The Evolutionary Path of the Lion

Chapter 65 Behavioral Analysis

He wasn't looking down at the ground; he was looking ahead.

About fifteen meters ahead, there is a natural opening in the vegetation, not very big, about two meters wide. Through this opening, you can see a section of water, a shallow area, where the light forms a fragmented reflection on the water.

Kaller pointed in that direction with his probe. "The exit is there."

"Exporting large felines?"

"Yes. The exit traces are the same as the import traces, the same entity. It came in, went around for a while, and went out from there." He retracted the probe. "The exit direction is south."

Facing south.

Ella wrote the third line on the whiteboard.

Yesterday afternoon to evening, a medium to large-sized feline, acting alone, entered the densely vegetated area at the edge of the water source from the west, circled around, and left from the south exit, heading south.

She read the three lines together and then put the pen cap back on.

"Maurice," she said.

"Um."

"What is this feline doing?" she paused, considering her words carefully.

Morris did not answer immediately.

Marcus said from the side, "Reconnaissance." His voice was flat, as if stating equipment parameters. "In, it went around, went out, didn't forage for food, didn't drink water, didn't stop, just went around."

"Survey." Ella repeated the word.

Kenneth was beside her, his tablet screen off. He wasn't looking at the data; he was staring at the two-meter-wide natural opening in front of him and the fragmented reflections of water behind it. "Reconnaissance behavior, in felines," he began slowly, "usually occurs in two situations. First, territorial patrol. Second, preliminary assessment of a target."

The tent fell silent again.

The wind through the dense vegetation came from the water, carrying the smell of decaying leaves and algae, cool and slightly damp.

“We’re here today,” Ella said. “It came to scout this place yesterday.”

After he said that, no one responded.

Kaller crouched down, looked at the ground again, then stood up without saying a word.

Marcus flipped the thermal imaging screen over and glanced at it. The screen was flat, showing only the small heat source of the waterbird and a meaningless signal. He then flipped the screen back over.

Morris put his hands in his pockets, looked down for about five seconds, then looked up and said, "Let's go."

No one objected.

Three kilometers away, a sandstone platform.

Chen Fei saw the investigation team withdraw from the gap on the west side.

The five people appeared one by one at the edge of the dense vegetation, with Kaller at the front and Morris at the back. The line was neat, and the speed was faster than when they went in. It wasn't a hasty speed, but the kind of decisive speed that comes after a decision has been made.

He saw them stand at the edge of the dense vegetation for about three minutes after they came out, then turn and walk toward the camp.

All the equipment was taken away, and no new deployment sites were left anywhere.

The first in-depth exploration has ended.

There was no valid data, no identifiable target, no new equipment left behind; all that was taken were the traces that Kaller read on the ground and the three lines that Ella wrote on the logbook.

[Host: Chen Fei]

[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]

[Energy Points: 884↑]

He turned his gaze away from the survey team and looked towards the south.

He had been on the sandstone platform for almost half a day. The smell from the south had been there since before he came up. It was a stable background concentration, neither strong nor weak, like a fishy cloth hanging in the air, swaying in the wind, but neither getting closer nor retreating.

He twitched his nostrils twice.

Background concentration is stable, still at the same distance as last night.

It was less than a kilometer, but they didn't push any further in.

He analyzed the signal in his mind.

The hyena pack is waiting.

It's not that we lack the ability to get closer; we're waiting for the right opportunity or for certain conditions to be met.

This waiting itself is a form of pressure, keeping the pressured party constantly on alert and draining their energy and attention.

This strategy appeared more than once in the documentaries about hyena colonies he had watched in his previous life.

Hyena pack leaders are not stupid, especially those of large packs that command more than thirty hyenas. They are patient and have plans. They will not give up after one or two failed attempts to probe. They will wait until the enemy is exhausted and until a gap appears in the enemy's defenses, and then they will push in with all their might.

Chen Fei pulled his right forepaw back from the edge of the rock and stood up.

He paused on the sandstone platform and surveyed the entire territory from above.

The landing site was to the northwest, and at this distance, the outline of the shrubbery was a low, dark line, obscuring any movement within.

The hunting grounds to the east were directly in front of him, slightly to the right. They were open and covered with lush vegetation. The midday heat rose from the grass, slightly distorting the distant outlines.

The water source to the north was to his right rear, its dense vegetation outline deeper than the hunting grounds to the east, where the light was fragmented.

South side...

Another whiff of the odor came from the south, a little stronger than before, not much, but definitely stronger.

He twitched his nostrils and mentally marked the change in concentration.

The concentration rose in the afternoon, not in the morning or at night.

Hyena packs are nocturnal animals and rest most of the day. The concentration rises in the afternoon, which means that the group actively moves north during the day, not passively drifting, but actively advancing.

He focused on this detail, took two steps toward the edge of the sandstone platform, and prepared to come down.

During the retreat.

The survey team walked for about twenty minutes in the open area. Dense vegetation was already behind them, and in front of them was grassland. The tents of the camp could be seen as a blurry outline in the distance.

Ella was walking, and the notepad in her hand was no longer open.

She mentally reviewed the information she had gathered that day.

They stopped three times, and each time it was because of the same thing preventing them from moving forward.

It's not a physical obstacle, it's signal interference, damage to a key high point, or traces left by felines from yesterday's reconnaissance.

Every intervention was perfectly timed.

It is not a random grassland variable, but a premeditated, one-step preparation.

She paused for a moment on this judgment.

Take the first step.

Not an hour in advance, but at least a day in advance.

The stone ridge was treated yesterday, and the survey traces were found yesterday afternoon to evening. In other words, while they were still arguing in their tents last night about where to go tomorrow, the water source on the north side had already been dealt with.

She unfolded the timeline in her mind, zoomed in, and looked at it once.

Then he folded it up, put it away, and didn't say anything.

It's not because of uncertainty, but because once it's stated, there's no data to support it, so it's not something that can be included in a report.

Maurice walked beside her without saying a word. He spoke the fewest of the five people today, but every time he did speak, it was a decisive statement.

"Maurice," Ella said.

"Um."

"Today's results." She paused. "How do you plan to write the report?"

Morris took a few steps but did not answer immediately. "Write according to the facts. The equipment obtained invalid data in the reed area. The high ground could not be set up due to loose ground. Large feline activity traces were found at the gap on the west side yesterday, which was determined to be normal territorial patrol behavior. The investigation mission did not achieve its intended objectives. It is recommended that the next step be to re-evaluate the advancement plan."

Ella glanced at him. "Territorial patrol activity."

"Um."

"Is that your judgment, or the wording you intend to include in the report?"

Morris walked a few steps in the open field, his feet crunching over the short grass, before stopping.

Ella stopped too.

The footsteps of the three people behind them paused for a moment, and then stopped as well.