Shen Feng decided to hunt the Dragon King. Before leaving, he brought Lu Kaiwen along, which made Lu Kaiwen very scared. He protested, "Weren't you supposed to let me help with disaster relief? Why do I have to go to the battlefield? I'm a civilian!"
Lu Kaiwen had indeed been doing a commendable job these past few days, leading many survivors to find wild vegetables and identify edible fruits, allowing many to temporarily fill their stomachs and avoid starvation. He hadn't expected to be sent to the battlefield, and to fight the Yangtze Dragon King at that. Lu Kaiwen felt he was being overly valued!
Shen Feng smiled and explained, "Who told you you're a biology student? We need your knowledge to help us understand information about the Yangtze Dragon King. As for the combat, you don't need to participate. Don't worry, we'll protect you."
Hearing this, Lu Kaiwen could only lower his head in resignation. It wasn't that he didn't trust Shen Feng's combat prowess, but he was worried about the dangers of the battlefield. If he were accidentally swallowed by a crocodile, he would truly be dead, with no chance to regret it. However, he couldn't refuse Shen Feng's decision and could only act as the situation unfolded.
Ke Yiming, along with two others, and Shen Feng and Lu Kaiwen, made a total of five people. Although the number seemed small and the combat power insufficient, in reality, both Shen Feng and Ke Yiming were ability users, and dealing with a larger mutated beast was not a major issue.
Shen Feng handed over the team to Yang Chang and Guo Pinming to lead. With these two present, there would be no problems with the team.
However, before leaving, Shen Feng gave Yang Chang one last instruction: "If anything happens in Yuzhou, you must immediately take everyone back to provide support."
Yang Chang nodded in agreement.
On the small boat, Shen Feng casually handed the photo to Lu Kaiwen for viewing.
"Brother, how can we find this crocodile? There's flooding everywhere now, and we have to go to Xiangnan to catch a crocodile. It won't be easy to find, will it?" Shen Feng asked Lu Kaiwen.
Lu Kaiwen looked at the photo and said, "Crocodiles are cold-blooded animals, so they often come ashore to bask in the sun during the day. You can search more along the water's edge."
As soon as Lu Kaiwen finished speaking, Ke Yiming interjected, "Forget it. Satellites have been searching the shore for over two months and haven't found anything. I don't think it's possible to find a crocodile by the water!"
Ke Yiming knew that if the Dragon King could be found on land, satellites would have located it long ago. A sixty or seventy-meter-long crocodile king truly resembled a dragon from legends. Such a large target would not be missed by satellites. Once the Dragon King's existence was detected by satellites, there would be no need for painstaking searches; a missile strike would surely finish it.
Lu Kaiwen heard this and became serious, thinking carefully. If the Dragon King really came ashore to bask in the sun, it wouldn't be in Xiangnan. After all, it had been raining in this area for a month, and even if it wanted to bask in the sun, there was no sun to bask in.
Suddenly, Lu Kaiwen remembered something and quickly picked up the photos, examining them closely. He realized with a flash of insight, "I understand. This crocodile is enormous, with thick fat layers in its body that provide insulation. Moreover, its body has become elongated, and its claws have flattened. It has evolved and completely adapted to aquatic life; it no longer needs to come ashore!"
Shen Feng looked at the colossal creature in the photo, his heart filled with doubt. He asked, "Brother Lu, why is this thing also called a Dragon King? Aren't dragons the rulers of scaly creatures, gods in charge of rain and thunder? Isn't it inappropriate for people to call crocodiles Dragon Kings?"
"It's perfectly appropriate!" Lu Kaiwen stated directly. "Dragons are mythical creatures, but they also have prototypes. Among them, the most plausible prototypes are large pythons and crocodiles. The length data of the 'First Dragon of China' is identical to that of a crocodile, leading some to suspect that crocodiles are the prototypes of dragons. Therefore, it's quite normal for the crocodile king to be called the Dragon King now."
