It had been one year and three months since the breach of the Mojave Preserve.
Swish!
A small, dark shadow darted through the trees along the lakeside, sending ripples of rustling agitation through the underbrush. Closely tailing it from the nearby sandbank was the roar of a car engine, its rapidly spinning tires kicking up vast plumes of yellow dust.
"There he goes!"
"The trees are too thick, we can't catch him!"
"Should we try the training pheromones?"
"What kind of animal thinks about training while running for its life?!"
The three occupants inside the vehicle were locked in a heated argument... or rather, less of an argument and more of a relaxed, playful banter. It was like the childish squabbling of boys who refused to ever grow up.
THWUMP—
An electronic mechanical voice inside the cabin chimed, "Requesting launch." The driver slammed the button, and a net gun mounted on the roof fired a massive, expanding mesh structure. It tore through the treeline and blanketed the shadow.
"Holy shit, technology is this advanced nowadays?"
"Nah, just pure luck. Field tests for these AI-targeted guns only show about a 30% hit rate."
The snare net contracted, dragging a half-person-tall shadow out from the forest. It was a juvenile Coelophysis. A descendant of the previous one?
"Is this the guy?"
"This is the guy."
The three men dismounted, administered a micro-dose of sedative to the Coelophysis, and combined their strength to hoist it onto the cargo bed of the pickup truck.
"Whew… alright, time for business. Where does it need it?"
"The leg, the neck... better do the head too."
A rugged-looking man with a scarred, menacing face, the type who looked like anything but a good Samaritan, slowly approached the Coelophysis. He pulled out... a cotton swab?!
"Honestly, I never thought that after leaving the military, I'd end up applying ointment to dinosaurs."
"Huh?"
"Do you guys really think our job matters? Sorry... I just mean, this is an Ecological Zone. We cure this dinosaur today, and tomorrow it might just get eaten by something else..."
THUD... THUD...
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed right behind the trio. Yet prior to this, there hadn't been a single sound!
"And we might get eaten too..."
The man was likely a fresh recruit, but he certainly had a sense of humor. Although the other two team members felt an identical surge of primal dread upon seeing the newcomer, it was accompanied by a strange spark of excitement.
"He... he actually showed up."
"Shut up, don't move. Put your phone down, no photos."
Carlo lowered his massive head, sniffing at the three humans before him. After a moment of deliberation, he plopped his rear down onto the ground, staring at them completely motionless.
The pressure on the trio by the truck skyrocketed. To them, Carlo's posture practically screamed: If you don't cure him, you're getting eaten~
"C-Continue."
"Ah?"
With trembling hands and pounding hearts, the sedative dose, which was originally supposed to buy them plenty of time, now felt terrifyingly brief. The Coelophysis was already showing signs of waking up. Fortunately, the veteran beat it to the punch, finishing the application just in time.
This time, he single-handedly hoisted the Coelophysis off the cargo bed, grabbed his two teammates by their collars, and threw them into the truck!
Vrooom…
"I didn't even get to take a picture!"
The truck sped away in a frenzy, the faint, sorrowful wail of a teammate lingering in the wind.
Carlo watched them disappear into the distance. The members of the Primeval Organization were like a bunch of overgrown kids who just loved dinosaurs; they always managed to bring a bit of amusement to his days.
He slowly stood up, shaking the yellow sand from his massive body, and turned his gaze toward a herd of Dreadnoughtus migrating into the distance. A wave of melancholy washed over him.
Ever since White King died, his relationship with the Dreadnoughtus herd had hit rock bottom. While there had always been friction between their species, without White King's overwhelming dominance and tolerance, the herd now constantly barred him from getting close. Carlo hadn't seen Little White in nearly half a year.
Sigh, am I just getting old? Getting so sentimental over nothing. Guess I'll go eat a Dreadnoughtus to cheer myself up.
Carlo corrected his posture and marched into the swirling yellow sands. Of course, he wasn't going to hunt a new one, after all, he hadn't even finished his previous kill.
"ROAR—"
From the vicinity of the Dreadnoughtus carcass came Katyusha's threatening roar, intermingled with another dinosaur's snarl. Carlo paused slightly. He didn't think there was any dinosaur around here that could genuinely threaten Katyusha, but he quickened his pace nonetheless.
