As Xihong Zoo's fame grew, its official account amassed fifty million followers. This placed it among the top-tier traffic generators online, not just within its niche.
Even a casual video of the penguin ice-skating rink environment posted by Yang Lin immediately garnered massive attention.
"Wow! A new map unlocked? When's the version update?"
"Penguins? When did Xihong Zoo get penguins? I didn't see any last time I visited."
"New hero, Penguin, is joining the lineup. Tickets require Q coins."
"Yeah, I didn't see any penguins at the aquarium yesterday either."
"Is Director Yang secretly undertaking another big project without telling us?"
"This clearly isn't Xihong Zoo. It's probably a new area opening soon."
"Why does one penguin have a skin? The others are all default. What's so special about this one?"
"Probably because it paid to win."
"Wow, there's even a little ice house. This new area looks so fun! When will it open?"
"We're still waiting for news about Dolphin Island. Let's get that developed first."
"@DirectorYang, come explain! When does the new area open? I'm already on winter break."
As the video's popularity surged, netizens quickly became eager for the yet-to-be-opened penguin ice-skating rink.
Yang Lin, who had just posted the video, was oblivious to this growing anticipation.
As dusk settled over Xihong Zoo, the last of the visitors had departed. However, the director, Yang Lin, was far from idle.
He soon found himself at the orangutan enclosure. Compared to a month prior, in addition to Elder Wei and King Kong, there were now four more orangutans: two chimpanzees and two mountain gorillas, each male and female.
Yang Lin had come to the orangutan enclosure to transfer these four newcomers to Animal City.
However, as he approached, he witnessed a scene that left him speechless.
In the clearing in the center of the enclosure, the four new orangutans sat obediently on small wooden stools around a crudely made square table. On the table lay a set of mahjong tiles carved from wood.
So engrossed were they in their game that they didn't notice Yang Lin's arrival.
It wasn't until Elder Wei, carrying a basin and a towel, emerged from a nearby structure and spotted a figure beside the enclosure that he shouted to the four orangutans, "Quick, quick, put it away! Someone's here."
Upon hearing Elder Wei's voice, the four orangutans immediately cleared the mahjong tiles from the table. They then assumed the demeanor of normal animals, making strange noises within the enclosure.
Seeing their performance, Yang Lin's face darkened. So, these guys had already been assimilated. Their daytime behavior was merely an act for the visitors. If tourists had seen them like this, Xihong Zoo would be all over the news tomorrow for employees impersonating animals.
With a sigh of helplessness, Yang Lin walked to the cage. "Stop hiding, it's me."
Hearing Yang Lin's familiar voice, the orangutans in the cage looked over. Upon recognizing Yang Lin, they visibly relaxed.
The next moment, the four new orangutans brought out the mahjong set again.
Seeing this, Yang Lin stepped into the enclosure. He had initially worried that the four new orangutans might pick up smoking habits. Now, it seemed they had developed an addiction to gambling instead. He had no doubt Elder Wei was behind it all.
With that thought, he quickly approached Elder Wei, who was washing himself by a nearby pool.
"Uncle Wei, what's going on with these four? When did they learn to play mahjong?"
Upon hearing Yang Lin's question, Elder Wei displayed a guilty expression. "Play mahjong? This is a game, a game to develop their intellect. Creating order from chaos, don't you think it's a great invention? And after a period of engagement, their intelligence has clearly improved significantly since they arrived."
"What?" Yang Lin was taken aback by Elder Wei's words. But then, he considered that these four orangutans, without awakened talents, could learn to play mahjong, which indeed made them far more intelligent than typical orangutans.
"What happens if one side loses?" Yang Lin inexplicably asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, Elder Wei, who was brushing his teeth, gestured for Yang Lin to look back.
The next second, he saw a mountain gorilla slap a chimpanzee across the face.
"What the heck, they slap each other when they lose? Is it that intense?" At this moment, he finally understood why King Kong wasn't participating in their game.
"It's more than that. The biggest loser tomorrow has to be on duty, pretending to be an animal to entertain the visitors." Elder Wei's voice rang out again before Yang Lin could fully process what had happened.
"Uh..." Yang Lin was at a loss for words.
Fortunately, this wasn't a major issue. Recalling his original purpose, he turned his attention to the four orangutans.
Soon, their talent panels appeared before him one by one.
[Mountain Gorilla]
[Giants Strength (Green Talent) - Requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Robust (Green Talent) - Requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Intelligent (Blue Talent) - Requires 2 Talent Points to activate]
[Highland Bloodline (Gold Talent) - Requires 5 Talent Points to activate]
...
[Chimpanzee]
[Bipedalism (Green Talent) - Requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Throwing Mastery (Green Talent) - Requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Clever Brain (Gold Talent) - Requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
...
Clearly, although both were gorillas, the chimpanzees and mountain gorillas were developing in distinctly different directions. One leaned towards physical prowess, the other towards intellect.
However, none of that was important at the moment. Yang Lin simply wanted to ensure that all animals entering Animal City had awakened talents. This was the only way to guarantee they wouldn't cause trouble within the city.
With this in mind, Yang Lin casually activated one talent for each of the four orangutans. As the talents awakened, the already intelligent orangutans seemed to become even more sophisticated, as if they had gained sentience.
This sparked an idea in Yang Lin's mind.
"Can I avoid hiring additional staff then?" The problem of staffing Animal City, which he had been pondering, suddenly became crystal clear. While the idea of completely dispensing with human staff sounded absurd, if all the animals were awakened beings, it might not be entirely unfeasible.
"Perhaps we can start with a trial run."
Pushing this enticing thought aside for the moment, Yang Lin then headed towards the other enclosures.