Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 76 - 72 Continue to be hungry..._1

Feng Yi’s snake-catching abilities were a natural talent, and even Steve had said that Feng Yi’s technique was something most people could not learn; anyone else would have been bitten by now!

Therefore, it couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards.

All Professor Zhou could do was to remind Feng Yi not to act rashly and to always prioritize safety.

After the sample collection and obtaining the desired data, and having taken enough photos and videos, Steve even wanted to give some water to the king cobra since a considerable amount of venom had been extracted, and the snake was probably dehydrated.

The snake had contributed much for the sake of the scientific mission.

But as soon as they released the king cobra, it bolted.

It slithered away swiftly.

Professor Zhou commented, “It was probably frightened.”

Steve agreed, “Possibly. This creature likely dominates its territory around here, and with its size, it doesn’t have any real natural enemies in this area. Having been caught and messed around with like this, it’s definitely been scared.

“Of course, there’s another possibility; it could indeed be hungry and rushing to find food.”

Continuing on this point, Steve cautioned Wang Wentao and Feng Yi, “Some snakes can be quite irritable when they’re hungry, and they might be highly aggressive, so be careful!

“I mentioned this when Feng Yi caught that Burmese python before. Large pythons, for instance, can attack humans when they’re hungry. However, when they’re satiated, they’re usually in a better mood.”

Then Steve began to share “a thing or two about my encounters with large snakes.”

“I once grabbed the tail of a very large anaconda during a jungle expedition with an international research team.”

Feng Yi inquired, “Are anacondas that docile?”

Steve replied, “When they’re full, their movement is limited. If you tug on its tail, it will panic and try to escape. I only dared to pull on it because I saw it had eaten its fill, but I wouldn’t dare if it were hungry.”

As Steve talked, he asked Feng Yi, “Have you ever seen an anaconda?”

“I haven’t,” Feng Yi paused before adding, “I’ve seen them on television.”

“Hi, what you see on TV is nothing. I’ll take you to see for yourself sometime. The forest vipers are ovoviviparous, they hatch inside the body, so the offspring is born as little snakes rather than eggs, which means they get better protection from the mother. During those abnormal climate years, it wasn’t favorable for eggs to hatch outside the body, so those that laid eggs directly were hit harder.

“The numbers of forest vipers are still decent; I always see large individuals whenever I follow the scientific expedition team into the jungle.

“Forest vipers are particularly heavy. They might not be longer than reticulated pythons, but that weight… The one I first encountered, its trunk was this thick!”

Steve gestured, “With a forest viper, you just can’t grab it with one hand, you simply can’t hold on to it, and forget about trying to carry it and run—that’s utterly impossible! When catching them, you have to do it like this…”

Feng Yi suddenly thought of a question, “When did snakes first appear?”

Steve laughed, “Who knows when snakes first appeared. We usually only say that the earliest discovered snake fossils can be traced back to however many years ago, as well as their evolutionary history, based on the evidence we have to speculate some things.

“Perhaps in the future more fossils will be discovered, yielding more information. The database is constantly being updated, so exploration never stops.

“Like those Titan boa fossils from tens of millions of years ago; however, the number of fossil specimens found is limited, thus the analysis is limited.”

Feng Yi was curious, “How big was the largest snake?”

Steve replied, “Back then, or now? Nowadays, they definitely can’t compare to those wild-growing eras where I guess they were all vying to be the top predator on their turf. Now… it’s good enough if they can stay alive.”

Feng Yi asked, “Are there snakes as big as the Titan boa now?”

Steve shook his head, “No, they definitely can’t grow that big now, with differences in air composition and limitations of their living environments.”

Steve wasn’t too focused on paleontology, “Let’s talk about how to catch forest vipers instead. Catching those snakes isn’t like catching little snakes; forest vipers are like muscle men! Let me teach you how to catch them…”

Feng Yi: “Do forest vipers have any natural predators?”

Steve: “If you’re talking about actual natural predators, they have many when they’re young, but once they get big, they don’t have the privilege of having natural predators anymore. Let’s continue discussing how to catch a forest viper…”

The weather was turning bad, and it looked like it was about to rain. Professor Zhou suggested they rest here for now and decide whether to move on depending on the weather.

The others were busy organizing data and samples, leaving Steve and Feng Yi to discuss how to catch forest vipers.

These two had more downtime.

Steve was invited to join team Nan 6 specifically to help them catch snakes; he wasn’t part of Professor Zhou and the others’ research team.

Steve also occasionally recorded some data and experiences, as he needed to publish papers in various journals as well.

As for Feng Yi, he saw himself as a utility person: he would catch snakes when needed, look for fruit to eat when not, and sleep to conserve energy when there was no fruit to find.

The two of them had it much easier than the others; they didn’t need to write field research logs, or worry about reports and papers after the research was done.

If he had to write papers or reports, Feng Yi definitely wouldn’t come!

Not even for credit!

Field research is arduous.

In these primal natural mountain ranges, experiencing the rapidly changing weather, it’s hardly comfortable for most people.

