2 Chapter 2: The Monkey Who Cannot Be Alone

"Welcome to the World of Strange Tales."

A voice resonates in this pure white world, and suddenly, the flat world begins to take shape.

Countless simple lines combine to form a cartoon drawing-like scene. Different blocks of color surface, followed by the addition of billions of minute details. A complete world appears before Yu Liang.

"Where am I..." He looks around at the spacious hall and down at his standing posture, momentarily stunned.

Just a moment ago, he was lying under his bed, and before he knew it, he was standing here. The transition didn't feel like getting dizzy and being dropped here; it felt more like a flash, instantly moving from his home to this location.

The World of Strange Tales?

Yu Liang recalls the notification sound still echoing in his ears, and he can't help but become silently alert.

Whether it's the name or the way it appears, there's a supernatural meaning to it. Naturally, he wouldn't dismiss it as some stupid reality show like the typical side characters do.

My phone...

His phone is gone too.

He pats himself down and verifies this fact. He then observes the entire hall. The decoration here is slightly old, but very tidy. The decorative style tends towards childish and warm colors, but there's no one around.

There are enclosed walls on three sides with no discernible exits. In front of Yu Liang is the ticket booth. Four channel barriers block the path forward. His gaze passes through the ticket booth and lands a little further away on the dimly lit exit of the hall.

Yu Liang approaches the ticket booth. When he is just three or five steps away from the barriers, the red lights on them turn green, and the barriers lift, revealing the passage behind them.

After a brief hesitation, Yu Liang walks straight through the barriers, and a voice comes from the machine, "Ding, identity verification, wish you a wonderful life in Changhong Zoo."

"A wonderful life..." He murmurs the phrase, and goosebumps rise on his skin. Paired with a monotonous electronic voice, the words sound like a bone-chilling hand lightly brushing against his skin.

"Changhong Zoo welcomes you."

As he enters a white expanse, a notification sound echoes by Yu Liang's ear again, and he looks around to find himself outdoors.

The decor inside the zoo remains relaxed and warm. Cartoon signs indicating directions to visitors can be seen everywhere. Trees are densely planted along the roads that crisscross with each other. Yu Liang also notices a small lake and a large neatly trimmed lawn not far away.

Merely looking at the scenery inside the park, he would be more than happy to take a tour.

However, despite the vastness of the zoo, there is no trace of any people or animals. The silence is somewhat oppressive. Yu Liang's ears even start to buzz—a sensation he has only experienced before in extreme quiet when wearing earplugs.

Can an outdoor place be this quiet?

Is this still a zoo?

Yu Liang gazes at the signboard and semi-open-air buildings not far away, lost in thought.

"Grassland Animal Area." He reads the words on the sign. He does not see any animals there, but the smell characteristic of large animals wafts through the air.

"Sir, can I assist you in any way?" Suddenly, a polite inquiry from a man comes from the side.

Yu Liang turns his head toward the sound. The man standing in front of him is a staff member in a light green uniform. His face radiates an official standard fake smile. His rosy cheeks are highlighted sharply against his pale skin. His eyes are large and focused. This face reminds Yu Liang of an enlarged Billy the Doll.

"Sir, it seems this is your first visit to our Changhong Zoo. Would you like me to be your guide?" The Doll-staff courteously asks, maintaining a distance of one meter from Yu Liang.

A guide?

Yu Liang silently repeats the word. Instead of directly refusing, he asks, "Could I get a zoo map? If you could introduce the surroundings, that would be great, thank you."

Emotionally, he is very resistant to going around with such a strange-looking staff member. However, if he interprets the current situation as some kind of reality game, then this guy, who appeared as soon as he entered the zoo and claims to be a "guide"...

Is probably here to help newcomers?

"Regarding the map, there will be one at the entrance of each exhibition area," Doll-staff pauses slightly. "As for the situation here, as you can see, we are the largest zoo in the city, known for our unique man-made landscapes, abundant animal resources, and various themed activities."

"Themed activities?" Yu Liang repeats, uncertain. Is his admission related to these themed activities?

The Doll-staff continues to smile. He naturally introduces the following topic, "Yes, for example, we are currently having a night exhibition. Staff select lucky visitors who, if they can answer a question about animals, can get a night exhibition ticket."

"Ask away."

Yu Liang also felt that this event was somewhat abrupt, but that didn't prevent him from participating. If this zoo was a large-scale escape room game, the night exhibition was an extra area to explore. The choice to go or not was in his hands, but if he missed the chance to get a ticket, there might not be another opportunity.

