62: depth charge

The setting sun, a fiery red, stained half the sky with evening clouds, incredibly resplendent.

"I can evolve now. It's getting late, so I'll go back to the water to evolve!"

Su Yuan immediately decided to return to evolve.

It was getting late, and night was approaching, when various predators would become more active.

Although he had survived on land until now, he was, after all, an aquatic creature; it was more comfortable to return to the water, and evolving in the water was safer.

Moreover, he never believed that his strength truly made him invincible in this vicinity.

The existence of the Big Black Fish might not be an isolated case.

Caution is the parent of safety!

The journey back was uneventful; Su Yuan, in his camouflaged state, quickly returned to the deep pool.

Of course, along the way, he wasn't idle; he didn't give up any easily caught prey, eating his fill and increasing his evolution points by over a hundred.

The moment the red sun completely disappeared beyond the horizon, Su Yuan returned to the deep pool and entered the Underground Dark River through a tiny underwater entrance.

He hadn't forgotten that the special squad was still planning to come back to deal with him.

In a corner of the Underground Dark River, Su Yuan began his evolution.

The System's power descended, enveloping his body, and the mysterious evolution began... At the same time, the Wildlife and Plant Administration Bureau's Field Operations Team arrived at the deep pool once again.

The group at this moment was not entirely unscathed; some had sustained injuries, though they didn't seem to significantly impede their movement.

The Bald Captain looked at a teammate.

"No traces of it leaving."

The person said.

The Bald Captain nodded, his gaze sharpening again. The pile of corpses that had been there earlier was long gone, and there were no dragging marks on the ground, as if some creature had eaten them directly on the spot, leaving no bones.

He also noticed that some special footprints were left at the scene; they looked like circular footprints with a diameter of over ten centimeters.

(PS: The diameter of an octopus's tentacles gradually decreases, so the normal state diameter of the protagonist's tentacle ends is only over ten centimeters here, and the corresponding Claws length will be shorter.)

"What is this? Footprints left by some creature?"

The others quickly discovered these footprints as well, a little surprised.

Because, in their impression, they didn't know of any footprints that were perfectly circular.

The Bald Captain's expression was serious; he crouched down to examine them, then followed the footprints all the way into the deep pool.

After a moment of silence, he spoke: "The footprints first appeared by the water's edge, and they are in a set, indicating the creature is bipedal and walks upright. Also, the stride of the footprints reached ten meters, meaning the creature can cover a distance of ten meters in one step."

"Captain, a bipedal creature that can stride ten meters in one step, is that a giant? And these footprints are too strange."

"It started appearing from the riverbank, and there are no other clues around. Is it an amphibious creature?"

Several Soldiers had never seen such a bizarre thing; if they hadn't personally caught a tiger that could spit wind blades before, they would have thought someone was playing a prank.

"The priority target has changed to this creature."

After the Bald Captain reported the clues here to the Bureau of Flora and Fauna Administration, he received new orders.

A suspected mutated bipedal creature led some experts to speculate whether it was a mutated primate, and whether its intelligence had increased with the mutation.

This even made them subtly uneasy, which is why the Field Operations Team was ordered to investigate with full effort.

The Field Operations Team began to meticulously search for clues on the ground, and soon, they found another set of footprints.

"Are these the return footprints?"

As professional special forces Soldiers, they easily determined that these footprints were heading from outside towards the deep pool, and the footprints ultimately stopped at the edge of the deep pool.

After the Bald Captain reported the clues, he waved his hand, and the entire team immediately spread out, each aiming their weapons at the deep pool, without any lights, as their helmets had night vision capabilities.

At the same time, a Soldier brought over the river instrument and placed it in the deep pool.

He was holding a military laptop, and after some operations, the instrument surprisingly started moving; it was actually an underwater robot.

The Bald Captain stood beside him, observing the computer screen while maintaining vigilance.

On the screen, one astonishingly Large Carp after another swam by, some measuring two to three meters long, and there was also a Big Mandarin Fish furiously attacking surrounding creatures.

"Sir, the fish in this water are so big!"

The Soldier was a little surprised.

"Focus on the target."

The Bald Captain said, ever since being transferred to the Wildlife and Plant Administration Bureau, they had known that this world was different.

However, they used to deal with the world's top counterparts, and now, dealing with these mutated animals, they still had some strength left.

However, he heard Professor Jin say that this global biological mutation might only be the beginning.

No one knew what the future held.

He only knew one principle: even a Lion uses its full strength against a rabbit!

"Yes!"

The Soldier operating the computer said.

Soon, he operated the underwater robot to search the entire deep pool, even sinking to the bottom of the pool, but found no suspicious targets.

During this time, the underwater robot encountered attacks from Mandarin Fish and Big Black Fish; fortunately, the underwater robot had a certain combat capability, and after killing several Large Carp, it finally deterred the surrounding fish and shrimp.

"This shouldn't be."

The Bald Captain frowned, his sharp gaze fixed on the computer screen. In their experience, those footprints definitely started from the water's edge, walked outwards, and eventually returned to the riverbank.

Moreover, the return footprints were clearly freshly made, and the time difference between their arrival and the footprints' appearance was definitely not long.

This indicated that the target was definitely still in the pool, or had even just entered.

The Bald Captain pondered for a moment, still thinking the unknown creature must be hiding.

"Monkey, deploy a depth charge."

The Soldier operating the computer immediately had the underwater robot return, then placed a bomb on it, which the underwater robot then delivered to the bottom of the pool.

"Be alert!"

The Bald Captain reminded his teammates.

The next moment.

"Boom!"

A deafening sound erupted, and the entire deep pool was shaken by towering waves, sweeping across the surrounding mountainous terrain.

Inside the deep pool, countless fish and shrimp were killed by the explosion, floating densely on the surface, many of them washing ashore with the waves.

The Field Operations Team remained unmoved, their sharp gazes fixed on the deep pool, fingers already on their triggers.

However, there was still no movement in the deep pool.

Even after the underwater robot re-entered the water, it didn't see any suspicious figures.

"Hiding? Or is it really not here? Could it be a bird?"

The Bald Captain pondered for a moment, then said: "Put all our ammunition in there. The explosion's power should cover the entire deep pool."

"Yes!"

The Soldier operating the computer had the underwater robot retreat, and in batches, placed all the depth charges carried for this mission in various locations in the deep pool.

This time, everyone retreated dozens of meters.

The next moment.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A full nine depth charges exploded simultaneously, like angry Thunder from the Nine Heavens striking here. The pool water churned with towering waves, carrying countless Large Carp, falling from the sky!

This terrifying roar made many creatures in the surrounding mountains tremble, fleeing in disarray.

When the pool water calmed, the surrounding mountainous terrain was already covered with a large number of dead Large Carp, shrimp, and crabs.

The underwater robot immediately rushed into the water, quickly patrolling the entire pool, but still found nothing.

"Is it really not in the water?"

The Bald Man stared intently at the pool, his brows furrowed. He had a hunch that the target was in the water!

Moreover, the creature that attacked the Red Moon Thunder Dragon Fish and the creature that left the footprints should be the same one!

Just then, the Bald Man received an urgent notification.

"Okay, I understand. I don't have any clues here either for now. I'll come over now."

Ultimately, with no clues, the Bald Man, after leaving the underwater robot to monitor, had no choice but to lead his team away.