Chapter 71: The Curtain Rises on a New Era

After successive successful attacks, Lu Chen did not stop. His massive body turned once more and instantly reached the other two gray wolves that had participated in the assault.

Boom!

A terrifying force crashed directly into their bodies. One gray wolf let out a miserable howl, rolled two or three meters away, and fell into the grass, its fate uncertain.

The last remaining gray wolf tucked its tail and tried to turn and flee, but was pursued and overtaken. Heavy, sharp claws swung down toward its neck.

Crack...

Is that all?

Is that all!

Who else dares? Lu Chen stood his ground, staring intently at his opponents. His scaled armor was stained with blood, creating an overwhelming sense of pressure for every creature watching. This beast was truly ferocious!

The scene fell silent.

The wolf pack, which had been howling moments before, was now utterly quiet. Even the aura of the Gray Wolf King diminished somewhat, and there seemed to be a hint of contemplation in its gaze. To maintain such a large population, it relied not only on its own strength, but also on the unique intelligence of beasts.

More than ten seconds passed before the viewers in the livestream began to react.

Damn!

This crocodile, weighing hundreds of pounds, was nothing like what they had imagined—it completely shattered their preconceptions. In the minds of many, crocodiles could not possibly be so ferocious on land.

That swift speed and concise, efficient attack style resembled a feline more than a reptile.

“Dragon King, mighty!”

“Dragon King, awesome, 666!”

...

The supporters who had previously sided with the crocodile erupted in cheers once again. As Lu Chen decisively slew four gray wolves, the uproar in the livestream grew even larger. Many began sharing the broadcast with friends and colleagues.

Even the platform administrators took notice, sensing a rare opportunity for a viral moment. After reporting it, they quickly responded by recommending it to the homepage.

Viewership soon exceeded one hundred thousand, setting a new record since Lin Xiaowen’s livestream began.

After several minutes of confrontation, the Gray Wolf King let out a low growl and, with its subordinates, departed without looking back.

“They ran… Damn, I just joined and got nothing?”

“Gray Wolf King, don’t be a coward!”

“All that anticipation for nothing—a pack of wolves couldn’t beat a single crocodile!”

...

The viewers in the livestream, hungry for drama, filled the chat with complaints.

Lu Chen had anticipated this outcome. Most wild predators, when fighting over food or territory, instinctively weigh the cost of their actions. If they feel the price is too steep, they abandon the contest—unlike humans, who gamble everything even when defeat is certain.

He had already demonstrated his strength by killing those wolves, so the Gray Wolf King would not let more of its kind die needlessly, quietly withdrawing and giving up the prize.

As for Lu Chen, he had no intention to pursue. The massive wild boar king, weighing several hundred pounds, would feed them for days.

Moreover, there were humans nearby who needed dealing with.

Currently, he was being monitored by a drone, so Lu Chen could not track humans by scent. The most urgent task was to take down the drone.

Lu Chen roared at his three bay crocodile companions, urging them ashore to assist. The wild boar king weighed over six hundred pounds; he couldn’t drag it alone and needed their help.

Together, the four bay crocodiles clamped their jaws onto the giant boar’s body and dragged it into the river. Once in deep water, the weight lessened considerably. They soon submerged, boar carcass and all, to the riverbed...

This stretch of water was nearly ten meters deep; the drone hovering above could not capture anything underwater. In the livestream, only ripples remained.

Many viewers felt unsatisfied, repeatedly messaging Lin Xiaowen to lower the drone and continue following the crocodiles.

The bearded operator did not heed the advice. The area was full of aquatic plants and reeds, the distance was quite far, and the mountainous terrain obstructed signals; lowering the drone would risk losing connection.

Afraid of crashing, he kept the drone about four meters above the water.

Are you coming down or not!

Hiding seven or eight meters below the surface, Lu Chen looked helplessly up at the drone. Even leaping with all his might, he could barely reach two meters—destroying it was impossible.

After a while, Lu Chen gave up and simply watched from below.

After circling for more than ten minutes, the drone’s battery ran low and it reluctantly turned back.

Watching it leave, Lu Chen hurried ashore and dashed swiftly through the forest. After running several kilometers, he caught the scent of humans.

He crouched in the nearby grass, listening to their conversation, and a glint of killing intent flashed in his beastly eyes.

So it was a livestream...

That meant his entire hunt against the gray wolves had been broadcast to the outside world. From past experience, he knew that those streamers would seize any trending topic—soon, more people would flood into the Tiannan Mountain Reserve.

After all, they never shied away from chasing a hot story.

Lu Chen felt relieved that his tree-leaping skills had not been exposed; otherwise, the sensation would be even greater.

Given this, he could not afford to confront those people.

He had to leave immediately! Once large numbers of humans entered the mountains, escaping would become difficult.

Lu Chen was never one to hesitate; having made up his mind, he immediately retraced his steps.

Then, the four crocodiles, dragging the wild boar king’s corpse, headed downstream...

Lu Chen had no intention of returning to the valley for a farewell with the macaques. Aside from Gold Spot, he had little impression of the other monkeys and felt no attachment.

At intervals, Lu Chen would stick his head out to urge Black Spot to follow. This little companion, featured throughout the previous battle, had been completely ignored by viewers.

A white-bellied, black-tailed magpie was simply too ordinary to warrant attention.

Shortly after they left, the drone returned.

It circled above the water several times, but found nothing, disappointing the viewers who had stayed.

Meanwhile, news about the crocodile was spreading wildly across the internet, sparking all kinds of speculation.

Within half a day, its popularity climbed into the top ten rankings.

Authoritative animal experts came forward to explain: after careful comparison, they confirmed that the four crocodiles in the video closely resembled bay crocodiles.

As for why the largest one was so agile, the experts could not explain, stating that further research was needed.

Whether they were an invasive species or had always lived in the Tiannan Mountain Reserve, simply unnoticed by humans until now, was also unknown and would require further investigation.

In short, hearing the experts speak was enlightening, yet still left much unanswered.

After running for more than ten kilometers, Lu Chen and his three companions came ashore to rest, then shared the remains of the wild boar king.

“Wild boar, genus Sus, subfamily Suinae, provides 263.9 energy points.”

As the food was quickly digested, the latest data appeared on the system panel.

As expected, this wild boar king had undergone some kind of mutation. Each pound of flesh provided five energy points, comparable to the mutated reticulated python from before, twice that of a normal wild boar.

It seemed not only the animals in the valley had mutated; creatures elsewhere were quietly changing as well.

A new era for Blue Star had begun.