Lu Jiamei instinctively grabbed the tent next to her, but the entire wooden plank tilted, on the verge of capsizing.
In the nick of time, Ren Yuanyang yanked on the stolons of the Round Duckweed that were securing the wooden plank. The plank paused for a moment before falling back onto the sea.
At the same time, a system notification sounded.
[Warning: Level 1 evolved crocodile detected. Recommend deploying the triple-strengthened bitter grass for defense...]
Ren Yuanyang didn’t even need the system’s prompt; he immediately sent the stolons of the triple-strengthened bitter grass coiling out.
A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit!
Besides, his opponent was no rabbit, and he was no lion. It was only natural to deploy his strongest asset!
After steadying herself, Lu Jiamei stared at the water in terror.
"What is that thing?"
While controlling the stolons to form a circle around the wooden plank, Ren Yuanyang kept his eyes fixed on the surrounding water.
"It’s a crocodile—an evolved one!"
Lu Jiamei was aghast, but also felt incredibly relieved.
’If Ren Yuanyang hadn’t reacted so quickly and grabbed the capsizing plank, I would’ve definitely fallen into the water!’
’Facing an evolved crocodile in the water... I’d have no chance of survival!’
Just then, the crocodile closed in again. Completely ignoring the aquatic plants that had appeared around the plank, it charged straight for it.
The instant it touched the bitter grass, the long stolons wrapped around it.
The bitter grass’s sudden movement startled the crocodile. It immediately halted its charge and turned to flee!
An evolved crocodile didn’t just rely on instinct; it had become a bit smarter.
But the triple-strengthened bitter grass wasn’t about to let it get away so easily, wrapping tightly around its body.
The crocodile fled quickly, and the bitter grass’s stolons went taut almost instantly!
Ren Yuanyang even felt the shipping container get pulled forward a tiny bit!
’Good thing I have this shipping container. If it were just the old tent, the crocodile would have probably dragged it away!’
Ren Yuanyang felt a sense of relief, then immediately started pulling Lu Jiamei’s plank toward the side of the shipping container.
The crocodile’s struggles grew more violent, and he worried it would damage the plank.
When the crocodile found it couldn’t break free from the aquatic plants’ grip, it gave up trying to escape and instead turned to charge the shipping container.
Ren Yuanyang had been controlling the bitter grass, wrestling with the crocodile. When the crocodile suddenly stopped struggling, it was like one side letting go in a game of tug-of-war.
The stolons, still wrapped around the crocodile, rocketed toward the shipping container, even a fraction faster than the crocodile’s own charge!
The crocodile quickly caught up to Lu Jiamei’s plank. It immediately swung its tail, lashing out at the board!
"Jump over here!" Ren Yuanyang shouted urgently when he saw the crocodile’s move.
The plank and the shipping container had originally been only four meters apart. After Ren Yuanyang pulled on it, the distance was down to about two meters.
Hearing Ren Yuanyang’s words, Lu Jiamei immediately leaped toward the shipping container!
Perhaps because her life was on the line, she ignited her own Cosmos and actually cleared the two-meter gap, landing inside the shipping container.
At the same time, with a CRACK, the wooden plank shattered!
RIIIP! Even the tent was torn open!
Ren Yuanyang steadied Lu Jiamei, who had nearly fallen, while simultaneously shoving a pistol into her hand. He said in a low voice, "When it gets close, shoot its eyes!"
Lu Jiamei immediately nodded, took the pistol, and nervously aimed it in the direction of the approaching crocodile.
After shattering the plank, the crocodile didn’t stop, continuing its charge toward the shipping container.
Ren Yuanyang stared at the churning waves and immediately commanded the bitter grass that had been securing the lumber to converge and entwine the crocodile!
Freed from the bitter grass stolons, the lumber stored outside immediately toppled into the water. The resulting sound distracted the crocodile.
At that moment, the crocodile had been about to charge onto the Duckweed platform where the shipping container rested. It was precisely because it heard the sound of the lumber slapping the water that it paused for a fraction of a second.
Ren Yuanyang seized the opportunity, immediately controlling the double-strengthened bitter grass to wrap around it and pull tight in different directions.
With that, he finally had the crocodile under control!
"Do it now!" Ren Yuanyang shouted. He could feel the crocodile’s immense strength; it would break free from the bitter grass’s hold very soon.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The gunshots rang out almost at the same time as Ren Yuanyang’s shout!
Of the three shots, two hit the crocodile’s eyes. The violently struggling creature instantly went limp like a deflated balloon and slid off the edge of the Round Duckweed!
Seeing the crocodile go still, Lu Jiamei finally let out a breath of relief and sank directly onto the floor of the shipping container.
"Nice shooting!" Ren Yuanyang also let out a breath, praising her with a smile.
Lu Jiamei hurriedly shook her head and handed the pistol back. "At such a close range, I still missed one shot!"
"Under this kind of pressure, just hitting it at all is incredible!" Ren Yuanyang took the pistol and put it away.
Lu Jiamei looked at the crimson stain that hadn’t dispersed on the sea’s surface, worried. "Will this blood attract even more powerful sea creatures?"
Ren Yuanyang nodded slightly. "That’s definitely a risk. We should pull it up here."
The bitter grass’s stolons could only bring things to the surface of the water; to get it into the shipping container, they’d have to do it themselves.
The two of them hauled on the triple-strengthened stolons together, dragging the crocodile’s corpse up. Worried it might not be completely dead, they kept the stolons wrapped tightly around its mouth.
After dragging it up, Ren Yuanyang saw that the crocodile was nearly two and a half meters long. He couldn’t identify the specific species.
Lu Jiamei looked at the crocodile before them, her brow furrowed slightly. "This looks like one of those farmed crocodiles, doesn’t it?"
"A farmed crocodile? Why would anyone farm them?" Ren Yuanyang was a little confused.
Lu Jiamei glanced at him. "Have you never eaten crocodile meat?"
Ren Yuanyang was taken aback. "Can’t say I have!"
Lu Jiamei had a moment of realization. "No wonder. I was lucky enough to try it once at a wedding banquet. The crocodile I saw then was half the size of this one!"
"So, you’re saying it basically delivered a meal to us?" Ren Yuanyang nodded and said.
"But I’m not entirely sure. And even if I were, we don’t have the tools to process it," Lu Jiamei said with a helpless shrug.
"Well, no use rushing it," Ren Yuanyang sighed.
Lu Jiamei’s brow furrowed as she looked at the shattered plank and the damaged tent. "The plank and tent both need repairs before we can use them!"
"Don’t worry about repairs for now," Ren Yuanyang said, shaking his head. "Later, you can open the door on the other end of the container. We’ll split it, one half for each of us, and use these planks to make a partition in the middle. But for now, let’s bring the broken plank and tent inside the container. They might be useful for something else later!"
After this battle, Ren Yuanyang had developed a preliminary level of trust in her.
The fact that Lu Jiamei had immediately returned the pistol after the fight, in particular, had significantly raised his trust in her.
Hearing this, Lu Jiamei’s eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Thank you, Boss!"
’I didn’t expect to be able to move into the shipping container so soon. It’s so much more stable than the tent!’
"No need to be so formal. We’re comrades who have fought side-by-side now. Go ahead and make the partition yourself; use whatever lumber from outside you need," Ren Yuanyang said, gesturing for her to help herself.

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