Chapter Seventeen: Revenge from the Estuarine Crocodile

The pace inevitably slowed. Out of the corner of his eye, Lu Chen could already make out the shape of the hunting dog. This creature's speed was astonishing—though it lagged more than thirty meters behind him, it closed the gap in barely ten seconds.

Fortunately, Lu Chen had reached his planned ambush spot. When the dog was only two meters away, he sprang forward, leaping into the air. His claws gripped swiftly at the willow's bark, and in a few quick movements, he was nearly four meters above the ground.

Almost immediately, the hunting dog followed, jumping more than two meters high—but it was futile; it couldn't climb trees. After landing, the dog could only stare up at him in bewilderment, barking incessantly.

Through the thick leaves, Lu Chen could see the silhouettes of several young men, already seven or eight meters away.

"Unbelievable, the hunting dog didn't catch up?"

"Did it climb the tree?"

"Idiot, wild boars don't climb trees."

Panting, they rushed closer, searching through the grass. Because the bay crocodile's skin so closely resembled the willow bark, they failed to notice anything unusual above.

Despicable humans, taste the gift I've prepared for you. A gleam of pride flashed in Lu Chen's beast eyes as he swung his sharp claws at a large, basin-sized spherical object on the tree. He shut his eyes and clung tightly to the trunk.

Thump—the sphere crashed heavily into the grass below.

What was that? One of the young men instinctively widened his eyes to peer closer.

A buzzing yellow-brown cloud erupted, rushing toward them.

"Wasps! Run!" The youth shrieked, turning to flee.

"Damn!" The others scrambled for their lives, cursing their parents for not giving them extra legs.

Even the hunting dog was no exception, yelping in terror as it bolted.

Yes—wasps.

When Lu Chen first settled in this reed swamp, he had discovered a giant wasp nest in the willow. He’d left it untouched, never expecting it would prove so useful today.

Serves you right for blowing up my den.

Once he could no longer hear human voices, Lu Chen cautiously opened his eyes.

Buzzing—a wasp darted toward his face. Startled, he quickly swatted it away with his claws. Having destroyed the nest, Lu Chen naturally became a target for the wasps.

In truth, he’d been stung several times while approaching the hive, but he felt no fear. The croc’s skin was thick and tough, immune to the wasps’ venomous stingers—the only vulnerable spot was his eyes.

Once he confirmed the area was safe, Lu Chen carefully climbed down the tree. Then, he crossed the reeds and slid into Willow Lake.

Gliding through the cool water, he finally felt his overheated body begin to cool. After a dozen minutes, when he had recovered, he climbed ashore to observe the young men’s whereabouts.

As expected, not a soul remained near the den. He was certain that, after this lesson, they would never dare to venture into the reed swamp again.

Lu Chen crawled into his den to inspect it. The acrid scent of smoke lingered inside, and part of the tunnel had collapsed. But overall, it wasn’t badly damaged—a simple repair would suffice.

While examining the den, he suddenly heard music drifting from outside.

What was happening—had someone returned?

Lu Chen hurried to the entrance, cautiously sensing the outside world. He discovered the sound was coming from further away.

His mind stirred: could someone be hiding in the reeds, or perhaps had been stung unconscious—or worse—by the wasps?

If so, it would be a serious problem. Not impossible, as wasp venom was far more potent than humans realized.

In his previous life, Lu Chen had often seen news online of people being injured or killed by wasp stings.

He only wanted to teach those young men a lesson, not to cause any real harm.

Lu Chen quickly moved toward the direction of the music.

After only a dozen meters, the sound abruptly stopped; he detected no human scent nearby.

Just as he puzzled over this, the music resumed.

Only then did he realize it was coming from a patch of grass.

A large-screen phone lay quietly on the ground—likely dropped in their frantic escape.

The screen lit up, displaying a missed call.

Lu Chen instinctively swiped at the screen with his claws, trying several times before unexpectedly managing to hang up the call.

Actually, this was not surprising. In his previous life, he had watched a quirky variety show from Sakura Country online, where the theme was “Can animals other than humans—cats, dogs, etc.—use touch-screen phones?”

The production team tested seven species. The results showed that cats, dogs, and capybaras could do it, and even horse hooves and snake heads could successfully swipe the screen.

So Lu Chen hanging up the call with his claws was entirely plausible.

He then tried pressing the side power button and managed to turn the phone off.

Shortly after he powered it down, one of the young men cursed and said to his companions, “It wasn’t lost in the reeds—it was picked up and shut off…”

If it had fallen in the reeds, they could have tried to retrieve it. If someone picked it up, it was likely gone for good.

“My damn phone, cost me over three thousand, and I only bought it two months ago,” another youth said, clutching his swollen face in pain.

This time, they truly suffered a loss—caught nothing, and lost a phone.

Later that night, certain they wouldn’t call again, Lu Chen turned the phone back on.

As expected, the lock screen appeared.

Fortunately, it was not a numeric password, but a nine-grid gesture pattern.

With his keen eyesight, Lu Chen noticed that several gesture buttons showed a faint oily sheen—likely indicating the unlock direction.

Taking a chance, he traced a “Z” across the grid.

Amazed, he unlocked it on the first try.

Lu Chen nearly leapt for joy, unable to help but praise his own cleverness.

Damn right!

In his previous life, he had been a phone addict, and now, using one again, he felt tears welling in his eyes.

Aside from the brand, the system was not much different from what he remembered.

“Date: Blue Star Calendar, August 21st, 2021, Saturday.”

“Time: 01:33.”

“Weather: Clear.”

“Temperature: 26–37°C.”

The battery was at 23%—not much left.

Lu Chen dared not waste time, carefully swiping the screen with his claws to open the browser and search for information.

For a bay crocodile, typing on a phone screen was quite a challenge.

After half an hour, he had gained a preliminary understanding of this world.

Indeed, Blue Star was similar to Earth, but its geography and nations were vastly different.

For example, the country of Xia was enormous.

When the battery dropped to just 10%, Lu Chen reluctantly shut off the phone and stored it in the den, hoping the battery would not drain quickly so he could use it again.

As for charging it—he was not foolish enough to attempt that.

If he were caught on surveillance, he would certainly be dissected.