Chapter 1 The Dog Elder's Reaction

The Dog Elder looked like he'd wet himself in fear. Was this the legendary "dumbfounded dog" look?

Seeing the curly-haired poodle's reaction on the screen, Zhang Yuanqing almost couldn't help but smirk.

He had previously used the "Great Detective Pipe" from the White Tiger Guard warehouse to profile Zhang Zizhen, understanding that his deadbeat father was a gentle, chuuni, and proper person.

He didn't have any particularly great personal charisma, far less interesting than the Crouching Dragons and Hidden Phoenixes he knew.

But this kind of personality was easy to simulate, so Zhang Yuanqing's lips spread into a warm smile, and he said in a hoarse voice:

"Long time no see, old friend. Surprised to see me?"

He said this with a little calculation, to see how the Dog Elder would respond.

On the other side of the screen, the Dog Elder stared blankly for a long time, tentatively approaching and bringing his head to the screen, his black button-like eyes reflecting the fluorescent blue light.

He stared deeply at the old friend in the screen, "You are not Zhang Tianshi, who are you!"

Whether it was an illusion or not, Zhang Yuanqing felt that the Dog Elder's voice suddenly became滄桑 (cāngsāng - vicissitudes of life).

The Dog Elder's voice was old and low, saying, "Zhang Tianshi has already returned to the Lingjing Xingzhe. I confirmed it myself. Who exactly are you, and why are you impersonating him to call me?"

Zhang Yuanqing put away his smile and said seriously, "Old friend, I am Zhang Zizhen. I did not return to the Lingjing Xingzhe. I was forced to fake my death back then. These years, I have been hiding abroad, and only recently returned to my homeland."

The Dog Elder sneered, "Nonsense!"

He suddenly bared his teeth, his snow-white fangs exposed, presenting an extremely angry posture: "Who exactly are you, what is your purpose? Don't joke with my old friend!"

Sure enough, the Dog Elder and Zhang Zizhen were friends. Confirmed. He had seen my profile, knew that my father was Zhang Zizhen, so he already knew that I was the son of an old friend. No wonder he was so good to me. He could even tolerate me rubbing his dog head. I thought I had conquered him by bowing down.

Zhang Yuanqing had expected this, but seeing the Dog Elder's reaction, he was still stunned. In his impression, the Dog Elder was gentle and casual, a very interesting dog, no, a very interesting elder.

He had never seen him so angry.

The Dog Elder and my dad must have had a story back then! He thought, sighing, "I know you don't believe me. I'm sorry for hiding it from you for so long. I want to meet you. I'm on the top floor of the White Silver Building in Rouzong City..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Dog Elder had already raised his paw and pressed the hang-up button, saying indifferently, "I'm not interested."

Zhang Yuanqing was not in a hurry at all, a faint smile on his lips: "So many years have passed, have you completely controlled the zoo I gave you?"

The Dog Elder's paw suddenly froze, and its gaze suddenly became profound.

It's not easy to deceive a Dominator-level figure. Fortunately, I have real goods in my hand. Are you afraid I can't fool you? Zhang Yuanqing's expression was gentle, his voice unhurried: "You know my real name. A Lingjing Xingzhe's real name can only be revealed to the closest people."

He paused and slowly said, "Zhang Zizhen!"

The next second, Zhang Yuanqing saw the Dog Elder's pupils shake, and his whole person, no, his whole dog was stunned.

Zhang Yuanqing did not intend to give him a chance to calm down, and continued to throw a series of heavy bombs: "Speaking of which, the first to return to the Lingjing Xingzhe was Ling Tuo. After the Chu family was destroyed,逍遥 (Xiāoyáo - Carefree Wanderer) disbanded, and I had to fake my death to escape... you know that."

"You..." The Dog Elder's expression completely changed, both surprised and suspicious. He stared at Zhang Zizhen in the screen, forcibly suppressing his eager emotions, and tentatively asked, "You said you have been hiding abroad, then... why did you suddenly return to your homeland?"

Zhang Yuanqing replied fluently, smiling gently, "The prophecy of the Light Compass is about to be fulfilled. The whole world will usher in a great change. I have been waiting for this opportunity, so I came."

"Old friend, I'll be waiting for you at the White Silver Building. I have secret matters to discuss." After speaking, regardless of the Dog Elder's reaction, he hung up the phone.

The Dog Elder may not believe that the Zhang Zizhen on the other end of the phone is the real person, but he will definitely come to Rouzong City.

Just for an answer.

