Alien creatures destroy homes? Start by killing upright apes!

David's whiskey glass stopped in mid-air.

"How do they know what Earth looks like? They've never left the Fog City."

The intelligence officer did not answer.

Because nobody knows the answer.

"And there's more," the intelligence officer's voice lowered, "There's a mark on the map: the location of the United States of America is circled, and inside the circle are many small dots. Our analysts believe—the small dots represent Homo erectus."

David turned around: "What about the symbols of other countries?"

"The Kingdom of Jacques Chicken, the Kingdom of Zhu Sai Wolf, the Kingdom of Taro Tanuki, the Kingdom of Ivan Bear... all have small dots, but the Kingdom of Weiqiang Dragon does not have small dots."

"What do you mean?"

"The countries that were chosen by the upright apes are all marked with small dots on the map. The countries that were chosen by the water dragons are not marked."

David downed the whiskey in one gulp.

He suddenly realized something—the upright apes knew from the very beginning which countries had chosen them and which had not.

One hundred million upright apes, distributed across ten countries around the world, have never met, yet they have drawn the same map.

There is a kind of connection between them that transcends distance.

The reason they are called the "Four Great Thugs" is because they never admit they are wrong in public.

But behind the scenes, their intelligence system is already moving faster than a rabbit.

Three days ago, intelligence agents from the Kingdom of John Bull infiltrated the Kingdom of Winner Monkey in an attempt to figure out the evolution mechanism of the Water Dragon Beast's digging claws.

Agents from the Kingdom of Yakji disguised themselves as merchants and infiltrated the Kingdom of Weiqianglong, hoping to find out why the Water Dragon Beast only digs holes and doesn't cause trouble.

The secret envoy from the Kingdom of Zhu Sailang traveled by steamship across most of the planet, just to ask Lu Cheng a question in person.

Taro Tanuki is the most direct.

Massa sent an entire expedition to the capital of the Winner Monkey Kingdom under the guise of "academic exchange," with three boxes of observational data on upright apes and a box of gold bars in their luggage.

Lu Cheng received the expedition team leader from Taro Tanuki Kingdom in the reception room of the Executive Government.

The team leader's surname is Yamamoto. He is a biology professor at Kyoto University, wears round-framed glasses, and keeps rubbing the corner of his clothes with his fingers while speaking.

"Louis Chakri, Prime Minister Massa asked me to pass on a message to you."

"explain."

"Taro Tanuki Kingdom is willing to exchange any condition for the method to suppress the upright ape, if you know of it."

Lu Cheng picked up his teacup and blew on the tea leaves: "Why didn't Prime Minister Massa come himself?"

Professor Yamamoto stopped rubbing the corner of his clothes: "The Prime Minister... is dealing with some domestic affairs."

"What business?"

Yamamoto hesitated for a long time before finally taking a photo out of his briefcase and handing it over with both hands.

The photo shows a bamboo grove on the outskirts of Kyoto, with things hanging from the bamboo stalks—not fruits, but tools made of clay.

Mud axes, mud knives, and mud hammers are strung together with vines and hung neatly on bamboo branches, like clothes being dried.

"The upright apes have begun stockpiling tools—not for use, but for storage. They've produced far more tools than they need daily and stored them in bamboo forests. Our intelligence personnel believe this shouldn't be called storage, but rather—an armory."

Lu Cheng put down the photo, his expression unchanged.

What else did Prime Minister Massa say?

"The Prime Minister said that when Taro Tanuki chose the upright ape, he thought he made the most rational choice. Now he knows that it was the most foolish choice. But Taro Tanuki cannot admit it publicly, because if he does, the country will be in an uproar... So he can only ask you privately."

Professor Yamamoto stood up and bowed deeply.

Please.

Lu Cheng was silent for a while, then took a document out of the drawer and placed it on the table.

"This is observation data from the Waterdramon's digging claws, which records the Waterdramon's stress response patterns when threatened. Take it back to Prime Minister Massa, and he will understand."

Professor Yamamoto took the documents with both hands, his eyes reddening.

"What do you need us to do?"

"No need, this document is free, but tell Prime Minister Massa one thing—if one day upright apes start to disguise themselves as humans, Taro Tanuki Kingdom must immediately disclose all intelligence to the world. Not to the four major powers, but to the entire world."

Yamamoto paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Port Morente.

Prime Minister Robert stood on the roof of the dock warehouse, holding binoculars, his lips trembling.

The telescope's field of view showed a steamship.

To be precise, it was the wreckage of a steamship.

The ship docked at Moreburn Port three days ago for repairs, and this morning the crew discovered that the entire ship had been dismantled.

It's not destruction, it's dismantling.

The boiler was disassembled into iron plates, copper pipes, and rivets, and then sorted and stacked on the dock.

The steam engine was disassembled into cylinders, pistons, connecting rods, and valves, with each part placed in its corresponding position.

The propeller was disassembled into blades and bushings. The blades were arranged by size, and the bushings were classified by model.

"How long did it take them to dismantle?" Robert's voice trembled.

The port manager wiped his sweat: "Last night, from one in the morning to four in the morning, for three hours. The entire dock... no one heard a sound."

"They dismantled an entire steamship in three hours?"

"Yes...yes."

Robert put down the binoculars and closed his eyes.

He recalled the moment fifteen days ago when the Sky Screen System descended. He stood in his office watching the images of ten exotic creatures, and his first thought was—the upright apes seemed the safest.

One hundred million kangaroos were distributed among ten countries, and Australia secured the last spot.

He was so excited he almost popped a champagne bottle.

Now he wants to shove that champagne bottle into his mouth.

"Mr. Prime Minister!" The communications soldier stumbled up to the roof. "Urgent telegram from Port Heaney! The upright apes of Port Heaney started dismantling the train station this morning!"

Robert nearly dropped his binoculars.

"Demolishing the train station? What are they demolishing from the train station?"

"The rails! They dismantled the entire rail system into rails, sleepers, and spikes, and stacked them neatly on the platform. After dismantling them, they didn't leave; they squatted on the platform, watching the next train arrive, as if waiting for something."

Robert felt a chill run down his spine.

"They're waiting for the train to come to the station, then they'll dismantle the train."

The communications soldier nodded.

The upright apes of Australia started by dismantling telephone lines, then steamships, and finally train stations.

Their disassembly targets are getting larger and larger, their disassembly speed is getting faster and faster, and their disassembly precision is getting higher and higher.

They are not looking for things; they are learning about every part, every structure, and every principle of human industrial civilization.

Robert turned to the port manager and said, "Get me President Kerry of the mighty Dragon Kingdom. No, directly get me Lu Cheng, the ruler of the Winner Monkey Kingdom. I'll handle it myself!"

……

Seoul, South Korea.

President Lee squatted beside the bronze lion pedestal at the entrance of the palace, looking at the remaining signs of dismantling on the pedestal, his expression as if he had eaten three pounds of bitter melon.

The copper plate on the base was completely peeled off, with edges so neat it looked like it had been cut with a machine tool.

The copper nails that secured the copper plate were removed one by one and arranged on the steps next to it according to their length.

The supporting iron frame inside the lion was disassembled into individual iron bars, each marked with a serial number.

They are not numbers, but symbols invented by the upright apes themselves, carved into them with sharp stones.

"Why are they numbered?"