Super Zoo

Huaxia has to this point achieved 129 Guinness World Records. Each time a new record is established, media from all walks generates a buzz around it, especially in recent years with the development of the internet: as soon as a record is created, it immediately spreads across the nation, and hundreds of millions of people quickly become informed.

However, it seems there has never been a case where a potential Guinness Record became a heated topic before it was even set.

The large "big baby" fish at Yangchuan City Zoo appears to have broken this rule, at least within the scope of Yangchuan City.

The day after Suming and Murong Yan's conversation, posts about the large "big baby" fish gradually began to appear on the Yangchuan forum.

The initial posts were some commonly seen travelogues.

Nowadays on the Yangchuan forum, about seventy to eighty percent of the local travelogues center around the zoo, featuring fortune-bringing cats, crocodiles as big as mountains, finless porpoise babies, and super-large fish, nearly filling up the entire section.

The previously rather quiet 'Yangchuan Tourism' subsection, therefore, became lively due to this.

If it were any other organization, forum members would have grown impatient with travelogues about it dominating the discussion all day, certainly considering it spam by paid posters for commercial promotion. But the zoo was different, with one fresh event after another, all rarities not seen for decades, and some, like riding a fish, were completely unprecedented.

The key was the proximity to the local community. If anyone didn't believe it, they just needed to spend two yuan on a bus ride to the zoo to experience it firsthand and then they would know the truth of the matter.

The first batch of travelogues came with photos of the large "big baby" fish. One daring individual managed to somehow slip past the security cordon, lay a meter away from the "big baby" fish, and even flashed a V-sign with his fingers for a photo op.

In the photo, the fish was even longer than the person taking the photo! "Big baby" fish are common, but ones this large were practically mythical creatures; most people would never hear of such a thing in their lifetimes!

Latter on, someone uploaded a short video in which the large "big baby" fish cast aside its usual 'mild and adorable' image known to the public, showing a ferocious side as it snapped a thick branch with a crunch of its toothy maw!

In this day and age, what the general public craves is novelty and excitement! If a crocodile were the one to snap a branch, it wouldn't be anything noteworthy, but a "big baby" fish the size of a crocodile doing so was a complete overturn of everyone's cognition!

A wolf killing a sheep is not unusual, but if a sheep were to crisply snap another sheep's neck in one bite, that would definitely be explosive news!

This little clip was quickly shared like wildfire. Not to mention WeChat Moments, several major domestic websites also reposted it. Within just two or three days, it amassed impressive click rates.

At that time, Yangchuan City TV Station very opportunistically launched a special program titled "This Zoo is Extraordinary."

The feature journalist for this program was assigned to Yangchuan Television Station's rising star, Nangong Yan. An assistant zoo director responsible for the animals, Comrade Su Ming, accompanied the crew throughout the entire zoo, covering the recent happenings in the zoo for an overall report.

Not only did they cover the fortune-bringing cat and fish-riding, but there were also too many other zoo happenings worth reporting on. Even some events that Su Ming considered 'second-tier' attracted more audience attention than the majority of other news!

"The zoo has always cared about the reintroduction of captive animals into the wild. This little wolf, named Huiya, has already lived successfully in the mountains behind for a while and is beginning to adapt to life in the wilderness..."

"Yes, as the viewers can see, the most distinctive monkey at Monkey Mountain, the very symbol of Yangchuan City that hasn't been spotted for many years, is none other than the Qinling Golden Monkey. And why can the Golden Monkey live together with macaques? Do we even need to ask? Animals too need to establish a harmonious society. Different species of monkeys living together in love and harmony, sharing fruits, sharing wives...uh...director, please delete this part in post-production..."

"Let me clarify that the phrase 'look at your sis' wasn't said by me, but by these two Diamond Parrots! Here, I'd like to appeal to our visitors to be civilized when touring the park, especially in front of the parrots. Don't use curse words, teach them civilized language like 'hello, handsome'...Damn, if you two dare to cuss at me again, I'll pluck all your feathers! Uh...director, please delete this too..."

"Under the concern of provincial and city leaders and the strong support of the Provincial Agricultural Science Academy, the zoo is about to establish a small aquarium for the finless porpoises to live in. It will also be open to our visitor friends... Oh right, the giant doll fish that's been dubbed 'the ruffian' online will become neighbors with the finless porpoise family!"

Nangong Yan asked in a timely manner, "I heard that you discovered 'the ruffian' in the mountains and are preparing to apply for a Guinness World Record for it, is that so?"

Suming nodded, "That's right! I have some good news for everyone. My application has been accepted, and this Saturday morning, Guinness will send a special Certification Officer to the zoo for an on-site certification. On that day, the zoo will be open to the public for free. We welcome all citizens and media friends to come and witness the birth of a new world record!"

Three days later!

In the largest grass section of the zoo, a temporary stage had been set up, with a vibrant banner fluttering in the wind bearing the words 'World's Largest Wild Doll Fish'.

In the center of the stage, there was a several-meters-long transparent aquarium, and the giant doll fish lay on the pebbles at the bottom of the tank.

Under Suming's deliberate direction, the giant doll fish shook its head and wobbled at the surrounding tourists, occasionally opening its big mouth to show off its sharp teeth, displaying a fierce and diabolical appearance, which scared some timid girls into low-pitched screams.

The best spots in front of the stage had been taken by the media that rushed to the scene, with over a dozen media outlets forming a semicircle below the stage.

However, the snapping sounds from the professional media were completely drowned out by the noisy crowd on the lawn behind them. Behind the media team, there was a sea of tourists that looked like an ocean of people.

Today was the weekend, most residents were already off work, the zoo was free to enter, plus the chance to witness the creation of a world record. Such opportunities didn't come every day!

"Ladies and gentlemen, please be quiet!"

From the loudspeakers on the stage, a somewhat weird and shrill voice rang out!

Far from quieting down, the crowd underneath erupted into a good-natured burst of laughter, and Wang Jian She and Mr. Song, sitting at the back row of 'leaders' seats on the stage, couldn't help but laugh as well.

Suming stood behind the speaker, but the one speaking wasn't him.

On his left and right, there were two round stools with a Diamond Parrot standing on each, half a meter tall. The phrase from before was spoken by the parrot sister on the left.

After the parrot sister finished speaking, she tucked her head in and gave way. The parrot sister on the right quickly leaned over to the speaker and, with an odd intonation, said, "Now, please welcome, the Guinness Certification Officer, Mr. Zhao, to the stage!"