Chapter 21 - 17: A Cold Learning Machine

Qin Ziwen heard the sound of furious splashing even before he reached the riverbank.

Teams were spread out along the bank. Some were already trying their hand at the hunt, while others were still observing.

The team with the most obvious results had managed to restrain a crocodile with a rope woven from several bedsheets and curtains. They’d tied the other end to a nearby tree, and a group of them were relentlessly prodding the crocodile with long weapons.

GURGLE...

The crocodile thrashed wildly, its jaws gaping as it let out an enraged roar.

Another team had dug a pitfall trap on the bank, but it wasn’t deep enough. The crocodile had eventually escaped, scrambling back into the river in a panic and sending up a huge splash.

On the river’s surface, several crocodiles floated, their cold eyes breaking the water as they watched silently.

A young man in the group said, "We need to go further downstream. If we’re too close, these crocs won’t fall for it."

Huang Tao said, "Let’s go. We’ll head downstream. By the way, this is Zhang Zhen. He used to work at a zoo as a crocodile keeper for a while, so he knows their habits pretty well."

The others immediately began to ask him for advice.

Zhang Zhen said, "It’s hard to form any kind of emotional bond with a crocodile. I’ve always thought of them as cold learning machines. They don’t have complex emotions, and they don’t feel fear. All of their behavioral logic is tied to survival and reproduction.

For example, if you feed one, it learns that coming near you means getting food. After it’s eaten its fill, it will just lie there and digest. As long as you don’t make it feel threatened, it won’t attack you.

When it sees another of its kind killed, it doesn’t get scared, but it does become wary. It will equate us, humans, with a threat."

Zhang Zhen pointed to the crocodiles floating on the surface. "Look. Those crocs watching us from the water are assessing our threat level. They’ll mark this location and us humans as a danger, and they’ll be more cautious when dealing with us."

Qin Ziwen asked, "So does that mean they won’t come ashore?"

Zhang Zhen shook his head. "No. In the short term, at this same spot, using the same method, they won’t be fooled. They’ve already equated this place with danger. But if we move to a different spot, they’ll still be lured by bait. They don’t have a concept like ’humans are using traps to hunt us’ in their heads. They only operate on a simple logic of food, threat, and defending territory."

Qin Ziwen was starting to understand.

The group walked over a hundred meters downstream. Huang Tao took out the leftover crocodile entrails from the last hunt, tied them to a rope, and threw them into the water near the bank.

The red of the blood spread through the water.

Beneath the surface near the bank, a thick shadow slowly approached.

Zheng Yuan, the lookout, gave a hand signal.

The people behind him dragged the rope, pulling the reeking entrails from the water and across the mud.

The shadow paused at the surface, motionless.

"Will it be lured ashore?" Qin Ziwu whispered, squatting next to Zhang Zhen.

"It will. A crocodile’s favorite food is animal organs. When it sees entrails, it’s like a cat seeing a feather wand. It thinks something is trying to steal its food. Just watch."

As soon as he finished speaking, the water’s surface exploded. A massive black shape burst from the river and charged toward the entrails on the bank.

"Pull!"

But they were a step too slow. The dark shape had already clamped down on the entrails and was turning to return to the river.

The rope tied to the organs instantly went taut, and the two men on the other end stumbled forward.

The giant crocodile paused, lying flat. It seemed confused, as if wondering why something was pulling on the food in its mouth.

Its peripheral vision caught sight of the humans nearby. With a violent shake of its head, its thick tail sent a spray of mud flying.

SNAP! The rope broke, and the giant crocodile slipped back into the river.

Zhang Zhen muttered, "We’ll have to try again."

Huang Tao asked in a low voice, "Will it fall for it again?"

Zhang Zhen nodded confidently. "It got a taste of the entrails just now, so it’s had its reward. It will definitely fall for it if we offer more. But this time, we have to pull the bait faster. Drag it up the bank. Once it gets close, we’ll throw the large net over it and then stab it with our weapons."

"Good thing I prepared a few extra pieces of bait. We’ll need two people on the rope this time. We have to be faster."

Qin Ziwen stepped forward. "I’ll do it."

Beside him, Zou Sheng rolled up his sleeves. "Count me in."

The second piece of bait was thrown into the river.

The entrails splashed into the river. Under the surface, the giant crocodile, which hadn’t gone far, flicked its tail and swam back.

Qin Ziwen pulled the line. The organs dragged through the water, across the mud, and snaked up through the grass.

Following the scent, the giant crocodile heaved itself onto the bank, its heavy steps thudding as it chased the entrails.

Qin Ziwen and Zou Sheng increased their pace, pulling the rope faster. The crocodile’s steps faltered for a moment, then it suddenly accelerated.

Qin Ziwen’s eyes were fixed on the giant crocodile. From his perspective, the beast was charging straight for him.

’If the others are too slow with the net, this thing’s going to be right in my face.’

Fortunately, there were no mistakes this time.

The massive net dropped from above, blanketing the giant crocodile. At the same time, four people hidden off to the side pulled on the tail ropes, using the creature’s forward momentum to completely ensnare it.

"Go!"

Everyone swarmed forward, their weapons raining down on the crocodile.

They focused their attacks on its head.

SQUELCH.

Someone got lucky—a spear strike landed squarely in the crocodile’s eye.

ROAR!

The crocodile let out a pained shriek.

"My turn!" a security guard roared from the side, bringing his long-handled axe down hard.

The axe struck the crocodile right in the head.

The connection between the axe head and the wooden handle came loose at that exact moment. With a CRACK, the short-handled axe head was left embedded in the crocodile’s skull.

The blow was so painful it almost reared up.

Qin Ziwen got a clear look—it was a fire axe.

’They must have tied the fire axe to a wooden pole.’

The crocodile struggled frantically, instinctively trying to escape back to the river.

But the others wouldn’t let it have its way. They all grabbed the ropes and pulled back.

A dozen strong men pulled on the ropes at once, yet several were still caught off guard and fell to the ground.

The crocodile’s speed slowed dramatically, however. After a standoff that lasted a dozen or so seconds, its strength began to fade.

Finally, it stopped moving.

Zhang Zhen said, panting heavily, "It’s out of stamina."

Qin Ziwen remembered what Wang Yun had said yesterday about crocodiles having poor stamina. Now he had a much more direct understanding of it.

The entire ordeal had lasted just over two minutes, but that massive burst of energy had almost completely drained the crocodile’s strength.

Even though the crocodile seemed exhausted, no one dared to get close and provoke it.

Instead, they continued to attack with their long weapons from a relatively safe distance.

Finally, the crocodile breathed its last.

The group waited for another ten minutes or so before moving in to butcher the carcass.

On the river’s surface, a pair of cold eyes watched the scene dispassionately as its own kind was carved apart.

This crocodile was slightly larger than the one they had killed at the South Gate, measuring nearly seventeen feet long.

With three more people in the group this time, everyone’s share came out to forty-two pounds of meat—two pounds less than the last hunt.

Even so, everyone was still overjoyed.

After they finished butchering the crocodile, Zhang Zhen’s brow remained tightly furrowed.

Huang Tao nudged his arm and teased, "What’s wrong? Why so glum after we killed the croc?"

Zhang Zhen paused for a moment, then shook his head. "It’s nothing. I was just observing... This one seems to be a female. And the one we killed at the South Gate last time was also a female."

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