The fish are all falling out, yet it keeps on thrashing.

"What? They’re right here? Aren’t they protected animals?"

Xiang Yuanyuan looked curious. Although her clothes didn't fit perfectly, her curvaceous figure and lovely face made the slightly loose blouse look quite stylish on her.

"They are protected, and we protect them too. There’s been a 'release back to the wild' program going on for years. There’s a spot right by our village where you can often see Chinese alligators hanging out. When there’s nothing else to do, the kids even feed them snacks."

The old woman spoke with complete nonchalance, though her hands were constantly clutching an old-fashioned mobile phone, checking it every now and then.

"Grandma, could you take us to see them? We just came from Crocodile Lake, but the crocodiles there were too big and looked so fierce—they weren't cute at all."

Xiang Yuanyuan was still hung up on that experience. Hearing there were some to see here, she wanted to know what these were like and hurried over to the old woman.

"Yuanyuan, we’re leaving after we eat, and it’s getting dark now. We probably won’t see anything even if we go, so let’s not trouble her."

Du Ruo had long noticed that the old woman and her husband were distracted, likely still worried about their grandson. Xiang Yuanyuan, however, was always a bit oblivious to such details. He stepped in to stop her, deciding that perhaps they could find a hotel to stay the night, then wander around the area the next morning to look for the alligators. If they found them, it would be a pleasant surprise; if not, it wouldn't matter.

"Oh, you're right. It'll be too dark to see anything. Let's not bother you, Grandma."

Xiang Yuanyuan wasn't unintelligent, just scatterbrained. Once Du Ruo spoke, she realized the situation and quickly changed her tune.

"It’s no trouble, I’ll take you..."

"I'm looking up!!!"

Just as the old woman was about to stand up, her phone rang. She cut herself off mid-sentence, grabbed the phone, and answered without even looking at the screen.

"Hello! Everything’s fine, right? Thank goodness. Xiuying, you stay at the hospital with him. I’ll bring you some food in a bit. Truly, the ancestors are watching over us."

After hanging up, she pressed her palms together and whispered continuously toward the ancestral tablet in the main hall. The volume on the phone had been loud enough for Du Ruo to hear the gist of the conversation: the child was okay but needed to stay under observation, and they shouldn't worry.

"Girl, let's go. I'll take you to see the alligators. Old man, the grandson is fine! You prepare some food, and we'll take it to the hospital later—keep it light!"

With that settled, she remembered her earlier promise. Excited, she grabbed Xiang Yuanyuan and headed out, shouting back into the kitchen.

"Let's go then, let's have a look."

Du Ruo smiled as the kitchen, previously quiet, became more bustling. He turned to Xiang Yuanyuan and nodded.

"My daughter-in-law loves river shrimp, so I set some fish traps by the river. Whenever I go to check them, those alligators would come around. Since she doesn't like fish, I’d feed the catch to them. Over time, whenever I go to check the traps, one or two always show up."

The old woman grabbed a bamboo pole from behind the door and led them toward the river, explaining as they walked. It was just past six, and the sky hadn't completely darkened yet, so they could still see clearly. Du Ruo and Xiang Yuanyuan followed behind.

"Fish traps? Grandma, I’ve never seen those before. Can I try pulling one up later?"

Xiang Yuanyuan took the bucket and bamboo pole from the old woman, looking excited and curious.

"Sure, I'll teach you how. There's one right ahead..."

The old woman led them to a spot further upstream from where the incident had occurred earlier that day, where the water flowed more slowly and was filled with aquatic plants.

"There it is. Use the pole to hook that floating foam, then pull it up slowly."

She walked along the riverbank path, guiding Xiang Yuanyuan step-by-step.

"Wow... it’s so heavy! Whoa, whoa, whoa! There are fish inside, they’re jumping! So many fish!"

Xiang Yuanyuan pulled up the enclosed trap. As it broke the surface, the sound of fish and shrimp splashing echoed inside. Her joy was visible—she looked like she might jump for delight.

"Let’s put the fish and shrimp in the bucket first, then we’ll feed them to the alligator when it comes. There are more traps ahead. We’ll keep collecting them, and the alligator will be here soon."

