Chapter 41.1

The journey from Kaimeng Star to Shenwang Star takes eight hours by starship.

To catch the opening day of Bi Ke Zoo on the 17th, Xu Wenshuang and her boyfriend arrived at Shenwang Star a day early, on the 16th.

Her boyfriend wasn’t particularly thrilled about the trip. Not being an animal lover, he had hoped their rare vacation together would involve romantic destinations—perhaps fields of flowers or hot air balloon rides. Instead, he found himself heading to a zoo.

‘Didn’t she have enough of zoos as a child?’ he thought. ‘Why would an adult want to visit one?’

Although she insisted Bi Ke Zoo was different, he’d watched videos online and remained unimpressed. War beasts? What was so special about them? The military used them constantly, and military academies had plenty. His girlfriend even taught at a Beast-Taming Military Academy—wasn’t seeing them at work enough? Why spend precious vacation time looking at more?

He couldn’t fathom how a video of someone trimming a Ripper Tiger’s claws could go viral. Were people really that bored?

Of course, he kept these complaints to himself. Still, his enthusiasm was nonexistent, especially when she roused him at dawn on the 17th and hustled him into a taxi before he was properly awake, which only worsened his impression of Bi Ke Zoo.

“Strange, why’s there a traffic jam?”

Half-asleep in the backseat, he opened his eyes at her words.

Xu Wenshuang checked the time with furrowed brows. “This won’t do. The zoo’s about to open, and if we’re late, we won’t see everything today. Xiao Wei, it’s not far—let’s walk.”

Xiao Wei was dumbfounded. It was several kilometers! But in the end, she dragged him along anyway.

Another day of being at his girlfriend’s mercy.

When they reached the base of Bi Ke Forest, they passed a botanical garden bustling with photographers and visitors gathering for an upcoming flower exhibition.

Xiao Wei found it intriguing and wanted to explore, but Xu Wenshuang kept pulling him along. Finally, he snapped, “What’s the rush? It’s just a zoo! If we can’t see everything today, we’ll come back tomorrow!”

Before Xu Wenshuang could respond, several young passersby stopped abruptly, staring at them in amazement. “You’re going to Bi Ke Zoo? You have tomorrow’s tickets? Would you sell them to us? We’ll pay triple!”

Xiao Wei was bewildered. “Can’t you just buy tickets at the entrance? The zoo’s right up there.”

One of them explained, “They’re only selling tickets for three days later now. We’ll be back at work by then.”

Still confused, Xiao Wei asked, “What do you mean? We can’t enter today?”

The young people exchanged glances before one realized something. “Don’t tell me you planned to buy tickets at the gate? Listen, don’t waste your time. Bi Ke Zoo only sells a thousand tickets daily, released three days in advance. Once they’re gone, that’s it. You can’t buy same-day tickets.”

Xiao Wei was speechless.

Xu Wenshuang spoke up, “We have tickets for today. Sorry, my boyfriend doesn’t understand—I bought them.”

The young people immediately looked at her with admiration. “You’re incredibly fast! Opening day tickets? Those sold out in 0.01 seconds!”

Xu Wenshuang sighed, “Yes, it was really difficult. I didn’t manage to get them myself. During the livestream, when the director first announced ticket sales, I arranged for twenty delivery drivers to help me buy tickets, but we only managed to get two.”

The young people gave her an impressed thumbs-up while Xiao Wei stood there stunned.

As they continued up the mountain, Xiao Wei finally began to realize just how popular Bi Ke Zoo really was.

Soon they encountered another long line. “What’s this for?” he asked.

“See what happens when you dawdle?” Xu Wenshuang said wearily. “The entrance queue. We’ll probably wait half an hour now.”

Xiao Wei gaped at the seemingly endless line. “Is this really necessary? It’s just animals.”

His comment earned sharp looks from everyone within earshot. Xu Wenshuang felt embarrassed and told him, “Go queue at the back. We’ll split up. Don’t say you know me.”

Xiao Wei: “…”

After a full thirty minutes, they finally reached the entrance. The zoo was alive with activity—staff directing crowds, tour guides gathering groups, and excited visitors calling out to each other for photos.

Xu Wenshuang grew more impatient, standing on tiptoe, eager to have her ticket checked.

“Please go ahead,” the staff member scanned the electronic ticket in Xu Wenshuang’s light brain with their device and gestured her through.

Xu Wenshuang was about to rush in when Xiao Wei called out, “Shuang Shuang, you need to help scan my ticket too! Wait for me!”

Only then did she remember she had brought her boyfriend along, and reluctantly waited another five minutes for him.

Finally, both passed through the ticket check, and Xu Wenshuang quickened her pace inside.