"BZZZ—"
A few scattered flies buzzed around the Dreadnoughtus carcass. The sweet, metallic scent of blood had drawn other predators. Katyusha stood locked in a tense standoff with a one-eyed Allosaurus, neither side willing to yield an inch.
The gale whipped up the sand, filling the air with yellow dust, only for the haze to be eclipsed by a colossal silhouette. Carlo approached unhurriedly, stepping up to stand right beside Katyusha.
Yet, the one-eyed Allosaurus merely showed a flicker of hesitation; it still refused to back down.
After a brief stalemate, Carlo leaned down, tore a modest chunk of flesh from the Dreadnoughtus carcass, and tossed it across the blood-splattered air toward the intruder.
The one-eyed Allosaurus wasn't greedy. It snatched the meat in its jaws and turned to leave, vanishing into the barren expanse of the yellow dunes.
"Roar…" Boss, why did you give our prey to him?
Seeing their opponent retreat, Katyusha let out a soft rumble of inquiry. In truth, Carlo didn't fully know why he had shared the food either. Perhaps it was just his nature. After a moment of contemplation, he rumbled back.
"Roar…" Because we can't finish all this meat anyway.
It was true. If a Giganotosaurus tried to finish a carcass as massive as a Dreadnoughtus all by itself, half of it would rot before it could be consumed. But...
"Roar…" Just because we can't finish it means we have to share it?
"Roar…" Of course not. I'm just hoping this act of goodwill becomes a reason to be gifted something in return next time.
Katyusha.exe has stopped responding.
Carlo's words weren't deeply philosophical, but they were more than enough to trigger a massive cognitive overload in Katyusha's Giganotosaurus brain. To top it off, he added one more line.
"Roar…" Of course, it's just a hope.
…
Clutching the chunk of meat in its jaws, the one-eyed Allosaurus returned to a dried-up watering hole.
"Roar—"
It dropped the meat and let out a soft call.
Moments later, an Afrovenator emerged from a cave where it kept its stash of rare trinkets. It looked at its companion, then down at the meat on the ground.
These two miserable dinosaurs, one half-blinded by humans, the other left with a severely weakened bite force because of them, had no choice but to band together for survival.
With practiced synchronization, the two apex predators leaned down, gripped the chunk of meat together, and twisted their heads simultaneously, cleanly splitting it in two.
Perched atop the ridge, the two creatures sat in an unexpectedly harmonious silence, despite speaking entirely different biological languages. The Afrovenator would occasionally glance back at its cave, as if reminiscing about the powerful entity it used to be. The one-eyed Allosaurus stared into the horizon, wondering how its former boss was faring these days.
…
Gulp, gulp...
Stego bro finished hydrating by the lake and lifted his head to take in the scenery along the shore. The place had changed quite a bit; at the very least, the scars left behind by the earthquake had entirely vanished.
Time really flies.
Stego bro paused mid-thought, as if sensing something. He left his favorite grazing spot, ambled into the woods, found an open clearing, and slowly bedded down.
The setting sun painted the evening clouds in brilliant shades of crimson as the night began to creep in, inch by inch. Stego bro's tail swayed gently against the grass, looking exceptionally peaceful.
Perhaps this would be the final sunset.
Rustle...
The leaves trembled. Having finished his meal, Carlo returned to the lakeside. Sensing something unusual about Stego bro, he followed the old dinosaur into the clearing.
He slowly lay down right next to Stego bro, watching the spectacular curtain fall on the brilliant sun together.
"Roar?"
"Aunnng…"
Stars began to dot the pitch-black night sky. Stego bro rested leisurely, looking as though he was merely closing his eyes to rest his spirit. Carlo let out a low rumble, seemingly asking a question, and the old dinosaur called out a soft reply, even though neither of them could actually understand a word the other meant.
"Roar?"
"Aunnng…"
They remained in this quiet companionship for a long, long time...
But gradually, Carlo's low rumbles faded away. Stego bro secretively cracked his eye open a sliver, noting that the giant's breathing had become slow and steady... He had probably fallen asleep.
In that case, goodnight, silly boy.
...
"It's been twenty days! He's finally asleep! Move out, now!"
Beneath the shroud of night, dangerous undercurrents began to surge.
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