The Evolutionary Path of the Lion

Chapter 76 This ability is awesome

The warm fire in his chest suddenly expanded outward, as if someone had blown a strong breath on it, instantly spreading throughout his body, then quickly contracted with a "click," like an invisible switch being locked from the inside. A fine tingling sensation came from the roots of his hair, starting from his neck, flowing down his spine, and spreading to his extremities within two seconds. After the tingling subsided, his entire body felt a strange tightness in his fur, both familiar and strange.

Nothing has changed, yet it seems like everything has changed.

"My aura is sealed; it seems I've gained some incredible ability."

Chen Fei lay there, confirming that the heat flow had stabilized under his skin, before slowly shifting his attention back to the approaching footsteps.

The footsteps had reached the entrance of the ditch, making a clear "click" sound as they stepped on the gravel along the edge.

Kaller was walking at the very front.

Chen Fei immediately recognized from the rhythm and smell of the footsteps that Kaler's right foot landed harder when he stepped on the ground, carrying a smell of leather and sweat, which was a long-standing habit that he couldn't break.

Ella followed in second place; her scent was a blend of the fresh fragrance of sunscreen and the slightly astringent smell of lubricating oil.

In the end, Morris's breathing was steady, each inhale and exhale with a regular rhythm, half a beat slower than the younger man, but exceptionally calm.

The three of them, lightly equipped, explored the route.

It was exactly as he predicted.

The red clay walls on both sides of the shallow ditch were brittle from the sun; a fingertip could scrape off fine sand. The sunlight pressed down along the curve of the walls, cutting the shadows of everyone into narrow, long pieces. Kale's steps were even, his soles making no sound as he stepped on the dry grass at the bottom of the ditch. His pace wasn't fast, but it was like a wound-up toy that never stopped. After entering the ditch, the light suddenly dimmed by half. The heat reflected from the earthen walls, carrying the scent of dry grass, hit his face. Kale's eyelids drooped slightly, his pace slowed by half a beat, and he cautiously placed each step, testing the ground before putting it down. His right hand hung naturally, his fingertips brushing against the cold, hard casing of the walkie-talkie at his waist, and he gently pressed the body to confirm that it was turned on.

The wind suddenly swirled around the bend, rustling the withered grass at the bottom of the ditch; we had reached the bend.

Chen Fei lay prone in the shade of the tree canopy seventy meters away, his ear tips pressed against the ground, catching the subtle sounds coming from the bottom of the ditch: Kaler's footsteps paused at the bend, the hesitation shorter than the flapping of a hummingbird's wings.

Kaller stopped, bent his knees slightly, leaned forward, and looked down from the tip of his nose to the ground inside the bend.

The scent was hidden beneath a thin layer of soil, deliberately dug out by Chen Fei with his forepaws. The trace was so faint it almost blended into the surrounding earth, like the scent left unintentionally by a wild animal passing by, intentionally concealed and inconspicuous. Kale knelt on one knee, his calloused fingertips gently pressing against the soil, his fingertips grinding against the damp earth particles. Then he raised his hand, brought his nose to his fingertips, and took a deep breath, inhaling the mixture of decaying grass and a very faint animal scent.

"There are traces of aura here."

His voice wasn't loud, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he finished speaking in Swahili, then repeated it in English. When he turned his head, the muscles in his neck tensed, and his gaze fell on Ella.

Ella stepped up the pebbles at the bottom of the ditch, her trouser legs rustling against the dry grass. She knelt down on one knee beside Kaler, holding the camera lens pointed at the land, her index finger on the record button. The dim light from the screen reflected on her profile. She recorded for a full five seconds before releasing the button.

"How fresh?"

"Two to three days." Kaller wiped the dirt from his fingertips onto his khaki trouser leg, leaving two shallow streaks. He stood up, supporting himself on his knees, his gaze sweeping like a searchlight across the grassy bend, the earthen wall, and the distant treetops. "But,"

The words trailed off, the last syllable carried away by the wind.

"What?" Ella looked up at him, the camera still mounted on her chest.

Kaller's brows furrowed into a deep frown, his eyes slightly upturned, his gaze sweeping over the grass at the bend, not even missing the direction in which the blades of grass lay flat. His lips were pressed into a straight line, and he remained silent.

