mynovelweb Chapter 95 A Chaotic Treasure Hunt
Chapter 95 A Chaotic Treasure Hunt
"Just basic biological information," Liu said calmly as she continued writing in her notes.
Kirihara didn't care about any data; he looked up at the smallest monkey and reached out to touch it. The little monkey took a step back, clutching the peach and watching him warily.
"They're so cute." Xiang Ri squeezed in from the side, looking up at the monkeys in the tree. "They're even smaller than the ones I've seen at the zoo; they must have just been born."
"They don't seem afraid of people at all." Kuwabara reached out and parted a drooping peach branch to give the little monkeys a clearer view.
Atobe emerged from behind the tree with the clue card in hand and stood a little distance away. He looked at the monkeys in the tree with curiosity, a hint of appreciation in his icy blue eyes.
"It's quite splendid. It's much more vibrant than those caged animals in the zoo."
Everyone thought the little monkeys were adorable and took out their phones to take pictures.
Just as everyone was enjoying watching the animals, the monkeys suddenly seemed to hear a command. A little monkey suddenly darted in front of Atobe and snatched the clue card from his hand.
"Hey!" Atobe paused for a moment, then roared, "Give me back the clue card!"
The little monkey, clutching the clue card, swiftly climbed up the tree. It sat on a branch, munching on a peach, swinging its legs, and looking smugly at Atobe.
Suddenly, the little monkey with half an ear jumped down from the tree, landed at Kirihara's feet, looked up at him, and blinked its round eyes.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, it stretched out its claws and picked up the water bottle that Kirihara had placed on the ground.
The next second, it scurried back up the tree with the water bottle in its arms.
The other little monkeys also got to work.
"My kettle!" Kirihara jumped up and shouted.
He dragged Hua Di along, chasing the little monkey through the peach orchard.
The monkeys leaped and swung among the branches, climbing up and swinging down, never letting go of what they were holding. They were deliberately dangled around an old peach tree several times before the water bottle was finally thrown to the ground beneath the tree, and the monkeys, clutching the clue card box, strode away.
Another little monkey swung down from the branch and accurately snatched the treasure chest that Jiro had placed on the rock.
"Ah! My only clue card!" Jiro shouted, pointing in the direction the little monkey had run away.
The other monkey went even further, first tugging at Xiang Ri's red hair, then snatching his energy bar directly from his coat pocket and stuffing it into its mouth without even opening the packaging.
"Don't pull my hair!" Xiang Ri winced in pain, jumping up to hit the monkey, his voice trembling. "And besides, that's my energy source!"
The monkeys were not afraid of their scolding at all.
They sat on the branches, enjoying the peaches, occasionally glancing down at the noisy two-legged creatures below, their expressions surprisingly carrying a hint of...disdain.
Marui and Kuwabara, hiding to the side, saw the row of monkeys crouching on the tree trunk.
Marui pointed a finger and sternly warned them not to touch his things. No sooner had he spoken than a little monkey, perched on a branch, holding a ripe peach in its hand, tilted its head to look at him, then flicked its paw away.
The peach flew in an arc and landed precisely on Marui's chest.
Marui looked down at the peach juice on his clothes, then looked up at the little monkey baring its teeth in a provocative manner.
"Those monkeys," he stopped chewing his gum, "they're definitely doing it on purpose."
The two little monkeys bared their teeth at him at the same time.
Kuwahara silently tucked his clue card into his pocket.
The monkey in the tree saw this action. The little monkey with the missing ear tilted its head and looked at him for two seconds, then picked another peach from the branch and threw it at him.
Kuwabara dodged to the side, and a peach hit the tree trunk behind him, splashing juice everywhere.
"Jack, are you alright?" Marui turned around and asked worriedly.
"It's nothing." Kuwabara wiped the peach juice that had splattered on the back of his head. "I was watching monkeys... they were pretty fast, not ordinary monkeys."
"That's a monkey, of course it's not an 'ordinary' thing!" Marui wiped his clothes and saw that the monkey was holding a peach pit in its hand, ready to pounce. He quickly grabbed Kuwabara and ran away.
For the next ten minutes, the little monkeys nimbly leaped between the branches, their movements so fast it was dazzling.
