Chapter One Hundred Twenty: Coexisting with Ferocious Beasts

"Mutated giant octopus, provides 3,659 energy points..."

Although this octopus possessed immense strength, by the standards of cultivation realms, it was only at the early stage of the 4th rank. The energy contained within its flesh and blood was lower than that of the bull shark king killed a few days prior.

After swallowing his prey, Lu Chen finally remembered the human who had fallen unconscious while entangled by the mutated octopus. He quickly located the man, gripped the back of his clothing with his talons, and swam toward the large fishing vessel. By the time Lu Chen had been hunting the octopus, the other people who had fallen overboard had already been rescued.

Guo Jiahao was counting the survivors when his expression suddenly shifted to one of alarm. "Where is Haoze?"

Guo Haoze, the young man he had been scolding earlier, was his own brother’s son.

"Boss Guo, Haoze was dragged away by that octopus sea monster..." a crew member stammered in reply.

When the attack first occurred, several crew members had remained on the boat. They had seen clearly that after Guo Haoze fell into the water, he was seized by the tentacles of the sea monster and subsequently vanished.

Guo Jiahao’s face turned deathly pale. Having lost his nephew on this voyage, he had no idea how he would face his brother upon returning.

"Look, what is that?" another crew member suddenly shouted, pointing toward the nearby water.

The calm surface began to churn as a massive, dark silhouette swam rapidly toward the fishing boat.

"Another sea monster... Is it the big guy that drove off the octopus?"

"Boss Guo, start the boat! If we don't, we’re all going to die!"

"Start the boat..."

The crew members who hadn't fallen into the water earlier cried out in succession. They had seen clearly that it was the appearance of this black sea monster that had scared the octopus away.

Under their terrified gaze, the dark shape arrived within twenty meters.

Dark scales, a spine lined with sharp bone spurs, a colossal frame, hideous teeth, and crimson eyes... Faced with this behemoth, the crew was nearly paralyzed with fear.

However, some found the creature strangely familiar.

"It’s... the Dragon King!"

"The prehistoric giant crocodile that shot down the helicopters?!"

Finally, a crew member identified the sea monster. The footage of the saltwater crocodile battling the helicopters had been broadcast globally; they had all seen the videos and participated in the discussions.

There was even a standing bounty online: one hundred million US dollars for the capture or killing of the prehistoric giant crocodile.

Yet, no one present had such designs; they were only concerned with survival. When faced with the giant octopus, they might have stood a chance of escaping by boat. But the Dragon King was different—it possessed mysterious energy bombs, a single one capable of downing two helicopters. As for the harpoon guns in their hands, they were useless. Everyone knew the Dragon King’s scales could deflect standard bullets.

Despair washed over them.

Floating in the water a dozen meters away, Lu Chen could clearly see the terrified faces of the people on the boat, but he paid them no mind. He kept his front limb extended horizontally, keeping the head of the rescued human above the surface. He had maintained this posture throughout the swim, fearing the man might drown. He had sensed earlier that the human was still breathing and was likely unharmed.

Approaching the boat, Lu Chen gave his talons a sharp flick, tossing the human body onto the deck. Then, he turned and lashed his tail, swimming off into the distance.

Thump. With a dull thud, the human body landed on the deck.

"Haoze! It’s Haoze!" Boss Guo shouted, rushing forward once he recognized him.

"Cough, cough..." The impact of the landing caused Guo Haoze to cough and slightly open his eyes.

"Haoze, are you alright?" Guo Jiahao asked anxiously.

"Uncle, I'm fine."

...

"Am I seeing things? Did the Dragon King save Haoze?"

"It drove the octopus away... was it to save us?"

The others on the boat gradually reacted, their faces filled with disbelief. They had actually been saved by a prehistoric giant crocodile. Reflecting on the life-or-death encounter, they were still shaken. When they first met the mutated octopus, they thought they were all going to perish in the sea. They never expected such a twist of fate. If they told anyone, no one would believe them.

"Quick, head back!" Boss Guo was the first to regain his composure and issued the order.

As for the trawl net destroyed by the octopus, he had no intention of retrieving it.

After sailing for over ten miles, Boss Guo finally regained his senses. He asked, "Old Sixth, didn't the town notify us a few days ago that there would be a reward of five hundred thousand yuan for reporting sea monsters or other valuable clues?"

"That is true, but... Boss Guo, are you thinking of reporting the Dragon King?"

"Exactly. We report it immediately. If there is a bonus, we all share it. It will make up for our brush with death today," Guo Jiahao nodded.

"If we report it, won't it be hunted down?" someone asked hesitantly. After all, the creature had just saved their lives, and this felt somewhat ungrateful.

"What, is the money burning a hole in your pocket? If you don't want your share, we’ll split it among ourselves," Boss Guo replied dismissively. Although the creature had saved them, he felt it was foolish to talk about sentiment with an animal. Besides, he had suffered heavy losses on this voyage and needed to find a way to recoup them.

"Then let's report it," the previous speaker agreed.

As they discussed this, several patrol boats that had received their distress signal finally arrived. After meeting up, Boss Guo immediately reported the encounter with the giant octopus and the Dragon King.

The officer in charge of the patrol boat realized the gravity of the situation and immediately took out his satellite phone. Soon, the news of the Dragon King’s appearance along the coast reached the relevant authorities, and officials responsible for crisis management quickly convened a meeting.

"The Dragon King was supposedly inhabiting the Madura primeval jungle; why would it suddenly appear off the coast of Xia Country?" an attendee asked in surprise.

"The exact reason is unknown. We are currently using high-altitude reconnaissance drones to track it. However, one thing is certain: it possesses high intelligence and holds a certain degree of goodwill toward humans... it is not as inherently vicious as previously speculated. Otherwise, it would not have saved those people."

"This is likely the only beast we have discovered that shows goodwill toward humans. What happened in Madura was primarily because the Americans provoked it..."

"We must shift our approach. We cannot treat it merely as a mutated beast, but as an intelligent creature that can be treated as an equal."

Professor Wu paused before continuing: "Regarding the animals on Blue Star that have mutated, we must realize that blind extermination will not solve everything. Their evolutionary speed is far faster than that of humans, and as time passes, they will only become stronger. They may eventually evolve to be like the beasts from other dimensions, which regular firearms cannot kill. We must learn to adapt and coexist with them."

"Furthermore, as I believe you have all observed, these mutated animals are very different from ordinary ones. Their intelligence is significantly enhanced; some are even on par with a ten-year-old human child."

"If we continue with our current methods, we will only turn these beasts against humanity, filled with hatred and hostility. In the future, they might even form armies to assault human cities."