Ke Yiming joined the discussion, "Since this fellow is the Dragon King, if we kill it, won't we be dragon slayers? Will it be like the heroes in games who are sung about by countless people after slaying an evil dragon?"
Shen Feng mercilessly retorted, "Shut up. I already have the title of Dragon Slayer. I even have photos as proof. Back in Jiangyang, I killed a large python about fifty meters long. The title of Dragon Slayer is already mine!"
"It's not like this title can only be held by you. If I kill a Dragon King, I'll have the title too!" Ke Yiming said with a smile.
The five boarded a boat and headed straight for the Xiangnan region. However, after searching for three to four days, they still couldn't find the Dragon King. They hadn't even heard any rumors, let alone seen it with their own eyes.
Ke Yiming felt something was amiss. Logically, someone had spotted the Dragon King in Xiangnan before. How could they see nothing at this time? Had the Dragon King hidden itself? But their movements weren't that significant.
Shen Feng looked at the small boat and asked, "Could it be a problem with the engine? Isn't the Dragon King very intelligent? If it heard the engine sound, it might have hidden, and then we wouldn't be able to find it!"
Ke Yiming pondered. It was indeed possible. This cunning crocodile had intelligence. Perhaps its brain capacity had increased along with its size, allowing it to distinguish what was edible and what was not to be provoked. Therefore, as soon as it saw boats or planes, it would dive into the deep water. The engine sound was indeed loud, and it was very likely that the Dragon King heard it from afar and went into the water.
"Let's switch to wooden boats and take turns rowing. See if we can lure the Dragon King out!" Ke Yiming made a resolute decision.
Lu Kaiwen's face immediately turned pale. If they were on the small boat, they could still escape if they encountered a mutated crocodile. But if they switched to wooden boats, they wouldn't be able to run even if they wanted to. Rowing speed was nowhere near fast enough.
Lu Kaiwen immediately wanted to object, but the others all agreed to row. He didn't have the power to veto their decision, so his objection was useless. In the end, he followed the others and switched to a small wooden boat, wearing raincoats and searching for the mutated crocodile in the heavy rain.
Another two days passed, and they still hadn't seen the mutated crocodile. By then, Shen Feng was considering returning. It was better to save people than to waste time here.
However, at this moment, news came from Xiangnan: someone had been attacked by the Dongting Lake. Three people went to the lake to set traps, and two of them were eaten by a Dragon King that suddenly emerged. The remaining person ran home without looking back and hid, refusing to go near Dongting Lake again.
Thus, the five immediately switched to a small boat and headed towards Dongting Lake. Rowing a small boat was no longer feasible; the speed was too slow. By the time they reached Dongting Lake, the Dragon King might have already escaped.
When the five arrived at the edge of Dongting Lake, they found the spot where the fishermen had been attacked. Next, they began to discuss how to lure the Dragon King out.
Shen Feng pointed at Ke Yiming and said, "You initiated this matter, so you be the bait. Don't worry, I'll be behind you with a sniper rifle, and I can take it down with one shot. Go!"
Ke Yiming was also a bit apprehensive. If he were bitten by a seventy-meter Dragon King, he might not be able to withstand it. So, he looked at Lu Kaiwen and said, "Brother Lu, you know a lot about crocodile behavior. I think you'd be the most suitable to act as bait to lure the Dragon King out."
Lu Kaiwen was immediately anxious upon hearing this and questioned, "Is this how you treat researchers? It's already good enough that I'm accompanying you to the battlefield, and now you want me to be bait? Can I even escape? I think Brother Ke's two subordinates should be the bait!"
Lu Kaiwen's reasoning was sound. As a civilian, it was already commendable for him to come along. If he were eaten while acting as bait, it would be a pointless loss of talent.
Ke Yiming's two subordinates also refused, shaking their heads repeatedly and earnestly saying, "No, no, this matter should be handled by Mr. Shen Feng. Everyone knows Mr. Shen's abilities. He's like a strong reed in the wind, a wind god! His speed is the best in the world, unmatched. Mr. Shen should handle this."
