Carrying a Jurassic on me

The cave was quiet, with the sound of the ocean waves outside seeming incredibly distant. Inside, a sound akin to the noise of a saw echoed around.

It was Yan Fei, manipulating a long iron wire with a strip of cloth tied to the end. He was cleaning the inside of the gun barrel!

Even though he had never fired a gun, he knew certain basic operation principles – the gunpowder-filled barrels had to be cleaned.

After cleaning, he carefully inserted the gunpowder, only filling half a small paper tube for safety considerations. This amount was assumed to be standard according to the gun's previous user. Still, he was cautious, having often heard stories about incidents where guns exploded in their user's hands.

Once the iron shot was ready, Yan Fei felt sweaty.

He couldn't help it. He had often heard about the dangers of guns during his time confiscating firearms, including rumors of village folk accidentally injuring people due to gun misfires.

He was finally ready.

Yan Fei began to search for a target.

He hadn't quite figured out why he transformed into a Compsognathus.

There were some clues, though. That day he killed a Compsognathus and ate its meat, and after that, he was able to transform into one.

Now he was just trying things out.

Who wouldn't want to fly? Who could resist trying it if given the chance?

Well, Yan Fei couldn't. He had thought about it before, but now that he had the means—this gun—it was possible. So he started planning his move on his way back from the county town.

His first rule – he certainly cannot harm young pterosaurs.

If killing a young pterosaur meant that he could only transform into young, flightless pterosaurs – he'd rather not transform at all!

So he didn't act in the afternoon and left the pterosaurs that could fly to hunt. The ones left in the nest were taking care of the young pterosaurs, being extremely careful. But they were not his targets anyway.

He was aiming for stronger, domineering pterosaurs that held the best positions on the cliff, had the largest nests, and looked more aggressive. Those must be the fiercest ones like those seen in Animal World!

If he's going to transform, it should be into the strongest.

At this moment, this broken and rusty gun seemed like a divine weapon, allowing him to slaughter any creature he chose.

Besides the few patrolling pterosaurs, the pterosaur flock on the island had quieted down completely. These pterosaurs, masters of the sky, were highly alert when in their nests. Any disturbance would garner their immediate attention. On the other hand, Compsognathus, lacking such vigilance, would sleep deeply in their nests. Yan Fei could often eliminate a few of them without causing any disturbance as long as he was quick.

Facing a pterosaur whose mouth alone was bigger than his entire body, Yan Fei was extra cautious. If it weren't for the courage he developed by killing Compsognathus for days, he wouldn't dare to even think about hunting these large creatures.

The barrel of the gun was long, Yan Fei had to find a suitable footing while maintaining the proper stance to ensure he could fire the moment he appeared near a pterosaur and then retreat unnoticed.

Fortunately, he had locked onto a few of the most powerful pterosaurs in the flock whose vicinity was relatively clear. Moreover, these creatures occupied the most open and flat center spot on the cliff.

Thus, right after he made up his mind, Yan Fei instantly appeared next to a pterosaur. The gun was held steady in his hand, the dark muzzle aimed directly at the target's neck, an area closer to its head.

The pterosaurs had large heads and mouths covered in what seemed like hard cornified structures. Yan Fei thought it would be more viable to aim for a more vulnerable area: the neck.

"Bang!"

The gunshot rang out.

A flash of fire accompanied by iron sand hit right on target.

The pterosaur flock instantly erupted into chaos. Awoken, countless pterosaurs quickly soared into the sky, squawking in terror. The sudden noise broke the island's peace.

Yan Fei was sitting in his little house, observing the island. He tossed the gun onto the floor, his palms were sweating due to the tense situation.

A few particularly robust pterosaurs squawked a few times, and the disorderly flock gradually calmed. Yan Fei finally saw his target, and then he realized that he had failed. It was apparent that he had loaded too little gunpowder, so the iron sand had not been powerful enough. The large pterosaur was squawking angrily without a sign of injury.

Just as he suspected, this gin was unreliable.

Mumbling, Yan Fei lied on the bed, waiting for the pterosaur flock to settle down so he could resume picking on them.

As he waited, he unexpectedly dozed off.

Has the day dawned?

Yan Fei, opening his eyes, was slightly perplexed.

Indeed, it was morning!

I'm dizzy!

Yan Fei is frustrated to death.

He had been keeping an eye on the Pterosaur flock all afternoon, and he had been fully energized to continue his work in the evening, but he fell asleep. His routine of staying up late and sleeping during the day had really messed up his "big plan".

He didn't go out to hunt rabbits or chickens all night, didn't go as planned to steal a bamboo pole, and didn't get to do what he had in mind, making him more frustrated than ever.

