The iron gates creaked as they slowly swung inward.
Zhao Feng stepped out of the taxi and looked up.
The large wooden sign hanging above the entrance had clearly seen better days.
Green Ridge Wildlife Park
The once-bright green letters were faded, and parts of the paint had begun to peel away.
Behind the gates, tree-lined paths disappeared into a sprawling wildlife park nestled against forested hills.
The taxi driver leaned out of the window.
"You sure this is the place?" he asked skeptically.
Zhao Feng nodded.
"Yes."
The driver glanced around at the nearly empty parking lot of the entrance plaza.
"Doesn't look like many people come here anymore."
Zhao Feng followed his gaze.
The parking lot was nearly empty.
Only a handful of cars remained.
Even the small ticket booth beside the entrance gate looked half abandoned.
"I'll manage," Zhao Feng said.
The driver chuckled. "Well, good luck with that."
The taxi pulled away, leaving Zhao Feng alone at the entrance.
For a moment, he simply stood there.
A week ago he had never heard of Green Ridge Wildlife Park.
Two weeks ago—
He hadn't even been in this world.
The memory surfaced with disturbing clarity.
Flames.
Gunfire.
Concrete collapsing.
The underground headquarters of Black Veil crumbling into rubble.
Black Veil.
The organization that had taken him from an orphanage and turned him into a weapon.
For twenty years he had trained, fought, and killed under their command.
Until the day he decided—
Enough.
He assassinated the executives.
Hunted down the organization's elite agents.
And finally triggered the explosives that turned the entire compound into a burning grave.
He should have died in that explosion.
Instead—
He had opened his eyes in a hospital bed.
Inside someone else's body.
In a world similar to his.
The original owner of this body had also been named Zhao Feng.
A quiet university student.
Apparently the young man had once assisted an elderly professor during a research project conducted at this very wildlife park.
The professor had no family.
When he died two weeks ago, his will left the park to the student who had once helped him.
Unfortunately for the original Zhao Feng—
He had died in a traffic accident a few days before the inheritance was finalized.
Which was when Zhao Feng arrived.
Life was strange like that.
Zhao Feng exhaled quietly and pushed the gate open.
"Well…"
He stepped inside.
"…let's see what I just inherited."
The zoo wasn't large, but it was bigger than Zhao Feng had expected.
Stone pathways wound forward from the entrance plaza and branched deeper into the walking animal zone, where most of the park's enclosures were located beneath the forest canopy.
A few visitors wandered the park, though not many.
The afternoon sun filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows across the walkways.
The first habitats appeared only a short distance from the entrance.
As Zhao Feng passed one enclosure, a chorus of excited chattering erupted.
Several rhesus macaques clung to climbing ropes inside a large primate habitat built among wooden platforms and artificial trees.
One of them hung upside down and stared at Zhao Feng curiously.
He raised an eyebrow.
"…You're energetic."
The monkey screeched loudly as if responding.
Zhao Feng continued walking along the shaded path.
The deeper he went into the walking zone, the more animals he began to notice.
Birds flitted between branches inside a large aviary dome nearby.
A small group of sika deer grazed quietly inside a grassy enclosure designed for visitor interaction.
Some habitats looked well maintained.
Others clearly needed repairs.
Farther ahead, the path curved slightly toward a cluster of larger enclosures where the park's predators were housed.
A low rumbling sound reached his ears.
Zhao Feng turned slightly.
Inside a large enclosure nearby, a Siberian tiger paced slowly along the fence line.
The habitat was built against a rocky slope with shaded trees and a small water pool.
The massive predator stopped when it noticed him.
Golden eyes locked onto Zhao Feng.
For a moment—
Man and beast simply stared at each other.
Then the tiger let out a deep warning growl.
Visitors nearby instinctively took a step back.
Zhao Feng remained where he stood.
In his previous life, he had stared down far more dangerous predators.
Assassins.
Mercenaries.
Men who had spent their lives killing.
