Chapter 67: Mutated Giant Crocodile

Mr. Ya seemed reckless, but in reality, his nerves were stretched taut. His mind was on high alert, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

He reached out and pushed aside a thick layer of silt, only to find more silt underneath.

He kept digging, but after a long while, he had found nothing.

Mr. Ya sighed in relief and said, "Nothing here, bros."

Su Ze, however, watched the live stream with a grim expression. He had noticed a detail.

The riverbed was crawling with Brahma River Crocodiles, yet in the area where Mr. Ya stood, there wasn’t a single one.

Su Ze immediately sent a "Rocket" gift and posted a bullet comment, warning him that the absence of Brahma River Crocodiles in the surrounding area was highly unusual and that he should be careful.

As the top contributor, his bullet comments had special effects that made them stand out. Mr. Ya noticed it right away.

"Our number one fan is so detail-oriented. That makes a lot of sense. I suspect there might really be a monster hiding under this riverbed, so I’ve decided to go ashore first..."

Hearing this, Su Ze felt a bit relieved. ’This guy isn’t completely suicidal after all,’ he thought. ’My warning actually worked.’

The stream’s bullet comments, however, were flooded with "Coward!" and "You’ve changed!"

Mr. Ya coughed and said, "I’ve decided to go ashore first, then use Earth Escape to go back down and see what’s really hiding under the riverbed!"

Su Ze realized he had underestimated Mr. Ya’s capacity for courting death.

He didn’t even know what tier the legendary water monster was, yet he dared to go down and provoke it.

Soon, Mr. Ya was back on shore, finding a spot free of Brahma River Crocodiles to land.

He didn’t keep his audience waiting long. After a short rest, Mr. Ya set off again, using his Earth Escape Skill to tunnel underground.

The stream feed went black, and when it lit up again, he was already underground.

It appeared to be an underground cavern. The surrounding walls were damp earth, and a layer of water had pooled on the ground, nearly reaching his knees.

"Bros, there’s a whole other world under this riverbed!" Mr. Ya said, panning his phone around to show them. This was just one corner of the cavern.

"Let’s go check out what’s ahead."

Mr. Ya hadn’t taken more than a few steps when he rounded a corner and suddenly froze.

Watching the screen on his phone, Su Ze shot to his feet.

In an instant, several layers of bullet comments densely covered the screen.

Su Ze had to turn off the bullet comments to get a clear look again. Then, he sent Mr. Ya a direct message: "Get out now!"

There was nothing else in the frame—just a claw, a claw larger than a person.

The entire screen could only fit this one claw.

One could only imagine the size of the creature this claw belonged to.

A thing like this should be left to Ultraman.

The claw’s shape and structure looked somewhat familiar to Su Ze. After carefully comparing the details, he realized the giant beast’s claw was about eighty or ninety percent similar to that of a Brahma River Crocodile.

’So there’s a giant Brahma River Crocodile living in this cave?!’

Just then, the claw suddenly twitched.

Mr. Ya’s expression changed. "Bros, it’s awake! We’re getting out of here!"

The next moment, he used Earth Escape to retreat back to the surface.

He had barely found his footing on the bank when a huge tremor shook the ground. The water level in Hundred Crocodile Bay dropped drastically.

The surrounding Brahma River Crocodiles fled in a panic, scrambling to get far away.

SPLASH!

A hundred-meter-tall wave erupted from the water’s surface. A massive tail, as long as a telephone pole but much thicker, rose from the depths. Following it, a behemoth slowly emerged.

It was a Brahma River Crocodile of unimaginable size.

Or rather, calling it a Brahma River Crocodile wasn’t quite right. It was impossible to tell what species it was, but it was definitely a relative.

A regular Brahma River Crocodile was already huge, but compared to this giant, it was like a mouse standing next to an elephant.

The giant crocodile’s cold eyes stared straight at Mr. Ya. Then, it suddenly leaped, pouncing toward him.

The moment it landed, it unleashed the Brahma River Crocodile’s signature skill, "Thousandfold Fury." The earth sank into a deep depression, forming a massive crater. A few Brahma River Crocodiles on land that couldn’t escape in time were either killed instantly by the shockwave or left struggling on the ground, their flesh torn open.

Luckily, Mr. Ya reacted quickly, using Earth Escape to dodge the attack range of Thousandfold Fury.

At this point, the bullet comments filled the screen, all discussing the "water monster." Some kindhearted viewers were also reminding Mr. Ya to leave as soon as possible.

Without a doubt, this giant crocodile was the legendary water monster. Its enormous size matched the video footage released all those years ago.

Mr. Ya didn’t dare fool around anymore. He used an Escape Technique to retreat and then ended the live stream.

Su Ze also got up at once and told the crew to halt their advance. If they kept going, they would enter Hundred Crocodile Bay.

Their small boat wouldn’t stand a chance against that giant crocodile.

Not long after the boat stopped, Mr. Ya returned via Water Escape.

Mr. Ya’s face was deathly pale. He collapsed onto the deck and said, "What in the world was that monster?"

Su Ze said, "It’s likely a mutation. The beasts in the Brahma River are the group with the highest probability of undergoing mutant evolution."

In all the beast data Su Ze knew, there was no record of such a giant crocodile. He couldn’t even find anything about it online. This giant crocodile was probably a one-of-a-kind mutation.

Generally speaking, every type of beast and Spiritual Plant has one or more common evolutionary paths.

For example, under normal circumstances, a common squirrel can only evolve into one of three Tier 1 beasts: the Burrowing Mouse, the Flying Rat, or the Iron-shelled Rat.

And these three Tier 1 rat-type beasts also have fixed evolutionary paths. The Burrowing Mouse, for instance, can only evolve into a Tier 2 Treasure Hunting Mouse or a Mountain-penetrating Rat.

However, sometimes, external stimuli and influences can cause a beast to deviate from its inherent evolutionary path and evolve into a unique, new type of beast.

This type of evolution is known as mutant evolution.

A beast that undergoes mutant evolution isn’t necessarily stronger than its original evolutionary path would have made it; it could also be weaker.

But this giant crocodile had clearly become stronger—and not just by a little. A regular Brahma River Crocodile was utterly powerless against it.

"That giant crocodile is absurd!" Mr. Ya exclaimed. "Can you believe it? It’s only a Tier 2 beast."

"Are you sure? Not Tier 3?" Su Ze’s pupils contracted, and his heart began to race.

"I’m sure. When it used its skill just now, the light of evolution flowing across its body was orange," Mr. Ya said with certainty.

Su Ze’s heart skipped a beat.

He had always been quite fond of the Brahma River Crocodile’s Thousandfold Fury skill, but he had found its power too lacking.

But the enhanced version of Thousandfold Fury used by this giant crocodile was anything but weak. In fact, you could say it was terrifyingly strong.

The only problem was, the giant crocodile was too powerful. He and Mr. Ya probably couldn’t handle it on their own.

Mr. Ya spat out a mouthful of sand and grit. "That beast is definitely S-rank!"

’S-rank?’

Su Ze shook his head. He had seen a Tier 2, S-rank Undying Salamander before, but whether in terms of size or destructive power, the Undying Salamander was nowhere near this Mutated Giant Crocodile.

The only thing the Undying Salamander had over the Mutated Giant Crocodile was probably its Self-Healing Ability.

Even if the Mutated Giant Crocodile was S-rank, it was definitely at the very top of that rank.