Infinite Hunter

Chapter 16 Poaching

The giant shark regards the waters near Hokkaido as its hunting ground. This area has a considerable amount of plankton and small fish and shrimps that feed on them, and of course a large number of higher-level fish and whales. The giant shark hunts not only whales, but sometimes it also attacks fishing boats to eat the fish and squid that have escaped from the capture - it is a loss-making business to hunt these fish and squid separately, but it is another matter if humans gather them together.

So fishing boats are actually cans of food. Just opening one at a time is enough for Cheng Yijiu to have a full meal. The best part is that due to the pressure of life, these unfortunate fishermen have to go out to sea. Cheng Yijiu's main target is whaling ships. If a whaling ship goes out to sea to hunt whales, basically don't think about returning. Cheng Yijiu will try to sink every ship that competes with him for food.

He had sunk four Japanese whaling vessels, killing over twenty crew members, and destroyed more than ten Hokkaido fishing boats, leaving only three fishermen alive—though their lives might be worse than death... Giant sharks had become a scourge for the Hokkaido fishing grounds. It wasn't just Japanese fishermen; the Sea of ​​Okhotsk also had vessels from Russian fishing companies from the Far East operating there. Cheng Yijiu had sunk two medium-sized fishing boats there, leaving only four survivors.

This is quite frustrating. The megalodon spotted in Hokkaido is likely the shark with the most fatalities in history. It's estimated that over 50 people have died at its hands—making it a renowned killer shark. Megalodons in the Atlantic Ocean have a long history of killing people. The two sharks found so far have both killed numerous people, making this shark a truly dangerous species.

No one thought that these two sharks were actually one...

Even the most endangered sharks might be the target of some Japanese and Russian fishermen. The worst that could happen is they could claim it was an accidental injury and get a prison sentence for a while—why would a fisherman at sea fear jail? Upon release, they'd have resettlement funds and a promising future. And if only the abbot were to step down, any problem could be solved! Without hesitation, the Japanese fishermen gathered at the izakaya to discuss what to do. The president would undoubtedly know, but he wouldn't be there.

How to kill a giant shark over twenty meters long? That was a question, but not a difficult one. "Throw dynamite! As long as we can get some, lure it out and drop it, we can use it as a depth charge to destroy the submarine!" The fishermen present were all seasoned fishermen, and they knew how to bomb fish. The problem lay with the dynamite. Fortunately, there were plenty of underworld accomplices here. The Fishermen's Association, like the Farmers' Association, was a Japanese, unorthodox, underworld organization.

And since they were in Hokkaido, getting some explosives through Russian channels wouldn't be a problem—not to mention mining explosives, even military-grade explosives would be no problem. How much explosives would it take to kill a giant shark? Less than fifty grams... There were several options. One option was to place the explosives inside specially prepared "meat" for sharks, waiting for them to detonate after the shark swallowed it. The other option was to lure the shark out, have a brave man approach, and drop the explosives. The explosives, contained in a specially designed, sinking drum, would then explode like a depth charge on a submarine, killing the shark.

Since they got fifty kilograms of explosives from the Russians, they decided to take one each.

Megalodons love to eat whale meat, and sure enough, the fishing associations in Hokkaido actually have whale meat in stock. These days, living conditions are improving, especially with Japan's economic boom, and fewer and fewer people are eating whale meat. Why eat whale meat when you can eat beef? They can also mix other fish meat with collected beef fat, glue it together into a large bag, and give it to the giant shark to devour. Inside this large piece of meat, they stuff explosives, using a collision-timed fuse and a chemical fuse that the Russians got after hearing about the use of explosives. As long as the shark swallows it, even if there's no collision, the explosives will detonate after a certain degree of digestion.

The quantity didn't need to be large; fifty grams would suffice. To be on the safe side, the gang fashioned a small iron tube to hold a hundred and fifty grams. The canisters used to blow up the sharks were made from biscuit boxes. After adding a counterweight and an underwater incendiary fuse, they could hold about a kilogram of explosives—more than enough, considering they were just flesh and blood. So they made over forty of them, and each of the six fishing boats responsible for the operation was equipped with seven or eight.

