stroking the tiger’s fur beside me and taking the monkey’s hand. “You’re wrong. So, so wrong.” 

[Final minute of survival countdown.] 

The system’s voice echoed. 

Marcus grinned, hefting the axe as he walked towards me. “You’re smart, I’ll give you that. But so what? You’re not ruthless enough. I figured out this instance’s real secret long ago.” His eyes gleamed. “Each animal only has one kill quota. Once they kill a player, they won’t kill again. It was a beautiful experiment, and all it cost was eight other players‘ lives.” 

“And now,” he said, raising the axe, “it’s your turn to die. I’ll be the only one clearing this.” 

He swung the axe down with incredible force, I tried to move, but he was too fast. 

Chapter 2 

16:47 

He swung the axe down with incredible force. I tried to move, but he was too fast. 

CRACK! 

A spiderweb of fissures spread across the safety helmet on my head, and then it shattered. The item from the tiger, meant to withstand a fatal 

blow from an animal, had just saved me from a human. 

Marcus laughed, unfazed. He raised the axe for another strike. 

But in the next second, the animals he had “killed” all began to stir. They rose to their feet, their faces twisted with rage. And on their faces, I saw 

the faces of the dead. I saw Agnes’s dying glare, the middle–aged man’s greedy smile, Leo’s resentful frown, and Mia’s terrified eyes. 

The dead players had possessed the animals. 

They roared and lunged at Marcus. The panther, animated by the middle–aged man’s spirit, snatched the axe from his grasp. The giraffe, inhabited 

by Agnes, kicked him square in the chest. The alligator, now Leo, opened its massive jaws. And the parrot, now Mia, flew at his face, its beak a 

flurry of vengeful strikes. 

[Survival countdown complete.] 

Marcus died at the hands of the animals. 

The shadowy figures in the stands slowly faded away. Amidst the blood–soaked arena, the young warden in his white shirt appeared once more. 

He looked at the tiger and the monkey, who stood unharmed beside me. 

[Midnight Zoo instance complete. Number of survivors: 1.] 

He spoke, his voice void of emotion. “You two failed to find replacement animals. You will continue in the next instance.” 

The tiger and the monkey just shrugged. 

“Whatever. I’m used to being an animal by now. And my fur hasn’t even reached its full potential yet!” 

The monkey added, “Besides, where would I even go if I left? At least I have friends here.” 

Elias’s gaze finally settled on me. “And you? The sole survivor of this instance.” 

I looked down, a bitter smile on my face. “I’d like to stay at the zoo. I’m looking for someone.” 

A flicker of something crossed the warden’s face. “This is a place for exiled souls. All of them have committed great wrongs in their past lives. The 

person you’re looking for… must be a very bad person.” 

“He is,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “A very bad person indeed. He abandoned his new bride without a word. The worst kind of pers- 

on.” 

The warden met my gaze, his expression unreadable. But I knew. In that final moment, as the instance ended, all my memories had come rushing 

back. 

The truth was, no player ever truly died in this instance. They just became the next round of animals, waiting for a new batch of keepers to arrive.