"Quack?"
Yu Xueqing emerged from the grass, placing a large and a small Yangtze Crocodile on the fake grass green cloth, then turned back to the grass to bring out three more smaller Yangtze Crocodiles, setting them in front of Ansheng.
"Quack?"
The large and the four small Yangtze Crocodiles exchanged glances, their big, innocent eyes filled with confusion and unease.
For these communal Yangtze Crocodiles, they usually form groups of three to five, led by the bigger ones to the river to feed on fish, shrimp, and crabs.
However, lately, there had been two large creatures in the river that could crack open Yangtze Crocodiles like sunflower seeds, forcing them to dig on land for some insects...
Now, the Yangtze Crocodiles were filled with apprehension.
Because Yu Xueqing had brought each one out from the grass with one hand.
It was fine if they were left alone, but any mishap could be a mass tragedy for the Yangtze Crocodiles.
"Quaaa—"
The Yangtze Crocodiles looked at each other in complete bewilderment, unclear of what lay ahead. The four small Yangtze Crocodiles looked at the big one, and the big Yangtze Crocodile let out a pig-like sound.
"It seems that lifting a gas cylinder with one hand might not be Ah Qing’s limit."
Ansheng, standing on the back of a Yangtze Crocodile about one meter seventy to one meter eighty long, was full of amazement, looking at Yu Xueqing tidying her clothes and removing leaves from her hair.
Aside from occasionally encountering the Yangtze Crocodile in the wild in the Xiabei Region, all the Yangtze Crocodiles seen in any area of Xia Country were bred individuals.
The truly wild Yangtze Crocodile numbers a little over a hundred, with GPS trackers attached to all wild Yangtze Crocodiles.
The large Yangtze Crocodile that Ah Qing caught, according to Ansheng’s estimation, was about eighty pounds.
A household gas cylinder, when full, weighs around sixty pounds.
Ah Qing’s one-handed strength has proven capable of lifting eighty-pound weights. It’s unknown how much power Ah Qing could punch out with full strength.
Ansheng gazed at Yu Xueqing with sparkling eyes.
’Wow, master is amazing, catching so much food at once, Foxy can’t finish it, I alone can’t eat all of it....’
Hearing her little fox’s exclamations and seeing its starry-eyed expression, Yu Xueqing couldn’t help but smile, immediately bending her arm to show off her unremarkable muscles:
"Of course, I’m very strong. Otherwise, how could I catch food for you every day before."
"Though the hunting process required me to pay through my phone at a significant price, overall, the current situation isn’t too bad...."
The daily grocery expense of over ten bucks was not negligible for Yu Xueqing, who was still receiving family relief funds.
It was the summer holiday, returning to her hometown Jiule City from a first-tier city, or else expenses would be even more frightening.
"Let’s go! We’re going to have lunch!"
Yu Xueqing called out to the Yangtze Crocodiles, and the big one dazedly followed her towards the crescent-shaped building.
"What the hell!?"
The receptionist at the crescent building let out a scream upon seeing Yu Xueqing arrive.
She’s seen people raise large lizards, turtles, and even de-venomed snakes as pets.
But raising a pack of crocodiles as pets, in her two years working there, she had never encountered such fierce and brutal pet owners.
That’s not keeping pets; she’s clearly the queen among a group of crocodiles!
The receptionist, after a scream, immediately climbed onto the metal background wall in a few steps.
"???"
The receptionist’s terrified scream stunned the other staff, Yu Xueqing, and Ansheng, freezing them in place.
Ansheng and Yu Xueqing, one person and one fox, looked at the receptionist who had dashed onto the metal background wall,
The receptionist, due to her overly flamboyant climbing, despite her fast speed, exposed her Kumamon-patterned leggings from below her skirt.
Yu Xueqing’s expression slowly matched that of the Yangtze Crocodiles, looking bewildered as her gaze shifted between the receptionist and the group of Yangtze Crocodiles, then slowly asked, "Huh???"
"Quack?"
The Yangtze Crocodiles shrank back, taking two steps away, obviously intimidated by the receptionist’s roar.
"There are crocodiles ashore attacking people! Security! Security!"
The shocked cries finally made Yu Xueqing realize what was happening.
"Huh? Weren’t you the exotic pets fostered in Pet Paradise?"
Yu Xueqing, full of curiosity, turned to the bewildered group of Yangtze Crocodiles and asked.
"Quack?"
The Yangtze Crocodiles seemed to understand what Yu Xueqing was saying, as the adult Yangtze Crocodile spoke and sighed helplessly.
"So, that’s the case...."
Using the translator in her mind, Yu Xueqing completely understood the words of the Yangtze Crocodiles.
The Yangtze Crocodiles said they had always lived in the river, but recently two speedboats have been racing through the river, scaring away all the small fish and shrimp.
They had nothing to eat and could only turn to land to dig up small insects for food.
"So... What did they say?" Ansheng, perched on the adult Yangtze Crocodile, looked at Ah Qing with a subtle expression.
As a member of the canine family, Ansheng could understand the sounds of canine and feline species.
But facing the Yangtze Crocodiles, who either sounded like frogs or pigs, Ansheng couldn’t understand a word.
[Why are there crocodiles during the day? Aren’t they supposed to come out at night? Damn! I’ve reported the crocodile sightings in Changle River to the police! — Chen Zhiyu suddenly recalled the terrifying dragon-like silhouette she had seen in the river under the moonlight while working late.]
[Wish fulfilled: The revival of prehistoric creatures (a forestry plan over ten-plus years seemed to show initial signs now. With abundant vegetation, some creatures long gone from human sight might have quietly regained themselves.)]
Ansheng’s wish list suddenly updated with a wish full of panic.
That girl, Chen Zhiyu, apparently witnessed the monster in the Changle River firsthand.
It was a very large crocodile, and shortly after Chen Zhiyu witnessed its presence, there was news of an angler drowning in a Changping Mountain gorge.
Ansheng slightly tilted his head, looking at the person who earnestly made a wish to him.
She was a woman appearing to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with tanned skin, although she wore professional skirt attire, the hem was torn. Her legs were clad in black undergarments, and she wore non-slip shoes while holding a compound bow.
The compound bow’s body wasn’t long, but there were two giant pulley systems at both ends, and it had a built-in hidden infrared sight.
The moment Ansheng saw that bow, his pupils contracted sharply, showing a look of shock.
Oh my god! A compound bow for hunting bears!
Ah Qing! There’s a hunter at Changping Mountain Pet Hospital!
An arrow capable of violently piercing through a large black bear, a real hunter!