Chapter 240 Ning Jinli Encounters the Monkey Troops Again

"I know, Uncle Lu, I'll definitely keep my mouth shut. I can't let my dad down no matter what. Besides, I still want to be able to come to this lawless place and play without restraint in the future!"

Ning Yao smiled brightly, like a young girl who had just had a great time at the amusement park, her previous listlessness completely gone.

When the two returned to the experimental base, Ning Hai could immediately tell that his daughter's mental state had improved a lot.

He didn't ask any more questions, took his daughter to the room that had been arranged to rest, and then privately sought out Lu Xingfeng to find out what was going on.

Upon learning that his daughter had not only participated in the hunting activity but also killed many local natives, Ning Hai was not surprised at all; instead, he showed a relieved smile.

It turns out that all of this was orchestrated by him at Lu Xingfeng's behest.

He didn't care about the lives of those natives, as long as his daughter could release the pressure she had been accumulating inside.

What could a mere group of uncivilized ancient people from over two thousand years ago possibly care about as much as his precious daughter's feelings?

If his daughter wanted, he could even make her the queen of that world.

——

A few days later.

Military tents have been erected on a delta in the Blackwater Bay swamp, nestled in a dense forest.

This is a good location that the special operations team selected based on the environment and terrain after arriving.

The high elevation here means that even if the surrounding waters rise, they won't flood the area; instead, they form a natural barrier together with the dense forest and vines around it.

Normally, only birds, small animals, and monkeys that can climb trees are allowed to enter; other ferocious beasts such as crocodiles and jackals cannot break in.

Overall, it's quite safe in such a vast wilderness interwoven with swamps and dense forests.

Moreover, the area is quite large, not only enough to set up tents as an initial base, but also enough space for helicopters to take off and land.

Once the basic equipment is in place, we can begin a large-scale survey and then build mothwing grass collection points.

During this period, the spies sent out by the leader of Blackwater Village were never idle.

Unfortunately, the delta has a natural barrier, so if they want to get close, they can only row by boat, but rowing by boat will inevitably alert them, so they can only observe from a distance.

But such observations yielded almost nothing; only when night fell could one occasionally see faint glimmers of light emanating from the dense forest and vines.

This situation continued for several days, and no one came out from inside. The leader of Blackwater Village was getting anxious and shouted that he would lead a group of brothers to attack directly.

Let's see what those two are up to.

But the crippled strategist still dissuaded him, saying that the situation was too strange and that he should be wary of a trap.

The leader's round eyes widened like copper bells. "Just two people? What kind of trick could they possibly have? I think you're just scaring yourself! Even if they have incredible abilities, how could they possibly handle my eight hundred brothers? I don't care anymore, we're going to kill them tonight! Better late than never!"

The lame strategist hurriedly said, "Boss, if it really doesn't work... let's discuss it again when the second-in-command returns. The second-in-command has gone to keep an eye on a fleet of government ships transporting grain. The ships might arrive in a few days, and we still need to rob the grain! We can't act rashly before then!"

The leader was speechless for a moment, scratching his shiny bald head and pacing back and forth.

He wanted the treasure that the mysterious couple was carrying.

He also wanted to capture a woman to be his wife.

He'd been craving it for days, thinking about it day and night.

But the strategist's words made sense. The weather was getting colder and colder. In a few days, the water would freeze over and everyone in Blackwater Village would have to hide away for the winter. In comparison, it was more important to get enough food for everyone.

“Boss, calm down,” the crippled strategist said again. “We can send a few more people to keep watch. Given the situation in Blackwater Bay, it’s easy for that couple to get in but hard to get out. As long as we keep a close eye on them, they won’t be able to escape. Then I’ll send my monkeys over. Maybe if the monkeys go a few more times, and that couple gets used to their presence, they can steal the treasure.”

The chief strategist couldn't think of a better solution, so he had no choice but to follow the advice of the crippled strategist.

That night, the cripple gave orders to his troop of monkeys, demanding that they seize the peerless treasure that could emit dazzling light at all costs.

It doesn't matter if they gang up on them and kill the couple.

The monkeys were initially very unwilling.

As the weather gets colder, asking them to work in the cold wind and risk becoming food for crocodiles during the winter is going against their survival instincts.

But after all, they were trained by the lame man. After being severely beaten and threatened with foodlessness, they obediently left the monkey den that provided shelter from the wind and cold.

Midnight.

A damp, cold white mist rose from the swamp.

