Chapter 7 Onboarding

Mr. Song still wasn't at ease about Suming and Chengcheng, so he personally brought a few people, dressed like a beggar version of the Iron Warrior, wrapped in several layers of thick military coats, with whitewashed iron buckets that had two eyeholes on their heads, and charged up to Monkey Mountain.

Without the protection of Animal Friends, they faced countless dangers on their way, battling demons and spirits, their HP nearly depleted, until they finally struggled to climb to the top of Monkey Mountain and reached the cave entrance.

The Monkey King was clearly very wary of these outsiders, shielding the young monkey that had just woken up, staring at them with widened eyes, and issuing threatening sounds.

Fortunately, Suming was here, and the Monkey King seemed to understand that these people were here to "help rescue the monkey." Although he was agitated, he didn't attack.

"Oh, Xiao Kong! I was wondering why I hadn't seen Xiao Kong these past few days. I thought he was hiding in some cave to play, but he was stuck here!" The zookeeper responsible for Monkey Mountain exclaimed upon seeing the young monkey.

Xiao Kong was the name the zoo had given to this newborn monkey. The vast Monkey Mountain had seen no sign of a little monkey for several days, and the zookeepers hadn't taken notice.

"Is it still alive?" Mr. Song asked.

"Alive, but it's wedged in tight. We'll need to chisel the crack open to rescue it!" Suming said.

Mr. Song nodded, "We'll handle it here. Su, you go ahead and take this little girl out first; her family must be frantic!"

Suming hadn't yet spoken when Chengcheng pouted, shaking her small head like a rattle-drum, "I want to wait until the little monkey is rescued before I leave; big brother will protect me."

Suming also felt that he couldn't leave now; without him there, who knew if the Monkey King would attack Mr. Song and the others.

Thankfully, the cave was spacious enough for several people to fit inside without feeling cramped. Mr. Song first sent someone out to convey they were safe, while also bringing in some tools.

After bustling around, they finally managed to expand the crack with a small drill machine and tools such as chisels and hammers, and rescued the young monkey.

"Hurry, send it to the medical room for a check-up!" Mr. Song said. The young monkey, although alive, was very weak since it had been starved for several days. It needed to be examined and nourished before it could gradually recover.

Unexpectedly, the Monkey King and his son were reunited, clutching the young monkey tightly, tears welling up, and he wouldn't let go, nearly coming to blows with the zookeepers.

It was only after Suming intervened that the Monkey King understood they weren't there to take his child away.

Suming held Chengcheng in his arms, and Chengcheng held the young monkey, as they followed Mr. Song out of the cave and down the mountain.

On the way down, the Monkey King followed closely behind Suming, not missing a step, all the way to the edge of Monkey Mountain. When it came to climbing down the ladder and leaving Monkey Mountain, the Monkey King was still reluctant to leave.

"Don't follow us; we'll bring him back once he's healed!"

Suming didn't know if the Monkey King could understand, but he waved his hand at the old Monkey King and sent out a mental fluctuation at the same time.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak..."

The Monkey King seemed to understand Suming's intentions, or perhaps he simply trusted him a great deal. He put his hands together in a gesture of prayer and then reluctantly left, repeatedly turning back as he returned to the depths of Monkey Mountain.

...

"Daddy... Mommy..."

After they had climbed up, they immediately sent the young monkey Xiao Kong off for treatment, and Chengcheng ran towards the young woman, whose eyes were red from crying, opening her arms wide.

"My baby... you scared Mommy to death; this is all my fault, all my fault..."

The woman took Chengcheng from Suming's arms, hugged her tightly, her eyes brimming with tears, and kissed her indiscriminately for a spell.

"Baby, quick, thank this big brother!" The woman said, and she actually began to kneel before Suming.

From her attire, she appeared to be an intellectual, and her financial status definitely wasn't poor. Under normal circumstances, such people, even in gratitude, wouldn't kneel to someone like an auntie at the drop of a hat.

But at that moment, she was simply a mother overjoyed at having her child back in her arms.

In some ways, she wasn't much different from the Monkey King. Natural instinct, a bond of blood!

The only difference was that the Monkey King was male. Typically, female animals are more caring towards their offspring, but the Monkey King, possibly due to having a child at an old age or being relatively intelligent, had also shown a love for his offspring not less than that of a mother monkey.

