The eviction notice fluttered against the zoo’s rusted front gate.
LIN FAMILY WILDLIFE PARK
The faded wooden sign creaked as a cold autumn wind swept through the nearly empty entrance.
Only three visitors had come all morning.
One was asleep on a bench.
One left after complaining the vending machine was broken.
The last visitor spent twenty minutes taking selfies with a goat before asking if admission tickets could be refunded.
Lin Tianyu watched them leave and sighed.
“…We’re doomed.”
His phone buzzed.
Bank Balance: ¥1,247.63
He stared at the number for a long moment before looking toward the old panda enclosure.
Hei Bao lay sprawled on his back, lazily chewing bamboo with all the urgency of a retired emperor.
“You’ve got the right idea,” Tianyu muttered.
“Sleep through the bankruptcy.”
The panda blinked once.
Then rolled over.
Tianyu laughed despite himself.
“Grandpa…”
His gaze drifted to the framed photograph hanging inside the ticket office.
Lin Guowei smiled warmly from the picture, standing proudly beside the zoo’s opening-day sign nearly thirty years ago.
The place had once been famous.
Now…
Half the exhibits were closed.
The roof leaked.
The fences needed replacing.
Even the peacocks seemed depressed.
After his grandfather’s funeral a week ago, every relative had advised him to sell the land.
“It’s worthless.”
“Turn it into apartments.”
“Nobody visits zoos anymore.”
But Tianyu couldn’t.
This zoo had been his childhood.
His home.
His grandfather’s final words still echoed in his mind.
“No matter what happens…
never abandon the animals.”
At the time, Tianyu had assumed it was sentimental advice.
Now…
He wasn’t so sure.
That evening, after feeding the last of the animals, Tianyu locked the gates and headed toward the old storage building.
His grandfather had always kept the key hidden beneath a loose brick.
The room smelled of dust and cedar.
Broken cages.
Old veterinary tools.
Yellowed notebooks.
Shelves filled with decades of memories.
“I should probably organize this place…”
As he moved an old wooden cabinet, something clattered onto the floor.
A small black box.
No bigger than a lunch container.
There was no lock.
No markings.
Only a silver paw print engraved on the lid.
“…What’s this?”
The moment his fingers touched it—
Click.
The box opened by itself.
Inside…
Nothing.
“…Seriously?”
A sudden flash of blue light exploded from the empty box.
“What the—”
The light shot straight into his forehead.
Pain flooded his head.
His knees buckled.
The storage room spun.
Then…
Darkness.
Initializing…
Compatibility Confirmed.
DNA Verification Complete.
Soul Resonance: 99.97%
Successor Identified.
A mechanical voice echoed inside his mind.
Demon Beast Management System Activated.
Tianyu jolted awake.
“…What?”
A translucent blue screen floated before his eyes.
HOST: LIN TIANYU
Age: 24
Occupation: Zoo Keeper
Cultivation: None
Merit Points: 0
Sanctuary Level: 1
“…I hit my head harder than I thought.”
He rubbed his eyes.
The screen didn’t disappear.
Instead—
A new notification appeared.
Emergency Mission
The Demon Sanctuary has been neglected.
Primary Guardian is experiencing severe nutritional imbalance.
Please provide appropriate food immediately.
Reward:
• Beginner Spirit Qi
• Beast Language (Basic)
Failure:
Primary Guardian’s mood decreases.
“…Guardian?”
Tianyu frowned.
“The zoo doesn’t have any guardians.”
The system responded instantly.
Navigation Activated.
A glowing golden arrow appeared in front of him.
It pointed toward…
The panda enclosure.
“…Hei Bao?”
Five minutes later, Tianyu unlocked the enclosure.
Hei Bao looked up lazily.
The system chimed.
Scanning Target…
The blue screen flickered.
Then suddenly turned blood red.
Warning symbols filled Tianyu’s vision.
The air around him grew strangely heavy.
Target Identified
Name: Hei Bao
True Identity: Heaven-Shaking Black Yin Bear Emperor
Age: 8,437 Years
Cultivation: ???
Threat Level: WORLD ENDING
Recommendation: Do Not Provoke.
Tianyu stared at the screen.
Then at the fat panda chewing bamboo.
Then back at the screen.
“…”
“…You’re telling me…”
Hei Bao sneezed.
A single bamboo leaf drifted through the air.
“…that this chubby idiot…”
The panda blinked innocently.
“…is a world-ending demon emperor?”
Before Tianyu could finish laughing, the ground beneath his feet trembled.
A deep, ancient pressure swept across the enclosure.
Hei Bao slowly raised his head.
For the first time, his lazy eyes glowed with a faint golden light.
He looked directly at Tianyu.
Then, with unmistakable dignity…
The giant panda lowered its head.
As if…
It were bowing to its king.
[End of Chapter 1]