Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 193 - 160 Palm Face_1

After checking the crocodile’s eye condition, the restraint on the nearly four-meter-long crocodile was removed, and it bolted toward the pond as if escaping.

"Didn’t expect crocodiles could run that fast, is it startled? Doesn’t seem like such a big guy would be so timid." Cheng Si said. freewёbnoνel.com

"American alligators are generally mild-mannered, but you need techniques and an understanding of their habits."

Steve reminded him at the side, fearing Cheng Si would become complacent and repeat past mistakes. After all, to him, Cheng Si was just a nobody with the strength of a mere 0.1 Python.

But Cheng Si didn’t need Steve’s reminder; he had read many reports on crocodiles. Even though American alligators are rumored to be gentle, there were still numerous reports of them injuring people, including news of trainers having their hands bitten off or even being killed.

When Steve called for help earlier, Cheng Si hesitated for a moment because at that instant, he recalled a report: someone had been helping an alligator with an eye issue and ended up getting their hand bitten off.

Being timid doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

Especially not such a large, powerful predator.

It doesn’t just bite; once it has gripped onto something, it starts rolling!

Who could withstand that!

Being dismembered would probably be a piece of cake for it, right?

Cheng Si shivered.

He could handle medium and small-sized crocodiles, but he would leave the big ones to the professionals. The lesson from the Zhoushan eyeglass snake was profound; without real skills, one shouldn’t dare to try, and he couldn’t afford to try.

As for Feng Yi, he didn’t think he had scared the crocodile, and right now he was in disguise, just slightly heavier than an average person.

Old Josh asked someone to monitor the crocodile’s condition, while he led Steve toward the snake area.

Without an internal staff member, there were many areas they couldn’t enter.

It wasn’t Steve’s first visit, and he explained to Feng Yi and Cheng Si as they walked deeper into the center.

"There are many breeding rooms over here, for local and non-local snakes."

They entered a breeding room stacked with numerous breeding boxes.

There was a simple office area partitioned off to the side, with even a small breeding box positioned on the desk.

Old Josh was filling in the entry log, while Steve stretched his neck to look inside the breeding room.

Cheng Si glanced around the small office area and caught sight of a shape that set his nerves on edge.

"Eyeglass snake!"

They say that once bitten by a snake, one fears even a coiled rope for ten years. Cheng Si had been bitten by an eyeglass snake before, and until now, he had an exaggerated reaction to anything resembling it.

That swollen neck, at just a glance, made Cheng Si’s scalp tighten, bringing back memories of the bite and the not-so-pleasant recollections from his hospital stay.

It was extremely uncomfortable.

Old Josh, who was filling out the form, startled and looked around when Cheng Si exclaimed—where was the eyeglass snake?!

Cooperating with many Chinese people, Old Josh’s grasp of Chinese wasn’t very fluent, but he understood key terms like "eyeglass snake". That’s why upon hearing Cheng Si’s exclamation, he was bewildered, thinking: Had the snake in the breeding box escaped?!

However, following Cheng Si’s gaze, Old Josh burst out laughing, passing a "you explain" look to Steve, and continued with his paperwork, as he needed to register the information of the three people he’d brought along.

Steve walked over and looked at the small snake in the desk breeding box that was puffing up its neck at them, looking fierce.

That coloration along with its appearance did resemble an eyeglass snake at first glance. But...

"It’s not an eyeglass snake, it’s an Eastern Hognose Snake."

Cheng Si paused, took a closer look.

Oh, it’s a pig.

Eastern Hognose Snake’s one big skill—

[Deadly venomous snake!]

[Just pretending~]

Cheng Si laughed awkwardly, "Ahem, this pig, not big in size but quite crafty, huh."

He knew that hognose snakes pretend to be venomous snakes, resembling either pit vipers or even more so like eyeglass snakes, but at that moment, his glance at that flattened neck was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction.

Feng Yi stood quietly to the side, not speaking. The odor inside the breeding room was too strong, making him feel uncomfortable; however, he took the opportunity to update his mental database, memorizing these unfamiliar scents for future identification.

He knew without looking that the snake inside the desk breeding box wasn’t an eyeglass snake, the scent was different, it was just a harmless little snake, and he didn’t pay it much attention.

Now knowing it’s a hognose, Cheng Si wasn’t afraid anymore and even became interested.

"Could I touch it?" Cheng Si asked.

Old Josh nodded, "You can."

Cheng Si reached out to touch it while saying, "This grey-black coloration, I didn’t recognize it at first. I’ve seen other people’s hognose snakes, but they were more brightly colored."

As he spoke, Cheng Si felt something bump against his finger, but he wasn’t scared and ignored its bluff.

Hognose snakes are rear-fanged; their tiny fangs are located near the throat and are hard to get bitten by, and their venom isn’t strong, not posing much danger. Calling it venom is almost a misnomer—it’s more like a specialized form of saliva than the traditional venom injected by venom glands.

People have different physiologies, and their reactions to the hognose’s ’venom’ vary, with most experiencing no significant effect if bitten.

"The legendary, Eastern·DramaQueen·Hognose!"

As Cheng Si finished speaking, Feng Yi looked over and saw the hognose inside the box seemingly suffering from poisoning, exhibiting a painful, twisted struggle, gaping its mouth wide, flicking its tongue out as if roaring in silence, and then lying belly up, with its cloaca emitting an odor.

All of it as if to say:

This snake is dead, the flesh isn’t fresh, please bypass!

Cheng Si flipped it over so its belly was against the ground. But the next moment, the entire snake flipped itself back belly-up.

Cheng Si wanted to touch it again, but Steve intervened, "That’s enough, in moderation. This can impact it negatively. Let’s not overly stimulate it. Also, hognose venom doesn’t usually cause a big reaction in most people, but there are exceptions. Last month, a poor young man got bitten, and he’s just come out of the hospital this week. The allergic reaction was quite severe."