"Hey, no, no, no..." Suming quickly helped the woman up, and after some persuasion, he managed to get her to stand.

In such a situation, anyone would have been moved to help, especially since he definitely had the ability to do so.

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"This little comrade, we owe you so much for today."

Chengcheng's father also came over and extended his hand to Suming.

Suming shook his hand slightly; the other's palm was sweaty and damp. Although he appeared composed, his anxiety was by no means less than that of Chengcheng's mother.

Had the zoo staff not been holding them back, the couple would have jumped into Monkey Mountain to save Chengcheng themselves long ago.

Chengcheng's father briefly asked Suming for his name and also took down his mobile number, then handed out a business card, "Comrade Su, we cannot thank you enough! Thanks to you stepping in to save Chengcheng today, my wife and I will never forget you in our lifetime. The mother and daughter were frightened today, so I will take them home first. We will come another day especially to express our thanks! This is my business card, and if you have time, you are very welcome to visit our home!"

"Don't mention it, you'd better take them home to rest," Suming said, accepting the business card.

"Regarding today's incident, we truly apologize, and on behalf of the zoo, I extend our apology to your entire family. Rest assured if there are any subsequent treatment or nutrition costs, the zoo will certainly cover them," Mr. Song said with sincere tone, as the zoo indeed bore inescapable responsibility for such an event.

"I am not short of that little bit of money, nor would I exchange my daughter's life for money. Fortunately, no harm was done. Comrade Song, you should rather give your thanks to Su," said Chengcheng's father, showing a trace of dissatisfaction towards the zoo. He then greeted Suming and left with one arm around his daughter and the other holding his wife.

"Big brother, remember to come and find me to play, okay!" Chengcheng, perched on Zhao Yun's shoulder, waved at Suming from afar, smiling sweetly, utterly unlike someone who had just narrowly escaped from Ghost Gate Pass.

...

The crowd gradually dispersed, and the middle-aged lady from the zoo explained the situation to the police who had just rushed over.

Mr. Song, however, sought out Suming.

"Young man, I can see that you have a way with monkeys. I have been studying animals my whole life and wouldn't be confident in calming an enraged Monkey King."

Implicit in Mr. Song's words was a curiosity about how Suming managed to keep the troop of monkeys from attacking him and even got the Monkey King to behave.

Suming had already considered this question while he was in Monkey Mountain and had come up with an answer.

"My father taught me some methods to deal with animals. At that moment, I simply took a risk and fortunately it succeeded. You are certainly aware that animals only attack humans when they feel threatened. Of course, if it's due to hunger and hunting, that's a different story."

Calming animals to provide a sense of safety is one of the principles of being an animal's friend, but under normal circumstances, it is very hard for humans to achieve this.

After all, we're different species, and it's not as though animals will feel safe just because you have kind eyes and gentle movements.

But with Suming, an animal friend, it was easy to accomplish what is nearly impossible for the average person.

Mr. Song nodded his head, "It seems you're indeed not an amateur."

"I just took a chance and got lucky; I was quite scared too," chuckled Suming.

Mr. Song sighed and said, "Well, that's the truth, but how many people can truly stay calm in a crisis? Young man, you've done well."

"Done well? Are you not going to hire me?" Suming rolled his eyes internally but maintained a chuckle, "Just average, saving lives comes first."

Mr. Song asked some more questions, and Suming attributed everything to his already deceased father, leaving Mr. Song without any suspicion.

Those who constantly deal with animals in the wild all have their own methods.

Not to mention these monkeys who had lived in the zoo for many years and lost their wild instincts, even with wild beasts like tigers and lions in the wild, real experts could manage to peacefully coexist under special circumstances.

Of course, this is very risky.

"I didn't expect your father and I were almost colleagues, though I am more inclined towards theoretical research," Mr. Song said with a somewhat nostalgic look.

"If there's nothing else, then I'll take my leave," Suming smiled, "I've still got to look for a job!"

"You little rascal, you've even learned to mimic this old man!" Mr. Song glared.

"Ah? What do you mean?"

Mr. Song said grumpily, "You might not excel in theory, but you're quite impressive in practice; why don't you stay in the zoo and become a keeper?"

"Thank you, leader!" exclaimed Suming, standing up straight and giving a rather awkward salute.

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