Chapter 4 The Great Macaque Rampage

"What's going on!"

Mr. Song hastily stood up with his thick eyebrows tightly knitted, and asked in a deep voice, "There are railings around Monkey Mountain, how could a child fall in?"

A middle-aged woman with a sorrowful face said, "There's a section of the railing that somehow, although it looked intact, collapsed when the child leaned on it."

"To the scene!"

Mr. Song strode briskly out of the office, walking and asking, "Has a rescue been arranged yet?"

The middle-aged woman followed behind him, sweating profusely as she said, "Three or four comrades have gone down, but those monkeys, for some reason, are acting like they're insane. As soon as anyone gets close, they rush over and attack fiercely. Two comrades were almost badly scratched..."

"How is the child?"

"The child looks to be about five or six years old, got caught in a tree when they fell, but then was taken away by the Monkey King, though they seem to be unharmed..."

Mr. Song immediately took out his phone and dialed a number, "Hello, Mr. Dong, you're at the scene, right? Get ready to use tranquilizer guns, keep the relatives calm, and ensure the child's safety at all costs. I'm on my way!... What, not enough tranquilizer guns?..."

Mr. Song hesitated for a moment and then said through gritted teeth, "Call the police, request their assistance, and if necessary, the Monkey King may be shot!"

"But Director, that's a national second-class protected animal, and you almost lost your life saving that old Monkey King from the back mountain years ago!" the middle-aged woman said.

"Human life is more important than anything else!"

Mr. Song's face also looked somber, but he did not hesitate to wave his hand to signal to the middle-aged woman to stop talking.

Rushing down the stairs, there was a tour vehicle parked below. As Mr. Song was about to board the vehicle, he noticed that Suming had also followed.

"What are you doing here?" Mr. Song asked with a frown.

"My father, when he was alive, also worked on animal conservation research and had an understanding of some special animal behaviors. I might be able to help," Suming said.

Indeed, his father had worked in animal research. Field workers like them accumulated a lot of experience with animals over the years, which couldn't be learned from textbooks and theoretical knowledge.

Suming had a sudden inspiration; with this reason, he could cover up many questions brought about by 'Animal Friends'.

"Fine, come along, but don't cause any trouble," Mr. Song said, giving him a long look without saying much else and gestured for him to get on the vehicle.

"Beep beep beep beep beep... let their comrades through, let their comrades through..."

The tour vehicle sped up, racing along the zoo's forest path, and in a few minutes, they arrived at the perimeter of Monkey Mountain.

By this time, Monkey Mountain was already surrounded by people. From a distance, one could see a section of the high railing that had collapsed, with many people pointing toward the interior of Monkey Mountain and some taking photos with their phones.

"Make way, make way, the Director is here!" the middle-aged woman cleared the path, as Mr. Song and his entourage quickly passed through the crowd to the edge of Monkey Mountain.

A fashionable young woman had already cried herself into a tearful mess, disheveled and nearly collapsing on the ground, wailing to the people around her, "Please, save my daughter... I beg you all..."

A middle-aged man was embracing the young woman, his face as somber as water.

"We are the child's parents. What's going on with your zoo? Give me a set of protective gear, and I'll go save my daughter myself!" the man said to Mr. Song with an ashen face.

"Rest assured, our comrades have already gone down, and we will do our utmost!"

As Mr. Song spoke, his gaze swept across the interior of Monkey Mountain.

After getting a clear view of the situation below Monkey Mountain, Mr. Song's thick eyebrows trembled slightly, and his expression became more serious as he muttered to himself, "What's happening, something's not right!"

Suming looked through the fence and saw that the main body of Monkey Mountain was a huge artificial hill, with a diameter of about seventy to eighty meters, set about ten or so meters below the horizon. Monkey Mountain's rocks were rugged and uneven, with the highest point reaching almost level with the horizon.

On one side of Monkey Mountain, there was a two to three-acre man-made lake, surrounded by tall fences.

When visitors watched the monkeys, they would stand behind these fences. With the protection of the fencing and the sunken height of Monkey Mountain, the monkeys could not possibly attack people.

At this moment, thirty to forty macaques had taken over the 'strategic points' of Monkey Mountain, watching their surroundings with menacing eyes, clutching 'weapons' like stones in their hands, baring their teeth and grimacing at the surrounding humans, making squeaking noises.

Atop Monkey Mountain, in a stone cave big enough to accommodate several adults, there sat an old white-furred monkey that was clearly larger than the others.

While there was chaos everywhere outside, the old white-furred monkey appeared completely unconcerned and placid, surprisingly holding a trembling little girl in its arms.

