RHWHEG – Chapter 9 Crocodile Season

“Crocodile—uh, Great Crocodile?”

Yu Qunqing imitated the old-fashioned way of addressing it, holding crocodile feed in his hand. The third floor had originally been designed as a swimming pool, but now all those pools had been taken over by a massive crocodile.

It was three meters long, with a distinctive ridge above its eye sockets, somewhat like the deep-set eyes of Westerners. Sharp teeth jutted out along its long snout. Rows of scales were neatly arranged, perfectly aligned with the mathematical beauty of nature. Its long tail swayed lazily, perhaps because it was in a good mood.

This all started at noon.

At noon, after moving a huge pile of supplies—12 bags of rice, 5 boxes of biscuits, and 64 jin of dried meat—Yu Qunqing was most delighted to discover some potatoes, pumpkins, and other vegetables. They were scattered in dusty corners, but he didn’t dare be picky and picked up every single one.

Then he went back home to play his match-3 game. Just then, the red packet from his “Money Tree” matured again. Following the prompt, Yu Qunqing set off. The trip was a bit far, and it led him straight to a collapsed jewelry store. The place had been crushed under the top floor of a high-rise building. Yu Qunqing squeezed his way inside and, after much effort, managed to grab a pearl necklace.

After cashing it in, he now had a total of 70 diamonds!

The safest choice was to save them for next month’s monthly card.

But jewelry stores weren’t limited to just this one in the city center. With his ability, there was no way he wouldn’t even be able to afford next month’s monthly card, right?

So why not… unlock the Riverside Track of the Crocodile Season?

His Crocodile Season had already accumulated to level 36. The upgrade rewards for the Riverside Track were rich—several infinite stamina apples, which were what he needed most at the moment.

As for the crocodile gift and the bonus buildings, Yu Qunqing had never cared much.

Until he actually received a crocodile.

“A crocodile that has lost its home has now settled here! Please build more activity spaces for its new habitat!”

Yu Qunqing clicked to collect all the season level rewards at once, watching his inventory fill up, and felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

When he went back up to the third floor, the three pools of varying depths had already been filled with water under the game’s power. One of them was a trendy infinity pool, designed with an optical illusion to look like its edge was a cliff. Overflowing water cascaded down like a waterfall to the second floor, where an artificial landscape of rocks and pines had been built to make it look natural. The crocodile was now lying there, looking far more suited to the space than a human.

The other two pools were filled with props gifted by the Riverside Track—for example, a “Crocodile Hut,” a round wooden shelter with mud inside to keep the crocodile comfortable; “Rolling Fish,” a toy for the crocodile’s entertainment; and a “Happy Bubble Pool,” a special bathing spot for crocodiles…

The Crocodile River was the mother river of Jiangbei City, and crocodiles had a special significance to the locals, who called them “Water Lions.” In ancient times, there were tales like “Green Crocodile Carrying a Baby to Bless Families,” “Crocodile Defeating a Bully and Eating the Monster in One Bite,” and “The Crocodile’s Tears of Injustice at the Execution Ground.” Nowadays, crocodiles were a critically endangered species, and the locals cherished them greatly. Many works of art gained fame by depicting them.

Of course, elsewhere, this same crocodile was infamous as the “man-eating crocodile.” It really did eat people.

Yu Qunqing held the game-gifted crocodile feed (quantity: ∞) and cautiously approached. He had even thought about tasting it himself, but the game forbade him from eating it. It wasn’t that Yu Qunqing couldn’t defeat a crocodile, but that his emotions about it were too complicated.

So-called “natural disasters” were catastrophes that descended from beyond the sky. The monsters from outer space had ravaged the entire ecosystem, and every native lifeform on Earth was a victim. In his previous life, large plants and animals had nearly gone extinct, even the most resilient insects had lost two-thirds of their population. Humans could not survive independently from the ecosystem. In some of the better-off official shelters, the remaining wild plants and animals had to be highly protected.

As soon as he poured out the feed, the crocodile sniffed the scent and wagged its head and tail as it crawled over. Its movements were quick—it was clearly a very healthy crocodile.

So it didn’t look like it posed a threat to humans? Since it was a game reward, maybe it could coexist peacefully with him…

Yu Qunqing scrolled through his rewards: “I also got a ‘Sea Dragon Skin’ at Season level 20? Let’s try it—”

In the blink of an eye, the crocodile transformed into a 12-meter-long ancient beast! Its front flippers grew stronger, its heavy scales looked like armor, and the pool’s water instantly overflowed onto the floor. The crocodile itself didn’t notice the change and continued munching on feed.

Yu Qunqing quietly switched it back to its normal skin. After observing for a while and confirming nothing was wrong, he went downstairs to keep scavenging for supplies.

This time, he was looking for tools—chainsaws, jacks, and other materials useful for heating, water storage, or building. To live long-term, these tools were essential. On the way, he found a pharmacy and hurried to clear out everything inside.

Now, his second floor was essentially a warehouse. Half of it was piled with rice, flour, oil, vegetables, and meat, while the other half was full of miscellaneous supplies. He had also stacked plenty of winter clothing.

By dusk, Yu Qunqing had hauled back the last load of supplies. He figured tomorrow he should go farther out—preferably to get his hands on some weapons.

Back home, exhausted, Yu Qunqing collapsed onto a lounge chair and continued playing his game with his mind.

From the Riverside Track, he received six infinite stamina apples, one of which lasted for a full hour!

Soon, the bathroom was renovated—dry and wet areas separated, with a huge bathtub! There was even a partition made into a laundry-drying room.

The next place was the small living room. That was where meals would usually be eaten. Yu Qunqing chose a simple style for the renovation. He had a super-sized storage cabinet custom-made, with some folding chairs hidden inside. He also placed a few pots of green plants.