The largest boat was loaded with bait, which was also responsible for luring the sharks out. It carried a large amount of bait, a mixture of minced fish and oxblood, which filled the entire boat with a foul stench. Everyone had to wear gas masks, but thankfully, the bait-spreading system was semi-automatic—a bucket slotted into a slot at the stern, flattened, and then unplugged. Six fishing boats left the harbor and headed for the area where sharks were rumored to be most common.

Cheng Yijiu wasn't in that area at the moment. He was currently cruising north of Hokkaido, near the coast. He had just eaten a minke whale, which had allowed him to survive for half a month without food. He didn't see many boats swimming along the coastline. Most of the time, there weren't that many fishing boats, and the few that were were operating offshore. Cheng Yijiu generally didn't go to such shallow waters.

Those places were only about ten meters deep at most. As a massive shark, he didn't particularly enjoy such shallow waters. This was a decision made by Cheng Yijiu's human intelligence. He was swimming towards the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, circling Hokkaido to feed, but this time he was swimming counterclockwise. The fishing fleet attempting to capture him would likely cross paths with the languid Cheng Yijiu in about six hours.

It's just that Cheng Yijiu would have crossed their path from a considerable distance back then. If they had cast a lure, perhaps it would have caught Cheng Yijiu's attention. The enormous shark swam about ten meters underwater. The water here was over two hundred meters deep, enough to conceal its massive size. The underwater noise was deafening, from the singing of whales hundreds to tens of kilometers away to the clatter of propellers from fishing boats within a few dozen kilometers. Cheng Yijiu listened in fragments.

The loudest sound here was the clacking of tiny krill shells, which was extremely noisy to Cheng Yijiu. At this moment, he smelled the scent of rust, which lifted his spirits...

Chapter 17 Farewell

This was a large amount of bait thrown by the fishermen, which attracted many sharks and other carnivorous fish. Cheng Yijiu had already smelled the scent, and his instinct guided him to swim in that direction with his tail. The giant shark was not swimming very fast, and it slowly approached its target from a depth of more than 20 meters.

Many small sharks and barracudas quickly fled as Cheng Yijiu approached. The electric signal strength of this giant was incredible. If they didn't leave quickly, would they become its snack? The disappearance of these fish prompted the experienced fishermen, who had a rather "samurai" style, to gaze out at the sea. "Here they come!" they said in a very Ken Takakura style.

The king of sharks exposed its dorsal fin above the surface. The fishermen pointed at the massive fin over a hundred meters away and shouted. Someone had already prepared explosives. Cheng Yijiu's shark fin disappeared directly from the surface of the sea, and he dived. Cheng Yijiu's eyes saw the boats through the water, and his human intelligence allowed him to quickly determine that there was something wrong with the boat.

Is it necessary for normal fishing boats to do this?

So Cheng Yijiu quickly dived and turned away—it wasn't that he didn't want to destroy the ships; it was simply a matter of caution. A normal Megalodon might have approached, but Cheng Yijiu refused to take the risk. He moved away from the Megalodon and returned to his original route. Sure enough, not long after, he heard the sound of a shockwave from the sea, the result of the Megalodon dropping explosives into the water.

After not seeing a shark for a long time, the men, frustrated, threw dynamite into the water, hoping the giant shark might be right below them. However, their efforts yielded nothing but a bunch of dead fish. After a long day of fishing, they were forced to return late the next day—there was no point in continuing. They had cast all their bait, but the shark wouldn't bite.

"Come on! As long as that shark's still there, we'll definitely kill it!" the fishermen leading the group cheered. Since the leader had said it, everyone else should agree. They all started cheering, and at the same time, they started pumping seawater to wash down the foul, smelly deck.

High-pressure hoses sprayed water spiked with surfactants, and large brushes washed away the blood and fish fragments that had already begun to cling to the deck, dropping them into the sea through holes in the side of the ship. The Japanese really do like cleanliness, and this kind of work is necessary; otherwise, who would want to work in such a foul and stinking environment?

