"Hm, dying in the garden and turning into a staff member?" The Master of Zheng Sha leaned against Zhang Yuanqing, tilting her head. "With my qualifications, I'm certainly capable of being a staff member. If I can retain my sense of self, that wouldn't be too bad." How terribly bad, though—now she's just a puppet in the zoo! Zhang Yuanqing silently complained in his heart, while softly agreeing, "Such a unique perspective. Sister is indeed an extraordinary woman. Hmm, let's flip the page and take a look at the rules." When facing someone truly eccentric, you can only soothe them. "Excellent!" The Master of Zheng Sha looked delightfully placated, flipping through the preface, and the first page of the Employee Handbook came into view. Rule One: When you spot visitors in the outer areas of the zoo, approach them politely and inquire whether they need assistance. Fulfill all their requests. If you assist the same person twice, congratulations—you will be replaced by them as a zoo employee, and you will receive their body. Two: When you see colleagues in black employee uniforms outside the zoo perimeter, do not pay attention to them. Do not speak. Remember: do not speak at all. Three: Each evening, you must patrol along the designated route and report any issues to the zoo management. Four: If, while patrolling the core area, you encounter a colleague in black uniform, shout out loudly to attract the attention of management or another colleague, and guide them out of the core area. If management or colleagues do not respond, you may seek assistance from the pandas or the white lion. Five: If heavy fog is encountered, remain still at your current location. Do not move. Do not speak. Wait for the fog to clear. Six: When passing through the Cuscuta Garden, proceed as quickly as possible. If someone calls out to you, do not turn around. Seven: There are no cats in the zoo. If you see a cat, immediately stop your patrol and report to management or the white lion. Eight: Remember: pandas are gentle, endearing, and charming animals. If they are not, then simply loudly state your name to the employee badge. Nine: Pandas are worthy of respect—they must be bowed to, and remember, never mention the term "iron-eating beast" in their presence. Ten: The monkeys in the garden do not speak. Eleven: There is only one patrol officer assigned to each route. If you see a colleague in blue uniform while on your route, please note his name tag. If the name tag is still there, call out his name. If it’s missing, immediately… run. Twelve: Each patrol must be completed within thirty minutes. If it exceeds thirty minutes, pay attention to the color of your uniform and run back without hesitation. Thirteen: When not on patrol, please remain in the employee dormitory and avoid going out. If you hear unusual sounds, lie down on your bed and pretend to be asleep—do not respond, and absolutely do not leave the bed. The first page ends here, but there is a handwritten addition at the bottom: "Additional rule: If your surname is Zhang, please strike it out on your name tag." Don't utter the name Zhang—once it's spoken, whether by the one calling or the one being called, it will immediately catch their attention. Zhang Yuanqing immediately recalled the name tag with the surname crossed out, and now the reason was clear. This new rule was clearly aimed at me—no, at my father. He turned to the Palace Master of Zhishik, only to find she was just now lifting her head, meeting his gaze. "This isn't a rule," she said. "How do you mean?" Zhang Yuanqing listened intently. The Palace Master smiled warmly. "Just hold onto my waist, and I'll tell you." The silver-robe Princess, who had been rummaging through boxes and cabinets, couldn't help but lift her head, her crimson eyes now serious. This was a truly formidable fox-like woman—compared to her, Guan Ya, the Queen, and Xie Lingxi, their grace and poise seemed quite lacking. This woman would surely outshine all the beloved ladies of Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun and one by one eliminate them. The silver-robe Princess felt a deep sense of apprehension. At this moment, facing such peril, it truly wasn't the time to uphold the virtues of a man. Zhang Yuanqing hesitated, yet gently wrapped his arms around the palace master's slender waist, finding the touch surprisingly delightful—so soft and delicate, it left him enchanted. "The rules of rule-type items remain constant; I've never heard of them being altered at will. The supplementary notes in the employee handbook seem more like taboos than actual rules," she said. "I see—mentioning the 'unfaithful one' would provoke it," Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brows. "Then, by introducing myself as the son of Zhang Zizhen, would I be setting myself on a path to certain doom?" He had initially held out some hope that the spirit of the zoo would, upon learning of his lineage, show leniency, even turn against the rules. "Good—that's settled. Moreover, your initial expectations were off. The very nature of rule-type items' rules isn't something the items themselves can modify. Otherwise, how could they be called rules?" the palace master replied. "How do you know what I'm thinking? You know me so well," Zhang Yuanqing observed, studying the palace master “…Don’t waste words—haven’t even finished reading the manual yet.” The Princess of Zhishou flipped to the next page, only to