Chapter Ten: Evil in the Lake

Ultimately, Lu Chen possessed a human soul. The scent of his own kind’s blood was deeply etched into his memory, and after transforming into a saltwater crocodile, his keen sense of smell awakened these recollections even more vividly.

If animals killed their own kind, it was largely for survival or reproduction. Humans, however, were different. War, money, interests, emotions, jealousy—any of these could become their excuse to kill one another. Especially in war: every time it broke out, hundreds of thousands, millions, even tens of millions would perish at the hands of their fellow man.

Often, it was humanity—those who spoke so grandly of morality and forged brilliant civilizations—who were the most savage in their mutual slaughter upon the blue planet.

When Lu Chen first inhabited the body of a young crocodile, he had felt a sense of frustration and regret. But as he gazed at the suitcase lying at the bottom of the lake, a new thought occurred to him: perhaps, being a crocodile wasn’t so bad after all. In the world of animals, everything was simple—survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak—free from the filth of scheming, betrayal, and murder.

Once he had guessed what the suitcase might contain, Lu Chen’s instinct was to leave at once. He retreated a dozen meters or so before stopping again. If not for him, when would the suitcase at the bottom of the lake ever be discovered? Would it take months, or even years? Perhaps, as silt piled up, the truth would be buried forever.

Whatever the reason, the murderer deserved punishment.

With that thought, Lu Chen made up his mind. Perhaps this was the last, insignificant bit of resolve in a crocodile that still harbored a human soul.

Yet, the suitcase weighed at least a hundred pounds—how could he possibly haul it ashore? Thanks to his system’s enhancements, Lu Chen now weighed ten pounds, and his claws could exert a force of four kilograms—several times that of a typical crocodile hatchling. But even with this strength, dragging such a heavy object in the water was impossible; he would need outside help.

Surfacing again, he noticed several anglers with casting rods across the lake, a hundred meters away. Inspiration struck at once.

In his previous life, Lu Chen had enjoyed fishing and was quite familiar with casting rods—sometimes called surf rods or spinning rods, depending on the region. They consisted of a reel, fishing line, sinker, and hook. The fishing line could extend for hundreds of meters, and its flexibility solved the limitations of hand rods, allowing anglers to fish both near and far at will. Moreover, when the rod and line were subjected to great force, the reel’s drag system would kick in, increasing the line’s tolerance and making it difficult for even the largest fish to escape.

With a plan in mind, Lu Chen widened his protruding eyes and searched the water carefully for traces. Typically, for long-distance casting like this, anglers would bait the area by boat to attract fish. Therefore, wherever the fish gathered, the hooks were sure to be nearby.

As he suspected, it only took a few minutes before he detected chaotic ripples ahead. Lu Chen silently swam over, tail swaying with barely a sound.

The water was murky. A cluster of large fish were frantically fighting over the bait—silver carp, grass carp, black carp, and more—over a dozen in all, the largest nearly a meter long. Next to them, Lu Chen was tiny, but though these fish were large, they lacked aggression. Normally, this would have been a perfect hunting opportunity, but he had more pressing matters now.

He found the baited area, and soon enough, the hook appeared. Lu Chen could even recognize that the anglers on shore were using 1mm-thick, size 15 braided line, capable of holding at least a hundred kilograms—more than enough to haul up the suitcase.

The critical step was figuring out how to entwine the fishing line around the suitcase’s handle. Casting rods typically had alarm devices: simple old-fashioned bells with a clip and springs, or modern electronic bite alarms. Either way, a fish biting the hook would cause the rod tip to vibrate, setting off the alarm. Of course, false alarms or missed alarms were always possible, and if whatever tugged the line did so gently enough, the device wouldn’t react.

Lu Chen’s task was to pull the line as gently and slowly as possible so as not to trigger the alarm. With his plan set, he silently slid up to the hook, gripped the end with his teeth, braced his limbs, and carefully backed away—making sure not to get snagged himself, or he’d become the butt of a cruel joke.

As expected, as long as he moved slowly underwater, the rod tip did not shudder, and no alarm sounded on the shore. After more than ten minutes, Lu Chen finally managed to wrap the baited hook around the suitcase handle.

Certain he had succeeded, he reached out with his sharp claw and struck the fishing line with force.

Beep! Beep, beep—

At last, the electronic alarm onshore sounded. Voices shouted, “C, you’ve got a bite—reel it in! It’s heavy—maybe a meter-long fish!”

Lu Chen’s body lay hidden in the water, with only his eyes above the surface, intently watching the action on shore.

One chubby angler, face alight with excitement, planted his feet and squatted low, one hand gripping the rod, the other spinning the reel for all he was worth. The others crowded around, gazing out over the lake. Faintly, one could see muddy swirls rising from below.

Lu Chen couldn’t help but wonder: when they finally dragged the suitcase ashore and saw what it was, how traumatized would they be?

As the line drew in, the anglers began to realize something was wrong.

“The fish isn’t running—it must be snagged on something down there.”

“Definitely caught on something…”

“Looks like a suitcase—open it up, see what’s inside! Maybe it’s full of cash—now that would be a windfall…” One greedy angler hurried to the water’s edge, reaching out to help drag the suitcase ashore.

The others were equally curious, never suspecting what was truly inside, waiting to be discovered…

***

Soon, sirens wailed and police tape cordoned off the shore. Park-goers crowded around, snapping photos or trying to glean information. Just like in his previous life, whether good or ill, there was never a shortage of onlookers when something happened.

Fishing, a suitcase, dismemberment—chaotic voices rose and fell.

But for Lu Chen, his part was done. He had done all he could. What happened next was out of his hands.

At least now, the wronged soul at the bottom of the lake would not go unavenged.

The dismemberment case at Willow Lake caused a great stir. For a while, far fewer people would come to fish or play. For Lu Chen, this was a blessing—it meant the chance of him or the other young crocodiles being discovered was much lower.