Hearing Zoey give him an order, Lex quickly put things back in place, kept his head down, and squatted quietly without saying a word.
Seeing that he stopped making noise and seemed to realize his mistake, Zoey felt a bit soft-hearted. After all, even though this guy was an adult, he had only been out of the womb for about ten years. Some things still needed to be taught slowly. Well, this time, by choosing a mate, she also got an extra living "husband trainer."
"All right, I'm not blaming you. It's normal if you don't know some things," Zoey said in a gentler tone. She was still a little angry, but much calmer than before.
"But in the future, listen to me all the way. Don't be so impatient and just run off without thinking!"
Lex raised his head when he heard this and obediently nodded at her. Zoey continued:
"You're going to be a dad soon. You need to learn to be more steady. How are you going to set an example for your child otherwise?"
Hearing this, Lex suddenly looked up, his eyes sparkling as he stared at Zoey.
"Me… I'm going to be a dad? I'm going to be a dad!"
Zoey nodded and pointed to her belly. "I'm already carrying your child."
"Really!?" Lex stared at her in disbelief, then slowly looked at her belly.
He carefully stood up and, seeing that Zoey didn't push him away, boldly reached out and touched her belly.
Was he really this amazing? There was already a child in Zoey's belly so quickly?
"This is amazing!"
"How did it happen so fast?"
"I'm so powerful!"
Listening to Lex's endless excitement, Zoey rolled her eyes one after another. This guy was not only childish but also kind of silly!
Attributes: Male Dinosaur
Background: Father is Carbon, Mother is Muhber, born from them
Name: Lex
Talent: Keen sight and hearing
Level: High-level
Transformation: Can change into a beast-man at will
Skills: Roar, stomp, run wildly
Looking at the system's new detection of Lex, Zoey rolled her eyes even more.
"I'm already carrying your child. Your skills have improved, and you're now a high-level male who can transform into a beast-man at any time."
Did this guy not realize it? He just ran around without a clue, and his beast-man form could change at any time! Zoey worried that her third child might also inherit his silly nature.
"Really?" Lex's face lit up.
Then he quickly transformed into his beast form, then back into a beast-man, and back again, over and over like he discovered a new world.
"Ah, that's enough! My eyes are spinning!" Zoey shouted. But of course, he didn't hear her at all—his ears seemed useless.
Sighing, Zoey yelled with all her strength:
"I'm hungry! I'm carrying a child! Hungry!"
Lex suddenly stopped transforming back and forth.
"Zoey, what do you want to eat?"
Although he asked, he only knew how to catch low-level males.
"Are there any other wild animals here? Besides your kind?"
"No."
Hearing his answer, Zoey frowned. If she couldn't eat meat, maybe she could eat fruits instead?
"Are there wild fruits? Fresh juice…"
Zoey had just asked the question, but before her words even faded, Lex answered quickly and clearly:
"No!"
Sigh! Zoey silently exhaled. Even if she was angry, it was useless now. She could only grit her teeth and look at Lex, asking,
"No? You can't go find it?"
"I can't."
Zoey: "..."
Right now, she really wanted to know: besides male betrayal, how could she get rid of this cursed mark?
She didn't want to bond with Lex. She regretted it!
She kept getting angry all the time; it would have been better to just max out the system!
"You're angry, Zoey? I really can't find the fruit. There's none here, and I don't know how to, or who to ask…"
"Who eats wild fruit in our tribe, except for the low-level beasts?"
Lex was anxious and very troubled. He didn't want Zoey to suffer or starve, but she wouldn't eat the same kind, so he was frustrated too.
Suddenly, he remembered something. Lex quickly put out his arm, right in front of Zoey's mouth.
Zoey stared at the arm near her face, confused. She was about to ask, but Lex hurriedly said,
"I remembered! Eat it, don't worry! If it's for our baby, I won't complain at all!"
"If it's not enough, I'll even give you this leg later!"
Hearing this, Zoey frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean? I don't understand at all! Can you explain clearly?"
Lex paused for a few seconds, not expecting Zoey to be unaware.
"In our tribe, high and mid-level males eat low-level males. I heard some males say that pregnant females only eat mid-level beasts. Low-level ones aren't eaten!"
Then he put his arm near her mouth again.
"Go ahead and bite it. I don't mind the pain! If it's still not enough, this leg is yours too!"
Zoey was terrified and stepped back, her stomach twisting. She almost fell, but Lex quickly caught her and held her in his arms.
Thinking of the command Zoey had given him when she was angry, he asked carefully,
"You're in danger, Zoey. Can I hold you? Let me hold you here. I won't run."
"I'll hold you. You can bite my arm if you want. Don't worry, it's for our baby. I won't feel pain. The baby will be born healthy."
After Lex said this, Zoey gagged. There was nothing in her stomach, otherwise she would have thrown up everything.
She really couldn't stand this cruel behavior. The dinosaur tribe was just too crazy!
Then she thought: they were at the seaside. There were no wild fruits, but maybe there were fish in the sea?
"Lex, put me down and make a fire!"
"There must be fish in the sea. You go catch fish. I want grilled fish."
Hearing Zoey ask for a fire, Lex quickly put her down.
When she asked him to catch fish, he replied honestly,
"I don't know how to catch fish."
Zoey: "..." Angry again!
She couldn't control her hands, almost wanting to slap him.
"Are you stupid? Why don't you turn into your beast form and step into the water?"
"Catch it with your hands! Use any way, I want to eat fish!"
