Before even reaching the river, Qin Ziwen heard the loud splashing of water.
Along the riverbank, teams were scattered, some already practicing, others watching.
The team with the most impressive results had used a rope made from several bed sheets and curtains to bind a crocodile, then tied the other end to a nearby tree. A group of people were using long weapons to repeatedly poke the crocodile.
"Glug glug..."
The crocodile thrashed wildly, opening its mouth and growling angrily.
Another team had dug a trap on the bank, but it wasn't deep enough, and the crocodile escaped. Startled, the crocodile scrambled into the river, splashing water everywhere.
On the surface, several crocodiles floated, their cold eyes peeking out, silently observing.
A young man in the group said, "We need to go further downstream; if we get too close, these crocodiles won't fall for it."
Huang Tao said, "Let's go down there. By the way, this brother's name is Zhang Zhen. He used to work at the zoo, as a crocodile keeper for a while, so he knows a lot about crocodile habits."
The others asked him for advice.
Zhang Zhen said, "It's very difficult to develop a bond with crocodiles. I've always felt that crocodiles are like cold learning machines. They don't have complex emotions, nor do they feel fear. All their behavioral logic is actually related to survival and reproduction.
For example, if you feed them, they know that coming near you will bring food. After eating and drinking their fill, they will lie there to digest their food. As long as you don't make them feel threatened, they won't attack you.
Seeing their kind being..." "Killing them won't frighten them, but it will make them wary. They'll equate us humans with a threat."
Zhang Zhen pointed to the crocodiles floating on the river's surface. "Look, those crocodiles in the water are observing us. They're assessing our threat. They'll consider this place and these humans a threat, and they'll be more cautious when facing us."
Qin Ziwen asked, "Then the crocodiles won't come up?"
Zhang Zhen shook his head. "No, in the short term, in the same place, using the same method, they won't fall for it because they've already equated this danger with danger. But as soon as we change locations, they'll still be attracted by the bait. They don't have the concept of 'humans hunting us with traps' in their minds; they only have the simple logic of food, threat, and defending territory."
Qin Ziwen roughly understood.
The group walked downstream for more than a hundred meters. Huang Tao took out the remaining crocodile entrails from the last hunt, tied them with a rope, and threw them into the river.
The blood spread along the water.
Under the bank, a thick shadow slowly approached.
Zheng Yuan, who was in charge of observation, made a gesture.
The people behind pulled the rope, scooping the entrails out of the water, the foul-smelling entrails scraping across the muddy ground.
The shadow remained motionless on the water's surface.
"Will the crocodile be attracted?" Qin Ziwu, squatting next to Zhang Zhen, asked softly.
"Yes, crocodiles' favorite food is animal entrails. When a crocodile sees entrails, it's like a cat seeing a cat toy; it thinks something is stealing its food. Just watch." As soon as he
finished speaking, the water surface exploded with a roar, and a huge black shadow broke through the surface, rushing towards the entrails on the shore.
"Pull!"
But it was too late; the shadow had already bitten the entrails and turned back into the river.
The rope holding the entrails tightened instantly, pulling the two people on the other end off balance.
The giant crocodile paused, lying still, seemingly wondering why something seemed to be dragging its food.
Its eyes fell on the humans not far away, and it suddenly swung its head, its thick tail splashing up a large amount of mud.
The rope snapped with a crack, and the giant crocodile dived back into the river.
Zhang Zhen murmured, "We have to do it again."
Huang Tao asked in a low voice, "Will it fall for it again?"
Zhang Zhen nodded affirmatively, "It ate the entrails earlier and got a taste of the sweetness. If we give it another entrails, it will definitely fall for it. But this time, we need to be quick with the bait. Pull it up, and once it gets close, cover it with the large net, then poke it with a weapon."
"Luckily, I prepared a few extra baits beforehand. This time, we'll have two people handle the bait, and we need to be quick."
Qin Ziwen volunteered, "I'll do it."
Zou Sheng next to him rolled up his sleeves, "Count me in."
The second bait was thrown into the river.
The entrails fell into the river, splashing water. Under the surface, the giant crocodile, which hadn't gone far, flicked its tail and swam back.
Qin Ziwen pulled up the line, and the entrails slid through the water, across the mud, and wound their way up the grass.
The giant crocodile followed the scent and climbed ashore, its heavy steps chasing after the entrails.
Qin Ziwen and Zou Sheng increased the frequency of pulling the rope. The crocodile paused for a moment, then suddenly accelerated.
Qin Ziwen stared intently at the giant crocodile; from his angle, it was charging straight towards him.
He was highly focused; if the others were even a little slower in setting the net, the crocodile would be right in his face.
Fortunately, this time there was no mistake.
The giant net fell from above, directly covering the crocodile. At the same time, the four people hidden diagonally behind pulled the tail rope, using the crocodile's forward momentum to trap it inside.
"Go!"
The group rushed forward, their weapons raining down on the crocodile. Their
primary target was the crocodile's head.
"Thud."
Someone was lucky; a spear struck right into the crocodile's eye.
"Roar!"
The crocodile let out a painful howl.
"I'll take it!" A security guard on the side shouted, bringing his long-handled axe down heavily.
This axe struck the crocodile squarely in the head.
The connection between the axe and the stick came undone, and with a snap, the short-handled axe became lodged on the crocodile's head.
The blow nearly made it stand upright.
Qin Ziwen clearly saw that it was a fire axe.
They must have tied the axe to the stick earlier.
The crocodile struggled frantically, instinctively trying to escape back into the river.
But the others wouldn't let it have its way, pulling on the rope and dragging it backward.
With over a dozen strong men pulling the rope simultaneously, several fell to the ground, caught off guard.
The crocodile's speed also decreased significantly, and after a stalemate of over ten seconds, its strength waned.
Finally, it stopped moving.
Zhang Zhen, panting heavily, said, "It's run out of stamina."
Qin Ziwen remembered Wang Yun saying yesterday that crocodiles had poor stamina, and now he had a more direct understanding.
In just over two minutes, the crocodile's stamina had been almost completely depleted by its powerful outburst.
Even though the crocodile seemed exhausted, no one dared to approach and provoke it at close range.
Instead, they continued to attack from a relatively safe distance using long weapons.
Finally, the crocodile breathed its last.
After waiting for another ten minutes or so, the group began to dispose of the carcass.
On the river, a pair of cold eyes watched this scene without emotion, observing its kin being dismembered.
This crocodile was slightly larger than the one they had hunted at the South Gate last time, measuring a full five meters and a half in length.
Because there were three more people this time, each person received 38 jin (approximately 14 kg) of meat, two jin (approximately 1 kg) less than before.
Even so, everyone was still overjoyed.
After processing the crocodile, Zhang Zhen's brow remained furrowed.
Huang Tao nudged his arm and teased, "What's wrong? Why aren't you happy after killing the crocodile?"
Zhang Zhen paused, then shook his head. "Nothing, I just observed that this one seems to be a female crocodile, and the one we killed at the South Gate last time was also a female."
(End of Chapter)