Huang Tao, somewhat curious, asked, "From what you're saying, male crocodiles are larger than females? How much larger?"
Zhang Zhen's expression turned serious, and he gave him a deep look. "The average length of male crocodiles in a crocodile population is generally 1.5 times that of females, and their weight can reach 2-3 times that of females."
Huang Tao's smile froze. "Such a big difference?"
Zhang Zhen nodded. "Yes, crocodiles are polygamous. Generally, one crocodile population will live in a certain river basin. This population will have a alpha male, several females, and some sub-adults. If food is particularly abundant in this area, the crocodile population will increase accordingly. Judging from the size of this female crocodile, the male crocodile's length should be between seven and eight meters."
Qin
Ziwen, standing not far away, also heard their conversation and subconsciously glanced back at the deep river surface.
Zhang Zhen said worriedly, "If it's really as I predict, then this male crocodile could be truly terrifying."
Seeing that the others didn't understand the seriousness of the situation, Zhang Zhen explained, "Have you heard of Luolong? It's the largest known crocodile captured by humans on Earth. In the documentary, they used steel cables to suspend chicken meat from tree branches; if the crocodile bit into the meat, it would be trapped. But the cables snapped. Later, they thickened the cables, but Luolong kept breaking them. They kept thickening the cables until finally, they caught Luolong.
Then they called on more than a dozen villagers to try to pull Luolong out of the water, but it wouldn't budge and almost escaped. In the end, the villagers who were watching all came to help, mobilizing more than sixty people for a tug-of-war that lasted for several hours before they finally dragged Luolong ashore.
On an empty stomach, it weighed 1075 kilograms, but its length was only 6.2 meters."
This last sentence was what shocked everyone the most.
Someone murmured, "It's already this powerful at only 6.2 meters, what would it be like at 7.2 meters? It'd be taking off!"
Zou Sheng frowned. "It might be even longer than 7.2 meters. If we calculate it at 1.5 times, its length would be at least 7.5 meters."
As a fitness coach, he knew very well that the difference in weight was difficult to compensate for with technique. A 6.2-meter-long Luo Long weighed one ton, and a 7.5-meter-long crocodile could probably weigh two tons.
It would be a super-powerful amphibious monster.
Zhang Zhen said, "If it really is a giant crocodile over seven meters long, we probably don't have any way to restrain it. The only way to deal with it is to dig a trap and try to bury it in a pit."
But some people thought Zhang Zhen was worrying unnecessarily. "You said it's from Earth. Who knows if the female crocodiles in this other world are even bigger? It's been several days, and no one has seen the kind of giant crocodile you're talking about." "
Yeah, if it really is, why doesn't it come out when we're hunting its own kind like this?"
"Ah—"
A scream from afar interrupted the discussion.
"Run!"
"What a huge crocodile~"
The people who were still cutting up the meat looked at each other in dismay.
Then, they all looked at the person who had said it wouldn't come out.
Zheng Yuan's lips twitched: "You jinx!"
The man also regretted it; he hadn't expected his words to come true.
Through the sparse bushes, they could see many residents fleeing in the distance.
Huang Tao shouted, "Wait, the gate to the community is over there. If we go there, we might be blocked by the giant crocodile. Let's go in another direction."
Qin Ziwu walked to his brother's side. "Brother, let's go through the east gate."
"Yeah, we have to be careful."
Then Qin Ziwen saw the bushes shaking violently, as if a monster was rampaging through the grass.
"Wait, that crocodile looks like it's coming. Run!"
Qin Ziwen ran back several dozen meters and looked back. At the spot where they had dismembered their prey, an extremely ferocious giant crocodile was quietly lying beside the remains of the female crocodile.
Just lying there, this giant crocodile gave people a terrifying feeling.
The female crocodile, which had been cut into pieces and left only as remains, looked as small as a little girl next to it.
Qin Ziwu murmured, "So big."
Qin Ziwen could feel his heart pounding, an instinctive emotion when humans face a giant beast: "Its height is probably over a meter."
The giant crocodile opened its blood-red maw, letting out a low roar, its mouth almost high enough to swallow an adult.
Then it bit the remains and dragged them straight into the river.
Only when the massive body was completely submerged did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
Qin Ziwen felt that the crocodile's behavior didn't quite match Zhang Zhen's description. According to Zhang Zhen, crocodiles are emotionally detached creatures, and many of their behaviors are driven by survival. However, he sensed an emotion beyond mere survival from this male crocodile, something more than just anger at its territorial intrusion.
Zhang Zhen muttered, "It seemed to be expressing anger. Damn, this crocodile might be quite intelligent."
The group quickly retreated along the outer wall of the residential area.
They circled around to the east gate and returned to the area.
Reaching the south gate, they found it crowded with people.
Listening to their conversation, Qin Ziwen learned that a crocodile-hunting team had finally killed a crocodile near the south gate. While cutting it up, the crocodile suddenly leaped out of the water, biting one person and dragging the carcass back into the river.
The bitten person was then snatched back by the crocodile.
The man was rescued, but his condition was terrible.
Even someone with little medical knowledge would fall silent upon seeing his horrific state.
His chest and pelvis were caved in, like a smashed piece of fruit; his clothes were soaked in blood, and he was barely breathing.
His family knelt beside him, weeping.
Seeing Huang Tao approach, the deceased's relatives rushed over and surrounded him.
"How could there be such a terrifying crocodile in this river!"
The deceased's mother grabbed Huang Tao's collar. "My son was only twenty-three! He just graduated from university! He had so much life ahead of him!"
"Why, why did this have to happen! I'd rather it was me who died!" The deceased's mother weakly released her grip, collapsing to the ground, wailing in despair.
Huang Tao remained silent. "I'm sorry."
He looked around at everyone present. "We must kill this crocodile. It's different from ordinary crocodiles; it's more intelligent and stronger. It already harbors hatred towards us. If we don't kill it now, our chances of killing it later will only decrease.
This crocodile is likely the leader of its pack. If we can kill it, this stretch of water will truly be ours."
Someone said, "That's easy to say. How can we kill such a huge crocodile? We tried using nets, and it tore them to shreds."
Huang Tao firmly stated, "Dig traps. For enemies of this size, pitfalls are the most effective."
A silence fell over the room. The example
of this terrifying crocodile lying on the ground served as a stark warning; it was undoubtedly the most terrifying opponent they had ever encountered.
The deceased's mother forced out the words through clenched teeth, "I'll dig."
"Okay, dig! Kill this crocodile!"
"Get it! Damn it, we can't let a beast bully us!"
"Who knows if this crocodile will target me or my family one day? Kill it! No matter how strong it is, it's still a carbon-based life form. Bury it alive in a pit!"
In an instant, the crowd was in a frenzy, their shouts deafening.
Qin Ziwen was somewhat lost in thought, then a slow smile crept onto his lips.
This male crocodile leader must have reached the powerful enough to drop cards, right?
He just wondered what form the dropped cards would take.
Just like the others said, no matter how strong it was, it was still just a carbon-based life form.
Anything carbon-based can be killed.
(End of Chapter)