Cheng Yijiu had circled around the boats and was about 60 meters deep. The shark wasn't moving fast, but it was rising very resolutely. It chose the boat at the end of the formation and rammed it directly. The impact was quite powerful, but the speed was not fast, more like a forceful upward lift.

This was, of course, a way of protecting one's body. Action and reaction, flesh against steel—isn't that what it's all about? Using buoyancy, the fishing boat was lifted directly out of the water, where it crashed heavily. The hull was deformed, and several people working on the deck were thrown high into the air, some falling into the sea and some being injured by the impact of the boat.

Cheng Yijiu did not surface, and he did not attack again—he simply continued to dive into the sea. These people did not dare to drop explosives, otherwise their own people would be killed in the sea.

After toying with these people, Cheng Yijiu became more vigilant—he no longer attacked fishing boats directly. The enemy had already used explosives. If the Japanese were already so frantic, the Russians would likely be even more frantic. This giant shark followed the edge of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, crossed the Bering Strait, and arrived in North America.

For the time being, he is not planning to continue staying in Hokkaido. Cheng Yijiu is concerned about why this punishment has not ended yet.

In the vast ocean, it is difficult to capture a specific shark, especially when it has human-like intelligence. However, it is also easy to avoid being harmed by it. Just be careful not to appear in the waters where megalodon may appear - in short, don't hang around where there are whale schools.

There is nothing wrong with watching whales from a distance, but wanting to hunt whales is a dangerous thing. As a whaling ship, it is naturally impossible to carry depth "bombs" to attack megalodon. It is already being watched by green conservation organizations. Carrying such weapons will directly give the marine police and guards of certain countries an excuse to enforce the law.

Megalodon sightings have been recorded from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast, but never more than one at a time. Back in the late 1970s, there wasn't enough technology to monitor the oceans, so reports of Megalodon sightings were only reported after an attack.

The shark attacks did not stop until 1980. Cheng Yijiu leaned tiredly on the sofa in the living room. "To be honest, this memory makes me a little uncomfortable with the dry days." He muttered to himself. Not long after, Cheng Yijiu stood up again and walked into the study on the side.

He found another small book next to the man-eating tiger on the bookshelf with familiarity. This book was printed on coated paper and was quite exquisite. "Those Sea Monsters," Cheng Yijiu read the title of the book, and then he opened it - the photo was quite clear, it was the hook on the fishing boat hanging the remains of a highly decomposed creature. "Could this be a plesiosaur?" This was what the title read.

Cheng Yijiu flipped through the book. "Published in 1982, it's quite an old book." He flipped it over and continued to flip through the pages. Unsurprisingly, he saw the enormous dorsal fin in the photo. Then there were a few more photos, revealing a truly enormous shark. "They actually named it Willis? I can't fathom what these guys are thinking."

Willis may be the shark that has killed the most people in history. There is credible evidence that at least 17 people were killed by it directly, and 67 people were lost and drowned when it attacked ships and fell overboard. This giant shark may be the only megalodon ever discovered by humans. To this day, marine biologists are still unable to explain why a megalodon would reappear in the ocean after being extinct for hundreds of thousands of years.

Since no megalodon populations have been discovered since then, it's impossible to say these sharks live in the deep ocean. Analyzing the photos, this shark doesn't look like a deep-sea species. Cheng Yijiu closed the book—as for the other "sea monsters," he didn't read on. Next to this book, there was another one titled "The Largest Shark Ever."

Chapter 18 Excessive

Since it was a failed hunt, there was naturally no stuffed great white shark as a trophy in Cheng Yijiu's second-floor hall - this great white shark was indeed a bit out of standard. Usually, great white sharks from tens of thousands of years ago would have such an average size.

"It's a shame. If I continue to do this kind of punishment, I'll eventually become a psychopath." Switching between the human-beast binary too often will drive you crazy. Cheng Yijiu felt it was inevitable. His mentality was already deeply damaged, and this wasn't going to work, so he had to do something to solve the problem.

It is absolutely a foolish thing to find a so-called psychologist. Even if you are not sick, they will tell you that you are sick. Cheng Yijiu thinks it is better to walk among the crowd more and interact with ordinary people. "At least there is a normal life to anchor." He thinks this method is good.

