Chapter 23: That Run Under the Dusk Sunset Was the Youth That Has Faded Away

This was the first time Chu Xu had witnessed a battle between two adult Tyrannosaurus rexes. He watched, eyes wide and unblinking, as the one-eyed Tyrannosaurus and his father collided.

Since both were similar in size and presumably strength, the outcome would hinge on stamina and combat experience. The first clash was a stalemate. Immediately, both opened their gaping, blood-red maws, snapping toward the other’s neck—the most vulnerable spot for any Tyrannosaurus. A single bite there could be fatal.

Father struck first, clamping his jaws onto the one-eyed rival's neck, but the opponent shook him off with a violent jerk of its head. The one-eyed Rex then lunged, attempting to return the favor, only for Father to narrowly dodge by retreating. Father’s style was aggressive and impatient; he launched constant attacks, but the one-eyed veteran relied on his vast combat experience to evade them and counter-strike. After several rounds, the one-eyed Tyrannosaurus held a steady advantage, pressing Father back and leaving him covered in bleeding wounds.

However, Chu Xu could see that while the older Rex had the edge in technique, his father possessed greater stamina. It would not be long before the tide turned. Chu Xu did not dare intervene; this was a high-stakes duel between two apex predators, like a clash between grandmasters in a martial arts novel, where even the shockwaves of their struggle could prove dangerous to bystanders.

As expected, as time wore on, the one-eyed Rex began to tire. Father grew more ferocious with every passing moment, forcing the elder to retreat and scramble in defense. Gasping for air, the one-eyed Rex finally acknowledged the toll of his age. Casting a regretful glance at the female Tyrannosaurus nearby, he abandoned his own kill and fled.

"Roar!"

Father did not pursue. Though defeated, the rival was still a formidable foe, and killing him would not be easy. Father simply watched the retreating figure, letting out a majestic roar that echoed through the forest. After this encounter, the one-eyed Rex would likely never dare to challenge him again.

Victorious, Father returned to a warm welcome from the female. Sensing that the following scene might not be suitable for a young dinosaur—and that spying was generally poor form—Chu Xu turned and left. It was getting late, and he knew Mother would be worried.

It had been an eventful day: first, he had used a tripwire to hunt three Struthiomimus; then, he had left Mother’s territory for Father’s, helping him take down a Triceratops; and finally, he had witnessed Father’s duel against a rival.

By dusk, Chu Xu arrived home. From a distance, he spotted Mother standing at the edge of their territory, looking out. The setting sun cast a long shadow behind her. Chu Xu felt a pang of guilt; he didn't know how long she had been waiting. Nearby, Longyue and Liuxing were playing boisterously, relieved that their elder brother was away and they could roam without fear. Seeing this, Chu Xu smiled.

In his previous life, he had spent his youth longing to grow up and explore the world. Only after adulthood and the trials of society had he realized that home was the true harbor and family the strongest shield. As a Tyrannosaurus, he felt the same. The outside world was magnificent, yet treacherous, with life-threatening dangers lurking at every turn. Only at home could he truly relax, play with his siblings, and sleep in peace.

"Roar!" Chu Xu quickened his pace, his call resonating through the woods.

"Roar!" Hearing his familiar voice, Mother stood up. Seeing Chu Xu returning laden with prey, she answered him with a long, echoing roar. Years later, Chu Xu would often remember this run under the twilight sun—it was the memory of his lost youth.

Time flowed silently, and two months passed. The forest within Mother’s territory began to change. As temperatures climbed and rainfall vanished, the scorching sun baked the earth, turning the world into a furnace. The greenery withered, and the rivers and lakes began to dry up. The ancient Laramidia sub-continent was facing its most brutal dry season of the year.

During the Early to Mid-Cretaceous, the collision of the Asian and North American plates had caused a massive subsidence in the center of North America, allowing the sea to flood in and form the Western Interior Seaway. This divided the continent into the eastern Appalachia and the western Laramidia. Influenced by monsoons, Laramidia experienced distinct wet and dry seasons. This year, however, the drought arrived early and with unprecedented severity. The atmosphere felt strange and unpredictable.

To Chu Xu, this felt like an ominous sign of something greater to come. In the final stage of the Late Cretaceous, the Maastrichtian, the only "great event" he could imagine was the infamous Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event—the great dinosaur extinction. It was one of the five major mass extinctions in Earth’s history, reshaping the planet's ecology and ending the 150-million-year reign of the dinosaurs.

Paleontologists of his past life had debated the causes for ages, but the most popular theory was the asteroid impact: a ten-kilometer-wide asteroid crashing into Earth, throwing up enough dust to block the sun, plunging the world into darkness and cold, and collapsing the food chain. Yet, Chu Xu realized that the impact was merely the final straw. The climate and environment of the Late Cretaceous had already been faltering. He felt it in his bones—his world was on the precipice of a cataclysmic transformation.