Chapter 112: Rat-Monkeys

As he said, witnessing his arrogant behavior, neither the bartenders behind the counter nor the waitstaff delivering drinks paid him any mind. After flaunting himself for a while and once the excitement subsided, he settled back down and resumed drinking with his friends, boasting loudly, “Let me tell you, the research materials I got this time are incredible. There’s a new type of insect emerging in the forest…”

In a shadowy corner of the bar, a one-armed woman with a hooked hand showed a keen interest. It was as if the stories these people were telling resonated with another person inside her, experiencing it alongside them.

At the same time, outside the city, something blood-pumping was unfolding in the jungle.

A squad had fallen into a trap. Several of them were suddenly ensnared by ropes springing up from the ground, their feet bound and hanging upside down from the branches, their terrified cries piercing the night.

“Ah!”

“Ugh!”

“What’s this?” They instinctively shouted as they found themselves caught.

“Get us down! Who the hell set these traps? Damn it!” One man dangled between branches, shouting down to his comrades. “Getting lost in the jungle at night was bad enough, now we step into a trap.”

“Hey, say something!” Wearing research institute-issued night-vision goggles, the upside-down men saw the colors around them reduced to red and blue. They glimpsed their companions below hearing their calls but not rushing to help; instead, they stood frozen, seemingly focused on something at their feet.

Before they could urge their comrades again, the ground beneath the others suddenly bulged with several mounds. Then, strange creatures with odd shapes burst forth from the earth.

“Something’s here!” one of the lowered men shouted just as dozens of half-human-sized creatures leapt from the mounds, immediately thrusting wooden spikes at the mercenaries.

“Rat-monkeys! Rat-monkeys! Run!” Those below shouted, firing their machine guns. The rapid pitter-patter of gunfire echoed as several odd animals—monkey-bodied but with rat-like claws and sharp snouts—were riddled with bullets.

Yet, these fearless creatures, far from mourning their fallen, grew even more frenzied. They screamed sharp “squeaks,” hurling their wooden spears, piercing one man’s body instantly.

“Don’t touch those spears—they’re poisonous!” someone knowledgeable about the rat-monkeys yelled. “Retreat! These little devils are tough!” As he shouted, preparing to flee, a rat-monkey hurled a fruit-like object from afar, striking him squarely in the chest.

The fruit shattered upon impact, releasing a green, misty gas. Caught unprepared, the man inhaled deeply and collapsed, unconscious.

“Squeak, squeak!” The rat-monkey that struck him cried out victoriously.

The men dangling midair witnessed the scene below and hurriedly stopped shouting. They twisted their bodies, straining their abdominal muscles to reach the daggers near their boots, aiming to cut their ropes. But small wooden arrows shot up from below, grazing their skin. Instantly, all those caught in the trap convulsed from poison.

Those on the ground no longer lingered to fight the rat-monkeys. They retreated hastily into the depths of the jungle.

Seeing the humans flee, the lead rat-monkey let out a shrill call. At its signal, the creatures sprang from the ground to the trees, flipping and leaping among the branches with incredible speed—far more agile than any monkey before.

Clearly, in terms of speed and stealth, these mercenaries were no match for the rat-monkeys. Even with night-vision goggles, the humans could barely discern more than four or five meters in the darkness, while the rat-monkeys, blessed with natural night vision, dominated the canopy.

One chased, one fled; one slow with limited sight, the other fast with keen vision. This was a battle of vastly unequal strength.

Thus, one by one, the mercenaries were struck down by wooden darts shot from the trees. A squad of more than twenty soon dwindled to just three or four.

Surrounded by rat-monkeys and hearing the rustling of the foliage closing in, the last two survivors’ eyes filled with despair.

“Brother, we’re going to die,” one stopped running and suddenly broke into tears.

“Don’t cry. Dad told us before he died—never be afraid,” the other said, dropping his machine gun and pulling out a few grenades. “Here, let’s take some of them with us. Show them human flesh isn’t easy meat.”

“Yeah.” Taking the grenades, the younger boy, barely eighteen, clenched his teeth and repeated to himself as if willing himself on: “Fear is worse than death. Fear is worse than death. Dad said fear is worse than death. I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid…” His face flushed with emotion.

Just as he was about to pull the pins, a thunderous roar suddenly shattered the jungle’s silence.

Boom!!!

The sound of heavy gunfire. Gunfire meant someone was there.

Hearing the lifesaving shots, the boy lowered his grenade and looked toward the jungle depths.

A man’s voice came from there.

“Hold on a little longer.”

Those five simple words rekindled the boy’s hope for survival. He dropped the grenade and gripped his gun once more.

As the voice fell silent, another rustling sound emerged from the trees.

Unlike the rat-monkeys’ movements, this sound was larger yet lighter, as if a colossal angel was gliding through the foliage.

Wherever this light rustling passed, the rat-monkeys screamed sharply in terror. By the eighteenth scream—that is, the death of the eighteenth monkey—a man descended from the treetops, dropping from a height of over ten meters to stand before the boy.

The man wore camouflage from head to toe, his face expressionless, eyes unshielded by special glasses. In one hand, he held a struggling live rat-monkey.

Jumping down, he raised the creature high, as if displaying a trophy to the cunning foes hidden in the canopy above. The rat-monkey struggled, but the man’s iron-like grip clamped its neck, rendering it immobile.

After the display, the mercenary boy saw the man draw a massive handgun and fire at the rat-monkey’s head.

Boom!!!

After the deep boom, the creature’s brain matter splattered, its head blasted into a grotesque ruin.

“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!” Its kin in the treetops emitted fearful yet furious cries upon witnessing the slaughter.

(To be continued)