As the massive saltwater crocodile splashed into the artificial lake with a loud plunge, the atmosphere at the scene instantly reached its peak.
Not only had various streamers and social media personalities gathered at the scene, but even Ningnan City's official television station had arrived.
Their broadcast van, emblazoned with the station's logo, drove right into the zoo, all just to catch a glimpse of the mysterious water monster's true form.
While the crowd's enthusiasm on-site was running high, internet users weren't sitting idle either.
Almost every on-site streamer's live broadcast room was packed with curious viewers.
The moment the crocodile entered the water, the comment section exploded.
"Holy crap, that's one huge crocodile! As expected, none of the animals in this zoo are normal-sized."
"That tiger from before was already massive enough, but now even the crocodile is gigantic. Was the zoo director formerly a pig farmer or something?"
"LOL, they actually do have a pig at their zoo, but it's now as skinny as a dog. They say it developed anorexia."
"What do you mean 'as skinny as a dog'? Have you seen their Husky? It could knock out a Tibetan Mastiff with one swipe!"
"With all these animals they have in their zoo, they could film their own 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.'"
"Let's do it! I'll invest right now. If we're short on money, I'll sell my house."
"That's really not necessary, brother."
"What I'm most concerned about is whether this crocodile can really beat that water monster? I heard the monster is over ten meters long."
"Why do these rumors keep getting more ridiculous? Ten meters long? Why not say it's dozens of meters long?"
"Stop chattering and watch the stream! Hey streamer, are you chickening out? Jump in the water and give us a HD view!"
...
While everyone's attention was focused on the lake's surface, Yang Lin was witnessing a completely different scene before his eyes.
Looking carefully, he could see exactly what was happening beneath the water's surface.
Through shared vision, he could see everything within the crocodile's field of view, as if he had jumped into the water himself.
As the crocodile continued patrolling through the lake water, the lake bottom's features gradually came into view.
To his confusion, there wasn't just no monster in the water - there wasn't even a single fish to be seen.
"Where are my fish? What happened to the tens of thousands of fish fry we release every year? I was planning to catch some during Chinese New Year to make some pocket money, but where have they all gone?"
"Don't tell me that thing ate them all."
Looking at the empty waters, Yang Lin felt a surge of anger rising within him.
When the crocodile descended to about forty meters deep, a network of interconnected holes appeared before his eyes.
Without a doubt, if there was any possibility, the giant water monster must be hiding in one of these holes.
But the problem was that he didn't seem to have any way to flush it out.
"Do I have to check each one individually?"
Just as this thought crossed Yang Lin's mind, a massive dark shadow suddenly shot out from one of the cave holes behind the crocodile.
Before the crocodile could react, it crashed straight into its body.
"Here it comes!"
Almost instantly, Yang Lin realized that the monster lurking at the bottom of the lake had made its move.
But before he could get a clear look at what the water monster actually looked like, the crocodile opened its massive jaws and turned to bite at the shadow.
Its speed far exceeded what ordinary people would expect from a crocodile.
This was clearly the result of Yang Lin awakening its talents.
The crocodile now possessed not only an incredibly powerful physique but also speed that surpassed ordinary fish.
In less than a second, its massive jaws had clamped down on the shadow.
Immediately, its terrifying bite force, capable of crushing solid wooden boards, penetrated through the shadow's skin and sank deep into its flesh.
However, just when Yang Lin thought they could easily handle this water monster, an enormous force erupted from the monster's body, sending the crocodile flying backward.
Seeing the shadow trying to escape, the crocodile didn't let up. With a swing of its tail, its massive body shot forward rapidly, soon cutting off the shadow's escape route.
Seeing this, Yang Lin let out a long sigh of relief.
"Good thing I chose agility. If I had chosen savage growth instead, we probably would have been dragged into a long fight with this water monster."
"Fatty, drive it up to the surface! I want to see exactly what this thing is!"
As Yang Lin gave his command, his voice immediately resonated in the crocodile's mind.
Receiving the order, the crocodile didn't hesitate at all, immediately turning to begin herding and pursuing the shadow.
By this point, Yang Lin could finally make out the rough appearance of the so-called water monster.
It was clearly a massive black fish, at least six or seven meters long.
However, due to the limited light at the bottom of the lake, its exact appearance was still unclear.
That's why he had ordered the crocodile to drive it to the surface.
After about ten minutes of pursuit and containment, the large fish, unable to bear the harassment any longer, finally began swimming toward the surface under the crocodile's chase.
Seeing this, Yang Lin on the shore quickly fixed his gaze on the center of the lake's surface.
The next second, under countless watchful eyes, a huge dark shadow slowly emerged from the lake water.
The crowd on the shore immediately erupted.
"Holy shit, the monster's finally out! It's huge!"
"It's really that monster! Did that big crocodile actually manage to drive it up?"
"Quick, quick, get the cameras ready! We can't miss this crucial moment!"
"We're finally going to know what this water monster really is!"
"I wonder if that big crocodile can catch it."
At this moment, everyone was filled with anticipation.
And just then, the crocodile's figure followed closely behind.
With a sound of breaking water, a massive jaw clamped down hard on the dark shadow.
What followed was an incredibly shocking sight for the crowd.
On the vast lake surface, they saw a huge crocodile firmly biting onto a giant monster fish that wasn't much smaller than itself.
Though the monster fish was struggling with all its might, once it was forced above water, it no longer had the strength to break free from the crocodile's blood-filled maw.
After a sound of crushing bones rang out, the black monster fish immediately stopped struggling.
Witnessing such an intense scene, the spectators felt their blood pumping.
They had never seen such a primitive and powerful battle up close before.
It immediately made them feel that their entrance tickets were well worth the price.
However, as the crocodile slowly approached the shore carrying the black monster fish in its jaws, curiosity arose in everyone's minds.
What kind of fish could grow so large, almost matching the size of the crocodile?
While others were showing puzzled expressions, Yang Lin's gaze toward the monster fish revealed a hint of understanding.
"So it was you all along."