"Ah, I'm so full," Gah-Gah thought, looking towards the skeletal remains of the Four-Jaw Fish, pushed to the riverbank by the feast of the Gah-Gah Beasts. Hundreds of them, having gorged on the meal, now lazily lounged by the riverbank in the glow of the setting sun.

The massive bones of the Four-Jaw Fish still had bits of meat clinging to them, and several small carnivores scurried among the Gah-Gah Beasts, competing for scraps that were too insignificant to interest the Gah-Gah Beasts.

Even Gah-Gah was indifferent to these creatures. At one point, when a small animal fearlessly ventured near Gah-Gah's mouth, it was quickly swallowed whole, only for Gah-Gah to realize in frustration that these small creatures no longer provided him with any evolution points or components. After a few more were swallowed without any gain, Gah-Gah resigned himself to this fact.

"Does this mean that on land, I can only gain evolution points and components from creatures of equal or higher level?" Gah-Gah decided to ask 8051 during his next visit to the Biological Editing Space.

As the red sun slowly disappeared beneath the horizon, and the Gah-Gah Beasts absorbed the last warmth of the sun, they gradually slipped back into the warmer river waters, more inviting than the cool night air.

Drowsiness began to set in, and Gah-Gah, intending to ponder other matters, slowly closed his eyes, sinking into the river's edge and drifting into sleep.

※※※

In a world where the scorching sun beat down, most Gah-Gah Beasts sought refuge in a river now reduced by a fifth of its size. The bones of the Four-Jaw Fish, picked clean by small carnivores, stood exposed, exuding a bleak aura.

Opening his mouth, Gah-Gah swallowed a passing small fish, temporarily satisfying his slightly empty stomach before swimming back to the riverbank's waters.

"Being cold-blooded is really tough," Gah-Gah muttered, exhaling hot air and drinking a gulp of the relatively cooler river water to flush the heat from his body.

The cold blood flowing through Gah-Gah Beasts' veins, while greatly reducing their food requirements, also restricted their range of activity. They couldn't move in high temperatures and needed to cool down, while in low temperatures, they needed to warm up by basking in the sun—only minimal movement during the day and submerged sleep at night. Maintaining body temperature required actively seeking suitable environments.

This was why the Gah-Gah Beasts were reluctant to leave their current riverbank habitation.

But this also meant Gah-Gah couldn't lead his species inland to search for essential components to truly become a terrestrial species.

However, the cold-blooded limitation only restricted the range of activities.

The main reason remained that the land seemed to be mostly forest, and the forest environment negated the Gah-Gah Beasts' advantage in numbers, with its internal temperature and humidity deemed unfavorable.

Nevertheless, Gah-Gah planned to replace cold blood with a warm-blooded component once it was found. Although it would increase food requirements, Gah-Gah believed his species had strong food acquisition capabilities. And the increased active time after switching to warm blood would significantly aid in evolving civilization.

Thus, Gah-Gah intended to take a small group of Gah-Gah Beasts into the forest, hoping to find warm-blooded components, egg-laying or viviparous components, and waterproof skin components preferably at the forest edge.

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Without waterproof skin, the Gah-Gah Beasts frequently needed to return to the water to hydrate their skin. Otherwise, they'd dry out. "Forests are moist; it should be okay," Gah-Gah reasoned.

Selecting a few moderate-sized Gah-Gah Beasts, Gah-Gah led the way into the forest, with the rest hesitantly following.

"Right, entering the forest—why did I forget about that!" Gah-Gah halted abruptly at the forest's edge, causing the hasty following Gah-Gah Beasts to tumble into confusion. Ignoring the awkward commotion, Gah-Gah turned back toward the riverbank. "Entering the forest isn't limited to land routes; surely such a vast forest has rivers running through it."

Indeed, this solution addressed concerns of waterproof skin and the unpredictability of dense forest traversal. Water offered more stable temperature differences than land.

However, this also highlighted why Gah-Gah Beasts weren't fully terrestrial.

With a swish of limbs, Gah-Gah plunged into the water, followed by puzzled Gah-Gah Beasts. One caught sight of Gah-Gah’s half-submerged head, hurriedly leading the others to follow suit.

In water, the path was far wider than in the forest, and once the Gah-Gah Beasts caught up, Gah-Gah called a dozen swimming nearby. A party of twenty or so Gah-Gah Beasts swam inland along the riverbank.

...

Dense fern forests blocked out the sunlight, with only a few rays slipping through their tight defenses to touch the river's surface.

Now, a few Gah-Gah Beasts cautiously hid beneath the water and plant cover.

Contrary to preparation for an ambush, Gah-Gah realized they were the prey here.

Earlier, the Gah-Gah Beasts found a river branch along the bank. Gah-Gah, enduring dryness, confirmed from a high point before leading them into the winding river snaking into the dense forest.

At that time, Gah-Gah had no idea what the forest held. By the time they realized, two Gah-Gah Beasts had already fallen to predators hidden within. If not for Gah-Gah's quick thinking to have them retreat into the water, this inland search might have ended without a trace.

Underwater, Gah-Gah caught sight of one predator.

Insects.

"How can there be such large insects, or are Gah-Gah Beasts small?" Over time, Gah-Gah had come to see his species as middle-sized in the animal kingdom, and on Earth, they'd measure about one to two meters. This was part of the rationale for approximating their length at one meter.

Based on that, the matured Gah-Gah now measured around 1.3 meters. In comparison, the observed predator insect was at least a meter long, with a wingspan of two to three meters.

The Hunter Beetle, equipped with three pairs of membranous wings, three pairs of bladed limbs at its abdomen, and large compound eyes. Its wingspan was 2.5 meters, body length 1.1 meters, capable of rapid-flight attacks.

"These are still insects? Damn."

Back as a human, the largest insects were palm-sized spiders seen in online photos. Gah-Gah couldn't quite accept these giant insects. Despite encountering various strange creatures before, none like these blocked the Gah-Gah Beasts' landing attempts. Even surfacing was met with attacks from what Gah-Gah dubbed the Hunter Beetles.

Most frustrating was the need for contact to conduct electricity in open air, given Gah-Gah Beasts' limited energy storage.

"Alright, you win." Bitterly snapping a dead branch, Gah-Gah didn't worry about discovery. One was in water, and one was in air; as long as Gah-Gah didn’t surface, the other couldn’t reach him. "But I’m not content. The previous unbeatable foes were all much stronger. This guy’s just flaunting some wings."

Studying the shadows flitting between the trees, "I’ll try an ambush. If it doesn't work, I'll return and figure something else out."

"Even if it fails, you’ll know we Gah-Gah Beasts aren’t easy prey," Gah-Gah challenged subtly, tail flicking as he neared the surface without surfacing. The large insect, the Hunter Beetle, noted the rippling water, drew closer, but quickly retreated into shadow.

"Do you have any weaknesses?"

A flying creature’s body strength, or weight, couldn’t be too great. Well, given its size, maybe not insignificant either. Its membranous wings looked dragonfly-like—perhaps not overly water-sensitive, but fragile against a Gah-Gah Beast’s power if attacked...

"But with its speed, how can I strike?" Gah-Gah pondered, surveying his surroundings, eyes drifting back to the swift Hunter Beetle.

"Above the water is your domain, but below is ours."

Gah-Gah noticed the beetle's abdominal limbs, equipped with bladed tips, key to its attacks.

"It seems to charge prey, extending these limbs to slice open targets. Gah, what a grim tactic. Larger prey must be shredded..."

"That's how two Gah-Gah Beasts met their end." Gah-Gah felt a cold sweat as a bold ambush idea took shape.

"Come join me, Hunter."