Chapter Three: Perilous Hunt

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Lu Chen and the three other bay crocodiles had successfully survived. During this time, he had gained a deeper understanding of his situation. The large lake they currently inhabited was called Willow Lake, which was originally connected to the Wu River. Later, due to the city reclaiming land from the lake, it gradually shrank into a small lake of about forty acres.

On this foundation, Willow Lake Park had been established in recent years. However, its remote location meant that few visitors ever came. Wujiang city sat by the sea, with the great Wu River running through it.

In short, Lu Chen was very satisfied with the environment here.

Over these three days, he had devoured food with abandon. Thanks to the abundance of tadpoles, his body had been undergoing constant changes.

Now, the transparent panel clearly displayed his latest status:

Host: Lu Chen
Parasite species: Special Bay Crocodile
Weight: 1.1 kilograms
Length: 0.4 meters
Age: 6 months
Preferred temperature: 25-35°C
Energy points: 0.8 (obtained by hunting prey; besides daily consumption, can be used to modify attributes. Note: Host is currently in a state of severe hunger and urgently needs more food.)
Claw strength: 2.7 kilograms
Bite force: 3.5 kilograms
Speed: 3.8 meters/second
Other attributes: none
Mutations: none
Evolution level: 1

His length had increased by only four centimeters, yet his weight had doubled. Compared to his three companions, Lu Chen was noticeably more robust. Although he was still not as large as the eldest crocodile, he had already become the undisputed leader.

Besides eating, Lu Chen had not been idle; he had directed the three others to dig burrows by the lakeside.

Yes, digging burrows.

As their bodies grew, the cracks between the rocks were no longer sufficient to conceal them. As a bay crocodile hatchling with a human soul, vigilance in times of peace was a fundamental instinct.

Before he could grow strong enough to defend himself, there were too many creatures by the lake that could pose a mortal threat: egrets, hawks, cormorants, and even various species of snakes...

Up to now, Lu Chen and the other young crocodiles had been living in the grass by the shore, not daring to venture into the deeper water. He could not be sure whether there were any large predatory fish lurking in the lake.

For the sake of safety, digging a burrow was very much necessary.

In fact, many species of crocodiles were adept at digging burrows. The famous Chinese alligator, known as the “beast that sits at the bottom of the prison,” is a master builder. Their innate burrowing skills are extraordinary and awe-inspiring.

The Chinese alligator’s burrow has three layers, reaching a depth of over thirty meters, with an intricate interior resembling an underground maze. Typically, there are four or five exits: some serve as air vents, vertical to the ground to keep the air fresh; some lead to the grassy marshes and reeds at the edge, serving as emergency escape routes; others connect directly to the nearest water source, making hunting convenient.

Moreover, the Chinese alligator knows how to enjoy life—it sets up a spacious bedroom lined with dead leaves and weeds, and even maintains a permanent “bath” of standing water. Most remarkably, this creature can determine the position of its burrow based on the highest water level of the year.

In short, it is quite magical.

Besides the Chinese alligator, the Nile crocodile is also a burrowing expert. To escape the dry season, they dig more than ten meters underground, making their burrows the deepest known among animals.

As the undisputed rulers of the swamps, bay crocodiles do not need to dig burrows to escape predators, but they possess the skill nonetheless. Their sharp claws are the best tools for digging.

According to Lu Chen’s design, the burrow needed at least three exits: one for daily use, and two others kept sealed, to be used only in life-or-death emergencies.

Led by Lu Chen, the four young bay crocodiles took turns working in the burrow. In just a day, the burrow had reached a depth of over a meter, enough to barely accommodate them all.

As night fell, the other three soon burrowed inside to sleep. Compared to the cold cracks between stones, the burrow was much warmer, maintaining a temperature above twenty-five degrees, allowing them to pass the long night comfortably.

Soon, soft breathing could be heard from within.

As for Lu Chen, he felt not the slightest bit sleepy. He quietly poked his head out of the burrow, confirmed the area was safe, and quickly crawled toward the lake.

Reaching the shallow waters near the shore, Lu Chen found a suitable spot and used his sharp claws to dig into the lakebed.

Soon, a small-mouthed, large-bellied circular trap was finished.

He then dug up two fat earthworms from beneath the damp grass roots at the shore, broke them into pieces, and tossed them into the trap.

Next, he hid patiently in the grass.

This simple trap was, naturally, the product of human ingenuity, intended to catch fish.

After eating nothing but tadpoles for several days, Lu Chen now wanted to vomit at the sight of those black specks and longed for a change of flavor.

