Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 421: Chapter 260: I Like Them Feisty

"Of course I know that, but we’re trying to hunt an American Crocodile. How could I not be nervous?"

The words had barely left her mouth when Lin Chen tossed out a few more pieces of the Green Iguana skeleton.

This time, the portion was clearly about half the size of the last, but it was still enough for the few American Crocodiles to share.

’These scraps are useless just sitting here anyway. Besides, in this twenty-something-degree weather, they’ve already started to rot and stink. I have to get rid of them as soon as possible.’

He tossed out a small amount of bait every few minutes, each portion smaller than the last, all while slowly backing away.

When the bait was down to a single piece, the group of crocodiles finally started to fight.

To heighten the chaos, Lin Chen deliberately tossed a few more rounds of bait nearby, thoroughly stoking the fierce beasts’ bloodlust.

After an American Crocodile that had already missed out on food twice had its meal snatched away for a third time, it snapped, turning its head and clamping down on the victor’s front leg before violently launching into a death roll.

The American Crocodile, with pieces of the Green Iguana’s skeleton still stuck between its teeth, gaped its mouth toward the sky in agony and instinctively retreated.

As it backed away, it exposed the mangled, bloody cross-section of a joint—its entire right forearm was gone.

Meanwhile, the attacker was forcefully chewing its still-warm meal, blood steadily dripping from the corners of its mouth.

"Excellent. This is the one I want. Come on, you’re it!"

Far from being alarmed, Lin Chen was pleased. He waited quietly for the creature to swallow its meal before tossing out another piece of the skeleton.

This time, things were noticeably different.

The other American Crocodiles, which had been enthusiastically fighting over the scraps moments before, actually hesitated, watching wide-eyed as it swallowed the food whole.

Like a triumphant warrior, the hyper-aggressive American Crocodile threw its neck back and opened its mouth as wide as possible, displaying its sharpest weapons to the moon.

After flaunting its victory for a moment, it seemed to catch the scent of blood drifting from the shore and began to swim over brazenly.

"Let’s go."

Lin Chen immediately pulled Erica into a crouch, and they backed away step-by-step until they were about seven or eight meters from the trap.

He had deliberately planted a row of thin bamboo branches here. In the darkness, with the Hat Lamp off, they would completely conceal his silhouette.

But he couldn’t turn the Hat Lamp off, or he wouldn’t be able to see what the American Crocodile was doing.

"You wait here. I’m going to set the lamp down over there."

He had just started to stand up when Erica grabbed him.

Her voice trembled slightly as she linked her arm through his. "L-let’s go together!"

The camera couldn’t see them from this angle. Lin Chen froze for a second but said nothing. He led her to an open space ten meters away, placed the Hat Lamp on the ground, aimed it at the trap, and switched it on. Then, the two of them stealthily returned to their original spot.

He gently patted Erica’s back. He said nothing, but his eyes seemed to say, ’Don’t be afraid. I’m here.’

Knowing he was shy, Erica said nothing, just gave a nearly imperceptible nod and pointed ahead.

In the two minutes they’d been busy, the American Crocodile had followed the trail of bait five meters from the shore. A little farther and it would reach the end of the line.

Lin Chen took a deep breath, unslung the bamboo bow from his shoulder, and pulled a bamboo arrow from his quiver. He nocked the arrow on the string but didn’t rush to draw it.

Staring at his determined profile for a moment, Erica felt her own racing heartbeat begin to slow, and an inexplicable sense of security washed over her.

She wasn’t normally such a timid person. When she guided clients on camping trips in the wild, she was usually the first one to draw her gun at the sign of wolves or other threats; she’d even been given the title of "War Goddess."

’I can’t figure out why I’m so uncharacteristically terrified now,’ she thought. ’Thank goodness Lin is here.’

The Mangrove Forest was exceptionally quiet at night, the only sound being the faint rustling of leaves as the American Crocodile crawled forward.

Watching the target inch closer to the Beast Trap, Lin Chen’s heart rose into his throat. He slowly drew the bowstring, aiming from afar at the location of the Beast Trap.

That’s right—he was aiming at the Beast Trap, not the American Crocodile.

Lacking sufficient knowledge about American Crocodiles, he could only judge based on the behavior of most animals.

Wild animals are extremely sensitive to danger, and he couldn’t guarantee that aiming at the beast wouldn’t give it a sense of crisis, especially with a double trap lying in wait.

As it turned out, he was overthinking things.

After devouring the last piece of the Green Iguana skull, the American Crocodile smacked its jaws, still unsatiated. Its large, vertical pupils were already fixed on the new food just within reach.

It seemed completely unable to comprehend why this delicious piece of meat was sitting behind a strange loop, and it unhesitatingly placed its left foot on the bamboo tube.

Lin Chen had deliberately left a large, empty space in front of the Beast Trap, fearing the American Crocodile might step on the sharp glass and flee before triggering the mechanism.

Perhaps its great victory today had filled the American Crocodile with a powerful confidence. The next second, it thrust its head into the noose, its long snout slowly opening to bite down precisely on the particularly plump piece of bait.

A hit!

In that instant, both Erica’s and Lin Chen’s eyes flew wide open, and they held their breath.

CLICK.

WHIR—

Two distinctly different sounds rang out in quick succession. The two one-meter-wide halves of the Beast Trap snapped shut with lightning speed. Triggered at almost the same instant, the rope noose shot upward, propelled by the immense force that the bent bamboo had stored for so long.