Ch. Midnight Zoo 5 Midnight Zoo 5

The next second, a series of large, glowing red letters appeared above her head. 

[RED–NAMED PLAYER] 

She must have received a notification, too, because her eyes went wide and she pointed a trembling finger at me. “How am I red–named? I didn’t feed it! The system must be bugged! It should be her!” 

Elias, who had been observing quietly, stepped forward. “I said you could ask for help,” he stated calmly. “I never said your task would be marked as complete. A keeper who fails their duty must be punished. That is the rule.” 

As he spoke, a new line of text appeared in my vision. 

[Congratulations! Player has successfully fed an animal. Reward: Tiger Feed x3. Access to staff dorms granted.] 

After that, things got chaotic. Everyone was assigned their animals. Those who drew small creatures, like parrots or goldfish, sighed in relief. But those who got the large predators went pale. 

Marcus was assigned to the black bear, His face was a grim mask. 

A few minutes later, he approached me, a practiced smile on his face, his hand outstretched. “Hi, I’m Marcus. Mind if I team up with you for this instance? I’m a veteran player, very experienced with clearing these things. You won’t regret having me as an ally.” 

I cupped my ear. “Sorry, could you say that again? I can’t hear you very well.” 

Marcus’s face soured. He awkwardly retracted his hand, a sneer replacing his smile. “I’ve seen plenty of arrogant rookies like you. They all end up dead. Fine, if you don’t want to cooperate, have it your way. But when night falls and the real rules kick in, you’ll be begging for my help.” 

He stalked off with his feed bucket, leaving me completely bewildered. I’d seen his mouth moving, but I hadn’t caught a single word. My hearing was really that bad. 

Chapter 1 

5 

16:46 

It was almost 6 PM. Since I’d completed my task, I headed to the dorms early. I was surprised to find only four other people waiting there: a hagg- ard–looking Marcus, a middle–aged man, a young girl who looked like a college student, and a guy who screamed ‘programmer.‘ 

Each of them had fresh scratches and bruises. I was the only one completely unscathed, and they all stared at me with undisguised envy. 

“Where is everyone else?” I asked. “Weren’t there ten of us?” 

Marcus just shot me a cold look, ignoring me completely. He addressed the others. “I can’t believe we lost four players on the first task. We still 

have six days to go. We all need to be careful, gather as much intel as we can. If anyone finds a key item, I expect them to share it. No one can 

clear this instance alone.” 

The survivors were either lucky or had items of their own. No one was stupid. The group had clearly fractured into factions. 

The programmer, Leo, pushed up his glasses and gave me a long look. “If some people aren’t willing to share their key items, maybe we should 

kick them out of our team?” 

This time, I understood. The item. They meant my Animal Care Manual. Oh, is that all they wanted? They should have just said so! 

was about to pull it out when a blood–curdling scream echoed from the nearby woods, followed by the roar of a wild animal. 

The sky had turned completely black. If I remembered correctly, after 6 PM, all keepers had to be inside the dorms. 

Just then, a figure stumbled out from a dark path. It was Agnes, covered head to toe in blood. Her eyes were wide with terror, her clothes torn to shreds, clinging to her skin with bits of gore. 

“Help me!” she shrieked. “Please, somebody, help me!” 

I was confused. The warden had locked her out of the dorms, sure, but couldn’t she just go home and sleep? 

Then I saw it. A dark shape followed close behind her. As it drew nearer, I realized it was a monkey, no taller than my thigh. Its fur was golden, but its eyes glowed a ghastly green in the darkness. It was grinning, a twisted, toothy smile on its face. 

And slung over its shoulder was a massive axe, taller than the monkey itself and dripping with fresh blood. 

It cackled, raising the axe to swing at Agnes’s back. “Fun, fun, so much fun!” it chattered. 

The axe bit into her back, and she let out a piercing scream. She scrambled toward the dorms, but as she reached the door, she was thrown back by an invisible wall. She collapsed, her face a canvas of pure despair. 

“I can’t get in! I can’t get in!” she wailed, before turning to hurl rocks at the monkey in a fit of madness. 

I was getting worried about her mental state. “Hey, shouldn’t we help her? I think she’s 

a breakdown.” 

The other players had already backed away, watching the scene with cold, detached eyes. 

“Help her? How?” Marcus scoffed. “She failed the task. She can’t enter the safe house. Her time is up. And this,” he added, glaring at me, “is all your fault.” 

I still didn’t quite get what they were saying. But she was bleeding everywhere. I know it’s a game, but did it have to be this realistic? 

I sighed and turned to go inside, but Agnes’s hand shot out and grabbed my ankle, 

“Save me,” she begged, her voice a raw whisper. “Please? You helped me once before. You’r 

a 

à good person. Please, help me!” 

My hearing might be bad, but I’m not blind. This woman had been nothing but condescending to me from the start. And besides, zoo animals are inherently dangerous. It looked to me like the monkey was just playing a little rough. 

“No,” I said flatly. “You should go home. You’re not cut out to be a zookeeper.” 

Hearing that, the last of her hope died. She coughed up a mouthful of blood and glared at all of us. “You’ll… you’ll all die.” 

Then her eyes rolled back, and she went limp. Her body vanished into thin air. 

The axe–wielding monkey was now at the dormitory door. It tilted its head, looking at me. Then, it raised its axe and charged. 

The other players watched with cold amusement.