Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 54 - 51 Beast Nature_1

The two parents smiled with relief and a hint of gratitude, “They’re okay, they can come over to watch the fish, and they’re quite excited about it. They were even bragging to their friends a moment ago.”

The parents told Feng Yi that there was a psychologist in the community who had seen the two kids. It turned out that Cao Xing wasn’t as affected by his brush with death as they had feared, and the situation looked optimistic. He didn’t have much fear of the fish, actually.

“Well, I don’t know if it’s because they watch too much TV, but despite the big fish, they just saw it as a little monster. Even after almost being dragged into the water, once they calmed down, they weren’t really afraid. In fact, they’re more afraid of you—they think you’re the big monster, haha!” Cao Xing’s dad laughed.

If that big catfish was considered a little monster, then what would Feng Yi, the man who had pulled the giant catfish to shore, be considered?

The adults guessed the children’s logic and treated it as a joke.

Under their parents’ strong insistence, Cao Xing and his friend switched from their earlier bravado with their peers, moved over slowly, trembling as they thanked Feng Yi, and didn’t dare to look him in the eyes.

Their gratitude was genuine.

As was their fear.

At that moment, someone approached from the direction of the property management office, glanced around, and then focused on Feng Yi.

“Mr. Feng! There are people coming from over there!”

The specialist responsible for species identification had arrived.

Feng Yi’s spirits lifted.

The 150,000 was here!

Three people came with the property management representative, one of whom was older, in his fifties or sixties, and was responsible for the species identification.

Among the other two, one was around 40, with a stern face. It was none other than Captain Yuan, whom he’d met during the incident with the small blue dragon!

The young man who accompanied Captain Yuan wore the badge of the Conservation Bureau and appeared to be new to the organization, judging by his age.

Feng Yi grew nervous upon seeing Yuan Qie. His empty words would not easily deceive this experienced captain of the Conservation Bureau!

Wasn’t he supposed to be busy with affairs in Yue Mountain protected area? Had he finished his investigation there?

What would he say when asked later?

The youthful team member accompanying Yuan Qie recognized Feng Yi; he had seen the case files for the small blue dragon incident, which included reports and photos of Feng Yi without a mask and sunglasses.

Why was it this guy again?

Quite rash, huh!

Last time he had single-handedly subdued a two-meter-long small blue dragon, and this time he had straight-up pulled a three-meter European catfish onto the shore!

No ordinary person could do such a thing!

As the young team member sized up Feng Yi, Yuan Qie approached, looked at the fish, then turned to Feng Yi, his lips curling slightly upwards.

Feng Yi felt there was something profound about his smile. After hearing about this man’s past from the butler, Feng Yi had worried that Yi might hold a grudge from the past incident and seek retribution.

The butler had said he was too busy to bother with him, but now he showed up personally just because of a fish. Why?

As Feng Yi was wondering what story he should tell about dragging the fish, he heard Yuan Qie say, “Invasive species, European catfish, a bonus of 150,000 plus 15 credits.”

Feng Yi’s heart leaped with joy at the mention of “credits”.

After the establishment of the Sixth Database, to encourage people to protect local ecosystems, a “credits” system was introduced, awarding credits based on contributions made.

These credits were tied directly to the Sixth Database and recognized globally.

There were many benefits, such as tax exemptions, personal credit, streamlined visa processing, and so on, viewed as another form of proof of one’s social value. High credits could even grant access to fast-track services at certain times.

Wealthy philanthropists who made donations to ecological causes would also receive credits, though not through simple conversion.

15 credits were far more valuable than 150,000.

To expect to buy 15 credits with 150,000 was wishful thinking.

To Feng Yi, of course, the 15 credits were more important!

Just as Feng Yi was feeling pleased about the 15 credits, Yuan Qie continued, “The credits for capturing the small blue dragon have already been issued, 30 points.”

Feng Yi was stunned!!!

That many for catching a snake?!!!

As if knowing what Feng Yi was thinking, Yuan Qie continued, “Under normal circumstances, catching a snake wouldn’t award that many credits. However, this case was of significant importance. Plus, the snake wasn’t harmed, which also served a promotional purpose. There was no monetary reward, so we applied for extra credits.”

Feng Yi understood that it must have been Captain Yuan who had pulled strings to secure such a large number of credits.

He had misjudged the situation!

