Chapter 54: The Real and the Fake Jungler
“Croak?”
Yu Xueqing emerged from the grass, setting down two Yangtze alligators—one large, one small—on the artificial turf, then turned back and pulled out three more, even smaller, placing them in front of An Sheng.
“Croak?”
The group of one large and four small Yangtze alligators exchanged bewildered glances, their big, innocent eyes full of confusion and unease.
As social creatures, Yangtze alligators usually live in groups of three to five, with the adults leading the young ones into the river to hunt fish, shrimp, and crabs for sustenance.
However, recently, two large predators have appeared in the river, treating the alligators like mere snacks. Forced out of their aquatic home, they now have no choice but to forage on land for insects.
Now, the alligators were visibly anxious.
Yu Xueqing was holding them all out of the grass with one hand each.
If this were just a casual gathering, it would be fine. But any accident could spell disaster for the entire alligator clan.
“Croak—”
The alligators looked around in dazed confusion, unsure of what awaited them. The four smaller ones looked toward the big alligator, who responded with a grunting sound.
“It seems lifting a gas cylinder with one hand isn’t the limit of Ah Qing’s strength after all.”
An Sheng climbed onto the back of the largest alligator, whose carapace nearly reached 1.8 meters in length. His face was full of admiration as he watched Yu Xueqing tidying her clothes and plucking leaves from her hair.
Except in the northern Xia region, where wild Yangtze alligators are occasionally spotted, all others in the country are captive-bred. There are barely over a hundred truly wild specimens, each fitted with GPS trackers.
The large alligator Yu Xueqing had caught was estimated by An Sheng to weigh around eighty jin (approximately 40 kilograms).
A full household gas cylinder weighs about sixty jin (30 kilograms).
Yu Xueqing’s one-handed strength was proven capable of lifting eighty jin. Who knew how powerful a punch from her at full force would be?
An Sheng’s eyes sparkled with admiration as he gazed at Yu Xueqing.
‘Eek! Master is amazing! Capturing so much food at once! Foxie can’t even finish it all…’
Hearing his little fox’s awestruck voice and seeing the stars in his eyes, Yu Xueqing smiled softly. She flexed her arm, showing off her unassuming muscle.
“Of course I’m strong. Otherwise, how would I manage to hunt food for you every day?”
“Though I do pay a heavy price through my phone during hunting, overall, it’s not too bad...”
For Yu Xueqing, spending a dozen or so yuan on groceries daily was a significant expense, especially since she still received family welfare. She was currently on summer break, having returned to her hometown, Jiu Le City, from a first-tier city, or else the costs would be even more daunting.
“Let’s go have lunch!”
Yu Xueqing called to the alligators. The large alligator, still somewhat dazed, followed her toward the crescent-shaped building.
“Whoa!?”
The receptionist at the front desk let out a scream upon seeing Yu Xueqing arrive.
She had seen pet lizards, turtles, even venomous snakes that had their venom glands removed as pets, but a whole group of crocodilians? In her two years on the job, she had never encountered such fierce and brutal pet owners.
This wasn’t pet keeping—it was like being the queen of a crocodile clan!
After her scream, the receptionist scrambled up the metal backdrop wall in front of her desk in a few hurried steps.
“???”
Her terrified screams stunned the other staff, as well as Yu Xueqing and An Sheng, into frozen silence.
An Sheng and Yu Xueqing, along with the little fox, watched as the receptionist—dressed professionally in skirt and trousers—fled so abruptly she climbed the metal backdrop. In the process, her bear-patterned leggings were exposed.
Yu Xueqing’s expression slowly mirrored the alligators’, puzzled, her gaze flickering between the receptionist and the alligator group before she slowly murmured, “Huh???”
“Croak?”
The alligators pulled their necks back and backed up a few steps, clearly intimidated by the receptionist’s roaring.
“There are crocodiles on land attacking people! Security! Security!”
The panicked cries finally made Yu Xueqing realize the situation.
“Huh? Aren’t you exotic pets from the pet park?”
Yu Xueqing turned to the clueless alligator group with surprise.
“Croak?”
The adult alligator seemed to understand Yu Xueqing’s words and sighed helplessly.
“So that’s how it is...”
After mentally translating their message, Yu Xueqing fully grasped what they were saying.
They had always lived in the river, but recently two speedboats had been racing through, scaring away the fish and shrimp.
With nothing left to eat, they had no choice but to come onto land to dig for insects and survive.
“So... what exactly did they say?” An Sheng, perched on the adult alligator, looked at Yu Xueqing with a subtle expression of realization.
Being a fox from the canine family, An Sheng could understand the calls of dogs and cats. But the alligators’ croaks and grunts were incomprehensible to him.
[Why are there crocodiles during the day? Aren’t they supposed to come out at night? Damn bastards! I reported the crocodiles in the Chang Le River with my real name! — Chen Zhiyu’s pupils contracted sharply upon hearing the commotion beneath the park’s building, recalling the terrifying dragon-shaped shadow lurking in the river during her previous overtime night shift.]
[Wish fulfilled: Resurrection of prehistoric creatures (the ongoing decade-long reforestation project seems to be showing signs now. With lush vegetation, some species long vanished from human sight may have quietly revived.)]
A new wish filled with panic suddenly appeared in An Sheng’s mind.
The woman named Chen Zhiyu apparently had witnessed the monstrous creature in the Chang Le River firsthand.
It was a massively large alligator, and soon after her sighting, news broke of fishermen drowned in the valley of Chang Ping Mountain.
An Sheng turned his gaze to the devoted wish-maker before him.
She was a woman in her mid-twenties with sun-kissed skin, dressed in professional attire with the hem torn, revealing slender black legs clad in anti-slip shoes. In her hands was a compound bow.
The bow’s limbs were short but equipped with two massive pulley systems at each end, and it featured a concealed infrared sight.
At the sight of that bow, An Sheng’s pupils contracted in shock.
Damn! A bear-hunting compound bow!
Ah Qing! There’s a wild hunter at the Chang Ping Mountain pet hospital!
A hunter who can pierce a large black bear with a single arrow!