Chen Hao squatted by the crack, his head buzzing. He was about to raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a shadow darting past in the shadows of the rock wall.
He jerked back, nearly falling flat on his backside.
"What the hell?" His voice trembled slightly.
Susan immediately turned around, her hand already on the pliers. Nana simultaneously changed the scanning direction, and the dot on the screen flickered. Carl also stopped recording and stared at the crevice in the rock.
The wind was still blowing, carrying the smell of burning stones mixed with damp earth. The shadow from before was gone, but there were several fresh scratches on the ground near the rock wall, as if something had scratched it.
“It didn’t form naturally,” Karl said in a low voice.
Nana's data quickly showed the results: "Residual biological thermal signal detected, temperature around 37 degrees Celsius, estimated body length over 2.5 meters, moving on all fours."
"Alive?" Chen Hao swallowed hard. "Was that... a lizard?"
“It looks similar, but it has no tail and its forelimbs are unusually well-developed,” Nana replied. “There is no matching species in the database.”
Susan didn't speak, but slowly pulled a metal tube from her backpack, unscrewed both ends, turning it into a short stick. She attached the lighting device to her belt, and the beam of light shone on the crevice in the rock.
There was nothing there.
But no one relaxed.
Chen Hao's palms were sweaty as he quietly pulled out a wooden stick—the same one he'd used to prop up the tent, one end still covered in mud. He gripped it tightly, feeling that this thing would be difficult to use even to beat a dog, let alone deal with this strange thing that was over two meters long.
“Is it… watching us?” he asked softly.
As soon as he finished speaking, a gray-green outline reappeared in the shadows on the side of the rock wall.
This time it didn't dodge, but stopped on a protruding rock ten meters away, lowering its body, gripping the stone with its front paws, and tilting its head slightly. Its eyes reflected the light, like two upright copper coins.
Chen Hao felt his heart beating incredibly fast.
"Don't move it," Susan said. "Don't agitate it."
The creature let out a low growl from its throat, silent but deafening. Its mouth opened a crack, revealing a row of short, close-set teeth, not like those for tearing meat, but more like those for crushing bones.
Nana quickly brought up the analysis interface: "The sound wave frequency is concentrated at 70 Hz, which is a warning sound mode. No muscle contraction was detected as a precursor to an attack."
"Does that mean it hasn't decided to take action yet?" Karl asked softly.
“Yes,” Nana nodded, “but it is assessing us.”
Chen Hao couldn't help but ask, "Then could we... pretend to be passing by and slowly back away?"
No one responded.
Because the creature moved.
It didn't pounce; instead, it moved laterally along the rock face, its movements so fast they left afterimages. It paused after each step, and with each landing, its claws left shallow dents in the stone.
“It’s flanking us,” Susan suddenly said.
Sure enough, that guy was flanking them from the side and rear, his route was very steady, as if he knew where the four of them were standing.
"Back to the wall," Susan ordered. "Back to back, don't let it break the formation."
The four quickly pressed themselves against the rock face, forming a circle. Chen Hao stood slightly back in the middle, holding up a wooden stick and pointing towards the open space ahead. His legs felt a little weak, but he didn't shrink back.
The creature stopped abruptly when it had circled around to about a third of its length.
Then it looked up at the sky.
Chen Hao was stunned: "It can even see the sky?"
“It’s not looking at the sky,” Karl said, watching its movements. “It’s listening to the wind.”
The wind shifted, and the upward airflow from the valley floor suddenly weakened for a moment. The creature's ears twitched, and it looked down at them again, its low growl returning, deeper than before.
“It might rely on airflow to determine distance,” Carl said quickly, “or on smell.”
"Should I hold my breath?" Chen Hao muttered.
"Don't talk." Susan glared at him.
The air froze.
The creature slowly raised its forepaws, hovering them in mid-air, as if testing the wind direction. Then, it suddenly took a step forward, pressing its entire body down as if to pounce.
Everyone was on edge.
But it didn't rush.
It paused for a moment, then returned to its original position.
“A feint,” Carl said. “It’s trying to scare us.”
"I succeeded." Chen Hao gritted his teeth. "My belt is almost loose."
Nana kept staring at the scanning screen: "Its body temperature is rising, it's 39.2 degrees now, which means its metabolism is accelerating and its attack intent is increasing."
"So, it might actually pounce next time?" Chen Hao's voice rose.
“Not necessarily.” Karl stared into the creature’s eyes. “It’s afraid too. Look, its ears are pressed against its head; that’s a defensive posture. It’s unsure what we are.”
"We're not sure what it is either," Chen Hao rolled his eyes. "How about we exchange resumes?"
“Shut up,” Susan whispered. “It moved.”
The creature really started to approach.
One step, two steps, its paws barely making a sound as they touched the ground. Its head was lowered, its eyes fixed on Susan, who was at the front of the group of four.
Susan didn't withdraw.
She shone her flashlight directly into the creature's face.
When the bright light shone on it, it visibly swayed, and the sound in its throat stopped abruptly. But instead of fleeing, it squinted, its mouth twitched, revealing more teeth.
“It works,” Susan said. “It’s sensitive to strong light.”
