The Evolutionary Path of the Lion

Chapter 90 Strange Changes

This is the final signal for a complete evacuation.

The fifty hyenas began to retreat in an orderly fashion.

This time, the hyena pack made a complete retreat. The entire group turned around neatly and steadily withdrew into the depths of the grassland to the south. The formation remained intact throughout, without any breakup, and the advance and retreat were orderly and synchronized.

Chen Fei stood still, quietly watching the dark mass of people shrink and retreat until they disappeared completely into the dense grass on the south side.

The one-legged figure stopped to his left, slightly raised his chin, and gestured towards the grass to the south before turning to look at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei flicked his thick, long tail lightly.

The standoff has now ended.

The elderly lioness's taut muscles suddenly relaxed, and her shoulder, bearing an old scar, slowly slumped. This was a relief after a long period of heightened alertness, not laxity or complacency, but a signal that the tense standoff had finally ended. The young lioness beside her lowered her guard, smoothing her erect ears back into place. After standing still for a moment, she lowered her head and slowly, methodically licked her right forepaw, her movements slow and focused, gently smoothing the restlessness on her fur.

The dawn light had already spread across the entire wasteland.

The low, slanting sunlight poured down from the east, falling upon Chen Fei's broad shoulders and neck, illuminating the delicate golden hair at the base of his neck.

The fine gold threads that were once difficult to discern are now clearly visible under the direct sunlight, each one shimmering with a delicate, independent luster, nestled among the thick, brownish-yellow undercoat, like a faint light emanating from deep within the skin.

The one-legged creature's yellow-green eyes slowly moved down from Chen Fei's face, fixing firmly on his neck, and remained there for a long time.

It remained silent throughout, simply gazing quietly at the shimmering fur.

Chen Fei was unaware of the other person's strange gaze; his entire focus was fixed on the south where the hyena had disappeared.

He slowly withdrew the aura of pretense, returning to a state of dormancy and waiting. The warm air surging in his throat gradually receded, flowing along his muscles and bones, settling back into place. The resonant point that had triggered the roar was now firmly etched into his instincts through his bodily senses.

On the left side of the throat, close to the base of the vocal cords, by compressing the internal heat flow to an extremely high density, the resonance point can be precisely locked. Subsequent use of this power requires only minor adjustments, resulting in faster exertion and more refined control.

The wind in the southern wilderness gradually subsided.

The oppressive, wild aura of the split mouth still lingered on the grass, but the aura barrier that had previously enveloped the entire area had completely collapsed, leaving only a faint scent that settled in the gaps between the grass roots, slowly drifting away with the wind, heavy but no longer aggressive.

[Host: Chen Fei]

[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]

[Energy Points: 968↑]

The food and rest period is now in standby mode, with only 32 energy points needed to reach 1,000.

A moment later, the one-legged creature moved to Chen Fei's right, lowered its head and rubbed its chin lightly on the ground twice, then looked up at him again.

This unfamiliar gesture was something Chen Fei had never seen before from a one-legged person.

He turned his head and met the gaze of the one-legged man. Deep within those yellow-green eyes lay a complex and obscure emotion, hazy and inscrutable, impossible to fathom in a short time.

After licking her right paw, the young lioness slowly began to groom her left front paw. The older lioness had already turned and was walking slowly toward her northern burrow.

The next second, the small, big head suddenly darted out from behind Chen Fei, circled around to his front in a few steps, raised its furry head, and let out a soft, meowing sound, clearly asking for its share of the prey for the day.

Chen Fei glanced at it indifferently, his eyes lowered.

Big Head held its head high, its two front paws alternately scratching at the soil beneath its feet—an instinctive action it would take when it was extremely hungry as a kitten. The old injury on its left shoulder had healed by 90%, and when it scratched the ground, its left paw landed with slightly less force, yet the movement was smooth and natural, without any stiffness or awkwardness from shirking its burden.

Chen Fei casually flicked his tail, gently sweeping it across Da Tou's head with a light touch, hardly a shoo-away gesture.

Big Head took a half step back, then stuck to Chen Fei again in the blink of an eye. It put its two front paws on Chen Fei's hind legs and kept rubbing its round head against his belly. Its straightforward coquettishness was full of hungry demands.

Chen Fei completely ignored the little guy's pestering, his gaze still fixed intently on the southern wasteland.

The split-mouthed figure retreated, but Chen Fei knew that this standoff was far from over.

While the shrew was successfully driven away, it doesn't mean that the shrew has given up.

This pack of hyenas did not flee in disarray, but rather made a strategic retreat after weighing the pros and cons. This voluntary withdrawal indicates that they are still assessing the situation and are ready to return at any time should their judgment change.

He quickly reviewed and analyzed all the details of today's standoff.