Now Cheng Yijiu is an ordinary person who makes a living by so-called "writing", but in fact he is a rentier. His previous hunting brought him a pretty good income, which is legal to earn interest on in the bank. After he bought a small apartment, he still had enough money to earn about six or seven thousand yuan in interest a month.

So, he just hung out all day—no financial pressure for food or shelter, so he frequented bars, theaters, and other places, joining several interest groups. In this big city, finding like-minded people was easy with modern messaging apps. Through online conversations and offline gatherings, Cheng Yijiu quickly regained some semblance of normalcy.

He joined groups like biology and fishing enthusiasts, filled with people with similar interests. After several offline exchanges, many of them were pet lovers—even some with exotic pets. Cheng Yijiu learned a lot from them, and these people also learned a lot from him.

Cheng Yijiu told them about his "hunting" in the United States. Hunting is not currently allowed in mainland China, so what Cheng Yijiu said was quite interesting. If this kind of thing is told as a story, it is much more interesting than seeing photos of animals being shot or directly joining in the hunt, and it is also less bloody.

This city also has a shooting club. During the few times that Cheng Yijiu played with his friends, his performance made them say, "You are really just back from the United States. You are a great shooter." Cheng Yijiu was already very accurate in shooting with ordinary small-caliber rifles and ordinary pistols, and this only made him more integrated into the circle.

He could have practiced with a gun right where he lived. It seemed like the many prey he'd encounter in the future might not require him to use a gun—at least the last time he hunted a man-eating shark, a gun wasn't very useful. Instead, using different hunting methods for different prey was more effective.

"What kind of prey will we get next?" Cheng Yijiu felt a little sorry that he couldn't bring his friend to his trophy display room, but if he did, he might as well go in and get caught. Cheng Yijiu went to the weapons room and carefully adjusted his Winchester hunting rifle while adding bullets to his ammunition. The bullets, which were manually weighed, loaded, and carefully polished, were still very accurate.

Cheng Yijiu also took the opportunity to test his own stamina in the gym. Could he possibly be at the pinnacle of human physical fitness now? He'd already done it before, so doing it again would be more intuitive. "Even so, the tiger I punished before still fell to its knees—even the strongest human can't defeat a tiger if he doesn't have any weapons."

With Cheng Yijiu's current physical condition, he wouldn't want to fight a tiger with a dagger. He could try using a shield and a spear, but the problem was that he wasn't very good at it. When he first started fighting in full armor, he wasn't at a professional level due to his physique. He was just a hobbyist, so he used a shield and a sword instead of those long-handled heavy weapons.

Back then, Cheng Yijiu could only wear half-body armor; full armor wouldn't have been enough for him physically. Now, that's no problem, but his physique is still a major concern for him. Even now, his height hasn't reached the entry-level physique of a fully armored combatant, over 1.9 meters and weighing over 200 kilograms...

Cheng Yijiu could now wear double armor, but he wasn't so keen on full-armor combat anymore—perhaps he wouldn't need it in the foreseeable future? Perhaps... after all, who would use a knife when they have a gun? Still, his robust physique pleased him greatly; after all, when chasing a target, it was a good thing to not lose sight of it even when traversing mountains and rivers.

This guy is a coward. When hunting, he only fears the punishment of failure, and when there is no target to hunt, he misses the old days. There is no hope for him. Fortunately, he won't have to wait too long. Soon, a new target will appear.

At this time, Cheng Yijiu was looking for ways to hunt targets in the water. Now it seems that relying on a harpoon is the stupidest way - he tried to throw the harpoon on flat ground, and then found a moving horse-riding game console and modified it into a simulated sampan to stand on it and throw the harpoon. The hit rate was simply pathetic, and he almost fell and got injured.

This requires extensive training and is extremely dangerous. Harpooners on 17th-century whaling ships who used this method to catch whales suffered a significant mortality rate. This is also due to the fact that most whales are baleen whales, and sperm whales, being toothed whales, have fragile jaws and teeth.

