It was already past 2 AM when Ken checked the time.
He couldn't be sure if the mutated giant eagle had the same rapid healing ability as he did. Was it resting, licking its wounds and waiting for an opportunity to strike again? Or had it recovered enough to simply fly off into the distance?
If he wanted to track it down, the hours before dawn were the best time. The eagle's scent would still linger, and Ken's own physical capabilities, including his heightened sense of smell, would be at their peak. Besides, the giant eagle was fearful of humans, avoiding daylight activity, and Ken didn't want anyone to witness his pursuit of the creature.
If possible, Ken even hoped to capture the mutated eagle alive. If it truly had strong regenerative abilities, he could periodically take its blood, turning it into a long-term "food source"—much more profitable than a one-off kill.
Additionally, Ken was curious about the eagle, wanting to study it and figure out why it had grown so large. Was it a new species, or had it mutated like him? If so, what had caused the mutation?
However, that was a mere fantasy. He didn't have the necessary equipment to capture the giant eagle alive, nor the facilities to keep and study it. If he did find it, it would likely result in a fierce battle.
Ken made up his mind but didn't rush out immediately. There was still one important issue to consider: even if he found the mutated eagle, how would he capture it?
The brief fight by the lake had only lasted about ten seconds, but Ken was fairly certain that on the ground, his strength wouldn't be inferior to the eagle's. Even without weapons, he could probably incapacitate it—he was confident that he had already blinded one of its eyes. Of course, whether it could recover or how long it would take was still uncertain.
If he had tools—anything from a short knife to a hammer or screwdriver—it would significantly improve his combat effectiveness and lethality.
But the eagle could fly.
This meant that the initiative in the fight lay with the eagle.
The previous encounter had started with the eagle attacking him, which had allowed Ken to subdue it. But what if the eagle decided to flee this time?
Ken had thought about it. Rifles or tranquilizer guns were out of the question. A crossbow? Or perhaps a compound bow? The problem was, where could he get one at this hour? Even if he could find one, he wouldn't be able to practice with it and couldn't be sure of his accuracy. Regular arrows, unmodified, would have limited lethality—hitting the eagle wouldn't necessarily incapacitate it or prevent it from flying away.
Moreover, after researching the eagle's traits, Ken discovered that it had exceptionally strong night vision, along with highly developed hearing and smell. If the eagle had mutated like him, those senses would be even more heightened. Stealthily approaching for a surprise attack would be difficult, if not impossible.
Then Ken had an idea.
Perhaps he could call the authorities?
A bird of that size, capable of hunting adult huskies, posed a significant threat. It could also be considered an endangered species in need of protection. With the right equipment and professionals, the authorities could capture it for research and observation.
Once captured, the mutated eagle could be studied, and perhaps the cause of its abnormal size would be uncovered. They might even find the reason behind its mutation.
But Ken quickly dismissed this idea. First, convincing the police or any other agency that such a large eagle existed and was worth investigating would be nearly impossible. Second, even if he did manage to get their attention, they wouldn't follow his lead in capturing it—after all, he couldn't exactly explain that his sense of smell was superior to a bloodhound's. Lastly, even if the eagle were captured and studied, Ken, despite being the one to find it, likely wouldn't have the right to access the research results. More importantly, he wouldn't have the chance to extract any blood from it.
Normally, Ken liked to plan thoroughly, preparing every detail before taking action. But when the situation was urgent and there was no time to prepare, he was also decisive enough to act without hesitation.
So, he decided to act immediately. There was no time to ponder any further; dawn was approaching. He grabbed a Swiss army knife, a flashlight, and a screwdriver, and headed out.
At this hour, there was no time to gather specialized weapons. He did have a knife at home, one he bought specifically for hunting rabbits, but it wasn't much use against the mutated eagle. Bringing it along might cause misunderstandings and unnecessary trouble.
At 3:21 AM, Ken arrived once again at the lakeside where he had encountered the mutated giant eagle.
He noticed that the feathers the eagle had shed during their fight were now completely gone.
Normally, this would make him think that someone had come by and collected the feathers, or that the wind had blown them away.
But Ken had taken a few feathers from the lake before leaving, and when he returned home, he couldn't find them.
At first, he thought he might have lost them when he entered the lake. But now, seeing that all the feathers at the lakeside had disappeared, he recalled an experiment he had conducted on himself—a piece of flesh from his pinky finger, about the size of a grain of rice, had turned into dust after he healed.
Could it be that the feathers, like that piece of flesh, had turned to dust and dispersed in the air once they left the eagle's body?
Ken began to track the eagle's scent. Though their struggle by the lake had only lasted a few seconds, both sides had suffered significant injuries and bled heavily. The smell left behind was abundant.
Because of its injuries, the giant eagle hadn't been able to fly quickly during their encounter, and the wind had caused the scent to shift direction slightly. However, Ken wasn't just relying on the scent to track the creature—he was also using his knowledge of the eagle's behavior. He deduced that, even at night, the eagle would likely avoid flying toward areas with high human traffic and would instead head towards more secluded areas with more trees and fewer buildings.
An hour later, Ken held a leaf, inhaling its scent deeply before looking up at the trees on a distant hillside. From this angle, he could only see shadows, but he knew the giant eagle was there.
This was the same location where he had previously found the dead rat.
Ken didn't believe that the eagle had a temporary nest here, as he had thoroughly searched this small mountain before, and there was no trace of the eagle's scent. The dead rat must have been dropped from the air, and the eagle hadn't entered the area.
It seemed that the eagle had come here because the small mountain was the nearest place where it could rest and recover.
Ken tightened his grip on the screwdriver and began walking toward the hillside.
When he stepped out from behind a tree and looked toward a massive rock, he saw the mutated giant eagle, standing still on top, staring at him with eyes as wide as bowls.
Clearly, as soon as Ken had pinpointed the eagle's location, the eagle had sensed his presence.
Ken didn't rush forward. Under the moonlight, he observed the eagle's head, noting that the eye he had previously blinded had already healed by more than half.
It was clear that the eagle's healing speed, while not as fast as his own, was far superior to that of most other creatures.
The eagle continued to fix its gaze on Ken, its massive body shifting slightly as it adjusted its position. Its wings remained half-raised, ready to take off at any moment. The rock it was perched on had no branches above it, meaning it could fly away easily.
Ken knew this encounter would be a challenge, and the real fight was about to begin.