With the appearance of the Siamese crocodile, Li Xiaopang, the competition, which had seemed rather ordinary, immediately became exciting.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this race was similar to the previous sprint race.
One was a top predator on land, and the other was a cold-blooded killer in the water.
The only difference was that the former was famously fast, while no one knew how fast the latter could swim.
Perhaps someone knew, but those who knew were likely reincarnated by now.
"It's a shame there are no sharks at Xihong Zoo. It would have been even more interesting if they could have sent a shark this time."
"Holy cow, are you speaking human language?"
"Exactly, how can there be sharks? Their size is too big, there's no comparison. I suggest piranhas."
"Brilliant! The one upstairs understands punishments, where did you get that title from?"
...
While the audience was discussing, the contestants in the arena also had strange expressions.
Although they had known they would be competing against an animal, the organizing committee had only told them that Xihong Zoo was sending a fish.
Upon arrival, it was indeed a fish, just a rather large one.
It was too late to regret it.
As the referee's starting gun fired, the contestants began to enter the water one after another.
At the same time, the commentator's voice began to sound in the live broadcast.
"Dear viewers, we are now witnessing the 5000-meter freestyle race."
"The contestants have all entered the water. Athlete number one is Chen Lang, from the Guangxi Swimming Team. We can see that his speed is very fast."
"Athlete number two is Li Xiong, a swimming star from Guangdong Province, who has won numerous World Championship medals and has been performing very consistently."
"Athlete number three..."
When the commentator's gaze shifted to the third contestant, it suddenly stopped.
This was because he searched the entire body of water but could not find the third contestant.
Not only he, but the other contestants also couldn't find him.
"Who was contestant number three? I can't find them."
"I've forgotten too. Who was standing next to contestant number two when we started?"
"What are you all thinking? Contestant number three is that big crocodile!"
"That's right, contestant number three isn't human, it's a crocodile."
As everyone realized, another question quickly arose in their minds.
That was, after the contestants entered the water, they hadn't seen the big crocodile at all, except for it sticking its head out at the beginning.
"Could it have drowned?"
A ridiculous thought crossed everyone's minds.
However, at that moment, Chen Lang, who was swimming in first place, suddenly cried out, and then inexplicably picked up speed.
Seeing this, those who had been speculating suddenly thought of a possibility.
Coincidentally, the large screen beside them also provided an underwater view.
Suddenly, a scene from Jinsha Lake appeared before everyone's eyes.
Below the clear lake water, a behemoth was stealthily swimming in a comical posture.
Its four short legs were paddling continuously underwater, like four little thrusters.
It was none other than the missing Siamese crocodile, Li Xiaopang.
Unlike the other contestants who chose to swim on the surface, it chose to dive and swim underwater.
What's more, it would occasionally tease the other contestants while swimming.
Upon realizing this, smiles gradually appeared on the audience's faces.
"So this is what a crocodile looks like when it swims underwater. It's completely different from their ferocious image."
"Doesn't it look a bit silly?"
"I was wondering how crocodiles managed to only show their nostrils and eyes above water. Now I finally understand, it's all thanks to those four little legs paddling below."
"Is this considered a foul?"
"Lol, if it's a foul, would the referee dare to go find it?"
"These contestants probably thought they encountered a water ghost."
"No wonder the director said Xiaopang was still a little girl. She's indeed very mischievous."
...
It had to be said that although Li Xiaopang occasionally scared the contestants, it was precisely because of this that the contestants' speeds improved significantly.
The race, which originally took nearly an hour and a half, was completed by the human contestants more than ten to twenty minutes earlier.
Of course, even though they all finished early, they still couldn't beat Li Xiaopang in the end.
By the time they reached the shore, Li Xiaopang had already finished drying itself off.
The contestants were not surprised by this outcome at all, as crocodiles, even if not true fish, still had "fish" in their name.
Their swimming speed was far beyond what they could match.
As the last human contestant finished, the awards ceremony quickly began.
The audience expected the prizes this time to be the same as in previous competitions.
However, when the referee led Li Xiaopang to the podium, they were surprised to see a tall mountain of pumpkins piled next to the podium.
Upon seeing the pumpkin mountain, which was five or six meters high, Li Xiaopang's eyes lit up, and it immediately rushed forward.
A large pumpkin, bigger than a human head, was bitten into pieces in an instant.
Watching Li Xiaopang frantically devour the pumpkins, the audience almost burst into laughter.
"The organizing committee is so thoughtful, they know Xiaopang loves pumpkins."
"Great Uncle shed tears of sorrow. Xiaopang wins the race and gets delicious food. Why doesn't he even get a cigarette when he wins?"
"Indeed, Great Uncle shouldn't know about this. If he did, he'd be so angry he'd smoke three packs of cigarettes."
"Great Uncle wracked his brain but couldn't figure out where the problem lay."
However, what they didn't know was that at Xihong Zoo, Shi Difu was watching the live broadcast of the competition with a half-smoked cigarette in one hand and a borrowed mobile phone from his powerful neighbor in the other.
When he saw Li Xiaopang frantically devouring the final prize, his face turned green.
After taking several deep drags of his cigarette, he sighed and said,
"They don't even bother to fob me off with a bunch of bananas."
"No, I must get an explanation from Director Yang when he returns."
With that, he flicked the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt away.
The next second, a scream came from the adjacent park.
"Who the hell set my quilt on fire!"
...
Yang Lin, who was at the competition venue at the moment, naturally did not know that he was being thought of again by Great Uncle.
Even if he had known, he wouldn't have had the time to deal with it, as the next event was about to begin.
That's right, as the director of Xihong Zoo, he had also been assigned an event by the organizing committee.
With a hint of apprehension, he took a deep breath and walked towards the competition venue.