Suming lay on the railing of the platform, stretching his head to look into the water.
In the light of the Fengshui Pavilion, he saw that on the surface of the lake where Wang Hao had just stepped down, ripples formed, and a large head emerged—it was the big-headed catfish from the day.
After the big-headed catfish came to the surface, it floated there listlessly, half of its body resting on the stone steps, with its tail twitching feebly from time to time, and it bore a startling wound, as if bitten viciously by some ferocious animal!
This fellow wasn't here for food, but for help!
Suming quickly and quietly released a stream of spiritual power, feeling its life force had weakened much since the day, possibly dying at any moment.
He hurriedly channeled the spiritual power toward it, and stimulated by the spiritual power, the big-headed catfish's life force immediately showed signs of recovery.
However, it had sustained a very serious injury; even a chunk of its tail had been bitten off. Almost a fatal wound for it, for the time being, it could only cling to life and was unable to move much.
Suming had no choice but to fish the big-head out and keep it in a large water tank until it healed before returning it to the lake.
"Something's not right!" Wang Hao shook his head repeatedly at the side.
"What's not right? Look at how timid you are, it's just a catfish."
Suming said this, but he also found it strange in his heart. There were hardly any fish in the lake, and this nearly half-a-meter-long catfish was practically the king of the lake. Moreover, with its large mouth eating all around, it was one of the more ferocious fresh-water fish. Even if there were small crayfish and crabs, they were the ones bullied by the catfish. What could have injured it like this?
But Wang Hao was very certain, "It's not this fish; the thing that bumped into my foot just now was sharp and hard!"
As if to confirm Wang Hao's words, not far away, more ripples surged on the water surface, but the splash was several times larger than when the catfish had appeared.
A pointed head emerged from the ripples, with a beak shaped like a hawk's hook, and its round eyes on both sides gleamed with a fierce light.
A section of its back also rose above the water, with spine-like bony protrusions that appeared as ferocious as armor.
"Crocodile?" Suming jumped in fright, for the creature looked incredibly like a crocodile.
But he quickly realized that was ridiculous. If there were crocodiles here, there would have been a disaster long ago!
Wang Hao exclaimed, "Damn, it's a crocodile turtle!"
A crocodile turtle, as the name suggests, is a turtle that looks like a crocodile. Crocodile turtles have a strange and fearsome appearance, one of the oldest reptiles, witnesses of the dinosaur era.
Crocodile turtles have strong survival abilities, tolerate pollution well, reproduce effectively, and have a large appetite. Additionally, they're extremely aggressive with few natural enemies, often causing cataclysmic consequences to the local aquatic biodiversity, particularly devastating to the freshwater ecology of Huaxia Country.
Just one crocodile turtle can lead to a complete wipeout of a fish pond, and an established group of crocodile turtles can even severely damage the entire fish ecology of a freshwater lake! The authorities had repeatedly declared the release of crocodile turtles to be illegal.
Suming suddenly realized why there were hardly any fish in the lake. With this creature around, there weren't enough fish to satisfy its hunger! It had become the lake bully.
This creature wasn't native to Huaxia Country, but originated from the Americas. This crocodile turtle must have been released by some 'kind-hearted tourists'. As a result, the lake's fish had been mostly eaten up, and the crocodile turtle rose to become the unchallenged ruler of the lake.
"Bloody tourists!" Suming rolled his eyes in frustration. If it weren't for this crocodile turtle, why would there be so few fish in the small lake? He had even considered stocking some young fish, but luckily, he hadn't. With this menace here, any number would've been in vain.
Moreover, crocodile turtles aren't worth much, sold by weight, a few dozen bucks per kilo. Although this crocodile turtle was big, at best, it might only be worth a few thousand bucks.
Suming guessed the creature had hidden in a cave or in the lakebed silt during the day, which was why he hadn't detected it with his spiritual power.
That crocodile turtle surfaced, and seeing the big-headed catfish rescued, its food source gone, it didn't linger. It cast a vicious glance at Suming and then burbled a couple of bubbles before slowly sinking back into the water.
No matter how fierce the crocodile turtle was, it was no match for humans. Its ability to bully and dominate in this lake relied on its policy of preying on the weak and fearing the strong, adjusting its behavior according to the situation!