One tugged at Hiyoshi's shoelace, nearly causing him to trip. Another snatched Shinobu's glasses. A third perched on Ootori's shoulder, its claws fiddling with the zipper of his clothes, leaving Ootori frozen in place.
Another monkey, taking advantage of Shishido's inattention, snatched his hair tie from his wrist. Shishido's long hair came loose, and he shook his head, watching the little monkey perched on the branch playing with the hair tie, his lips twitching slightly.
Kirihara and Jiro suffered the most.
The two bumped into each other while chasing the monkey. Kirihara fell headfirst into the grass under the peach tree, while Jiro tripped over a tree root and fell flat on his face.
When the two got up, their heads and bodies were covered in grass clippings and peach leaves.
Everyone chased after the monkey, panting heavily, but couldn't even catch a single hair.
The monkeys made squeaking noises from the branches overhead, and the little monkey with the missing ear even clapped its paws.
"Are they mocking us?" Kirihara clenched his fists, his curly hair standing on end in anger.
"It seems so." Jiro rubbed his sore bottom and looked at the group of smug little monkeys in the tree.
"They are an organized and premeditated criminal gang!" Marui gritted his teeth, taking off his peach-juice-stained jacket and draping it over his arm.
"To be precise, it's a behavioral pattern formed through years of contact with humans." Liu opened his notebook and found the data he had recorded on macaques. "It includes behaviors such as stealing, teasing, and begging for food, which are typical behavioral characteristics of macaques in a semi-domesticated state."
"Senior Liu, can you please stop analyzing and help me get the clue card back!" Kirihara shouted, pointing at the monkey clutching the box. "Damn it! I'll catch them all!"
The monkey looked down at the box under its paws, picked it up and shook it, making a clattering sound. Then it carried the box in its mouth and ran deeper into the peach grove on all fours.
The other monkeys also scattered, leaving only a few peach pits to fall from the tree.
Kirihara took off after him, with Jiro close behind.
Marui and Mukahi exchanged a glance, then rushed out as well.
In no time, everyone else in the peach grove suffered from the monkey plague.
The boys chased after the monkeys, who jumped and leaped about, filling the air with screams and laughter.
Wang Yueling and Renwang hid in a big peach tree, laughing so hard they were doubled over.
"Monkeys are so cute!" Mochizuki Ryou wiped away tears of laughter. "They're much more fun than our pranks."
Niou nodded, twirling his braid as he said, "Puri~ I should have prepared more bananas."
……
Atobe remained standing there, wiping the spot on his forehead where peach juice had splattered, while still fuming about the clue card that the monkey had snatched from him.
Until another little monkey took another clue card from his coat pocket.
Atobe looked at his empty pockets, then at the monkey perched on a tree branch making faces at him.
"Ugh." He was so angry his face turned green. Pointing at the little monkey in the tree holding his clue card, he roared, "Kabaji! Catch it down for me!"
After waiting for a long time without receiving a reply from Kabaji, they realized that Kabaji and Kirihara were chasing another monkey in a different direction.
Atobe took a deep breath.
Ok.
I'll do it myself.
He rolled up his sleeves and chased after the little monkey. He happened to run into Shinobu, who had finally found his glasses.
Shinobu put on his glasses and looked at Atobe, who looked pale and disheveled, and couldn't help but suppress a laugh.
"Shinobu, what are you laughing at?" Atobe glared at him.
"Kei, you're mistaken. I wasn't laughing." Shinobu immediately stopped smiling and changed the subject seriously. "Let's hurry up and catch up. Otherwise, we'll be overtaken."
Atobe snorted, straightened his clothes, and the two continued their pursuit together.
Finally, the people who had suffered the most at the hands of the monkeys met up in the middle of the forest.
Kirihara's curly hair was covered in leaves; Jiro's curly hair had a peach pit stuck in it; Marui and Mukahi were covered in peach juice; Shinobu's glasses were half broken; and Atobe's bangs were also wet with peach juice.
Only Kuwahara was clean, because he had been helping everyone deflect the flying peach pits.
"These monkeys are definitely not ordinary monkeys," Marui said through gritted teeth. "They've definitely been trained."
"Possibly." Shinobu straightened his crooked glasses and put them back on. "I've been observing them for a while. Their behavior is very organized. Some are responsible for luring, some for stealing, and others for carrying the stolen goods."
