Chapter 134: The Crocodile Civilization Sets Sail

Lu Chen also needed these creatures to grow quickly so they could eventually become his support. Even after becoming a Tier 6 fierce beast, he did not let it go to his head; he remained clear-headed. Compared to the creatures in the other-dimensional space, he was still not strong enough. Often, he needed to rely on the power of the collective—the lone wolf mentality was not viable.

Having made up his mind, Lu Chen summoned the newly selected Saltwater Crocodile leaders. There were 120 in total, each managing 100 subordinates. Lu Chen chose so many leaders because his inherited instinctual memories suggested that when ordinary saltwater crocodiles gathered in groups, they were subject to a law similar to the "Chimpanzee Number Curse." Scientists from his past life found that in nature, chimpanzee troops generally consist of 20 to 50 members. Once this number is exceeded, the entire group becomes unstable. Different interest groups form internally, leading to various conflicts. Over time, the group eventually erupts into war due to unequal distribution, until it splits into smaller factions. Therefore, Lu Chen tentatively assigned each leader 100 subordinates. He believed that after their mutations and evolution, their intelligence would increase significantly, allowing them to manage their groups well. If that failed, he would make adjustments later.

Once all the leaders were gathered, Lu Chen took out spirit stones from his inner space. As expected, their eyes turned blood-red with greed. One bold and brainless leader even ignored Lu Chen’s presence and lunged forward to snatch one. Lu Chen showed no mercy to such a creature. With a roar, his massive body surged forward. *Thud!* With a strike of his claws, he crushed the offender’s head, killing it instantly. The splatter of blood finally calmed the restless leaders, their eyes filled with fear once more. Borrowing a line from a movie in his past life: "What I give you is yours; what I do not give, you cannot snatch!" Failing to follow the rules led to this fate. Lu Chen needed them to understand the consequences of resisting his commands.

When the leaders were finally calm, Lu Chen split each spirit stone in two, giving half to each crocodile. It wasn't that he didn't want to give more, but for safety's sake—the energy contained within the spirit stones was too violent, and he feared they wouldn't be able to handle it.

Suddenly, roars echoed throughout the area. Out of the hundred-plus leaders, fifty underwent mutation. This number far exceeded Lu Chen’s expectations; according to human data, the probability of animal mutation was less than 20%. After some thought, he realized why: stronger animals were more prone to mutation. These leaders were the elite of their respective groups, which led to this pleasant surprise. Lu Chen also noticed that most of their awakened abilities were related to water, likely due to the inherent nature of saltwater crocodiles. Rare abilities like those of Little Crocodile, who awakened space manipulation, were certainly few and far between. Of course, with the system at his side, Lu Chen enjoyed the treatment of a true protagonist, making him an exception.

After the leaders finished evolving, Lu Chen addressed them again. Fearing they might not understand complex instructions, he kept it simple: they were to obey his commands henceforth. Any defiance would be met with death. Furthermore, they were to come and pay homage to him periodically.

Afterward, Lu Chen began to divide the territory. With tens of thousands of saltwater crocodiles, they needed hundreds of thousands of pounds of food daily. Even if many only ate every few days, it was a significant amount. As they continued to evolve, their hunger would only grow. Fortunately, Lu Chen had considered this, which was why he chose to settle near the great river in the other-dimensional space. The river was nearly 40 to 50 miles wide at its broadest point, with countless tributaries and dense jungles teeming with other-dimensional creatures. For the time being, food would not be an issue. As for the future, he could continue to expand the crocodile territory outward.

Once he had dismissed them, Lu Chen, having nothing better to do, studied his "Inner Space" mutation. He had recently discovered that even without deliberate effort, the energy laws within his body were constantly nourishing the mud. Through continuous tempering, the ordinary mud swamp had transformed into something resembling black oily clay, which he could manipulate with great fluidity. This was unexpected.

Out of curiosity, Lu Chen took a branch from his luggage and threw it into the mud of his inner space. The branch was extraordinary, taken from a Demon-Eating Tree in the Mist Space. After consuming the spirit wood core and gaining a large amount of energy points, he had wondered if he could cultivate another one to provide a steady supply of energy. He had forgotten about it in the rush of leaving Tianshan Mountain, but the sight of the spirit stones reminded him. To his surprise, the branch began to sprout roots the moment it touched the oily clay. Lu Chen was shocked—the branch was secretly absorbing the energy in his inner space. If this continued, would it grow into some kind of monster? He instinctively felt it was wrong and wanted to transplant it outside, but then he decided to wait and see what it would become. After all, he had total control over his inner space. If it showed any signs of danger, he could simply destroy it with a compressed energy blast.

The crocodile civilization was in its infancy, and Lu Chen had to manage everything. Once he finished his tasks, he prepared to explore the waterfall space in depth. He had long wanted to do this but was limited by his strength, restricting his explorations to a radius of a few hundred miles. After signaling to the Crocodile Chief and the others, he activated his "Earth Swamp Flight" technique. The oily mud churned, forming a platform of over a hundred square meters. Lu Chen leaped onto it and began to ascend. Within two minutes, he reached an altitude of over a hundred meters. The strong winds felt like steel blades, but they had little effect on him.

Below, everything was in full view: the lush forest teeming with creatures, the winding river disappearing into the horizon, and hundreds of saltwater crocodiles thriving along the banks and tributaries. A sense of pride swelled within Lu Chen—this was his kingdom. He could sense that in just over half a month, the behavioral habits of the crocodiles had changed significantly. They had begun to develop a simple division of labor, with leaders taking males to hunt along the river, while most females stayed behind to guard the young, protecting them from predators, especially those from the sky.