If all of these whales were Melville whales, seventeenth-century whaling would be pure murder. Therefore, Cheng Yijiu believed that whale cannons or underwater explosives would be better for dealing with underwater prey. Whaling cannons use gunpowder or compressed air, and some have a small amount of explosives on the spearhead to inflict a larger wound, causing the whale to bleed to death.

"It's great for attacking thick-skinned animals, but attacking creatures with hard shells... why would I think of this? What kind of prey with hard shells would be in this sea? An extra-large crab or an extra-large shell? Hahahahaha." Cheng Yijiu himself was laughing. It was easy to operate the whaling cannon. Anyway, the targets in the sea that were attacked could not be small guys.

Another option is to throw explosives. In fact, another way is to throw broken fishing nets to see if the prey can be entangled. Once the fishing net is entangled, it is very likely that the prey will be unable to swim and suffocate to death. "If there is still a mission to hunt underwater targets..." Cheng Yijiu thought viciously, but there are actually not many good solutions.

Volume: Brothers

Chapter 1 begins

He applied ointment to the injured area and massaged it vigorously. The pain was so sharp that it made Cheng Yijiu grit his teeth. The ointment smelled quite bad. This thing was supposed to be an ointment for veterinary trauma, and it should be diluted when used on humans. However, this way it is more effective. It is a bit unpleasant, but the effect is really good. After the injury from training was relieved, Cheng Yijiu took a shower and walked to the hall with a glass of whiskey.

According to his estimation, it was about time for a new task to arrive.

Dressed in a bathrobe, Cheng Yijiu walked to the computer in the hall. Sure enough, a new mission had appeared—luckily, he'd had plenty of time to prepare. "Brothers stalking the grasslands? Hmm...that doesn't sound good. Speaking of brothers, I can only think of one man-eating beast." It was the only large cat that would fight in packs—the African lion. And the lions of the Chavo region have a history of eating people.

"Well, the end of the 19th century is almost the 20th century... In this case, I have to choose my clothes carefully." Cheng Yijiu muttered. There was a British tropical hunting suit in the wardrobe, so he could just put it on. As for the Winchester weapon, it was actually nothing special - it was not uncommon to fire fixed metal bullets with a rotating bolt, and smokeless gunpowder was almost universal.

In that case, it wouldn't be surprising to see a Winchester Model 70, even though it was still seventy years old. Cheng Yijiu felt that the engraving on the gun's frame and stock was a good choice—"This way, I can fool most people by claiming it's a high-end hunting rifle customized by the gun factory." Most people at the time were illiterate, so it wouldn't be surprising. Cheng Yijiu only wanted to deceive a few people.

He carefully selected the bullets, placing them neatly into the cowhide magazine. Meanwhile, Cheng Yijiu didn't bring a pistol—he couldn't make a Webley revolver suitable for the era, so he simply didn't bring one. He chose a straight dagger and tucked it into his belt. It was only good for cutting ropes and thatch, and using it to fight lions was basically a self-consolation. After getting dressed, Cheng Yijiu put on a British Empire helmet-style summer hat...

After a final check, Cheng Yijiu put on his backpack and pushed open the door.

A wave of heat washed over Cheng Yijiu. Standing on a dirt platform covered by an open awning, he stamped his foot. "Cemented earth..." He then saw the tall grass ahead and the railroad tracks below. "This is the train station," Cheng Yijiu muttered. To one side of the station stood a few guys who looked like San'er. They stared at Cheng Yijiu with a touch of awe—perhaps because of his exquisite, high-end attire.

There was a small ticket counter. Cheng Yijiu walked up to it and rang the bell. "A ticket to Tsavo River, please." A quick glance told him this was Africa; the map visible through the station office window confirmed it. A middle-aged white man with rough skin came out. Thanks to Cheng Yijiu's well-nourished "tall" figure, healthy face and teeth, and his fluent London accent, he respectfully "forgot" the fact that he was yellow—a fact even the one-pound note could attest to.

Cheng Yijiu waved his hand to indicate that no change was needed, and the other party became even more enthusiastic, even offering to write him a special certificate. Cheng Yijiu said he was going there to hunt and hoped the gentleman could recommend a place to stay. "I know Colonel Peterson. When you get there, give him this certificate and he'll arrange a place for you to stay." This wasn't surprising, as many young men in the Western world were keen on hunting.

