Chapter 182: Monkeys in the Woods

Once they’d cleared the inverted section of track, Lin Yun felt a bit better — hanging upside down like that had left her thoroughly uncomfortable the whole time.

Back in China, riding a roller coaster was all about tension and excitement, pure and simple. Here, though, it was just plain unpleasant.

Suddenly, an archway loomed up ahead. Lin Yun squinted, trying to read it carefully — it seemed to be announcing that they were about to enter somewhere new, but they passed beneath it so quickly that she never caught the last few words before it vanished behind them.

Before long, the roller coaster carried them into what looked very much like a dense forest.

The tracks here weren’t level with the ground — they rose up slightly, with tree branches and other foliage crowding in close on either side.

The roller coaster slowed its pace considerably. Though it was still moving, it now crept along more slowly than a person walking on foot.

"Damn it! Are monkeys on duty in these woods today?!"

"Seriously? This is going to be rough! Those monkeys are unbelievably agile, and there are so many of them. And we’re stuck sitting in these seats — we’re basically sitting ducks!"

"I absolutely hate the monkeys on this ride, more than anything else!"

"So annoying! Why is it that everyone who’s ridden before stays so tight-lipped about it? Not one of them mentioned it was monkeys in the woods today!"

"Hehe, it’d be strange if they actually could speak up about it."

"Besides, why would they want to warn us? They’d probably love watching us suffer through it just as much as they did."

Immediately, the passengers scattered across the roller coaster broke out into a chorus of complaints.

"Whoosh!"

The chattering of monkeys grew steadily closer.

"Damn it, they got here fast! Can’t this roller coaster move any quicker?!"

"They’re here! Forget trying to knock each other off for now — let’s deal with these blasted monkeys together first!"

The moment he said it, the other passengers stopped trying to pry open each other’s safety locks, turning their attention instead toward the approaching monkeys.

After all, if every single safety lock on the roller coaster ended up unlocked at once, what would even be the point of riding it anymore?

Before long, the monkeys pounced.

The passengers, unable to move freely in their seats, made for perfect, easy targets.

The monkeys seemed thoroughly delighted, rushing onto the ride one after another. They clearly loved tormenting humans this way — after all, if they managed to unlock even a single safety lock, they’d be rewarded handsomely once they returned to their forest.

Two monkeys came rushing straight toward Lin Yun’s side of the seat.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she fired off two cactus spikes in response.

One monkey failed to dodge in time and took a hit to both hand and foot. It let out a shrill squeal and scrambled away.

Plenty of monkeys still surrounded them, though, and after witnessing what had just happened, several grew visibly hesitant to approach Lin Yun directly.

They quickly settled on a new plan instead.

They’d simply circle around to the back, aiming to knock the passenger seated behind Lin Yun clean off the roller coaster.

What they hadn’t expected was that before their furry little paws could even brush against that safety lock, Ghost Vine lashed out and struck first.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

The short-haired girl beside them found herself forced to fend off monkeys approaching from the front while simultaneously guarding against threats from behind, leaving her looking thoroughly frazzled.

Somehow, Sang Biao had managed to unzip the backpack partway, revealing half of his body poking out.

His sharp claws were already fully extended — anyone foolish enough to get close was guaranteed a vicious slash for their trouble.

Sang Biao hissed sharply at the monkeys twice, glaring at them with fierce intensity.

Lin Yun reached over and patted him, letting him climb up onto her head instead, since he couldn’t move around very much while still tucked inside her arms.

Sang Biao climbed higher, gripped the seat firmly with his claws, and swiped viciously at any monkeys still foolish enough to keep approaching without regard for their own safety.

"Ha—"

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

The monkey that got scratched let out a piercing scream and fled at once.

The short-haired girl nearby had grown noticeably irritated by this point. With a swift swipe of her knife, she managed to slice clean through one monkey’s hand.

Many of the other monkeys, startled by her sudden aggression, immediately turned and fled the scene.

Still, a handful of monkeys managed to succeed regardless. They were remarkably skilled at this sort of thing, and their coordinated teamwork made them nearly impossible to fend off entirely.

"Aaaaaah, you damned monkey! Die already!"

"I’m absolutely filing a complaint about this at the visitor center!"

"This is outrageous! It scratched my face! Get away from me!"

"Damn it! My safety lock!"

By this point, every passenger on the roller coaster looked thoroughly disheveled. Although most had brought along some kind of weapon, the majority were only small handheld items.

Once the monkeys managed to snatch one of those away, the passengers were left with little choice but to defend themselves passively from then on.

It wasn’t as though no monkeys had attempted to steal Lin Yun’s crossbow — they simply couldn’t outmaneuver her.

Ghost Vine kept vigilant watch over the safety lock, while the tabby cat perched menacingly near the human’s own head, eyeing every monkey with open hostility.

That particular human clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with either — there was simply no stealing from her, not a chance.

"Sister, could you help me out here?"

The short-haired girl was growing increasingly fed up by now. No sooner had the monkey whose arm she’d severed fled than another one came scurrying over to take its place, testing her patience further still.

Had she known there’d be monkeys waiting in these woods today, she never would have gotten on this ride in the first place!

And what exactly would she stand to gain from helping out?

Lin Yun glanced pointedly at her own safety lock, then over at the girl’s restlessly fidgeting hands, her meaning unmistakably clear without a word spoken.

The short-haired girl choked slightly, realizing at once that Lin Yun was referring to all those earlier attempts to secretly unlock her safety lock.

"How about I give you two meal tickets in exchange?"

Lin Yun simply turned her head away, popped open her umbrella instead, and positioned it firmly between the two of them.

The short-haired girl seethed with frustration but had no real choice except to keep fending off the monkeys entirely on her own from then on.

Fortunately, the stretch of track running through the woods wasn’t especially long, and they were already nearing the exit.

A sound rang out from somewhere deep within the trees. The instant the monkeys heard it, they didn’t hesitate for even a second — they let go at once and scrambled back into the forest.

They lived within these woods and couldn’t be carried off by the roller coaster itself, or they’d risk becoming food themselves out there.

The moment that sound rang out, the passengers seized their chance to retaliate, reaching out to grab hold of the fleeing monkeys and try to drag them along instead.

After everything the creatures had just put them through, they were determined to make them pay for it!

"Hahaha! Got one!"

A bald man seated in the front row managed to grab hold of a monkey, clamping down tightly on its foot to keep it from squirming free.

The monkey squealed and thrashed frantically, clearly panicked by the situation.

"I caught one too! You were all so ruthless with us earlier — now it’s our turn for a little payback!"

The roller coaster was steadily picking up speed once more.

Lin Yun glanced around and saw that the monkeys had already scattered far off into the distance. She quickly called Sang Biao back down into the safety of his backpack.

Before long, the roller coaster carried them clear out of the woods entirely.

Once outside the trees, the captured monkeys were flung out by the triumphant passengers. Presumably, once thrown, the staff would step in afterward to deal with them properly.

Lin Yun, however, paid no attention whatsoever to any of that — it simply wasn’t something she cared to focus on.

She still had to keep a close eye on the short-haired girl seated beside her, wary that she might try once again to secretly pry open her own safety lock the moment she let her guard down.

The umbrella remained unfolded the entire time, still wedged firmly between the two of them. It was a method she’d only just thought up on the spot, and it happened to fit almost perfectly against the safety lock mechanism.

If the girl wanted to reach her lock now, she’d first have to break through the umbrella itself.

The same held true for the passenger seated in the row behind them as well.