The last spot was the entrance. A double-sided shoe cabinet, a new carpet, and a new lock.

Once the front door was repaired, the house’s full renovation was complete! Now he could keep the lights on for as long as he wanted at night, as long as he didn’t get triggered by the sight of the disaster creatures crawling outside the window.

In his previous life, he had lived in the shelter. The rooms there were converted from shipping containers, only enough space to sleep, like coffins lined up one after another. Sometimes he even had to squeeze in with teammates. Later, after escaping the shelter, he slept more haphazardly—if he even slept at all. He always had to stay on guard. But now, he truly owned a fortress with no blind spots, protected on all sides.

Yu Qunqing muttered in the living room: “Not enough, I still need to do more…”

After a while, he spent 1 hexagram to clean the entire floor’s dust, leaving the hallways spotless. Another hexagram repaired all the floor’s lights, and with 2 more he unlocked the elevator. The entire residential building was running smoothly now.

The next task appeared: “The garden fountain is clogged. Quickly spend 1 hexagram to fix it!”

Finally, it was time. Yesterday, the game system had said that repairing the fountain would unlock the new feature Game Materialization. The materials from the “Construction Material Explosion” event also required the fountain’s repair to be usable.

Yu Qunqing tapped the screen, but the game didn’t respond. Instead, the hexagram flickered. Thinking for a moment, he pressed his hand against the screen—and to his surprise, he pulled the hexagram right out!

As soon as he loosened his grip, the hexagram floated back by itself. Left with no choice, he held it in one hand, took the elevator downstairs, then vaulted single-handedly from the second floor.

He walked into the giant musical fountain in the garden. Its main sculpture was a crocodile stepping on a planet. A deep crack ran through the middle.

Yu Qunqing shoved his hand into the crocodile’s mouth and released the hexagram. In an instant, his vision inverted into a negative-world, and the system’s voice echoed faintly from afar:

“Download path established…

Network environment stable…

Downloading game resources…

Game firewall materializing…

Checking installation environment…

20%….

80%….

Download complete! Game materialization progress: 100%!”

In the blink of an eye, countless gridlines spread out beneath his feet, covering the entire residential complex. Every blade of grass and tree seemed to have been deeply bound to Yu Qunqing. More than that, a transparent spherical shield burst outward from his body, expanding past the fountain, into the underground parking lot, and rising high to cover all four apartment buildings.

Some suspicious disaster remnants were instantly ejected away.

He felt clear-headed and refreshed. Torrential rains were about to pour down, and the air in all of Jiangbei City had grown heavy with humidity, many people struggling with breathlessness. But within the game’s domain (the residential complex), the temperature remained exactly as it had been before the apocalypse.

If you were a monthly pass user, you could even enjoy seasonal background switching—Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter—so the system reminded.

The fountain beneath his feet was undergoing an even bigger transformation.

It was a tiered, multi-level fountain. The main crocodile sculpture was repaired, and the weeds were cleared away. Yet it remained dry, the crack still unsealed. The smaller subsidiary fountains, however, began to flow, their bluish stone slabs dampened with water.

Looking closely, he saw disaster stones neatly arranged within the crack of the main fountain.

Yu Qunqing jumped in, carefully touching them. They couldn’t be pried out. Inside the crack were 88 white clam-shaped disaster stones and 33 rainbow shell-shaped disaster stones…

Wasn’t that exactly the objective of the latest stage?

So, Game Materialization meant… the in-game environment had become identical to what was shown on the screen. And stage objectives materialized too? Allowing others to see them as well?

“In other words, if I can’t clear a stage, I can entrust someone else to throw the disaster stones in here?” Yu Qunqing asked the system.

System: “Ding-dong! That’s right. Multiplayer cooperation and mutual assistance are also part of the game’s charm!”

Yu Qunqing remembered that his backpack still held the item Strange Moonlight Streetlamp. At this hour, the evening sun was fading, soon to be swallowed by complete darkness. Wind rustled in the distance—the omen of the Fire-Moths’ movement.

The Strange Moonlight Streetlamp was a Saturn-shaped floating lamp. Yu Qunqing currently had three of them, and he placed them all by the main fountain. The Saturns orbited the massive planetary sculpture, their light soft like moonlight. Raising one lamp, he gazed upward—silken auroras rippled over the river, the Fire-Moths searching for light. Sensitive to brightness, they ignored moonlight completely. They took no notice of the faint glow in the garden. It seemed these floating lamps truly carried “strange moonlight.”

“Looks like the biggest perk of the monthly pass is actually these lamps. From now on, going out at night will be possible.”

Yu Qunqing tested it; the lamps could indeed be carried outside the garden.

He opened the event Construction Material Explosion again. The materials he had obtained now included a new note—For Room Renovation.

He blinked. Effortlessly, he switched back into the negative-world mode. This time, he turned his gaze toward the four apartment buildings. Their structures were laid bare to him in perfect clarity! However, most of the rooms were locked. No one could enter unless 1000 materials were spent to unlock them. To build fortresses as solid as his own in the future would require even more materials for renovation.

“Don’t tell me it’s that stingy—only three days per week to farm materials?”

System: “By completing cooperative gameplay, both friends and the player will receive equal amounts of materials.”

Yu Qunqing continued surveying the residential complex in negative-world mode. Standing beside the fountain, he spotted his beach chair. With a simple thought, he dragged it over to his side. Even the crocodile soaking in the pool could be moved—so he pulled it nearby as well.

The crocodile seemed to be sleeping, but once moved it woke, swaying its head left and right.

“Ding-dong! The crocodile seems to have lost its way home, but it really wants to come out and play in the garden. Please spend 3 hexagram to build a crocodile-only elevator!”