find the content behind it torn away. “None left,” she said with a delicate tone. “The tone should be more serious at this point.” “But being held by you makes me feel so happy,” the Princess Yin Yao immediately adopted a more serious demeanor. Zhang Yuanqing sighed, “I knew it wouldn’t be that simple. How could they have just poured all the instructions into your hands? Then the rule-based items would be too easy to overcome.” “No—just telling you doesn’t mean you can overcome them,” the Princess of Zhizheng gently shook her head. “For instance, Rule Eight: the monkey doesn’t speak. But what if it does speak? The manual doesn’t mention that. There are many such considerations, yet no solutions are provided.” “Without solutions, it might mean certain death,” Zhang Yuanqing sighed. In that moment, he truly grasped the terrifying nature of the master-level rule-based items. The Red Dance Shoes are also a rule-based item, but they have only one rule. In contrast, the zoo is filled with countless rules—once any one of them is triggered, the person might instantly revert to the spiritual realm. Even though he now possesses a variety of backup strategies and tools, it's still extremely difficult for him to survive. Nor is he alone—his sister, the Princess of Zhiguan, would likely face life-threatening danger if she violated any of the rules. The reason is simple: the Princess is a Level 7 Sovereign, while the Dog Elder is Level 8. Yet, the Level 8 Dog Elder has never fully mastered the zoo. Sovereign-level rule-based items typically carry significant prestige, but the zoo is remarkably progressive—some of its rule-based items even emerged after the spiritual realm itself was established. As he thought, he saw Princess Yin Yao lift a dusty pillow, then raise her small horn proudly: "We have a new lead!" Zhang Yuanqing and Princess Zhishake immediately approached. Lady Yin Yao was holding a small notepad with several lines of writing: "Another colleague has 'died'—they've lost their lives twice now. Since this incident happened, people have been passing away in the dormitory every day. We can't stay here anymore. Good news—the administrator has agreed to build us a new dormitory." The following pages of the notepad were blank, never used. This information clarified the reason for the dormitory's abandonment: one employee had suffered an incident, after which staff members began to die off one by one. Yet the zoo's management failed to address the issue and instead chose to relocate the staff. The Dog Elder is truly falling short—yes, it must be the Dog Elder. It can't be something left over from my father's time. Zhang Yuanqing's attention didn't linger on the notepad for long. He said, "Let's look for the employee handbook—see if there's a complete one." He then handed the handbook to the Princess. The three of them continued searching, but found nothing. Good news—the room was spacious, with thirteen houses still awaiting search. They systematically checked each room, thoroughly searching the first floor, yet still failed to locate the second employee handbook. Then they began searching the second floor. Finally, they pushed open the rightmost room on the second floor, the very last one. Unlike the other rooms, this one was locked—secured with a U-shaped latch. The person who had locked the door seemed afraid something might emerge, so they kept it closed even after relocating. This room felt peculiar, and with caution, Zhang Yuanqing’s eyes grew dark with concern as he stared intently at the tightly shut door. There were no signs of any spectral activity… He released his "spirit-consuming" ability, retrieved the ghost mirror, and opened his star-eyed vision—within his face, a vibrant glow of blood radiated between his eyes, yet no change was evident. At this point, the limitations of the star-phase artistry became apparent. He could no longer determine whether the blood glow was related to entering the room. "There are no signs of life inside." The Master of the Palace of Fate offered an authoritative conclusion. "There's no trace of阴energy either," Zhang Yuanqing said. With the Master's consent, he stepped forward, grasped the U-shaped latch, and silently exerted pressure with his palm. The latch emitted a crisp "click" as he forcibly pulled it open. The door swung open, and a musty scent filled his nostrils. Zhang Yuanqing scanned the room with cautious eyes—its spacious double bed, its open long table, and then... the dust that covered every corner. It appeared ordinary, even cleaner and more orderly than the previous rooms. Princess Yin Yao leaned down to inspect the bed's base. "It's been well organized—nothing left behind," she noted. An eerie sense of cleanliness! Zhang Yuanqing and the Master of Zhishā then proceeded to the storage cabinets by the window. Four cabinets stood there, three open, one locked. The three open cabinets were completely empty—every item had been removed. "It's strange," Zhang Yuanqing said in a low voice. "The person living in this room seems to have moved out, while those in the other rooms appear to have... fled in a hurry, barely even clearing their personal belongings." The Master of Zhi Sha remained silent, approaching the only locked storage cabinet. From her sleeve, two threads of red silk emerged, coiling around the copper lock and then suddenly tightening with a firm twist. A soft "pop" sounded as the lock cracked. The two