The night was deep and silent.
Inside the spaceship, Jiang Ye lay on the bed, his chest bare.
Cen Yemeng's delicate face was pressed against his heart, her beautiful hair covering him as she slept soundly.
Suddenly, a faint sound echoed from outside the spaceship, like sand rubbing against itself.
Jiang Ye's eyes opened slightly, then closed again.
The sounds grew more numerous, more dense.
Gradually, they formed a tide of noise.
Jiang Ye's brow furrowed. He opened his eyes, sat up, and reached under the bed to retrieve his rifle.
Cen Yemeng also woke with a start, listening blankly to the commotion outside.
The robotic dog suddenly lifted the hatch. "Master, master! The turtles have landed! So many, so many!"
Jiang Ye immediately rushed to the hatch.
A vast, dark mass was surging out of the white waves, scrambling ashore!
Their numbers were in the hundreds, thousands!
Each dark shape was as large as a pot lid, moving with surprising speed, no slower than the robotic dog!
The entire beach was filled with a rustling sound, like tens of thousands of sheets of Xuan paper being gently torn. The once smooth sand was left with countless tracks.
Jiang Ye grabbed the helmet of his spacesuit, intending to turn on the headlamp to illuminate the dark shapes.
"Master, don't turn on the light!"
"Why?"
"These turtles are here to lay eggs. This is just the vanguard. If they safely lay their eggs and return to the sea, a large force will follow. Turning on the light now will startle them."
"Alright." Jiang Ye put down the helmet.
He sat at the hatch, holding his rifle and gazing at the beach.
Cen Yemeng also walked over, sitting beside Jiang Ye and leaning against him.
The foremost dark shapes had already stopped at the edge of the sandy shore.
"They're all having babies," Cen Yemeng's voice was very gentle.
"We can eat their babies," Jiang Ye said. "Turtle eggs are highly nutritious."
"How cruel!" Cen Yemeng playfully punched him. "How can you eat the turtles' babies?"
The robotic dog chimed in from the side, "Turtle eggs have 1.84 times the protein of chicken eggs, 4.2 times the calcium, 2 times the riboflavin, and only 1/9 the cholesterol that is harmful to human health, 1/16 the total sugar, and 1/2 the total fat of chicken eggs."
"See! Very nutritious!" Jiang Ye turned to Cen Yemeng. "Eat some turtle eggs, and our baby will get more nutrients."
"Alright," Cen Yemeng lowered her head and touched her belly. "Baby, tomorrow we'll eat turtle eggs."
"I'll hunt a few more turtles later and eat their meat," Jiang Ye checked his rifle, his face beaming. "The menu is about to expand!"
The turtles on shore were all lying in the sand, laying their eggs.
After a moment of silence, the dark shapes began to return to the sea.
However, no subsequent dark shapes emerged from the water.
"Are you sure there's a large force?" Jiang Ye, watching piles of meat return to the sea, felt a bit restless.
"Certain! I've seen it many times," the robotic dog said. "These turtles come ashore to lay eggs once a month. The eggs hatch within a week, their reproduction is quite efficient."
Jiang Ye was astonished.
These planet's sea turtles were so prolific?
At this rate, wouldn't the entire ocean be filled with sea turtles in just a few years?
A sudden splashing sound erupted from the entire coastline.
Dense, dark shapes, with a rumbling roar, burst from the water, desperately charging ashore!
The momentum was akin to a beach landing operation. They indeed needed to scramble, as the suitable nesting grounds were limited.
"You can turn on the light now. Once these turtles are on shore, they'll lay their eggs and then leave!" the robotic dog exclaimed excitedly.
Jiang Ye picked up the spacesuit helmet and activated the headlamp.
Under the bright white light, thousands upon thousands of sea turtles were revealed!
They were all pure black turtles, with white markings only below their heads and paws. Their appearance was similar to Earth's sea turtles, but their backs were noticeably more humped, like small hills, and their scales were finer.
If Earth sea turtles had plate armor, these turtles had chain mail!
"Truly spectacular!" Cen Yemeng was awestruck.
"Indeed. I wonder how many I can pierce with one shot?"
Jiang Ye raised his rifle and fired!
The recoil was not strong, but the bullet's power was astonishing.
A large cloud of blood and shredded flesh erupted in the distance, sending several sea turtles flying into the air before they rained down.
Jiang Ye was stunned. This bullet was so powerful! Not even a Barrett was this fierce!
He aimed at another spot and fired again!
Bullets continued to fly, and blood springs erupted on the beach. Piles upon piles of sea turtles were killed, their bodies littering the sand, their blood staining it red.
After killing about thirty large sea turtles, Jiang Ye was about to fire again when a small hand stopped him.
"You've already killed a lot, and we can't eat any more," Cen Yemeng said.
Jiang Ye lowered his gun and stroked her head.
She was indeed very kind.
"The vegetable patch has been ruined!" the single dog suddenly yelped.
Jiang Ye looked up in the direction of the vegetable patch.
Indeed, the vegetable patch was covered with sea turtles. Each turtle had dug a sandy pit behind its rear, laying its eggs in the moist sand.
Fortunately, they hadn't sown seeds yet, or the seedlings would have been completely destroyed.
"It's okay. After they leave, we'll dig up the eggs to eat," Jiang Ye reached out and petted the robotic dog.
The large-scale sea turtle nesting lasted for over ten minutes.
One by one, turtles completed laying their eggs and turned to return to the sea.
But as soon as they reached the water's edge, huge bodies leaped out of the waves, opening their massive jaws!
Cen Yemeng screamed, and Jiang Ye was also startled.
A large school of giant fish suddenly appeared from the sea, biting whole rows of sea turtles.
These fish were similar in size to orcas, but they were entirely crimson, with terrifying appearances, like manifestations of demons!
"Blood whales," the robotic dog said. "I saw them in an endangered species atlas. These blood whales can come ashore, like crocodiles. I think we should close the hatch. They're coming ashore."
Jiang Ye quickly pulled Cen Yemeng back and slammed the hatch shut.
The sea turtles began to cry out in terror, a piercing, shrill sound, like whistling.
Whistle sounds came from all directions, hurting Jiang Ye's ears. He reached out to cover Cen Yemeng's ears.
The number of blood whales grew, charging ashore like beasts. They were not fast, but they were as fierce as tanks.
Their massive jaws opened and closed incessantly, biting and killing all the sea turtles before them!
The hard shells of the sea turtles shattered like biscuits in the blood whales' mouths, breaking with a single bite, and blood gushed out!
The beach was engulfed in fear and gore!
The white waves by the sea were already tinged red!
Cen Yemeng closed her eyes in terror.
Jiang Ye stared out the window in shock.
At least hundreds of blood whales were attacking simultaneously, ruthlessly slaughtering the sea turtle population.
Like tanks crushing infantry, they advanced unstoppably, leaving a trail of severed heads and immense bloodshed!
After killing the sea turtles, the blood whales did not eat them immediately. Instead, they spat them out casually and went on to bite other turtles.
They clearly intended to kill all the sea turtles, likely to obtain more food in a single sortie.
The frightened sea turtles fled towards the shore, as the sea had become a dead end.
However, from the piles of garbage by the shore, countless red eyes suddenly lit up!