He had a good sleep, but he still felt grumpy all morning and had no energy.

It wasn't until after breakfast that he remembered something else he had to do. He went into the cave, counted the money in the box for a long time, folded all the money and put it in his pocket, and left.

Soon, he arrived at the police station.

After asking around and finding Lin Baoguo, Yan Fei looked around to make sure no one was watching, quickly pulled Lin Baoguo aside, and said: "Uncle Baoguo, can you help me find a teacher you know in town and convince them to let me start junior high school straight away when school starts?"

Lin Baoguo was immediately in a dilemma: "Didn't your parents tell you to go to the county?"

Yan Fei looked extremely wronged: "If I go there, how will I practice boxing? Besides, being at home is closer to my grandparents and I can go to see them more often. As long as I study hard, it's the same wherever I am, right?"

Lin Baoguo didn't pursue the matter further, but changed his tone: "With your exam scores, perhaps you should do another year of fifth grade! If you want to continue fifth grade, I can help arrange that, okay?"

"Uncle Baoguo!" Yan Fei pleaded bitterly. "Actually, I know the materials, it's just because of grandpa's incident that I couldn't perform well on the exams. Can you please help me convince someone? I need urgent help!"

Lin Baoguo was not swayed: "Can you handle junior high school? You want me to pull strings for you to get school admission? Even if they let you in, it's no use if your grades are bad. It would be better to repeat fifth grade and catch up with your studies."

"Everyone else is going to junior high school, and you're asking me to go to fifth grade? I can't afford to lose face like that! Can I promise to study hard in junior high school? Can I make a vow? I absolutely will not let you lose face. You just relax..." Yan Fei reiterated his commitment.

"No... I..."

"I've brought the tuition fee, look, this is the money I earned from selling game. I didn't waste a penny, don't you believe me?" Yan Fei took out the money to prove his "determination" to Lin Baoguo.

"What's up, Old Lin? What does your nephew want from you? Why are you two in the corner whispering?" A passing policeman noticed the two men huddled around the corner and came over to ask.

Yan Fei saw that it was "the enemy". It was Director Wang, who had bought his game and then backstabbed him.

"Nothing much, this kid wants me to help him get into junior high school!" Before Yan Fei could say anything, Lin Baoguo had already spoken.

"Isn't that a small matter? Don't you have a classmate who is a teacher in town? A simple greeting would do, or is there another reason?" Officer Wang asked nonchalantly.

"Ah, you don't know. It's not like I don't dare to speak up." Lin Baoguo, ignoring Yan Fei's coughing and winking, went ahead and betrayed Yan Fei. "He only scored three points on his exam, whom should I speak to about that?"

"Three points?" Director Wang was puzzled and asked instinctively, "Isn't there just two subjects? Did he score three points in math or Chinese?"

"One point in math, two points in Chinese. That adds up to three points. Out of the total score of two hundred for both subjects, he only scored this little!" Lin Baoguo explained grumpily.

"Uh..." Director Wang was left speechless. "This, this young guy is a bit biased..."

As soon as the words came out, he realized something was wrong, and continued: "Old Lin, you can get back to work, I have to go..."

As Director Wang left, Yan Fei was already fired up like a pack of dynamite. He re-pocketed the money and angrily told Lin Baoguo: "If you can't help, fine, but don't blab to others. You're such a drag, I'm leaving."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Lin Baoguo reached out to stop him: "What are you planning to do if you leave?"

Yan Fei gave him the cold shoulder, stared at him for a long time before saying: "It's none of your business, I'll think of another way. If I can't do it, I won't go! But I'm definitely not repeating fifth grade."

Lin Baoguo laughed bitterly, knowing that his mouth had gotten him into trouble and that he had deeply offended his nephew: "Okay, keep your money safe and don't waste it. I'll ask a teacher for you, if it works out, I'll let you know. But first, you have to talk to your parents, even if I put in a word for you, you can't blame me if it doesn't work out, okay?"

Yan Fei was still a bit angry: "Okay, you go ahead and try! If it doesn't work, tell me in advance so I can figure out another solution. I'm leaving now, you're really getting on my nerves!"

He stormed off in rage.

Once out of the police station and alone, he broke into a sly smile. Where was the slightest sign of anger?

He had always been called a big fool since childhood, so aside from his grandfather and a few other close people, he never cared about anyone else. Whether they spoke well or ill of him, all he saw were ignorant town-dwellers. The local police are unreliable.

Moreover, he had never cared about test scores, nobody had ever cared about his grades, so whether he scored one or two points, it made no difference to him.

Better to spend time figuring out how to bring down a Pterosaur than to be angry!