threads caught the lock rings and pulled outward, and the cabinet door swung open. Inside lay a blue uniform, a blanket, several household items, a name badge, and a notebook. Zhang Yuanqing picked up the notebook with delight, only to find it was a personal notebook, not an employee handbook. "It's not an employee handbook," Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "There's only one employee handbook in the entire dormitory building." This meant they could not complete the zoo's rules. "Wang Mingming," the Master of Zhi Sha said, taking the name badge, glancing at it, then placing it back. "Check what's written inside." As Zhang Yuanqing was speaking, he had already opened his notebook: "My name is Wang Mingming. I'm a staff member at the zoo. According to the employee handbook, I died at the zoo, but I have no memory of my past. The only thing I'm certain of is that to survive, I must work diligently. From today on, I'm an employee of the zoo, responsible for night patrols." "Managers have told us to thoroughly read the employee handbook and strictly follow its guidelines. The core area of the zoo has nine routes, and I'm in charge of the second one. This is my first patrol day—I hope everything goes smoothly." "Nothing unusual happened tonight. I'm truly fortunate." No duty tomorrow—just rest all day in the dormitory... Last night, I heard someone tapping on the window glass. I didn’t dare look toward that direction. Following the rules in the employee handbook, I stayed in bed, pretending to sleep, motionless. But I heard Li Ang, my neighbor, whispering: "The shadow outside the window is two meters tall—it’s a monster." I didn’t dare respond. This morning, Li Ang was gone! The administrator said such incidents happen frequently—it’s the fate of those who don’t follow the rules. Tonight’s patrol went smoothly—no incidents. Last night, I heard the tapping on the glass again. This morning, another person has disappeared from the dormitory. ...Another one has gone missing. Tonight’s patrol went smoothly. Another one has gone missing... Now only I remain in the dormitory. Tonight’s patrol went smoothly. Missing persons have also been reported in other dormitories... Tonight’s patrol went smoothly. "Another one has gone missing last night. Since Li Ang disappeared, colleagues in the dormitory building have been vanishing one after another. They say there's a monster outside knocking on windows every night, but it hasn't knocked on my dorm's window..." "Tonight's patrol went smoothly." "Another one has gone missing last night..." Zhang Yuanqing flipped through the pages, one by one. It was an unusual notebook—mentioning patrols and staff disappearances, but with only brief, concise notes, barely elaborating. The incident began after a series of glass-knocking events: Li Ang, who shared a dorm with Wang Ming, disappeared. Then, as if opening a Pandora's box, staff members across the dormitory began vanishing one after another. The notebook simply chronicled the gradual abandonment of the dormitory building. "The 'someone' mentioned in the sticky notes—is that Li Ang?" Lady Yin Yao quietly leaned in, catching the Princess's frown as she pondered. Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, the Princess's breath caught, and she murmured softly: "Not quite!" "That person—referring to Wang Mingming, not Li Ang." Zhang Yuanqing's pupils constricted. "Why?" Lady Yin Yao burst out, then, realizing that this unorthodox woman wouldn't answer her directly, she turned the small microphone toward Zhang Yuanqing, asking, "Why? It was Li Ang who went missing, not Wang Mingming." She had just finished reading the notes and hadn't yet had time to reflect. Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew grave. "Pay close attention to Wang Mingming's patrol records." "Patrol records…" Lady Yin Yao glanced through the notes, her tone suddenly serious. "Smooth—every single day, consistently smooth!" "Yes, every day has been smooth, but that's impossible. If every day had been smooth, why are there so many rules and so many points of caution listed in the manual?" Zhang Yuanqing said, his face serious. "There's only one explanation: Wang Mingming has encountered problems, but he hasn't realized it himself. Perhaps that night, the one who truly went missing wasn't Li Ang, but Wang Mingming." "...Although Lady Yin Yao was a corpse, upon reflection, she found the scene somewhat eerie. Suddenly, the Master of Zheng Sha said, 'There's another possibility: Wang Ming wasn't actually injured when the monster knocked on the windows. He must have been struck during his very first patrol, earlier on. He simply didn't realize he was unwell, so he returned to his dormitory. The monster knocking on the door in the notes—was actually Wang Ming himself. He was the one who gradually killed one after another of his colleagues, which perfectly aligns with the information left behind in the notes.' Lady Yin Yao held up her small microphone and asked, 'Then, why is this room locked?' Zhang Yuanqing's face changed: 'Wang Ming always returned to his dormitory every evening. The staff wanted to prevent this habit, so they locked his dormitory door. Unable to return to his own room, Wang Ming ended up staying in the dormitories of other employees, which is why people were dying one after another every day.' At that moment, stiff footsteps were heard along the corridor outside the room.