It was clear that under the leadership of the Monkey King, the entire troop had turned into a gang of "organized" "thugs," and the old Monkey King had taken the little girl as its own "offspring."

However, a little girl is just a little girl, certainly not any monkey offspring. The old Monkey King might come to realize this at any moment, and a random grab or scratch could disfigure the little girl, perhaps even threaten her life.

Monkeys, despite their small size compared to killers like tigers and bears that can easily dispose of a human, can be no joke when they go berserk and attack. A few large monkeys can even dare to fight with wolves.

As for primates closely related to monkeys, baboons and apes, their level of danger is no less than that of tigers and leopards!

At the foot of Monkey Mountain, three zoo workers, dressed in thick cotton-padded jackets with their heads and faces tightly wrapped in cloth, one holding an electric shock stick and the other a tranquilizer gun, slowly approached Monkey Mountain.

Seeing people drawing near, the monkeys perched on the hill began to shriek even more fiercely and, as if by some agreement, started to hurl stones down.

Stones flew like rain, forcing the staff to dodge haphazardly.

One unlucky fellow, not looking where he was going, stepped into thin air and—thud!—fell into a small pond.

Luckily the pond wasn't deep, just a place for the monkeys to play in the water and cool off, and the man quickly scrambled to his feet, the water coming only up to his waist.

The other two, braving a rain of stones, finally made it to the base of Monkey Mountain.

But before they could ascend, seven or eight large monkeys leaped out from the caves around and pounced on the two men, scratching and tearing at them.

Despite being protected by thick coats, their swift monkey movements were too much for an ordinary person to handle. With several monkeys attacking one person, biting and scratching, the workers were quickly 'decorated' with monkeys in a bizarre fashion.

In no time, the men were driven back by the monkeys, with one losing his footing and tumbling down from the artificial hill.

Meanwhile, the Monkey King on the mountain top, seeming to be agitated by the scene, stood upright and lifted the little girl he was cradling above his head, as if ready to throw her down at any moment.

The height of Monkey Mountain was at least ten meters, all solid rock. Even without the added force of the Monkey King, a fall would be catastrophic.

"Wah... Mommy..." The little girl, held high in midair, burst into loud crying, her tender voice echoing through the air.

Suming was taken aback and quickly tried to communicate with the Monkey King using his spiritual power.

But with at least thirty to forty meters between them, Suming could only vaguely connect with the Monkey King and was unable to communicate effectively; it was clear that this Monkey King was more formidable than the other monkeys, and Suming was completely unable to control its behavior.

On the mountain peak, the old Monkey King, holding the little girl, lifted his head and glanced in Suming's direction.

"Nan Nan, don't be afraid, Mommy is coming to save you..."

Seeing this, the little girl's mother became frantic, scrambling to her feet, intent on jumping into the midst of Monkey Mountain.

A middle-aged lady from the zoo, along with a few female colleagues, was quick to restrain her.

"You mustn't go! I'll save my daughter!" The girl's father, with a darkened face, pushed past the zoo workers and strode toward the damaged railing to intervene.

"No family members are to go! I'll go myself!"

Mr. Song, the zoo director, immediately blocked the girl's parents, donned a cotton jacket for himself, and waved his hand, "Men under fifty, step forward; follow me down!"

Seven or eight male staff members stood out, and it seemed Mr. Song was prepared to push through by sheer numbers. No matter how fierce the monkeys were, they couldn't possibly stand against a large group of organized humans.

"Wait a moment!" Suming suddenly stood up, his expression serious, "We cannot send more people down now!"

"Who are you? Stop causing trouble!"

"What do you mean?"

Mr. Song and several zoo staff members almost simultaneously shouted at Suming, with the girl's father frowning deeply and shoving Suming, "Move aside!"

Suming stepped back to avoid the girl's father, not dealing with the enraged parent, but seriously telling Mr. Song, "Right now, the Monkey King clearly sees the girl as its own offspring and won't harm her. But if we send more people, and we provoke the Monkey King, then it's hard to say what will happen!"

Without waiting for Mr. Song or the others to speak, Suming continued, "Even with real animal offspring, there are instances where, in a crisis, parents will kill their own young rather than let them fall into enemy hands. Mr. Song, please calm down. You are an expert; I'm not wrong, am I!"

Suming's words seemed quite rational. Though he couldn't answer those technical written questions, he did graduate with a degree in biology, and because of his father's family knowledge, he had a basic understanding of animal behavior.

Immediately, the surroundings fell silent, and dozens of eyes turned to Suming, then to Mr. Song.

Mr. Song pondered for a brief moment, "Then what do you suggest?"