Reincarnated as a Demi-Human

Chapter 2: A Chaotic Meeting

She slowly crept toward the stack of boxes, reeling her hand back, and swung at the center. Boxes flew across the floor, scattering random items everywhere, including a golden brick. As she reeled her hand back, a Speedy Panda uniform shirt was hanging from her arm. After shaking it off, she returned her attention to the fallen stack.

Strange. Was it just her imagination? Maybe the wind blew the can down, but then her ears twitched, picking up whispers.

"Oi, why'd she go and do that for?! We just organized those boxes and still got to label em'!"

"Weren't we supposed to label them like the other day, Jin?"

"We were, but then there was the 'Buy one get one free' coupon for cheese tea we found that was about to expire..."

The girl tried to find the source of the whispers. They seemed close by, but where were they coming from? If her enhanced dragon-like hearing continued in her new form, her other abilities must also have. To test her theory, she closed her eyes, took a short breath, and sniffed the air.

Her nose wrinkled as she picked up an unusual scent she had never smelled before in her lifetime. It was sour and bitter, like rotten fruit mixed with moldy squash thrown into a blender. The engine also had a metallic odor while mixed, creating a putrid smoothie with a pungent aroma.

As she took small steps, she followed the invisible trail, her eyes glued to every detail in her surroundings. Her ears twitched occasionally to keep track of the whispers, which sounded closer. So far, she didn't see any movement or a shadow.

"I hear them, but I don't see them..." she told herself.

Then, the sound of cardboard scraped against the floor. Quickly turning around, her eyes landed on a cutout of the Monkey King. Raising an odd eyebrow, she carefully approached the stand.

"Ha, that wasn't there a few minutes ago."

Indeed, the cutout of the Monkey King appeared out of nowhere. Unbeknownst to her, Yin and Jin were hiding behind that exact cutout. Dripping with sweat and holding their breath, they were close to being found out.

"Is this some paper mache of the Great Sage?, she said in confusion, "Looks pretty poorly made. Flat, tasteless, and a little...what's that word?"

She pondered for a moment, then snapped her fingers.

"Ah! Mediocre! That's it! The Great Sage has made such a name for himself that he has a cheap paper cutout."

She lightly tapped the cutout, but to her surprise-it spoke!

"Thank you for your interest in the Monkey King and the Monkey King branded items."

Taken by surprise, she leaped back into a fighting stance.

"What the!? It speaks-So it's been you the whole time, Sun Wukong! A dummy to try to let down my guard, huh?! Well, you won't get the drop on this dragon!"

She charged forward, lowering her head like a bull charging at a matador. The brothers' pupils grew to the size of saucer plates as she was about to ram the cutout stand they hid behind. Jumping out of the way, the girl smacked right into the cutout and skidded across the floor, hands clenched against the shoulders of the cutout.

"Ha! Not so tough being pinned by me now, is it?" she said as she maintained her hold on the cutout.

"I, Monkey Ki...ng, fully endo...rse this prod...uct or spo...rts...e...vent..."

The recording on the back went dead. Getting off the cutout, she turned it over to find the voice box attached to the back as she stared at it in confusion.