Inside the Delta tent, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi cooked hot pot.

The special operations team members work very hard every day and have too many things to do, so they can't go through the time portal to return to the modern world to rest like the two of them.

So Ning Jinli tried different ways to improve their meals.

Even while eating, they would be working on their laptops and organizing data, each one more engrossed than the last.

"Hmm? Something's getting closer." The team member in charge of monitoring the surrounding environment suddenly spoke up.

"What is that?" Ning Jinli leaned closer and looked at the computer screen.

The screen displays the image that the thermal imager has transmitted back through.

The team member muttered, "It looks kind of human, but it keeps darting around..."

“Oh, it’s monkeys,” Ning Jinli said with a smile. “There are monkey troops around here. I’ve encountered them before. Don’t worry about them. Just keep an eye on those people watching us from a distance.”

The team member zoomed in on another surveillance frame at the bottom of the screen, pointed to the figures on it, and said, "There were only four people a few days ago, but now there are more than ten. I don't know what they're up to. They're hiding in the reeds and mud in this cold weather, and they don't move easily. They're quite persistent."

Ning Jinli said, "We won't offend others unless they offend us. As long as they don't bother us, we don't need to pay them any attention."

"Those monkeys seem to be heading this way; we might need to shoo them away," the monitoring team member said, staring at the screen.

"Leave this small matter to me. You guys take a break. The hot pot broth is about to boil dry."

After Ning Jinli finished speaking, she picked up the night vision binoculars and pulled Xiao Qidi out of the tent.

The tent was warm, but as soon as they stepped outside, they were hit by a damp, cold wind, and both of them instinctively shrank their necks.

Compared to the Central Plains and northern regions, which are already covered in ice and snow with temperatures dropping to tens of degrees below zero, this area near the south is not as bitterly cold. The humid winds around zero degrees Celsius feel like they can seep into your bones through your pores, and it's still quite unpleasant.

Ning Jinli held up her binoculars and searched for a moment.

Through the gaps in the densely intertwined branches and vines, one could see figures lurking hundreds of meters away.

Based on observations over the past few days, it can be basically confirmed that the perpetrators are local river pirates.

Otherwise, what kind of good person would come to this godforsaken place and do nothing but hide and spy on others?

"puff--"

Ning Jinli suddenly burst out laughing.

Xiao Qidi asked, "What's wrong?"

Ning Jinli said, "I saw them huddled in the mud, shivering. They were obviously freezing. Their desperate attempts to endure the cold were both pitiful and a little funny."

Xiao Qidi said coldly, "A bunch of thieves who make a living by robbing, they deserve to freeze to death."

“That’s right, that’s right.” Ning Jinli nodded.

Accompanied by rustling sounds.

The monkey troop swung along the spiderweb-like vines to the delta's barrier.

Because the delta is surrounded by dense forests and vines, the natural barriers formed are particularly dense, and many of the vines are even covered with sharp thorns.

When the monkeys leaped from mid-air onto the barrier by grabbing the suspended vines, they were immediately pricked by the sharp spikes, jumping up and down and squealing. Some even nearly fell into the river below.

Ning Jinli thought the monkeys would give up.

The results showed that they were willing to endure the excruciating pain of sharp thorns piercing their fur and scratching their skin, just to desperately squeeze into the crevices.

Despite their small size, they were still badly injured.

Ning Jinli pondered for a moment, then glanced back at the tent from which hot pot steam occasionally rose.

Could it be... that they were attracted by the fragrance?

These guys must have been so hungry that they risked their lives to squeeze in.

Seeing Xiao Qidi raise his longbow, ready to shoot the monkeys that were running around, Ning Jinli pressed down on his shoulder, "They are just animals, trying to survive by finding food. Survival is not easy for them. Don't take their lives. I'll get them some food."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qidi put down his bow and arrow.

Ning Jinli returned to the tent and dragged out a large box filled with all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

In any case, she can retrieve any supplies at any time through the portal, providing some help to these animals struggling to survive in the harsh natural world without affecting the lives and work of the special forces members.

The dozen or so monkeys finally managed to squeeze through the layers of barriers, all covered in blood, and squatted among the treetops, trembling with pain.

"Here, these are for you to eat."

Ning Jinli held the fruit high in the air.

The monkeys' eyes were filled with vigilance; some hid behind branches, while others bared their teeth and growled at her.

Ning Jinli tried to keep her tone gentle, "Don't be afraid, I won't beat you up. Look, this is all food."

