Chapter 11: The Staff Member in the Red Uniform

Suddenly, a creature leapt out, and Lin An instinctively raised his hand.

In the next instant, however, his arm was seized in a firm grip.

“No harming the pets,” Ye Luo said in a low, steady voice.

A chill ran through Lin An’s heart, and he lowered his hand.

When something suddenly approached, it was only natural to be on guard or even to strike back.

But—

God only knew where the boundaries lay when it came to the rule forbidding harm to the pets.

What if even a single hair lost from that monkey counted as harm?

Lin An dared not move a muscle.

The monkey sprang straight toward the two of them.

Ye Luo regarded the monkey coolly. Its appearance was almost identical to the monkeys outside, but its size was much larger.

Standing upright, the monkey was a little taller than Ye Luo herself—a truly intimidating presence.

She glanced downward and noticed the monkey’s claws gleaming coldly; within the nails, there were unmistakable traces of blood and flesh.

Following Ye Luo’s gaze, Lin An saw it as well. His face turned pale, and he whispered, “Sister Ye, that’s the one—the monkey that attacked the last person.”

The monkey looked at them, then suddenly let out a harsh, cackling laugh.

It opened its mouth and spoke: “Does either of you have badge number 15? I’m number 15 as well. We can swap badges.”

Number 15?

Lin An instinctively glanced at Ye Luo.

Ye Luo, as it happened, was number 15.

He looked at the monkey again.

When the monkey shifted, the badge hanging from its neck was clearly marked as number 15.

Could it be that—

They had found their target so easily?

Ye Luo raised an eyebrow. The number on her own badge had been facing inward, but now she revealed it. “I’m number 15.”

The monkey’s expression brightened. “Good, let’s swap. Then all you need to do is find somewhere to hide for half an hour, and you’ll be able to leave.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Ye Luo nodded.

“Of course!” The monkey was visibly impatient. “Let’s both take off our badges and exchange them at the same time.”

“All right,” Ye Luo agreed at once.

Lin An grew uneasy.

Finding the number 15 monkey was certainly a good thing.

But the blood and flesh under its nails reminded him just how horribly the last person had died.

Was it really safe to remove the badge?

But Ye Luo’s decisions had never been wrong before.

Though anxious, Lin An kept silent.

Ye Luo’s hand slowly reached for her badge.

The monkey’s eyes tracked her every movement.

“Why aren’t you taking off your badge?” Ye Luo suddenly paused and asked.

With its prey seemingly about to bite, the monkey grew irritable. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it now...”

Just as it was about to remove the token from its neck—

Ye Luo abruptly grabbed Lin An and whispered, “Run.”

The two of them spun around and bolted.

The monkey was still frozen, hand on its badge, stunned.

It glanced at the bloody flesh under its nails and suddenly seemed to understand.

With a weird, cackling laugh, it muttered, “So that’s where I slipped up.”

Ye Luo and Lin An were now on guard—they would not be fooled so easily.

The monkey thought for a moment, then headed in the opposite direction.

After running for some distance, Ye Luo finally stopped.

The monkey had not pursued.

Lin An spoke softly, “Sister Ye, that monkey really was number 15—the same as yours.”

Their own badges could not be taken off.

But they still had to make the exchange.

The situation had become a dilemma.

With an impassive expression, Ye Luo said, “Guess why the previous person removed their badge.”

Lin An’s face changed. “Did the monkey use the same line? But that person wasn’t number 15.”

Ye Luo replied calmly, “That only proves the monkeys here can freely change their badge numbers.”

Previously, that energetic young man must have seen a badge matching his own and believed the monkey’s deception, so he removed his badge.

Otherwise,

He’d have had no reason to walk into his own death.

Lin An was shocked. “If that’s the case, we might never be able to complete the task.”

“As long as there’s a task, there must be a way to complete it. Besides, the staff’s words aren’t necessarily all trustworthy,” Ye Luo said quietly.

She had learned one thing by now:

Never believe every rule—where there are true rules, there must also be false ones.

It had been five minutes since entering the monkey enclosure.

Ye Luo was only sure of one thing: the rule forbidding removal of the badge was most likely true.

As for the rest, she would have to explore further.

They continued on.

Ye Luo and Lin An encountered several more monkeys along the way.

The monkeys cackled at them, but perhaps because they had not broken any rules, none made a move.

Just then—

A staff member in red appeared at the roadside.

The rules stated that all staff in the Pet Paradise wore green uniforms. If a red-clad staff member appeared, they were to be ignored.

Was this rule true or false?

What should they do?

The red-clad staff member had already seen them and wore a warm, enthusiastic smile. “I have bananas here, the monkeys’ favorite. If you’d like to feed them, you can get some from me.”

The rules had clearly forbidden feeding the pets.

But another rule said: If a pet goes berserk, feed it immediately.

Ye Luo had just been wondering where she might find food if she needed to feed a pet.

Now, food had come to her.

She hesitated for a moment.

She did not respond to the red-clad staff member, but instead pulled Lin An to stand behind him.

The staff member’s smile remained as bright as ever. “It’s free! Miss this chance, and there won’t be another.”

Ye Luo said nothing, but slowly reached up and removed her badge.

The staff member stared in confusion.

In the next moment—

The monkeys, as if sensing something, began to gather.

They looked eager, ready to attack at any moment.

But with the staff member blocking the way, they did not act immediately.

With a scowl, the staff member threw out several bananas.

The monkeys immediately scrambled for them, temporarily forgetting to attack.

“Put your badge back on,” the red-clad staff member said through gritted teeth.

“All right.” Ye Luo calmly put her badge back on. “I’d like a few bananas as well.”

She was nearly certain now—the red-clad staff and the monkeys were mutually wary. The monkeys posed the greatest threat to the guests, and if the red-clad staff could make the monkeys hesitate, it was best to heed his words.

At the same time—

Ye Luo was thinking.

If the red-clad staff were the monkeys’ adversary, then—could the green-uniformed staff, said by the rules to be trustworthy, really be believed?

Probably not.

The staff member, face black with irritation, took out two bananas and tossed them to Ye Luo.

Ye Luo caught them securely.

“And me?” Lin An quickly asked.

The staff member seemed deeply displeased, but handed out two more bananas.

“Could we have a bit more?” Ye Luo pressed her luck.

“No,” the staff member replied, expressionless.

“Then I’ll just have to take off my badge again,” Ye Luo said tentatively.

“As you wish,” the staff member replied, still expressionless.

Now Ye Luo was certain: two bananas were the limit.

“Thank you,” she said.

The staff member snorted coldly and turned to leave.

He moved quickly, soon vanishing into the darkness.

Ye Luo frowned, suddenly sensing something was wrong.

She spun around.

Behind her—

Several monkeys had risen to their feet, their furry faces twisted in chilling grins.

Most terrifying of all—

Their eyes were all red!

The monkeys—

Had gone mad!