Monster Hunter: I can hear the monsters' thoughts

Chapter 241 Investigation
"Ouch!"

The blue-green front claws easily broke the slender neck of the Maruniao, and the Thunder Wolf Dragon let out a long roar towards the sky, with an awe-inspiring aura.

Watching this scene quietly, Lin Lin thought of something very interesting.

Unlike widely raised domestic animals such as Bobo and Herbivorous Dragon, Marutori belongs to the species of Ornithopoda in biological classification rather than the species of Herbivorous Dragon. This means that although they can eat grass, they have a special preference for preying on lightning bugs and have even evolved an insulated beak specifically for this purpose.

However, the Lightning Bugs did not really allow Maru Bird to control them. Their countermeasure was the Thunder Wolf Dragon. This powerful monster with a high ecological niche loved Maru Bird as much as Maru Bird loved Lightning Bugs.

Sometimes, Lin Lin would wonder, could it be that the reason why the Thunder Wolf Dragon and the Thunder Light Bug formed a symbiotic relationship in the beginning was to avoid being preyed upon by the Maru Bird?

The thought flashed through his mind in just a moment, and Lin Lin was still lying quietly on the ground without moving. He had smeared odor-eliminating powder on his body, and covered himself with a camouflage net full of dead branches and leaves. He was hiding in the bushes and was inconspicuous. At least the Thunder Wolf Dragon didn't notice that there was a hunter around observing him.

As the Thunder Wolf Dragon roared, not long after, lightning suddenly flashed on the cliff on the other side, followed by another Thunder Wolf Dragon jumping down from a height.

Lin Lin looked carefully and found that the new Thunder Wolf Dragon looked slightly smaller than the previous one. Monsters like Thunder Wolf Dragon had almost no gender differences, and it was difficult to tell the male from the appearance alone.

But this didn't bother Lin Lin. When the two thunder wolf dragons met, he already knew the relationship between the two guys.

Trouble is, they are a couple, the one that just hunted is the male, and the one that was called by the cry is the female.

This means that the best-case scenario they imagined - that the two Thunder Wolf Dragons were only staying together temporarily and would soon separate - was completely untrue, and the difficulty of separating them suddenly became much higher.

The two Thunder Wolf Dragons rubbed each other's necks affectionately, and then the female lowered her head and began to tear the body of Marunori to eat, while the male stood guard with his head held high.

After a while, the female Thunder Wolf Dragon finally finished eating. It growled twice at the male, stretched out its tongue to comb the electrified hair on the other's neck, and then jumped up again, stomped a few times on the cliff, and quickly disappeared from Lin Lin's sight.

Lin Lin wanted to catch up and find out the location of the two thunder wolf dragons' nests, but the male thunder wolf dragon was still gnawing on the remains of Marunori with its head down, and he was covered with a camouflage net. Any movement would definitely make a lot of noise. Lin Lin could only make a few gestures to the side with the smallest movements possible.

On the tree, the date palm made a "received" gesture in return, then silently slid down to the ground while hugging the trunk, landing on all fours, and with a few nimble leaps, it also disappeared from Lin Lin's sight.

Lin Lin had no choice but to continue lying there and watching the Thunder Wolf Dragon eat, and he missed the invisible suit more and more.

I didn't notice it at all when I was playing the game, but now I realize that after putting it on, monsters can ignore me just by wandering around in front of them. What kind of reconnaissance artifact is this?

The camouflage net he was wearing now actually came from the Scribe Team. It was a prop used by field investigators to conceal themselves. However, hunters and Scribe Teams were different after all. This prop, which was extremely useful for the Scribe Team members, was too clumsy and inconvenient for Lin Lin.

After finally waiting for the Thunder Wolf Dragon to finish eating and quickly leave after leaving a mess on the ground, Lin Lin finally lifted the camouflage net and moved his stiff limbs.

According to the scribes' existing research on the Thunder Wolf Dragon, it was likely out patrolling its territory, marking its territory. The mountain roads here were rugged, with steep slopes and cliffs everywhere, making it difficult to catch up even on a Hopping Horse. Fukumoto Rabbit would have to monitor it from now on. As for Coconut Date, it was unclear whether they had caught up with the female Thunder Wolf Dragon, let alone whether they had successfully found its lair. The only thing Lin Lin wasn't too worried about was Coconut Date's safety.

After all, the self-preservation ability of Felynx cats is much stronger than that of humans. What's more, Date has been with him for quite some time and is already a very experienced hunting cat.

……

In the camp tent.

Lin Lin spread out the map on the table. Brav, Ye Zi, and Ye Zao stood in a circle around the table.

"We've now investigated and found out that the two Thunder Wolf Dragons are a pair and are most likely pregnant. This is extremely bad news for us. According to the guild's rules, with very few exceptions, we are not allowed to attack pregnant beasts or their cubs."

"After two days of observation, we've confirmed that the male Thunder Wolf Dragon is our target. It has repeatedly displayed strong aggressiveness while patrolling its territory, and its territory also overlaps closely with the two trade routes."

Lin Lin paused slightly and looked at the dates.

Date understood what he meant. He jumped onto the table and drew a circle at a certain place on the map with his cat paw.

"I've personally investigated and found out. The pair's lair is right here. I even found colorful feathers inside. I suspect this was originally the lair of a colorful bird, but it was later taken over by the Thunder Wolf couple!"

"I snuck in yesterday while the female Thunder Wolf was out feeding. The nest was relatively clean. The only fresh signs of life were the two Thunder Wolfs. No cubs or eggshells were found."

"The behavior of these two thunbergii is completely consistent with the division of labor and cooperation during the breeding season. In other words, we can rule out the hypothesis that thunbergii are oviparous. However, we cannot confirm whether they are viviparous or ovoviviparous!"

Although this last sentence has little effect on their hunting, it may be a significant discovery for scholars.

After telling about his discovery, Coconut Date did not jump off the table again, but just sat there and looked at Brave and Ye Zi.

So Brave nodded and pointed at a few places on the map:

"I've surveyed the surrounding terrain. Here, here, and here, these are all areas with dense trees and overgrown vines. The lush trees can effectively restrict the Thunder Wolf Dragon's aggressive fighting style, and those vines can also effectively restrict the monster's movements."

"If we're choosing a battle site, I recommend this one. The outer cliffs here are relatively loose. If we detonate a barrel bomb, it should cause a collapse, creating a temporary isolation zone. The Thunder Wolf Dragon's roar won't be heard far, and we can enter and exit through the narrow corridor here."

(End of this chapter)