Our neighborhood has been transported again.

Chapter 17 The Cold Learning Machine

Before even reaching the riverbank, Qin Ziwen heard the sound of splashing water.

Along the riverbank, teams were distributed, some already practicing, while others were still watching others operate.

The team that achieved the most significant results used a rope made from several bed sheets and curtains to tie up the crocodile, then tied the other end to a nearby tree, and a group of people kept poking the crocodile with long weapons.

"Gululu..."

The crocodile spun around wildly, opening its mouth and hissing angrily.

Another team dug a trap on the bank, but the trap wasn't deep enough, and the crocodile escaped. Startled, the crocodile scrambled into the river, splashing water everywhere.

On the river, several crocodiles floated on the surface, their cold eyes peeking out as they silently observed.

A young man in the group said, "We need to go further downstream; if we get too close, these crocodiles won't fall for it."

Huang Tao said, "Let's go downstairs. By the way, this brother's name is Zhang Zhen. He used to work at the zoo and was a crocodile keeper for a while, so he knows a lot about crocodile habits."

Others sought his advice.
Zhang Zhen said, "It's very difficult to develop feelings for crocodiles. I've always felt that crocodiles are like cold learning machines. They don't have complex emotions, nor do they feel fear. All their behavioral logic is actually only related to survival and reproduction."

For example, if you feed it, it knows that there will be food if it comes near you. After it has eaten and drunk its fill, it will lie there to digest its food. As long as you do not make it feel threatened, it will not attack you on its own initiative.

Seeing its own kind being killed, it won't be afraid, but it will be wary; it will equate us humans with a threat.

Zhang Zhen pointed to the crocodiles floating on the river surface, "Look, those crocodiles in the water are observing us. They are assessing our threat. They will regard this place and these humans as a threat and will be more cautious when facing us."

Qin Ziwen asked, "Then the crocodile won't come up?"

Zhang Zhen shook his head. "No, in the short term, they won't fall for it in the same place using the same method, because they've already equated this danger with danger. But as soon as we change the location, they will still be attracted by the bait. They don't have the concept of 'humans are hunting us with traps' in their minds; they only have simple logic like food, threats, and defending their territory."

Qin Ziwen roughly understood.

The group walked downstream for more than 100 meters. Huang Tao took out the crocodile entrails left over from the last hunt, tied them with a rope, and threw them into the river.

The blood spread along the river.

Beneath the water's edge, a thick shadow slowly approached.

Zheng Yuan, who was in charge of observation, made a hand gesture.

The people behind dragged the rope, and the entrails were pulled out of the water, the foul-smelling entrails sliding across the muddy ground.

The shadow remained motionless on the water's surface.

"Will the crocodiles be attracted?" Qin Ziwu, who was squatting next to Zhang Zhen, asked in a low voice.
"Yes, crocodiles' favorite food is animal offal. When a crocodile sees offal, it's like it's seeing a cat toy; it thinks something is stealing its food. Just you wait and see."

As soon as the words were spoken, the water surface exploded with a roar, and a huge black shadow broke through the water and rushed toward the entrails on the shore.

“Hurry up!”

But it was too late; the shadowy creature had already bitten into the internal organs and turned back into the river.

The rope holding the internal organs tightened instantly, causing the two people at the other end to stumble.

The crocodile paused, lying still, seemingly wondering why something seemed to be dragging the food in its mouth.

Its peripheral vision fell on the humans not far away, and it suddenly shook its head, its thick tail splashing up a large amount of mud.

The rope snapped with a snap, and the giant crocodile swam back into the river.

Zhang Zhen murmured, "We have to do it again."

Huang Tao asked in a low voice, "Will it fall for that again?"

Zhang Zhen nodded affirmatively, "It just ate the entrails and got a taste of the sweetness. If it gets another entrails, it will definitely fall for it. But this time, we need to be quick with the bait. Pull it up, and once it gets close, cover it with a large net and then poke it with a weapon."

"Luckily, I prepared a few extra baits in advance. This time, two people will carry the baits, so we need to be faster."

Qin Ziwen stepped forward and said, "I'll do it."

Zou Sheng, standing next to him, rolled up his sleeves and said, "Count me in."

The second bait was thrown into the river.

The entrails fell into the river, splashing water. Under the surface, the giant crocodile, which hadn't gone far, flicked its tail and swam back.

Qin Ziwen pulled the line upwards, and the entrails slid through the water, across the mud, and meandered upwards along the grass.

The giant crocodile, following the scent, crawled ashore and trudged towards its entrails. Qin Ziwen and Zou Sheng increased the frequency of pulling the rope, and the crocodile paused for a moment before suddenly accelerating.

Qin Ziwen stared intently at the giant crocodile, which, from his perspective, was rushing straight toward him.

With intense concentration, if the others are even a little slower in setting their nets, the crocodile will be right in their face.

Fortunately, there were no mistakes this time.

A giant net fell from above, directly covering the giant crocodile. At the same time, four people hidden diagonally behind it pulled the tail rope, using the momentum of the giant crocodile's forward charge to trap it inside.

"on!"

The crowd surged forward, their weapons raining down on the crocodile.

The focus is on protecting the crocodile's head.

"Pfft."

Someone got lucky and stabbed the crocodile right in the eye with a spear.

"Shout!"

The crocodile let out a painful howl.

"I'll do it!" the security guard on the side shouted, bringing his long-handled axe down heavily.

The axe struck the crocodile squarely in the head.

The connection between the axe and the stick came undone, and with a snap, the short-handled axe got stuck on the crocodile's head.

The blow was so painful it almost stood up.

Qin Ziwen could see clearly that it was a fire axe.

They must have tied the fire axe and the wooden stick together just now.

The crocodile struggled frantically, instinctively trying to escape back into the river.

How could the others do as he wished? They all grabbed the rope and pulled backward.

With more than a dozen strong men pulling the rope at the same time, several people still fell to the ground before they could react.

However, the crocodile's speed also slowed down significantly. After a standoff lasting more than ten seconds, the crocodile's strength gradually diminished.

It eventually stopped moving and remained stationary.

Zhang Zhen said, panting heavily, "It's run out of stamina."

Qin Ziwen recalled what Wang Jun had said yesterday about crocodiles' poor stamina, and now he had a more direct understanding of it.

The entire process took just over two minutes, and the crocodile's stamina was almost completely exhausted due to the explosive power.

Even though the crocodile seemed to be exhausted, no one dared to approach it and provoke it at close range.

Instead, they continued to use long weapons to maintain a relatively safe distance and keep attacking.

Finally, the crocodile breathed its last.

After waiting for another ten minutes or so, the group began to deal with the body.

On the river, a pair of cold, emotionless eyes watched this scene unfold, observing their fellow human being dismembered.

This crocodile is slightly larger than the one we hunted at the South Gate last time, measuring a full 5.12 meters in length.

Because there were 3 more people than last time, each person received 38 jin of meat this time, which was 2 jin less than last time.

Even so, it still delighted everyone.

Even after dealing with the crocodile, Zhang Zhen's brow remained furrowed.

Huang Tao nudged his arm and teased, "What's wrong? Why aren't you happy after killing the crocodile?"

Zhang Zhen paused for a moment, then shook his head. "It's nothing. I just observed that this one looks like a female crocodile, and the one I killed at the South Gate last time was also a female crocodile."

(End of this chapter)