Evolution from the crocodile

In the early morning, the sun rises in the east.

The chirping of birds in the jungle announces the arrival of a new day.

The air more than three feet above the water was shrouded in a thin layer of mist, like a thread.

There were wet drops of water on the nearby grass and reed leaves.

Lu Chen moved his stiff body slightly and quietly poked his head out from a gap in the rocks by the lake.

This is where several young crocodiles rested temporarily. Last night they drifted down the landscape river and finally entered the large lake in front of them.

Afraid of predators from other ferocious fish in the lake, Lu Chen did not dare to perch in the aquatic plants. Instead, he and several brothers and sisters hid in a rock crevice on the shore for the night.

The temperature was relatively low in the early morning. As a cold-blooded animal, Lu Chen felt that the blood circulation in his body was very slow and his limbs were a little sluggish.

However, he was hungry again.

In fact, crocodiles are particularly sensitive to temperature changes.

If the temperature is too low, they won't eat.

Moreover, after a young crocodile eats once, it can last at least a day or even several days without eating or drinking.

This is also a characteristic of cold-blooded animals. Compared with endothermic animals of the same weight, they can obtain energy from food more efficiently and store it in their bodies.

For example, the stomachs of the other three similar animals next to them were still bulging, obviously not yet finished digesting.

Maybe it was because the soul was a human being, or maybe it was because of the system, but Lu Chen was hungry at the moment. The dozen or so ears of wheat I devoured last night were already digested.

As a last resort, he braved the slightly cold temperature and quietly got into the lake.

The brown scales on the body are covered with black markings, and coupled with the slender body, it suddenly looks like a piece of dead wood slowly floating in the water.

This was the best protective color, allowing Lu Chen to get closer to the green-skinned frog on the water plants.

Closer, closer!

The green-skinned frog did not realize that the danger was coming, but still bulged its belly and kept croaking.

As a predator with human thinking, Lu Chen was very patient, and the infiltration process was cautious and very slow.

Because he knew that frog eyes were equally unique and were sensitive to moving objects but indifferent to still objects.

Moreover, after frogs detect danger, their instantaneous jumping speed can reach 4.5 meters/second, which is enough for them to avoid being killed by many hunters.

So don't be impatient. Ineffective predatory behavior will only consume energy in the body but will not bring any benefits.

As long as you move slowly enough, you can increase the success rate of preying.

Even, one hit will kill!

Suddenly... Lu Chen stopped moving, his body became stiff and motionless, and turned into a dead tree among the water plants again.

The crocodile's super eyesight saved him... With his eyes above the water, he could clearly see a large gray-black bird circling overhead in the sky, seemingly eyeing this area.

The next second, the black shadow fell like a sharp arrow, carrying a biting strong wind.

The croaking frog had no time to react and was swallowed into his mouth.

This is... a bar-headed cormorant!

An adult bar-headed cormorant with a body length of 80 cm and a weight of 5 pounds!

Lu Chen suppressed the fear in his heart and did not dare to move.

After swallowing the frog, the bar-headed cormorant did not leave. Instead, it stood in the shallow water with its wings fluttering and its head looking back and forth.

It seems to instinctively sense that there is still other food among the water plants.

If it were an adult crocodile, this bar-headed cormorant would be nothing more than plump prey.

But for Lu Chen, who is only 36 centimeters long and weighs 0.5 kilograms, he is definitely a giant. As long as the opponent's sharp mouth pecks hard, his body can be easily penetrated.

Lu Chen didn't even dare to dive into the water and escape, because the bar-headed cormorant is equally capable of catching prey underwater. They can even dive to the bottom of the water more than ten meters deep to catch fast-swimming fish.

So now I can only hope for protection from water plants and the protective color of this crocodile skin.

Fortunately, there is plenty of food in this water area.

The sound of frogs was heard again not far away, and the bar-headed cormorants immediately flapped their wings and flew away.

Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief and quickly dived into the water. When he resurfaced, he was already five meters away.

Soon, he was ecstatic.

In front of the water and grass, something dark was swimming.

These are tadpoles... You can't catch frogs, but you can eat some tadpoles.

After carefully checking that there were no natural enemies around, Lu Chen swam over with confidence.

There's no need to hide your tracks when it comes to these slow-moving little guys.

Tadpole, subfamily Ranaidae, black-spotted sidefold frog species group, can provide 0.01 energy points

Tadpole, subfamily Rana...

When Lu Chen filled his stomach again and returned to his hiding place with satisfaction, words continued to appear on the system panel.

Seeing Lu Chen's return, the three crocodile cubs inside the rock crevice roared excitedly.

Uh huh...uh huh...

Ignorance is also a kind of happiness.

Lu Chen sighed helplessly: He didn't know whether it was right or wrong to take them out of the pet store.

