Everyone continued walking forward and arrived at the stage performance area.

“I’ve heard that the stage performances at this Hot and Cold Animal Park are excellent and definitely not to be missed.”

“But it seems they already performed that stage play this afternoon. Tonight’s schedule appears to be different.”

“Really? That’s a shame. After we finish the internal testing of ‘Foreign Traveler,’ we can pick a time to come watch the stage play together.”

“I wonder what program they have tonight? The program guide doesn’t specify clearly.”

“Let’s quickly find seats—they’ll be filled soon.”

Everyone hurriedly sat down in the audience seats. Although the official start was still half an hour away, there weren’t many empty seats left, demonstrating visitors’ enthusiasm for the animal park’s stage performances.

By the time the show officially began, it would likely be packed.

Some of the visitors participating in the “Foreign Traveler” internal testing were here for the first time and found this scene fresh and interesting.

They had long heard that there were no animal performances in the Hot and Cold Animal Park—the most spectacular shows were stage plays performed by actors wearing animal costumes.

But this stage play had already been performed many times, including earlier that afternoon. How could the other programs be so popular with the audience as well?

There were even people setting up cameras at the back.

Some uninformed visitors asked each other, “Hey, what exactly is the performance tonight?”

Regular visitors explained, “Crosstalk comedy.”

The inquiring visitor was stunned, almost thinking they had misheard: “Crosstalk?”

The regular visitor nodded: “The employees at this animal park are truly talented—each one has one or two skills they can showcase.”

“Take today’s two performers—one used to be an elephant keeper at Jingzhou Zoo who enjoyed performing crosstalk comedy in his spare time. Later, he was recruited by the Hot and Cold Animal Park and now performs in his spare time. His crosstalk is so good that he’s gaining more and more fans. We’re practically at a commercial performance venue now.”

“And there’s another employee who sings exceptionally well. Among the regular visitors to the animal park, quite a few are his fans. I heard Chen Lei knows about this and has agreed to come next month for a duet with him. If you want to come and listen then, be sure to grab tickets early, otherwise they’ll all be snatched up by Chen Lei’s fans.”

The inquiring visitor was shocked, feeling his worldview being turned upside down.

Such an ordinary-looking animal park was actually hiding exceptional talents? These employees were all uniquely skilled—some could perform crosstalk comedy, others could sing?

It was truly remarkable.

Just this aspect alone put other animal parks to shame by miles.

On second thought, this made sense—after all, the work pressure at the Hot and Cold Animal Park was minimal. These employees’ daily tasks consisted of playing with small animals and doing some cleaning. They earned decent money and maintained a positive mental state every day.

Since there were no animal performances in the park, and the director encouraged everyone to actively participate in stage performances, employees with interests and hobbies naturally participated enthusiastically.

Moreover, because the work pressure wasn’t high, they could fully immerse themselves in their side interests, gradually improving their skills. Slowly, one or two geniuses had emerged.

As people were marveling at this, they suddenly heard an “Ahem—” from the crowd as two crosstalk comedians took the stage.

These two comedians were indeed dressed in traditional long gowns and jackets, looking very professional. Without prior knowledge, it would be difficult to connect them with animal park employees.

The entire stage seemed to transform into a crosstalk comedy venue in an instant.

The two performers were very professional. They first bowed to the audience below, then began their performance at a measured pace, with excellent rhythm control.

The comic actor had a round face with a naturally distinctive mischievous smile: “Today’s crowd seems larger than last time. Thank you very much for your support. We are both amateur crosstalk performers, and to receive your generous appreciation is truly an honor.”

“Let me introduce ourselves briefly—we are both employees of the Cold Mockery Hot Sarcasm Animal Park…”

The tall straight man quickly stopped him: “Wait, wait. Hold on. ‘Cold Mockery Hot Sarcasm Animal Park’? Does that sound right?”

The two began their back-and-forth with natural rhythm.

“Isn’t it Cold Mockery Hot Sarcasm Animal Park?”

“Good grief, you can’t even remember the name of your own workplace! It’s not Cold Mockery Hot Sarcasm, it’s Hot and Cold Knowledge.”

“Oh, Hot and Cold Knowledge. No matter, there’s not much difference—they’re all about hot, cold, sour, and sweet.”

“Good grief, all you think about is food.”

“We are employees of the Hot and Cold Animal Park. Our main job every day is to be animals here.”

“Wait a minute, ‘be animals’? Is that how you’d put it?”

“What else then?”

“We don’t ‘be animals,’ we feed animals, pretend to be animals.”

