The next day, the number of visitors broke a hundred! Fang Ye was so delighted that he ate two large bowls of food on the spot.
It might not seem like a big deal, but you should know that on a normal day, there would only be single-digit numbers of visitors, and on a busier day, maybe just twenty or thirty. This was a several-fold increase!
And yesterday wasn't even a weekend or a holiday; those who came were groups of kids or retired seniors. Once the working crowd found some free time, that's when things would really get bustling.
With the completion of Zoo Invaders 1, he was rewarded with 1,000 green leaf coins and a deworming pill, and the system released a new task.
[Task: Zoo Invaders 2]
Description: The zoo has too few visitors. Let's bring in more people to visit and play!
Requirement: Reach a daily visitor count of 300.
Reward: 1,000 green leaf coins and an animal clue*1 (Follow the clue to discover wild animals in need of rescue.)]
The animal clue reward was indeed novel; he had no idea what kind of animals in need of rescue he would encounter.
Fang Ye called Mi Jin to thank her for the promotional article, and Mi Jin repeatedly expressed her modesty, saying that she had been praised by her superiors for the article and would definitely write more articles to promote Linhai Zoo in the future.
Linhai Zoo gained visitors, and Mi Jin's article gained readership; it was a win-win.
After hanging up the call, Fang Ye suddenly remembered that it had been a long time since he last did a prize draw. The red panda was so cute, and he should have gained quite a bit of popularity during the live stream, right? With yesterday's article out, the popularity must have surged again.
When he opened the panel, he had actually accumulated 300 thousand popularity points!
Fang Ye's excitement grew, wondering what good stuff he could draw with so many popularity points.
"Ding! As the zoo has exhibits, more items have been added to the prize pool!"
The system even provided a prompt.
Fang Ye's anticipation heightened, and with a thought, he did a draw!
"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining 3 Tiger badges!"
Oh?
Fang Ye took out the badges to examine them. They were made of plastic. One featured the frontal head of a tiger with a regal "king" character on its forehead. Another showed a tiger in repose, hugging its paws with slightly squinted eyes, endearing and cute. The third displayed a tiger enjoying a shower with its eyes closed.
A set of three, each with differing expressions and postures, seemingly captured from their everyday lives.
He was somewhat amused; this was the "more items"? It felt like even if these were sold in the souvenir shop, they wouldn't fetch as much as plushies. Well, at least he got three at a time. Such a simple system, love it.
"Congratulations, Host, for obtaining one Wolf plushie (Medium)."
The Protective Potion was also a good item, your's ability to recover from illness and boost their immunity. Unfortunately, it was only suitable for small animals; the effect was lesser on larger animals. A hundred doses for an elephant wouldn't be as effective as one dose for a red panda.
With his popularity value nearly depleted, Fang Ye was satisfied to have gotten two bottles of Protective Potion. He could feed some to both the red panda and the soon-to-arrive macaws, allowing them to live and grow up healthy.
With only a few draws left, he didn't pay much attention and was surprised when a new item he hadn't seen before appeared.
"Congratulations to the host, you've won a [Fleshy Worm]!"
[Fleshy Worm]: A high-quality nourishing feed. After consumption by animals, their feathers or fur will become brighter and more lustrous.
—Chicken-flavored crispy crunch.
The Fleshy Worm, only the size of a finger segment, looked like a plump white larva.
Animals care about their looks too; peafowl flaunt their tail feathers during mating displays, the more attractive it is, the higher their chances of success. For zoos, seeing beautiful animals naturally makes visitors happy.
"Can it be cut up and used?"
Fang Ye hesitated, not knowing who to give it to. Maybe he should spread it evenly, mixing a little into all the animals' feed.
"You can, but the effect will be greatly reduced if cut," the system responded.
Well, then that's not an option.
After some thought, Fang Ye decided it would be most suitable for foxes, red pandas, and macaws, as these animals rely on their looks. Actually, peafowl would also be a good choice, but he was somewhat reluctant to use it on the blue peafowl...
"Hmm, let's give it to Xiaoqiao!" He quickly made a decision.
As the only silver fox among several red foxes, Xiaoqiao's silver-black fur was very eye-catching and had already become quite popular. A little more beauty would definitely make her a star of Linhai Zoo.
He immediately went to the red fox exhibit. Since the zoo was closed, the animals were resting in the back sheds.
Animals don't always stay in the outdoor enclosures; they come back to the sheds at night. Animal keepers also clean the enclosures after their return. Besides, if they feel moody one day and don't want to see visitors or are ill and need rest, they stay inside the sheds.
Seeing Fang Ye, Sugar Pack happily approached him, cooing "Ying Ying Ying" in delight, while Xiaoqiao looked at him suspiciously, wondering what he had in mind by coming so late.
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"I've got a special treat for you."
Fang Ye tossed the Fleshy Worm towards Xiaoqiao's mouth, and she caught it instinctively, swallowing it down in one gulp.
Chomp chomp, licking her lips, it seemed to taste pretty good?
Seeing that the other foxes were looking at him longingly, Fang Ye spread his hands, "That's it! I'll give you guys some if I have extra next time."