Falling into the Cretaceous

Five of the nine men lay prone on the earthen slope, while the other four sat alert to their surroundings.

The area is surrounded by a large number of palm trees and tree ferns, which is very different from modern primary forests. These plants are not found in the broad-leaved forests of North America today.

In addition, there were dense thickets, which not only provided an excellent living environment for herbivorous dinosaurs, but also provided excellent camouflage for predatory dinosaurs.

"Brother Ye, what kind of dinosaur left these footprints?" Zhou Jian asked softly, looking curiously at the large footprints.

"It's hard to say. Most of the dinosaurs discovered so far match the descriptions in archaeological documents, but there are also those that don't. There are even dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous period, so any kind of herbivorous dinosaur is possible."

Shen Ye shook his head and said.

"According to archaeological records, what kind of dinosaurs lived in this area?" Zhou Jian asked curiously.

"Hafe-billed dinosaurs, ankylosaurs, and ceratopsians, like the giant titanosaurs you see in movies, such as Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus, are all extinct. The only titanosaur that existed in North America at this time was Alamosaurus, but even that was rarely seen."

Shen Ye said.

Zhou Jian was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. He had thought he would be able to see the Titan Dragons, and that taking water from under these dragons would give him a great sense of security.

"Mr. Shen, how far are we from the ocean?" Cui Zhengxi asked at this moment.

"It shouldn't be very far, maybe a few hundred kilometers, or maybe even closer, because the sea level was about 200 meters higher than it is now during that period. Many places in North America were submerged by the sea, and the west and east were split longitudinally by an inland seaway. From the coordinates, we are in a narrow strip of land in the west. In the eyes of archaeologists, this place is called 'Seaside Paradise'."

Shen Ye paused for a moment and then said, "This is a region full of violent tectonic movements. The Rocky Mountains were also slowly uplifted during this era... So the east and west sides are the sea, the west side is the Pacific Ocean, and the east side is the inland seaway."

Shen Ye looked at Cui Zhengxi.

Why are you asking this?

Cui Zhengxi was silent for a moment before saying, "I just think that food would be more abundant by the sea. We've solved the water problem, but the food problem hasn't been solved yet. After all, there are quite a few people, and the fern roots in the surrounding area will be eaten up in a few days. Killing dinosaurs is possible, but transporting and preserving the prey is a big problem because there's no salt!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye realized that Cui Zhengxi was also quite capable of surviving and even had a wealth of survival experience.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for ordinary people to consider such long-term survival issues at this time, and even Shen Ye had not thought that far ahead.

"Are you crazy! I'm not leaving here. How can I go back to modern society if I leave here?" Zhou Jian said.

"Exactly, and besides, how are we supposed to get to the beach? One person died just a few hundred meters away. If we walked hundreds of kilometers, would anyone survive?" the photographer said.

"We certainly can't leave here easily. Not to mention that the way back is from here, just getting to the seaside is an almost impossible task."

The older engineer said.

Choi Jung-seok did not refute them, as if what they were saying had nothing to do with him.

Only Shen Ye knew that he might really have to go to the seaside to survive in the future.

However, if he couldn't go back, he would have to live this primitive life for the rest of his life, and he really didn't know when he would break down.

Not to mention the other survivors.

Shen Ye didn't speak, but just silently looked at the muddy road section below the earthen slope.

He discovered that next to these animal footprints, there seemed to be some footprints that looked like those of a gorilla.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that Shen Ye's expression was off, Cui Zhengxi asked.

"It's nothing..."

Shen Ye didn't make a fuss, so as not to increase everyone's psychological burden. There shouldn't be mammals like gorillas in this era, but this is not the universe he knows. Who can say for sure?

After a quarter of an hour, there was finally some movement in the forest.

As they walked along the road, they saw figures emerging from the bushes – a group of horned dinosaurs with enormous neck shields!

The weight of the schizothorax was similar to that of a modern white rhinoceros.

Its head has three distinctive sharp points: two brow horns and one nose horn. It has a screen-like neck shield and a parrot-like beak.

Their skin has two colors alternating—

Orange and gray.

When the group saw this herd of horned dinosaurs walking towards them, they thought of migrating bison herds, but these creatures walked at a moderate pace.

They didn't make much noise in the jungle, all keeping quiet in tacit agreement, and didn't nibble on the roadside bushes, like a group of warriors on their way.

"Brother Ye, they're so close together, how are we supposed to follow them? If we just follow them, won't we get attacked or trampled to death?"

Mike stared wide-eyed at him and asked.

This is also a question that others want to ask.

"How about we follow behind them?" Zhou Jian suggested.

"No, if there are predatory dinosaurs lurking nearby, they generally won't charge from the front or attack from the side; they'll only ambush from behind," Shen Ye said.

"So what do we do?"

Jack asked, and Zhou Jian wanted to ask too.

"Catch them when the time is right, follow them from the side, one by one, and bend over with your hands on the ground, slowly follow them. Don't come out in a group, it will scare them and cause them to run around in a commotion," Shen Ye said.

"Remember, never stand up, follow along while bending over!" Shen Ye emphasized repeatedly.

"Why?" the reporter asked.

"Predatory dinosaurs all stood on two legs. They didn't recognize us as humans; they judged whether we were predators by our standing posture!"

Shen Ye said.

Although this knowledge is not conclusive in archaeological literature, this situation is very likely to exist, and these details cannot be ignored.

Otherwise, it could very well lead to a major disaster!

"I'll go first, then one more in ten seconds! Everyone should blend into the group before catching up, and try not to scare them," Shen Ye reminded them again.

He glanced back at the crowd.

They all nodded, making sure they understood.

Shen Ye was the first to push himself up with both hands, like a four-limbed ape, and slowly walked over.

The horned dinosaurs did look over, but they did not stop.

Clearly, Shen Ye's guess was correct.

They cannot understand human beings, nor can they see sharp teeth and claws, nor can they see a bipedal posture. Most importantly, they are not as big as humans.

These non-threatening appearance features are not enough to elicit a reaction from them; for them, the task of drinking water is more important.

Zhou Jian followed immediately afterward.

Finally, there were Mike, Jack, the reporter, the photographer, Choi Jung-seok, and two engineers.

They all integrated smoothly into the team.

Then they followed step by step, moving in sync with the twenty or so horned dinosaurs to the riverbank; they looked like a group of cattle herders.

Shen Ye had already boldly touched these crocodilians.

It felt like touching an elephant's skin. Shen Ye really wanted to ride on it, but these schizothoraxes hadn't undergone desensitization training yet, so riding on them rashly would definitely not be an option.

Anyone who has ever ridden an ox or horse that has never been ridden before knows what that is like.