Chapter 218: A Little Acquaintance’s Request for Help

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: A Little Acquaintance’s Request for Help

When Huo An and the others walked out following the sound, the first to discover its source was Liang He, who trailed a step behind them.

"Huh? Are you... the little monkey from that day?"

Liang He had just felt the cry was somewhat familiar, but she hadn’t expected it to actually be a little acquaintance—or rather, a little monkey.

"SQUEAK, SQUEAK!"

The little monkey, who had originally shrunk back in fear upon seeing Huo An and the others surrounding it, immediately darted forward when it heard Liang He’s voice and saw her face, jumping up and down right in front of her.

"Little monkey, are you looking for me?"

Thanks to the little monkey last time, Liang He and Hoder were able to find a new clue about the mastermind. Afterward, Liang He had secretly gone to look for it and the koala. Unfortunately, they weren’t around, so she could only leave a thank-you gift hanging on the tree where the koala had previously stayed.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

The little monkey intelligently reenacted the scene it had performed by the river. Huo An and the others were completely baffled, but Liang He reacted quickly.

"Are you saying you saw the bad guy who poisoned the water?"

Since Liang He wasn’t sure if the culprit was an animal being used or a person disguised as an animal, she could only refer to them as a "bad guy."

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

Seeing that Liang He understood, the little monkey spun around her happily, its small hand continuously pointing in a specific direction.

"Is it telling us which way the bad guy went?" Xu Yi looked at the little monkey in surprise. How had he never realized monkeys were this clever? It was probably because his work mainly revolved around Evolutionary Beastmen.

"It should be."

As the only person present who could communicate with animals without barriers, Liang He believed Xu Yi hadn’t misunderstood the monkey’s intention. Moreover, she felt it might have come specifically to deliver the news.

"Did you come just to find me and take me to catch the bad guy?" Liang He squatted down, trying to stay at eye level with the little monkey so it could communicate more comfortably.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

The little monkey’s cries grew increasingly urgent, giving Liang He a bad premonition.

"Why aren’t you with your little buddy?" She was referring to the koala.

"SQUEAK!"

Hearing Liang He bring up the koala on her own, the little monkey jumped excitedly. It then went through a flurry of frantic motions, trying to express itself through a performance.

"Wait... it’s waving its arms and legs all over the place. Liang He, do you understand that?" Xu Yi was utterly confused and asked for her help.

This time, Liang He didn’t need to answer. Huo An beat her to the punch and translated for the little monkey. "It probably means the koala is in danger, and the enemy is the person who poisoned the water source last time."

After speaking, Huo An furrowed his brows in confusion. Logically speaking, to avoid exposing his identity, Xiong Yu should have found a hidden place to lay low. Why would he get entangled with a koala and a little monkey?

Speaking of which, Xiong Yu actually felt quite wronged himself. How could he have known that the soft targets he casually picked were backed by a towering mountain like Liang He?

"GRUNT... NNGH!"

The koala, snatched away by Xiong Yu, had been too slow to react. Failing to sense the danger in time, it had lost its chance to escape.

"Shut up! If you keep making noise, I’ll eat you!"

Xiong Yu tossed the koala aside in a crumpled heap. It stared with its small eyes in utter bewilderment, blankly gazing at the massive black bear in front of it.

Originally, Xiong Yu had a perfect plan: use his Beast Form to disguise himself and continue living in the reserve. But for some unknown reason, he noticed people had started investigating the black bears. Sensing this might be related to him, Xiong Yu could only find a way to hide.

"Damn it! Why is there so little food?"

Xiong Yu shook out the bag in his hand. It was the thank-you gift Liang He had given the koala and the little monkey, but Xiong Yu didn’t know that. He assumed it was the food they had hoarded themselves. If it weren’t for this meager amount of food, he wouldn’t have stooped so low as to attack a koala and a little monkey, dragging down his status.

"GRUNT... NNGH!"

Finally snapping back to reality, the koala began to loudly protest the large black bear’s heinous acts, but it could do nothing else. After all, the size difference was obvious, and the disparity in strength was absolute. The koala was foolish, but it didn’t have a death wish.

"Right, I remember you koalas also have pouches. Did you hide all the food?"

Thinking of this, Xiong Yu took heavy steps toward the koala. The oppressive presence exuded by his massive size made the koala shrink back in fear, but to no avail. It was effortlessly snatched up by the bear, dangled in the air, and shaken violently.

"What the hell? Why is it all just leaves?!"

Xiong Yu, who had thought the koala was hiding something good, searched for ages only to find a pile of leaves. He was practically exploding with anger.

In all fairness, the koala couldn’t be blamed. Its diet consisted solely of various eucalyptus leaves, so wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for the food it hid to be leaves? As for the other food Liang He had given them, it had all been cleverly stashed away in batches by the shrewd little monkey to ensure a smooth winter.

"Damn it! Now both the Law Enforcement Team and the Guard Team are tracking me. I have no way to get food!"

It was winter, and food was already scarce. If Xiong Yu were a normal black bear, he might have stockpiled winter supplies in advance to avoid such a passive situation. But as a hidden asset planted in the reserve by the Rebel Army, he previously only needed to keep an eye on the reserve’s movements. Things like food were secretly prepared for him by the Rebel Army; he just had to go pick it up without a single worry.

"No, I have to contact my superiors as soon as possible and figure out a way to leave this place."

Xiong Yu stuffed the meager amount of food into his mouth, barely staving off his hunger. Unaware that Liang He and the others were already searching for him under the little monkey’s guidance, Xiong Yu began planning how to evade the Law Enforcement Team’s pursuit and escape the reserve.

"Liang He, are we really going to follow this little monkey? What if it’s mistaken?" Xu Yi still found it hard to believe the little monkey was this smart. There were so many animals in the reserve, including quite a few black bears. Who knew if it had identified the wrong one?

"Whether the one who took the koala is the bad guy who poisoned the water or not, I should still go rescue it." Liang He’s thought process was simple. If it really was connected to the mastermind behind the water poisoning, that would be ideal. But even if it was unrelated, she could at least save the koala.

After all, it and the little monkey had helped her before. Now that the little monkey had even come knocking on her door, she had no reason to sit back and do nothing.

"Fair enough."

Unable to refute her, Xu Yi glanced at Huo An, who was piloting the aircraft. Since he had no objections, Xu Yi naturally couldn’t say anything more.

"Brother Hao, go left."

Sitting in the passenger seat with the little monkey in her arms, Liang He promptly navigated for Huo An based on the monkey’s gestures. They soon arrived at the location of its new home.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!"

Looking at its new home destroyed by the black bear, the little monkey was both angry and anxious. It constantly jumped up and down, stomping its feet. Especially upon discovering that the koala had already been taken away, it squeaked even more frantically in a panic.

"Alright, alright, don’t worry. We will definitely find your little buddy."