"Let's get it!"
Several more people stepped forward, wielding sticks and clubs.
Qin Ziwen thought of the card acquisition methods his home had told him about: one was to explore high-risk areas, and the other was to kill powerful creatures in the current area.
He wondered if this crocodile counted as a powerful creature in the area.
In terms of physique, if it were in the river unarmed, even a dozen or twenty adult men wouldn't be a match for it.
But on the shore, the crocodile's agility and stamina were affected.
"Let's go."
Qin Ziwen took a step forward with a clothesline spear with a fruit knife strapped to it, his younger brother following behind, holding a wooden stick.
A quick glance revealed at least a dozen men who had stepped forward.
The bearded man said, "I'll throw the curtain over later to cover the crocodile; it'll definitely struggle. Then we'll find a way to entangle it with the curtain."
Qin Ziwen said, "I have an idea."
The bearded man looked over.
Qin Ziwen offered his suggestion, "If you just throw it, the curtain is too slippery. If the crocodile turns and runs, the curtain will have a hard time entangled. I think it's better to tear some holes in the curtain, so that when it escapes or struggles, its head and feet can more easily come out of the holes, like a fishing net. The more it struggles, the tighter it gets entangled."
The bearded man's eyes lit up after hearing this, "That sounds more reliable."
Qin Ziwen said, "I have curtains at home too, I'll go get mine."
The bearded man waved his hand, "No need for all that trouble, just use mine. The salesman raved about how good their curtains were, even protecting them from cat and dog scratches, let's give it a try."
With that, the man pulled out a boning knife and stabbed it into the curtain in his hand. The action was quick and precise, making Qin Ziwen's eyes twitch.
Soon, the curtain was pierced with holes of various sizes, but how to get the crocodile to accurately put its head into the holes was another problem.
Qin Ziwu suggested, "How about we use sticks to prop it up and try to push its head as far into the hole as possible?"
Huang Tao said, "That seems like a good idea, but who's going to do it?"
The group looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
The crocodile lay there, its limbs thicker than a person's waist, its eyes slightly narrowed. Although it was motionless, no one really considered it just a sculpture.
The sticks or clotheslines they had were no more than two meters long, and that distance felt incredibly unsafe in front of a five-meter-long crocodile.
A young man from the property management company, wearing a white security uniform, said, "How about we throw it over there? If we hit it, great; if not, we'll just get a curtain."
Everyone agreed to this plan.
Qin Ziwu whispered, "Brother, I'll do it."
Qin Ziwen's eyes sharpened. "Stand back."
Qin Ziwu immediately stood obediently in place.
Old Deng put down the box containing the fishing rods, had his wife carry it, and then rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.
His wife asked worriedly, "Are you going?"
Old Deng laughed heartily, "Other young men dare to go, why should I just watch from the sidelines? I've never eaten such a big fish before, I'll get some crocodile meat for you and your son."
Old Deng asked Old Liu beside him, "Want to come along?"
Old Liu cautiously shook his head, "Never mind, you guys do it."
Qin Ziwu, who had been staring at his older brother, felt a couple of pokes in his waist. He turned around, and the girl behind him teased, "Your brother looks so serious, are you afraid of him?"
Qin Ziwu recognized her as Deng's daughter and said disdainfully, "You talk like you're not afraid of your dad."
"Tch, I'm not afraid of my dad."
"I am afraid, I'm afraid something will happen to my brother."
After saying that, Qin Ziwu turned back, staring at his older brother's back, gripping the stick in his hand, ready to pounce.
The girl blinked, watching Qin Ziwu's retreating figure. She wanted to continue chatting with him, but her mother patted her shoulder: "You talk too much. Your dad and the others are doing serious business. Be quiet."
"Oh,"
Old Liu's son chimed in, seizing the opportunity: "Yingying, I think going to hunt crocodiles is too dangerous."
The girl wrinkled her nose. "Don't talk."
"Brother Deng, you're here too?"
Qin Ziwen looked at Old Deng beside him in surprise. Old Deng raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think you are? I was a soldier too, okay?"
The six of them each grabbed a corner of the curtain, stood on the ladder, and took two steps forward.
As they got closer to the crocodiles, Qin Ziwen heard the breathing of those around him grow heavier.
Not to mention the others, even his own hands were starting to ache.
Those who haven't had unrestricted close encounters with large, ferocious beasts can't understand this feeling.
The crocodile's tail suddenly twitched.
"Bang!"
The young man in the security guard uniform on the far left suddenly felt his legs buckle, almost falling to the ground, only managing to stay upright by bracing himself with his left hand.
The sudden commotion immediately attracted the crocodile's attention.
The crocodile opened its cold eyes, its vertical pupils devoid of any emotion as it turned its head, staring intently at the six humans who dared to approach.
A murmur rippled through the crowd gathered on the ladder behind it.
" Thump, thump, thump
." The crocodile suddenly sprang to life.
Its thick limbs burst forth with incredible speed, charging towards the fallen security guard.
"Throw it!"
the bearded man shouted.
People threw the curtains they were holding, but because a corner was being held by the fallen guard, they couldn't be thrown very far.
The charging crocodile crashed headfirst into the curtain, its head and most of its body obscured.
But its speed didn't slow down at all; it slammed directly into the guard.
The security guard's thigh was pinned down by its claws, and he screamed in terror, "Help! Help!"
The bearded man grabbed the guard by the back of his collar, trying to pull him back.
But the crocodile sensed its prey trying to escape and instinctively hooked it with its claws.
The others' sticks rained down, striking the crocodile's back.
"Ah!!!"
A group of onlookers exclaimed in the distance, "That crocodile's scream is so pitiful."
"You misheard, it's the security guard screaming."
The crocodile's claws were sharp, like hooks, deeply embedded in the guard's thigh.
After being attacked, the crocodile let out a furious growl, like a roaring engine.
Its thick tail lashed out repeatedly, scraping against the ground with a swishing sound.
Qin Ziwen gripped the clothes rack tightly with both hands and thrust it towards the side of the crocodile's head under the curtains!
He aimed for the eye, but struck a hard spot, like tough leather, unable to penetrate.
Then, a tremendous force came from the other end of the clothes rack, forcing him to stagger backward.
The crocodile charged towards Qin Ziwen. A furious
shout came from behind, "Get out of the way!"
A dark figure leaped from the side, swinging a long stick in a semi-circle.
"Crack!"
The thick wooden stick snapped in two with a loud crack.
But the charging crocodile stopped in its tracks.
The solid blow had stunned it.
"Kill it!" A burly man wielding a fire axe rushed out from behind the crocodile, the axe slamming heavily into the curtain the crocodile was using to cover it. "Agh
!"
The crocodile howled under the curtain, its tail flashing behind it.
"Thump!"
A muffled sound, like a heavy hammer hitting a tattered sack.
The burly man with the fire axe didn't even have time to react before he was sent flying backwards without warning!
He flew three or four meters before crashing to the ground like a lump of mud, his lower leg twisted irregularly; it was clear to anyone with eyes that his lower leg was broken.
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
The previously heated atmosphere was suddenly dampened.
(End of Chapter)