Goodbye Monkey

The monkey was still grinning with its mouth wide open. Lu Zhe's hand relaxed, and with a "pop" sound, the steel ball precisely hit the monkey's balls!

A spot of crimson blood splattered out from the coconut tree.

The monkey's voice instantly reversed 180 degrees seamlessly, from an annoying laugh that made people want to hit it to a pitiful scream that aroused compassion.

Lu Zhe's body also shook.

The other monkeys were so scared they fled in panic.

This one also wanted to run, but its legs were already disobeying orders. Its jump was not far enough and it tumbled down the beach in a spray of blood.

It saw Lu Zhe and was so frightened it screamed in panic. It tried to run away on all fours, but Lu Zhe was too fast. He put his foot on the monkey's neck.

The monkey finally realized it had gone too far.

It started scratching and clawing randomly, but its paws could only rip Lu Zhe's pants legs, and could not pierce his skin at all.

At this time, Lu Zhe's physique was 8 times that of a normal person, so his skin's durability was also 8 times higher! It was not something a monkey's paws could easily scratch through.

Lu Zhe took out a piece of rope and tied it up.

Information about it appeared in his mind: "The long-tailed macaque, also known as the crab-eating macaque. A widely distributed monkey species in the tropics and subtropics. Its range includes primary forests, secondary forests, mangrove forests, and some other forests near water. It has an irritable temperament..."

Irritable?

From its terrified eyes, Lu Zhe saw no irritability, only humble pleading!

Pleading for what?

To take you on as a lackey?

Sorry, no can do!

I'm afraid you'll seek revenge.

Unless... castrated?

Hormones exacerbate monkeys' violent behavior.

But it seems like only young monkeys that are castrated become docile. Otherwise they become more violent and perverted.

He held the paratrooper knife to the monkey's neck.

But seeing it so pitiful, Lu Zhe was filled with compassion and mercy.

Humans and nature should exist harmoniously. Why must we always slaughter relentlessly?

His heart softened.

"You have to believe me, I'm a good person. I love this forest and this island just like you do! So don't think of hitting me with coconuts for fun. And I won't think of killing you either. Isn't it better to get along harmoniously? I hope you can mend your ways and not be hostile to humans anymore."

Having said that, Lu Zhe gently broke its limbs, then untied the rope.

"You're free now, my friend!"

The monkey seemed reluctant to part. Crying, it made touching monkey sounds and just crouched there for a long time, unwilling to leave.

Looking at it, Lu Zhe sighed, "All banquets must eventually end. If we're fated, we'll meet again someday. Farewell, friend!"

Speaking, Lu Zhe grabbed its tail, swung it around twice, then threw it into the bushes.

As the screams faded away, Lu Zhe believed its companions would be back soon to bring it home. It would also tell its amazing encounter with a human to its companions.

Just then, Lu Zhe had another idea - to castrate and tame some young monkeys to do odd jobs around the camp.

In many parts of Southeast Asia, pig-tailed macaques are tamed to pick coconuts. It's said to be very efficient. I wonder if crab-eating monkeys can be domesticated too.

But now is not the time for taming monkeys. After pioneering is complete and everything is stable, then we can consider it.

No wonder we can't find any shellfish, crabs or shrimp - they've been scoured clean by the monkeys.

But no worries. The seafood here will surely flourish again before long.

Just then, Tang Xiaoguo and Lin Qianqian ran over.

Surprised, Tang Xiaoguo said, "Hey, was that you singing like a dolphin just now, Lu Zhe?"

"No, it was a monkey."

Tang Xiaoguo looked around, "Where is it?"

"It flew away already."

"Monkeys can fly?"

"I lent it a hand."

Lin Qianqian felt it was a bit strange. "Why do the monkeys here sing like dolphins and fly?"

Tang Xiaoguo thought for a moment, "Maybe there are dolphins nearby. Hearing them all the time, they naturally learned how to mimic them."

Lu Zhe nodded, "And because there are seagulls around, it learned to fly too, right?"

Tang Xiaoguo nodded, "That's what I meant!"

Lu Zhe asked, "By the way, did you two catch any fish?"

The two girls looked at each other, "Only three little ones."

Surprised, Lu Zhe said, "Impressive, you actually caught some?"

Then seeing the three 2-inch long fish fry in a plastic bag, Lu Zhe nodded, "You easily obtained 7 days' rations for Grandpa. Well done!"

"Lu Zhe, that doesn't sound sincere at all!"

"I've been too sincere. To tell the truth, I'm worse than you - my crab got smashed by the monkey bro. How about this: later when we're back at camp, give me one of your fish. We'll say the three of us each caught one. At least it won't be too embarrassing."

Seeing Lu Zhe blatantly kidding around, the two girls giggled.

"Oh no, what should we do?"

"You're right, at this fish-catching efficiency, Yao Yao would laugh at us to death."

Lu Zhe pondered for a moment, "Well, if we can't catch fish, let's go to the mudflats to catch lambs!"

"Are lambs easy to catch?"

"Extremely hard to catch! But who knows, we might get super lucky and find one that got its neck tangled in vines!"

"Would that really happen?"

"It's possible, but I have hunting weapons!" Lu Zhe brandished his slingshot.

"That's right, I'm almost out of ammo. Gotta make some round clay pellets later and fire them hard so they fly straight."

"Then let's go now!"

"Alright, I'll cut each of you a stick to defend yourselves. Remember, don't get too far apart. At any sign of danger, run straight to me. I'll protect you!"

"No need to teach us that!"

"It's basically instinctual."

The three entered the wetlands.

It consisted of large tracts of grassland and marsh, interspersed with patches of mangrove and coconut forests.

The grasses weren't tall but were dense and lush. There were frequent ankle-deep pools of fresh water that, due to drinking and excretion by animals, contained rich microbes and E. coli.

The three circled the mudflats, heading deeper into the woods. Sure enough, they saw mountain goat tracks.

They headed slightly in that direction, but the goats were extremely alert. Spotting them from afar, the goats immediately fled, not giving Lu Zhe a chance to hunt.

Even when the three crouched in the bushes and crept slowly closer, the goats would still notice them and swiftly escape.

"That's just thievery!"

"Goats here rely more on their sense of smell than sight or taste. They are extremely sensitive to unfamiliar creatures' scents. We need to find a way to mask our scents."

"How do we mask them?"

Lu Zhe thought for a moment: "Simply put, there are two ways: One is to smear the goats' feces on ourselves. The other is to find some wild grass they like to eat, chew it up, and smear it on ourselves. Which do you two choose?"