Ella waited a few seconds, and seeing that he didn't speak, she slowly rotated the camera, recording the surrounding grass and ditch walls. As the buzzing on the screen gradually disappeared, she stood up, supporting herself on her knees: "Keep going."

Kaller didn't move.

He tilted his head back slightly, his nose twitching as he took a deep breath of the earthy wind. He slowly turned his neck halfway around, as if sorting through every scent in the air. The dryness from the east, the grass and wood scent from the north, and the dust from the south all swept through his nostrils in turn.

Morris walked up from behind, stepping in the footsteps of the crowd. He carried a walkie-talkie in his left hand and tucked it into his belt with a click. His voice was calm and steady: "Continue the push. Record everything. Analyze it later."

Kaller stood there for a moment, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the walkie-talkie at his waist, before finally following after him.

Seventy meters away, in the shade of the acacia tree canopy, Chen Fei lay prone on all fours, his abdomen pressed against the cool grass, his chest barely rising and falling, his fur blending seamlessly with the shadow of the tree trunk. He hadn't missed a single word of the conversation.

Chen Fei felt a warm current flowing through his neck. He slightly tightened the muscles in his neck, sniffed lightly, and confirmed that his breath was firmly sealed and not a trace of it was leaking out. Then he turned his body to the side, lowered his shoulders, and adjusted to a lower prone position, his back conforming to the contours of the grass without disturbing a single blade of grass.

The survey team continued eastward.

After advancing two hundred meters, the team was about to enter the area covered by the canopy of acacia trees. The formation seemed to be pulled apart by an invisible hand. Just as Chen Fei had predicted, Kaler's pace slowed down, and his feet stomped on the grass almost silently. The distance between Ella and Morris gradually increased, and finally stopped at nearly fifteen meters. The gap in the middle was enough to make any movement impossible to hide.

The branches of the acacia intertwine, and the dense leaves cut the sunlight into fragments of gold. The view is blocked by the branches, and a brief blind spot opens up like a window.

Chen Fei didn't move.

The survey team walked through the hunting grounds for nearly two hours, scanning the eastern side from north to south. Morris had a thermal imaging camera mounted on his backpack, its black lens pointed straight ahead, emitting a slight hum as it rotated. During the time Chen Fei lay prone under the acacia tree, the dark red thermal imaging scan line swept across his position three times, pausing for two seconds each time, as if confirming something, before continuing its scan.

There was nothing there.

As the third scan came over, Chen Fei caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of Morris raising his right hand and lightly tapping the side of the camera twice with his fingers. The tapping was light, as if he was checking whether the equipment's wiring was making good contact. His brows furrowed slightly, with a hint of barely perceptible doubt.

He found nothing unusual.

Chen Fei was surprised.

That's an amazing ability!

As long as you don't actively expose yourself, isn't that the same as being invisible?

Two hours slipped by in the rustling of the grass. The survey team reached the eastern edge of the hunting grounds, adjusted their formation slightly, and began to ascend the gentle slope. The grass on the slope was shorter, revealing the red soil beneath, which crunched softly underfoot. Kaller walked at the front, stopping when his feet touched the hard soil at the top of the slope. He took his binoculars from his shoulder, opened the tubes, and held them up to his eyes. His pupils contracted as he moved the lenses, scanning the entire eastern hunting grounds from north to south.

Chen Fei is no longer under the acacia tree.

He moved to a hollow in the bushes, lying face down with his back pressed against the cool earth. An invisible membrane enveloped his body heat and scent. From the top of the hill, the hollow was just a mound of cold earth covered with withered grass, indistinguishable from the surrounding environment.

Kaller put down his binoculars, his lips pressed into a straight line, and said nothing.

He glanced back at the bend in the shallow ditch and stood at the top of the slope for a long time. The wind howled past, lifting the corner of his coat and pressing his khaki jacket into a taut vertical line against his back.

Ella walked over, stepping on the grass, and stopped beside Kaller. She glanced in the direction of the hunting grounds, following his gaze. The screen of the camera in her hand had already gone dark. She looked away and said, "I'm done recording. Let's go."

Kaller tucked the binoculars back into his waistband, turned around, took two steps, and then suddenly stopped.

"Ella".

"Um."

His voice was extremely low, almost a whisper, and his lips moved very little, as if afraid that the sound would be carried by the wind to Maurice's ears not far away: "Have you noticed that, from the time we entered the hunting grounds until now, two hours have passed, and not a single animal has appeared?"