The trembling lasted only a few seconds.
Then…
Silence.
Dust drifted from the artificial cliff inside Monkey Mountain.
The visitors looked around in confusion.
“…Was that an earthquake?”
“It was tiny.”
“My phone didn’t even alert me.”
One family shrugged and continued taking pictures.
To everyone else…
Nothing unusual had happened.
But Lin Tianyu noticed something different.
Hei Bao and Sun Xiaohou hadn’t moved.
Both legendary beasts were staring at the center of Monkey Mountain.
Neither looked relaxed anymore.
“…It’s waking up.”
Sun Xiaohou’s words echoed in Tianyu’s mind.
“What exactly is waking up?”
The monkey remained unusually serious.
“…Door.”
“What door?”
“…Down.”
He pointed toward the rocky hill.
“There isn’t a door there.”
“…Hidden.”
Before Tianyu could ask another question, the System appeared.
Emergency Mission
Investigate the disturbance beneath Monkey Mountain.
Difficulty:
★★☆☆☆
Time Limit:
24 Hours
Warning:
A Sanctuary Seal has become unstable.
Failure may result in the awakening of an unknown entity.
Rewards:
Beast Encyclopedia 200 Spirit Qi Sanctuary Authority +2 Unlock: Sanctuary Map (Partial)
Tianyu swallowed.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Correction.
That sounds extremely bad.
“…You really are learning sarcasm.”
Negative.
The rest of the day crawled by.
Visitors came and went.
Children laughed.
Parents bought snacks.
Sun Xiaohou behaved unusually well, never attempting to steal a single wallet.
Hei Bao slept.
Or at least pretended to.
Every now and then, both beasts would quietly glance toward Monkey Mountain.
Waiting.
Watching.
As if expecting something.
After closing time…
The zoo became eerily quiet.
The cheerful atmosphere disappeared with the last visitor.
Only cicadas and distant crickets filled the night.
Tianyu grabbed a flashlight.
“You two coming?”
Hei Bao slowly stood.
“…Yes.”
Sun Xiaohou landed on Tianyu’s shoulder.
“…Adventure.”
“You seem excited.”
“…Very.”
“I thought you were scared.”
“…Scared…”
The monkey grinned.
“…And excited.”
The three arrived at Monkey Mountain.
The artificial hill looked exactly as it always had.
Plastic vines.
Concrete rocks.
A small waterfall that hadn’t worked properly in years.
Tianyu walked around it twice.
“I don’t see anything.”
Sanctuary Authority Required.
A new prompt appeared.
Would you like to activate Sanctuary Authority?
YES
NO
“…I guess?”
He pressed YES.
A warm sensation spread from his chest into his right hand.
The silver paw-shaped mark that had appeared after receiving the System suddenly glowed.
Instinctively…
He placed his palm against the largest boulder.
Click.
The entire hill trembled.
Grinding echoed beneath the earth.
Ancient gears that hadn’t moved for centuries groaned to life.
“What the…”
The waterfall split in half.
The stone wall slowly slid aside.
Behind it…
A staircase descended into darkness.
Cold air rushed upward.
It smelled ancient.
Old.
Untouched.
Sun Xiaohou whistled.
“…Still works.”
“You knew about this?”
“…Forgot.”
“You forgot an underground chamber existed?”
“…Long nap.”
“…Right…”
Eight thousand years would probably affect anyone’s memory.
The staircase stretched deep beneath the zoo.
Every wall was carved from smooth black stone.
Strange glowing symbols illuminated the passage without torches.
“What language is this?”
The System answered.
Ancient Beast Script.
Can Host read it?
No.
“…Helpful.”
After nearly five minutes of walking…
The tunnel opened into an enormous underground hall.
Tianyu stopped breathing.
“…This…”
The chamber was bigger than the entire zoo above.
Massive stone pillars reached into darkness.
Ancient murals covered every wall.
Thousands of glowing crystal lamps floated overhead like stars.
At the center stood an enormous bronze pedestal.
Upon it rested…
A stone tablet.
Covered in countless cracks.
Surrounding the pedestal were nine colossal chains extending into the darkness.
Each chain was thicker than an ancient tree.
Each pulsed faintly with golden light.
“…What is this place?”
Hei Bao’s usually lazy expression became solemn.
“…First Seal.”
Sun Xiaohou quietly nodded.
“…One of nine.”
Tianyu looked around.
“So this is…”
“…The Sanctuary?”
Hei Bao lowered his head.
“…Beginning.”
The System suddenly became frantic.
WARNING!
WARNING!
WARNING!
Scanning…
Scanning…
Identity Confirmed.
Sanctuary Core Chamber
Status:
Seal Integrity:
96%
Guardian Chains:
Stable
Unknown Presence:
Detected
“…Unknown presence?”
The words had barely left Tianyu’s mouth.
Crack.
A tiny piece of the stone tablet broke away.
It hit the floor.
The sound echoed through the enormous chamber.
Then…
Another crack appeared.
Golden light leaked through the fracture.
The entire room vibrated.
The massive chains rattled.
Sun Xiaohou instinctively stepped in front of Tianyu.
Hei Bao let out a low growl.
The atmosphere became unbearably heavy.
A voice…
Ancient beyond comprehension…
Echoed throughout the chamber.
“…Has…”
“…The Keeper…”
“…Finally returned?”
Tianyu’s blood ran cold.
That voice…
It hadn’t come from the stone tablet.
It had come from somewhere…
Far deeper beneath the chamber.
Then the System displayed a message it had never shown before.
WARNING
A Sanctuary Guardian has detected the new Keeper.
Synchronization Beginning…
0%
…
A new contract is about to be formed.
[End of Chapter 5]