Zhao Zilong and the others were watching from under Great Vajra's chassis. "Is it... making a friendly gesture?"

It really did look that way — as if the four-legged snake was saying: New around here? Let me buy you a meal.

Shen Cong couldn't determine what was driving the behavior. A lizard extending a social overture to a metal vehicle made no sense from any angle he could think of.

"Why would it make a friendly gesture?" He directed the question at Zhao Zilong — she had relevant knowledge.

"Friendly gestures between animals usually fall into one of three categories: recognition of the same species, courtship, or submission to a perceived superior."

He watched the four-legged snake continue nudging the regurgitated carcass in their direction and frowned. "Which category do you think applies here?"

"Possibly... submission to a superior." She didn't sound certain.

Great Vajra's Talent was Beyond Three-Star, now at the Lv1 era. A pressure aura that could affect ordinary evolved organisms — that part was plausible. But the four-legged snake in front of them was many times larger than Great Vajra in physical mass. Clearly a Heavyweight evolved beast. How could Great Vajra's pressure aura affect something at that tier?

Without a pressure differential that should generate submission behavior, why was the creature doing this?

Shen Cong didn't have an answer.

The four-legged snake waited. Its offering sat on the ground. Great Vajra didn't respond.

The creature grew visibly impatient — it raised its neck and called out twice. The sound came from the throat, muffled and resonant, something loosely resembling a sheep's call.

Still nothing.

It put its head back down and resumed sunbathing. Its tail swung in slow arcs across the slush, sending water spraying.

"It's not attacking and it's not leaving and I would love to know what it wants," Old Wei said through the walkie-talkie, teeth audibly clenched. "Colonel Chen — what's the play?"

Shen Cong was still thinking.

The creature's behavior pattern didn't fit anything in his framework. He expected either aggression or disinterest — an evolved beast either wanted to fight or…