"Alright." The doll-like staff member began walking towards the nearby grassland animal exhibit area, "On a small island, there is a monkey and several crocodiles. Assume that these crocodiles think alike and all have a strong desire to eat this monkey. However, if a crocodile eats the monkey, it will turn into a monkey. Then, what would happen on this island?"

"Hmm?" Yu Liang paused. He had thought it would be a question about animal facts, not a logic question. His brain instinctively started thinking about this problem.

Firstly, such a logic question wouldn't be too realistic. There shouldn't be a scenario where the crocodiles share the monkey and all turn into monkeys; otherwise, the question would have no point.

Obviously, the key to this problem is that the crocodiles think alike. They are equally rational and greedy, which leads to three possible scenarios.

If the crocodiles have no rationality, then they would simply eat the monkey, become monkeys themselves, until the last crocodile becomes a monkey, leaving no crocodile behind.

Secondly, if the crocodiles were only somewhat rational, they would probably stop when there are only two crocodiles left. At that point, whoever ate the monkey first would turn into one and be eaten, leaving two crocodiles and one monkey.

The final situation is where the crocodiles are perfectly rational. Based on the second scenario, no matter how many crocodiles there were initially, once the number reaches an even amount, they would suppress their desire to eat the monkey.

That is the answer from a mathematical logic perspective. Yu Liang also considered the question from a strategic game theory viewpoint, and the answer remained the same. Thus, he refocused his attention on the doll-like staff member in front of him and quickly responded, "There will always be one monkey, while the number of crocodiles will be even. Zero, two, or more."

"Congratulations, you're right," the corners of the staff member's mouth curled up into a grin as he handed over the ticket, "sir, this is your reward."

"Thank you," Yu Liang took the ticket. The paper felt rough with a magenta base color sprinkled with tiny bumps. The texts and images were displayed in black and white. There were animals in various poses, but due to the poor quality of ink, all the animal faces were one big black blob.

[Everyday from 20:00 to 06:00 the next day, Changhong Zoo's night exhibition is open for you]

Until 6 am the next day? These time slots aren't exactly fit for living people to attend exhibits.

Yu Liang subconsciously pondered, his gaze moved to the side, noticing that he had already arrived inside the grassland animal exhibit area. Right next to him was an educational billboard—the cartoon image of a python and the rounded font descriptions.

"The python is a greedy, non-venomous snake, with a big and long body, can extend up to about 7 meters. They have a big mouth, can swallow many animals, even a grown person."

Greedy?

At the same time, the doll-like staff member halted his steps, turned around to face Yu Liang, habitually keeping a one-meter distance, then threw another question, "You answered correctly indeed, only two crocodiles remain. Now, if one of the crocodiles definitely wants to eat the monkey, what should it do?"

This question broke Yu Liang's train of thought, though the question was not difficult, so he answered without hesitation, "Hide in the dark and sneakily eat the monkey."

That wasn't too hard to understand, as long the other crocodile didn't know it had eaten the monkey and changed, it naturally would not dare to easily bite the monkey.

Wait a moment!

As if he realized something, Yu Liang abruptly raised his head and looked around. The shadow of the building covered him and the doll-like staff member. This place was still unfamiliar, but obviously more remote compared to before. On the puppet-face, the high-raised smile persisted, the shadow of the apple muscle fell on the corner of the mouth, making it all the more eerie.

"You?!" He took a few big steps back, staring at the puppet-face staff member with a horrified and dubious expression.

He had been paying attention to the doll earlier, alert for any unusual movements, but he was too busy thinking about the staff's question and didn't notice the hidden threat in the remote environment.

"Congratulations, you've got it right," the staff member smiled as he ripped off his puppet face cleanly, much like shedding a layer of skin.

This move seemed to push a switch. His jaw and snout began to transform, steadily growing wider and longer. A protrusion extended forward from between his jaws, and his nostrils were situated at the anterior end of the long snout. His head now looked almost identical to a crocodile's.

The wide mouth moved slightly; the sharp teeth showed a hint of luster. The staff member still maintained a human shape, just that the body had shot up sharply in height to over two meters, muscly, much stronger than an average person.

This transformation did not temporarily stop time, so Yu Liang had already turned around and run toward the broad road, without a second thought about the transforming staff behind him.

His gaze rapidly shifted, taking in every detail ahead in his line of sight.

Where's the other crocodile?!

He must find the other crocodile, right now...

The only thing that could save him, the monkey, was the second crocodile!

As long as both crocodiles are present, neither dares to eat the monkey first!

Meanwhile, a translucent blue panel appeared in Yu Liang's field of vision.

[You have triggered a subline story: Monkey That Cannot Be Alone]

[Note: Make sure that there is always someone around you, otherwise... bad things will happen.]