Working in a Zoo with Beast Taming System

The five youths, who just moments ago had been shouting about who to mess with and getting his whole family, were all stunned. Their eyes darted back and forth between the phone screen and Zhang Chenghu.

Zhang Chenghu’s face went from its normal color to flushed red, then to a livid shade of purple, and finally to a deathly white.

He glared at the phone screen, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked. His nails nearly dug into his palms.

The youth with the phone only then realized what he had said and scrambled to put it away, but it was too late.

"L-Let me see..."

Zhang Chenghu’s voice, squeezed through gritted teeth, was so cold it made one shiver.

Not daring to disobey, the youth tremblingly handed the phone over.

Zhang Chenghu took the phone. He saw his own humiliating image on the screen, the mocking, scrolling comments, the thousands of likes, and the messages in the comment section: "So fucking embarrassing," "Pissed himself, haha," "They should lock up psychos like him..."

His body began to tremble slightly.

It wasn’t fear.

It was explosive anger and humiliation!

CRASH!

With a dull thud, Zhang Chenghu slammed the phone onto the ground, the screen instantly shattering.

A deathly silence fell over the living room.

The five youths looked at one another, none of them daring to be the first to speak.

Zhang Chenghu slowly lifted his head. His eyes were bloodshot, his gaze murderous.

He spoke, his voice hoarse, enunciating each word with chilling deliberation.

"This time, I’m going after the Zoo!"

?

"Go after the Zoo?"

Zhang Chenghu’s words left the five youths dumbfounded.

"Brother Hu, how are we supposed to go after the Zoo?"

The leader of the group was the first to snap out of it. He frowned. "We can’t just go and set it on fire, can we? Or cut the power lines and vandalize the place?"

Another one, with bleached-blond hair, chimed in, "The Zoo is a public place, a state-run institution even. If this blows up, it won’t just be a few days in detention. We’re talking actual prison time!"

"Yeah, Brother Hu, the guys aren’t afraid of ten or fifteen days in lockup, but if we’re sentenced to a few years..." A tall, lanky youth shook his head.

"We’re not afraid of paying fines, Brother Hu, you’ve got plenty of cash. But prison..." The last one to speak trailed off, his voice getting quieter and quieter.

These five, Zhang Chenghu included, were well-known local thugs, but they were a far cry from a traditional organized crime syndicate.

White Tower District was a new district in Donghua City. A little over a decade ago, it was all just countryside. Then came the development boom, and large swaths of land were acquired by the government.

Zhang Chenghu’s family was in the first wave of households to be relocated, receiving three resettlement apartments and a hefty sum in compensation.

Unlike others in his position who either squandered their fortune or simply lived off it until it was gone, Zhang Chenghu actually had some brains.

He used the compensation money to open a game room, a gym, and a pool hall. He even invested in a small boxing gym where he trained himself.

Zhang Chenghu knew where the legal boundaries were. The crew he ran with never committed any major crimes.

No drugs, no serious violent offenses, and no forming a tight-knit criminal organization.

But they were constantly committing petty offenses.

Picking fights, brawling, and vandalism—detention and fines for these were a regular occurrence for them, happening at least once or twice a quarter.

Smashing windows, splashing paint, slashing tires... They had an endless supply of nasty tricks, but they always kept them within the bounds of administrative penalties, punishable by fifteen days of detention at most.

Paying for damages?

Zhang Chenghu had money to burn.

But going after a state-run institution?

And Donghua City’s famous Zoo, at that?

The five youths exchanged glances, but none of them dared to respond.

Finally, the leader of the group steeled himself and spoke. "Brother Hu, we need to think this through. A place like the Zoo... it’s full of surveillance cameras and tourists. If we really stir up trouble there, the police will be all over it. Our usual petty tricks won’t cut it."

Zhang Chenghu’s expression was grim. He was just about to say something when—

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

A sudden, rapid knocking echoed from the door.

"Police! Zhang Chenghu, open up!"

A familiar, powerful voice boomed from outside the door.

The five youths froze, their eyes instinctively flicking to the door.

Zhang Chenghu, however, seemed to have been expecting this. He stood up calmly, straightened his collar, and gave his five underlings an order.

"Before I get out, I want you to come up with a plan. This thing with the Zoo... it has to be done."

With that, he walked to the door and opened it.

Two police officers stood outside. The one in the lead was Wang Anjiu, and beside him was a dark-skinned colleague with large eyes.

"Well, if it isn’t Zhang Chenghu. At it again, are we? Deliberately breaking the law?" Wang Anjiu glared at Zhang Chenghu, his tone hostile.

Zhang Chenghu put on an innocent expression and even spread his hands. "Officer Wang, don’t try to frame me. I had a fight with my girlfriend, got emotional, and lost control. It was just a minor scrape. I’ll pay for all her medical bills. If I need to be detained, I’ll be detained. I accept the consequences."

He paused, then added, "Oh, and by the way, my girlfriend has already forgiven me. She’s not pressing charges. This is a relationship issue, a private matter between us."

On the way back, he had called the woman he’d hit. His terms were simple: a peaceful breakup.

Or else...

Wang Anjiu looked at him, seething with frustration.

Zhang Chenghu knew the limits all too well.

A physical altercation during a couple’s quarrel, minor injuries, forgiveness from the female party—at most, it would mean a few days of administrative detention and a fine of a few hundred.

"Cut the crap!"

Wang Anjiu took out his handcuffs, snapping them on Zhang Chenghu with a CLICK. "Let’s go! You’re coming with me to the station!"

"Happy to cooperate. Of course." Zhang Chenghu even had a slight smile on his face.

The other officer beckoned to the five youths inside the room.

"You lot, you’re coming with us too. To assist with the investigation."

"Officer, we haven’t done anything lately," the leader of the group said with a cheeky grin as he approached.

The blond kid chimed in, "Er... I think I might have dined and dashed yesterday? But it was at my buddy’s place, so that doesn’t count, right?"