"A ghost story epidemic?" Xiao Zhize repeated Old Du's words, confused. "Does that mean we have to live outside?"
"You are currently implicated in a ghost story from this zoo." Old Du said, "In addition, as long as you stay in this zoo, strange things will haunt you. Most are detrimental, imposing many restrictions on you. They might even kill you outright, turning you into another ghost story told by the tourists. Ghost stories are like a virus, they only take effect when they latch onto a 'person.' The visitor center is crowded tonight, it's the perfect time for a ghost story to break out. If it spreads amongst people... it's going to be terrifying."
Old Du had now unusually spoken at great length, seeming to want to make these points entirely clear. He then added, "Avoid those employees who appear strange. You can ask them if you have a problem, or seek them out in times of need, but don't chat or assist them with any work."
He glanced back at Yu Liang and Xiao Zhize, his tone remained calm, merely stating the facts, "If you attract them, I will not hesitate to leave you behind."
"I understand, I won't attempt any unnecessary actions." Xiao Zhize nodded in agreement. He hadn't completely grasped the magnitude of the situation yet, but seeing Old Du's seriousness, he made sure to take the warning to heart.
"If an employee continues to hound you, take the chance to kill them. Dump the body in a rubbish bin and no one will bother you." Old Du continued, "These types of employees are not protected by the park."
"Kill... them?" Xiao Zhize was shocked. He hadn't prepared himself for that yet. He swallowed and questioned from a different angle, "Are they human or something else?"
"They're not human. Don't feel guilty about it." Old Du seemed to see through Xiao Zhize's worries, he added, "These creatures derived from ghost stories have to operate within certain restrictions, this is a rule that cannot be crossed."
Yu Liang, however, let out a silent sigh. If he had known that such a thing would happen earlier, it would have been better, but it was too late. A ghost story had already chosen him, throwing him into a detrimental situation, as per Old Du's account.
Not being able to be alone, this rule disincentivized him from solitary exploration and keeping secrets...
Wait.
A glimmer of insight suddenly stirred in Yu Liang's mind as if he'd thought of something. His eyes shimmered faintly.
The reason he escaped earlier was because of a contest between two crocodiles which suggested that the restriction in the ghost story was not conceptual. His fear of being alone stemmed from the crocodile itself. Crocodiles have a certain level of rationality and they can make a choice to eat a monkey or not.
The crocodile he encountered had clearly not let him off the hook, which meant it was probably tracking him, waiting for another crocodile to appear.
Being alone is not an absolute danger. If the lurking crocodile senses the presence of another crocodile in the shadows, it would naturally restrain its primal instincts.
"Let's go, we don't have a car. Turtle Island is very far from here." Old Du headed towards the center of the zoo, "I hope to get there within 90 minutes."
Yu Liang glanced at the time displayed on the LED screen in front of the grassland animal museum. The time in the park was now 12 o'clock, lunchtime. But he took his dinner right before coming to the zoo and wasn't hungry.
He recalled the map he had just seen. Based on the scale he'd estimated, he was able to roughly calculate the distance to Turtle Island.
About 8 kilometers. It wouldn't be impossible to arrive there by foot in 90 minutes.
Looking at Old Du with his immense backpack, Yu Liang was amazed by his strength. Despite such a weight, he had to be prepared for combat at any time. This trek seemed like a walk in the park for him.
Fast paced Xiao Zhize chimed in, "Is there a tour bus in this zoo? Like the driver's car we just saw..."
"There are buses, one every 15 minutes." Old Du didn't look back, "But there is a chance you'll encounter related bus ghost stories. With all the new visitors entering the park today, the odds of encountering a ghost story on the bus are higher. Regarding the bus driven by the Wu brothers, they risked their lives for it. In this zoo, you have to risk your life to get extra resources."
"Alright." Hearing this explanation, Xiao Zhize just nodded, but then his stomach growled, drawing the attention of Old Du and Yu Liang.
Old Du's response was simple, "There's a convenience store up ahead. You can grab something to eat."
Yet the glance Yu Liang cast towards Xiao Zhize was somewhat contemplative. He inquired, "Xiao Zhize, what time was it when you first arrived at the zoo?"
"Around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, why?" Xiao Zhize looked at Yu Liang, puzzled.
Yu Liang shook his head understandingly, not saying anything else.
Old Du, however, appeared to understand Yu Liang's train of thought. He took a sideways glance and commented, "Yes, all the visitors have crossed over from different times, but these timelines all fall within this century."
Xiao Zhize was startled, he looked at Yu Liang, then at Old Du, not entirely understanding their exchange.
"So what are we supposed to do on Turtle Island?" Seeing that Old Du had already caught on to his line of thought, Yu Liang swallowed his doubts and asked directly.
"Gather resources." Old Du didn't hide anything, "If we live outdoors, we need plenty of lights. There are things as frightening as ghost stories lurking in the darkness."
" So, Turtle Island has a lot of power sources?" Yu Liang made note of this.
Old Du shook his head. He pulled out a cloth bag from his backpack and opened it, revealing a small tortoise, about the size of a pet turtle.
"This is a turtle." He continued as he detached a flashlight from his belt. Unscrewing the flashlight, he poured out a black mass that emitted a faint stench onto the ground.
Yu Liang curiously watched the flashlight. When he first saw it on the bus, he thought it was strange. Why would a flashlight be smeared with blood, even the lens was soaked in a dark red hue. Now having a closer look, he realized that the blood was seeping out of the flashlight, not splattered on from being used as a club.
As for what slipped out of the flashlight, he couldn't identify it, but it was appalling.
"Here, take it." Old Du passed the flashlight to Xiao Zhize. With his freed hand, he took a small knife and quickly cut off half of the turtle's head, then swiftly stuffed the turtle carcass back into the flashlight, closing it and said, "This is a rule I discovered by chance. Some standalone characters can be physically altered to achieve a different meaning. 'Turtle', when you crosscut its head, it will transform into 'electricity.' If you stuff a turtle carcass of appropriate size into an electrical device, it can provide a unit of electricity."
Turtle? Electricity?
Xiao? Moon?
Yu Liang's mind was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. A terrifying thought struck him.
If Xiao Zhize's head were cut off, would it turn into a 'moon' symbol?