Without the protection of the crocodile mother, in the wild world full of dangers, even if he has systematic help, he cannot guarantee 100% survival, and it is said that he has to take care of several brothers and sisters.

To make it easier to distinguish them, Lu Chen had named them according to their size last night.

The largest and strongest one is the crocodile boss, followed by the second crocodile. He is the third in size, even the crocodile is the third.

As for the smallest one, currently only 30 centimeters in length, it is named Crocodile Laosi.

After taking a short rest, Lu Chen focused on the transparent panel.

After eating for the second time, I finally accumulated 1 energy point.

So...which attribute should be added?

His eyes looked back and forth, and finally determined it was Toe Claw Power.

For ordinary crocodiles, the hunting method is very simple. Most of them lurk in the water, wait for the prey to slowly approach, and then use the powerful and terrifying bite force of their mouths to kill them instantly.

Once the attack fails, you can only watch the prey escape.

Lu Chen understood that a single hunting method would only limit his future growth.

Balanced development is the right way.

Therefore, we must first improve the strength of our limbs.

His consciousness moved slightly, and new text appeared again on the panel:

Is the host sure to consume 1 energy point to increase the strength of the toe claws?

OK Lu Chen answered with consciousness again.

The next second, there was a strange energy growing rapidly in the body, flowing into the limbs bit by bit.

It can be clearly felt that the strength of the toe claws is slowly increasing.

Obviously, the increase in system attributes does not happen overnight, but takes a period of time to complete.

***

As the sun travels higher into the sky, ground temperatures also rise dramatically.

The little crocodiles, who were listless in the morning, became energetic now. They rushed out from the cracks in the rocks one by one and lay lazily on the rocks by the lake to bask in the sun.

As a cold-blooded animal, the crocodile does not need to use its own energy to warm or cool down, and the energy obtained from food is used more for growth.

The main way they maintain their temperature is to absorb external heat through their body surface.

Sunlight is the best heat source. In addition, calcium can be supplemented to avoid rotten skin or disease on the scales.

Damn...looking for death!

Seeing his companion's bold behavior of seeking death, Lu Chen finally understood why the survival rate of crocodile cubs was less than 2%.

These guys have no sense of crisis at all!

Any water bird flying nearby can spot their presence.

Hiss...hiss...

He hurriedly issued a crisis warning and asked several companions to follow him to find a safe place to bask in the sun.

After being summoned, Crocodile Laosi immediately crawled over.

The remaining two turned around and looked around, then continued to crawl on the rocks motionless.

The crocodile boss even hissed dissatisfiedly, as if he did not approve of his order.

Similar to most social animals, crocodile groups will also choose the strongest male of the same species as the leader when living together.

In daily life or hunting, the other crocodiles must obey the leader's orders.

Obviously Crocodile Boss and Crocodile Lao Er did not recognize Lu Chen's leadership status. The reason why they fled last night was just out of survival instinct.

Now they feel that this brother who is weaker than themselves is not worthy of being the leader at all.

Damn, I’ve given you a lot of face, haven’t I?

After all, as brothers from the same mother, Lu Chen couldn't just watch these guys being killed.

So what should you do if your child disobeys? Just give him a spanking!

Before the strength of the toe claws increased, Lu Chen really couldn't do anything with them.

Now, just try out what it would feel like to double your strength.

He made an angry sound and rushed towards the largest crocodile boss.

Hiss... Faced with the provocation, Crocodile Lao naturally showed no sign of weakness and also opened his mouth to bite.

Lu Chen didn't talk nonsense, dodged and waved his front paws...

Pa, a slap in the face knocked this guy unconscious.

Before it could react, it was already pinned down.

Lu Chen waved his front paw again and made a double sound!

After being slapped twice in succession, the crocodile boss showed some fear in his eyes and finally begged for mercy.

Sure enough, the last word is to have a big fist!

Lu Chen stood up, turned around and shouted at Crocodile Lao Er.

Both guys were honest and climbed down from the rocks in a good manner.

Then he followed Lu Chen to a patch of grass on the shore and basked in the sun again.

Lu Chen did not choose the location at random. This patch of grass was relatively hidden and could well block the sight of hunters in the sky.

In addition, there is a bush nearby, where you can hide in as soon as you encounter danger.

The four crocodiles rushed their heads outwards, looking in different directions. Their eyes opened and closed, and they finally began to enjoy the sunshine.

The warm heat shone on the scales, giving him an indescribable sense of comfort.

Soon, I fell asleep.

The reason why they can turn a blind eye is because the crocodile has a unique brain structure that allows it to sleep on one side of the brain.

In other words, when one side of the brain and one eye are asleep, one eye can still be left on guard to keep in touch with the awake half of the brain and remain alert at all times.

They can react quickly to any disturbance around them.