Even though Cheng Yijiu looked like a yellow race, his aura made this person think he must be an oriental noble. Otherwise, how could he have such good looks and enough money? Of course, the name Cheng Yijiu told him was also fake, asking this foreigner, whose name he was too lazy to remember, to call him Nelson.

After waiting on the platform for a long time, the other party even treated him to a "sumptuous" lunch and lemonade. Cheng Yijiu didn't say much, but directly took out a five-pound note and gave it to him, which made the other party's face look like a flower blooming. The other servants also followed him around and served him very considerately. When the train arrived at the station, they even took the initiative to get on the train and arranged a seat for Cheng Yijiu, so Cheng Yijiu also gave them a shilling with satisfaction.

The train attendant, San'er, had also been warned, and considering Cheng Yijiu's berth, it was the best seat on the train. He was immediately enthusiastic. It had to be said that British train service was indeed excellent, and San'er was a very good attendant. The train was moving very slowly, or so Cheng Yijiu thought, "not even over 30 kilometers per hour..." He looked out at the magnificent African scenery, and for a moment, he stopped thinking about anything else.

The train would take an overnight trip to its destination, stopping at two more stations along the way, so Cheng Yijiu soon called the conductor over to have him make his bed. "It's a pity there's no private room here." This was Cheng Yijiu's only regret. Now it could only be separated by a curtain, but fortunately there was no one else in the entire first-class section.

Amid the train's clatter, Cheng Yijiu closed his eyes. He could still hear the roar of a lion in the distance—probably a lion, or some other animal he couldn't place. The conductor came over and pulled up the window guard. "Monkeys," he said to Cheng Yijiu, "those pesky monkeys will steal food." Because the train was traveling slowly, baboons on the ground would occasionally jump onto the train to steal food.

This train was definitely not on time, because who knows what might cross the tracks? Killing an elephant or rhino wouldn't matter, but a broken locomotive would be a real problem. Cheng Yijiu also watched the African sunrise from the train, and at that moment, he even remembered the famous theme song from "The Lion King": the sun rises to the beat of a tambourine, its rays pouring down everywhere...

The train arrived at Chavo, the terminus of the unfinished railway line, at noon that day. It brought much-needed supplies for the construction site, a number of replacement workers, and new rails and sleepers. Cheng Yijiu was the only first-class passenger. When he disembarked, he saw a middle-aged man in a tropical military uniform standing on the platform. Cheng Yijiu quickly took a few steps and extended his hand. "Hello, Colonel Peterson?" He pulled out his ID and handed it over.

Chapter 2: The Attack

The colonel watched every train arrive on the platform just out of habit, and he didn't know that Cheng Yijiu would come. However, after receiving the certificate and looking at it carefully, he tried to force a smile, "Welcome to Chawo, Mr. Cheng." The pronunciation was more like "Qin", but Cheng Yijiu was used to it.

Cheng Yijiu simply took out a five-pound note and asked, "Can you arrange a tent for me, Colonel Peterson?" The colonel frowned slightly at the situation, but he still said, "Okay, we will allocate a spare officer's tent for you, which will be considered as the cost."

"It seems I've done more harm than good and caused the other party's displeasure." Cheng Yijiu secretly felt a little regretful. However, Colonel Peterson was very busy. After giving a few words to a young man, he left the station and went to the construction site office. The young man walked up to Cheng Yijiu and said, "Hello, I am the trainee pastor Huggins, and I am also responsible for the paperwork on the construction site. Please follow me, I will arrange your tent, sir."

Cheng Yijiu smiled, "Thank you, pastor. May God bless you." Higgins called a few guys who looked like Indians. They ran quickly to the warehouse to get the goods, while Higgins and Cheng Yijiu watched them start to set up tents on a spacious and flat ground near the station that had been pre-arranged.

They had prepared a small cabinet, a folding table and chairs, and a camp bed. They also found a brand new bedding roll. Cheng Yijiu walked in and felt quite satisfied. At this time, Huggins also had something to do. "There is a place to provide food and a tea room here. Mr. Cheng, you can use them as you like."

