Chapter 148: Here They Come, Starting to Catch Crocodiles
"They can't handle it, but the authorities can," Liang Xiu replied calmly.
When the toads appeared, the authorities caught a few and processed them to ensure that humans wouldn't be poisoned after eating them.
Moreover, they only started selling them after the taste was refined.
Therefore, catching one toad could earn you a can of toad meat.
Meng Ci was speechless.
When people are hungry enough, they will eat anything.
"Got it, got it."
On the other side, a group of people had caught a water snake and were shouting excitedly.
Meng Ci watched from a distance; the snake was about five meters long and thicker than his wrist.
No wonder it was a mutated water snake.
Meng Ci imagined what a can of water snake might look like and almost vomited.
At this rate, during the zombie era, would the authorities even make cans of zombie meat for people to eat?
They probably wouldn't go so far as to eat human zombies, but there were many animal zombies that could be tried.
The group used forks to pin down the water snake and then stuffed it into a large bag, leaving with their prize, grinning.
Seeing the water snake caught, others dispersed in disappointment, looking for other prey.
Meanwhile, three people who had fallen into the water while trying to catch toads struggled, and two managed to climb onto the inflatable boat.
"Brother, save me! Save me!"
The remaining person was struggling in the water.
But he must have hit something, as his leg was cut, and blood trickled out.
The two on the boat steered over and extended a paddle.
"Hold on tight."
The man quickly grabbed the paddle, his panic subsiding.
"Here I come!"
Meng Ci was still watching the rescue when he suddenly heard Shen Que's voice and looked toward the water.
The floodwater was murky, but he could still vaguely see a dark shadow slowly approaching the surface, already more than three meters long.
"Pull him up quickly!" Meng Ci couldn't help shouting at the three men.
Liang Xiu had already readied his compound bow, aiming at the shadow.
Those on the boat, hearing this, also saw the dark shape in the water.
"It's a crocodile, it's a crocodile."
The water snake and the crocodile had different body sizes, so their shadows in the water were naturally different.
Others, upon hearing this, quickly drove their boats away.
The man in the water, hearing this, frantically splashed.
"Save, save me!"
In his haste, the man's grip slipped, and he accidentally let go of the paddle.
The two on the boat didn't abandon their companion and extended the paddle again. Just as the man grabbed it, the shadow moved faster, growing larger.
Splash!
The man's cries for help were cut short as he was dragged under by the shadow.
He flailed his arms, resurfacing briefly to shout, but was quickly pulled back under.
Then, blood began to float to the surface.
The man in the water fell silent.
Seeing no hope of saving their companion, the two decided not to risk their own lives and quickly drove the boat away.
"What do we do now?"
Meng Ci, seeing the shadow hadn't resurfaced for a long time, wondered if the crocodile, having just emerged, was about to escape.
"We can lure it out," Liang Xiu suggested.
He then took a can of rat meat from a bag on the boat, opened it, and threw it into the water.
However, since the rats had been processed, the blood smell wasn't strong enough to attract the crocodile.
Liang Xiu had only canned meat to attract the crocodile, and it seemed ineffective. But he didn't give up, thinking that quantity might lead to quality, so he took out a few more cans, intending to open and throw them into the water.
Meng Ci quickly stopped him.
"Uncle Liang, I have a rabbit. Why don't we try using it?"
If it were just cans of cat food, how many would we need to throw?
However, this rabbit was one of several that had been culled during the move due to their excessive numbers; its blood had not yet drained.
When it was placed in the spatial device, it retained some warmth when taken out.
Liang Xiu knew that Meng Ci kept many rabbits, so he did not suspect anything.
Still, he was puzzled as to why Meng Ci would bring rabbits to catch a crocodile.
Could it be that he had already thought of using rabbits to lure the crocodile?
Then why did he ask with such doubt earlier?
Unable to figure it out, Liang Xiu stopped thinking about it and simply took his bow and arrow, aiming at the rabbit.
Meng Ci first tied a rope around the rabbit, securing one end to the oar, then slit its throat.
The blood dripped into the water, and the scent of blood quickly spread.
Bang.
The rabbit was thrown into the water.
Soon, the black shadow that had disappeared reappeared.
The three men were excited but remained silent.
Splash.
Seeing the crocodile about to bite the rabbit, Meng Ci quickly raised the oar high.
The crocodile, chasing the rabbit, leaped out of the water by more than a meter.
Whoosh!
Seizing the moment, Shen Que released an arrow from his compound bow, striking the crocodile's neck.
With great force and close range, the arrow penetrated a few centimeters into the crocodile's skin.
Feeling the pain, the crocodile roared and charged toward Meng Ci's boat.
Meng Ci drove the boat away at high speed, while Shen Que stood steadily on the boat, drawing his compound bow again.
As the crocodile opened its mouth to bite the boat once more, whoosh, an arrow shot out and pierced the crocodile's mouth.
Sensing something amiss, the crocodile turned to leave.
Not far behind, Liang Xiu, seeing the crocodile turn, stopped the boat and drew his bow.
Whoosh, the arrow struck the crocodile's eye.
Although Liang Xiu did not use a flaming arrow, before the apocalypse, he had a dartboard in his study. During long office hours, when his back ached, he would stand up and throw darts to stretch his muscles.
While archery and throwing darts are different, accuracy was not a significant issue.
The crocodile was now thoroughly enraged. It thrashed in the water, dislodging the arrows from its eye and mouth.
The eye only bled a little, not affecting the crocodile's speed.
Then the crocodile swam swiftly toward Liang Xiu.
Meng Ci observed that the crocodile was not exceptionally long, just over nine meters.
"Uncle Liang, let's go."
Liang Xiu put down the oar and quickly turned the boat around.
Meng Ci drove the boat in a circle, seeing the crocodile in a rage and about to leave.
Meng Ci couldn't let it go. He deliberately approached the crocodile, using the rabbit to continue luring it, further enraging the crocodile before speeding away.
A pre-made rope was placed on the boat. As they neared Liang Xiu, Meng Ci threw one end to him, and they turned in unison.
The rope was made of nylon and formed a sturdy net.
Approaching the crocodile, they stretched the rope, ensnaring its mouth.
They secured the rope to the seat board and accelerated away.
The two boats, one on each side, pulled the crocodile backward.
No matter how angry the crocodile was, it could not break free.
The boats continued westward, all the way to the path leading up West Mountain. The two boats did not stop but instead sped onto the shore.
The crocodile, trapped in the net, was dragged onto land.