"You mean, someone deliberately trained them?" Jiro's eyes widened.
"It's also possible that someone instigated them."
Atobe wiped the peach juice from his forehead, his icy blue eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke thoughtfully, "Even if these monkeys come to steal peaches every year as Liu said, they can't be this brazen this year. Think carefully, what are they stealing?"
Marui was stunned: "...A clue card and a treasure chest?"
"Yes." Atobe nodded. "They don't steal food, they only steal clue cards and treasure chests. This means..."
"Someone is directing them to steal the clues," Shishido continued. "That person knows the rules of the competition and what we need. They deliberately let the monkeys steal them to increase the difficulty."
Everyone fell silent for a moment.
"Who else but Ling?!" Marui's voice almost shook the peaches off the tree.
The surrounding peach trees were startled at the same time, and several trees rustled softly. Several small monkeys simultaneously poked their heads out from the treetops, all looking at the group of people.
"Roar... Hah..." the monkeys shouted in unison.
A laugh came from the canopy of an old peach tree nearby. The laugh was very soft, hidden behind the branches and leaves, almost blending into the wind.
Wang Yueling walked out from behind the tree, leaned against the trunk, and slowly ate a peach.
He was languid, with that kind of smile that made you want to punch him.
"We've been discovered."
"But you've wronged me. This wasn't my idea... it was Prince Ni who suggested it first." He pointed to the peach tree next to him.
Niou peeked out from behind another tree, his little braid twirled around his fingertip, his fox-like eyes gleaming with smugness: "Piyo~ Did everyone have fun?"
"Ling, it's not fair to dump all the blame on me. I have an idea, but someone needs the skills to get the monkeys to obey!"
One by one, the monkeys jumped down from the tree and surrounded Wangyue Ling and Renwang. Some sat there eating peaches, while others were using their paws to pluck various things that they had snatched from the group.
They were clearly very familiar with these two people.
"Alright, I'm one of the masterminds too." Wang Yueling glanced helplessly at Renwang and whistled towards the tree.
The little monkey, missing half an ear, peeked out from the treetop, glanced at the group, then jumped down and landed on his shoulder.
The little tail curled under his chin. Wang Yueling reached out and patted its little head, then took out a few bananas from his pocket and handed them to its paw. "Bonjour, my petit assistant. You did a good job. Here's your reward."
The little monkey hugged the big banana and happily rubbed its head against his ear.
Kirihara noticed something under the little monkey's paw, and his eyes widened instantly: "Those are our clue cards and the box!"
The little monkey looked down at the box under its paw, picked it up and shook it, making a clattering sound. Then it put the box handle into its mouth... not to eat it, but to hold it in its teeth, and then ran away on all fours.
"Wait..." Kirihara took off to chase after him, but after running two steps, he was grabbed by the back of his collar by Niou's outstretched hand and forced to stop on the spot.
"Aka, stop chasing. The little monkey is faster than you." Mochizuki Ryou tilted her head, her tone light and cheerful.
"But that's the clue card we searched for half an hour before finding it!" Kirihara's voice rose several octaves.
"Oh." Wang Yueling nodded. "Then you'll have to look for something again. Wouldn't it be better if you could play a little longer?"
The boys were furious at his shameless words.
Shinobu pushed up his broken glasses and looked up at the old peach tree trunk behind Mochizuki Ryou.
A small note had been posted there sometime during the day. It had a drawing of a little duck on it, and next to it was written: "The real clues are never the cards in the treasure chests. —Wang Yueling"
Shinobu stared at the line of text for several seconds, then slowly curved the corners of his mouth into a smile.
"I see."
"What do you understand?" Xiang Ri leaned closer.
"We've been looking for treasure chests," Shinobu said, brushing the grass off his clothes. "But the clue cards in the chests aren't the only clues. So the NPCs in the forest are the most important source of clues, right, Ryo?"
Wang Yueling took a bite of a peach, pleasantly surprised by their understanding: "Bingo, you got it right, but there's no reward."
"But you've been bothered by the monkeys for almost an hour." He pointed to the time on his phone. "It's getting dark, so hurry up and think of a way to get the clue cards by playing the game with the real NPCs."