“Is there a difference?”

“There’s a huge difference—one is being inside, one is being outside.”

“So where are you?”

“I’m outside, of course.”

“Oh, I see—free-range! I can tell, animals with your physique are typically quite fierce and potentially harmful to people, so you need a larger space for activity.”

“‘Free-range’? Is that appropriate? I’m not an animal, I’m an animal keeper.”

“Right, right, animal keeper. The animals get thinner while you get fatter.”

“Now wait a minute, let’s be clear, there’s no causal relationship between the animals getting thinner and me getting fatter. I haven’t embezzled a single bite of animal feed! Besides, all animals at our Hot and Cold Animal Park have plenty of food—no animal is getting thinner.”

“Yes, yes, look at these robust animals, each one full of energy—that’s all thanks to your nourishment. They all have your blood and bones in them.”

“Wait a minute, ‘blood and bones’? Is that appropriate?”

“Then what should it be?”

“Heart and soul! They embody my heart and soul!”

“Not much difference.”

“There’s a huge difference! The specific biological mechanisms are worlds apart.”

“In any case, you’ve sacrificed a lot for these animals’ health.”

“It’s really just part of my duties. I make sure these animals get adequate exercise every day, which is why they’re healthy in body and happy in spirit.”

“Right, adequate exercise. It’s like why large dogs destroy homes—mainly because they don’t get enough exercise. So, to prevent our large animals from getting depressed and tearing down our park, you wrestle daily with dangerous large animals like parrots, arctic foxes, and otters. My goodness, the fights are so brutal, with so much physical activity…”

“Wait, wait. If you keep talking like this, someone will report us for animal abuse. There’s nothing like that. I just play with cats and walk dogs when I have free time, nothing else.”

“I must disagree with you there. Yesterday I saw you arguing with that parrot named Ganggang. My goodness, it was brutal! You two were going at it with sharp tongues, neither giving an inch. Even the automated argument machine nearby couldn’t stand it anymore and came over to mediate…”

“Good grief, I must not know how to spell ‘death.’ Those two are the sleeping dragon and young phoenix of the argument world. I wouldn’t dare argue with them. Even standing nearby when they’re arguing, I might become collateral damage…”

The two bantered back and forth with wit and humor, controlling the rhythm perfectly, occasionally triggering waves of laughter from the audience.

Crosstalk comedy is peculiar—the same script and the same jokes can make audiences roar with laughter and cheer when performed by some comedians, while others might bore the audience to sleep, completely failing to deliver the effect.

Different crosstalk performers also have strong personal styles—some make people laugh just by standing there, while others, no matter how hard they try to be funny, give the impression they’re forcing laughter.

These two crosstalk performers were both very articulate with distinct personal styles. Their coordination was excellent, and the comedy segment incorporated many references to the Hot and Cold Animal Park, which resonated even more with the live audience.

While laughing heartily, the audience members also pulled out their phones to record videos.

“This crosstalk is so interesting—it was worth coming!”

“Exactly! Bought a ticket for the animal park and got a crosstalk show ticket as a bonus—what a deal!”

“Will the camera footage be uploaded to the AiLiDao website? I want to share it with my roommates when I get back, and invite them to come next time!”

“This is indeed a great team-building place for young people, suitable for people with different tastes. Is there anyone who wouldn’t like fluffy little animals?”

“I think the Hot and Cold Animal Park’s model is great—no animal performances, just employee performances. And you can see these animals are all well-cared for, each one full of energy. This new type of animal park is more interesting than those old-fashioned ones.”

“Another important point is that this animal park conveys a great philosophy, especially that stage play. It really promotes the spirit of ‘harmony between humans and animals.’ If you bring children here, it has good educational value…”

“We can come back another day to hear the concert! That employee sings quite well, and I heard Chen Lei is interested in coming to sing a duet with him!”

“I recommend that everyone coming out of the haunted house visit the animal park. After experiencing psychological stimulation, you can immediately get healed by the small animals—perfect!”

“I hope the Frightening Inn project launches joint tickets with the animal park soon! That little arctic fox is really too cute. Every time I come, it peers through the railings with longing eyes. I want to take it home so badly—I feel uncomfortable not seeing it for just one day.”

“You can scan the QR code, then you can observe it 24 hours a day on the APP.”

“That’s not the same. Watching on an app lacks soul. You must come see it in person, even pet it with your own hands to really satisfy the craving.”

Everyone expressed that such an enjoyable animal park having so few visitors seemed unfair.

They would have to voluntarily spread the word and get everyone in Jingzhou to come!