fictionpage Chapter 14 The Great Sage Patrols the Mountain
Chapter 14 The Great Sage Patrols the Mountain
At midnight, Flower Fruit Mountain fell into a deep sleep.
The moonlight was obscured by layers of clouds, and the only sounds in the mountains and forests were the chirping of insects and the distant sound of a waterfall. Three figures stealthily climbed over the barbed wire fence on the west side of the scenic area, their movements practiced and skilled, clearly those of seasoned veterans.
The leader was bald, with a DSLR camera hanging around his neck and a bulging backpack full of equipment. Behind him were two lean young men, one carrying a tripod and the other clutching a briefcase.
"Hurry up, we need to get everything set up before 2 o'clock while the security guards on patrol are changing shifts." The bald man urged in a low voice.
"Brother Wang, are we really going to do this? I heard that Huaguo Mountain is really weird. A couple of days ago, three of Lao Liu's group went crazy after they came back." The young man's voice trembled.
The bald man spat out, "Shut the fuck up. The money Longteng is offering is enough for you to earn for ten years. After this job, you won't have to worry about the rest of your life. Besides, we're here to fake it, not to make it real. What are we afraid of?"
The three walked up the mountain path, completely unaware that a small, golden-eyed flying insect was staring at them intently from a tree branch above.
The tiny flying insect that Sun Wukong had transformed into was smaller than an ordinary fly, with tiny wings, slender legs, and a pair of golden compound eyes on its head that shimmered with a dark golden light. It quietly followed behind the three of them, landing on the zipper pull of the bald man's backpack, so close that it could smell the man's sweaty odor.
"Brother Wang, what exactly are we going to do tonight?" the young man carrying the tripod asked.
The bald man pulled a hand-drawn map from his pocket and shone his flashlight on it: "See this? This is the path east of the Water Curtain Cave. We'll bury a few speakers along this path, and when they play a woman's crying sound in the middle of the night, the tourists will be terrified. This spot is on the edge of a cliff; we'll put a doll here, the kind in a white dress, and when the wind blows, it'll look like a hanged ghost. As for the core area..." He lowered his voice, "the blind spot of the surveillance cameras south of the cable car; we'll pour a few buckets of red paint there to disguise it as bloodstains. Then we'll take a few photos and say that Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area is haunted and people have died. Longteng Media has already given the go-ahead; the article title is already written: 'Huaguo Mountain Suffers Frequent Supernatural Events; Nighttime Crying Terrifies Visitors.' When it's published, that kid will be in big trouble."
"Won't the scenic area be closed off?"
"Ban him? That's too lenient." The bald man sneered. "Longteng said to first ruin his reputation, then force him to transfer the operating rights at a low price. Once we've put on a good show, we'll find a 'high monk' to 'exorcise the evil,' and then Huaguo Mountain will belong to the Long family."
The compound eyes of the golden-eyed flying insect contracted slightly.
Sun Wukong hovered in the air for a moment, watching the three mortals mark up the map, clearly arranging each point. Their smiles were full of greed and smugness.
He suddenly felt a sense of absurdity.
Back when he wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, even 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals couldn't subdue him. Now, these mortals, with just a few wires, a puppet, and some paint, think they can take over his Flower Fruit Mountain?
The Great Sage almost burst out laughing.
But he held back.
Lin Chen had taught him a principle: strike the snake at its seven-inch mark, bite the person at their vital point. Simply driving these few people away is useless; we need to get the evidence so that the person behind it can never recover.
So he didn't make a move, but continued to lie quietly, like filming a documentary, watching and memorizing every action of the three people.
In the small house at the foot of the mountain, Lin Chen was staring blankly at the monitor screen.
He personally designed the surveillance system for Huaguo Mountain, which covered every corner of the main roads, but under the cover of night, the three of them bypassed most of the cameras.
Lin Chen held a half-cold cup of coffee, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.
He knew Da Sheng would be keeping an eye on things tonight, but he still wasn't confident. After all, the other side was Longteng Group, a behemoth that could manipulate the cultural tourism industry at will. How could he, a debt-ridden entrepreneur, possibly go head-to-head with them?
Just then, my phone screen suddenly lit up.
It's news from the Great Sage.
There is no text, only a ten-minute video file.
Lin Chen clicked on it, the image shook for a few seconds, then stabilized. The camera focused on the faces of three men, so clear that even their stubble and acne scars were visible.
The bald man was bending over, burying the equipment in the ground, muttering under his breath, "What are you two standing there for? Come and help! Wrap this speaker in a plastic bag so it doesn't get soaked in the rain."
The young man carrying the tripod squatted down: "Brother Wang, do you think there are really monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain that can do work? I saw those videos online, and the monkeys can even wipe the railings, that's amazing."
"That's all an act," the bald man scoffed. "That guy surnamed Lin must have hired a professional animal trainer to let the monkeys learn the moves for a few days to make it look like that. You actually believe in monsters? How stupid."
"So, do you think the Monkey King is real?"
The bald man paused for two seconds, then his tone became noticeably weaker: "Stop talking nonsense. That's special effects, it's not real."
