Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 181: Chapter 171: Big Dumb Croc

Tang Mo discovered that while the crocodile could climb trees, she could leap from one tree to another just like Tarzan.

Obviously, this was a feat the big croc couldn’t perform. It could only watch as Tang Mo leaped from tree to tree.

Although the crocodile was surprisingly nimble at climbing trees despite its short legs, its massive body clearly couldn’t support it in a jump.

It could only climb up one tree...

...watch Tang Mo leap away...

...then climb back down...

...climb up another tree...

...and watch Tang Mo leap away again...

...then climb back down again...

Tang Mo bounded about above with extreme agility, not feeling tired at all, but the crocodile was clearly getting exhausted.

After all, its body was too heavy and its limbs too short. It was honestly a miracle it had managed to keep up for so long.

But even so, the crocodile didn’t stop chasing Tang Mo.

Unable to shake it, Tang Mo could only continue her mad dash forward, playing the part of a rainforest Tarzan.

Gradually, Tang Mo noticed the trees were getting taller and taller. The deeper she went, the more the canopies soared into the clouds, reaching heights beyond what the naked eye could see.

’Just how high are these things?’

Tang Mo looked up, her footing becoming even more secure. The trees were getting higher and higher. If she were to actually fall, she wouldn’t even need the big croc to open its mouth; she’d basically be committing suicide.

She raised her hand to glance at her ID Watch. It now showed "no signal," meaning she could no longer contact the outside world.

Instead of panicking, Tang Mo was pleased. It seemed very likely that Qin Ling and his team were somewhere in this rainforest.

The trees in the distance started to thin out. A glance revealed many low-hanging fruit trees, laden with unknown fruits, their lush branches a delightful sight.

The more abnormal a place, the more mysterious it was. Tang Mo stared at the vibrant fruits, stopped her leaping, and became extremely cautious.

Seeing the person in the tree stop moving, the crocodile also paused.

Tang Mo’s sharp eyes noticed the crocodile give a surprisingly human-like glance toward the fruit trees. It paused for a moment before continuing to climb the tree toward her, resuming its pursuit.

’Could it be that the crocodile is also wary of something in there?’

The colorful fruits within seemed like devil fruits, growing in the heart of this rainforest.

Every human and beast understood that only the powerful had the right to enjoy these fruits.

Judging by the crocodile’s actions, there was clearly something in there that it feared.

The crocodile was over three meters long; no matter how high the tree, it could climb it quickly.

Tang Mo had no choice but to start leaping deeper into the woods again. She didn’t care anymore. ’I don’t know what’s in there, but it’s clear that if I don’t move now, my life will be forfeit.’

After she jumped about three more trees inward, the crocodile stopped moving.

It stopped at the base of Tang Mo’s tree, looking up. Then it glanced twice more into the depths of the rainforest, but in the end, it didn’t climb the tree and even took a few steps back.

’Looks like this is the edge of that thing’s territory.’

Tang Mo silently memorized the location of this tree and found a sturdy branch to sit on.

She knew it was dangerous inside, and unless there were special circumstances, Tang Mo naturally didn’t want to enter.

"Aren’t you leaving yet?"

Tang Mo asked, seeing the crocodile still staring at her from not far below the tree.

’This thing can even climb trees. Who knows if it can understand human speech?’

After what had happened before, Tang Mo clearly no longer dared to underestimate any opponent.

The crocodile didn’t react, continuing to just watch her.

"Didn’t understand me?" Tang Mo tilted her head and thought for a moment.

"Dumb-dumb croc?"

"Do you know how ugly you are?"

"Did you get stained from soaking in that swamp? You’re filthy."

...

Tang Mo had launched a verbal assault.

No reaction.

’Okay, it probably doesn’t understand human speech.’ Tang Mo felt a lot more relieved.

’But this crocodile sure holds a grudge. I just knocked away one of its lures. Was it really necessary to hunt me down for this long?’

In truth, Tang Mo didn’t know that the crocodile had only recently gained sentience, and this was its first time ever coming up with a plan to lure prey into a trap.

It never expected its very first attempt to end in such a disastrous failure. The lure it had carefully preserved and resisted eating was knocked far away just like that. No wonder the crocodile had chased her relentlessly for miles.

Tang Mo was lucky. She’d encountered this crocodile on its first attempt at using its brain, at a time when she was still completely unguarded against mutant beasts.

If the crocodile had been a little more practiced in its methods, Tang Mo would have likely fallen for it today.

Thinking of that hand...

Tang Mo’s gaze turned cold. ’Perhaps that was left behind by someone from Qin Ling’s team.’

"You’re the one who won’t leave. In that case, I’ll just have to make you stay."

Tang Mo’s rank on the leaderboards was constantly dropping, but that didn’t mean her power was decreasing. On the contrary, her strength was steadily rising, making her much stronger than many of those ahead of her who had relied on abnormal treasures to brute-force their way up.

In a real fight, at least half of the people ranked above her would be no match for her.

This crocodile had strong attack and defense; it was definitely a troublesome opponent.

Tang Mo just didn’t want to stir up too much trouble on her way to find Qin Ling, but that didn’t mean she was afraid.

Now that she was cornered and unable to move, she would let this crocodile experience exactly what it felt like to be killed by its prey.

While she was fleeing, Tang Mo had already stored her backpack and the Wind Breaker in her Space.

The Wind Breaker was too weak to damage the crocodile’s armor-like hide. Tang Mo was well aware of this.

The eyes of any mutant beast with tough skin are its weak point.

This was a sentence Tang Mo had read in a research institute document.

But after carefully observing the crocodile, she wanted to know who wrote that. ’Were they just making things up while lying in a safe, warm base? How many people did they get killed with that advice? Could they please come out and die?’

After its mutation, even the crocodile’s eyelids were the same color as its armor, and its eyeballs shone like metal.

Just by looking at their sheen, Tang Mo knew that these were definitely not the fragile eyeballs of an ordinary mutant beast.

Nature wasn’t a fool; it wouldn’t just lay out the weaknesses of every predator right in front of you.

However, every living creature has a weakness. It’s just a matter of whether you observe closely enough.

Tang Mo didn’t give up easily. Instead, she and the crocodile had a staring contest, gazing at each other from a distance.

The human and beast stared at each other, neither blinking. Just as Tang Mo’s eyes were about to start watering from the strain, she suddenly had an idea!

Tang Mo’s Strength attribute wasn’t particularly high, so she had never liked head-on confrontations.

She much preferred to use her brain, to accomplish the most with the least amount of effort.

Tang Mo took a rope from her Space and tied it to the extremely sturdy branch she was on.

After tying it securely, she started to climb down along the branch, little by little.

Her speed was extremely slow, as if she were afraid the crocodile was too stupid to notice her.