The zoo housed over three hundred beasts, of which twenty-three were perfect for performances,
and among these twenty-three, there was one particularly special existence, which had even completed the path in a beastified state and beca Zock’s proudest beast creation,
ultimately gaining the boss’s special approval in a brilliant performance to beco the Assistant Beast Tar.
"Carlo Pess"
During their visit to the zoo, the trio constantly felt the cold gaze of so serpent, and William also caught brief glimpses of a jade snake appearing occasionally on the zoo’s beams, in shadows, and around corners, stealthily following them.
It wasn’t until she received a suggestive glance from Zock that she finally left.
Walking in the latter part of the zoo, this area was reserved in advance by the circus, not yet allocated for any beasts, offering little to see and thus little conversation.
William, sandwiched in the middle, could clearly feel the awkwardness and the atmosphere that could erupt into conflict at any mont,
To ease such an atmosphere, William began talking about a topic that he himself was very interested in.
"Senior Zock, I was wondering, aside from performances, the main mbers of the circus like yourself must often engage in other activities, right?"
"Yes, we often have various gatherings, even those personally attended or initiated by the boss, such as the ’Magic Banquet’.
That is my favorite event. The boss requires each main mber to prepare their best dish for others to taste in the Magic Banquet Room.
The one with the highest votes will get the opportunity to have a private conversation with the boss.
My ’Exquisite Grilled Brain Blossom’ might not have taken first place, but its quality is definitely the highest."
Pfft—Catherine couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Haha! You actually have the cheek to say your own cooking is good? What so-called exquisite carving, it’s just pretty on the surface. Isn’t it that every ti the brain goes bad because you took too long to carve it?"
"Tch! How dare you talk about
when your octopus balls exploded ink all over the boss’s face? If I were the boss, I would’ve fired you on the spot."
What was originally a sowhat awkward atmosphere turned tense because of this topic.
William could only try his best to change the subject, "Speaking of which, do the main mbers spar or have a clear ranking of strength?"
This got Zock interested.
"There is a ranking, but it’s about the quality of the circus performances. The ranking is ultimately determined by the performance quality, amount of fear harvested, and the boss’s evaluation.
As for individual strength? Although not explicitly listed, everyone has a pretty clear idea. Like Miss Catherine here, her strength, of course, is at the bottom."
"How can you, as the Main Beast Tar, have the nerve to compare yourself with ? I haven’t been at the circus for long, and how long have you been here? If you want to compare, go compare yourself with boss Art."
"Art, huh? Well... he’s quite a hassle to deal with one-on-one, but if I include the beasts I’ve trained, I should barely be able to suppress him, right?"
"Tch! Excluding the boss, Art’s personal strength would definitely rank within the top three in the circus."
"Top three? You think so highly of your clown boss? Then, who do you think the other two are?"
"Who else but Uncle Jian and that freak from the acrobatic troupe."
"I don’t disagree with those two, and keep your voice down, Catherine... We are on our way to the acrobatics troupe. If that guy hears us, your boss may not be able to protect you."
Upon being reminded, Catherine shuddered, tightened her grip on William’s arm, and said no more.
Only when she realized they had not left the zoo did she understand she had been played, and she imdiately made a face at Zock across the way.
This conversation piqued William’s curiosity as well, "Who are these people you’re talking about? Soone from the acrobatics troupe leadership?"
This ti Catherine explained, "The acrobatics troupe, as the largest organization under the circus, is managed by three leaders, and there’s a hierarchy among them.
William, the one you’ve t before, Mozander, is skilled at stilt walking and cooking braised chicken wings. He’s just risen up as the new third leader after completing the path, the lowest tier.
Above him, there are two others,
and the one ranked first is... ’that freak’ we’ve been talking about."
Catherine deliberately lowered her voice when saying the last word, to prevent others from overhearing.
"What kind of person is he?"
