"Don't rush, let's take it step by step." Andrew Han held Lucy's nimble little hand, chatting casually with his parents as they walked forward.
This was Riverford Zoo, sprawling across a vast area.
With so many tourists, anyone wanting to observe the animals through the iron mesh on both sides had to wait for the crowd to slowly move forward and open up some space.
Little Lucy isn't in a hurry.
Andrew gently rubbed Lucy's head.
He didn't use shock force to push through the tourists, but instead applied soft force to gently open up space around them, ensuring Lucy always had a spot just the right size.
First was Monkey Hill, then Rhino Pool, and many other animal exhibits—enough to dazzle the eyes. But ever since watching the Animal World show on the third government channel two days ago, Little Lucy had set her heart on seeing tigers.
Huff, huff.
Lucy rubbed her rosy cheeks and looked around curiously.
Moments later—
They arrived in front of an iron mesh enclosure.
This was the tiger zone of Riverford City Zoo. The iron mesh was built in five layers, extremely sturdy, with two additional layers of fine netting to prevent fearless tourists from reaching in to touch.
"Wow!"
"Big tiger!"
Lucy stood on tiptoe, inching closer. After two or three minutes, Andrew and his family finally squeezed to the very front of the mesh, able to clearly see inside.
There were three tigers in total.
Two of them crouched by the artificial rock, while the third tiger kept its body low, slowly pacing in front, watching the crowd of tourists with wary eyes.
"A yellow tiger."
Lucy tilted her head, eyes wide with wonder.
Andrew leisurely glanced around and noticed a simply dressed staff member sitting nearby, head down playing with his phone—likely a Third Rank martial artist specially hired by the zoo.
Even an ordinary Third Rank martial artist possesses a thousand pounds of brute strength.
With specialized equipment, subduing a tiger is no difficult task.
Letting visitors observe the animals through iron mesh instead of glass is not uncommon in Sinovera. As long as there are Upper Three Ranks martial artists and proper equipment, accidents are virtually impossible.
Besides, with the iron mesh in place, there’s really no danger.
"Interesting."
Andrew’s lips curled in a faint smile. He glanced at the staff member and had a ridiculous thought—what if a Demon snuck into the zoo?
With a Demon’s strength, it could easily massacre everyone here.
"Hmm."
"I suppose building a zoo must require martial artists for security checks." Andrew shook his head, letting the thought go.
William Han and Linda Chen stood a bit farther away, chatting casually about their recent plans. Their trip to the zoo was purely for fun.
The place was packed, shoulder to shoulder with tourists. Next to Little Lucy stood a couple—the man in a black t-shirt, a dark tattoo on his hand, arm around his girlfriend’s waist, calmly watching the tigers.
After all, with the iron mesh in between, what’s there to be afraid of?
Meanwhile—
The third tiger narrowed its yellow eyes, pupils shrinking to tiny black dots as it slowly approached the mesh. Deep brown stripes ran across its body, stretching all the way to its chest.
It watched intently, nose twitching.
Sss, sss.
It took two steps forward, as if catching a scent. Its pupils dilated, then contracted again, staring not at the tattooed young man, but at his girlfriend in his arms.
In an instant—ROAR!
The tiger suddenly roared and lunged, slamming into the iron mesh.
The roar pierced the heart, shaking the entire crowd. Startled, the tourists involuntarily stepped back. Only a few with strong nerves remained unfazed, or had seen it before and were already used to it.