A Trip to the Zoo to Clear His Head

The icy gun barrel pressed against Kuafu's forehead. His keen sense of smell could even detect the scent of gunpowder and congealed blood.

"Hu... man..." Kuafu forced out the two words through clenched teeth, his eyes filled with rage and hatred.

He had been far too careless. He had never expected this human to be so cunning, hiding inside this armored vehicle and waiting for him to arrive!

How had this human known that rage would cloud his judgment and make him want to drive the armored vehicle himself to pursue them?

Human cunning and deceit were truly terrifying!

Using the faint light streaming in from outside, Shen Feng got a clear look at the bespectacled gorilla and was somewhat surprised.

He had originally hidden here to capture whichever ape came to drive the armored vehicle, then sneak out with them.

Yet he had hooked a big fish right away—and the biggest one of all!

"Don't make a sound. If you shout, I'll kill you," Shen Feng said in a low voice. "Don't tell me your death means nothing. If you die, your people will become a scattered rabble. I haven't found any other gorilla with leadership abilities like yours."

"You..."

Just as Kuafu was about to speak, Shen Feng pushed the barrel forward and continued:

"Besides, if your kind learns that you can't pass your intelligence on to the next generation, that yours will be the only generation of intelligent apes, what will they think? Will they kill themselves in despair? Ku...afu?"

Hearing this human call his name directly, along with those earlier words, Kuafu's eyes widened instantly. It was as if he had been struck by lightning, and his shock was beyond measure.

This vicious human had instantly found the greatest weakness of the entire ape race—a weakness capable of splintering them apart and driving them completely mad!

He fell silent at once and stared expressionlessly at Shen Feng for several seconds. Then he suddenly smiled faintly and said calmly:

"Human, I have to admit that I underestimated your intelligence and your viciousness."

At that moment, the ape guards outside finally noticed something unusual. Kuafu was standing in front of the hatch without moving, and they immediately asked anxiously:

"Kuafu, danger? What happened?"

Kuafu looked at the human in the shadows and said slowly:

"It's nothing. I want to be alone, Longtooth. Spread out. Don't come in."

Captain of the Guard Longtooth frowned slightly, but still chose to obey and answered loudly:

"Yes!"

He then made a gesture, and the dozen or so ape guards dispersed throughout the underground parking garage.

Their leader possessed a gorilla's heart as well. What had just happened must have devastated him. He probably needed time to recover.

"Good. Close the hatch and sit in the driver's seat," Shen Feng said with a nod.

Kuafu did as instructed and sat in the driver's seat, turning to look at the human who had repeatedly made him suffer setbacks.

Only then did he discover with some surprise that this was merely a human cub—no, a human teenager!

"Human, even if you capture me, you will still die. You cannot leave."

Shen Feng shook the shotgun in his hand and said:

"You needn't worry about that. Start the armored vehicle immediately and take me out of Radiant City."

Kuafu turned and stared directly into Shen Feng's eyes, his gaze full of sincerity.

"There is no fuel in the armored vehicle. It can't be driven at all. Everything before was merely a misunderstanding. On the honor of the ape leader, I guarantee that we can reconcile. As long as you leave now, the apes will not harm you in the slightest."

By now, he had realized that this human seemed to be alone and had no accomplices.

That put him much more at ease.

"What I did before was wrong. On behalf of the ape race, I apologize to you. Humans are, after all, the creators of intelligent apes. We truly should not have acted this way. I really regret it..."

As he spoke, Kuafu's eyes even grew moist.

Shen Feng secretly marveled at the intelligence of this ape leader named Kuafu.

The depth of his scheming made Shen Feng feel as if he stood at the edge of an abyss. If Shen Feng had not witnessed the madness of the ape race's flame-passing ritual and their slaughter of the Skinners, he might almost have believed Kuafu's words.

But now, he had no doubt that if he truly let Kuafu go, the other party would immediately tear him to pieces!

To this ape leader, only the future of the ape race mattered. Everything else was irrelevant!