The camera lens of the golden-eyed flying insect was focused on the bald man's face, capturing the action of him swallowing saliva and the look in his eyes that unconsciously looked back.
Wukong sneered inwardly: They say they don't believe it, but they're really skeptical inside.
The video continued playing. The three of them started walking along the mountain path, marking things on the map as they went, muttering things like "put a speaker here," "put a puppet here," and "splash paint here," leaving no stone unturned.
Lin Chen watched the video from beginning to end, his fingers gripping the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
His expression was calm, but his heart was pounding.
This wasn't anger, but excitement.
They've caught them.
They really caught them.
He took a deep breath, turned on his computer, and backed up the video file three times: one copy to his hard drive, one copy to the cloud, and one encrypted copy to send to his lawyer.
At four o'clock in the morning, the Great Sage returned.
He pushed open the door to Lin Chen's office, leaned the golden cudgel against the corner of the wall, plopped down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked as smug as if he had just stolen the peach orchard.
"Boss, how's my job going?"
Lin Chen pulled up the video and played it on the big screen, nodding, "The clarity is even better than I expected. What did you use to shoot this scene? A phone? Or did you conjure it up?"
The Great Sage chuckled, reached into his ear and pulled out a golden hair, twirling it between his fingers: "My hair can transform into anything I want. Just now, I turned into a camera and stuck it to the bald man's backpack, so he can film wherever he goes."
Lin Chen paused for two seconds, then gave a thumbs up.
That's fucking awesome.
"What's next?" the Great Sage asked.
Lin Chen chuckled, locked his phone, and leaned back in his chair. "Wait until dawn. Wait until they've set everything up, wait until they've filmed their so-called 'haunted scene,' wait until they release the article. Then, I'll start the live stream."
"Should we wait for them to make the first move?"
"Right." Lin Chen picked up his now-cold coffee and downed it in one gulp. The bitterness spread across his tongue, but his eyes shone with an astonishing light. "Old Sun, you have to remember one thing: in a war of public opinion, whoever strikes first loses. They publish the article first, and I release the video later, and the entire internet's sentiment will immediately reverse. At that time, it won't be me saying they're spreading rumors, but rather netizens seeing with their own eyes that they are spreading rumors."
The Great Sage nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly grinned and said, "Your boss is really cunning."
"That's called business acumen," Lin Chen corrected.
At 7:00 a.m., Longteng Group's marketing account published its article on time.
The headline reads: "Frequent paranormal events occur at Huaguo Mountain; the scenic area is filled with terrifying cries at midnight, and tourists exclaim, 'I dare not go there again.'"
The article included nine photos, all taken at night. The first photo showed a white-dressed doll swaying in the wind on a cliff edge, resembling a hanged ghost; the second photo showed a pool of dark red liquid on a mountain path, captioned "suspected bloodstain"; and the third photo showed a blurry "ghostly figure" standing at the edge of the woods.
The article, a lengthy two thousand words, uses extremely chilling language; anyone with a weak heart would be too scared to go to the bathroom at night after reading it.
The comments section was even more lively, with a swarm of online trolls from Longteng flooding in, all commenting with "This is terrifying," "This scenic spot should be shut down immediately," and "Thank goodness I didn't go."
The number of reposts skyrocketed at a rate of hundreds per minute, and it became a trending topic in less than half an hour.
Lin Chen sat in his office, looking at the data and shaking his head.
"This PR team is pretty good; their copywriting is even better than my profile."
The Great Sage stood by the window, arms crossed, staring coldly at his phone screen: "So, when do we make our move?"
"Wait a little longer." Lin Chen took out his phone and opened the live streaming platform. "I'll deliver the final blow when their popularity is at its peak."
At 9 a.m., the trending topics exploded.
The hashtag #HuaguoshanGhostStory# has topped the trending searches, with over 300 million views. The comments section is filled with skepticism and panic, with some even tagging the police and demanding a thorough investigation into the scenic area's safety qualifications.
The public relations team of Longteng Group was smugly preparing for the next offensive when Lin Chen's live stream lit up.
The title has only four characters:
"The truth is here."
Three hundred thousand people flooded into the live stream room instantly.
Lin Chen sat in front of the camera, with the entrance to Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area behind him. The sun was shining brightly, and a gentle mountain breeze was blowing. He was wearing a simple white T-shirt, his expression calm, and his tone unhurried.
"Good morning, everyone. I've read the article from this morning, just like you all. I'd like to start by asking you a question: Do you believe it?"
The screen was flooded with comments:
"I don't believe it!"
That article is clearly a fabrication.
"But that picture looks really real."
Lin Chen smiled and said, "Since everyone has questions, I won't waste any more time. Let's look at the evidence directly."
He pressed play.
The first scene, filmed at night, is extremely clear. Three men's faces appear on the screen, with the bald man walking in front, clutching a map.
"Hurry up, we need to get everything set up before 2 o'clock while the security guards on patrol are changing shifts."
The bald man's original voice was crystal clear, and the comments section exploded instantly.
Holy crap!
"Was this taken secretly?"
