Giant Frog vs. Centipede (Part 1)

Frogs' eyes have a peculiar structure; they lack the slight tremor of human eyes and don't have ciliary muscles to adjust their very prominent lenses. Because of this, frogs are severely nearsighted and can't see objects that are even slightly far away. They also completely ignore stationary objects. Right now, Mo Li and the other two are frozen in fear, essentially remaining perfectly still. Precisely because they are staying still, this enormous Giant Frog won't even notice them.

It's common knowledge that frogs can't see stationary objects; even someone with Mo Li's limited education knows this. He'd just been too nervous to remember. Now that Wei Dengke mentioned it, all three felt incredibly foolish. If they had just stayed still when they encountered the slightly smaller frog earlier, none of the subsequent dangers would have happened, and they wouldn't have set the entire underground cavern ablaze.

The three exchanged glances, their faces etched with bitterness. Zhong Lichun grumbled irritably, "Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?"

Perhaps because they felt much more relaxed mentally, Zhong Lichun's voice was a bit loud. Almost as soon as she complained, the Giant Frog abruptly turned its head towards where Mo Li and the others were. It had clearly heard Zhong Lichun's voice.

Seeing the Giant Frog turn back, the three held their breath again, daring not to move. Wei Dengke shot Zhong Lichun an annoyed glare, clearly blaming her for speaking out of turn.

While frogs have poor eyesight, they are sensitive to sound. This time, the Giant Frog didn't turn back because it couldn't see Mo Li and the others, but instead slowly began to approach the stone platform where they were. As the Giant Frog drew closer, the tension mounted for the three. They had never seen a frog this large in their lives. Setting aside whether the frog would attack them, the sheer pressure from its massive head constantly moving closer caused cold sweat to break out on their bodies.

Just as the Giant Frog's face came within a meter of them, a strange sound suddenly came from the other side of the lake shore. It was a "kaka" sound, like hard objects striking the ground. The sound wasn't very loud, but it was exceptionally clear.

Upon hearing the sound, the Giant Frog abruptly turned its head and looked towards the lake shore. Unfortunately, the frog's massive body completely blocked the view of Mo Li and the others, so they couldn't see what was happening on the opposite bank.

As the three were filled with confusion, the turned Giant Frog suddenly let out a low croak. Then, its entire body suddenly sprang up from the water and lunged directly towards the lake shore.

As the Giant Frog leaped, Mo Li and the others finally saw what was making the "kaka" sound on the opposite bank. On the lake shore, a Giant Centipede nearly a hundred meters long had appeared. This centipede was entirely dark red, and its exoskeleton made it look incredibly sturdy. This massive centipede had clearly been driven out by the great fire in the underground cavern; smoke was still rising from its carapace. For this centipede, the only way to cool down was to come to the lake's edge, near the water source.

Everything happened in a flash. By the time the three saw the centipede, the Giant Frog had already lunged, opening its massive jaws to bite the centipede.

Despite its enormous size, the centipede was surprisingly agile. As the Giant Frog lunged, the centipede rapidly retreated, dodging the frog's attack by a hair's breadth.

These two were essentially natural enemies. As the saying goes, enemies see each other and their eyes burn with hatred. After dodging the Giant Frog's attack, the centipede raised its upper body, its massive pincers opening and closing continuously, emitting a grating sound similar to scraping a plate while eating. Even from a distance, Mo Li and the others felt their heads splitting upon hearing this piercing sound, as if their brains were about to explode.

Fortunately, the sound didn't last long. The Giant Frog, having missed its previous lunge, attacked the centipede again, while the centipede, just as before, dodged quickly.

Clearly angered by the Giant Frog's continuous attacks, the centipede, after dodging, charged forward instead of retreating. It rushed directly in front of the Giant Frog and wrapped its body around the frog.

This centipede had at least thousands of legs, and each one was as sharp as a sickle. After entangling the Giant Frog, the Giant Centipede tightened its body and pierced the Giant Frog's flesh with its sharp, sickle-like legs.

Pierced by thousands of sickle-like legs, the Giant Frog let out a pained cry. However, the Giant Frog was helpless at this moment. Frogs have no necks, so even if it wanted to turn its head to bite the centipede, it couldn't. The Giant Frog was completely on the defensive.

"Holy crap! Such a huge centipede was hiding here? If we had run into this thing earlier, we would have been even more screwed!" Wei Dengke stared at the centipede and the Giant Frog battling on the opposite bank, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. He muttered with lingering fear.

"We were indeed very lucky. From what we're seeing, this underground cavern is far more dangerous than it appears on the surface," Mo Li nodded and said.

"The ecosystem here is really strange. Why are there such large Giant Frogs and centipedes? This wouldn't be possible in the outside world," Zhong Lichun interjected.

"From my observation, neither of these creatures are the frogs and centipedes we know from common knowledge. They should be ancient species. I once read about this type of frog in a book. The book called these Giant Frogs 'Prehistoric Giant Frogs,' carnivorous amphibians that lived during the Mesozoic Era. However, this species has been extinct for over a hundred million years," Wei Dengke said softly, stroking his chin.

"Were creatures from the Mesozoic Era this big?" Looking at the Giant Frog and centipede fighting opposite them, Mo Li's facial muscles twitched involuntarily. He then asked with a strange expression, "Were insects from the Mesozoic Era really this big?"

"Insects from the Mesozoic Era were indeed not small, but they couldn't grow this large. There's only one era when insects could reach such sizes: the Devonian Period. Fossils from the Devonian Period often show giant insects," Wei Dengke continued to explain.

"The Devonian Period? What's that?" Mo Li, having only graduated from junior high, couldn't understand Wei Dengke's words at all. After hearing Wei Dengke's explanation, his confusion only grew.

"The so-called Devonian Period was 400 to 360 million years ago, the first period of the Late Paleozoic Era. Starting from the Devonian Period, tectonic movements occurred on Earth, causing much of the land to emerge from the water and form continents. The main life forms on Earth at that time were fish and insects. Because the oxygen content in the air was extremely high, the organisms of that era were exceptionally large," Wei Dengke displayed his profound knowledge at this moment, beginning to lecture Mo Li on Earth's history.

Unfortunately, trying to explain this to Mo Li was like playing the lute to a cow. After Wei Dengke finished speaking, Mo Li stared at him with wide, bewildered eyes and a strange expression. Then, he blurted out, "You explained it very well, but what the heck is the Devonian Period?"