Chapter 91 The Death of the Crocodile

The next day, after the old crocodile returned from his patrol, Bourbon eagerly approached him, pleading, "Senior Morrell, you promised yesterday..."

The old man smiled and shook his head: "Alright, I'll keep my promise, but I need to find a quiet place. I don't want any curious little brats eavesdropping."

So Bourbon followed the old man out of the village and into the rainforest. Not quite familiar with the way, Bourbon managed to tell that they were heading towards the river.

"Have you been eating well these past two days?" the old man asked.

"Mmm, the food is plentiful! There's so much fruit here."

The old man leading the way was lost in his memories: "I remember your father telling me he came from a faraway island nation in the Northern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite to here, and fruit is scarce and expensive. Every spring, the island is covered in sakura (cherry blossoms). You came from there too, didn't you?"

"Yes, you speak Japanese?"

“A little bit, all taught by your father, but I’ve forgotten most of it now. But I remember Sakura very well because his name has that word in it.”

"What's Daddy's name?"

"You didn't know?!" The old man turned around and looked at Bourbon in shock.

"Mom never said that."

“Sakuragi Tsubasa,” the old man added, “you look a lot like him, especially your eyes. To be honest, Kaimen and I didn’t get along very well when he was alive, because we always disagreed. Every time something like this happened, he would look at me with those innocent eyes and stubbornly say over and over again, ‘Please, Morrell, believe me! This time it will definitely work!’ I didn’t mean to make things difficult for you yesterday; I was just thinking about that guy who was so easy to make me angry.”

Hearing this, Bourbon couldn't help but smile. He imagined the scene and actually found his father quite adorable.

The old man stopped in front of an acacia tree: "Let's sit here and talk. What would you like to hear?"

How did you meet your father?

The old man lit a pipe and chuckled calmly, "I first met Kaimen in the swamp, but unlike you, he got lost and accidentally stepped in. Fate is amazing, isn't it? When I pulled you out of the swamp, I thought I'd encountered a ghost!"

Bourbon was also surprised by this miraculous first encounter: "Why did you come here, Father? I saw the parchment scroll in the attic yesterday. It seems that the reason Crocodile Bay was created is related to that river in front?"

Do you know the name of this river?

"Uh... the Amazon River?"

"Haha, no, this is the Orinoco River. To be precise, it's a tributary that flows west and north after joining the main river and eventually empties into the Atlantic Ocean... Kaimen told me that there's a novel about this river, I think it's called 'The Magnificent Orinoco,' written by a famous French science fiction writer, what was his name again?"

"Jules Verne?" Bourbon guessed the most famous one offhand.

"Hey, that's him! Have you read this novel?"

"I haven't seen it."

“Then you should take a look. This book not only talks about the river, but also tells the story of a girl searching for her missing father. Doesn’t it sound a lot like you?” The old man took a few puffs of his cigarette and continued, “This is a very important river, do you understand why?”

Shipping? Hydropower? Fisheries?

“Yes, it’s shipping.” The old man nodded with satisfaction. “More than 500 years ago, when that group of Europeans first came here, they arrived by ship. Even today, although we have airplanes and cars, the most convenient mode of transportation here is still the ship. The only difference is that the power source has changed from sails and oars to turbine engines. Can you guess what these ships are here for?”

"Trade, like imports and exports."

What are they selling and trading?

"Coffee, bananas, oil, and..."

The old man interrupted, both amused and annoyed, saying, "Child, does this place look like a port? We naturally won't interfere with legal trade."

Bourbon suddenly realized: "Smuggling and trafficking!"

“You’ve hit the nail on the head! People like Ap and Gadon do business with foreigners. Airplanes are too expensive for them. Trucks can only travel by land; they can’t go across water. So they have to use boats: although they’re slower, they’re cheaper!”

"So, Yuuki's abduction and the octopus incident in Nagano were both smuggled overseas by boat."

Bourbon thought to himself, vaguely guessing the answer: "So, your mission, seniors, is to intercept these illegal ships?"

"Yes, that's our main job: rescuing hostages and recovering stolen goods. Your father came here for that purpose too."

"Why?"

The old man squinted and asked, "Let me ask you a question first. If you were a police officer and disagreed with your superior on a case, what would you do?"

"This requires a case-by-case analysis, but I will certainly not give up my point of view easily."

"But what if your superiors put pressure on you?"

"I will try to avoid direct conflict and outwardly comply with my superiors. In reality, I will continue to investigate according to my own ideas until the truth comes out."

The old man smiled with satisfaction: "Very good, you are more adaptable than your father."

"What's wrong with Dad?"

"In his first year as a police officer, he encountered a transnational human trafficking case. It was a very difficult case, and his superiors put it on hold because the trafficked person was not a citizen of their own country. But he was dissatisfied with his superiors' actions and went to make a scene, which resulted in his dismissal. However, he still kept that case in mind and tracked it all the way here."

Bourbon was speechless with astonishment. He never imagined that his father was also a policeman, and with such an amazing resume.

“Thirty or forty years ago, the area was quite chaotic. The river was much wider than it is now, and we’re sitting right on its banks. There were many more boats coming and going, many of them involved in illegal activities. The first to propose stopping this was a pair of brothers. They gave themselves imposing nicknames after ancient crocodiles: Purus and Barinas. Later, another person and I joined in. He was called Cuvier because of his short stature, and I was called Morere because my mother was Mexican. Finally, your father came too. We thought he would leave after investigating the case. But he said he felt he was needed here more than in his hometown, so he stayed. Because he was very dark-skinned, we called him Black Kaimen.” The old man exhaled a smoke ring. “Objectively speaking, I’m very grateful to Kaimen; he’s made many contributions here. But he’s clearly not a good husband or father. The eldest brother, Purus, always says Kaimen is a maverick, but he’s quite proud of it.”