Inside, they were immediately engulfed by crowds. Suddenly, a chorus of excitement erupted—a brown deer stood by the entrance, greeting visitors while accepting treats from staff members.

Xu Wenshuang immediately pushed her way toward it.

“Yes, you can pet it. It won’t bite,” the staff member holding the deer’s leash generously allowed visitors to gently stroke it, even offering some dried fruit for visitors to try feeding it.

Visitors immediately surrounded the deer.

Xu Wenshuang managed a quick pat before being swept away by the crowd.

“Keep moving forward!” staff members called through megaphones.

Xu Wenshuang had no choice but to move inside, where she found the entire service area packed with people. The supermarket was full of customers queuing to pay, and the shuttle area was the most crowded, with people waiting for departures.

Caught in the crowd, Xu Wenshuang surveyed her options before deciding to buy water first, then head to the shuttle area.

Just then, a familiar voice—wifey’s—came over the broadcast system: “Dear visitors, welcome to Bi Ke Zoo! On this special opening day, we’re offering three exclusive benefits:

“First, from 3 PM to 6 PM Federation time, we’re opening limited access to our Animal Dormitory. You’ll see Qilin, Lightning, Qingjiao, Tayun, and Little Wolf—our S-class war beasts. Please return to the service area before 6 PM if you wish to participate.

“Second, every visitor can participate in our lucky draw at 6 PM tonight using their ticket number. The prizes are generous and plentiful, so don’t miss out!”

“Third, each visitor will receive a free souvenir gift upon departure—guaranteed for everyone.

“Meeting you this golden autumn is our greatest honor. We hope Bi Ke Zoo brings you joy today!”

The service area fell silent for two seconds before erupting in excitement.

“Did they say animal dormitory?”

“They said we can see Qilin, Lightning, and the others!”

“Wow, really? From 3 to 6? Oh my, I don’t even want to go up the mountain anymore, I’ll just wait here!”

“Don’t wait, it’s only just past 9 AM. Quick, get on the bus, I want to go into the mountain!”

“I took a photo of the park map. Which bus should we take? There are three routes – the east line, middle line, or the western water route? The water route has crocodiles!”

“Let’s take the middle one. The viewing order is Golden Rabbits, Startled Monkeys, Two-Humped Deer, Bird Forest, and then in the inner area we can see Wind Chasing Wolves. I want to see Gus!”

“Gus wanders around though. Even though the Wind Chasing Wolves’ habitat is here, we might not see them. Let’s go to the water route instead – we can see hippos there. I found out there’s an A-class Giant Mouth Hippo called ‘Brother Biao’ that was transferred to Bi Ke Zoo. We might see it on the water route!”

“Ah! I want to take the east line! I want to see the Little Steel Pigs! I watched wifey’s video – the Little Steel Pigs are so friendly! Brother, brother, excuse me, can we feed the Little Steel Pigs?”

The asked staff member smiled and replied, “For animals that can be fed, we’ll prepare food on the vehicle. Please follow the keepers’ instructions at that time.”

“Is anyone else taking the middle route? The middle route bus is about to leave. If you miss it, you’ll have to wait twenty minutes for the next one!”

“Me, me, me! Wait for me! My friend is still queuing in the supermarket, they’re almost done – oh, there they are!”

As they spoke, three more people boarded the middle route bus.

Seeing this, Xu Wenshuang quickly went to the entrance map, took a photo of the full park layout, and analyzed which route would give her the best value.

Finally, she chose the water route – it had hover cars which could go up the mountain faster, allowing her to see more attractions. According to the map, this route also accessed the Bird Forest.

As for what the animal dormitory were and who Tayun was – well, she’d find out at 3 PM.

Heading to the supermarket, she automatically grabbed two water bottles before realizing—where was Xiao Wei?

Meanwhile, her boyfriend was in a state of confusion. In the blink of an eye, he’d lost sight of Xu Wenshuang and had somehow been swept onto a three-car shuttle—75 seats total, with only the front car having a driver. Stuck in the last car, he couldn’t even contact the driver to stop!

Frustrated, he could only message Xu Wenshuang.

After a while, she replied: 「Then let’s explore separately and meet at the bottom of the mountain at 3 PM.」

Xiao Wei: “…”

But he wasn’t even interested in the zoo! He had only come to accompany his girlfriend. What was he supposed to do by himself?

Twenty minutes later, however, his mood had shifted dramatically.

To his own surprise, he joined the collective chorus of “Wow!”

Sitting among strangers, he found himself pointing excitedly at blue-tailed squirrels darting through the trees. Several bold ones approached the front, curiously examining the humans inside.