The group exchanged glances, finally snapping out of their obsession with catching the monkey.
"Let's go." Atobe straightened his hair, which was damp from the peach juice, and snapped his fingers again. "Find the real NPC."
Then everyone glared at them fiercely as they left, and strode away.
Niou didn't care about their disdain; he shrugged and said, "They really don't understand the fun of games. Shall we continue with our plan?"
"Of course, let's go 'entertain' Sanada again." Mochizuki Ryo tossed the peach pit into the grass, patted the peach juice off his hands, and asked, "Are you going to play the NPC or should I?"
"You go first." Renwang's fox-like eyes curved into a smile as he pulled out a spare uniform belonging to a Taoyuan employee. "I fooled him three times before, and now he'll be suspicious even if he sees my shadow. If you go, the success rate will be higher."
"Okay." Wang Yueling took the work clothes and put them on, pulled the baseball cap down low, glanced back at Renwang, and said, "Go to that stream in ten minutes, and I'll lead him there."
"Understood, Pupina~"
-
The actual NPCs are scattered in the open space in the center of the peach grove.
They all had their own stalls. They were wearing matching work uniforms and had the Wangyue Manor badge pinned to their chests.
After being tricked several times by Nozomi Ryo and Niou, many members of Hyotei and Rikkai finally found the right direction and located the stall.
I was so excited I almost fell into the peach basket in front of the NPC.
The games offered by the real NPCs all have a strong manor-like feel...
Extreme peach picking: Pick a basket of peaches in three minutes.
Kirihara was the first to raise his hand to sign up.
He felt incredibly agile and confident that he could pick the most.
The competition began. Kirihara swiftly climbed the tree, picking peaches at lightning speed, but as soon as he picked a few, they were snatched away by the little monkey next to him.
"Hey! That's my peach!" Kirihara shouted as he chased after the monkey.
When the three minutes were up, he only had three peaches in his basket.
Kuwabara was the second to go. He was tall with a long arm span, so he didn't need to climb the tree; he could reach the peaches high up with his bare hands. Moreover, he was strong and could pick them quickly and steadily.
Three minutes later, Kuwahara had picked a full basket of peaches and successfully obtained a clue card.
Hua Di was large and strong, and the little monkeys dared not approach him. He handled this challenge with ease and successfully obtained the key clue.
Peaches Eating Contest: Two-on-one competition to see who can eat the most peaches within the allotted five minutes.
Marui and Jiro finally found their home turf here, eating twelve in a row until their opponents were too full to move, and successfully obtained the highest level clue card.
Tennis pitching: Throw tennis balls into a mini peach basket 20 meters away. You can get a clue card if you hit 10.
Atobe was the first to go on the court. He picked up a tennis ball, aimed at the peach basket, and tossed it casually.
With a "whoosh," the tennis ball landed precisely in the peach basket.
Next, Atobe hit the target every time, all ten balls found, and successfully obtained the clue card.
Sanada also tried his luck, and his accuracy was quite good. However, due to the mischief of the little monkey, he failed to make all ten shots in two attempts and had to leave the field disappointed.
Xiang Ri, watching from the side, was itching to try it too. He picked up a tennis ball, aimed at the peach basket, and threw it with all his might.
The tennis ball flew out of control, veering wildly off course, and crashed into a peach tree nearby.
"Again!" Xiang Ri said, not to be outdone, and pulled out another tennis ball to continue.
He threw ten balls, but missed every single one, and in frustration, he threw the balls to the ground.
"I'm not playing anymore! What a crappy game!"
The onlookers burst into laughter.
Next to them was also a clay pot pitching game, but instead of tennis balls, they used peach pits.
Liu and Liu Sheng performed exceptionally well in the peach pit pitching game.
Through precise data analysis, Liu accurately tossed the peach pit into the earthenware jar in the distance. Liu Sheng's golf ball hitting accuracy was equally impressive.
From a distance of three meters, they hit the target every time.
Even the little monkeys watching nearby started imitating him, throwing pebbles into another jar.
The way the little monkey smashed the pottery jar with a stone made everyone laugh.
After receiving the clue cards, everyone followed the instructions on the cards to complete the challenges at various hitting spots.
The real challenge lies in the point of impact.
The locations of these points are all extremely peculiar.