Bourbon smiled slightly but remained silent.

"Although it may not be appropriate for me to say this, I still want to say it: Child, I am sorry."

“You don’t have to do that. I’m all grown up now and I’m doing just fine.”

Admittedly, his father was absent from all the important stages of his life. But he really didn't want to blame that man. Perhaps the person his father wronged the most was his mother? As a son, he had already let go of that feeling.

The old man continued, “The first two years were the most difficult, but then the witch doctor Manu joined us. Manu used his magical witchcraft to promote us, which had a great publicity effect. In this way, word spread quickly, and the name Crocodile Bay became well-known. Many people joined in, which strengthened our team. The attic you see is the old site of Crocodile Bay.”

"Then why move?"

The old man sighed deeply, “That’s a long story. About thirty years ago, there was a large-scale operation to wipe out these criminal gangs. That was our strongest period, and we also had international support; many police officers from the United States and Europe came to help us fight crime. We won a great victory that time, as if all evil forces had been eradicated. Everyone was very happy, and after celebrating, we unanimously decided to disband on the spot and go home. Kaimen left too. But we were all wrong…”

"Are there still remnants of the party?"

A sorrowful expression crossed the old man's wrinkled face. "Yes, they came back, and within six months they were back with a vengeance. But we had long since let our guard down and were unarmed. We suffered a brutal reprisal. Our leader, Proust, gathered the survivors again and moved to a new location. However, this time there was no international support to help us; we had to rely on ourselves... But to everyone's surprise, Kaimen returned." The old man paused, a meaningful smile appearing on his face. "I think you were already in your mother's womb back then. You must be almost 30 now?"

"Yes."

What month is your birthday?

"July."

The old man frowned: "So that means you weren't even born when Kaimen died."

"Dad, how did you die?" Bourbon asked, trembling.

“That day, a boat carrying many children came by; they were all trafficked. As usual, we tried to stop it, but unfortunately, the boat malfunctioned and caught fire. Octopus—the leader of the traffickers—saw the fire getting too big and abandoned ship. As for Kaimen…” The old man sighed helplessly, “because he counted the number of children and didn’t think there were more children on board, he insisted on rescuing them. He was right; there were indeed children locked inside. But by the time he rescued the children, the boat was almost sinking, and he was severely burned. When we pulled him out of the water, he was almost dead. He died on the way back.”

"That's why the octopus said those things to me; it turns out he was there."

Bourbon lowered his head and asked, "Then where did this tooth come from?"

"That was a symbol of Kaimen's victory over Gatorton's grandfather. Kaimen had a tooth knocked out, but he retaliated by knocking out his opponent's tooth as well. Gatorton's grandfather died soon after, heartbroken. Kaimen felt that the incident was very meaningful, so he asked old Manu to make both teeth into necklaces. He kept the enemy's tooth for himself and left his to his wife."

“I see, I really need to thank you for this gift!” Bourbon said, stroking his father’s teeth.

"Besides that tooth, there's also a watch, a gift from your father." The old man pulled a delicate pocket watch from his pocket. "You should have received it, right?"

"Huh? What watch?" Bourbon was a little confused.

"Didn't you receive it? I mailed it myself, using the address your dad used to send letters home, so there shouldn't be any mistake, right?"

When did you send it out?

"20 years ago."

"Well... my mother had already passed away by then, and I had moved, so I didn't receive it."

"Oh, how senile I am! I never thought of this! What a pity, it was such a fine watch."

"I remember Conan saying that Osiris also had a crocodile pocket watch?"

"Senior, what's the story behind this watch? My father passed away 30 years ago, why was it only given to me 20 years ago?"

"That's another story. This crocodile pocket watch was a gift from a Swiss businessman to thank us for saving his life. He had gotten lost and was almost killed by robbers, but we rescued him. After returning home, he wanted to make a special gift for us. This is a one-of-a-kind, handmade pocket watch! See the crocodile on the case? Mine is a Mexican crocodile, and the others' designs correspond to their nicknames. It took a lot of effort to make these five watches. It's said that because the initial versions were not satisfactory, they were revised many times and it took many years to complete. They are simply exquisite works of art!"

"But after the pocket watch was finished, our power had greatly diminished, and the merchant didn't know where to find us. Many years passed, and by the time the watch reached me, Kaimen had been dead for almost ten years, and my elder brothers had also passed away, leaving only Cuvier and me. Not long after, Cuvier also died. Now I'm all alone." The old man chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Many people ask me what the point is of guarding only one river my whole life. I counter with: what's the point if you can't even guard one river in your life? But now it seems I haven't managed to guard it. I'm old, and apart from the small rust spots, there isn't a single young face here. When we're all in our graves, who will guard this river?"

Bourbon silently shook the old man's rough hand. He felt guilty that he couldn't settle down like his father, and he didn't want to give the old man false hope. He said sincerely, "Your work is not in vain. Every ship that is stopped will be recorded in your merit book."

The old man's brow relaxed, and he tapped the ground with the pipe of his pipe: "Kaymen, did you hear that? Your son is better at talking than you!"

"What?!" Bourbon then realized that he had been sitting in front of his father's grave the whole time.

"Yes, this is where your father is buried. There is no tombstone because we have made too many enemies. If the enemy finds out, they might dig up our graves in retaliation. The others are also buried nearby. This used to be the riverbank. We wanted to bury him closer to the water, but the water level has decreased over the years, and this place has become like this."

“I’ve finally found you…” Bourbon knelt down, stroking the damp earth, the land his father and his ancestors had protected together. He had once heard a saying: crocodiles don’t migrate; they only recognize one river in their entire lives.

"Rest in peace, Dad!"

I will carry on your legacy.