The pale moonlight cast a silver reflection on the sea, which shattered as the waves surged.
Above the water, a massive black fish swam towards the distance.
It was Xia Qiu, heading for Alabasta.
Xia Qiu chose to attack at night, primarily due to the habits of crocodiles.
Firstly, crocodiles' sleep patterns are very similar to dolphins, employing a unihemispheric slow-wave sleep method. By alternating which half of their brain sleeps, they maintain a degree of alertness.
Most crocodiles rest on the water during the midday sun, spending a small amount of time on land. At night, they mostly stay in the water, but they aren't necessarily asleep; sometimes, you can see their eyes glowing red.
f-Crocodiles were no exception. Especially since they were docile and often used as transportation, their usage typically occurred during the day.
However, crocodiles spend most of their day in the water to keep their skin moist. f-Crocodiles used as transport were exposed to the desert for long journeys during the day.
Therefore, at night, they couldn't possibly be exposed on land again and would definitely rest in the water, returning to the rivers.
f-Crocodiles used as transportation were a minority. Those not used as transport would generally stay in the water at night, like most crocodiles.
Moreover, at night, there were fewer people around, and visibility was poor, greatly reducing the chances of him being discovered.
So, Xia Qiu chose to move out at night, foolproof.
For Xia Qiu, who mastered both unihemispheric slow-wave sleep and fragmented sleep methods, there was no concern about day or night.
Riding the waves, Xia Qiu rapidly approached Alabasta.
His speed was incredible, taking even less time than his journey there. In just over an hour, he neared Alabasta.
In the central part of Lodestar Island, a long river snaked inland, stopping two-thirds of the way.
The river could berth massive warships; even Marine warships could pass through with ease.
Xia Qiu first lingered at the river mouth, trying to find traces of crocodiles.
Crocodiles were divided into freshwater and saltwater species. The latter generally lived in river mouths and coastal areas. If any were present, they should be in the section of the river flowing into the ocean.
There were none.
Xia Qiu found no sign of crocodiles and decided to enter the river.
But before entering, he surfaced to take a breath.
The river had a low salt content, creating a significant osmotic pressure difference. Inhaling it wasn't ideal, especially as his gill filaments would have trouble filtering it.
However, Xia Qiu could store air and didn't need to breathe with his gills for the time being.
He continued deeper.
Xia Qiu continuously emitted sonar waves, sensing his surroundings. As he went deeper, he picked up a few signals.
"Ahead, on the water's surface."
Xia Qiu detected several sonar signals above the river ahead, floating there on the surface.
According to the signal feedback, their lengths ranged from seven to eight meters, with some reaching over ten meters.
"It must be them."
Xia Qiu saw their forms and slowly approached.
They possessed external sensory organs, highly sensitive, capable of detecting changes in water pressure at close range.
So, if he moved too drastically, it would alert them and cause them to leave.
Fortunately, the river was wide, reaching several hundred meters at its widest point, and nearly a kilometer at the mouth where it met the sea.
Xia Qiu slowly approached, inching forward, trying not to draw their attention.
The occasional ripples he created were mistaken for natural river currents.
But as he got closer, the pressure transmitted through the river water increased, yet they still showed no reaction.
Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters...
They continued to float serenely on the water's surface.
Closer.
Xia Qiu continued to approach. Only when he was thirty meters away did these creatures finally react.
*BOOM.*
Xia Qiu accelerated, his massive body parting the river water. The current surged, and the immense water pressure caused them to stir.
They moved towards the riverbanks, but Xia Qiu was already upon them.
Indeed, they were f-Crocodiles, with banana-shaped appendages at the tip of their noses, heads, and tails—three in total, one more than the banana crocodile.
*CRUNCH.*
Xia Qiu lunged directly, biting down on an f-Crocodile attempting to escape.
The crocodile thrashed violently, but it was futile. With Xia Qiu's jaws clamped down, he turned and swam out of the river and into the ocean.
*RUMBLE.*
As Xia Qiu left, he no longer concealed his presence, moving with tremendous force out of the river and into the sea.
Snap.
Xia Qiu's teeth closed, biting off a large chunk of the f-Crocodile's body. The crocodile only twitched a few times before its movements ceased.
The body height was considerable.
The f-Crocodile's body height could even reach one-sixth of its length, which was somewhat unbelievable for a crocodile he understood.
Of course, most crocodiles on Earth have longer tails, while the f-Crocodile's tail was shorter and curved upwards, more than twice its torso.
This resulted in f-Crocodiles around eight to nine meters long having a large torso and a relatively small tail, making them appear even taller.
Xia Qiu ate the f-Crocodile. An f-Crocodile weighed about four to five tons, which was exactly his current meal size.
The taste wasn't very good.
Xia Qiu finished the f-Crocodile, feeling somewhat unsatisfied, but he didn't leave immediately, waiting for the crocodile meat to digest.
After a while, a heat flow appeared, spreading throughout his body.
So much energy!
The energy contained within the f-Crocodile exceeded that of sea fish and land mammals of the same size, by about double.
More energy meant faster evolution.
He desperately wanted to grow limbs, especially strong ones.
These energies dispersed outwards and then slowly disappeared over time.
After the crocodile meat was fully digested, Xia Qiu re-entered the river and found that the crocodiles were still floating in the nearby area.
Xia Qiu slowly approached again. When he was still thirty to forty meters away, he rapidly closed the distance, bit down on an f-Crocodile, and then turned to flee.
He pushed it into the sea before starting to eat.
After eating two f-Crocodiles, Xia Qiu was content.
However, he needed to reduce his feeding frequency from now on. Xia Qiu would avoid their mating and spawning seasons, and instead feed once every two days, with one f-Crocodile per meal being sufficient. He could even lower the frequency further.
One reason was to prevent them from developing a high level of vigilance, and the other was to avoid disrupting their reproduction.
He needed to ensure they wouldn't go extinct within the timeframe he needed to grow his limbs, and that they could still satisfy his regular feeding needs.
Xia Qiu set this timeframe to two years.
He had previously grown a neck one and a half meters long by eating one terrestrial mammal a day for half a year.
The neck was only slightly thinner than the thickest part of his body and was very robust, much thicker than his limbs.
Since the evolution energy from f-Crocodiles was double that of terrestrial mammals, and he was eating one f-Crocodile every two days, he should be able to grow his limbs in a little over a year. Two years was more than enough time.
No need to rush.
Xia Qiu thought, and under the surging heat flow throughout his body, he headed back in the direction he came from.
Fifth update. This month, I will maintain a daily update of three chapters.
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