There was another reason, too: tadpoles were low-quality food, providing too few energy points to satisfy his needs.

The stench of earthworms quickly spread through the water, soon attracting several plump loaches.

When the prey entered the trap, Lu Chen swiftly crawled out and used his claws to seal the exit.

Frightened, the loaches thrashed about in the shallow pool, desperately trying to escape back to the lake.

But it was too late.

Lu Chen’s body shot forward, and his sharp teeth bit down accurately on a loach.

Crunch—he snapped it in two and swallowed it.

Then he set his sights on the next...

After devouring several loaches, his ravenous stomach was once again filled.

“Loach: family Cobitidae, genus Misgurnus, provides 0.1 energy points.”

Just as he had guessed: better quality meat yielded more energy points.

A single loach was worth ten tadpoles.

With just four loaches, he could amass 0.4 energy points.

It seemed he would need to hunt larger fish in the future...

With these thoughts, Lu Chen prepared to return to shore.

Suddenly, he noticed a pair of beady, green-glowing eyes in the grass not far away.

The creature stared straight at him, its spine arched, hind legs braced against the ground.

It looked like a taut, deadly arrow.

A massive weasel!

Lu Chen’s heart pounded furiously. Without hesitation, he whipped his tail, using the momentum to spin his body a hundred and eighty degrees on the water and shot toward the depths of the lake.

Spooked, the weasel leapt forward as well.

In the moonlight, its yellow-brown fur glinted menacingly.

With a bound, it leapt nearly two meters and landed heavily on the water.

Splashes burst forth.

Unwilling to let go, it stuck its head out of the water, small eyes darting about, trying to catch a trace of its cunning prey.

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had already dived to the bottom, his claws gripping the roots of the aquatic grass, motionless.

Damn, that was close.

He had thought night was safer than day, forgetting that many carnivores hunted at night as well.

Luckily, he had noticed in time—had he crawled onto land, he would probably have been torn to pieces.

To his surprise, the weasel was quite a swimmer, too.

Of course, its vision was severely restricted while hunting in the pitch-black water, which allowed Lu Chen to escape with ease.

Lu Chen’s vision, on the other hand, was only slightly impaired—he could still see objects four or five meters away.

Seeing the weasel swimming away, he breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to climb ashore from the other side.

But at the very next moment, he froze in place, pretending to be a piece of driftwood at the bottom, utterly still.

The scales of the bay crocodile were covered in sensory organs, allowing it to detect not just scents and tactile cues in the water, but also all manner of subtle vibrations.

Right now, he caught a strong scent of blood.

There was a rustling in the grass ahead.

Soon, a huge shadow appeared underwater.

It was over a meter long, its body cylindrical, covered in dense black mottled scales.

At first glance, it looked like a massive python as thick as an adult’s leg.

It lay in wait at the edge of the aquatic grasses, its broad bean-sized eyes gleaming with ferocious light, fixed on the weasel swimming on the surface.

My god, what a monster!

That was a northern snakehead, known scientifically as Channa argus—a rare, ferocious predatory fish native to the country.

These creatures usually preferred to lurk in the shallow, grassy waters, waiting for prey to come close. Their diet was much like that of a young bay crocodile—besides small shrimp and fish, they would hunt frogs, waterbirds, and more.

The larger snakeheads even attacked humans.

More importantly, these fish were incredibly hardy. They could survive in low-oxygen, poor-quality water and, in the absence of water, burrow into mud, living for weeks.

When exported abroad, these creatures made headlines as infamous invasive species. Local authorities spent billions of dollars trying to eradicate them, yet with little effect.

Some countries even issued bounty notices, encouraging people to fish for snakeheads—one dollar per fish.

Even so, they could not stem the tide; the invasive snakeheads continued to spread, now found in fifty percent of some countries’ waterways.

As for the one before him, its size was truly imposing—at a rough estimate, it weighed twenty pounds.

This fish was undoubtedly a dominant force in Willow Lake—no aquatic creature could escape its predation.

The weasel swimming on the surface had no idea its role had shifted—from hunter to hunted.

Underwater, the snakehead’s dark, fearsome head shot upward.

Splashes erupted as its razor-sharp teeth clamped down on the prey.

A shrill, terrified screech rang out as the weasel struggled desperately, thrashing its limbs in a futile attempt to escape.

It was useless.

This giant snakehead was clearly a hunting veteran—it never let go once it succeeded, dragging its prey into the depths.

Soon, a cloud of crimson spread through the water.