Chapter 370

Chapter 370: Strange Things Never Seen Before or After.

As a former paleontologist, Trilobite always identified the type of ingredients before eating.

Just like Director Hu identifying creatures at a seafood market.

“This fellow…”

“Is an amphibian!”

“It should be called… a cap-headed salamander!”

“I didn’t know exactly which type, but it was quite large.”

Cap-headed salamanders aren’t a single species, but a group of amphibians that lived during the Permian period.

They belonged to the class Amphibia, subclass Temnospondyli, and order Amphibilia.

The order Amphibilia boasted the greatest diversity among Temnospondyli in numbers, varieties, and forms. Though some lineages looked bizarre, modern counterparts could still be found.

For instance, certain Amphibilia members evolved into eel-like or snake-shaped amphibians.

Such evolutionary paths still exist today—odd-looking yet not entirely implausible.

By contrast, cap-headed salamanders were truly one-of-a-kind. No comparable creatures emerged after their era.

Their bodies and skulls flattened and widened, with side and top skull bones extending into backward-curving "horns."

The entire skull formed an isosceles triangle with a broad angle, resembling a bamboo hat—hence the name "cap-headed salamander."

“Incidentally, cap-headed salamanders shouldn’t have any living descendants today.”

“There’s a picture circulating online showing a live one caught and kept in a washbasin.”

“To clarify: that’s fake. It’s a reconstruction model from the University of Tokyo.”

“Quite well-made and realistic—soaking it in a basin makes it look genuine.”

“The picture claims some angler caught it.”

“If anyone actually hooks this thing, don’t rush to post online. Check your surroundings first—confirm you haven’t time-traveled.”

Typically, cap-headed salamanders measured under a meter long.

Though impressive among modern amphibians, they were unremarkable amidst the Permian’s monstrous amphibian diversity.

Yet the specimen before Trilobite shattered size records.

It stretched two meters long—rivaling a giant salamander!

“Huge is good!”

“Plenty of meat!”

“And…”

What thrilled Trilobite more was his system vision: this “cap-headed salamander” glowed deep red!

Abundant Chaos Energy radiated from it!

“Great!”

The cap-headed salamander sensed danger and tried to escape.

But how could the ingredient run into the diner and still hope to flee!?

“Thud—!”

Trilobite stomped on its tail.

“Ah—ugh—!”

With his giant jaws wide open, he formed a huge shadow and lunged at the cap-headed salamander.

—-

Astarloth let out a howl of despair and pleading.

“Show some mercy!”

“I didn’t see anything!”

“I won’t say a word!”

“We can make a contract!”

However…

Mercy!?

In the eyes of the Giant God, made of gems, there was no hint of emotion.

The shadow of the giant jaws loomed over his head.

“Ahhh—!”

“Pshhh—!”

Blood splattered everywhere, staining the Ether Sea and Primal Mud around Astarloth.

“Um…”

“Ah… ugh…”

Trilobite stepped on the corpse of the cap-headed salamander, bit down hard, and yanked fiercely…

“Hiss…”

The corpse of the cap-headed salamander instantly split in two.

“Um…”

“It tastes good.”

“It’s sticky and slippery.”

“The meat is tender, and the bones are brittle; it’s a bit like a bullfrog.”

“Chaos Energy…”

The estimated value given by the System was eighty thousand points.

“Fifty thousand points…”

“To put it harshly, it’s not worth it.”

“I needed to catch ten fellows like you to make back the Chaos Energy spent on buying ‘Wood Fiber Decomposing Enzyme.’”

“Ah…”

“But…”

Trilobite looked at the ruins where his spawn lived, and then at the armored big insects crawling over from all directions with a rustling sound.

“Hmm…”

“Another Diplopod.”

“Wow, but this one was the enhanced version.”

Typically, a Diplopod was no more than two meters long, maximum three meters.

But these fellows…

Most adult Diplopods were already around three meters long, and the biggest one was nearly five meters long!

Trilobite couldn’t understand what it ate to grow that big!

“What a pity.”

In the system vision, the Diplopods appeared blue, and they wouldn’t provide any Chaos Energy if eaten.

Moreover…

“These Diplopods had taken evolution down another path to the extreme…”

The so-called other path of evolution was—if I wasn’t tasty, I was invincible in the Food Chain!

Of course, “not tasty” here didn’t refer to flavor; in a natural environment, various predators that often faced hunger weren’t so picky or concerned about taste.

As long as it was meat, it could fill the belly.

But what if there was no meat!?

Not only was there no meat, but they were also difficult to kill!?

The reason why the honey badger was so bold, daring to confront lions, wasn’t just because of its fierce body structure, but because it benefited from being “not tasty.”

Thick skin, foul-smelling glands, took time to hunt, high cost—after all the effort, it ended up with either bones or skin, just a little meat…

Any sensible creature wouldn’t have wanted to provoke such a foe!

With that time, wouldn’t it have been better for lions, hyenas, and leopards to catch a warthog?

Avoiding creatures like the honey badger was the optimal solution for predators.

Of course, “honey badgers” weren’t completely safe from threats posed by ferocious beasts.

There were always those who refused to play by the optimal strategy, with lions and hyenas accounting for about three percent of the honey badger’s diet.

“Diplopods were the same…”

“They didn’t provide Chaos Energy for me, and for other predators, they were hard to kill and had little meat.”

“However, I remembered that the real Diplopods in Earth’s history lived by eating tender shoots.”

“And in modern times, their relatives, like millipedes, survived by feeding on decaying branches and leaves.”

“Anyway, they eat grass and soil!”

“So…”

Since they could consume decayed branches and leaves, this meant they could feed on wood fiber that had been partially broken down by fungi.

At that moment…

[Ding——!]

[There is a new spawn rental request. Do you agree?]

[The type of rented spawn is—“hairy worms.”]

[Do you agree?]

It was a perfect match!

“How wonderful!”

“I was worried that there were no termites in this age!”

“Great, the task of saving the world will be entrusted to you!”

“I agree!”

[The rental fee is 5000 Chaos Energy per month.]

[Considering the host’s previous promise, the System offers a special discount package to the renter. This rental fee is 4000 Chaos Energy per month.]

“Alright then…”

After all, Trilobite had to accept the promise he made, even with tears.

Moreover, this was necessary.

After all…

“Tree bandits must be eradicated at all times!”

“So, let me give these ‘hairy worms’ a gift…”

“A stable place to thrive in peace!”

“Let’s build this into my flagship store for renting out ‘hairy worms’!”

After spending a lot of Chaos Energy, Trilobite set off on a new journey.

“Hmm…”

“Should I head to the seaside?”

He thought for a moment…

“Forget it.”

“Since I’m here, it’s better to change direction.”

“Maybe I can find food on dry land too.”

“Oh, right.”

“Finally, let me prepare something for the hairy worms…”