Some bullseyes are hidden in the canopy of peach trees, requiring the ball to be hit with an exaggerated arc; other bullseyes are not directly in front of the player, but to the side or behind, requiring the player to lean back almost with their back to the target and strike the ball like a golfer.
Yagyu stood in front of this spot and tried three times before finally executing the most elegant strike.
Others made numerous embarrassing mistakes during the challenge.
Some balls were separated from the target by a very narrow hole in an old tree.
A person can't get through, but a ball can. However, the hole is small and irregular, not straight up or down. If you deviate even slightly, the ball will be bounced off the tree trunk.
Shinobu stood on this side of the tree hole, aiming several times, but he couldn't get the ball in. The last shot grazed the edge of the hole and bounced back, knocking away a banana that a monkey was holding nearby.
"Oops, I let the monkey eat one less bite of food." Shinobu returned to the starting point with an empty racket, looking apologetically at the little monkey clinging to his leg and baring its teeth.
Some bullseyes are on the rocks opposite the Peach Blossom Stream, requiring you to step on the rocks to reach the other side and shoot.
Sanada and Shimada, a first-year student, crossed the river by stepping on the stones. Shimada almost tripped over a monkey and fell into the water, but Sanada grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him back. The two of them stood on the river stones and swung their rackets together.
Kirihara and the other first-year students weren't so lucky; they all suffered.
Kirihara used a tree branch to chase away the monkeys, which angered them. He tripped and fell into the stream, getting his trousers soaked from the knees down.
They could only return to the shore crying, and under the teasing of the little monkeys, they took off their shoes and wrung out their socks.
Sato, a second-year student at Rikkai University, hit the bullseye at this batting spot with the motion of a baseball home run. He was so happy that he spun around twice on the spot and fell into the creek.
The entire peach orchard was filled with the sounds of balls hitting the water, balls crashing against tree trunks, commands for various fancy shooting techniques, and laughter.
Everyone went wild.
No one discussed rankings, dinner, or broccoli anymore. They pointed out to each other in the peach grove how not to be cheated, how to get through tree holes, how to adjust the angle of their shots, and how not to let the monkeys steal their water and towels.
Pu Shan is the only person whose emotional stability score is consistently at full.
He found three clue cards, completed two hitting points, obediently detoured when he encountered the little monkey, and only bowed and said "Thank you, Shiita doesn't need it" when he met Mochizuki Ryo and Niou disguised as NPCs.
He walked slowly, but he took almost no wrong turns.
Niou tried many times but failed to fool the child. Instead, he felt that the child was too polite and couldn't bear to fool him anymore.
But many more people were completely fooled by Mochizuki Ryo and Niou.
Several forgetful first and second graders were tricked into going in the opposite direction. They ran for ages before realizing they'd been fooled.
He was so angry that he stomped his feet.
After being scammed for the fourth time, Sanada squatted by the roadside, sulking. He learned to observe for a few seconds before approaching, to have the "staff" announce their numbers from a distance, and to recognize the subtle differences in the work clothes at Mochizuki Manor.
He silently compiled these experiences into a set of anti-fraud rules in his mind: don't listen, don't look, verify first.
These three sentences were taught to him by Wang Yueling out of pity.
However, even Mochizuki Ryo and his team sometimes made mistakes.
On one occasion, Niou disguised himself as a peach picker and tried to trick Yanagi and Yagyu.
"Do you know how to get to the orchard on the north side of the peach grove?" Niou asked, deliberately lowering his voice.
Liu glanced at him from head to toe and then calmly began to report the data: "There are peach pits near your feet, and it's impossible for an orchard worker to get lost while eating peaches. Considering your height and gait frequency, there's a very high probability that you're an imposter. The probability of it being Mochizuki Ryo is 20%, and the probability of it being Niou is 80%."
After saying that, he walked past the other person and continued forward.
Yagyu adjusted his glasses and said helplessly, "Masaharu, your hair tie is showing."
Niou subconsciously touched his braid, and sure enough, the hair tie had somehow appeared under his straw hat.
"You caught me." Niou took off his straw hat, chuckled, and put his hand on his shoulder. "How boring."
"Besides, you've already fooled three people using this method. Can't you come up with a new one?"
