Chapter 134 - 131: Darkness
The creature resembling a crocodile was extraordinarily ferocious, thick dark green juice dripping from the corners of its mouth.
The torch was propped against the wall, teetering on the brink of falling into the pool of water.
When that happened, there would be no light left here, only darkness.
Bi Fang tried to use the live broadcast’s third-person night vision mode to observe the monstrous fish but unexpectedly discovered he could not turn it on!
Damn it, the System had restricted him!
An unforeseen situation arose, and Bi Fang’s heart raced. He discarded the half of the tongue, his peripheral vision closely monitoring the torch that might fall at any moment.
Please, don’t fall!
Unfortunately, contrary to his wishes, there was a faint sound as it hit the ground.
“Tss!”
Smoke rose, and the passageway plunged into complete darkness.
Hearing the sound, the monstrous fish violently turned its head towards where the torch had been, emitting a low grunting sound from its throat.
Bi Fang’s pupils constricted as he exerted all his effort to adapt to the darkness, his nose slightly wrinkling as he tried to capture all the scent molecules in the air to determine the opponent’s position.
At that moment, both parties strangely fell into silence.
Outside the screen, the audience was overwhelmed by this silence; they collapsed into their seats, hearts hammering, too scared to move.
The monster quieted for a moment as if understanding something, then suddenly stood erect, supporting its body solely with its coiled tail. At that moment, it was three meters tall, a height unachievable by any fish or snake.
Even the similarly-sized Siamese Crocodile could not perform such flexible movements!
In night vision mode, the audience could only see the monstrous fish’s straightened body tremble slightly, clearly strained to its limit, and then it forcefully “smashed” its body outwards, like a giant whip descending from the sky, its bone spurs the thorns on the whip!
In the darkness, the evil wind struck!
How could Bi Fang, rendered blind, be as agile as a monstrous fish that had grown up in the dark?
He evaded on instinct, but it was too late, the monstrous fish’s finely scaled tail brutally struck Bi Fang!
In front of him, the Hunting Knife turned into a harbinger of death. At the critical moment, Bi Fang twisted the blade, pressing the flat of the knife against his chest, forcefully bearing the impact.
At that moment, he felt as if he had been hit by a giant log used in sieges, his sternum and ribs making sounds as if they were about to shatter, the force of the impact almost stopping his heart!
Bi Fang was flung to the ground, directly breaking a Stalactite and causing large rocks to fall, some hitting him, others splashing water everywhere.
“Shit!”
Bi Fang retched uncontrollably, as if he was about to cough up blood. But he dared not stay put; cursing under his breath, he quickly struggled to get up from the ground.
He strongly suspected that the ultimate evolutionary path of this creature was to become a Crocodile: it not only looked similar but also behaved in similar ways!
This was no tail, but a battering ram!
The muscles and bones of Humans were far inferior to those of many animals in nature, whose proportion of fast-twitch muscle fibers far exceeded that of Humans, but this was just too much.
In a matter of seconds, the difference in physical capabilities between man and animal was already apparent: Bi Fang was no match for the monster!
The monster, successful in its strike, did not pause at all, instantly turning around and charging mercilessly towards Bi Fang.
Its mouth open wide, it displayed its terrifyingly sharp teeth like daggers. The tongueless creature was excited, making a hissing sound.
Bi Fang wiped the blood from his face, the sound tightening his whole body.
But he had no way to escape. The monster had swapped places with him, and now there was a pool behind Bi Fang; retreating would mean fighting in the water, where his chances of winning were even slimmer!
The monster was already reveling in the joy of devouring its prey, its short webbed limbs bending as it surged forward like lightning.
It leaped, blood dripping from its fangs, the sharp whistling sound it created was like thunder; seeing the flash of lightning and then covering your ears was already too late.
The blurry shadow filled Bi Fang’s entire field of vision, a huge wave of wind pressure approaching, a tide of fear sweeping over his senses, everything turning pitch black as if he heard another beast roaring deep within his mind.
The only thing he managed to do was to throw himself sideways towards the monster!
He absolutely couldn’t let the monster bite his neck!
The snapping sound of teeth clashing together was like invisible needles piercing into Bi Fang’s skull, and those terrifying teeth were like blades—he could even feel a tingling ache as they grazed the surface of his neck.
But!
Bi Fang’s gamble paid off, the monster didn’t bite his neck!
Upon collision, both the monster and Bi Fang tumbled into the puddle, rolling in the water as mud splashed around; the next second, it was Bi Fang who struck first!
He pressed down right on top of the strange fish, putting all his weight on the back of the creature, while his hands firmly held down the fish’s head!
Under his pale skin, Bi Fang’s veins throbbed as violently as if they were serpents scorched by fire.
Straining himself to the limit turned his face red, and his eyes shone brightly.
If it really was as Professor Gu Qingyuan said, like the crocodile, the strange fish should have a powerful bite force, but weak tension, as long as he could hold down its snout, the beast wouldn’t be able to open its mouth!
However, this extremely dangerous moment looked to the audience like sheer madness!
Isn’t the streamer afraid the beast will just open its mouth and snap down in one bite?
Yet, the scene everyone imagined did not occur; the strange fish really couldn’t open its mouth!
Bi Fang’s eyes burned like flaming torches, filled with nothing but excitement as he seemed to gain the upper hand with his strength!
“Well done!” Professor Gu Qingyuan exclaimed excitedly from inside the train compartment.
On the high-speed train, the entire research team was watching the live broadcast, and seeing Bi Fang’s actions, they too excitedly punched the air.
They knew very well that for crocodiles, being able to ride on their back and press down on their jaws meant they had subdued the creature!
In the breeding farms, owners would use this method to restrain crocodiles; for professionals, once you’re on its back, the danger is greatly reduced!
No matter how the crocodile swings its tail left or right, it can’t touch the person on its back.
As for biting, crocodiles’ heads aren’t as flexible as snakes, and their movement is even more limited.
“This kid is too incredible, I really want to recruit him into our team!”
“Right, I feel the same.”
“So young and so talented!”
While everyone was immersed in joy, a scream suddenly erupted from the side; an older female researcher pointed at the screen, and the terror in her eyes sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
“It’s getting up again!”
“What!”
Not just them, at this moment, viewers all over the country involuntarily shouted in alarm.
The strange fish actually stood up!
How is that possible?
Gu Qingyuan’s eyes widened in disbelief, but the next second, he realized his mistake; Tiktaalik, no matter how similar to crocodiles, was ultimately a different species!
He had made an empiricist error!
Damn it, he should have thought of this earlier, he should have foreseen it!
The moment the strange fish appeared standing erect, he should have known!
Now it was too late!
The strange fish suddenly flipped over, pinning Bi Fang beneath it, and the sticky blood dripped once more onto his face as the beast licked its teeth with the remaining half of its tongue, agile as a snake.
But at this moment, the strange fish had no weaknesses!
If Bi Fang dared to reach out to grab it, it would be suicide!
Upon pinning its prey, the strange fish hissed excitedly; within the vast cave, the fish’s cries echoed, as if a hundred, a thousand strange fish were responding to it.
It lowered its head and bit down!