Presumably, these fruits and vegetables were things they had never seen before, so Ning Jinli took a few bites herself, chewed them thoroughly, and swallowed them, demonstrating for them.

This tactic was indeed effective.

Many monkeys began to tentatively move towards the ground, peeking out and eyeing the fruits and vegetables.

Ning Jinli then picked up some and threw them at them.

However, the monkeys were immediately terrified and scattered in all directions.

Xiao Qidi said quietly, "A beast is still a beast. It can't understand your good intentions. You might as well kick it out."

Ning Jinli refused to give up and continued to try to lower the monkeys' guard.

She also discovered that several monkeys were seriously injured and would likely die if they weren't caught and treated.

Seeing Ning Jinli's persistence, Xiao Qidi, though feeling helpless, picked up some fruit and helped her coax the monkey down the tree.

Through the efforts of the two.

Finally, a bolder monkey cautiously climbed down from the tree, quickly picked up the fruit, then turned around and jumped back up the tree. Holding the fruit it had never seen before, it looked it over from all angles and smelled it carefully.

“It’s edible.” Ning Jinli demonstrated again, and even pulled Xiao Qidi to demonstrate with her.

Xiao Qidi said with a straight face, "It's simply outrageous that I, the dignified King of Daxuan, am here performing for monkeys to eat."

Ning Jinli chuckled, "Just think of it as trying to make me happy."

Xiao Qidi took a big bite of the fruit, chewing loudly. "Otherwise, what do you think I'm doing? Do you really think I'm just trying to appease these beasts?"

Ning Jinli felt a surge of warmth in her heart and tilted her head back to give him a quick kiss.

Xiao Qidi's sullen face softened, and he chuckled.

The monkey, having picked up the fruit, couldn't resist the sweet aroma emanating from it. Seeing that Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi had both eaten, it tried taking a bite.

The next second, the monkey's face clearly showed the same shocked expression as a human's.

It immediately picked up the fruit and started munching away, eating with great relish.

Seeing this, the other monkeys couldn't resist either, and they all jumped down from the tree to pick up the fruit and eat it.

As they ate, Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi took out the items from the box and gently tossed them over.

Before long, the monkeys had eaten the entire box of fruits and vegetables.

It's clear that these monkeys are extremely hungry.

There was even a conflict over the fruit. Two of the smaller monkeys not only didn't get a single bite, but were also kicked aside by the other monkeys and lay on the ground unable to get up.

It wasn't until the other monkeys finished eating that a few of them, who seemed to be elders of the troop, realized the problem. They bared their teeth and hissed at the other monkeys before rushing to the side of the fallen monkey.

Not only did it try to pull them up, it also scooped some fruit from its own crop and fed it to them.

This scene surprised Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi.

Although I knew that monkeys were quite intelligent, seeing them display emotions and behaviors just like humans was truly awe-inspiring.

The two skinny monkeys slowly opened their mouths, but they were too weak to eat.

It looks like something is very wrong.

"Those two monkeys are seriously injured," Ning Jinli whispered. "Their fur is matted with blood, and they're probably in mortal danger..."

The monkey troop also realized the problem.

Many monkeys were anxiously pacing around.

The older monkey hugged the two thinner monkeys tightly, touching their foreheads together, and whimpering sadly.

Touched by the bond between the monkeys, Ning Jinli couldn't bear to stand by and watch them die, so she opened her arms and slowly walked over.

"Jinli, be careful!" Xiao Qidi involuntarily tightened his grip on the bow and arrow in his hand.

Although he knew that a few monkeys wouldn't put Ning Jinli in any real danger, he was still on high alert. If he saw any monkeys attacking her and there was any possibility of injuring Ning Jinli, he would not hesitate to kill them!

“I don’t know if you can understand what I mean,” Ning Jinli said softly as she slowly approached. “You are all injured, and your two companions are the most seriously injured. I can save them and heal your wounds. Please trust me.”

As Ning Jinli approached, the dozen or so monkeys immediately bristled, baring their teeth and growling at her.

Ning Jinli thought to herself, why not just take action and snatch the two monkeys that were about to faint?

Just then, an old monkey, significantly larger than the others, leaped down from the treetop. Above its eyes, it even had two white eyebrows like those of an elderly person.

It first shooed away the monkeys that were baring their teeth at Ning Jinli.

Then, with a serious expression, he carefully examined Ning Jinli, and then took the injured little monkey out from the arms of several older monkeys and personally delivered it to Ning Jinli.