Chapter Seventy-Three: Becoming More Fluent in the Language of Crocodiles

As they headed further south, the ocean’s temperature gradually rose. Over the course of a week, Lu Chen led the trio of saltwater crocodile siblings along the currents, drifting more than a thousand kilometers before finally arriving at their destination.

Madura—a country that had not existed in his previous life—boasted over a hundred million hectares of tropical rainforest, accounting for ten percent of Blue Star’s total tropical rainforest area. Here, too, was one of the ancestral homes of the saltwater crocodile.

The best way to hide a drop of water is to place it in the ocean. For Lu Chen, to truly vanish without a trace meant entering the saltwater crocodiles’ authentic habitat.

Before him lay a river mouth, hundreds of meters wide, divided by sandbanks and shoals of various sizes. Towering, ancient trees lined both banks, exuding a primal, wild energy. Not long after entering the estuary, Lu Chen caught the scent of his own kind. He had no intention of greeting them; instead, before the newcomer approached, he decisively led the crocodile siblings away.

Adult male saltwater crocodiles possess a fierce territorial instinct. They tolerate multiple females living and foraging within their territory, but should another male intrude and refuse to leave, a life-or-death struggle would soon ensue. Moreover, most crocodiles are cannibalistic. Weighing over four hundred jin now, Lu Chen still counted as small fry compared to fully grown saltwater crocodiles. Unless absolutely necessary, he had no desire to fight these creatures.

Food sources were abundant near the river mouth, so saltwater crocodile territories here tended not to be vast. Swimming several hundred meters upstream, Lu Chen caught the scent markings of another of his kind. Clearly, they were about to enter the territory of a different male. There was nothing for it; Lu Chen continued onward with the siblings, eventually entering a narrow tributary.

After carefully surveying the surroundings, he decided to settle here. The first order of business, as always, was to dig a burrow.

The climate here in the tropics was ideal for saltwater crocodiles, and there was no need to worry about nighttime temperatures dropping. But for Lu Chen, digging a burrow had become a habit. In the perilous depths of the tropical rainforest, a burrow could often mean the difference between life and death.

To prevent floodwaters from backing up into the burrow during the rainy season, he chose an entrance high up amidst the jungle, and dug two additional escape routes.

While the siblings dug, Lu Chen explored the territory along the river, seeking out its animal inhabitants.

Wild boars, muntjacs, porcine deer, mouse deer... and many unfamiliar scents.

Hmm?

When a strange scent wafted into his nostrils, a somber glint appeared in Lu Chen’s beastly eyes. He crawled onto the riverbank, limbs churning.

In the damp soil he found broad, plum-shaped prints. On a nearby tree, clear claw marks still lingered.

Was this... a tiger?

Was there a tiger living near their new home? Upon receiving this signal, Lu Chen was not alarmed but delighted. Hunting a tiger was a challenge he relished.

Back in the Tiannan Mountain Reserve, Lu Chen had once encountered a South China tiger while out hunting. Unfortunately, he’d been too weak then, and had only glimpsed it from afar before slinking away into the river.

Lu Chen wasn’t sure what species of tiger inhabited this world. The one nearby was clearly not a South China tiger—perhaps an Indochinese, Bengal, or Malayan tiger... but the species didn’t matter to him.

What mattered was his desire to taste tiger meat... and perhaps give the tiger a pat.

Ordinary tigers weighed around two hundred kilograms, comparable to Lu Chen’s own weight. If conditions were right, he might truly fulfill that wish.

He noted the location and continued onward.

Soon, he spotted another ugly creature near the water’s edge.

Its earth-black scales were speckled with white spots. The back of its tail was ridged with two rows, forming a crest. The slender tail was over a meter long, and its limbs were thick and stubby. At first glance, it looked like a giant gecko, magnified many times.

A water monitor, Lu Chen recognized instantly.

This creature was likely the Asian water monitor of his previous life, the world’s second largest lizard after the Komodo dragon. They could grow over two meters long and weigh more than twenty-five kilograms. The Komodo dragon was venomous, but the water monitor supposedly was not—after all, people had eaten them in his previous life without consequence.

With prey before him, Lu Chen didn’t hesitate. His body vanished silently beneath the water’s surface.

He burst forth nearby, swiftly resolving the battle.

After filling his belly, he caught a giant catfish weighing over twenty jin and carried it back home.

He tossed the food to the siblings, then took over the digging work.

His speed was faster. Within half a day, he had excavated enough space below ground.

***

A new day began. Amidst the chirping and clamor of Black Dot, the four saltwater crocodiles emerged from their burrow one after another.

“Hiss hiss, hiss hiss.”

“Roar hiss...”

After a round of exchanges, the siblings got busy in the shallows. Soon, a circular trap of stones for luring fish began to take shape.

Listening to their conversation, Lu Chen was once again filled with amazement.

Ordinary saltwater crocodiles could communicate simple information through sound, but their exchanges were primitive, unable to convey complex signals.

These three were different. Since awakening their intelligence, their crocodile-speak had grown increasingly fluent and intricate!

They could express different meanings through variations in pitch and speed... and crucially, Black Dot seemed to understand as well.

Lu Chen was unsure whether this counted as a sign of civilization’s dawn.

But for him, it was a boon.

His complex commands could now be swiftly understood by the siblings.

Watching them busy themselves, Lu Chen didn’t plan to idle. He headed upstream along the tributary, soon discovering a red muntjac drinking by the riverbank.

He stalked, then launched a sudden attack...

Lu Chen didn’t kill the prey outright, but used his sharp claws to break both its hind legs, leaving it by the water’s edge.

This area, too, belonged to the tiger’s territory.

Having set the bait, Lu Chen submerged himself at the riverbed.

A layer of decaying leaves and green algae drifted upon the water’s surface—perfect cover.

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Within half an hour, a carnivore approached the trap.

To Lu Chen’s disappointment, the anticipated tiger did not appear. Instead, a black-tailed rock python over six meters long, drawn by the scent of blood, slithered near. Its scales resembled those of the Burmese python, and it was equally massive, though nonvenomous.

“Hiss hiss...” The python approached the prey but did not strike immediately. It seemed to sense danger in the air, constantly probing with its tongue.

The stench of rotting leaves on the river masked Lu Chen’s scent well, and the python couldn’t pinpoint the source of danger.

In the end, it couldn’t resist the lure of food.

With a sudden burst, half its body shot forward, sharp teeth plunged into the muntjac, and its jaws stretched wide as it slowly swallowed its prey.

Only then did Lu Chen spring forth.

Seeing the massive reptile in the water, the black-tailed rock python’s eyes flashed with terror. Its body writhed frantically, and it darted swiftly toward the depths of the jungle.

In the blink of an eye, it had slithered more than ten meters away.

This outcome surprised Lu Chen. Even after swallowing its meal, the creature could escape at such speed?