The plan was simple and brutal: draw the snakes out—or rather, draw the monkeys out of the forest.
Two members of the Wind-Breaking Squad drove vehicles that looked heavily laden with supplies but were relatively lightly armored. Escorted by a standard patrol vehicle, they made their way at an unhurried pace toward the outskirts of the Eastern Forest, along the dirt road that the monkeys often visited. Lin Mo, Wang Keke, and Aunt Zhang hid in the armored command vehicle behind them, observing remotely through a drone and the vehicle's equipment.
(Inner monologue): "I hope these monkeys know what's good for them and accept this king's 'friendly meeting' without a fuss. Otherwise... heh heh, I've heard monkey brains are quite a delicacy..."
The convoy had barely entered the edge of the forest—not even reaching the site of the incident shown in the earlier video—when the treetops beside the road began shaking violently without warning, accompanied by a chorus of chattering.
"They're here!" came a voice over the comms. It was Li Ning, a scout disguised as the driver of one of the transport vehicles.
Countless gray and brown figures swung or leaped down from the trees like ghosts, quickly forming a ring around the convoy. There were even more of them than in the video. At a glance, there were at least a hundred, each with bright eyes and sharp claws and fangs. They were clearly no pushovers.
At their head was none other than General Maomao, with a bright red triangular flag fluttering above its head—at least, Lin Mo stubbornly insisted it was a flag. It seemed to have taken special care with its appearance today. Its red underpants sat a little straighter than before as it stood with hands on hips atop a transport vehicle's hood, looking utterly full of itself.
Then Monkey King Jiji made a dazzling appearance on a branch a little higher up behind it. He stood with his arms crossed as always, his golden fur glimmering in the dappled forest light. His tiny, rather shabby crown sat stubbornly atop his head, and he gazed down at them as if to say, "Everything in my territory must pay tribute!"
But when Maomao's shifty gaze swept over the convoy and finally landed on Lin Mo, who had quietly poked half his body through the command vehicle's sunroof to get a better look, it visibly froze. The formidable dark gold armor, his powerful streamlined frame, and those golden vertical pupils that belonged to no monkey all gave him an innate air of menace.
(Inner monologue): "Hm? Looks like this king's aura is good for something after all. That underpants general looks terrified."
Maomao really was a little nervous. It bared its teeth and let out a few threatening growls, as if sizing up the danger posed by this huge, iron-shelled creature it had never seen before. The monkeys behind it stirred uneasily.
But soon, Maomao seemed to sense something. It carefully "sniffed"—perhaps using some kind of mental perception—and then its face twisted into an intensely human expression of... scorn and arrogance.
(Inner monologue): "What the hell is that look?! Is it looking down on this king?! What gives an underpants-wearing monkey the right to look down on me, a monkey in armor?!"
Lin Mo understood the look. It meant, "So it's just an empty shell—an Advanced Beast Soldier. You scared me for nothing."
Sure enough, once General Maomao confirmed Lin Mo's "weak" strength, its confidence surged. It thumped its chest, then swaggered up to the command vehicle with several dozen especially burly Elite Monkey Soldiers. Then... it expertly held out one furry paw and rubbed its fingers together, chin raised as it looked down at everyone in the vehicle.
The classic begging gesture had returned!
But this time, unlike before, when it had communicated through body language alone, a clear mental message crackling with indignation and complaint came through like noisy radio waves! It wasn't directed at any one person; it spread in all directions. Wang Keke, the Spirit Reader closest to the source, sensed it most clearly.
"Squeak! (Translation: Tribute! Pay up, now!)"
"Grr! Sss! (Translation: You long-legged, hairless monkeys! You have no manners!)"
"Chatter! Chitter! (Translation: You used to give us so few fruit candies and beans! What are we, beggars?!)"
"Roo! Woo! (Translation: There are more of us now! There isn't enough to go around!)"
"Squeee! (Translation: The Monkey King says you disobedient subjects must be punished!)"
"Caw! Grr! (Translation: The Monkey King wants a shiny new crown worthy of his status! You stupid monkeys—you humans—dared to ignore him!)"
"Sss! Roar! (Translation: The Monkey King is angry! There will be consequences! We'll take everything and teach you a lesson!)"
Wang Keke did her best to receive and translate the jumbled messages. Her expression shifted from shock to bewilderment, then to helpless amusement.
