The Evolutionary Path of the Lion

Chapter 26 Night Score

Chen Fei arranged these three layers of data into a timeline in his mind.

Male lions don't mark their territory randomly; they choose fixed markers and repeatedly cover the same spot. This is called reinforcement marking, meaning they're signaling to all passing animals—

I've always been at this spot; it's not something I just happen to pass by occasionally.

The two heroes' markers in this area began appearing two weeks ago, with intervals of four to seven days, indicating that they are maintaining regular patrols.

But the floor yesterday was different.

The odor concentration on that layer yesterday was much higher than before, and the location of the marker was shifted slightly inward by about half a meter, towards the center of the territory.

This is not normal territory maintenance; this is compression.

Following this line of reasoning, Chen Fei walked twenty steps east and found the next marker. It also had three layers, and the layer from yesterday was also offset by about forty centimeters, in the same direction—inward.

He mentally connected these markers into a line, creating an outline.

The two lions began to tighten their encirclement yesterday, pushing each marker a small step towards the center of their territory. This was not the work of a single lion, but a coordinated effort to close the net, indicating that the patrol routes at both ends were divided.

Dark brown mane was in charge of the east side, while light mane was in charge of the west side; they were pulling the entire old territory inward like a rope being pulled up.

The goal of this tactic is not a direct attack, but to compress Chen Fei's space of operation to a sufficiently small extent, and then launch a decisive battle at a point they have chosen.

Chen Fei stopped at the fourth marker, solidified his judgment, and then re-estimated the timeline.

It was faster than he had expected, not two days, maybe a day and a half.

He turned and walked back. The lions in the low-lying area were still in their respective places. Sel was grooming himself, the Lion King was sitting, and Big Head had somehow led the stingy one to him. Both of them were squatting. Big Head stretched out his right paw and slowly pushed it towards the stingy one. The stingy one raised his paw and slapped it away. Big Head pushed it away again, and neither of them made a sound.

Chen Fei passed by them without stopping.

[Host: Chen Fei]

[Identity: Sub-adult male lion]

[Energy Points: 522↑]

He found a flat spot in the center of the depression and sat down, mentally mapping out the area he would scout that night: the eastern side of the territory, the direction with the highest density of the two heroes' markers.

The night wind came from the east, carrying that familiar scent, mixed with something new—the smell of fresh earth being dug up by claws, today's scent, not yesterday's.

Both teams have advanced another mark today.

...

The moon rose high over the grasslands of the old territory.

Chen Fei sat on the edge of the low-lying area for nearly two hours, checking the wind direction on the east side three times to make sure the scent of dark brown bristles had not spread further before standing up.

He plans to go out alone tonight.

This decision was not made on a whim.

The risk of nighttime reconnaissance is lower than that of daytime reconnaissance, not because it is safer at night, but because the spread of scents is more stable at night, wind speed is lower, and scents are more clearly layered, allowing for a much higher density of information that can be gleaned than during the day.

The two heroes advanced the marking again today. He needs to figure out the other side's patrol route, he can't rely on guesswork.

He glanced at the few lions in the low-lying area.

Big Head was already asleep, lying on his side with his right front leg outstretched and his left front leg resting on a small stone. His mouth was slightly open, and his breathing was even. He was completely relaxed, as if this old territory had never been occupied by the two heroes, and there was no roar from the dark brown mane rolling over. It was just an ordinary evening.

Chen Fei mentally marked him: extremely high wartime sleep efficiency and an impressive stress threshold.

Sel wasn't asleep. She was curled up in a low-lying area, her eyes slightly open, sensing the movements around her.

When Chen Fei stood up, her ears twitched, she raised her head, her gaze fell on Chen Fei, paused for two seconds, and then neither followed nor made a sound.

She just looked at him.

Chen Fei paused his gaze on her face for a second, then walked east.

The Lion King sat on the right side of the depression, with his back to Chen Fei. But when Chen Fei walked out, his ears turned and remained facing the direction Chen Fei left for about three seconds before turning back.

I neither followed nor stopped them; I simply found out.

Chen Fei didn't linger on this matter. He left the low-lying area and entered the grassy area on the east side.

The grassland at night and during the day have two different perception systems.

During the day, the eyes are used for initial screening, with the ears and nose used as supplementary methods.

At night, this order is completely reversed: the nose is the primary source of information, the ears are the second, and the eyes are only responsible for close-up confirmation.

This wasn't something Chen Fei actively adjusted; it was a switch his body made automatically after daylight disappeared. His pupils dilated, his earlobes shifted forward, and his nasal sampling frequency increased. All three things happened simultaneously, like a night mode automatically activating.

He walked along the edge of the grassy area on the east side, stopping every ten steps to press his nose down and collect a scent sample.

The density of the two male markers is highest in this direction. He starts from the first marker and moves northward, breaking down the scent layers of each point for analysis, extracting timestamps, and recording the location offset direction.

The nocturnal animals on the grassland would make subtle noises as he approached, the fleeing footsteps of small rodents, and a scops owl would take flight from the tall grass, the flapping of its wings passing by his ear.

He categorized all these sounds into the background layer, and filtered out the frequencies related to the two heroes separately.

He stopped when he reached the seventh marker on the east side.

There is an anomaly in the odor layer here.

Beneath the markings of the two males lay another scent, not of the soil itself, but of animals, of a lion, but not of dark brown mane, nor of lightness, but of an unfamiliar scent, not found in the scent archives.

Chen Fei pressed his nose close to the ground and smelled the odor again.

The male lion, sub-adult or young, is relatively small in size and has high levels of residual stress hormones, indicating a violent fear response. Its movement trajectory is a rapid retreat from this point in a north-northwest direction, with slight limping marks and uneven hind leg landings.

I've been pursued.

About 30 centimeters away, a patch of grass was flattened. The way the grass stems were broken indicated that a heavy object had rolled over it. There were a few dark drops of blood on the ground, a small amount, indicating superficial wounds, not internal injuries.

Chen Fei pieced together this information to create an image.

A young male lion was being chased here, tripped and fell, suffered minor injuries, and fled in a north-northwest direction.

The pursuers are two powerful forces; this conclusion needs no verification. This area is under their control, and no other force can chase a lion here.

Chen Fei had an idea of ​​the plight of the wandering lion.

Young male lions driven out of their native prides either form temporary alliances to support each other or roam alone, searching for space to survive in the gaps in the power of dominant individuals. They move and probe constantly, staying wherever they can until they find territory to occupy or are completely driven out of the grassland by other dominant individuals.