Chapter 111: Lu Chen’s Daily Explorations

The creature’s scales were brilliantly colored, as if splashed with a seven-hued palette. Even more bizarrely, it possessed two heads, each topped with a fleshy red comb.

"Hiss..." It opened its cavernous mouth, its beastly eyes filled with a flicker of confusion. After hesitating for a few seconds, it suddenly accelerated, swimming toward him.

"Pfft..." Lu Chen opened his maw and fired a compressed energy blast. He didn't know the creature's combat strength, but he chose to strike first. After all, this was an alien dimension; caution was paramount.

Boom!

A massive explosion rang out. The double-headed snake’s body disintegrated, flesh and blood spraying everywhere, leaving nothing behind.

Damn, I used too much power.

Lu Chen stepped forward, speechless, and used his claw to gingerly pick up a clump of flesh, tossing it into his mouth. The system’s built-in appraisal effect was truly impressive; text immediately appeared on the panel, clearly identifying the target.

"Prehistoric Double-Headed Crested Python: Provides 5 energy points."

Five energy points per jin of flesh—the quality was lower than the mutated water python he had killed back on Blue Star. Lu Chen now had a preliminary understanding of the combat strength of the creatures in this world.

He felt much bolder as he continued his exploration. Soon, he discovered a herbivore resembling a rhinoceros, weighing nearly a ton and bearing a meter-long horn. This time, Lu Chen didn't dare use a compressed energy blast; instead, he charged forward for close-quarters combat. A swipe of his claws finished the beast off with ease. According to the system, it was a prehistoric Elasmotherium.

After filling his stomach, Lu Chen dragged the remaining prey back to the Blue Star world. He intended to give the leftover carcass to his three saltwater crocodiles as a treat. Once he was certain this alien dimension was safe, he would eventually bring them inside to hunt.

Over the next few days, Lu Chen explored along the river. He confirmed that, at least within a hundred-mile radius, no powerful creatures existed that could threaten him. He didn't know if other alien dimension portals had been discovered elsewhere on Blue Star, but he keenly realized that for both himself and his crocodile companions, this space was a rare stroke of fortune. It meant that certain things he had been yearning for could finally be pursued without restraint.

To be honest, since transmigrating to Blue Star and becoming a saltwater crocodile, although Lu Chen hadn't faced any life-or-death crises, he had often felt stifled. Because of various constraints, his mind could never truly be at ease. He constantly had to consider human reactions. For instance, during the recent manhunt, he hadn't dared to unleash his full power. He knew that if he revealed himself as a massive threat to human society, his only path would be extermination—or perhaps drawing the attention of the Space-Time Administration.

In this alien dimension, however, he was free to act as he pleased. If possible, Lu Chen wanted to establish a kingdom of crocodiles—perhaps even a crocodile civilization. But one had to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time; overreaching could lead to disaster. For now, the most important thing was to continue accumulating strength. While there were no threats within a hundred miles, that didn't mean there weren't other fierce predators in this space.

It was even possible that other intelligent species might appear. After all, Lu Chen had seen mermaids at the bottom of the Blue Star ocean. He now understood that those mermaids likely came from an alien dimension as well, having accidentally entered Blue Star through spatial rifts, which was why legends about them had persisted throughout human history. If his guess was correct, it meant that channels connecting to alien dimensions had always existed on Earth, just undiscovered until now.

Could it be that Earth itself was similar? Lu Chen felt a surge of excitement at the possibility. However, that was a matter for another day.

As Lu Chen expected, the crocodiles were astonished when they first entered the alien dimension, followed quickly by excitement. They realized that prey here was far more abundant than on Blue Star; they wouldn't have to worry about food for a long time. With the three saltwater crocodiles and Black Spot constantly growing, they—along with Lu Chen—consumed nearly a thousand jin of food per meal. The large animals near the deep pool and waterfall had long since been hunted to extinction. Previously, they had often needed to travel dozens of miles just to fill their bellies.

***

"Hiss..." By the riverbank, the eldest crocodile lifted its head, letting out a threatening sound toward the sky.

"Squawk... squawk..." A strange bird with a massive beak and a wingspan of over two meters circled ten meters above, continuously provoking them.

Lu Chen was lurking in the nearby river, watching the scene on the bank with interest but no intention of intervening. In fact, he rarely participated in the trio's hunts anymore, unless they encountered insurmountable danger. The strange bird looked much like a raven from his past life, but dozens of times larger.

There was a cunning glint in its eyes; it was clearly an intelligent avian. Suddenly, it flew directly over the head of the eldest crocodile.

"Pfft..." A blob of hot, foul-smelling excrement fell, landing right on the crocodile's forehead.

Damn it... Lu Chen’s mouth twitched. The memory was all too vivid. It seemed that no matter the world, all clever birds knew this trick.

"Hiss!" The eldest crocodile was truly enraged, whipping its head around to aim at the bird. A jet of freezing water shot out like viscous amber, instantly encasing the prey. Then, with a series of cracks, the bird became a giant block of ice and plummeted to the ground. The creature looked up with terror, struggling frantically with its claws and wings, and soon shattered the solid ice.

But it was too late.

Thud!

Before the prey could beat its wings to take flight, the eldest crocodile had charged forward, slamming its claws down. It was simple, direct, bloody, and violent. The bird’s head instantly burst, sending red and white gore splattering everywhere.

This attack style was naturally learned from Lu Chen. His three crocodiles had mastered his teachings; tails, limbs, and mouths had all become viable weapons, rather than relying solely on the death roll of a typical saltwater crocodile. Lu Chen felt quite gratified watching the hunt. Since they had gained the ability to launch ranged attacks, their success rate had increased significantly. Many prey items were caught off guard and struck before they knew what hit them.

However, the second and youngest crocodiles were a source of worry. Thus far, they had each swallowed over ten spirit stones without showing any signs of mutation. It was a matter of individual aptitude, and there was no forcing it. But Lu Chen wasn't overly concerned; even if they lacked talent, he would use spirit stones to force them to evolve.

Although the spirit stone vein at the bottom of the valley's deep pool had become extremely difficult to mine, he could still find dozens if he worked hard. Additionally, there were reserves in the Giant Kelp Forest. Moreover, Lu Chen believed that other spirit stone veins existed elsewhere on Blue Star. He could travel the world later to harvest more.

With this in mind, Lu Chen stepped forward to the bird's remains and tore off a four-jin chunk of meat to swallow.

"Prehistoric Giant Raven: Provides 20 energy points..."