Shen Feng tossed over a bundle of rope and said expressionlessly:

"Tie yourself up. I already filled the vehicle with fuel, so you needn't trouble yourself with that. As for reconciliation... every trick you use came from humans. Don't imagine you can fool me."

As he spoke, Shen Feng suddenly rammed the shotgun barrel viciously into Kuafu's mouth, flicked off the safety, and even lightly squeezed the trigger!

Kuafu's eyes went wide as he felt the terror of death.

Shen Feng snorted coldly, yanked the barrel out, and jerked his chin.

Kuafu's gaze instantly turned icy. He put away his previous expression and began tying the rope around himself.

Deceiving this human was already difficult. For now, he could only obey the human's orders and see what he truly intended to do.

Soon, he had tied himself up. Shen Feng checked the bindings, then wrapped wire several times around Kuafu's arms and legs before finally sitting in the driver's seat himself.

"Kuafu, the Old Humans outside have been mostly cleared out. What do we do next?" An ape general strode in and shouted toward the armored vehicle from a distance.

It was Wuzhiqi, who had been sent out to carry out the purification mission.

Shen Feng raised the gun barrel and said to Kuafu, "Tell him you want to go out and clear your head. Have them tie two horses behind the armored vehicle."

As he spoke, he started the vehicle with a roar, switched on the external speakers, put his finger on the trigger, and fixed his eyes on Kuafu.

Kuafu looked deeply at Shen Feng, then said loudly:

"I am going out, to the zoo to clear my head. Give me two horses. Stay here, and wait."

Wuzhiqi froze. The ape guards beside him immediately told him about Kuafu's earlier actions. Their leader seemed to have suffered an emotional blow and needed to relax.

Wuzhiqi's brow furrowed tightly as he asked loudly, "Kuafu, is everything all right?"

Kuafu said again, "Yes. I'll be back, soon."

The apes did not dare disobey Kuafu's orders. They immediately brought over two horses and tied them behind the armored vehicle.

The armored vehicle suddenly started moving and drove outside.

A group of apes stood nearby, staring blankly, unable to understand what had happened to their leader.

In their minds, Kuafu was practically an ape forged from steel. He would never experience such weak emotions as sadness.

But on second thought, since gaining intelligence, the apes had never suffered such a major setback.

More than two hundred apes had been killed or wounded—nearly more than one-tenth of the surviving ape population.

Shen Feng drove the armored vehicle out of the underground parking garage and was immediately stopped by a fully armed squad of ape cavalry.

"It's me," Kuafu said under the gun barrel.

The ape cavalry swiftly let them pass. Shen Feng drove the armored vehicle out of Radiant City and casually turned on the vehicle's audio system.

The long-sealed player began to operate, bringing forth a cheerful song. The title and lyrics flashed across the screen:

"I Am Your Gorilla

Sweet, sweet lollipop candy

Melting in my mouth

That warm, sticky taste slides into my heart

My heart

Goes thump-thump, clang-clang, never stops beating

My mouth is like a banana

Mwah mwah mwah mwah

..."

Listening to the fitting lyrics, Shen Feng could no longer hold it in. He burst into loud laughter on the deserted street. Beside him, Kuafu's face was livid as he stared at the rear hatch of the armored vehicle, as though he wanted to see straight through the steel door with his eyes.

In the underground parking garage of the Radiant City Epidemic Prevention Center, several ape generals gathered together. Stone Eye asked Wuzhiqi with a puzzled expression:

"Where is Kuafu?"

Wuzhiqi said, "Kuafu said he was going out to clear his head. He drove away himself."

"Clear his head?" Stone Eye's brow furrowed tightly. He had never heard of Kuafu having such a need. "Where did he say he was going?"

"Kuafu said he was going to the zoo to clear his head. He took two horses," Wuzhiqi said.

Stone Eye's eyes widened as he said darkly, "This is bad. Kuafu has been kidnapped! Chase them!"