The Slit Mouth had long since adapted to the abnormal situation of having its sense of smell blocked, and it would definitely be prepared to deal with the next attack in advance. Although its own special resonant roar had disrupted the opponent's formation and mentality, the Slit Mouth's mental strength and self-control far exceeded expectations. After the panic, it quickly regained its footing, which was enough to prove that it had a very strong ability to withstand pressure and adapt.

It will record today's defeats and flaws.

When they clash again, they will inevitably bring entirely new strategies.

Therefore, a single victory can only be remembered for the moment. If you simply copy the same tactics, you will only fall behind next time.

These harsh survival rules never appear in nature documentaries made by humans.

Chen Fei kept this vigilance deeply in his heart, planning to thoroughly analyze all possible subsequent actions of the other party after returning to his lodgings.

Unable to get food, Big Head immediately changed tactics, going around to Chen Fei's left side and rubbing his little head against the one-legged front leg.

The one-legged creature glanced at it indifferently, then looked away expressionlessly, completely ignoring the little guy's whining.

Big Head paused, clearly not expecting that even One-Legged wouldn't let go. He stood there hesitating for a moment, then turned around and moved closer to the young lioness, rubbing against her belly.

The young lioness raised her left forepaw and gently pressed it onto Big Head's head, steadily lowering its body. With half of Big Head's body pinned down, it groaned and struggled wildly for a few moments but couldn't break free. It could only obediently lie down on the ground and behave itself.

Chen Fei glanced sideways and took in the whole scene.

Once she released her paws, the young lioness lowered her head again to groom her fur, her expression indifferent and calm, as if the little incident had never happened.

Big Head got up in a sorry state, shook off the grass clippings covering his body, and turned to look at Chen Fei with a wronged expression. His round eyes were full of accusation, making him look exactly like someone who had been bullied.

Chen Fei indifferently withdrew his gaze and looked south again.

The one-legged lion stood still for a moment, then turned and strode northeast, towards the direction where the pride had settled on the sandbar. The old lioness had already gone far ahead, with the young lioness close behind. After taking a couple of steps, she glanced back at Big Head, and the little one immediately trotted after him, landing lightly on her left shoulder and running steadily without a limp.

After walking more than ten meters on one leg, he suddenly stopped, slowly turned around, and gently tapped his chin towards the north.

A simple gesture is a silent invitation to colleagues.

Chen Fei stood quietly, pondering the unspoken message.

Throughout today's life-or-death standoff, One-Legged stayed close behind, and none of the three adult members of the hyenas retreated or fled. This was the first time since the joint patrol began that they had truly faced a formidable foe side-by-side; it wasn't a drill, but a real-life battle against fifty hyenas.

Through this battle, the bonds and tacit understanding between the ethnic groups have quietly solidified and taken shape.

He didn't immediately set off to follow, but lingered in place for another ten seconds or so, taking one last careful look at the entire southern grassland.

The lingering scent of the split mouth still lurked beneath the grass roots, lingering there, but it had completely lost its oppressive force.

The entire wasteland was enveloped in the warm morning light. The shadows cast on the east side stretched westward, elongating along the undulating terrain and extending Chen Fei's tall figure all the way to the grassland on the south side.

The delicate gold threads around its neck shimmered softly in the sunlight, perfectly natural and rooted beneath its fur.

After confirming that there were no further potential dangers, Chen Fei turned around and slowly followed the group that was moving forward.

Big Head had already darted to the front of the group, trying to walk alongside the old lioness. The old lioness calmly sidestepped him, making several small movements to prevent the little guy from getting close. Finally, he could only puff out his cheeks and speed up, dashing to the front of the group to run around happily.

Chen Fei walked at the back of the group at a leisurely pace, coldly observing the little farce ahead.

A southerly wind, carrying the lingering chill of the hyenas, blew slowly northward, washing over his feet. Chen Fei trod through this remaining dangerous aura, steadily making his way to his landing spot, step by step.

Not long after he left, Big Head came back, meowed softly in his ear, and continued to beg for food, unwilling to give up.

The journey back to our accommodation took nearly forty minutes.

The journey wasn't that long, but the root cause of the whole delay was Da Tou's love of playing and eating.

After the group had traveled about two hundred meters, Big Head spotted a wildebeest skeleton lying on the edge of the grassland, with some dried bits of meat still clinging to it. Its eyes lit up instantly, and it lunged forward, biting down hard on the skeleton. However, the bones were too large to swallow whole. After adjusting its angle several times to no avail, it simply pressed its paws down on the skeleton and began tearing and gnawing at it.

The entire pride of lions was forced to stop and wait for it for a full seven minutes.

