"New mission: Stay undetected. Punishment for failure: Loss of smell for 24 hours."
Jiang's pulse raced. The system was back, and it was giving him a clear directive: do not let her find you.
Panic surged through him as he glanced around. There wasn't much time. She was coming closer. If she scanned the penguin area with that compass and it lit up red… he was done for.
Desperate, Jiang made a decision. He waddled toward the back of the enclosure, away from the prying eyes of the tourists and the woman, and did his best to fake being sick. He slumped over, his body shaking as he let out pitiful honks. If he could convince the zookeepers that something was wrong, maybe they'd take him out for care. Maybe then he could avoid being detected.
"It worked.
'Hey!' one of the zoo workers shouted, rushing over. 'I think something's wrong with this one!'
Jiang's body trembled as the worker crouched down beside him, concern etched on her face. He had done a convincing job, letting his head droop and his eyes close to slits. His flippers barely moved, his honks weak and drawn out. The other penguins around him seemed oblivious, waddling on with their usual routines, but the worker was focused solely on him.
'He's not looking good,' she said to another worker, who joined her, their faces shadowed with concern. 'We should get him out of here, just to be safe.'
Jiang's heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his body still. He could hear the faint shuffle of the woman's footsteps growing closer, and with every passing second, he felt the tension winding tighter and tighter inside him. He couldn't let her see him, couldn't let that compass light up red near him.
The workers acted quickly. Before the woman could get any closer, Jiang was gently scooped up and placed in a portable crate. The world tilted and spun as they carried him out of the enclosure, his vision blurred by the mesh sides of the crate. He kept his breathing shallow, trying to stay as still as possible. The system had said he had to stay undetected, and this was the best chance he had.
As the workers carried him into the back care center, Jiang let out a mental sigh of relief. The woman wouldn't be able to find him here, at least for now.
'We'll get you checked out,' one of the workers said, her voice soothing. 'Hang in there, little guy.'
They set the crate down in a small room lined with shelves of medical equipment. A bright light hung overhead, and Jiang squinted as the zookeepers opened the crate and gently lifted him out, placing him on a padded table. One of the workers ran a gloved hand over his feathers, checking for any signs of injury or illness.
'I don't see anything obvious,' the worker muttered. 'But let's run some tests just to be sure.'
Jiang tried to stay calm, but his mind was racing. He had managed to evade detection for now, but how long could he keep this up? The system had gone silent again after issuing its warning, and the woman was still out there. She had been searching the zoo with that strange compass, and he had no idea what she was looking for, but it was clearly him.
Why is she so fixated on me? Jiang wondered, his heart racing. What does she want?
The workers fussed over him for a while longer, their voices soft and reassuring as they checked his vitals and ran their hands over his body, but Jiang's mind was elsewhere. He could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on him, the danger lurking just outside this room. He couldn't afford to relax, not yet.
The Waiting Game
Hours passed. The zookeepers had left Jiang alone in the back room after determining that there was nothing wrong with him. They had said something about keeping him overnight for observation, just in case, but Jiang's thoughts were elsewhere. He kept glancing at the door, expecting the woman to burst in at any moment, but the room remained quiet.
The zoo had closed for the day, the hustle and bustle of tourists fading into the stillness of the evening. The only sounds that reached Jiang's ears were the occasional calls of distant animals and the hum of the ventilation system.
What now? he thought, his mind swirling with uncertainty. I can't stay here forever.
The system had been eerily quiet since the mission had been issued. It hadn't offered him any further guidance, and Jiang was left to wonder what the next step was. The only thing he knew for sure was that he had to stay hidden, but how long could he keep this up? The woman had come dangerously close, and Jiang had a feeling she wasn't going to give up so easily.
As the minutes ticked by, Jiang's exhaustion began to catch up with him. His body ached, his mind felt heavy, and he realized just how tired he was. He hadn't slept properly in days, and the constant stress of staying on high alert was wearing him down.
He fought to stay awake, but eventually, his eyes grew too heavy to keep open. Despite the danger, despite the looming threat, Jiang's body demanded rest. He let his eyes close, and soon, he drifted off into a restless sleep.
A Familiar Face
Jiang wasn't sure how long he had been asleep when he started to dream again. The world around him shifted, and he found himself standing—not as a penguin, but as a human—in the same strange, misty landscape he had seen before. The air was thick with fog, the ground soft beneath his feet, and the only sound was the distant murmur of something unknown.
And then, through the haze, she appeared.
The woman from the alley. The one who had turned him into a penguin.
But this time, she didn't seem menacing. Her movements were slow, graceful, as she approached him. Her face was partially hidden by the hood of her black cloak, but Jiang could feel her eyes on him, studying him with an intensity that made his skin crawl.
"Why are you doing this to me?" Jiang demanded, his voice trembling with a mix of fear and anger. "Why a penguin? What do you want from me?"
The woman didn't answer immediately. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, as if considering his words. Then, in a voice as soft as a whisper, she said, "You're not ready to understand yet. But you will be."
Jiang clenched his fists, frustration bubbling up inside him. "I've done everything the system asked. I survived. I completed the missions. What's the point of all this? Why am I here?"
Again, the woman hesitated, her eyes flickering with something Jiang couldn't quite read. "The system is a tool," she said finally. "A tool to shape you into what you need to become."
Jiang's heart raced. "Become what?"
The woman didn't answer. Instead, she stepped closer, reaching out a hand. For a moment, Jiang thought she was going to touch him, but she stopped just short, her fingers hovering inches from his skin.
"Please pass," she whispered.
And then, just like that, the dream began to fade. The mist around him thickened, the world blurring into nothingness. Jiang felt himself being pulled away, back into the waking world.
Waking in the Care Center
Jiang woke with a start, his heart racing. He was back in the zoo's care center, still in his penguin form, lying on the same padded table where the workers had left him. His body felt heavy with exhaustion, but his mind was sharp, the words from the dream echoing in his head.
"Please pass."
What does that even mean? Jiang thought, frustration gnawing at him. He replayed the woman's cryptic words over and over, but no matter how hard he tried to decipher them, he couldn't make sense of it. Pass what? Is the system just another test?
Jiang shook his head and tried to focus. He had bigger problems right now. The woman was still out there, and the system's ominous warning echoed in his mind: Stay undetected.
As he lay there, the door to the care center creaked open, and Jiang's heart skipped a beat. He tensed up, half-expecting the woman from his dreams to walk in. But instead, it was the zookeeper from before. She smiled at him warmly as she approached his table, the softness of her voice soothing his nerves.
"You're doing much better now," she said, running a hand over his feathers. "We'll keep you here just a little longer for observation, but you're almost ready to go back."
Jiang wanted to sigh in relief, but he knew he couldn't relax just yet. He had to stay sharp. The woman was still out there, searching for him. And the system? It remained silent after issuing its warning. What are they both playing at?
The zookeeper took her time cleaning him up, gently brushing his feathers and speaking to him in a way that reminded him of his humanity, even as he sat trapped in this penguin body. Jiang's mind wandered to the absurdity of it all—how surreal it was to receive comfort from a zookeeper while knowing a supernatural creature was actively hunting him down.
It was a strange mix of emotions: embarrassment, helplessness, but also, in some small way, gratitude. If only I could explain everything to her, he thought. But there was no way to make her understand, and trying to communicate as a penguin was impossible.
As time passed, the tension in the air grew thick. Jiang could feel it, even if the zookeeper couldn't. Something was coming. He could sense the danger creeping closer. And then, just as the zookeeper prepared to leave the room, the door creaked open again.
This time, Jiang's heart sank.
It was her.