The red container door was torn to shreds. Now slightly deformed, the shipping container sat beside the Dreadnoughtus Oasis as several young Dreadnoughtus stepped out from within.
"Aunnng—"
They lowed softly, calling out for their family.
A female Dreadnoughtus poked her head out from the dense jungle, hoping desperately to catch a familiar sight or scent from among them.
The White King hung onto his last breath, likewise watching the little ones step out one by one. But a white silhouette was nowhere to be found.
He lay on the ground with a touch of regret. To him, these little ones represented the hope of the herd. Whichever one grew up to become the leader, he would accept it with grace. It was just that...
He turned his gaze to the side. Carlo was already gone, seemingly having left with his own family.
White was still the best color, after all...
Sizzle...
The burning flames were instantly snuffed out beneath Carlo's massive foot.
Barely ten percent of the vegetation in the Giganotosaurus Oasis remained. If nothing unexpected happened, this place would remain a barren wasteland for quite a long time to come.
Katyusha and Karl wove through the charred trees. Every now and then, they would discover a bone from their personal collections, or some novel human trinket they had picked up before.
Kafka lowered her head to inspect her favorite grass bed. Though it had been ravaged by the fire, it felt surprisingly comfortable to lie on.
Giga Dad stayed right by Carlo's side, helping him extinguish the fire. Unlike Carlo's blunt, violent method of stamping things out, Giga Dad's firefighting skills were refined to a science, as if he had practiced it countless times before.
Sizzle...
As the last ember in the Giganotosaurus habitat was crushed beneath Carlo's foot, it was time for the next step...
Suddenly, Carlo seemed to notice something. He halted his search for the fire, strode directly into the great lake, and waded toward the opposite shore.
Giga Dad picked up the little tool he always kept on hand to help douse flames. Watching the direction Carlo was heading, he followed the larger dinosaur's trajectory and peered into the distance.
In a small clearing, the greenery was still lush. However, a total of five vehicles lay overturned on their sides, surrounded by countless human corpses, each pierced with a gaping hole through either the chest or the abdomen.
Right in the center of the battlefield lay Stego bro, sprawled across the grass without moving an inch.
One of the four bony spikes on his tail was snapped clean off, and noticeable bruising marred both the tip and the middle of his tail. The overlapping plates along his back bore clear bullet holes, and one plate had even shattered right down the middle.
Iron crossbow bolts were still embedded in his flanks, though the blood trailing from them had already dried.
Drip, drop...
Carlo stepped out of the lake, water droplets sliding down his massive thighs and splashing onto the ground.
Looking down at the motionless Stego bro, he slowly lowered his massive frame and rested his head against the other dinosaur's body.
Rest in peace, Stego…
"Aunnng…"
Gramps is still alive.
Feeling the sudden warmth pressing against his flank, Stego bro snapped his eyes open and let out a rather cranky cry. But upon realizing it was Carlo, he relaxed.
Slowly pulling his limbs underneath him, he stood up from the ground. He walked unhurriedly over to the lake, lowered his head, and began to drink.
Badass...
Carlo stared at Stego bro's perfectly steady, unstaggering stride, his entire body freezing for a moment. He then walked over to the herbivore's side and joined him in drinking.
As long as you're okay.
Carlo discreetly double-checked Stego bro's condition. Realizing this wasn't a final burst of energy before death, but rather that the old timer was genuinely full of vim and vigor, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Roar…"
Carlo gave a soft rumble and took the lead, walking back toward where his family was waiting. Stego bro continued to drink for a little longer before following the shoreline, settling down right next to Carlo's territory.
A dull ache throbbed from his swaying tail. Stego bro glanced back, but seeing it was just a bruise with no open wound, he stopped caring.
To prevent any misunderstandings, it must be clarified: the bruise on Stego bro's tail wasn't from getting hit by a car. It was from him chasing down the cars and hammering them into scrap metal.
Heavy exhalation...
Carlo squatted exhaustedly by the lake, staring out toward the far edge of the endless desert as he began to ponder the matter regarding Little White.
Should he give chase? Granted, he could track the target's scent even now, but Giga Dad and the others had already been targeted and nearly captured. If he left...
"Roar—"
Boss, let's go save the little ones.
Carlo snapped out of his thoughts to find Katyusha bounding up right in front of him. She had clearly witnessed the scene of Little White being captured as well.
The hauntingly familiar sight made Carlo daze for a second, memories rushing back in an instant.
"Even though they aren't my family, I am willing to accept them."
"So, you must protect your family well. Don't leave them with nowhere to call home."
Drip...
The remaining water droplets fell from his body. Carlo stood up tall and rumbled back a reply.
"Let's go. Every single one of us."
Just as Katyusha was about to roar in response, Carlo immediately added:
"You protect our family. I will protect all dinosaurs."
It was exactly like that afternoon years ago in the Primeval Ecological Zone, when the Lord of the Primeval Zone had imparted those very words to Katyusha.
He remained entirely unchanged.
"Roar—"
Got it.
By the way, if I tell the Boss right now that I want to raise the little ones until they're big before eating them, will I get beaten up?
Whirring of helicopter rotors...
The rescue team from the Primeval Organization had arrived. Carlo looked up at the Triceratops logo painted on the aircraft floating in the sky. Before turning away, he cast one final look at Katyusha and gave a stern instruction.
"Roar—"
If you run into danger, run. If you can't run, hide behind me. Whatever you can't handle, I will handle.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Stego bro watched Carlo pass by his side once more, the massive commotion accompanied by a light breeze that brushed over his hide.
Running off again after such a short rest? Truly a foolish kid.
Thwack.
An antibiotic dart struck Stego bro's flank, though he didn't feel any different because of it.
A Triceratops with a broken horn limped out of the scorched forest. A juvenile Triceratops, which had been hiding in the water beneath a large lotus leaf for a very long time, emerged and nuzzled against its mother.
The ground vibrated slightly. Not far away, five silhouettes, one massive and four smaller, embarked on their journey once more. Only this time, their objective was absolute.
The Triceratops watched the predators recede into distant black dots, a faint sense of confusion washing over her.
Rumble...
Strange. Why is the ground still shaking?
Tilting her head slightly closer to the earth, the female Triceratops could only feel that this vibration ran deeper, came from much further away, and was far more unstoppable. It wasn't a commotion that could be caused by any living creature.
"Aunnng—"
In the distance, the Dreadnoughtus erupted into a chorus of panicked lowing. Having returned to the herd after a long absence, Dread One and Dread Two were warning the others—an earthquake was coming.
[Attention all units. Seismic monitors indicate an imminent earthquake. All personnel are instructed to evacuate immediately.]
[Repeating…]
The official broadcast of the Primeval Organization within the Mojave Preserve rang out, a rare occurrence.
Indeed, this land was far from stable. According to records, the Mojave Desert had experienced an earthquake that lasted for two full days back in July 2022. And this time, it looked to be coming with even greater fury.
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