At this point, the matter of luring the Dragon King seemed to have reached a deadlock, with no one willing to be the bait.
Lu Kaiwen's idea was better: "Why do we have to have someone act as bait? Crocodiles don't only eat humans. We can catch some animals and place them on the shore, wouldn't that suffice? What do you all think?"
"That's a good idea. I'll go catch some animals. You guys wait here," Shen Feng quickly said.
With floods everywhere, animals, like humans, didn't want to die and were all fleeing towards the mountains. Shen Feng casually found a mountain and saw wild deer on it. These were deer that hadn't mutated, but they were as large as donkeys. Shen Feng used "As the Wind Follows" to approach them quickly, and the wild deer immediately began to flee.
However, at that moment, Shen Feng instantly unleashed "Furious Wind." A gust of wind sliced through, and the wild deer immediately fell to the ground.
Next, Shen Feng brought the wild deer back. Ke Yiming inserted a tracker into the wild deer's body to prevent losing track of the Dragon King if it escaped. Then, the five waited by the shore for the Dragon King to appear. They waited from day to night. The rain kept falling, and everyone's clothes were soaked. Even with raincoats, they couldn't keep out the pervasive rain.
As night fell, everyone couldn't help but feel sleepy. If they could play cards, they wouldn't be so exhausted. It was simply too boring, staring intently at the murky lake water, holding large-caliber sniper rifles. From day to night, it was simply torture.
Shen Feng felt a bit drowsy and closed his eyes to ponder, but in reality, he began to doze off. He thought, "There are five people here. It shouldn't be a big problem if I take a short nap now, right?"
Shen Feng closed his eyes with the thought that it wouldn't matter if he wasn't there. Ke Yiming and the others had the same idea: since there were five people watching, it should be fine if they slept for a while.
The five were lying behind rocks, quietly observing the movements in the water. But as night fell, all five gradually fell asleep, entrusting their hopes to others.
Suddenly, the water in Dongting Lake became pitch black, and a dark green star suddenly appeared. The Yangtze Dragon King showed itself at this moment.
"Splash," the Yangtze Dragon King opened its massive mouth, creating a splash of water. In a moment, it swallowed the wild deer on the shore, then turned and swam back, showing no hesitation.
Shen Feng heard the sound of water and woke up from his dream. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw that the wild deer by the water had disappeared. Without hesitation, he fired a shot. "Bang," the gunshot echoed through the heavy rain, waking his other sleeping companions.
Ke Yiming and the others woke up and quickly asked, "Where's the Dragon King? Where's the Dragon King? Did it appear?"
Shen Feng's face was slightly flushed. In fact, he had also been asleep just now. Fortunately, it was very dark, so no one noticed his unusual complexion.
Shen Feng's eyes darted around, and he began to use Zhu Bajie's ultimate move – shifting the blame.
"What's going on with you guys? Didn't we agree to watch the lake together? How come only I reacted in the end? You all weren't asleep, were you?" Shen Feng asked knowingly, easily absolving himself of responsibility.
Ke Yiming quickly apologized and said earnestly, "Shen Feng, I'm truly sorry. We were all too tired. We haven't slept well these past few days. We were lying on the rocks all day and couldn't help but fall asleep. It's my fault."
Lu Kaiwen woke up and quickly asked, "Quickly check the tracker. Since we didn't catch the Dragon King on the spot, let's track it."
Ke Yiming quickly took out the tracker's display screen and began to watch. He found that the Dragon King was still roaming in Dongting Lake, seemingly not in a hurry at all.
"Let's go, let's go, let's hurry and chase it! We can't let this thing escape!" Ke Yiming called out to everyone to quickly get on the small boat, start the engine, and pursue the direction indicated by the tracker.
The battle was about to begin. Ke Yiming distributed life jackets to everyone. Lu Kaiwen quickly put one on, thinking that it would at least save his life if he fell into the water.
However, Shen Feng refused the life jacket. He patted the dozens of pounds of paraglider on his back and said, "I have this. I can take to the sky at a crucial moment."