At this moment, it was a small tree. As it grew, the green fruits on its branches would also grow, and they could give birth to elves. The elves would build nests and live in the tree, and eventually, this Tree of Life would become an elven city.

Truly, elf fruits on the Tree of Life, and a bewildered me beneath it.

While he was still confused, the tree spirit panel gave a new reminder: [Young city lord, please protect the Tree of Life! Prepare for defense!]

Defend against what, exactly?!

Samuel Young looked into the distance. He didn’t know his exact location, but he was sure it was far from the plant reserve, because that area had been hit by a storm, and the sky for hundreds of miles around was covered in dark clouds.

But here, the sky was clear and cloudless. All around was a vast, lush plain, vibrant and full of life. How could there be any danger to the Tree of Life in a place like this? Was someone going to pop out of the ground and start logging?

The spot chosen by the Tree of Life had a great view. Looking east, there were sparkling waters; to the south, there were also shimmering waves. Only to the southwest were there any houses, and even then, just a few lonely ones. Only much farther away did the houses become more numerous—Samuel Young guessed that was a small town.

After spotting the houses, he prepared to go over and ask someone about the situation. He needed to know where he was.

But as soon as he moved away from the Tree of Life, the tree spirit’s panel immediately popped up: [Protect the Tree of Life! Defend! Defend! Defend!]

Samuel Young closed the panel and said irritably, “Defend against what? There’s not even a dog here…”

The panel immediately popped up again: [Protect the Tree of Life! Defend! Defend! Defend! (There’s a reward)]

Samuel Young was about to ask what the reward was, when a few squeaks sounded. He turned and saw a little monkey emerging from the grass, scratching its head as it faced the Tree of Life.

It was a very beautiful little monkey, not even as tall as Samuel Young’s knee when standing upright, with golden-yellow fur all over its body. The fur on its face was especially dark and long, like a lion’s mane.

As a soon-to-be master’s student in animal and nature conservation, Samuel Young recognized this monkey: a golden lion tamarin.

But golden lion tamarins are only found in the wild in South America. Africa may have many animals and many species of monkeys, but there are absolutely no golden lion tamarins!

At this, Samuel Young instinctively drew a sharp breath: Hiss—could it be that he wasn’t in Africa, but had been brought to South America by the Tree of Life?

After the little tamarin came out, it stared wide-eyed at the Tree of Life. After a few glances, it let out a cheer and tumbled and crawled toward the little tree.

Samuel Young finally understood why the tree spirit wanted him to protect the Tree of Life. Golden lion tamarins are omnivorous animals with a rare habit among animals: they like to suck the sap of trees.

Specifically, they use their sharp claws to dig holes in the trunk or branches, or use their strong incisors to gnaw the bark, then suck the sap that flows out. That’s why there are few small trees near their habitats in the South American jungle—the little trees all get killed by them.

Samuel Young hurried to drive it away. As the saying goes, the rich change their fate with money, the poor with cheats—this Tree of Life was clearly a cheat prepared for him by the heavens, and he couldn’t let this little monkey ruin it.

Golden lion tamarins are very timid. As soon as Samuel Young chased after it and shouted, it turned and fled, peeing as it ran.

The urine drifted in the wind, and under the sunlight, there was a faint rainbow…

This is no exaggeration—South Africa is known as the Rainbow Nation, and the wind, air, and sunlight here are perfect for rainbows to appear.

Samuel Young knew this was an internationally protected animal and didn’t want to harm it, so after chasing it away, he let it go.

But the little tamarin wasn’t willing to give up. After putting some distance between them, it turned back to watch Samuel Young warily. After a while, it suddenly tried running back, closing the distance between them.

Samuel Young was secretly pleased. As the elven city lord, he had the ability to be close to all things in nature. Could it be that just by making contact, he’d attracted the little tamarin?

He was overthinking it.

When the little monkey got close, it suddenly threw something at him, then turned and ran away.

Samuel Young looked closely—the thing on the ground was monkey poop!

“You little brat, you’re dead!” Samuel Young shouted angrily and took off after it.

The tree spirit panel popped up: [The elven city lord must be noble and elegant. Please mind your words and actions.]

“Get lost!”

[Okay]

The tree spirit panel disappeared on its own.

He had forgotten that monkeys and apes love to use poop as a weapon against enemies, especially silverback gorillas, who are particularly good at it because their poop is thick and hard.

With Samuel Young chasing behind, the little tamarin was scared out of its wits, running on all fours toward a nearby small grove, and disappeared without a trace once it got inside.

This grove was filled with common South African trees like acacias, soapberry trees, locust trees, and ash trees. The trees were sparse, with many shrubs like camel thorn and white thorn growing between them. Samuel Young didn’t dare go in.

South Africa has twenty thousand kinds of vegetation, but only thorns hurt people the most.

He figured that after this long chase, the little tamarin should be scared enough and wouldn’t dare covet the Tree of Life again.

He was overthinking it again.

Not long after he returned to the Tree of Life, more small golden figures sneakily appeared.

And there was more than one!