Chapter Twenty-One: A Striking Scene

Early in the morning, as Lu Chen crawled out of the cave, a buzzing sound echoed above his head. Looking up, he saw a drone flying overhead.

Damn, what's going on? How could there be a drone here?

Startled, Lu Chen hurriedly led his companions into the reed marsh to hide. Unexpectedly, after flying a short distance, the drone suddenly turned and hovered directly above them.

Soon, excited and indistinct voices came from outside the reeds: "Everyone, do you see this? That's right, these are the baby saltwater crocodiles caught on camera yesterday. Not three, but four... and one of them is nearly a meter long."

"Old friends, do you want to observe them up close? Please send some gifts to Brother Mao to support the stream..."

A live broadcast—they've been discovered!

Saltwater crocodiles not only have keen senses of smell and sight, but their hearing is also highly developed, capable even of detecting faint sounds from five hundred meters away. So, hearing voices outside the reeds, Lu Chen instinctively sensed trouble.

These past days, to avoid being found by humans, he and the other young crocodiles had kept to the safety of the reed marsh, never venturing to the opposite bank. Yet, despite their caution, they had still been discovered.

Judging from the streamer's words, they had apparently been filmed yesterday—something he hadn't realized at all. Such carelessness. What should he do now? Glancing at the drone hovering above, Lu Chen felt a sudden wave of panic.

He definitely couldn't return to the cave by the original route. If these humans found the entrance, they would likely camp outside, streaming their discovery, and might even attract more people. Although he had a secret escape tunnel and wasn't afraid of being blocked in, there was no need to use it just yet.

He quickly decided to take the three young crocodiles into Willow Lake to lay low for a while. To maintain the appearance of being "clumsy," he deliberately slowed his pace.

As the crocodiles crawled toward Willow Lake, the drone indeed followed, flying lower and lower. When they reached the open water, it hovered just over two meters above the surface.

Courting death... Hidden in the dense aquatic plants, Lu Chen watched the drone above with a cold glint in his beastly eyes. Just a little closer, and he would let these humans know the price of their curiosity.

Since their existence was exposed, there was no point lingering in Willow Lake any longer. Before leaving, he would leave a deep impression on those who dared to follow.

With his mind made up, Lu Chen gently swayed his tail.

A rustling sound came from the aquatic plants.

Just as he expected, the drone, attracted by the noise, came even lower, now barely a meter above the water. In an instant, Lu Chen shot out from beneath the plants, eyes locked on his target.

Click—under the watchful gaze of thousands in the live stream, the saltwater crocodile burst from the water, its jaws clamping precisely onto the quadcopter's landing gear.

The drone was dragged straight into the lake.

"Damn..."

"Holy—! That scared the life out of me!"

Cries of shock erupted from the thousands watching the stream. Lu Chen's final leap was so close that his head was only a dozen centimeters from the camera. To the viewers, it seemed as if the crocodile had suddenly lunged, filling the entire screen with its gaping, blood-red maw. Even through their screens, they could almost feel the wild, bloody aura surging toward them.

The stream went black.

It was like the climactic scene of a blockbuster—so intense that some timid viewers were left feeling rattled.

Lu Chen had no idea whether the drone in this world had a recovery function, but to be safe, he had no intention of staying put. As soon as he entered the water, he dragged the drone into the depths. At a depth of over a dozen meters, he performed a series of death rolls, tearing the machine into pieces.

With the surveillance above eliminated, Lu Chen led the young crocodiles back to the reeds from another direction.

He was curious whether the streamer would dare to enter the reeds in search of the lost drone. If they did, he could easily guide them toward the wasp nest nearby.

Just yesterday, passing the old willow tree, Lu Chen had checked and found the nest still teeming with wasps.

After a while, seeing that the humans had left, Lu Chen relaxed a little. He sent the other crocodiles back to the cave, then slipped alone into Willow Lake, quietly swimming to the opposite shore.

Now that the presence of saltwater crocodiles in Willow Lake was exposed, Lu Chen needed to find out what measures the humans would take next. He had once picked up a mobile phone, but perhaps the humidity in the cave had damaged it or the battery was completely dead—either way, he had been unable to power it on the previous day.

For now, he could only approach the shore to gather information. He was certain that, after the news had spread last night, people coming to the park to exercise or fish would be talking about the crocodiles.

Sure enough, as he drew near, he saw many people on the bank pointing across the reeds, some taking photos with their phones, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive crocodiles.

This was bad... From past experience, the greater the public attention, the faster the authorities would act.

Unsurprisingly, two vehicles soon arrived at the shore—the first marked with municipal enforcement insignia, the second emblazoned with "Wujiang Television."

Lu Chen was almost certain they were here because of him.

A female reporter stepped out, microphone in hand, glanced at her notes, and began recording in front of the camera.

"Yesterday afternoon, while birdwatching in Willow Lake Park, a citizen accidentally filmed three saltwater crocodiles. This morning, an online streamer..."

"After identification by municipal aquatic experts, these crocodiles were confirmed as 'released' non-native saltwater crocodiles. This species can grow up to seven meters long, posing a threat not only to the natural ecosystem but also to human safety. The largest crocodile in the video is about one meter long and already shows signs of aggression. Especially in water, their attack power is formidable. We urge everyone to stay away..."

"Now, let's interview the staff to see what measures they will take..."

Witnessing the entire interview, Lu Chen felt helpless: it seemed he would have to leave Willow Lake.

The staff member made it clear—they would soon organize a thorough search of the reeds along the shore and deploy underwater detection equipment in the lake.

Willow Lake's surface covered several hundred acres, which seemed vast, but once humans got serious, even a simple sonar fish finder could make hiding impossible.

Such devices operate on sonar principles, emitting sound waves and processing their echoes to detect underwater objects. The latest models can intelligently identify fish, estimate their size and depth, and map out the underwater environment in detail within minutes.

Finding saltwater crocodiles would not be difficult.

Lu Chen had hoped to remain hidden in Willow Lake a while longer, but now he had no choice but to lead the three young crocodiles away ahead of schedule.

Any further delay would mean capture.

However, with so many visitors in the park during the day and surveillance cameras at every major entrance, escape would be nearly impossible if discovered.

It would be better to wait until nightfall, when the park was quiet, to make a move.

He still had plenty of snakehead fish meat buried at the lake bottom, but there was no way to take it along. It seemed he would have to finish it all today.

With his plan settled, Lu Chen no longer hesitated.