"I'll definitely do it next time," Niou replied with a smile, then turned and ran off.
On another occasion, Mochizuki Ryo disguised himself as a worker watering the plants, trying to deceive Atobe and Shinobu.
Have you ever seen a worker wearing a hat picking peaches?
Atobe crossed his arms and sized him up. Then he let out a cold laugh.
"Ah~ Wangyue Ling, do you think I'd be fooled by you like those idiots? The color of the string on your work ID is wrong. The strings of the real NPCs in the manor are dark blue, yours is light blue."
"And your watch is showing. That's a Patek Philippe limited edition this year; workers in Taoyuan can't afford to wear it."
Wang Yueling looked down at the fake work ID on her chest and her wrist. Sure enough, a watch was peeking out from her sleeve.
He clicked his tongue softly.
He thought to himself, "Atobe's eyesight is truly monstrous."
"You got caught so quickly." Wang Yueling took off her straw hat, revealing her blond hair, and pouted. "You're all so smart now, it's no fun anymore."
Shinobu pushed up his glasses and said with a smile, "Ryo, you and Niou have already fooled quite a few people. It's time to stop."
"No way!" Mochizuki Ryo smiled brightly. "It's going to be a lot of fun. Keigo, Yuushi, do you want to join in?"
"I'm not going to do something so unglamorous with you." Atobe turned and left.
As dusk fell, laughter, shouts, running sounds, and the squeaking of monkeys rose and fell throughout the peach orchard.
The light of dusk filtered through the branches and leaves, turning the entire peach orchard a honey color.
Some people ran while eating peaches, some were chased by monkeys and ran around trees, and some shouted "Niou, you just wait!" at the air after realizing they had been tricked.
When the announcement came over the loudspeaker in Taoyuan, everyone was stunned for a moment.
Wang Yueling's voice was amplified and carried throughout the entire peach grove.
"Kids, it's time for the race! Please gather at the exit of the Peach Blossom Grove immediately. I'll repeat: it's time for the race..."
Everyone emerged from the peach grove, still feeling quite exhilarated. Smiles graced their faces, their clothes covered in bits of grass and mud. Some had disheveled hair, and others had their clothes torn by branches.
But it was clear that they were all having a great time.
Everyone had long forgotten that they were in a competition.
All I remember is the happy time in the afternoon picking peaches in the peach orchard, chasing monkeys, looking for clues, and being pranked by Wangyue Ling and Renwang.
The butler stood at the entrance of Peach Garden with a scoreboard in hand. His expression was professional and calm, but the perfect composure crumbled the moment he saw the group of teenagers.
When he saw the group of boys emerge from the woods, each of them had peach tree "souvenirs" hanging on their heads and bodies.
They were either covered in leaves and peach branches, or their bodies were covered in muddy paw prints of monkeys. Even the usually flamboyant young master Atobe had tangled hair, and although he still tried his best to maintain his elegance, there was a bit of dust on the ends.
Standing at the exit of the peach grove, holding the scoreboard compiled by the field butler, Wang Yueling looked at everyone with an innocent expression: "Now I'll announce the results. According to the statistics, this afternoon, no one completed all the hitting challenges..."
The entire audience erupted in wails.
"Huh? How could this happen?"
"I'm just one hit away from hitting the ball!"
"It's all those little monkeys' fault! They wasted so much of my time!"
"And there's Niou-senpai and Mochizuki-senpai! They're always lying to us!"
Wang Yueling shook the scoreboard and gave them a playful wink.
"This isn't our fault. I said before we started that there were no rules except for the weights. So... I'm sorry everyone, we'll all be eating boiled broccoli tonight, but considering you're all still growing, I've added some chicken."
Another wail rose from below, but it wasn't loud... Most people were too hungry to wail anymore.
Everyone returned to the dormitory area dejectedly, took a shower, changed into clean team uniforms, and dragged their heavy steps toward the cafeteria.
The restaurant was brightly lit and warm, with long tables piled high with food.
Instead of the various delicacies served at lunchtime, there were more than forty neatly arranged weight-loss meal sets.
Each set meal contains only lettuce, boiled chicken breast, boiled broccoli, and an egg.
They are all super, super, super large portions.
It's definitely not a problem to get full, but it just doesn't give you any appetite.