"Can’t be fully labeled as human or Patient, hard to describe, it’s better to see this freak with your own eyes. Besides, the acrobatics troupe is our next stop;
maybe we’ll see this guy.
Even though you have
and Zock with you, but William, you still need to be aware of the acrobatics troupe’s ’Rules’."
"Rules? Can you elaborate?"
Catherine didn’t speak directly but instead extended her arm into her chest. After rummaging around inside, she pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
≮Circus Precautions (Visitors)≯
1. Jumping is forbidden. It is extrely dangerous to lift both feet off the ground in the Circus areas.
2. The use of any performance props belonging to the Circus is prohibited. Should you co across any scattered props, please call for an internal mber of the Circus to help pick them up.
3. ’Rabbits’ may appear inside the Circus. If you encounter a rabbit, you must imdiately determine the color of its eyes. Depending on the color, the visitor has to take different actions.
(Red) Imdiately evacuate from the current area, until you have exited the Circus.
(White) Pretend not to see it and pass by the rabbit, avoiding any form of interaction absolutely.
(Green) Completely harmless and will ensure your safety. If needed, you can invite it to perch on your shoulder to accompany you throughout your visit.
(Black) Please notify a Circus mber nearby for capture, and you may also participate in the capture. If you turn it over to the Circus, you will receive an ordinary reward.
4. If you happen to encounter a private rehearsal within the Circus, you must remain silent. Even a slight noise resulting in the failure of the rehearsal will require you to take the place of the failed perforr and complete the performance until its perfect success.
As William read the rules above, he couldn’t help but recall the various rule-related incidents from before he had beco a gentleman.
"Rabbits... This rule seems a bit strange."
"Yes, the anomalies we talk about are related to the rabbits. Anyway, if you encounter a rabbit, just do as the rules say."
The three returned to the initial intersection, about to head to the Circus’s largest departnt—the ’Acrobat Troupe’.
As they went deeper along the passageways, arrows marked with rabbit insignias began to appear on both sides.
’Acrobat Troupe ahead, unauthorized persons please keep away.’
’Beware of rabbits.’
’Beware of falling objects from high places.’
’Do not disturb the acrobatic performances.’
’Refrain from making any verbal comnts about the Acrobat Troupe’s behavior.’
These odd warning signs imposed an intangible kind of psychological pressure, and ultimately, led by Zock, they passed directly through the curtain at the end of the corridor.
A space resembling a photography studio of considerable magnitude unfolded before them, with various enclosed studios of dozens to even hundreds of ters in size stacked inside.
From each studio, sounds of flesh and bone colliding along with cries were heard, which felt sowhat philosophical.
The gaps left between the studios ford a maze-like path. Navigating through them to reach the other side would complete the visit to the Acrobat Troupe.
So studios with their doors left open allowed entry and viewing.
William stealthily glanced at the first open studio and happened to see a scene of ’human body manipulation,’ with acrobats fitting their bodies together with others in bizarre fashion.
He even saw an advanced version of the human centipede crawling rapidly and performing high-level acrobatic acts.
The individual in front had their foot amputated, attaching their heel bone to the shoulder bone of the person behind them, with everyone depending solely on the strength of their arms for crawling. They could even lift the entire centipede’s body by tucking in their bellies as a group.
William was not very interested in this type of human body manipulation, so he redirected his attention and continued to delve deeper when,
Chirp chirp~
Suddenly, a rabbit burst out.
Its erald eyes were strikingly noticeable. William imdiately crouched and beckoned to the rabbit, emitting a pseudo-affable scent from his body.
Although Catherine made a similar gesture and even took out a carrot from the Hundred Treasure Box to entice it,
The rabbit seed to detect a hint of malice in Catherine and eventually hopped onto William’s shoulder.
Slap~
The mont the rabbit landed on his shoulder, William was taken aback.
For what he felt wasn’t the sensation of the rabbit standing on his shoulder, but more like soone placing a hand upon it.
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