The deceased old friend has been miraculously revived. Nothing can arouse the desire to explore more than this. Just like when he learned that Brother Bing was missing, he was so anxious that he couldn't wait to go to Jiangnan Province to find him himself.

On the rooftop of the White Silver Building, the night wind howled. Zhang Yuanqing quickly shut down the phone, pulled out the SIM card, and took out a pre-prepared note from his pocket, pressing it down with a cement stone.

After doing all this, he walked to the edge of the roof and looked into the distance.

The streetlights were like a string of luminous pearls, and the lights in the windows of the tall buildings and houses were like stars scattered in the night sky.

"I knew I should have put on the Swift Walker gloves..." Zhang Yuanqing muttered, raising his hand and pressing it against his face. Accompanied by a ripple-like light, he disguised himself as an ordinary-looking Passerby A, pushed open the door of the rooftop, and disappeared into the dark stairwell.

The night wind blew, and the note trembled. The scrawled words on it read: "I am being watched. Please come to 'Baicao Garden to Sanwei Study' for a gathering."

Zoo.

Zhang Zizhen, Ling Tuo, Light Compass prophecy... The Dog Elder stared at the phone screen with a solemn expression, without reacting for a long time.

About three minutes later, he jumped off the table, came outside, and walked along the zoo's wide road. After seven turns and eight folds, he arrived at the lion enclosure.

The Dog Elder entered the small house where the Demon Eye was imprisoned and said to the thick camphor tree with vines hanging down, "Go to the core area!"

The beaded curtain of vines swayed gently, as if in response.

"Will the tree roots die if they are pulled out of the soil? They won't die. Don't think of yourself as so fragile. You're just lazy." The Dog Elder stared at the camphor tree, displeased, "If you don't agree, I'll give the job of sealing the Demon Eye to the old banyan tree next door. He's been coveting your old wife for a long time."

"Bang bang bang!"

The cement ground cracked, and the camphor tree neatly pulled its roots out of the ground. The tangled roots brought out soil, almost covering the entire room.

At the same time, the hanging vines rose and tore open the roof. The cement-poured ceiling crashed down.

This thick but not too tall camphor tree took heavy steps and walked towards the core area of the zoo, looking somewhat impatient.

"What happened?" The Demon Eye in the tree trunk turned its head and looked at the curly-haired poodle squatting in the ruins.

His face was getting more and more haggard.

The Dog Elder ignored him, raised his head, looked at the deep sky, and whispered, "I'm going out for a while. During this time, anyone who breaks into the zoo is an enemy."

The night was dark, and there was no sound except for the sound of the camphor tree moving its roots.

The Dog Elder repeated it again.

A impatient response finally came from the void, "Got it..."

The Dog Elder was already accustomed to the zoo's indifference, just like an honest man's wife still thinking about her dead ex-boyfriend. Besides helplessness, the honest man had no other choice.

He turned into a green light and jumped between the plants, quickly leaving the zoo.

Taking the roadside green plants as a springboard, this green light flickered a few times, and then escaped hundreds of meters away, quickly disappearing.

Outside the zoo, under the goose-yellow lights.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing a silver mask, withdrew from Night Tour, revealed his figure, took out his phone, and dialed a number: "The Dog Elder is gone."

After hanging up the phone, a few minutes later, a red silk woven from red lines gracefully cut through the night sky and landed beside him.

The red line "Peng" exploded, turning into a beauty in a fiery red dress.

"You know the rules of the zoo," Zhang Yuanqing looked at the Palace Master of Zhisha, "The Demon Eye is imprisoned in the lion enclosure. There is a white lion there, which only appears at night. It is the guard watching the Demon Eye. Palace Master, you deal with it."

The Palace Master of Zhisha nodded slightly, smiling, "Do you really want to release the Demon Eye? If this matter is exposed, the Five Elements Alliance will have no place for you."

"I have seen the astrology. If I don't save the Demon Eye, I will have a great calamity. And if I save the Demon Eye, I will have good fortune in the future." Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to sell miserably to the worldly sister, saying, "You know that I am entangled in karma, and maybe I will encounter a hurdle that I can't overcome at any time, so I have to firmly grasp every good fortune."

Well, 996 good fortune doesn't count.

.....

"This is your destiny," the Palace Master of Zhisha said indifferently, "We don't have much time, let's go in."

The red skirt fluttered, and once again turned into a red silk, swaying with the wind, and窜入 (cuànrù - darted into) the distant zoo.

"Pa!"

Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and collapsed into dreamy starlight.

