James clamped his mass down, his jaw muscles surging like a vise. He drove his weight into the struggle, his upper and lower teeth locking together with bone-crushing force on the sub-adult alligator's neck.
CRUNCH!
His elongated sabers sheared through the heavy scales, puncturing deep into the reptile's windpipe.
HISS—
The alligator gave out one final, ragged hiss. Its body went limp, collapsing into the mud like a discarded skin.
Dead already? I expected a longer struggle.
James released his grip, looking at the carcass with a mix of surprise and calculation. From the initial strike to the final breath, it had taken less than thirty seconds—far faster than the Jaguar's kill earlier. The specialized efficiency of a Smilodon's sabers was undeniable.
---
DING!
[Host participated in the hunt of an American Alligator. Gene Points +30.]
[Detection: Nearby subject suitable for Gene Replication — American Alligator.]
[Blood sample collected and added to the System Gene Bank. Spend 30 Gene Points to replicate. See Gene Bank for details.]
---
James pulled up the screen, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the shimmering interface.
---
[1. Oxygen Carrying Enhancement: Obtain underwater breath-holding ability. Cost: 30 Gene Points.]
[2. Immunity Enhancement: Cost: 30 Gene Points.]
---
The first option was a marvel of reptilian engineering. Alligators were master divers, capable of remaining submerged for two to three hours—and up to eight while resting—by triggering a state of extreme bradycardia. By slowing their heart rate to a mere two beats per minute and using the Foramen of Panizza to shunt oxygen only to the brain, they could vanish into the murk. For James, however, lurking in the depths of a swamp was a secondary priority for a land-based apex predator.
The second option was the true evolutionary prize. The system revealed that alligator serum was a literal super-serum containing antibiotic peptides capable of annihilating 23 different strains of bacteria, including MRSA (Staph). These peptides even acted as an antiviral shield against HIV-1 and West Nile Virus. For a Smilodon in the Pleistocene, where a single infected scratch from a rival's claw or a jagged bone could turn septic in the damp, germ-ridden wild, this was the ultimate biological insurance policy.
Immunity is the better investment.
In this era, injuries were an inevitability. If he had to spend Gene Points to disinfect every minor wound, he'd go bankrupt. Furthermore, the burgeoning super-diseases of the Quaternary—plagues like malaria or avian flu carried by migrating species—were silent killers that no amount of muscle could fight.
James also knew a secret many didn't: alligators possess integumentary sense organs on their skin more sensitive than human fingertips and lack sex chromosomes, their gender decided entirely by the temperature of the nest.
This ancient, temperature-tuned resilience had allowed them to survive since the dinosaurs.
As a living fossil that had outlasted the Great Extinction, the alligator's immune system was its greatest weapon for racial longevity. James didn't hesitate.
---
[Spending 30 Gene Points. Commencing Gene Replication!]
---
A wave of intense warmth, like soaking in a geothermal spring, washed through his massive feline frame. It was a deep, soothing sensation that seeped past his fur and settled into his very marrow, rewriting his white blood cells into a reptilian fortress.
---
[DING! Integration complete. Host has merged American Alligator genes. Immunity Enhanced!]
---
--- STATUS ---
[Name]: James
[Species]: Smilodon fatalis (Male)
[Age]: 1 Year
[Strength]: 80 (+)
[Agility]: 75 (+)
[Physique]: 78 (+)
[Gene Points]: 20
[Integrated Genes]: Flat-headed Peccary, Clouded Leopard, Giant Hyena, Shark, American Alligator
[Reinforced Parts]: Skin Hardness (Lv1), Tail (Lv1)
[Added Abilities]: Bite Force (Lv1), Tooth Regeneration (Lv1), Immunity (Lv1)
---
Satisfied, James turned back to the carcass. He joined Mom and Dad in tearing into the fresh meat.
SPLASH!
Across the bank, the other alligators had slid back into the river. They drifted away with cold indifference, completely unbothered by the fact that the cats were devouring their kin just yards away.
Once they had finished the bulk of the meat, the family resumed their trek. They traveled for the remainder of the day as the sun dipped below the horizon. They had officially crossed out of the Mississippi plains.
In the distance, an ancient mountain range loomed against the darkening sky, stretching for thousands of miles.
The Cordillera. They had arrived.