Cheng Yijiu put the things he had with him into the small cabinet, mainly the spare parts in his bag. Mostly tobacco and some miscellaneous items—such as some common medications. He placed the rifle on the table, unholstered it, and inspected it again.

One of the most important things Cheng Yijiu had learned during his hunting career was to always take good care of his weapons. He carefully adjusted his rifle, then took out his bullets, inspected them one by one, and put them away. "There's no need to go hunting for now. Judging by the atmosphere in this camp, the lion attacks probably haven't started yet."

In that case, Cheng Yijiu wasn't in a hurry. He had dinner that day with Colonel Peterson, Dr. David, and Reverend Huggins. The main course was beans... and each of them had a glass of whiskey. After they finished eating, the three waiters took away the plates, and Cheng Yijiu nodded to the other three. "Is that all right?" He took out his pipe.

Colonel Peterson smiled as well, and he too took out his pipe. To mend fences, Cheng Yijiu pulled out a small silver jar from his pocket. After opening the lid, a gentle, exotic aroma wafted out. "Colonel, would you like to try it?" he extended his hand. Colonel Peterson smiled. "Thank you." Then he pinched a pinch of tobacco and began to fill his pipe.

Cheng Yijiu also began to fill his pipe, while Colonel Peterson had already lit it with a match and began to enjoy it. For a while, everyone watched the sunset over Africa, puffing out smoke and enjoying the rare leisure time of the day.

At night, Cheng Yijiu turned down the brightness of the kerosene lamp to the lowest, and lay down on the camp bed to prepare for sleep. This position of his was definitely not the first choice for a lion to attack, and he was also confident because his senses at this time were already stronger than those of ordinary people. After all, he was once a man-eating tiger.

The incident started in the middle of the night. Terrified screams rang out from the workers' tents, waking Cheng Yijiu. He grabbed his rifle and stood up, leaving the tent. However, he remained calm in front of his own tent, not rushing into the panicked crowd of workers. A key factor was that they were filthy and smelly, and he simply didn't want to get close.

The colonel also came out. He was in a wooden cabin, which was safer than Cheng Yijiu's. Of course, the colonel had already promised to lend it to Cheng Yijiu if he didn't leave after the new warehouse expansion was completed. After all, apart from these white people, Cheng Yijiu was probably the only one who could be called "civilized" here.

But even the colonel couldn't do anything right now—he also thought it wasn't a good idea to rush into a group of panicked workers. So he called the foremen over and asked them to calm the workers down and figure out what was going on. "It's lions," Cheng Yijiu said, and the colonel turned to him. "It's lions. That's what I heard them roaring. Sorry, I don't quite understand their accent."

"Really, Lion?" said the colonel. "Whatever it is, we can only wait until dawn. Fortunately, dawn is coming soon. Damn it!" he cursed.

Before dawn, the truth was revealed. A lion had entered the camp and dragged away a sleeping worker. Not only did the worker scream, but a worker who had gotten up to urinate also witnessed the scene. All the worker who saw it could say was, "Black! Black mane! Nightmare!" Cheng Yijiu listened to it all from a small stool, rifle tucked under his arm.

"Lion, if it has a black mane, it should be a very healthy lion." Seeing the colonel and the trainee priest looking at him, Cheng Yijiu added, "The healthier the lion, the darker the mane." He stood up and said, "It's daybreak. Let's look for the lion's traces. It's best to kill it today."

The colonel led the way, with Cheng Yijiu following behind him. The trainee priest and the local black man arrived at the attacked tent. Cheng Yijiu looked at the ground. "Although the running around has made it a mess, I can still find some traces." He pointed at the tent. "Lion's mane, dragging marks. Unfortunately, there are no footprints here."

Now it was Cheng Yijiu's turn to lead the way. He strode along the trail to the grassland, squatted down, and pointed at the ground. "Bloody! There are footprints here." Fortunately, although the workers were frightened and ran around, they weren't foolish enough to run into the grassland. The yellow grassland before them was half a man's height, and if a lion moved in it, it would be almost invisible.

