The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

It rolled violently to the ground, its massive body crushing many wasps. But even more wasps swooped down from the sky, filling the gaps.

Its skin was torn by gravel as it rolled, and blood and mud mixed together, forming a hard black shell.

Su Mu watched this scene from afar, motionless. The path the hippo had taken left deep tracks on the ground... not footprints, but drag marks, as if something heavy had been dragged across the earth. The skin pierced by wasps began to fester, and purplish-black pus oozed from the top of the bumps, trickling down the hippo's legs and dripping onto the ground, corroding small pits that emitted white smoke.

The brown bear emerged halfway out of the pool as the hippopotamus rolled around.

Its forehead broke the surface of the water, its tuft of golden fur clinging wetly to its skin. Its eyes were half-open as it watched the hippopotamus on the shore being attacked by wasps, and a slight grin appeared on its lips.

It wasn't panting, it wasn't pain, it was an expression.

Like a smile.

Su Mu crouched behind the bushes and could see clearly through the gaps in the branches and leaves.

There was a light in the brown bear's eyes... not the brightness of a wild animal reflecting light in the dark, but a more complex, more calculating cunning.

It glanced at the struggling hippopotamus, then at the dispersing swarm of bees, before submerging its head back into the water. The entire process took less than two seconds, but every subtle change in its expression was captured by Su Mu's dynamic vision.

This beast has done this before.

The swarm of bees vented their anger on the hippopotamus for almost a minute before slowly dispersing.

They seemed uninterested in the brown bears in the water... or rather, they knew they couldn't catch them underwater. After circling a few times, the dark swarm of bees flew towards the distant woods, the buzzing gradually fading away until it disappeared above the treetops.

The hippopotamus lay on the ground, panting heavily. Its body was riddled with holes, covered with purplish-black bumps and festering wounds, with blood and pus flowing down its skin and pooling into a small puddle of black liquid beneath it.

Its eyes were half-closed, its breathing heavy and rapid, each exhale releasing a puff of white mist from its nostrils. It had almost no strength left. Or perhaps it had been stung by a bee.

The brown bear jumped out of the water.

Instead of running away, it walked over to the hippopotamus, tilted its head, and glanced at it. Then it raised one forepaw, placed it on the hippopotamus's head, and gently pushed it. The hippopotamus tilted its head to one side, offering no resistance... not because it didn't want to, but because it was too weak.

The brown bear lowered its head and licked the hippo's festering wound.

The hippopotamus twitched violently, emitting a muffled gurgling sound, but showed no further reaction. The brown bear licked the food a few times, then seemed to find the taste off, wrinkling its nose... Su Mu was certain he hadn't misread it; the bear wrinkled its nose... then turned and limped towards the fence.

It also had several bumps on one of its hind legs, from being stung by wasps, but compared to a hippopotamus, these injuries were nothing.

It climbed over the iron fence and landed on the ground outside. Then it raised its head and glanced in the direction where Su Mu was hiding.

Just one glance.

Then it turned and limped away into the depths of the woods.

Su Mu crouched behind the bushes, motionless.

After the brown bear's footsteps completely disappeared, he waited for nearly two more minutes to make sure there was no further movement around the hippo pool before standing up from behind the bushes.

He glanced at the hippopotamus... The enormous creature was still lying on the ground, breathing weakly, its eyes half-closed, and it was no longer a threat.

Su Mu didn't finish him off. Killing a half-dead hippopotamus wouldn't yield much experience, it wasn't worth wasting time and energy, and besides, who knew if the guy might suddenly have a resurgence of energy before he died.

He patted the withered leaves and dirt off his clothes and walked towards the secret realm.

The secret realm was located behind the artificial hills, in an inconspicuous corner. The surrounding vegetation was no different from anywhere else, and the pebbles and fallen leaves on the ground showed no abnormalities. But when Su Mu walked to that vicinity, he clearly felt a subtle, indescribable "difference"... not something he saw, but something he sensed.

It was as if the density of the air had changed at that location, causing a very slight distortion in the light as it passed through that area.

He slowed his pace, took out his glasses from his backpack, and put them on. Through the white lenses, the outline of that area became clear... Faint, silvery-white ripples flowed slowly in the air, like ripples on the surface of water, spreading outwards from a certain central point. The texture of the ripples was very fine, almost invisible without close inspection, but they were definitely there.

The entrance to the secret realm.

Su Mu did not go over immediately.

He first observed his surroundings... Directly in front of the artificial rockery was a crossroads, with four roads leading to the herbivore area, the predator area, the hippopotamus pool, and the direction he had come from. In the center of the crossroads was a sign with silhouettes of various animals, the paint of which had mostly peeled off, making the details illegible.

Over in the herbivore enclosure, several wildebeests were grazing by the roadside.

Over in the predator enclosure, several figures could be vaguely seen lying in the shade of the trees in the distance... three or four lions, dozing off. In the direction of the hippopotamus enclosure, the injured hippo was still in the same spot, its breathing audible from hundreds of meters away.

There was no unusual movement. The lions were sleeping, the wildebeests were grazing, and the hippos were panting. Everything was peaceful, as if nothing had happened.

Su Mu waited a few minutes, and after confirming that no new threats appeared, he emerged from behind the bushes...

Su Mu waited a few minutes and, after confirming that no new threats appeared, stepped out from behind the bushes and headed towards the entrance of the secret realm.

The area where the air was distorted was located in a depression behind the artificial hill. The surrounding vegetation was no different from the rest of the area, and the ground was covered with the same pebbles and fallen leaves. As Su Mu approached, the silvery-white ripples became more pronounced, as if an invisible hand was stirring the water's surface, with ripples spreading outwards in concentric circles.

He reached out, and the moment his fingertips touched the ripples, a system notification popped up.

[Discovery: The Secret Realm of Reincarnation]

[Hazard Level: Moderate]

[Number of participants allowed: 2 or more]

[Current number of participants: 1. This does not meet the requirements to start.]