Liang Yuan operated the raft while nodding, "Hmm, it’s duckweed."
"These duckweeds seem to have very strong buoyancy, they can even support the weight of the three of us."
Liang Yuan smiled, "Indeed, they are very buoyant. Their structure has changed significantly. Not only have the leaves become unimaginably large, but most of their insides are filled with air."
Yang Mei pondered, "If these duckweeds could stick together, do you think they could replace boats? Could people float on the water by relying on duckweed?"
Liang Yuan was taken aback, "I never thought of that, but it probably wouldn’t work, right? They wouldn’t survive in deep water, would they?"
Old Yang interjected, "It’s not that they can’t, these duckweeds float on water and don’t rely on soil."
"However, in general, duckweed appears in calm currents. What Xiaoyang Mei just said is actually possible."
"But we don’t know the exact load-bearing capacity of these duckweeds."
Liang Yuan was surprised, "Uncle Lin, you know so much about duckweed?"
Old Yang laughed, "You can tell you haven’t lived in the countryside. In the past, duckweed was abundant in rural ditches and we used to feed it to ducks."
"It’s very useful stuff, it can purify water."
Liang Yuan laughed, "No wonder we haven’t seen it before. It turns out it’s more suitable for areas with slow water flow."
Bam!
As they were talking, something suddenly struck the bottom of the raft.
Instantly, a muffled sound was heard, and the raft shook violently.
Old Yang, unable to maintain his balance, was about to topple into the water.
At this moment, there was a loud crash from underneath the water.
Immediately following, a gaping bloody maw leapt out, lunging at the falling Old Yang.
Old Yang cried out in fear, "Ah... Alligator, there’s an alligator!"
What surfaced from the water was an alligator, not particularly large, but still over a meter in length.
In a critical moment, Old Yang felt someone grab his leg and he was yanked back, losing his balance.
Simultaneously, the lunging alligator’s head exploded with a loud bang.
Blood spread out from its vertical eyes.
The body thudded down, with half landing on the bamboo raft and the other half falling into the water.
Liang Yuan released Old Yang’s leg, stepped forward, and dragged the alligator onto the raft.
The sudden danger startled Old Yang, leaving him shaken, and Yang Mei’s face turned pale, clearly frightened as well.
Liang Yuan expanded his Spiritual Power, surveying a 50-meter radius of water.
He sensed many creatures swimming around below, darting constantly.
The disturbance of the raft had evidently attracted them.
Liang Yuan coldly smiled and unleashed a Spirit Shock.
Boom, boom, boom...
Muffled sounds continued from below, and soon a large number of dead fish floated up.
Liang Yuan mercilessly harvested the mutated creatures underwater.
Terrified by the Spirit Shock, the surrounding mutated creatures quickly scattered away.
Soon, within 50 meters of the raft’s vicinity, no living beings remained.
Liang Yuan frowned, slightly disappointed.
This was a good place for earning Points.
If he had Time, he could try to come here often to earn Points.
"Hey, isn’t this a Yangtze Crocodile?"
Old Yang, having calmed down, looked at the alligator on the raft and exclaimed in shock.
Liang Yuan examined the alligator, noticing its elongated head, slightly raised top head, short and flat snout, long and flat tail, leather-like armor, and large rectangular abdominal plates.
He tapped on the skin, feeling its hard and cold texture, guessing that it had also mutated and evolved.
Old Yang said, "This used to be a protected species, only found in the Yangtze River. I didn’t expect one to show up here. Damn it, weren’t they almost extinct?"
Liang Yuan said, "The entire world is undergoing Evolution; these Yangtze Crocodiles were already fierce, and they’ve probably evolved stronger genes by now."
Old Yang sighed, "The depths of water will truly become a human restricted area."
Yang Mei asked, "I heard Yangtze Crocodiles are edible, prized for their delicious meat, and hunted almost to extinction, making them protected animals. I wonder if that’s true."
Liang Yuan laughed, "We can take this one back, let the Slaughterhouse process it, and bring some meat back for you to taste."
Yang Mei quickly shook her head, "I don’t dare eat it, it looks terrifying."
Old Yang interjected, "I’ll eat it then, Xiaoyang Mei, if you don’t want it, save some meat for me. I have never tasted alligator meat."
Yang Mei laughed, "You wait, we’ll have Liang Yuan cut some for you when we get back."
"Hehe, that sounds great."
The rest of the journey went smoothly.
Liang Yuan continuously released his Spiritual Power, using the Yangtze Crocodile’s body as bait to attract nearby mutated creatures.
He repeatedly unleashed Spirit Shock, earning Points one after another.
The distance between Meishan and Yangshan didn’t look far, but the raft had to travel five or six kilometers to reach the opposite shore of Meishan.
Near the water’s edge of Meishan, there were also large patches of duckweed.
And these duckweeds were even more lush and dense than those on the Yangshan side.
Liang Yuan held Yang Mei and lifted Old Yang, "Hold tight to me, we’re going ashore."
Old Yang quickly closed his eyes, and Yang Mei hurriedly wrapped her arms around Liang Yuan’s neck.
Liang Yuan made a leap, landing on the duckweed, then retracted the raft and the Yangtze Crocodile’s body, running swiftly across the duckweed.
In no time, they had covered a distance of five to six hundred meters and stepped onto the Meishan land.