Heck, he had even faced mutants and chimeras.
Compared to them—
The tiger's hostility felt almost straightforward.
"Relax," Zhao Feng muttered.
"I'm not here to steal your food."
The tiger flicked its tail and resumed pacing.
Making Zhao Feng chuckle slightly.
Beyond the predator habitats, Zhao Feng could see the land rising toward the hills behind the park.
Dense forest covered the slopes beyond the outer enclosures.
That area had been marked on the inheritance documents.
The restricted forest reserve.
Nearly half the park's land was protected woodland where visitors weren't allowed.
Zhao Feng looked at it briefly before continuing along the path toward the administration building near the staff facilities.
Inside the office building, several employees were waiting.
A middle-aged man stepped forward.
"You must be Mr. Zhao."
Zhao Feng nodded.
"That's right."
The man extended his hand.
"Chen Guoliang. Operations manager."
They shook hands briefly.
Chen Guoliang studied him carefully.
"You're younger than I expected."
Zhao Feng smiled faintly.
"I am, aren't I?"
Behind Chen Guoliang, several employees whispered quietly among themselves.
"That's the new owner?"
"He looks like a college student…"
"Does he even know how to run a zoo?"
Chen Guoliang cleared his throat.
"Everyone, this is Zhao Feng, the new owner of Green Ridge Wildlife Park."
Several uncertain greetings followed.
Zhao Feng gave a small nod.
"I'll need some time to understand how things work here," he said calmly.
"But for now, nothing changes. Continue your work as usual."
The tension in the room eased slightly.
Chen Guoliang nodded approvingly.
"That's good to hear."
He handed Zhao Feng a folder.
"Here are the park's financial reports."
Zhao Feng opened it.
His brows knit slightly.
"…This place is losing money."
Chen Guoliang sighed.
"Has been for the past two years."
Zhao Feng closed the folder.
"I see."
"…Looks like I have my work cut out for me."
Several employees laughed awkwardly.
Chen Guoliang glanced at them.
"Alright, everyone. Back to work."
The staff quickly dispersed, filing out of the office one by one.
Chen Guoliang lingered for a moment.
"If you need anything, Mr. Zhao, my office is next door."
Zhao Feng nodded.
"Thank you."
Chen Guoliang closed the door behind him.
The office finally fell quiet.
Zhao Feng walked toward the office window.
From here, he could see a large portion of the park.
The winding walking paths.
The predator enclosures deeper in the trees.
And beyond them, the forest reserve climbing the hills behind the zoo.
A distant lion's roar echoed faintly.
"…A zoo," he murmured.
In his previous life he had spent twenty years as a weapon.
Killing.
Running.
Surviving.
And now—
He owned a wildlife park.
Life truly had a strange sense of humor.
Then suddenly—
The office grew quiet.
Not the ordinary quiet of an empty room—
But a strange stillness, as if the air itself had paused.
Zhao Feng's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then—
A translucent panel appeared before him.
Lines of text slowly formed across its surface.
[DING!]
[Congratulations Champion X00Z0 on your successful transmigration.]
Zhao Feng's brows lifted slightly.
"…Champion?"
The interface flickered again.
[As the winner of the Transmigration Tournament hosted by R.O.B X10, you have been granted the Divine Template System.]
Zhao Feng stared at the floating panel for several seconds.
"…I don't remember any competition."
The system responded instantly.
[Events in the R.O.B plane cannot be carried into dimensional worlds.]
[Normal transmigrators would not even be informed.]
[You are being notified because it is a privilege granted to the Champion.]
Zhao Feng nodded faintly.
"…I see."
The interface flickered again.
[Binding Divine Template System…]
[0%… 42%… 81%… 100%]
[Binding Successful.]
Zhao Feng's gaze drifted toward the zoo outside the window.
The Siberian tiger in the distant enclosure let out a low rumbling roar.
Zhao Feng looked back at the interface.
"…Nice."
---
Hello, Author here,
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