On the Douyin short video platform, a video capturing the entire process of Yang Lin saving a dog quickly went viral after being uploaded.
Of course, the reason for the video's explosive popularity wasn't Yang Lin's act of jumping into the water to save the dog, but rather the water monster that appeared in the video.
Shortly after the video was posted, the comment section erupted.
"Holy crap, this water monster looks real this time!"
"Confirmed, it's not staged."
"Damn, speaking of water monsters and water monkeys, I get so angry. I watched a blogger film hundreds of episodes, and it turned out to be fake."
"It shouldn't be staged. Look at the park director's terrified expression, you know this isn't acting. If he could act that well, he'd have entered the entertainment industry long ago."
"Looking at that expression, he probably shit himself."
"I've roughly calculated, the director's swimming speed is almost on par with an Olympic champion. So I suggest we put a shark behind each swimmer in future swimming competitions."
"Are there any experts who can explain what that thing in the water is?"
"It's a water monkey, it has to be a water monkey."
"Does our Dragon Country finally have its own water monster? I'm going to see it right now!"
"I don't know when we'll see the follow-up. I feel like I won't be able to sleep tonight if we don't find out what that thing in the lake is."
"@Teacher Xiao Liang, is this a water monkey, or some other water monster?"
"I think it's a plesiosaur, look at its overall shape."
"A plesiosaur your grandmother! If it were really a plesiosaur, this zoo would probably have to change its name to Jurassic Park."
"Just thinking about it is exciting. Fortunately, I'm a local from Ningnan, I'll just buy a ticket and go."
"The guy upstairs is a real jerk. You've been talking for ages, and you're a local."
"I'm buying a ticket too. Pay attention to my live stream, I'll definitely get to the bottom of this today."
...
As the video's popularity continued to soar, more and more people learned about the water monster.
Yang Lin had clearly underestimated the public's enthusiasm for water monsters.
Within two hours, the number of visitors to the zoo began to grow exponentially, surging from over a thousand to more than five thousand.
And among these five thousand-plus visitors, at least several hundred were streamers.
Undoubtedly, these streamers were all here to capitalize on the water monster's popularity.
Just as Yang Lin thought things couldn't get any more bizarre, Lin Feng, whom he had met not long ago, arrived with a group of police officers.
With the police maintaining order, the zoo's chaos was finally averted.
At this point, Lin Feng found Yang Lin.
"Director Yang, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon. Your establishment has truly become famous now."
"Before long, even more tourists will likely flock here. What are your plans?"
Hearing Lin Feng's slightly teasing remark, Yang Lin was taken aback for a moment, then replied with mock seriousness:
"Of course, I'm planning to look at cars and houses!"
"I'm serious. Given your current situation, if you can't quickly clarify what the water monster in the lake is, they'll probably be here every day."
"Why don't you just drain the lake?"
As soon as Lin Feng made this suggestion, Yang Lin's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding me? Do you know how much water is in this artificial lake?"
"This used to be a large mine pit, with the deepest point reaching over sixty meters. The total water storage is probably equivalent to one-fifth of West Lake."
"Draining this place would require an immense number of pumps, and even then, where to put all that water would be a major problem."
"Uh... it seems this plan won't work." After hearing Yang Lin's explanation, Lin Feng couldn't help but force a wry smile.
"Let's go, we'll head to the lake and see what's going on."
After some thought, Yang Lin returned to the lakeside. Staring at the murky green water before him, a hint of confusion crossed his face.
Just then, a tourist nearby chimed in.
"Director, why don't we get a remotely operated underwater camera robot? We can control it to go down and take a look."
Hearing the tourist's suggestion, a spark of inspiration ignited in Yang Lin's mind.
"Right! Let's send down an animal that can dive, and then I can just share its vision to figure out what that thing in the water is!"
Realizing this, several options quickly came to mind.
First, there were the koi in the lake. As veteran inhabitants of this artificial lake, they had been there long enough.
Their diving abilities were also undoubtedly good.
However, after some consideration, Yang Lin dismissed this option.
There were two main reasons: firstly, the lifespan of koi is too short, and secondly, their combat power is insufficient. If they encountered the monster head-on, they'd be gone in a single bite.
After ruling out the koi, another option quickly appeared in his mind.
"This should be fine, right?"
Having made his decision, Yang Lin quietly bypassed the crowds and headed towards the crocodile enclosure, not far from the artificial lake.
This was currently the least visited area of the zoo.
After all, who wanted to watch a few lazy creatures that spent their days sleeping and sunbathing?
Looking at a crocodile basking leisurely by the edge of the pond, Yang Lin's eyes lit up.
Xihong Zoo housed three types of crocodiles: the Yangtze crocodile, native to Dragon Country and a small species; the imported Siamese crocodile; and the saltwater crocodile, once widely used for leather goods.
Among them, the Yangtze crocodile was the smallest, less than two meters long. The Siamese crocodile was of medium size, around three meters.
The most impressive was the yellowish saltwater crocodile, measuring over four meters from head to tail.
With just a glance, Yang Lin's attention focused on the saltwater crocodile.
If he wanted to choose one with strong combat power, he had to pick the strongest. The Yangtze crocodile, a weakling that couldn't even beat a goose, was completely out of consideration.
Having identified his target, Yang Lin immediately used his Insight Eye on the massive saltwater crocodile nearby.
Instantly, all the information about the saltwater crocodile appeared before him.
[Camouflage (Green Talent) requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Agility (Green Talent) requires 1 Talent Point to activate]
[Savage Growth (Blue Talent) requires 2 Talent Points to activate]
[Super Bite (Gold Talent) requires 5 Talent Points to activate]
[Prehistoric Overlord (Legendary Talent) requires 10 Talent Points to activate]
Although the saltwater crocodile only had five talents, a single legendary talent made Yang Lin feel impressed.
Of course, he knew that he could only admire talents of this caliber for now; he couldn't afford to activate them.
As for Super Bite and Camouflage, they were also not within his consideration—one too expensive, the other too disappointing.
Therefore, he ultimately set his sights on Agility and Savage Growth.