Standing on one leg to the side of the group, she turned her head to look elsewhere, her expression indifferent, just like the old lioness, deliberately ignoring the little one's antics.

Chen Fei slowly walked forward and gently kicked Da Tou with his hind leg.

Big Head, with a rib in its mouth, looked up at him with a bewildered expression, its eyes full of self-righteousness, as if it were just picking up food along the way and taking it for granted. Then, it quickly returned to the group with its spoils and continued on its way.

Just before noon, the bushes where they had settled finally came into view. Sel lay lazily on the southern edge of the bushes, her little cub snuggling against her belly and rubbing against her affectionately. Sel's tail patted the ground lightly, her eyes always fixed on the north, watching for any signs of the returning group.

Upon seeing Chen Fei, Sair twitched his ears slightly, revealing a subtle emotional fluctuation.

Chen Fei slowly walked to her side, bent down, rested his chin on his front paws, and slowly closed his eyes.

The little rascal waddled out from under its mother's protection, its short limbs carrying it to Chen Fei. Its pink little paws gently patted the tip of his nose.

Chen Fei opened his eyelids a crack, glanced at them briefly, and then closed them again.

The stingy guy squatted there and stared at him for a while. When he didn't get a response, he obediently crawled back under Sel's belly and curled up to rub against him for warmth.

Ten meters away, Big Head pressed down on the rib, its sharp molars grinding forcefully, the piercing crunching sound particularly clear in the quiet spot where it had been. It glanced around every now and then, making sure no one was watching, and its gnawing became increasingly urgent.

The stray dog ​​lay three meters away, its eyes fixed on the bone. Its ears were turned completely towards the large head, its tail lay flat on the ground, and its body slowly leaned forward, lowering its stance, full of covetousness.

Big Head was so engrossed in gnawing on the bone that he was completely unaware of the approaching movement behind him.

The wanderer lowered his body even further and took another half step forward.

Chen Fei, who had been resting with his eyes closed the whole time, did not open them, but his tail gently patted the ground.

The slight noise was like a silent warning. The homeless man froze, as if suddenly shocked. He quickly pulled back his forward-leaning body, took a few steps back, obediently lay down, and turned to look at the distant horizon, pretending that nothing had happened.

Big Head looked up blankly and glanced around, but found nothing unusual, so he buried his head and continued gnawing.

As the afternoon sun gradually set, the entire area fell into a state of tranquility and peace.

Meimei circled back from the north side of the bushes and quietly lay down three meters to Chen Fei's left, without making a sound the whole time. She had just finished patrolling the western territory, and her paws were covered with fine red soil. Before lying down, she simply licked and cleaned her paw pads, but she gave up when she wasn't completely clean, and then curled up her limbs and lay down peacefully.

Chen Fei slowly opened his eyes and glanced at her indifferently.

Meimei did not look back. Her gaze was fixed on the western territory. Her ears turned slightly to catch the sounds around her, and then she slowly lowered them, silently indicating that everything in the western territory was peaceful and there was no disturbance.

Upon receiving the message, Chen Fei closed his eyes to rest again.

Two lions lay quietly three meters apart. A gentle afternoon breeze carried their sweet scents, which then slowly dissipated.

The only sounds in the area were the harsh noise of Big Head gnawing on bones and the occasional soft, mushy sounds from Little Stingy, making the surroundings even quieter.

Two kilometers south of the southern uplift line, a reconnaissance team dispatched by Liezui quietly set out in the afternoon.

There were three hyenas in total, all of whom were elites who rushed to the front during the standoff this morning. They had a keen sense of smell and were far bolder than ordinary members of the pack.

Slitmouth did not accompany the group personally, remaining at the heart of the pack and entrusting the reconnaissance mission entirely to the three-headed vanguard. Its objective was simple and direct: to investigate the strange oppressive force from this morning, and the unusual behavior lurking within the male lion.

The three hyenas bypassed the main defense line and circled around from the east, avoiding the aura coverage of the main lion pride. After forty minutes, they quietly advanced to a point 300 meters east of the ridge line, where they stopped and focused on sensing the surrounding atmosphere.

The air was filled with the smells of lions, dirt, and wild animal droppings, but it lacked the suffocating odor that had been present this morning.

The group cautiously advanced, moving another fifty meters. The scent of the lions grew stronger, pointing northwest, which was the direction where the lions were settling down.

The lead hyena lowered its head, sniffing intently at the roots of the grass, and soon spotted a clear, large animal footprint. The paw pads were full and wide, and the toes were evenly spaced, the marks left by a male lion's regular gait, appearing perfectly normal.

It followed the footprints all the way north for twenty meters, but suddenly stopped.

The reason they stopped was not because of the change in the aura, but because the surrounding light had undergone a strange change.