"Should I take off my clothes and throw them in its face?" Chen Hao asked.
“It won’t help even if you take it off,” Carl said. “The fat layer is too thick; it won’t reflect light.”
"Hey!" Chen Hao exclaimed, "Are you still criticizing my physique at a time like this?"
“I’m just stating the facts,” Carl said without changing his expression.
The creature stopped five meters away, its front paws gripping the ground, its muscles tense. Its breathing became heavy, its nostrils opening and closing, exhaling a thin stream of white vapor.
"Get ready," Susan whispered. "It's coming."
Chen Hao held the wooden stick horizontally in front of him, his hands trembling violently. He took a deep breath, trying hard not to collapse.
Just then, Nana suddenly spoke up: "Wait, there's movement coming from the crevice behind it."
Everyone's gaze followed her words and looked toward the crevice in the rock behind the creature.
An even smaller shadow flashed inside.
Immediately afterwards, a sharp cry came from inside, like the cry of a cub.
The creature immediately turned around, making a short, guttural sound in its throat, as if in response. But it didn't leave; instead, it blocked the crevice, turning its head towards them with an even fiercer look in its eyes.
“Protective behavior,” Carl said. “It’s not hunting, it’s guarding the nest.”
"So it won't revert?" Susan asked.
“Unless we leave,” Carl said, “it will keep blocking our way.”
Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief: "That makes things easier. If we don't touch its offspring, it won't cause us any trouble."
“The problem is,” Susan stared at the creature, “we have to go down, and its nest is on that road.”
The creature seemed to sense their hesitation and took another half step forward. Its tail—though lacking a distinct tail structure, but with a muscular bulge on its lower back swaying slightly—sweeped lightly across the ground, raising a small cloud of dust.
“It’s marking its territory,” Nana said.
"What do we do now?" Chen Hao asked. "We can't just stay here until dark, can we?"
“No,” Carl said. “Its advantages are greater at night; night vision and sense of smell are enhanced.”
"Then let's force our way in?" Chen Hao's voice was weak.
“No,” Susan shook her head. “We still have time. It’s just issuing a warning, not actually attacking. As long as we don’t show any signs of predation, it won’t strike first.”
"Shall we play dumb?" Chen Hao said, "and make a 'I won't eat your kid' gesture?"
“You can try,” Carl said, “but I suggest you don’t do anything rash.”
The creature remained standing, like a rock with eyes. The wind picked up, making it hard to open one's eyes. Its scales gleamed a glossy grayish-green in the dim light, while the ring around its neck was a deeper color, like a layer of armor.
Chen Hao suddenly noticed something: "Its feet are spread apart, with three toes pointing forward and one toe pointing backward. This is not the structure of a reptile."
“It resembles mammalian features,” Carl said. “It could be an evolutionary branch.”
"So, in other words," Chen Hao grinned, "this thing might open a door?"
“The possibility is extremely low,” Nana said.
"I was just joking," Chen Hao said, shrinking back. "Can you guys please stop taking it so seriously every time?"
Susan suddenly raised her hand, signaling for quiet.
The creature's ears twitched.
It slowly turned its head to look into the depths of the canyon, letting out a short cry from its throat, somewhat similar to the cub's cry, but deeper.
The little shadow in the crevice of the rock flashed again.
“It’s communicating,” Carl said. “And it’s a regular change in audio frequency.”
"So it's not just smart," Chen Hao said, "it can also take care of kids and make phone calls?"
“The point is,” Susan said, staring at it, “it’s distracted now.”
The creature's attention did indeed shift for a moment; it glanced back at the ball and lowered its front paws.
“An opportunity,” Susan said softly. “We can retreat slowly.”
"How do we retreat?" Chen Hao asked. "Who moves first?"
"Nana first," Susan said. "Take half a step back, and we'll adjust accordingly."
Nana nodded and slowly moved back a short distance.
The creature immediately sensed her presence, jerked its head back, and locked its eyes on her.
But it didn't move.
Nana stopped.
“It allows us to back up,” Carl said, “but it won’t let us leave easily.”
“So we have to put on a show,” Chen Hao suddenly said, “to make it think we’re not a threat.”
"How do we act it out?" Susan asked.
"I have an idea," Chen Hao said through gritted teeth, "but I need to get closer."
"Are you crazy?" Susan glared at him.
“I’m not crazy,” Chen Hao said in a low voice. “You see it protecting its cubs, which means it’s afraid of losing them. If we act like it… for example, if I also find a rock and pretend to protect it, will it think we’re also raising cubs?”
“Absurd,” Carl said.
“But it doesn’t understand logic,” Chen Hao said. “It can only look at behavior.”
A brief silence.
Susan looked at the creature, then at Chen Hao: "You only have ten seconds. If you fail, don't expect us to save you."
Chen Hao swallowed hard, slowly bent down, picked up a fist-sized rock from the ground, hugged it to his chest, then squatted down, with his back to the others, protecting the rock in front of him, and hummed a couple of times.
The creature was stunned.
It stared at Chen Hao, tilting its head slightly.
Chen Hao continued humming and patted the stone with his hand, as if to soothe it.
The creature slowly lowered its forepaws.
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