272: Chapter 272: Is it possible to raise hippos like pigs?

After An Ke and his group turned the corner.

A large herd of Hippopotamuses came into view, their presence overwhelming.

An ordinary adult Hippopotamus averages about 4.5 meters in length, which is already quite imposing.

But now, each of them was about the same length as Old Crocodile, making them even more intimidating.

Their bodies were round and plump, looking somewhat like pigs.

But unlike pigs, their skin was gray, as if they were wearing a suit of armor.

In fact, saying they were wearing armor wasn't wrong.

Because the skin of an ordinary Hippopotamus can be up to 5 centimeters thick.

And for this group of Hippopotamuses, which were as large as the Old Crocodile Couple, their skin was bound to be even thicker.

Predators like Tiger Mom and Leopard Mom wouldn't be able to inflict any effective damage on them.

Right now, they were soaking in the water, and because there were so many of them, they had almost completely blocked the path ahead.

They soaked contentedly in the water, occasionally flicking their ears or opening their mouths as if yawning.

An Ke and his group looked at the Hippopotamuses' wide-open mouths and the tusks inside, feeling a sense of dread.

"The tusks of these things are this terrifying?!" Sister-in-law Crocodile was extremely shocked.

It looked as if several thick tree branches were stuck in their mouths.

It was quite unsettling to look at.

"What did you think, dear one?" Old Crocodile was in a good mood seeing the animals' reactions.

Now they could understand why he had been chased for two blocks by these things, right?

Don't let the bluntness of their tusks fool you; their lethality was absolute.

They could likely pierce through his body with ease.

"Little Mouse originally thought Hippopotamuses were handsome horses in the river, but I didn't expect them to be so ugly~"

Three Hairs had been looking forward to it just now, but now those expectations were shattered.

These things didn't look like pigs or horses.

"Ugly as they may be, these things are incredibly imposing," Tiger Mom said in a low voice.

"Indeed! If we were to hunt them, I wouldn't even know where to start biting," Leopard Mom agreed.

"Too fat."

"Giao! Even fatter than my sister," A Giao described.

To the side, Hua Hua glared at her brother:

"You're the fat one! Your whole family is..."

"Wait! All the males in your family are fat!!"

"Hmph! I'm angry, and nothing you say will make it better."

"..."

The animals and the savages had been looking forward to seeing what Hippopotamuses looked like.

But when they actually saw them, they all felt a visual shock.

They were truly too ugly.

Outside, the viewers were equally dumbfounded.

"Good heavens! This is a Hippopotamus?"

"Their appearance is just... too haphazard, isn't it?"

"High EQ: Haphazard appearance!

Low EQ: They're ugly!"

"I thought they'd be as handsome as horses."

"Where's that person who said Hippopotamuses were also an option?"

"Hahaha! Can you still go through with it now?"

"No response; they've probably shut themselves away in shame."

"..."

Just as the viewers were commenting on the Hippopotamuses' appearance, an announcement from the National Fortune Game sounded in the live broadcast room:

[Conditions for Hippopotamus Thousand Times Materialization:

Condition 1: Kill/subdue 1 Hippopotamus to materialize a thousand Hippopotamuses of the exact same scale.

Condition 2: Kill/subdue 5 Hippopotamuses to materialize a thousand obedient Hippopotamuses of the exact same scale.

Condition 3: Kill/subdue all Hippopotamuses to materialize a thousand obedient Hippopotamuses of the same scale, with a monthly production cycle.]

"Oh! Not bad!"

"We can materialize these big guys."

"..."

The Dragon Kingdom viewers were very excited after seeing that Hippopotamuses could be materialized.

"These Hippopotamuses can be eaten like pork."

"Hahaha! Exactly!"

"And they have much more meat than pigs.

A pig weighing over 200 catties is enough for about 100 people."

"But one Hippopotamus is enough for at least a thousand people."

"Awesome! The cost-effectiveness feels much higher than pigs."

"I wonder what the meat quality is like; hopefully, it's decent."

"Speaking of food, the more I look at these Hippopotamuses, the cuter they seem."

"Uh... that's a bit of a heavy taste, isn't it?"

"..."

At this stage in the Dragon Kingdom, the energy problem has been somewhat alleviated.

After all, hundreds of millions of barrels of oil have been materialized.

Once the government finishes the distribution, energy can be supplied to every household.

Once Controllable Nuclear Fusion Technology is implemented, the energy problem will be completely solved.

Since the energy problem isn't too urgent right now, everyone's focus naturally shifted to food.

As a populous country, the food resources materialized for the Dragon Kingdom previously were far from enough.

When averaged out per person, it was practically nothing.

In the program.

Seeing the enthusiastic bullet comments, Sa Beining couldn't help but turn to the expert panel.

He asked the questions the audience was concerned about on their behalf.

"The public is very curious about Hippopotamus meat. Could you clear things up for us?"

Kang Hui nodded. "I'm also curious if Hippopotamuses are more cost-effective than pigs?"

Liu Yifei tilted her head. "I don't think they're very cost-effective."

"Otherwise, people in the past would have definitely farmed Hippopotamuses."

"Don't you agree, Professor Wu?"

Professor Wu exchanged a look with the expert panel.

The former shook his head with a chuckle and said:

"The reason Hippopotamuses aren't farmed is that they are extremely dangerous."

"They have explosive tempers and strong territorial instincts.

If they were farmed, there would undoubtedly be many cases of farmer casualties every year."

"Secondly, there's the issue of reproduction. Hippopotamuses usually give birth to one calf at a time, at most two.

Pigs, on the other hand, can have seven or eight piglets per litter, sometimes even more than a dozen."

"In terms of reproduction, raising pigs is much more advantageous than raising Hippopotamuses."

"As for the meat quality..."

Professor Wu and the expert panel all looked hesitant to speak.

"Actually, there are very few records regarding the taste of Hippopotamus meat, so I don't know exactly what it tastes like."

"I suspect the meat quality is likely not very good..."

"Because they are very prolific defecators.

A thousand Hippopotamuses can produce about 8 tons of manure a day.

These Hippopotamuses are even larger, so their output would be even higher.

The key is that they also soak in pond water filled with their own excrement..."

Beside him, Liu Yifei's brows furrowed deeply.

Is it really that disgusting?

Kang Hui and Sa Beining looked at each other in silence.

"Then wouldn't it... be a bit 'marinated' in it?" Kang Hui swallowed and murmured.

Professor Wu gave a dry laugh in agreement.

"Furthermore, a Hippopotamus consumes about 200 catties of forage every day.

Whereas a 200-catty pig only consumes about 4 catties of feed a day."

"Currently, our Dragon Kingdom cannot support too many Hippopotamuses."

"..."

After Professor Wu's explanation, the viewers were enlightened.

"So it turns out not all animals are suitable for farming."

"Our ancestors were truly wise."

"Speaking of which, these Hippopotamuses produce so much waste every day.

Then that body of water Boss An and the others are in right now..."

"Holy crap! Stop talking!"

"I feel like I can smell it already."

"I feel a bit sorry for Boss An and the others..."

"..."

In the live broadcast.

An Ke also saw the conditions for the Hippopotamus Thousand Times Materialization.

That wasn't all; besides the materialization conditions, there was also an achievement quest.

"[Achievement: Receive the highest standard of hospitality from the Hippopotamus herd..."

"...]"

"..."