Drunk White Monkey's Freebie

Outside the Huangkang Winery.

A fully armed team was stealthily creeping toward the factory entrance.

At the head of the formation was none other than Ma Tianxing, a director of the Xingyan Group.

This unit was the Second Exploration Team led by Ma Tianxing. Every member was equipped with the group's finest gear, earned through their combat contributions, and the roster had undergone several rotations over time.

Ma Tianxing suddenly halted, signaling the team to hold their positions with a wave of his hand. He then beckoned to a small-statured member. Once the scout reached him, he instructed, "Tian Ming, you have thirty minutes. Scout the perimeter of the factory and observe what kind of monsters are inside."

Tian Ming was one of the few women in the team. Agile and swift, she served as the Second Exploration Team's scout, responsible for intelligence gathering before any operation.

With a fluid motion, she darted toward the winery's perimeter wall, moving with minimal sound. Before long, she reached a tree near the wall and scrambled up it, peering inside.

At a glance, the winery grounds were littered with monkeys lying in disarray. Their fur was a fiery, vibrant red, and they were surrounded by wine barrels from which a pale, purplish-red liquid flowed.

This winery produced wine that was highly favored by the locals, perfectly suited to their tastes.

The owner of the winery was a connoisseur himself; his original intention in opening the business was simply to ensure he could enjoy the finest wine possible.

To that end, he had even rented a plot of land locally to cultivate grapes, selecting only the best specimens for fermentation once they matured. The annual output was only about thirty barrels, twenty of which were bottled and supplied to various local elites.

It was precisely because of the wine's high quality that it had attracted this troop of monkeys, and subsequently, the Second Exploration Team of the Xingyan Group.

The mission of the Second Exploration Team this time was to collect as much of the winery's stock as possible, to be used as prizes for the group's upcoming Third Martial Arts Tournament.

Upon receiving the directive, the Second Exploration Team had immediately adjusted their planned route to find the fastest path to the winery.

Seeing the drunken monkey troop, Tian Ming hopped down from the tree, picked up a small stone, and climbed back up.

She swung her arm and tossed the stone into an open space within the factory grounds. Only a few monkeys tilted their heads to look at where the stone landed. Finding nothing of interest, they fumbled for the barrels beside them, took a few deep gulps, and squinted their eyes shut to fall back into a deep slumber.

Tian Ming curled her lip, jumped down again, and ran to a tree on another side of the wall. She pulled out her binoculars to peer through the open doors and windows of the low-rise buildings inside the winery.

Inside the rooms, a few more monkeys were lying about, their fur just as fiery red, showing no significant difference from those outside.

Tian Ming tried throwing a slightly larger stone again, but the result was the same as before.

It seems these monkeys are all dead drunk, Tian Ming thought to herself.

To ensure absolute safety, Tian Ming proceeded to the final side, but everywhere she looked, there was nothing but more drunken monkeys.

After finishing her count, Tian Ming returned to the team and said helplessly, "There probably isn't much left in the factory; the monkeys have ruined most of it."

Ma Tianxing said with regret, "If there isn't much left, we'll just have to take what we can. Are there any other monsters inside besides the monkeys?"

Tian Ming turned serious instantly. "Based on my preliminary scouting, there should only be monkeys in the factory, no other monsters. There are about thirty to forty of them, no more, no less."

"As for their characteristics, their fur is bright red, like they're on fire. They are all completely drunk and show little reaction to external disturbances. I couldn't see into some of the closed rooms, so I don't know if there are any Second-Tier monsters hiding in there; I could only calculate based on one monkey per room."

"Given the size of the group, there must be a leader monster. The most likely place for it is the warehouse."

After learning the distribution of the monkeys, Ma Tianxing gathered all his members and said, "We will now proceed with a stealth operation to clear the grounds. Everyone is to use daggers and move with the utmost silence. One target per person. First, eliminate all the monkeys in the open space outside the warehouse. Do not let them make a single sound."

"Once that is done, everyone will pair up to check every room in the office building. Do not miss a single one."

"Finally, we will clear the remaining monkeys in the warehouse."

"Now, move out."

"Understood."

Following Ma Tianxing's command, all the members responded in low voices.

Everything went smoothly. Within forty minutes, all members had completed their assigned tasks, save for the final warehouse.

Everyone gathered outside the warehouse, waiting for the order to storm inside. Before announcing the Gate of Opening, Ma Tianxing felt a heavy pressure weighing upon him.

If the number of monsters inside was staggering, or if there was an exceptionally powerful beast, would he be able to bring all his members back alive?

Regardless, this door had to be opened; otherwise, it would remain a major hazard on the road to the county seat.

"Open!" At the command, the warehouse doors were slowly pushed wide.

What met their eyes was a fiery red monkey, significantly larger than the others, roughly the size of a chimpanzee.

This monkey's fur was even more like a raging flame than the others, and at the tips of its fur, there was a hint of purplish-red, identical to the color of the wine.

The warehouse was filled with the thick aroma of wine, enough to make one feel intoxicated just by breathing it in.

Like the others outside, this monkey lay motionless on the ground, ignoring the fact that the doors had been opened.

The exploration team members looked at each other, unable to believe that the boss monster of the entire factory could be such a pushover.

Ma Tianxing drew his signature twin short axes and approached the monkey's neck, swinging his right hand down with a heavy strike.

At that moment, the monkey's eyes snapped open. Its body recoiled, its teeth instantly clamping onto the axe blade. It kicked its hind legs upward, flipping its body over and dragging Ma Tianxing, who hadn't yet managed to release his grip, along with it.

It all happened too suddenly; Ma Tianxing failed to react in time.

The monkey released the axe blade and swiped a paw at Ma Tianxing.

Caught off guard, Ma Tianxing took the blow head-on and was sent flying, landing heavily at the warehouse entrance.

The team members finally snapped to their senses, drawing their respective weapons and surrounding the monkey.

Although the monkey's eyes were open, it still looked bleary-eyed, its gait unsteady and swaying, as if it had yet to fully sober up.

Under the barrage of attacks from the members, the monkey didn't take a single solid hit, only suffering strikes that couldn't even pierce its fur.

Much like a drunken master, every one of the monkey's attacks managed to knock down a team member.

Ma Tianxing climbed back up from the ground just as two more members were struck down. He rubbed his cheek and rejoined the fray.

And so, the two sides remained in a stalemate.

After a dozen minutes of deadlock, a sound like a manhole cover being lifted echoed through the warehouse, though the members of the exploration team, caught in the heat of battle, failed to notice.