Cheng Yijiu stretched out his palm and placed it next to the lion's paw print. "A very large male lion." His palm was fully open, only about the size of the lion's paw print. Cheng Yijiu stood up and looked at the fallen thatch in front of him. "Let's go. Watch the vultures in the sky. They will lead us there." The others nodded silently.

"Is Mahina a Maasai? He's very strong?" Cheng Yijiu suggested a topic, and the trainee priest nodded. Vultures were circling in the sky not far away. "How brave... It's not that far away, and while the workers are running around, the lion is eating people right there... What kind of lion is this?"

Chapter 3 Night

It was a multi-branched tree, common on the African grasslands. Cheng Yijiu wasn't quite sure what kind of tree it was, but with vultures flying around it, it was likely the scene. The drag marks on the ground also proved this. "Bloodstains, fallen grass, and this turned-up soil..." Cheng Yijiu followed carefully.

"Please note, I can't guarantee that lions won't be lurking in the tall grass. After all, their camouflage is so good," Cheng Yijiu said. What's more dangerous is the amateurish behavior of the people behind him. With their formation, if a lion were to appear and fire, the chances of it accidentally firing on one of their own would be much higher.

Approaching the tree, the colonel shot and killed two vultures, driving the others away. On the ground lay the remains of the poor man. "This lion had a huge appetite. It practically devoured him. The flesh and internal organs on his legs were almost gone. The skin was licked off, too." Cheng Yijiu stood up straight. From where he stood, he could even clearly see the workers' camp.

"So close... This man-eating lion is really brave, not afraid of humans at all." Cheng Yijiu repeated it again, and the colonel and the others simply said a word starting with F. Cheng Yijiu looked around, "This place is covered with yellow grass more than half a person's height. The lion might get close to the outside of the barracks without being discovered."

Everyone fell silent. The foreman called in the workers, carrying the remains on a stretcher and a sheet of cloth, to the doctor. The doctor's autopsy report stated that the lion had devoured the poor man from the feet. "This way of eating doesn't seem like a lion," the doctor declared. Cheng Yijiu remained silent. He had never seen a lion eat a human, but when he was punished by becoming a man-eating tiger, he never cared where to start.

The colonel invited Cheng Yijiu to hunt lions with him at night. "We don't have to be on the same tree. I will choose the other side, so that we can take care of most of the camp." Cheng Yijiu said. He made a rack with wood on another tree so that he could sit on the branches more relaxedly.

Cheng Yijiu applied the insect repellent ointment, finished dinner, and then climbed up the tree. He rested his rifle across his lap, his eyes scanning the nearby grass. "Night hunt. These should be a pair of lions. I hope I can kill at least one of them." There was no need for bait, as Cheng Yijiu knew very well that these two lions were simply man-eaters and would not hunt any other animals.

The lions of Chavo have always had a tradition of eating people. This place has been a slave trade route since ancient Roman times, and those slaves who died of illness were simply thrown on the roadside. The lions here have probably been accustomed to eating human corpses for two thousand years. Cheng Yijiu leaned against a tree trunk and heard the faint roar of a lion from a distance.

The camp was filled with a tense atmosphere. The workers went to bed trembling with fear. Cheng Yijiu also fell into a light sleep in the tree. He woke up from time to time, but each time he did not see the lion. Around two o'clock in the morning, Cheng Yijiu narrowed his eyes.

Someone was walking around at night, seemingly unable to sleep or getting up to go to the bathroom? In short, he was just walking back and forth between the tents. Cheng Yijiu's position was unclear, and the man quickly bypassed a tent and disappeared completely. He didn't appear again after that. "All this?" Cheng Yijiu took out his pocket watch and took a look, seeing the time in the moonlight. "Almost twenty minutes. Did he come back to this tent to sleep? No! He's not from this tent!"

However, Cheng Yijiu would not come down from the tree at all, because he could not guarantee that there would not be another lion lying in ambush in the grass beside the tree. In fact, it was because humans were not suitable for hunting lions at night, and the night environment was not friendly to humans.