novelden Chapter 9 Crossing the River
Chapter 9 Crossing the River
Enter the water slightly upstream from here.
It cuts at an angle by taking advantage of the direction of the water flow.
Pass quickly through the section where the current accelerates, and finally land on the opposite bank slightly upstream.
The entire route avoids the hippo territory downstream and also avoids potential blind spots in the upstream reef area.
Most importantly, reduce the time spent in the water.
Nile crocodiles hunt not by sight, but by sensing the vibrations of the water flow.
The more the prey thrashes in the water, the bigger the waves it creates, and the more accurately the crocodile can lock onto it.
Therefore, there is only one key to crossing the river—be steady, don't move around, and swim across at a steady speed.
This principle sounds simple, but for a lion that instinctively avoids water, it requires immense willpower to put it into practice.
Chen Fei channeled the heat from his lower abdomen and slowly covered his right forepaw.
He looked at his paws and thought for a moment.
If the heat could cover all four limbs at the same time, the swimming speed would be more than twice as fast as it is now, and the energy consumption after getting ashore would be much less.
Unfortunately, we are still far from that point.
At 401 points, I haven't even touched the threshold of heat flow in my limbs.
Let's cross the river first.
"Meow."
Chen Fei gave a low growl, signaling to Sair to cut diagonally to the right after entering the water, while simultaneously patting Big Head, who was standing motionless beside him.
Big Head was staring at the river with a look of utter disbelief.
His four legs were all straight, and his tail was tucked tightly between his legs, making him look like a cat that had been suddenly pulled out of its warm nest and thrown into a basin of cold water.
Chen Fei patted him again, and Da Tou's body trembled, his feet moved half a step, and then he stopped.
Sel had already gone underwater up to his belly. He glanced back, his eyes filled with urging and a hint of heartache.
Chen Fei did not soften his heart.
He raised his hind leg and delivered a solid kick to Big Head.
Big Head stumbled, its front paws plunging into the river, letting out a scream. Then it thrashed about with its limbs until it was completely submerged.
Water splashed all over Chen Fei's face.
Chen Fei narrowed his eyes and quickly followed him into the water.
The river water was colder than he had expected, so cold that he let out a suppressed groan.
The fur began to absorb water the moment it entered the water, and it sagged heavily. Suddenly, the limbs became much more strained than usual.
This is why lions don't like to go into the water.
It's not that I can't swim, it's just that swimming is too awkward, too strenuous, and too unbecoming of a king of the grasslands.
Chen Fei suppressed his instinctive repulsion and forced his limbs to move at a steady pace, keeping his body stable and avoiding creating unnecessary ripples.
Ahead, Sel swam steadily, with only his head and back above the water, his tail slightly raised like a slender rudder.
Behind him, Big Head was not so calm.
He thrashed about in the water like a pot of boiling dumplings, his four legs paddling wildly at the same time, splashing water bigger than his entire body, while he let out a series of intermittent howls, the tone of which sounded both like a cry for help and an accusation to the world of who kicked him into the water.
Chen Fei clenched his teeth.
Big Head, can you just shut up for a second?
The way you splash water like that will alert crocodiles within a 500-meter radius to the presence of a living creature crossing the river.
He turned around and growled.
Big Head paused for a moment, and the frequency of his four legs decreased slightly, but it was still chaotic, still creating water ripples that he shouldn't have been creating.
Helpless, Chen Fei had no choice but to swim faster to Da Tou's side, block him with his body, and force him to follow his rhythm.
Just then, Chen Fei's hearing picked up on something unusual.
underwater.
Something is moving.
It wasn't flowing water; flowing water is uniform white noise. This sound, however, was intermittent, directional, displacement-like, like something very large slowly adjusting its direction.
Chen Fei's heart skipped a beat.
He didn't stop, nor did he speed up; he forced himself to maintain the original frequency while straining his ears to precisely track the location of the sound.
Downstream direction.
The distance is approximately fifteen to twenty meters.
It's approaching, but not very fast.
Chen Fei pressed the heat to his right front paw and simultaneously shifted his body to the side, moving the river crossing route two meters upstream.
Just these two meters are enough.
A key characteristic of crocodile ambushes is that they anticipate the movement of their prey and take up an ambush position in advance, rather than chasing directly.
If it changes course before completing its interception, it will have to readjust.
Readjustment takes time.
Chen Fei doesn't need to outrun the crocodile.
He just needs to catch the crocodile off guard.
Ahead, the mudflats on the opposite bank were clearly visible. Clumps of low-lying aquatic plants grew on the yellowish-brown riverbank, and several egrets stood in the shallow water, lazily preening their feathers with their beaks.
The egrets did not fly.
This indicates that there are no large predators lying in ambush on the other side.
Chen Fei added one last push, kicking the water with his hind legs, the heat flowing outwards along each claw tip of his right forepaw, creating a more powerful propulsion in the water than usual.
My feet touched the mud.
He suddenly stood up, water gushing down his fur, and waded across the muddy bank to the other side. He turned and grabbed Big Head by the scruff of his neck, dragging him out of the shallow water.
Big Head lay sprawled on the mudflat, soaked to the bone, looking like a drowned rat that had been drenched in the rain all night.
He raised his head blankly, looked at Chen Fei, then at the opposite bank of the river, and let out a weak groan.
Sel followed her ashore, shook her head, splashing water everywhere, then turned around and quietly looked at the opposite bank of the river.
The direction of the old territory.
At that moment, a very low, childlike cry could be faintly heard from afar.
The wind was blowing right across the river, carrying the sound to her ears.
Sel stood there, motionless, his tail slowly drooping down.
Chen Fei stood beside her without urging her.
He heard it too.
He knew who it was.
But there's nothing we can do.
The cruelty of the grasslands never gives you a warning, never gives you time to prepare, and never cares whether you are willing to accept it or not.
He stuck out his tongue and licked the side of Sel's front leg.
Sel lowered his head and gently rubbed his forehead against Chen Fei's neck and back, then took a deep breath and turned his gaze away from the opposite bank.
Chen Fei then raised his head and looked around at the isolated island.
The vegetation on the island is denser than on the opposite bank. Near the riverbank is a patch of low-lying aquatic plants, and further in, the terrain is slightly higher, with a few crooked acacia trees. Further in, there is a thicket of bushes that obscures the view.
The wind was blowing from the direction of the bushes.
The smell of bison was strong, close, and plentiful.
There is another smell.
Chen Fei's nose tightened slightly.
It's not a bison, not a crocodile, and not a hippopotamus.
It was a scent he was familiar with but couldn't quite place where he had smelled it before. It carried a hint of feline glandular secretions, but was lighter, more elusive, and more adept at drifting among the grass and trees than the scent of a lion.
He twitched his nose and sniffed again.
Something in the bushes is watching them.
[Host: Chen Fei]
[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]
[Energy Points: 408↑]