"Who is this bald guy?"
Lin Chen remained silent, letting the video continue playing.
In the footage, the three set up equipment along the mountain road, with every detail captured clearly. Where the speakers were buried, which tree the doll was hung on, and where the paint was splashed—the entire video was recorded in detail, even their conversations about how to publish articles, how to hire online trolls, and how to manipulate public opinion were captured.
The comments section went completely crazy.
"This was done by the Longteng Group?"
"Damn it, this is a frame-up!"
"Call the police! Call the police immediately!"
Lin Chen watched the flood of comments on the screen, his face expressionless, his tone still calm: "Everyone, the three people in the video are currently setting up their 'evidence' inside the Huaguo Mountain scenic area. I have already called the police, and they are on their way to the scene."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of police sirens came from off-screen.
Mei Ting led three police officers into the office quickly, glanced at Lin Chen, and said, "Send us a copy of the video."
Lin Chen handed over the hard drive: "All the original materials are in here, unedited and without dubbing. You can have them authenticated by a professional organization."
Mei Ting nodded, then turned to her colleague and said, "Go up the mountain to catch them. Don't let them escape."
Hundreds of thousands of viewers in the live stream watched as police rushed up the mountain and pinned down the bald man who was squatting on the ground splashing paint. The bald man struggled and shouted, "What are you doing?" The police searched his backpack and found audio equipment, dolls, paint buckets, and a document titled "Fake Plan for the Huaguo Mountain Paranormal Event".
The live chat erupted in cheers: "Gotcha!"
"Longteng Group is finished."
"Boss Lin is awesome!"
Lin Chen turned off the live stream, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.
My palms were sweaty.
He looked calm on the surface, but he was actually so nervous he almost threw up. After all, it was a live broadcast, watched by hundreds of thousands of people. If the evidence wasn't strong enough, or if the police didn't arrive in time, it wouldn't be Longteng that would be ruined, but him.
Da Sheng jumped in through the window, holding a bottle of mineral water, and tossed it to Lin Chen: "Boss, have some water."
Lin Chen took it, unscrewed the cap, and took two gulps: "Where is he?"
"They've all been arrested." The Great Sage leaned against the windowsill, a cryptic smile on his face. "The bald guy was pinned to the ground, his face covered in mud, and he was still shouting, 'I'm innocent!' I couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then he glared at me and asked who I was. I told him, 'I'm the security director of the Flower and Fruit Mountain Scenic Area.'"
"What was his reaction?"
"His face turned green."
Lin Chen laughed out loud.
He realized for the first time that he was laughing so heartily.
On this day, news from all over the country was dominated by Huaguo Mountain.
The hashtag #HuaguoshanFakeTruth# has replaced #HuaguoshanGhostlyEvents# as the new top trending topic, with over one billion views. Longteng Group's official Weibo account was bombarded with criticism, forcing it to disable comments, and its stock price immediately plummeted to its daily limit. Cultural and tourism departments in multiple regions summoned representatives from its projects overnight.
That afternoon, the police issued a statement: the three suspects confessed to the crime, the senior executives of Longteng Group have been summoned in accordance with the law, and the case is under further investigation.
After reading the report, Lin Chen put his phone in his pocket and walked out of the office.
The Great Sage was standing on a huge rock on the mountaintop, with his back to the setting sun, his figure edged with gold.
Lin Chen climbed up and sat down next to him.
The mountains were quiet. The monkeys had finished their work and were perched in twos and threes on the trees, grooming themselves. In the distance, the mountains stretched out in a continuous range, the clouds dyed fiery red by the setting sun, and the wind carried the scent of mountain plants.
The two remained silent for a long time.
Sun Wukong suddenly spoke up: "Boss."
"Um?"
"If this had happened today, the Jade Emperor would have already sent heavenly soldiers to quell it."
Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at him.
The Great Sage's eyes reflected the setting sun, a golden and crimson hue. He didn't look at Lin Chen, his gaze fixed on the distance, his voice soft: "But you didn't do that. You used mortal methods: recording evidence, calling the police, exposing it online. No violence, no killing, you just let them dig their own grave."
Lin Chen thought for a moment and said, "Killing someone by attacking their spirit is more effective than killing them."
The Great Sage laughed, a genuine laugh from the bottom of his heart, even the tip of his tail was trembling.
He turned his head, looked at Lin Chen seriously, and said, word by word, "Your boss is more reliable than the Heavenly Court."
Lin Chen was momentarily speechless after hearing that.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something lighthearted to ease the tension, but his lips suddenly became clumsy, and he couldn't utter a single word. Finally, he reached out and patted the Great Sage on the shoulder, saying:
"Then you need to work hard, and I'll give you a raise."
The Great Sage pouted and turned his head away arrogantly, but the smile on his lips was impossible to hide. He muttered something under his breath that no one could hear, something like, "That's more like it."
The sunset completely blanketed the entire sky.
Sitting on the mountaintop, Lin Chen looked at the city lights coming on in the distance and at the quiet and gentle Huaguo Mountain below. Suddenly, he felt that he had really taken the right path.