Chapter 78: The Success Rate of the Hunt

With this thought, Lu Chen's expression grew a shade more puzzled. He was certain that during his migration along the river, he had never come across a school of giant piranhas. Even recently, when he hunted in the tributaries, he hadn’t encountered any. That meant these creatures most likely had a different lifestyle than in his previous life—they probably roamed alone, hunting separately. Only the overwhelming stench of blood in this stretch of water had drawn them together, if only briefly.

Lu Chen felt his conjecture was close to the truth. If giant piranhas always hunted in packs, they would undoubtedly be the most ferocious predators in the river, and even the colossal bay crocodiles would have no chance of surviving here. He had originally planned to venture deeper into the jungle after some time, but now he decisively abandoned the idea. Who knew what more dangerous creatures might be lurking there? After all, this was no longer the world he once knew.

For now, he would have to bide his time. Everything would have to wait until he evolved into a fourth-tier bay crocodile.

A thought stirred in Lu Chen’s mind as he turned his attention to the system panel.

Host: Lu Chen
Possessed Species: Mutant Bay Crocodile
Weight: 238 kilograms
Length: 3.52 meters
Age: 1 year and 5 months
Optimal Temperature: 15–40 degrees Celsius
Energy Points: 193.9 (acquired through hunting prey or spiritual stones; apart from daily consumption, can also be used to modify personal attributes. Total accumulated: 80,856.6 points)
Claw Strength: 433 kilograms
Bite Force: 495 kilograms
Speed: 10.8 meters/second
Scale Armor Defense: 260
Heart Enhancement: 180
Other Attributes: None
Mutant Abilities: None
Evolution Level: 3 (Upon accumulating 100,000 energy points, the next evolution level will unlock. Current completion: 80.9%).

At most, it would take another month to reach the required threshold for evolution.

Seeing the energy points displayed on the panel, another thought crossed Lu Chen’s mind: he wondered about the quality of the piranhas’ flesh. He had seen clearly just now—the largest one was over a meter and a half long, weighing likely over a hundred jin. Among freshwater fish, that was a true leviathan. To reach such size would take well over a decade.

If he happened to encounter any later, he could try catching one. With his tough hide and thick flesh, he need not fear their razor-sharp teeth. But as for today... best to let it go.

Staring at the mangled corpse, Lu Chen felt no appetite.

***

“Two hundred nine, two hundred ten, two hundred eleven…” Lu Chen silently counted, his claws gripping the large rock as he pressed his body down, then rose up again. Powerful muscles surged with explosive energy. As the count increased, his breathing grew heavier, wheezing like the bellows of a forge. The heat built up inside him, raising his body temperature rapidly; his heart pounded incessantly, threatening to push his body past its limits.

Although he had not yet exhausted his strength, Lu Chen didn’t force himself further. He leapt down, stretched his limbs, and slipped into the water with a lash of his tail. The cool river soothed his body, carrying away the heat that refused to dissipate—a sensation of unspeakable comfort.

For Lu Chen, transformed into a bay crocodile, life was actually quite good if not for the impending era of upheaval. No mortgage to worry about, no endless grind—he could simply enjoy a carefree existence.

Within minutes, his temperature returned to normal. Having finished off that mutant black-tailed python yesterday, it was time to go out hunting again.

Now that he knew the river was teeming with giant piranhas, Lu Chen had already tried hunting them. A simple, blood-scented trap was enough to draw these creatures in. The results confirmed his suspicions: the piranhas usually hunted alone and only gathered when attracted by a strong scent of blood.

Moreover, their teeth couldn’t harm him at all—his scale armor was more than up to the task. However, the energy points they provided were disappointing; their flesh was of poor quality, yielding only about two points per jin. After tasting them once, Lu Chen lost all interest and tossed the rest to the other bay crocodiles.

Leaving the cave, Lu Chen sniffed the air and picked up the scent of numerous animals from the nearby forest. But he didn’t linger, instead swimming further away.

Unless absolutely necessary, Lu Chen avoided hunting nearby. On one hand, these animals served as a reserve food supply for emergencies. More importantly, he was looking out for his three bay crocodile siblings, whose rapidly growing bodies required copious amounts of food each day.

After swimming four or five li, Lu Chen soon caught the scent of a herd of wild boars. He slipped ashore and crept deeper into the lush forest.

Wild boars are remarkably adaptable, with an extensive range whether in his previous life or this new world. From tropical rainforests to temperate broadleaf and even boreal coniferous forests, their presence is felt everywhere. For many carnivores, wild boar is a staple food source.

With his ever-strengthening limbs and keen sense of smell, Lu Chen could now hunt deep within the forest like a feline, no longer confined to lurking by the riverbanks like ordinary bay crocodiles, waiting passively for prey to approach. The dense foliage provided perfect cover. Upon hearing the wild boars’ movements, he didn’t strike immediately, but circled to the downwind side and crept close before launching a sudden attack…

In the natural world of his previous life, African wild dogs had the highest hunting success rate among carnivores—an astonishing eighty-five percent. Though unremarkable in appearance, these animals were formidable hunters, fiercer than spotted hyenas. Prey targeted by wild dogs rarely escaped—antelopes, wildebeests, zebras, and other large herbivores all fell to them. Wolves, by contrast, had a success rate of only about fourteen percent.

Of course, African wild dogs achieved such success through pack tactics. Lu Chen, now a third-tier bay crocodile, usually hunted alone. But with the help of human intelligence, his own hunting success rate was nearly one hundred percent—he had yet to fail.

Today was no exception.

After swallowing a half-grown wild boar, Lu Chen carried a piglet he’d caught and made his way back. At his chosen spot, he tossed the piglet into the grass near the shore and slipped underwater to wait.

He did this with one goal in mind—his long-cherished plan to hunt a tiger.

This time, the wait was short. Soon, two brownish-gray dholes, drawn by the scent, appeared. They scouted the area briefly before dashing for the prey.

Damn it… Lu Chen was instantly enraged. He sprang from the water, swiping with his claws to smash both animals’ skulls. After burying the corpses at the riverbed, he continued to wait.

But as night fell, the tiger never showed. Lu Chen was a little frustrated—had his unseen rival moved away? He hadn’t noticed any new scent nearby these past two days.

The piglet’s hind legs were broken—there was no way to keep it alive. Lu Chen simply swallowed it, then picked up the two dhole corpses and returned to his cave. One he left for the other bay crocodiles to eat; the other he kept for himself for the next day.