She turned to the others in the vehicle, especially Lin Mo, and spoke haltingly. "They... they're complaining that we 'long-legged, hairless monkeys' don't pay enough tribute. There are more of them now, so there isn't enough to eat... They also say King Jiji wants a new crown, and we ignored him... So they're going to punish us and take our supplies..."
(Inner monologue): "L-long-legged, hairless monkeys?! Holy shit, that's... actually a pretty apt description! They really think humans are a kind of monkey?! And hairless ones at that?! Wait... King Jiji wants a crown? We ignored him? Who the hell can understand monkey language?!"
Lin Mo suddenly understood! No wonder these monkeys had once managed to "get along" with the humans and even "help" the patrol squads. The explanation probably lay in their experiences at the zoo before the Great Nirvana!
In their minds, humans and monkeys both belonged to the broad category of "monkeys." They just looked a little different—longer legs, less fur—but were basically the same kind!
That meant their past behavior was more like interacting with "neighbors": asking for snacks and occasionally lending a hand. But when the humans "ignored" them—because they couldn't understand monkey language—the monkeys saw it as "arrogance" and "disrespect." And ignoring the "decree" of King Jiji—his desire for a new crown—was outright treason!
(Inner monologue): "Mystery solved! It's all fucking solved! This is a cross-species diplomatic crisis caused by a misunderstanding and a failure to communicate! And Wang Keke and I somehow ended up as the 'interpreters' who can receive their 'diplomatic dispatches'!"
Thinking about it made Lin Mo both annoyed and amused. He glanced at King Jiji on the branch, looking displeased because his "decree" had been ignored, then at General Maomao in front of him, outraged over the "insult" to its king, the red underpants atop its head trembling slightly. He felt utterly helpless.
(Inner monologue): "What the hell is this?! I came to hunt a Beast General, not mediate a dispute over the Monkey King's dignity and the distribution of supplies!"
But a mission was a mission. Communication came first.
Wang Keke tried to focus and send her thoughts back, keeping them as gentle as possible. "We... didn't mean to disrespect you. We couldn't understand what you were saying. The crown... we can discuss that. But stealing is wrong."
Maomao received the vague message, froze for a moment, then grew even angrier. Its mental waves surged.
"Squeak squeak! (Translation: Liar! You couldn't understand us? Then how can you understand us now?!)"
"Grr! Roar! (Translation: It's obviously an excuse! You're looking down on our Monkey King!)"
"Sss! Chitter! (Translation: Enough talk! Hand over all the good food, fun things, and shiny stuff!)"
"Caw! (Translation: Otherwise, we'll tear apart your iron boxes—your vehicles!)"
The monkeys behind it joined in, chattering and baring their teeth as they began to pound on the vehicles. The situation was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
(Inner monologue): "Damn it! So there's no talking this out? You refuse a polite offer and choose a fight! Do you really think I'm Hello Kitty?!"
Lin Mo's temper flared. He suddenly thrust his whole body through the sunroof, his dark gold armor reflecting the cold light of the sun, and let out a low, threatening Tiger Roar!
"ROAR—!!"
The terrifying sound, infused with the majesty of the king of beasts, swept across the area and drowned out the monkeys' racket. The monkeys in front jolted and scrambled backward, staring in terror at the dangerous "iron-shelled giant beast."
Maomao was startled too, but it relied on its status as a Spirit Beast General and the support of King Jiji behind it. Forcing itself to stay calm, it bared its teeth at Lin Mo and launched a stronger mental attack, like a spike driven toward him!
(Inner monologue): "You're still attacking me?! You think I'm going to let that slide?!"
Lin Mo's soul was unusual, and he had decent resistance to mental attacks, but the provocation pushed him over the edge. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he prepared to unleash Lightning Strike and teach the "underpants general" a lesson it would never forget.
"Mimi! Wait!" Wang Keke cried out in a hurry. At the same time, she released all her mental power and formed a gentle but sturdy barrier between Lin Mo and Maomao, trying to defuse the situation. "Don't attack yet! Let's talk some more!"
What had been planned as a "hunt" had turned into an intense, absurd "cross-species diplomatic negotiation" between a Winged Tiger, a young Spirit Reader, a crowned Monkey King, and a monkey general wearing red underpants.
(Inner monologue): "Talk? How are we supposed to talk this out? Am I supposed to say, 'King Jiji, your crown is dazzling, but your general's underpants are even more stylish'? This is too much for a tiger!"
Lin Mo looked at the chaotic, ridiculous scene before him and felt that life as a tiger was hard. It seemed the first battle of their patrol hunt was destined to begin in a spectacularly ridiculous fashion.
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