"Do whatever you want. You're stupid, I'm starving, and fine, no baby then!"
Seeing Zoey really angry, Lex quickly transformed into his beast form. He grabbed some trees from the nearby land and piled them on the beach.
Seeing the sudden pile of trees, Zoey hurriedly told Lex to stop.
"You can just use that dead tree we used before! I only asked for a fire, not the whole forest…"
Lex quickly made a fire on a dead tree and then, looking a bit annoyed, threw a line at Zoey,
"You know, I'm officially the smartest male in our tribe!"
After saying that, he turned and ran toward the sea.
Watching Lex disappear into the night, Zoey sat by the fire and slowly felt a little calmer.
This guy is big and strong, so he can make a fire faster than any other male she's seen, but he doesn't seem very smart.
She had hoped to teach the fire-making and stone-plate cooking methods to the tribe, but judging by Lex, that probably won't work.
Lex said he's the smartest male in the tribe, and from the way he acted, he wasn't lying.
She really couldn't imagine the other males in the dinosaur tribe being any smarter.
Sitting by the fire, she couldn't see what was happening at the sea, but she could hear bits and pieces of it.
Every now and then there were big splashes, and sounds of jumping and shouting in the water.
But she wasn't worried about Lex. He's a good swimmer, and even if there was danger, it wouldn't affect him.
Soon, Lex came back dragging a fish—or rather, it was more like a beast.
When the system saw it, it immediately gave a report:
Species: Male Whale
Parents: Father Lu Weitian, Mother Keduolia
Name: Guo'o
Talent: Black Hole (innate)
Level: High
Shape-shifting: Can turn into a beast-human at any time
Zoey froze, shocked.
She hadn't expected water creatures on this continent to have males and females too.
Then she realized… does that mean she might have to live in water for a while?
A rumble in her stomach brought her back to reality. She was way too hungry to worry about that now.
She had asked him to catch a fish, but he had dragged up a high-level male water creature instead.
Even if it was edible, she didn't want to eat it. This was a high-level male that could turn into a beast-human.
"This isn't edible! Go catch another one!"
Zoey waved at Lex and told him:
"Make it smaller! About the size of your palm, no—half your palm!"
"Oh…"
Lex looked at his hand, then compared it with another hand, and ran back toward the sea.
Zoey quickly called after him:
"Wait! Lex, put it back!"
She pointed to the long water creature beside him. It was probably just unconscious.
"I already knocked it out. Putting it back will keep it from drowning."
Hearing that, Zoey doubted his brain. A water creature can't really drown, can it?
"Just listen to me. Put it back. Whether it lives or dies isn't your problem!"
"Oh!"
Lex quickly lifted the large water male and ran into the sea.
Watching him disappear into the night again with the creature, Zoey actually felt a little pity for it.
Even if it recovered in the water, it probably got some scratches from being dragged by Lex.
This time, Lex was gone for a long time, and Zoey's stomach kept growling.
She kept complaining in her mind: why doesn't the system give her a storage function? If she could store food when she had some, she wouldn't be in this situation.
Zoey was extremely hungry. There was nothing to eat, and the only water was seawater. She suddenly missed the good days in the snake tribe.
She also wondered how Sinek was doing—whether the snake eggs were hatching well. Thinking about her powerful second child, she figured it must be the smartest one so far.
At that moment, she heard a soft splashing sound nearby. She knew Lex had returned.
By now, he had learned to be clever. All the fish he caught were slightly smaller than his palm.
"Look, Zoey! These fish are just a bit smaller than my palm! There are more in the sea, but I brought these first in case you get hungry."
He threw all the fish onto the sand, proudly showing off his skill.
"I also caught some smaller ones but didn't keep them. The ones the same size as my hand, I didn't keep either. These are all half my hand in size, and each one is the same. You can eat without worry!"
Zoey couldn't help but feel speechless. She thought he had learned something, but he was still as silly as before.
"Okay, that's good! You did really well!"
She praised him politely, then told him to start cooking the fish.
"Use these sticks to skewer the fish, then roast them over the fire. Call me when they are done."
Zoey wanted to rest first. She was too hungry to cook herself.
Just as she lay down, she noticed Lex standing there, staring at the fire, motionless.
She looked at him, and before she could ask, he said blankly,
"I don't know how."
"…."
Zoey thought this guy was sent by the system just to make her suffer.
"You already learned how to make fire, and you still can't roast fish?"
Lex looked wronged and explained,
"I know how to make fire because I watched the snake tribe from a distance, but I never saw how they roasted fish. I really don't know…"
Zoey cursed silently, held back her hunger, and walked to the fire to guide him. She threaded the fish onto sticks and started roasting them herself, reminding him to watch carefully and learn so next time he could cook for her.
Lex nodded obediently, sitting quietly and learning from her.
Before, whether it was Sinek or Fykes, the fish they cooked were all different sizes, and smaller ones cooked faster.
But all the fish Lex caught were the same size, so Zoey had to wait patiently for them to cook together, hungry and staring at the fire.
"Lex, next time you go fishing, get some smaller ones too. They cook faster."
She reminded him again, seeing that it would take a while for the fish to cook.
"Okay, Zoey, I'll remember!"
This time he listened carefully, which pleased her. She continued,
"And don't catch those big ones in the sea like the first batch you caught. They are hard to eat and take too much effort to catch."
Zoey gave him careful instructions, afraid he might accidentally catch all the male water tribe members next time.