Eating, Sleeping, Beating Old Crocodiles

Su He did not get too close, only watched from afar. There were roughly a hundred crocodiles here. With a quick glance, he saw that the crocodile whose forelegs he had torn off and belly ripped open the other day was nowhere to be seen.

It had probably died.

Beasts were like this. Going hungry was not a big deal, but getting injured was absolutely fatal.

Especially aquatic animals—their wounds were even more likely to become infected.

At the edge of the Crocodile Pack, a half-grown crocodile was hunting a sturgeon. It had already clamped the four-foot-long fish in its jaws and was rolling continuously through the water, trying to tear its food apart.

Su He silently swam over, bit down on the sturgeon's spine, and twisted in the opposite direction. He snatched half the sturgeon and swiftly left the battlefield.

Little Crocodile was utterly bewildered.

It had gone far from the Crocodile Pack to hunt because it could not compete with the other Old Crocodiles within the pack. Yet even this far away, someone had robbed it? Were turtles this reckless now?

Looking at the turtle's size, it did not give chase. Instead, it opened its mouth wide and tore into the remaining half of the sturgeon.

Only after Su He had swum more than a hundred meters away did he stop. Half the fish remained in his mouth, still flopping about.

The die rolled:

Two points!

Sturgeon Quality Improvement.

His luck had been good lately. He had rolled Quality Points several times in a row.

The sturgeon was crisp, refreshing, and fragrant.

Now that he had teeth, even sturgeon bones could be crunched apart. This sturgeon was quite long, but not very fatty. Su He only ate until he was thirteen-tenths full.

With a full belly and nothing to do, he began swimming aimlessly.

Several little turtles hurried past. Su He tried to gather them together, but the little turtles panicked and even turned around to bite him.

Turtles had no way to communicate. They had neither body language nor voices.

After trying all afternoon, Su He gave up. He planned to search the surroundings and see whether he could find Green Snake. By rights, snakes were solitary animals too, so why did snakes have a Snake King? How did it make the other snakes obey? As Su He pondered, water rippled behind him. He turned his head and saw the half-grown crocodile whose sturgeon he had stolen quietly creeping over for a Stealth and Ambush attack.

Su He laughed.

With a stroke of all four claws, he suddenly charged at the crocodile. He shot forward like an arrow, and when he reached it, Su He pulled into his shell and rammed it with a headbutt.

Thud! With a dull crash, half the crocodile's snout caved in. Blood streamed all over its body as it wailed and fled as if for its life.

His Attack Methods were too limited. A turtle could only tear and bite clumsily. Su He desperately wanted to master Demon Arts, but he had no idea where to begin.

He really could go look for Green Snake.

Su He was much safer outside now. The smell of the Demon Transformation Fruit was no longer so strong, and crocodiles two or three hundred meters away no longer charged over to kill him at all costs...

Holy shit! Here it came! Damn crow's mouth! A huge crocodile two zhang long was coming straight at him, whipping its tail and twisting its body.

Su He narrowed his eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, paddling furiously toward Old Crocodile with all four feet. He wanted to use the same trick again and give it another headbutt.

But just as he rammed toward it, Old Crocodile suddenly opened its jaws and bit down at Su He.

Crack! Half of Su He's body was wedged inside the crocodile's mouth, and a foul stench rushed into his nose.

Old Crocodile exerted force with both upper and lower jaws. It could neither bite through him nor spit him out. The turtle was simply stuck straight in its mouth.

Su He hooked both claws into the corners of Old Crocodile's mouth and tore outward. Old Crocodile screamed and turned into Slit-Mouthed Woman. Su He kicked free.

Old Crocodile turned and fled, diving into the Crocodile Pack.

The other crocodiles all looked toward Su He. Some were Eager to Try, some quietly Stepped Back, and some circled behind him, preparing to ambush him.

Su He remained outside the Crocodile Pack, stretching his limbs and ready at any moment to fight or flee.

For the next half month, Su He remained active outside the Crocodile Pack. His daily life was plain and unadorned: eating, sleeping, beating Old Crocodiles.

He had been beaten and battered, but in the end, he had endured it—and risen to his feet.

After more than ten days, every one of the hundred or so crocodiles had, to a greater or lesser extent, had intimate contact with Su He.

