Chapter 533: The Monkeys

"I didn't do anything. But look—"

It pointed at the window.

"Do those ordinary people add the Banana Character when they speak?"

Yuanban Ying was stunned.

She recalled—indeed, the classmates at school and the passersby on the street all spoke normally.

Only her sister, only those… who were drawn into something, would…

The Monkeys' smile deepened.

"Have you ever thought that your sister might no longer be your sister?"

Yuanban Ying's body went rigid.

"No, impossible…"

"Why is it impossible?"

Monkeys set the banana down, crossed both hands to support its chin, and the vortex‑shaped lens stared straight at her. "Think about it, which normal person would add a Banana Character when speaking? That's the Monkeys' language. Your sister—she's a Monkey."

"No—!"

Yuanban Ying sprang up, her leg went weak and she fell back onto the sofa.

Monkeys looked at her, and in its gaze there was no mockery, only a chilling… compassion.

"You don't believe? That's fine. Time will prove everything."

It rose from the chair, hands clasped behind its back, walked to the window, and gazed at the gray‑hazy city outside.

"Do you know what place this is?"

Yuanban Ying shook her head.

"This is Wonder Forest."

Monkeys turned around, spread its arms as if embracing something sacred, "An Experiment Field created by the Original Doctor. Those Monkeys—they were once all humans."

Yuanban Ying's complexion turned ghastly.

"All… humans?"

"Yes. All kinds of people. Merchants, students, workers, artists…"

Monkeys counted them one by one, "They arrived, and then they became Monkeys. Simple, a one‑stroke solution."

It walked to Yuanban Ying, its Monkey face pressed close.

"Do you know why humans turn into Monkeys?"

Yuanban Ying recoiled, her back pressed tightly against the sofa.

Monkeys' voice deepened, sounding philosophical:

"Because being human is too tiring."

"You have to go to school, take exams, work, earn money, buy a house, get married, have children… a lifetime bound by countless Rule, crushed by endless expectations. But Monkeys are different."

It straightened up, pointing at the Monkeys hopping about on the street outside.

"Look at them, carefree, eat when they want, sleep when they want, Banana when they want Banana. No thinking, no worries, no responsibilities. What freedom, what liberation that is."

Yuanban Ying's lips moved, unsure what to say.

Monkeys turned, picked up a folder from the table, opened it, and read:

"Yuanban Ying, 17 years old, second‑year high school student at Suiqun Yuan Academy. Excellent grades, gentle temperament, but long‑term inner suppression. In childhood, because of the Magus family's rules, she was sent to the Jian Tong family, experiencing a… not very pleasant period. Later, although she returned to the Yuanban Family, the shadow of that experience never faded."

Yuanban Ying's pupils contracted sharply.

"You…"

"I told you, I know many things."

Monkeys closed the folder, placed it on the table, "Yuanban Ying, you live too tiredly. You should let go of those shackles and return to your most authentic self."

It pointed at the Monkeys outside the window.

"Like them."

Yuanban Ying was silent for a long while.

Then she spoke, her voice light yet firm:

"You are wrong."

Monkeys' eyebrows lifted.

"Oh?"

"I indeed have experienced unpleasant things."

Yuanban Ying lifted her head, looking at the Monkey face, "But that doesn't mean I must abandon myself. My sister, father, mother, and… and those who care about me, they have never given up on me."

She braced herself on the sofa, stood up; her legs still trembled, but she straightened.

"I will not become a Monkey."

Monkeys looked at her, silent.

Three seconds later, it suddenly laughed.

The smile grew even more eerie.

"Interesting. Truly interesting."

It walked behind the desk, took a file bag from a drawer, and tossed it in front of Yuanban Ying.

Yuanban Ying opened it— it was a medical examination report.

No, not an ordinary medical report.

It read: Yuanban Ying, Special Constitution test result—positive.

"What is inside you?"

Monkeys sprawled on the office desk, the vortex‑shaped lens aimed at her, "A very special power. I don't know what it is, but I know it's… delicious."

It licked its lips.

"So, I have a proposal."

Ying took a step back.

"You—you don't want to turn me into Monkeys, do you?"

"Turn into Monkeys?" The Monkeys waved its hand, "That's a perk for ordinary people. You're different; you have special value."

The Monkeys stood up from the chair, walked half a circle around Ying.

"Let me dissect you."

Ying's brain went "Buzz!"

"What did you say?!"

"Dissect you."

The Monkeys's tone was calm as if discussing today's weather, "Don't worry, it'll be gentle. I just want to see what that thing inside you really is. Maybe your sacrifice could make a huge contribution to human evolution."

The Monkeys stopped in front of Ying, reached out, and its furry paw lightly patted Ying's shoulder.

"Voluntary, oh."

Ying felt her worldview shattered repeatedly countless times today.

Viewpoint shift.

San Yue Qi squatted by the street, chin resting on her hands, brows furrowed.

A fifty‑story tower stood opposite.

The entrance of the building was packed with Monkeys—small ones hopping on the ground, big ones leaning against the wall dozing, and a few especially sturdy ones standing on either side of the door like two Meat Mountains.

"What to do, what to do, what to do…"

San Yue Qi muttered under her breath, her mind racing through various plans.

Sha Jin leaned against the utility pole beside her, the gold weight in his hand tumbling slowly.

He looked at San Yue Qi's troubled contemplative face, a hint of a playful smile on his lips.

"Have you come up with any ideas?"

San Yue Qi snapped her head up, eyes lighting up: "Got it!"

Sha Jin raised an eyebrow: "Go on, tell me."

San Yue Qi took a deep breath, pointing at the building: "We'll climb up from the outside."

Sha Jin's fingers stopped.

"……Climb?"

His tone carried a hint of subtle confusion: "Climb what?"

Sha Jin lifted his head and glanced at the building.

At least fifty floors.

San Yue Qi gestured with her hands: "Just climb! Climb up the outside of the building! Using those window ledges, outdoor AC units, drainpipes, and so on. That way we can avoid those Monkeys and search floor by floor for where Ying is."

Sha Jin's mouth twitched.

He looked at San Yue Qi's earnest face, trying to find on her expression the trace of "I'm joking."

None.

She was serious.

Sha Jin's mouth twitched again.

"Do you know which floor that young lady is on?" Sha Jin asked.

San Yue Qi froze for a moment, then scratched her head: "Um… I don't know."

"Then do you know which window she's behind?"

"……I don't know either."

"Then how many floors do you plan to start searching from?"

"Um… start from the first floor and go up one by one?"

Sha Jin fell silent.