After Yuan Qie finished speaking with Feng Yi, he went to look at the fish, getting closer for a careful observation and said to the young team member beside him, “Given its size, it’s very likely to be part of the batch we released back then. We’ll do a sampling and sequencing to compare.”

The onlookers curiously asked, “What do they feed on to get so big?”

Yuan Qie replied indifferently, “Anything. Pigeons that come to drink water, pets, even younger children.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Wow!

The crowd was stirred.

There had been pet disappearances before, with all sorts of speculations and rumors, but not necessarily taken seriously. Now with confirmation that such large fish were indeed in the river, those with pets and small children became vigilant, staying away from the water at all costs!

The young team member from the Coordinated Protection Bureau was taking notes and inquiring about last night’s incident.

The bystanders who were there for the excitement had discussed the event over and over, chattering away as they relayed the causes and course of events.

Crowd: “…Cao Xing and his friends climbed over the wall to look for wild bird eggs…”

The young team member’s temples throbbed.

Crowd: “…They didn’t find any wild bird eggs but came across a big wild turtle and rushed to catch it…”

The young team member’s temples throbbed again.

Yuan Qie, on the other hand, smiled and calmly said, “Call their parents over.”

Thus, the enthusiastic residents contacted the parents of the two children, informing them that their children were about to receive some tough love from the Coordinated Protection Bureau.

After the young team member had finished asking about the situation here, he went over to Feng Yi, seeking to understand more details to put together a detailed report.

“Why did you go back into the river after rescuing the child?” This was beyond the young team member’s comprehension.

It was so dark at night, and since he had already rescued someone, not knowing what was in the river, how could he have the courage to dive in?

Feng Yi certainly couldn’t admit that he had been overcome by animal instincts at the time.

“I was going too fast and couldn’t stop, slipped into the water.”

The young team member nodded, finding the explanation plausible, then curiously asked, “How did you manage to catch it in the water?”

Feng Yi: “As soon as it opened its mouth, I grabbed it and dragged it to shore.”

“Just like that?”

“Yeah, just like that. The fish doesn’t have a strong attack.”

Coordinated Protection Bureau team member: ???

Feng Yi: “I was too excited at the time, I don’t remember the specifics clearly.”

The Coordinated Protection Bureau team member then asked, “Didn’t it struggle violently?”

Feng Yi thought back, the fish did struggle, but it wasn’t intense.

So, he confidently said, “No.”

“…”

The young team member stared intently into Feng Yi’s eyes, still unable to detect any sign of lying.

Yuan Qie had just finished speaking with the species identification expert, and upon hearing their conversation, he said to the young team member, “Don’t ask him, it’s not of reference value. Go ask the residents if anyone lost a pet near the river, around which month, which season.”

Afterward, nobody paid attention to Feng Yi anymore.

An hour later, the team left with the big fish, informing Feng Yi that the reward would be transferred into his bank account within 24 hours.

The residents in the community group were once again engaged in a heated debate—

Can one really live long in this kind of place?

Or would they lose years off their life due to fright?

Feng Yi had no interest in such topics. After going home, he contacted the butler. The surge of “animal instincts” from the previous night had greatly affected him, and he wanted to ask if the butler knew of any ways to suppress such instincts.

The old butler, upon hearing this, didn’t regard it as a big deal, nor did he concur with the term “animal instincts.”

However, since Feng Yi was so concerned about it, the butler suggested, “You could try engaging in some soothing exercises, or listen to music that brings you joy and relaxation.”

Feng Yi thought about it. Indeed, as some hot-tempered people sought calmness, didn’t they also try to cultivate themselves by engaging in traditional activities?

But how exactly to cultivate oneself?

What kind of exercise would relieve irritability and suppress unkind feelings?

In fact, it wasn’t necessarily about exercise—didn’t the ancients cultivate themselves by playing musical instruments?

Feng Yi had learned to play an instrument specifically for a role in a web drama. Although he wasn’t naturally talented and didn’t play well, he looked more convincing than a complete novice when performing on camera.

Aside from playing an instrument, what else was there?

Listening to music?

Feng Yi didn’t really like soothing music; he mostly listened to rock and pop.

So, what could he listen to besides rock, pop, and those soothing songs?

What to listen to?

After some thought, Feng Yi finally came up with another genre of music to try, to see if it would help.

He took out his phone and typed into the search bar—

[Snake Charmer’s Flute Music]