The zoo is located in the suburbs, with no high-rise buildings around it, and the nearest residential area is three kilometers away. It is desolate and uninhabited at night.

"Pa..."

After entering the zoo, the Palace Master of Zhisha gracefully landed.

The park is full of lush vegetation, with the main road and paths crisscrossing like a spider web. The light of the streetlights is very weak, as if covered with a layer of black纱 (shā - gauze).

"This park has a lot of tourists during the day and is a popular... park in Songhai, but at night, all the staff will leave here." Zhang Yuanqing was not here for the first time, and led the way familiarly.

One of the rules: do not say the word "animal".

So Zhang Yuanqing deliberately avoided the sensitive word.

The Palace Master of Zhisha walked side by side with him, her skirt dragging on the ground, saying, "This should also be a rule. It will recover at night."

The lunatic obviously knew it too, using "it" to refer to it.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, and suddenly leaned closer to the Palace Master, whispering:

"Do you know that this park is my dad's legacy, and the Dog Elder and my dad were old friends."

The Palace Master of Zhisha said in surprise, "Is that so?"

"When I first came here, the Artifact Spirit recognized me as him," Zhang Yuanqing said.

As for this trip, he was not afraid of being seen through by the Artifact Spirit, because he had mobilized the power of the Lunar Source Fragments to cover up the aura of his soul.

The Palace Master of Zhisha tilted her head and pondered for a moment, then shook her head slightly:

"I'm not very clear. I don't have much impression of your dad's props. Who would show props to their children for no reason?"

Zhang Yuanqing nodded in agreement, "Indeed!"

While speaking, he communicated with Yin Chuanmei in his heart: "Is what she said true or false?"

Yin Chuanmei's voice echoed in his heart: "Master, I cannot窥视 (kuīsì - peep at) the emotional changes of the Dominator."

Waste, what use are you!

The two walked quickly, during which they encountered a rabbit and a blue-uniformed staff member.

The fluffy little rabbit followed them persistently all the way. Seeing that the two travelers always ignored him, he reluctantly窜进 (cuànjìn - darted into) the green belt.

And the blue-uniformed staff member stopped following after Zhang Yuanqing婉转 (wǎnzhuǎn - tactfully) refused to help.

Soon, under Zhang Yuanqing's leadership, the two came to the zoo.

The scene in front of him surprised Zhang Yuanqing. The roof of the small house where the Demon Eye was originally imprisoned was lifted, and the path outside the house was covered with mud and messy animal footprints that could not be identified.

Most importantly, the camphor tree sealing the Demon Eye was gone.

"He has been transferred." The Palace Master of Zhisha squatted on the side of the road, poked the mud with her finger, "Very fresh, just transferred not long ago. If we follow the strange footprints, we should be able to find the Demon Eye."

Because the Marshal is not here, and I have to go out, so the Dog Elder transferred the Demon Eye? Tsk, underestimated him... Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank, and he felt inexplicably烦躁 (fánzào - irritable).

No matter how powerful a Star Official is, they cannot calculate every detail... He silently made a summary, suppressed his irritable emotions, and said:

"We can only bite the bullet and go."

He suddenly turned his head and looked at the lion enclosure. The big rock in the enclosure was empty. The white lion that was always there every time was gone.

Was it transferred with the Demon Eye? He muttered in his heart.

Following the chaotic "footprints" all the way, after more than ten minutes, they stopped at a fork in the road.

There were two signs at the intersection. The one pointing to the left said "Staff Rest Area", and the one pointing to the right said "No Entry".

The words "No Entry" are written in big red characters: "Dear tourists, please do not enter the core area of the zoo at night. If you see this sign, please return immediately or go to the staff rest area for help."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at his childhood sweetheart sister with a somewhat僵硬 (jiāngyìng - stiff) expression, "What are the rules in the core area of the... zoo?"

The Palace Master of Zhisha calmly looked back: "Do you think I would know?"

"Crap, what should I do?"

"Don't curse... Just treat a rule-type prop at the Dominator level as an S-level dungeon experience. It's quite interesting."

"Interesting my ass, people will die." Zhang Yuanqing sighed and said, "Which way should we go? Let me look at the face."

The Palace Master of Zhisha raised her hand and pressed the silver mask: "Look at your own."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately entered Night Tour and摘 (zhāi - took off) the ghost mirror to reflect his face, and blood shrouded between his eyebrows.

Hiss, there will be life-threatening danger... Zhang Yuanqing turned to the "Staff Rest Area" direction and took a closer look.

Still shrouded in blood.

No matter which way he goes, it's a dead end.