Chapter Sixty-Six: News from the Outside World

Night, serene and tranquil.

The early spring air had noticeably warmed, and Lu Chen could even make out faint insect chirps from the grass. In the distance, several tents glowed with a dim yellow light, and from within came bursts of lively noise—watching movies, chatting, playing games... This group of young campers seemed inexhaustible, every one of them a true night owl.

It was probably around midnight now, and not a single soul had gone to sleep. Helpless, Lu Chen could only remain hidden in the darkness, waiting.

After leaving the mountains yesterday, Lu Chen had planned to quietly slip into the forest ranger station outside, hoping to search for information on a human computer. That plan was quickly dashed; four or five cameras were installed around the station, covering nearly every angle. If he approached any closer, he would surely be caught on film.

Just as he was at a loss, Lu Chen spotted a group of humans driving into the mountains for recreation. Among their luggage, he noticed a laptop bag. He decisively shifted his target, trailing them from afar for the entire day, until they set up camp for the night.

These humans were remarkably carefree, setting up camp without any security measures. Though the area was on the mountain’s edge, unlikely to host carnivores, it was far from absolutely safe; he had seen fresh traces of wild boar nearby earlier that day.

After another half hour, the sounds and lights from the tents gradually faded. Lu Chen flexed his stiff limbs, slowly crawling out of the grass. In the darkness, a broad, jet-black back moved silently toward the tents.

The insects’ song vanished instantly.

He stopped less than three meters from the tents, letting his limbs sink, his body blending completely with the ground.

A sudden zip—someone opened the tent. A man emerged, glanced around, and strode into the darkness, never noticing the enormous presence lurking just a few meters away.

What was he up to? He didn’t seem to be relieving himself… Suspicion flickered through Lu Chen’s mind. The man seemed shifty, running into the woods at night and constantly glancing back…

Then, a notification chimed from one of the tents.

Half a minute later, rustling sounds arose—a woman crawled out, equally furtive, scanning her surroundings before heading toward the woods.

Now Lu Chen understood completely.

Bah! Scoundrels! May some beast stumble upon your tryst.

Muttering a curse, Lu Chen quietly approached the tent. In her haste, the woman had left it half open. Through the gap, Lu Chen could see the interior clearly. Aside from clothes and cosmetics, there was a phone and a laptop inside.

The laptop was still running, its screen paused on a video, saving Lu Chen a great deal of trouble. As for the phone, he had no intention of touching it.

With his current enormous size, he could no longer operate a phone’s interface.

After grabbing the laptop, he quickly retreated into a nearby patch of grass, then delicately tapped the keyboard using his two front claws.

The larger he grew, the harder these fine movements became.

He found the internet calm and uneventful—no information about abnormal animals appeared in his searches. Either some information was deliberately concealed, or humans had yet to discover anything. After all, so far only a few animals had mutated, and their symptoms weren’t obvious—just increased intelligence or accelerated growth…

Suddenly, a scream pierced the night.

“Ah…! Something’s out there!”

Lu Chen snapped out of his thoughts, turning to see a man and woman racing back toward the tents. Behind them, an animal’s eyes glowed eerily as it chased at full speed.

So they really did run into a wild animal… Was his curse that effective? Lu Chen watched the shadow from a hundred meters away, speechless.

A lone wolf—no, it was a dhole.

Though the silhouette resembled a gray wolf, it was much smaller, with reddish-brown fur. Not even a meter long, probably around forty pounds.

The Southern Mountains Reserve hosted not just gray wolves, but various packs of dholes as well. These creatures couldn’t compete with the wolf packs, so they mostly survived on the outskirts of the forest.

Yet as carnivores, they possessed hunting skills akin to hyenas—especially the “black tiger snatches the peach” maneuver—making them formidable. Deer, muntjac, musk deer, goats—all fell prey to them, and when desperate, they would even attack water buffalo.

Like wolves, dholes were social hunters.

Why was this one alone? After observing its features, Lu Chen realized the truth.

It was a female dhole in her nursing phase.

During breeding, adult dholes would leave the pack with their young.

Most likely, the humans had wandered too close to her den, startling her and triggering the confrontation before him. Nursing mothers were notoriously sensitive and aggressive.

Hearing cries for help, lights in the tents flickered on, and several people rushed out.

A half-grown female dhole posed little threat—probably only wanted to drive the humans from her territory—so Lu Chen decided not to intervene.

After closing the laptop, he melted back into the darkness.

***

The cold winter had quietly faded, and temperatures rose day by day. By noon, the forest could reach nearly twenty-eight degrees.

For the few saltwater crocodiles, this was an excellent signal—it meant they could finally leave the valley.

In recent months, Old Croc and the others had huddled within the valley. There was plenty to eat, but confinement left them restless.

Once the temperature suited them, the young ones couldn’t wait to venture out, hunting ever farther afield.

Lu Chen fully supported this.

With their current size, it was no longer appropriate to call the three saltwater crocodiles hatchlings—they were ready to compete with other predators in the jungle.

Old Croc now weighed forty kilograms and measured nearly two meters. With the help of Second Croc and Little Sister Croc, they could even challenge a leopard.

Watching them grow day by day, Lu Chen felt a paternal pride—as if his own offspring were coming of age.

Of course, Lu Chen’s own transformation was even more dramatic. The system panel displayed his latest stats:

Host: Lu Chen
Species: Mutant Saltwater Crocodile
Weight: 167 kilograms
Length: 2.92 meters
Age: 1 year, 3 months
Preferred temperature: 15-40°C
Energy points: 163.9 (acquired by hunting, can be used for daily consumption or attribute modification; total accumulated: 56,657.6)
Claw strength: 233 kilograms
Bite force: 295 kilograms
Speed: 10.5 meters/second
Scale armor defense: 160
Heart enhancement: 80
Other attributes: none
Mutation abilities: none

It had only been three months since he evolved into a Tier-3 saltwater crocodile, and he had already accumulated over fifty thousand energy points—just a bit more was needed for the next evolution.

As Lu Chen’s size continued to balloon, the demand for high-quality food grew sharply. Now, he needed nearly a hundred pounds of food daily just to satisfy his hunger.