Land Giants

By the artificial lake, as news of the water monster spread, the number of tourists gathering to catch a glimpse increased dramatically.

If Lin Feng hadn't brought reinforcements, the tourists might have started fighting among themselves before even seeing the water monster.

"Why hasn't the water monster shown up yet? Could this be a hoax?"

"Exactly! We've been here for two hours and haven't even seen its shadow."

"It can't be fake. I personally saw a huge dark shadow emerge from the water earlier - it almost dragged the park director in!"

"Right! How could so many of us be wrong?"

"Speaking of this artificial lake, I know it well. I used to mine here thirty years ago. The mine shaft was dozens of meters deep with interconnecting tunnels everywhere. It's perfectly normal for a water monster to hide in there."

"But what if the water monster just stays hidden in there? Wouldn't we have waited for nothing?"

"Are there any livestreamers with diving equipment who could go down and show us what the water monster looks like?"

"If any streamer dares to go down there, they'd probably go viral instantly."

"There are usually so many adventure streamers around. Now that there's a real water monster, why isn't anyone willing to dive in?"

"You don't get it - you think those adventure streamers do real exploring? It's all scripted."

"Exactly. No one knows what's in that lake now. Who would risk their life for money? You need to be alive to spend it."

"But we can't just keep waiting like this."

"By the way, where's the park director? He didn't really go looking for water pumps, did he?"

...

Just as the tourists were discussing among themselves, a thunderous sound suddenly came from behind the artificial lake.

Hearing this boom, all the spectators immediately turned their attention in that direction.

In the next second, their pupils contracted, and their faces instantly showed expressions of terror.

"Ah! Monster!"

Someone screamed, and the crowd instantly descended into chaos.

Even Lin Feng and the other police officers maintaining order couldn't help but swallow hard, their hands unconsciously moving toward their waists.

At this moment, Yang Lin suddenly appeared before everyone holding a megaphone.

"Everyone, please stay calm! This is our park's saltwater crocodile. It's my helper, and it has a very gentle temperament. There's no need to be afraid."

Hearing Yang Lin's words, the crowd finally suppressed their fear.

Following their gaze, they saw an unidentified creature the size of a small car, covered in earthen-yellow scales, slowly moving in their direction.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a massive crocodile.

As for what specific species it was, they weren't quite sure, but since Yang Lin said it was a saltwater crocodile, they accepted that.

Even though they now knew this fearsome-looking creature wasn't a monster, people still felt uneasy looking at its enormous size.

"Good heavens, is this really a crocodile? I thought it was a dinosaur!"

"Can crocodiles really grow this big? Was it raised on steroids or something? It must be at least seven or eight meters long!"

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't know. There are small crocodiles and large crocodiles. The saltwater crocodile is currently the largest crocodile species in the world, so this size is quite reasonable."

"In ancient China, crocodiles were known as 'earth dragons' and 'pig-grandma dragons.' There used to be a Black Dragon Pool in our area that was said to house a huge pig-grandma dragon."

"Anything with 'dragon' in its name couldn't possibly be small."

"But the director said it has a gentle temperament - I find that hard to believe. One bite from that thing would crush my head!"

...

As people were backing away, Yang Lin, who was guiding the saltwater crocodile, slowly approached the crowd.

An inexplicable sense of pressure emanated from the massive crocodile.

At this moment, a little girl from some family suddenly ran up to the front of the crocodile.

Before her parents could react, she placed her small, delicate hands on the crocodile's body.

Seeing this, everyone was frozen with fear, and the little girl's parents nearly fainted.

Just when everyone thought the little girl was about to be attacked by this terrifying creature, the fierce-looking crocodile seemed to ignore her completely.

Encouraged by this, the little girl became even more daring.

"Hehe! Big doggy, let's play horsey!"

The next second, she climbed right onto the crocodile's back.

Even then, the crocodile maintained its previous demeanor.

Seeing this, everyone finally believed what Yang Lin had said.

"See? It actually has no ill intentions toward humans. Let me formally introduce you all."

"This saltwater crocodile's name is Li Xiaopang. She's seven years old and is a female. Her favorite foods are pumpkins and sweet potatoes, though she occasionally eats chicken, but often gets bones stuck in her throat."

"Her biggest nemesis is the macaw from the Bird Language Forest - that naughty bird always bullies her."

Hearing Yang Lin's introduction, people's fear of the crocodile instantly vanished, and they even began to find its enormous size somewhat endearing.

"Haha, such a huge creature, and it loves pumpkins and sweet potatoes the most!"

"My goodness, she's just a little girl? She must weigh at least a ton!"

"So she's a thousand-pound lady!"

"Can't even beat a parrot? Is that really possible?"

"I thought it was ridiculous enough that Chinese alligators couldn't beat geese, but this huge saltwater crocodile can't handle a bird?"

"Why do I suddenly find her kind of cute?"

While tourists were amused by the true nature of this large saltwater crocodile, some noticed an interesting detail.

"Director, why do all your animals have the surname Li? The chimpanzee is called Li Wei, the gibbon is Li Qiang, the tiger is Li Hua, and even this crocodile is Li Xiaopang."

Hearing this question, the other tourists' curiosity was instantly piqued.

They had been wondering about this for a long time.

Yang Lin was momentarily stunned by the tourist's question.

He couldn't exactly say it was because his grandfather wanted to get revenge on his romantic rival by naming all the animals with the surname Li.

After thinking for a moment, he came up with a diplomatic explanation.

"Actually, these animals have the surname Li because both my father and I almost had the surname Li ourselves. So giving the animals this surname is a way of showing that they're like family to us."

Hearing Yang Lin's explanation, everyone felt touched.

As for why Yang Lin and his father almost had the surname Li, no one asked further.

Just as people finished asking questions, Yang Lin's gaze turned toward the bottomless lake water.

"Xiaopang, I've raised you for a thousand days, and now it's time for you to do something for the zoo."

"Go down there and drag out that water monster. I'll reward you with a ton of pumpkins."

As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, the crocodile's massive body quickly plunged into the lake water.