In a small lake, several ferocious crocodiles were leisurely playing in the water, occasionally rolling around with abandon. Nearby, a few tall water birds were busily searching for small fish in the shallow water, constantly on high alert, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

A group of zebras cautiously drank from the lake’s edge, always aware of potential dangers around them. Further off in the distance, a few hyenas lurked, drooling greedily as they watched the scene with hungry eyes.

At that moment, a giant lizard slowly crawled out of the forest. Its yellow-green scales were mottled, patchy, and stretched across its one-meter-long, muscular body. As it moved, its muscles rippled under its skin like waves, rising and falling with each step.

After a week of exploration, Brandon had finally found a water source about five kilometers from his cave. He carefully surveyed the area: three hyenas, seven crocodiles—four in the water, and three more hidden in the mud, with only their eyes visible.

But Brandon’s sharp eyes didn’t miss them. “Three hyenas,” he thought, “a bit larger than domestic dogs. I could get injured if I fought them, but I shouldn’t be in any real danger.”

It had been a month since Brandon was born, and he had already grown to half the size of a fully grown giant lizard. His Golden Bell Shield technique had reached the peak of the first level, but his defense was already comparable to the second level of the technique from his previous life.

His reinforced body and scales had significantly enhanced his defensive capabilities, and Brandon was eager to test just how strong he had become.

Brandon headed towards the riverbank to drink. The dry season was gradually approaching, and it hadn’t rained for a week. If Brandon hadn’t found a water-rich tuber, he might have died of thirst by now. From the exposed riverbed, it was clear that this had once been a medium-sized lake.

Now, only a small pond remained, with the riverbed covered in black mud, soft and dotted with various animal tracks. Scattered all over the mud were shells and snails, indicating the lake's rich resources.

Brandon made his way to a relatively clean spot, avoiding the crocodiles hidden in the mud. Just as he was about to drink, the hyenas noticed the small, lone Brandon and began to circle him. A battle was about to unfold.

The three hyenas surrounded Brandon, snarling aggressively and occasionally letting out intimidating barks. They knew that a creature like a giant lizard wasn’t an easy target like the herbivores they usually hunted—one wrong move could be deadly, even if Brandon still looked small.

They stared each other down for half a minute before, seemingly receiving some signal, the three hyenas lunged at Brandon simultaneously. But instead of retreating, Brandon charged forward, taking two quick steps and then spinning around, swinging his tail at the hyena that had gotten behind him.

His tail, which had long ceased to be just for balance during running, had become a powerful weapon after extensive training, more lethal than his teeth and claws.

With a loud thud, one of the hyenas was sent flying backward, rolling several times before collapsing, unable to stand. Blood poured from its snarling mouth—it was clear its internal organs had been ruptured.

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The other two hyenas, having missed their target, saw the fate of their companion and fear flashed in their eyes. They let out low growls before turning tail and fleeing, abandoning the injured hyena.

The fight was brief but intense. The zebras, seemingly startled by the commotion, retreated several meters. Brandon felt a surge of pride, his chest puffing out as he glanced around, then calmly began drinking from the water. “Strength really is everything,” Brandon mused to himself.

After quenching his thirst, Brandon waded into the shallow water to bathe. He hadn’t washed in half a month, and his body carried an indescribable odor. The rainforest environment was humid and dark—conditions ripe for skin diseases if one wasn’t careful.

However, Brandon didn’t dare venture too deep into the lake. While he was confident in his abilities, he knew better than to challenge a two or three-meter-long crocodile, especially in the water.

After drinking his fill, Brandon approached the injured hyena. It was on the brink of death, whimpering as it struggled to stand, but it was too weak to do so. Its body twitched sporadically, and when it saw Brandon approaching, the fear and despair in its eyes were unmistakable.

Brandon crawled over and bit through the hyena’s neck, then quickly headed back to his cave, wanting to avoid any unforeseen complications.

His streamlined body powered through the run, almost as fast as a cheetah.

A few minutes later, Brandon returned to his lair and placed the prey to one side.

As soon as Brandon came back, the little bird in the nest started chirping loudly, its tiny beak opening wider than its head, clearly hungry. Brandon went to the adjacent room where he kept his food supply, grabbed a few caterpillars, and tossed them into the bird’s mouth.

The bird chirped in satisfaction. Shaking his head, Brandon began to process the hyena. With his sharp claws, he tore open the hyena’s skin. Once dried, it could serve as a mattress.

“Today was a big haul,” Brandon thought. But the prey was too large to finish in one day. In fact, it wouldn’t even last until tomorrow—half a day at best before it spoiled. “If only I had fire,” he mused. “I could make some jerky, which would be easier to store and would taste much better than raw meat.”

But he had no lighter, no magnifying glass, and no watch. Fire-starting by friction seemed out of the question; despite his claws being much more dexterous than an ordinary giant lizard’s, allowing him to perform simple tasks, something as challenging as fire-starting by friction was still too difficult. It seemed he would have to resort to the traditional method of rubbing wood to create fire.

Acting on his thought, which was always one of Brandon’s strengths, he left the prey for the moment and exited his cave. With daylight still on his side, he crawled southward, relying on his memory.

His regular territory now encompassed a large stretch of the jungle. Over the past few days, he had become quite familiar with the trees and plants in this area.

What he was searching for now was a type of vine, which had fine, hair-like tendrils at the top that were extremely flammable. He planned to use this plant as kindling.

These vines typically climbed up sturdier trees or hung down from the branches, often with other plants growing on them.

These kinds of vines were actually quite common in the jungle, playing a key role in forming the multilayered, web-like structure of the forest.

To the south was an area where these vines were particularly dense, and there, Brandon was confident he could find plenty of those fluffy tendrils. The surroundings were silent, with only the occasional, fleeting calls of unknown creatures breaking the stillness.

As usual, only a few weak, almost imperceptible rays of light managed to penetrate the thick canopy of overlapping leaves and branches, reminding the jungle’s inhabitants that it was daytime.

There seemed to be a sound… Brandon instinctively flattened himself against the ground, his entire body almost disappearing into the layer of dead leaves and tall grass. Pressing his head against the ground, he carefully tried to discern the noise.

Cautious as always, Brandon decided to climb a nearby tree—a massive one that would take several people to encircle. From its branches, he slowly and silently approached the direction of the sound.

（reprovision）