Chapter 24: Startled by a God

"Looking for a Qilin in a zoo? I say... are you guys serious??"

Ye Qing muttered behind them, her face full of bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Lin Nan and the other two had already headed toward the zoo entrance.

Seeing this, Ye Qing followed closely behind.

Wang Chengyu and Jiang Tao, who were walking at the very front, had already been stopped.

The old man at the ticket booth stared at the two of them, looking suspicious. "So, your meaning is... he is your son?"

"Yes!" Jiang Tao nodded affirmatively, his gaze as determined as if he were trying to join a secret organization. He threw an arm around Wang Chengyu's shoulder and said decisively, "A biological son, for sure! Can't you tell we look so much alike?"

The ticket seller looked at the two faces outside the window—one with thick eyebrows and large eyes, the other with tiny dot-like eyes, and their physiques being worlds apart. Moreover, these two clearly looked like peers; he was being played for a fool!

However, the old man seemed long accustomed to such things and didn't pay much mind. He simply glanced at them, pulled out two tickets, and handed them over. "Father and son, please enter."

As he finished, he muttered to himself, "Sigh, you see all kinds of strange people these days. Is it really worth it just to save a bit of ticket money..."

"Two tickets." Just then, a magnetic voice, seemingly imbued with magic, rang out.

The old man casually raised his eyes. Upon seeing the appearance and attire of the person at the window, his cloudy eyes instantly lit up! His eyes widened, and he stared at the newcomer in shock.

Standing before the ticket window at that moment was Lin Nan. Currently, Lin Nan was only wearing the dharma robes and golden armor of the Thunder Ancestor, without any makeup. Even so, this look alone was enough to make one gasp in awe.

The old man seemed to forget how he was even selling the tickets, merely repeating his motions subconsciously. "Great Deity, this way please."

"Thank you." Lin Nan took the tickets, offered his thanks, and led Ye Qing into the zoo.

The ticket seller, however, still seemed unable to recover his senses. Rubbing his eyes, he murmured to himself, "My God... did I just see an immortal??"

...

Meanwhile, in a secluded corner of the zoo.

"Wuu wuu... Mommy."

The tender cries of a child drifted faintly from the corner. Before they could be noticed by distant passersby, a man's voice, lowered in volume, rang out.

"Kid~ don't be afraid. If you just eat this candy, Uncle will take you to find your mommy, okay?"

As the man's voice sounded, in a quiet corner shielded by a bamboo grove, a man wearing an old, black trench coat was crouching in front of a small boy with a fake smile.

The little boy looked to be only about four or five years old. Two crystal-clear teardrops hung on his chubby, pink face. He seemed to distrust the man in front of him, his eyes revealing a timid fear. He was unwilling to eat the lollipop the man was offering.

Seeing this, the man tried to press the candy against the boy's lips. Just then, a low growl suddenly erupted from the man's Bluetooth earpiece

"Sang Biao! Are you fucking done yet! Don't dawdle, I see someone heading your way!"

Hearing the voice in his ear, the man nicknamed Sang Biao gritted his teeth. His feigned kindness vanished instantly, replaced by a face full of ferocity and malice.

"Damn it... he won't listen to coaxing, I'll have to use force. I can't get the dosage of this drug right, don't let it blow up in my hands again..."

With that, Sang Biao didn't care about anything else and lunged forward! He used his thick arms to pin the little boy tightly and pulled a towel from his pocket, covering the boy's nose and mouth.

"Wuu wuu..." The little boy struggled in terror. But how could a tiny body resist a grown man?

Just then, the sound of approaching footsteps drew near. By the time they reached the corner, the little boy had just gone silent.

Seeing this, Sang Biao pulled a piece of gray cloth from his oversized trench coat. When he stretched it out, it looked like an unremarkable gray blanket, and he wrapped the boy up tightly. He cradled the bundle in his arms and stepped out.

Acting as if nothing had happened, he brushed past a couple of passersby who were chatting, and quickly ran toward the zoo exit.

The two passersby felt a momentary jolt in their hearts, but they didn't think much of it, muttering, "Whoa, there's someone else here?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with this guy? Suddenly popping out like that, gave me a fright."

...

On the other side, after entering the zoo, Lin Nan's group first found a bench to rest. For the sake of the outdoor livestream effect, Ye Qing applied makeup to him. Taking advantage of this time, Wang Chengyu explained their objective.

After listening, Ye Qing nodded in understanding. "So you wanted to use a real object as a reference... You should have said so earlier! I thought you were speaking in code."

While they were joking around, Ye Qing finished the makeup. Once the makeup was applied, the Heavenly Eye on his forehead looked lifelike, and his entire aura had significantly elevated.

At this moment, a round head leaned in, observing closely. "Tao, am I seeing things? I feel like... Old Lin's look is getting more and more realistic."

Hearing this, Jiang Tao couldn't help but click his tongue. "Don't even say it, I think so too! Hiss... could it be that there's actually something to this job of playing a deity?"

As the two chatted, Lin Nan remained silent, merely giving a look to signal that the livestream was starting. The two then stopped their idle chatter and skillfully began their scripted lines. After a period of livestreaming, they had become the "mouthpieces" of the stream. Because of his appearance, Lin Nan did not say much in the livestream; instead, he maintained a commanding, silent presence.

After some brief interaction with the viewers in the livestream, the group prepared to walk further in.

But just then, a sudden burst of rapid footsteps approached.

*Tap, tap, tap—*

A man was seen walking hurriedly toward the exit, clutching something in his arms. He occasionally looked back over his shoulder. In that gap, the man arrived right in front of Lin Nan and the others.

Perhaps because Wang Chengyu took up too much space, the man collided directly with him, even being bounced back two steps by the man's stomach.

"Watch where you're going..." The man instinctively wanted to curse. But as he turned his head and saw a certain figure, his eyes instantly bulged!

"Holy shit!" a terrified voice rang out.

The man was looking at Lin Nan. In his dharma robes, the Heavenly Eye between his brows seemed capable of seeing through everything. As the saying goes, "If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear from ghosts." Moreover, standing before him was the majestic and awe-inspiring Thunder Ancestor!

With just one glance, the man was so frightened his hands nearly trembled! He was truly intimidated, thinking a god had descended to earth! It wasn't until he blinked repeatedly to confirm that the person before him was a living human that he continued on his way, cursing under his breath.

As the man hurried away, Lin Nan's brow furrowed.

"Hmm?"

If he hadn't misseen just now... the thing the man was clutching and hiding in his arms was clearly a child. But if a parent was bringing a child to the zoo, why such urgency? And the child seemed to be asleep.

Even stranger... in the middle of this summer heat, why was the child wrapped so tightly in a blanket?

...

(End of Chapter)