Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 817 - 159: How Much Is a Saltwater Crocodile Worth?

The man-eating bay crocodile that Chen Wen had slammed to the ground lay belly-up, the whole croc completely dumbfounded.And just while it was still in a daze—

Chen Wen’s killing move came.

The axe swept up into the light, the blade flashing cold.

With a furious roar, Chen Wen brought the axe down on the upturned bay crocodile’s lower jaw.

The bay crocodile howled in pain, its body writhing crazily as it tried to throw Chen Wen off.

But the sharp axe had already cut into the bay crocodile’s body—how could it possibly shake him off so easily?

Dragging the axe, Chen Wen used the keen edge to ruthlessly rake down along the skin of the croc’s belly.

With Giant Strength buffing him, Chen Wen’s power easily exceeded eight hundred kilos!

This monstrous strength let him drag the axe and slice open the bay crocodile’s body with ease.

As the bay crocodile’s internal organs were exposed to the air, its struggles only grew more violent.

But Chen Wen couldn’t care less about its death throes.

Once he confirmed the location of the bay crocodile’s heart, he thrust out his hand without hesitation, clamped down on its heart at lightning speed, and gave a savage yank.

With the bay crocodile’s heart torn out in Chen Wen’s grasp, its death was completely sealed.

"Ptui!"

Chen Wen spat out the crocodile blood that had splashed into his mouth, then casually tossed the heart back into its body.

When Chen Wen raised his head and looked at the bay croc—

Even though it knew Chen Wen had already accepted it, the bay croc still felt a bit intimidated right now.

It had always been a little timid, and today Chen Wen had really scared it.

"Relax, I’m not some bloodthirsty maniac. I went this hard today purely because this bastard ate people. Humans are my own kind, you get what I mean?"

As Chen Wen spoke, he lowered his head, looking for relatively clean standing water in the swamp.

He scooped up some and washed the blood off his body.

Off to the side, the bay croc nodded like crazy, already completely tamed.

Only now, seeing that Chen Wen had moved away, did Tata dare to creep over carefully.

Tata looked at Chen Wen with reverence and said, "Chen, how are you feeling now?"

Chen Wen, now free of blood, lifted his head with the same gentle smile: "Great, I’m not hurt. Oh, right, you should confirm whether this bay crocodile is your target."

Looking at the mild-mannered Chen Wen, Tata couldn’t help doubting whether that brutal Chen Wen from just now had really existed.

But he quickly shook his head. No need to dwell on that.

He walked to the man-eating bay crocodile’s corpse, took out his harpoon, and started turning over the croc’s internal organs.

Once he found the stomach, Tata forcefully slit it open.

Soon, some human remains and scraps of clothing spilled out.

Chen Wen frowned and led the bay croc back a few steps.

Tata, however, could still handle the sight.

He turned and signaled for Darren to take out something like a sack, then carefully used the harpoon to gather up the cloth and remains, sealing them properly inside.

"This is the one."

After finishing all this, Tata came over to Chen Wen and said, "Thank you so much, Chen, you’ve been a huge help to us this time!"

Chen Wen waved modestly: "It’s nothing, nothing, just lending a hand."

So that was "just lending a hand"?

Looks like Chen is even more formidable than I thought!

Tata’s gaze grew solemn.

At this point Chen Wen asked, "Since we’ve already killed this bay croc, does that mean we can head back now?"

Hearing this, Tata hurriedly nodded. "Of course we can, but..."

As he spoke, Tata glanced at the crocodile corpse on the ground.

Chen Wen followed his gaze but didn’t notice anything.

What, do they have to handle the croc’s body according to some special local custom?

It had eaten people, after all.

Seeing the confusion in Chen Wen’s eyes, Tata explained, "What I mean is, I think it’d be best if we stay here a few days. According to our agreement with the government, if we’re the ones who dealt with this bay crocodile, then all of the bounty, plus the croc itself, belong to us."

Hearing that, Chen Wen waved generously. "Oh, I see. Then you guys take it."

But Tata shook his head repeatedly. "No, no, you misunderstood. What I mean is, you’re the one who killed the croc, so all of this is yours!"

Chen Wen was about to decline, but Tata was adamant.

Helpless, Chen Wen could only say that he was actually fairly well-off, and that the croc wouldn’t do him much good even if he took it.

Besides, how much could a single bay croc be worth?

Right then, though, Tata gave Chen Wen a very strange look.

Like a city boy looking at some farm bumpkin.

That look left Chen Wen a bit bewildered. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Tata nodded slightly. "Actually, a bay crocodile is a bit more valuable than you think..."

That got Chen Wen interested. "How valuable are we talking?"

He might not be strapped for cash right now, but his liquid funds were almost used up.

If he really could score some unexpected windfall, that’d be pretty nice.

Seeing Chen Wen’s interest, Tata raised his hand to signal his uncle, Wuge, to come over.

After Wuge walked up, he first did something like a kneeling bow to Chen Wen, then stood up with a respectful expression.

He moved so fast that even Chen Wen was caught off guard.

What the hell is this now?

Tata explained a bit awkwardly, "Uncle Wuge is very traditional. He feels that anyone who can hunt a bay croc alone must have the favor of the god who rules over the hunt, so he saluted you to gain good fortune."

Hearing that, black lines practically appeared on Chen Wen’s forehead.

But his speechlessness quickly faded.

Because the crocodile hunter Uncle Wuge proceeded to give the bay croc a full valuation, with Tata providing live translation at the side.

"This bay croc is huge, and its hide is excellent. If we can skin it intact, some rich folks will pay a very nice price. The year before last, someone here sold a complete bay croc skin about five point seven meters long. A rich buyer offered forty thousand US Dollars. If we put this one on the market, its hide alone should fetch sixty to seventy thousand US Dollars!"

At that, Chen Wen’s eyes instantly went wide.

Seventy thousand dollars? Holy shit!

It’s that expensive?

Chen Wen was starting to understand the people from Hunting Owl. With profit margins like this, it really was worth the risk!

And Uncle Wuge’s appraisal wasn’t done yet; he’d barely started.

He pulled out a tape measure and took precise measurements of the croc.

Then he went on, "There are quite a few giant bay crocs being found these days, but this one looks to be over six point five meters, which is still a very rare giant specimen. That means its bones are also valuable. If some museum or research institute hears about it, they’ll offer a very good price as well. I’d estimate over twenty thousand US Dollars—and that’s with part of the skeleton already damaged by your attack."

Chen En drew in another sharp breath.

Just the skin and bones added up to nearly a hundred thousand US Dollars?

He was now really looking forward to the total value of the whole crocodile.

Uncle Wuge pried open the bay croc’s jaws and continued, "The teeth can be sold too. This many, and this big—if we don’t bundle them with the bones, they’d still bring in three to four thousand US Dollars."

"As for the remaining crocodile meat, organs, fat... based on local market prices, those can sell for several tens of thousands. All told, this bay croc can go for around a hundred fifty to two hundred thousand US Dollars."

After saying this, Uncle Wuge chuckled, a rather wicked grin spreading across his face. "But if you’ve got the right connections and can move it onto the black market in Southeast Asia, the total value could reach over two hundred fifty thousand US Dollars!"