Here, one could see many wild animals. Feng Yi couldn’t even name them accurately, and Professor Zhou and his group could only recognize some of them. After all, these were outside their area of expertise. When they encountered them, they took pictures and sent them to their colleagues, just as members of other exploration teams on different routes would take pictures of snakes and send them to Feng Yi’s group when they encountered any.

The seventh week of the scientific expedition.

This was nearing the end of this field research.

They also saw human buildings.

More precisely, the buildings of humans from the past.

No one had lived here for a long time, and it no longer belonged to human territory.

“Over thirty years ago, there was a small village here; it faced survival issues during the period of abnormal climate and the whole village relocated. What was left behind is now surrendered to nature.”

Professor Zhou showed Feng Yi and the others photos of the place from the past and then, in contrast, the present.

Indeed, it was completely unrecognizable.

The climate of the Nan Chong mountain range is highly suitable for rapid vegetation growth.

All the houses were taken over by greenery, entangled with vines.

Years of weathering from rain and erosion, alongside invasion by animals and plants, caused the rooftops and walls to collapse.

Elaborate root systems broke through the ground, crushing this place bit by bit.

Feng Yi also saw some steles.

“Over there is the graveyard. When the village moved, some of the graves were also relocated. The rest, no one cares for anymore.”

Now, the graveyard was covered by a forest, the vegetation dense and flourishing.

When birds passed by, they brought seeds from other places; these seeds fell to the ground with the bird droppings and then took root and sprouted here.

Some of the steles were pushed askew by tree roots, while others were knocked over completely. Those still standing were obscured and wrapped in vegetation, unclear how much longer they could last.

Nature was rapidly devouring everything here.

“There was actually a cement road over there before, but during the abnormal climate period, a landslide cut it off, and since then, the road has vanished.”

Professor Zhou pointed out the direction for them to see.

To get out of the mountain range, they would need to take a detour.

Seeing that Feng Yi didn’t seem in great spirits, Professor Zhou asked, “Tired, aren’t you?”

“I’m okay,” Feng Yi replied.

“Speak up if you can’t keep up. You’ve already done very well!”

Everyone in the team knew that during the latter part of the expedition, Feng Yi seldom went out to look for snakes. Often, he would just sit down on the spot and rest without moving.

However, everyone thought this was due to Feng Yi’s first time participating in fieldwork and his lack of adaptation, so they didn’t demand too much from him.

Feng Yi had performed quite well in this scientific expedition. He was credited for both the Burmese python and the king cobra.

After finding the king cobra, the number of snakes they encountered had decreased. Yesterday, they found a Fea’s viper, and Professor Zhou was very pleased.

Although the latter half didn’t yield as much as the first half, overall, the data and samples collected during this expedition had surpassed the previous two years and exceeded Professor Zhou’s expectations.

Within these, Feng Yi’s contribution was significant.

Professor Zhou was even thinking of awarding Feng Yi some extra points as a reward when it was all over.

After completing their sampling work, the team continued onward.

When Wang Wentao walked beside Feng Yi, he asked, “Feng Yi, there’s no sun right now, why are you still wearing sunglasses?”

Feng Yi replied with a smile, “They can protect from some small flying insects.”

Wang Wentao merely asked casually and was not particularly curious about why Feng Yi wore sunglasses. It was just that Feng Yi had rarely worn them during previous parts of the expedition, yet today, he had worn them from the morning, prompting the question.

During the team’s rest, Feng Yi excused himself to go relieve himself.

Once he was far enough from the others, he took off his sunglasses.

His pupils had shrunk to two narrow slits.

He blinked, and the slits gradually expanded back into circles, then shrank slightly into vertical ovals.

The two elongated teeth in his mouth were also restless and somewhat unmanageable.

He was too hungry!

With his energy conservation weakening his control, the “animal instincts” began to assert their presence.

Even though Feng Yi had sealed off his vomeronasal organ, when breathing, he was still highly sensitive to certain scents. These scent molecules constantly reminded him—

Food!

Look for food!!

Feng Yi thought: Look for nothing! Just hold on!!

He could control the elongated teeth and seal the vomeronasal organ, but his eyes and the soles of his feet periodically teased his brain nerves!

Feng Yi was relieved: Good thing I came prepared!

He took out the items from his bag, put on the contact lenses, and padded his shoes.

Though wearing contact lenses for cover meant he had to partially unseal the vomeronasal organ to act normally, hence consuming more energy, wasn’t this a necessary compromise?

If he dropped out midway, he would have to undergo a full-body scan by the rescue team!

And to suppress his animal nature, he dared not eat anything indiscriminately!

Never again would he take on these month-long field research tasks!

Once back with the team, Feng Yi asked Professor Zhou, “Professor Zhou, how much longer until this expedition is over?”

“Probably just four or five more days to get out, you’ve worked hard!”

Hearing it was only four or five days left, Feng Yi breathed a sigh of relief. He could hold on for four or five more days!

He indeed was nearing his limit!

He felt if he continued to be this hungry…

He was going to reveal his true form!