His greatest disagreement with the crocodiles was this: he did not participate in hunting, yet he wanted a share of their food. If the crocodiles refused, then they could only fight.

Su He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he was going to do it anyway.

During this time, Su He's teeth fully grew in, jagged and Intertwined, sharp beyond compare. Even the hardest scales on a crocodile's back could not withstand his Tear and Bite.

At first, they had been evenly matched, with Su He even slightly weaker and only able to contend through his brains. Now, not a single crocodile was his opponent.

Su He could already wander through the Crocodile Pack without restraint. He dared steal anyone's food. At worst, they would fight again.

These past few days, his nutrition had been especially abundant. He simply had not rolled any high numbers. His Quality Improvements were mostly two or three points, but quantity made up for it and kept him full.

With enough nutrition, evolution came quickly.

Since the day before yesterday, his throat and ears had constantly itched. Then today, the itch in his throat vanished, and Su He suddenly found that he could make sounds.

"Yah-ah~ Yah-ah~"

His vocal cords had only just formed, and his voice was delicate. Su He did not dare call too much. He was not afraid that his cutesy voice would be embarrassing—he was surrounded by ugly Old Crocodiles anyway; big brother should not laugh at second brother. He only feared that calling too much would damage his newborn vocal cords.

A turtle the size of a dinner plate beneath his claws listened to Su He's calls in terror.

These past few days, Su He had racked his brains trying to tame a few of his own kind and ascend the throne of "Turtle King." Yet without exception, every attempt had failed. Turtles seemed innately incapable of accepting taming.

The turtles here were even dumber than those on Earth in his previous life! He had been able to hand-feed turtles until they grew tame back then.

Su He released the turtle and sighed helplessly. Water rippled behind him; another crocodile had forgotten the pain once the wound healed. He slowly turned his head and saw a crocodile carrying a small deer in its mouth, having Dodged the Crocodile Pack to swim over beside him.

Then it placed the deer In Front Of him.

Su He: "???"

The little deer struggled to escape. The crocodile Caught Up To it, bit it dead, and placed it In Front Of Su He again.

An even bigger question mark appeared over Su He's head.

Su He was stunned for A Long While before he understood the meaning in the crocodile's eyes: this is for you.

Was this tribute? Had it been beaten into submission? Su He was dumbfounded.

He carried off the little deer, and that crocodile happily swam circles around Su He.

One Piece of die rolled onto the little deer's corpse, spinning round and round. Two points.

One deer became two.

Tribute counted too? Did this count as collecting protection money?

Su He idly tore at the venison. After eating too much high-quality meat, ordinary food now only served to let him taste the flavor. It could not stave off hunger. After eating a little deer like this, he would be hungry again before long.

No crocodile dared snatch Su He's food, even if he ate one and threw another away.

Another crocodile even brought over a python for Su He in its mouth.

The Old Crocodiles had finally had an Aperture Opening today.

This crocodile was the one Su He had severely beaten yesterday.

Su He accepted the python. Three points. Quality Improvement.

Su He was overjoyed. He accepted the python with peace of mind, then shook his head and tossed a little deer to the crocodile. The crocodile became even happier, making a sound like a bullfrog.

Su He always felt that the sound was expressing something.

The itch in his ears grew even worse.

The python was not as tasty as Watersnake. Its meat was old and hard to chew, though the spiciness had increased by a few degrees.

After eating, Su He got in some post-meal exercise, then drifted off to sleep. This nap lasted another two or three days. He was awakened by the crocodiles' racket.

One crocodile after another lay on the water's surface and howled, their bellies trembling like drums and splashing up countless droplets.

The itch in his ears disappeared. When Su He listened to the crocodiles' clamor, it unexpectedly carried distinct meanings.

They were not complete sentences, merely expressions of certain meanings: "Hungry!"

"Want to mate..."

"Pain!"

"Want to mate..."

"Eat!"

"Want to mate..."

More than half were simple, unconscious roars, along with other things like that. Of the deliberate calls, half were mating calls.

Wasn't crocodile mating season supposed to be in late spring and early summer? Why were they howling like ghosts at this time? Had the climate changed this year, affecting all the beasts so greatly? Why had Su He felt nothing?

Ah...

Turtles did not count as grown until they were seven or eight years old. By age, Su He was still only a little turtle, so he did not have that trouble yet.

What a loss... pfft! How wonderful!