The platypus that Lu Ao and the others encountered was very cunning.

Xiaoliu and the old cat searched back and forth in the reed swamps several times, but could not find any trace of the platypus.

The two of them had no choice but to turn back to Lu Ao for help.

"Brother Xiao Lu, I can't find it."

"It's completely invisible. Is the platypus not here anymore?"

Lu Ao was originally following them, but after hearing this, he came over to check. Xiao Liu and Lao Mao quickly gave up their seats.

In front of them was a river, six to seven meters wide and two to three meters deep.

The environment in Qianyong City is not bad. The river is relatively clear. People standing on the bank can vaguely see the mud at the bottom of the river.

Seeing Lu Ao staring at the river, Xiao Liu stretched her neck and stared at the river for a long time, but she didn't find anything.

She looked at Lu Ao, who didn't speak. He squatted down and looked at the mud on the shore.

Xiaoliu saw his action and immediately understood his train of thought and asked, "Are we looking for its footprints now?"

"Um."

Xiaoliu looked at the river in front of her and then at Lu Ao.

She understands the meaning of finding footprints.

When they first searched, they also looked specifically for the footprints. The problem was that they searched for so long and couldn't find any traces. They didn't know how Lu Ao knew that the platypus was here and could find the footprints.

While they were searching, there was a sound behind them.

Several people turned around and saw that Xiang Xingchang was coming with a few people.

As soon as he saw them, Xiang Xingchang lowered his voice and asked, "How's it going? Have you found them?"

Xiaoliu shrugged.

Disappointment flashed across Xiang Xingchang's face.

Lu Ao nodded to them and continued walking along the river bank.

The river is relatively humid, and there is a layer of silt at the junction of the river water and the river bank.

Lu Ao walked upstream of the river, searching as he went.

Xiang Xingchang came over and asked, "Is the platypus really here?"

"I don't know." Lu Ao said, "I feel like it's around here."

"Hey, that's really a bit confusing."

Lu Ao turned to look at him, "Will you lead the team to look downstream?"

Xiang Xingchang touched his nose and said, "Wait a minute and see if you can find it."

Lu Ao stopped talking.

Xiang Xingchang and his men followed him obediently.

About thirteen minutes later, Lu Ao stopped at a section of the river bank.

Everyone looked at his actions with puzzled faces.

Lu Ao walked to the river and squatted down to look at the mud on the riverside.

Everyone hurriedly came together, squeezing their heads above Lu Ao.

Soon, the sharp-eyed Xiao Liu discovered a very shallow duck paw print on the edge of the mud. He couldn't help but pointed and blurted out, "Is that the footprint of a platypus?"

"where?"

"Oh, it's true!"

"It's too hidden. It's just half of it. Who could find it?"

"Let me see, where is it?"

Xiang Xingchang was also in the crowd, and after checking for a long time, he was still not sure, "These are really the footprints of a platypus."

Lu Ao spoke from the front, "Eight out of ten | nine out of ten."

As he stood up, the people around him quickly retracted their heads.

Xiang Xingchang asked: "What should we do now? Notify the people at the zoo? We are not familiar with the habits of the platypus."

"Anything is fine." Lu Ao stood up and walked into the reed marsh.

"Brother Xiao Lu, don't you need to keep looking up?"

"No, it should be right here."

"How do you know?" someone asked, "Have you found any clues?"

"have."

As soon as he said this, everyone was confused.

"Why didn't I find anything?"

Seeing that they really didn't understand, Lu Ao walked towards the river again and motioned for them to go over and take a look, "The footprints of this platypus are horizontal."

"Ah? So what?"

Lu Ao explained patiently, "It means it is walking in this direction. This footprint, this footprint, and this footprint are all horizontal. Its trajectory is obvious and its purpose is very clear. The nest is probably here."

He didn't say it, but no one realized that the messy traces were platypus footprints.

After he said it, the more everyone looked at it, the more they felt like it.

Everyone suddenly realized.

Xiang Xingchang looked carefully and said, "Hey, it's true."

Lu Ao looked up at the crowd and said to a middle-aged man in the crowd: "Don't record it."

Wu Anzhi raised his hands in a gesture of surrender and explained sheepishly, "I just think your reasoning is so brilliant."

Lu Ao shook his head and said nothing more.

Xiang Xingchang and the others stopped looking for clues and just followed Lu Ao.

Lu Ao followed the platypus's tiny footprints and searched nearby, and soon found a large hole in the river embankment.

There is grass covering the front of the big hole, so you can't see clearly.

There are many holes like this along the river. Everyone is not surprised. They didn’t think much about holes like this before.

Now seeing Lu Ao staying at the entrance of a certain cave, Xiang Xingchang asked: "Is the platypus here?"

Lu Ao felt that there was indeed some kind of animal inside. He was not sure whether it was a crab or a platypus.

He said: "Do you have a hoe? Dig it out first and take a look."

Wu Anzhi volunteered, "I have it in my car."

"I have it in my car too." Another team member also stood up, but did not go back to get it. Instead, he pointed at the hole and asked suspiciously, "Isn't this a blue crab hole?"

They produce blue crabs here, and the blue crabs live in holes by the river.

The holes dug by blue crabs are very large. Some blue crabs can dig a hole big enough for half a person to lie in. Seeing a big hole doesn't mean anything.

Lu Ao said: "It's not blue crab."

The man said: "I see there are no platypus footprints near the entrance of the cave. Even if it's not a blue crab, it's not necessarily a platypus."

Xiang Xingchang interjected, "Not necessarily, but it's still possible. Let's get a hoe and dig it out first."

Xiang Xingchang was quite prestigious in the team. He opened his mouth to smooth things over, but the team members refused to give him face, so they had to put aside their suspicions and plan to go get the hoe.

The location where they parked their car was some distance away, so it would take a while to get the hoe.

The remaining people stood in front of the cave entrance and looked at each other.

One team member said: "Are we just going to wait like this?"

Xiang Xingchang turned to look at him, "What else?"

"Let's dig it out first to see if there is anything inside." The team member made a gesture of digging a hole. "Even if this is really the platypus's nest, it may not be inside. Let's explore first?"

Lu Ao reminded, "The platypus is poisonous."

The team member forgot for a moment and said, "Huh?"

Xiang Xingchang smiled and said: "Okay, don't make such an idea. The last person who was stabbed is still in the hospital."

The platypus' venom is not fatal to humans, but it will be very painful if stung.

Some people will have pain for a week to a month, and even if they go to the hospital, there is no good solution.

As soon as Xiang Xingchang said this, everyone stopped reaching out to take it out.

It would not be fun if such a big platypus was stabbed.

Everyone stood in front of the cave entrance and chatted.
To be continued...