The old woman taught her how to empty the trap. It wasn't large, but the harvest was impressive: several river shrimp as long as three or four fingers, two whitebait, and a few river snails. Satisfied, she dumped them into the bucket and led the two further along to find the next trap.

After collecting four or five more, the sun had fully set, and the sky grew dim. Du Ruo faintly sensed movement in the water—very subtle, easily missed amidst the chirping of insects.

"I must have collected them a bit late today. I usually do this before cooking, but it’s fine. I’ll call them, and they should come."

Seeing the traps were almost empty, she reassured Xiang Yuanyuan. She crouched by the water, gutted the fish they had just caught, and began to make a summoning sound:

"Oh—cluck, cluck, cluck! Oh—cluck, cluck, cluck!"

"Grandma, it’s here, it’s here!"

Xiang Yuanyuan could clearly see a small head silently surfacing in the river ahead. As the woman called, it swam toward them. She whispered to the old woman, pointing at the sight.

"Oh—cluck, cluck, cluck! Come on, girl, you feed it. Just toss the fish in front of you. Don't worry, these alligators don't bite people."

The old woman stood up and handed the gutted fish to Xiang Yuanyuan.

"Okay! Oh—cluck, cluck, cluck! Come and eat!"

Xiang Yuanyuan mimicked the old woman, threw a whitebait into the water, and, ignoring the fishy smell on her hands, grabbed her phone to start filming.

"Haha, this Chinese alligator is so goofy! The fish is practically doing the backstroke, and it still takes so many tries to catch it."

She chuckled softly, afraid that a louder noise would startle the creature.

"Let me feed it while you film."

Du Ruo walked over, tossing the fish one by one into the water, observing the alligator’s hunting state intently. Its clumsy movements made Xiang Yuanyuan giggle.

The Chinese alligator in the water was slimmer and more natural-looking than the ones at Crocodile Lake. Because it wasn't as large, it looked quite charming. Up close, one could tell it was much more alert and cautious than the ones in the lake.

As Du Ruo kept feeding it, the alligator grew bolder, coming within a meter of them. Du Ruo observed it closely, sensing something, but the true essence of its movements remained elusive.

He decided to take the largest fish left in the bucket—a plump crucian carp, about half a palm's length—that he had saved specifically for this. He didn't toss it, but instead held it by the tail, moving it slightly in the water to mimic a live fish.

Xiang Yuanyuan noticed and stopped laughing. She didn't understand his intent, but she trusted him, so she adjusted her phone to zoom in, hoping to capture footage that might help him.

The alligator, despite being over a meter long, was truly timid. It watched for half a minute before daring to approach the fish in Du Ruo's hand.

*Splash!*

When its head was about twenty centimeters away, the alligator suddenly surged, opening its jaws—filled with blunt teeth—to snap at the wiggling fish.

"Holy cow!"

Du Ruo was startled. He realized that although the alligator's mouth was wide open, its aim was off; if it bit down, it would definitely snap at empty air. With quick reflexes, he subtly moved the carp five centimeters to the side, allowing the alligator to catch it just as its jaws closed.

"!!!"

The alligator’s eyes widened as it surfaced, its mouth clamped shut, seemingly disbelieving that it had actually caught its prey on the first try. Immediately, it began to thrash its limbs, performing a "death roll" in the water with a loud splash.

Seeing this, Du Ruo let go of the fish tail and extended his palm, carefully sensing the ripples in the water.

In truth, if one were to cover its goofy eyes and ignore its inability to catch food, its hunting process was quite intimidating. The explosive lunge, the violent death roll upon biting, and the legendary bite force of eight hundred kilograms—it was truly formidable.

Du Ruo tried to rationalize its behavior, filtering out its flaws and magnifying its strengths, hoping to grasp the essence of its hunting style.

"Eh? The fish fell out—why is it still rolling?"

Just as Du Ruo began to feel a connection—not quite a full understanding of the "alligator form," but a grasp of the true essence within the ripples caused by the death roll—he heard Xiang Yuanyuan's exclamation.