"Damn it, trying to run!" The crocodile turtle hadn't expected to meet someone fiercer that day. Wang Hao, carrying a long bamboo pole, ran out from the Fengshui Pavilion without a word and swung it down.
Crack! A crisp sound on the water's surface, splashing water everywhere!
Following that, a crisp snap echoed, as the bamboo pole, thick as a child's arm, was unexpectedly bitten in half by the alligator turtle, which then slowly sank into the water.
Wang Hao, refusing to give up, prodded the water with the remaining half of the bamboo pole, but the lake surface was so vast—how could he possibly prod the fleeing alligator turtle?
Summoning his thoughts, Suming quickly directed a stream of spiritual power into the water.
As soon as the spiritual power touched the water, it immediately located the alligator turtle. The creature, having submerged itself, probably felt safe and hadn't gone far, just lying motionless at the bottom of the river.
The spiritual power firmly locked onto the alligator turtle, which immediately shuddered as if electrocuted. Its crocodile-like tail thrashed powerfully, trying to break free from Suming's control.
Suming also felt the connection to his spiritual power violently shaking. The alligator turtle, being a cold-blooded animal, was nothing like monkeys and cats that were easier to communicate with; it was naturally deceitful and fierce, resistant to discipline.
Furthermore, at this moment Suming held no 'good intentions;' his intentions were full of 'malice,' so the alligator turtle would definitely resist desperately!
The friend of animals had become the enemy of the alligator turtle. The spiritual power connection shook violently, and in just a few seconds, stars danced before Suming's eyes, signaling he could lose control at any moment.
On the bank, Wang Hao kept poking around with a bamboo pole, several times nearly prodding the alligator turtle, which sensing danger, struggled and tried to escape into the distance.
Suming's scalp tingled, and in his mind, he heard a slight 'crack' as the spiritual power connection was completely broken by the alligator turtle.
He hurriedly spread his spiritual power like a net in the water, hoping to regain control of the alligator turtle.
But the alligator turtle was far more formidable than a catfish, breaking free from the control of spiritual power after several struggles.
After breaking free from the spiritual power control several times in a row, the alligator turtle apparently felt that the person ashore couldn't harm it, and instead of fleeing, it brazenly laid at the bottom of the lake, even provocatively shaking its tail in the direction of Suming.
On the bank, Wang Hao was still irritatingly prodding with the bamboo pole. Suming waved his hand, "Wang, stop poking. We'll come back to deal with it in a couple of days!"
"This creature can bite people; it's a menace in the lake," Wang Hao said.
"Give me a few days to prepare, find some fishing nets or something, then we'll come back to handle it!"
Suming knew all too well that if they let this alligator turtle roam the lake, it would be very dangerous. Eating fish was one thing, but biting a person would be a major problem.
From the glimpse of its shell when it surfaced, the creature appeared to be close to a meter long!
Alligator turtles are naturally ferocious; such a big one could bite off a person's wrist. With this creature in the lake, what was the point in running a boating business? If a tourist got bitten while boating, he couldn't afford the compensation even if he went bankrupt!
But now that the alligator turtle was on guard, and with the vast lake surface, capturing it would not be an easy task.
"Bask in your arrogance for a few more days. Once my spiritual power is stronger, I'll come back to capture you!" Suming fiercely gestured a middle finger at the alligator turtle in the water,
Suming had now realized that generally, the larger and smarter the animal, the harder it was to control.
Some animals, like macaques, although smart and playful, aren't particularly vicious and can be managed more easily. But others, naturally more aggressive and cunning, like alligator turtles, are troublemakers.
His current level of spiritual power wasn't enough to handle this one.
Fortunately, as long as he kept using the Friend of Animals ability, his spiritual power would gradually increase. Working at the zoo, he had plenty of opportunities to use it. As long as the creature didn't escape, he would inevitably catch it one day.
"Alright, we'll deal with it next time!" Wang Hao said fiercely.
…
The next morning, the phone at the Whisperwind Pavilion rang.
"Su there? This is Peng Qing. I'm going to feed the animals at ten in the morning, I'll wait for you at the warehouse."
"Oh, I know, Mr. Peng. I'll be right there."