Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 195 - 161 Departure!_1

What malice could a python possibly have?

Eat, that’s all it does.

Cheng Si didn’t continue on this topic.

"I heard that pythons have very strong digestive powers. A crocodile can be mostly digested in seven days, right? Swallowed whole; even the scales and bones can be directly broken down?" Cheng Si asked.

"That’s about right." Steve nodded.

"I wonder what’s left after it’s completely digested."

"Do you want to see the final waste product? There’s one over there that just excreted."

"No, thank you!" Cheng Si decisively refused. He didn’t want to see python poop! It smells bad!

In order to learn more about their target for the python hunting operation, Feng Yi and his two companions stayed in the python area for a bit longer.

Before leaving the research center, Steve reminded old Josh, "Hey Josh, remember the boat!"

He had to remind him; old Josh wasn’t at the research center every day, and even if Steve came every day to wait for him, there was no guarantee he would find him.

"Got it, got it! There’ll definitely be a boat on the day the event starts," old Josh wasn’t just brushing it off. Since he said so, Steve would definitely see the boat on the day of the event, even if it wasn’t Josh’s boat, Josh would arrange another one for him.

Having taken care of business, Steve left, satisfied.

Cheng Si had managed to gather enough material for an episode to be edited before the start of the event, similarly content.

As for Feng Yi, he recorded the scent information of several new python species, which would make finding pythons more efficient and effective.

All three were satisfied.

However, over in the crocodile area of the research center, a short-snouted crocodile that had been treated for an eye problem stayed hidden in the water and wouldn’t come ashore, as if avoiding something. The researchers wondered if it had been too traumatized during the eye treatment?

But that shouldn’t be the case. They had treated other short-snouted crocodiles for eye diseases or other injuries in the same way, and had not seen this behavior of hiding continuously.

In the end, they could only conclude that this crocodile was particularly timid. All that size for nothing!

In the days leading up to the official start of the python hunting event, Steve brought Feng Yi to the research center daily to help out. There were several batches of snake venom that needed to be collected, and though the researchers weren’t in a hurry, they accepted Steve’s enthusiastic help.

Of course, the researchers were actually more curious about Feng Yi, and they agreed to let Steve and Feng Yi come over in part because they wanted to study Feng Yi’s snake catching techniques. Every time Feng Yi caught a snake, they watched intently, and some even took out their phones to film, then played it back in slow motion to carefully analyze how Feng Yi caught the snake.

Feng Yi had previously been featured in international news for catching a Qing dragon, and the research center had taken notice of him too, but no one could match the person with the name, and so much time had passed that many didn’t remember. It was this visit to the research center that truly impressed the professional staff.

Someone asked Feng Yi how he had acquired such skills.

Feng Yi replied: Innate talent.

However, it was obvious they didn’t believe this answer.

Innate talent?

No!

This must be Chinese kung fu!

One researcher even posted a video of Feng Yi catching a snake on social media, with the caption—

[Chinese kung fu? The man faster than a venomous snake!]

Although the person’s face in the video was blurred, everyone in this small circle knew who the snake catcher was.

Afterwards, in less than two days, when people at the research center mentioned Feng Yi, they didn’t refer to him as "the man who caught the Mangshan pit viper with bare hands" or "the man who caught KC by hand," but as—

"The man faster than a venomous snake."

Upon learning this, Feng Yi: "..."

He didn’t want such a strange nickname!

After making his presence known at the research center for a few days, Feng Yi and Steve were successful in obtaining from the researchers a more detailed map, which had more comprehensive markings of the python distribution areas. Extra notes were also added regarding the dangers to watch out for.

The researchers here would upgrade this map with the latest information gathered from each entry into the great swamp, including rarely visited places.

So, with this map in hand, Steve and Feng Yi’s chances of successfully finding their target python would be higher, and also more convenient.

The day of the python hunting event.

"Python hunters" from around the world, both professional and amateur, were all eager and enthusiastic.

At the designated entrance, everyone gathered for a simple ceremony, and the organizers of the event had to deliver speeches. The representatives from various international conservation organizations sat together, as they would follow up on this python hunting event and also serve a supervisory role.

Diverse teams with various hair and skin colors, carrying their own tools, entered the venue to undergo a security check.

Some tools were prohibited from being brought into the swamp as per the event’s regulations, and security would confiscate any rule-breaking equipment, to be returned after the event ended.

Professional teams were the first to enter the arena, followed by the non-professional teams.

Unlike the expert teams, non-professionals could also participate in this event, but they had to pay a higher entry fee, undergo a more complex review process, sign an additional agreement, and assume responsibility for their own safety.

Because the spots were strictly limited, they definitely paid more than the official amount disclosed. Hence, those who could afford to join the fray under such circumstances were generally quite well-equipped.

During the security check for the amateur teams,

a security officer, holding a strange racket, asked the person in front of him, "What is this?"

"As you can see, an electric mosquito swatter."

"Nope!"

"What a pity."

Not far away, Zhai Yiyu was talking to his childhood friend. Seeing what was happening at the security checkpoint, he asked the person beside him, "Why does your cousin want to bring an electric mosquito swatter?"

Pan Weining withdrew his gaze that seemed to mock the foolish and said, "I don’t know."

When the young man who had finished the security check walked over, Zhai Yiyu asked him, "What’s with the electric mosquito swatter?"

The young man replied, "I’ve heard that the mosquitos in the swamp are so numerous they could drain all my blood! But if I wield this electric mosquitos swatter, with one sweep, it’s like holding Thor’s hammer, zzZZzzZZ—crackle pop! How satisfying!"

"Too bad, I had a hammer model custom-made, and they confiscated it at security!"

He said this with the look of someone who’d lost a dream, utterly devastated.

Zhai Yiyu explained, "It’s the dry season now, not the peak breeding period for mosquitos, and some mosquitos in the swamp are genetically engineered male mosquitos that don’t suck blood."

However, clearly, the man who dreamed of wielding "Thor’s hammer" to swat mosquitos wasn’t listening and continued to wallow in disappointment.

Pan Weining expressionlessly watched his cousin, then shifted his gaze and resumed talking to Zhai Yiyu.

"Don’t worry about him. That person over there, do you know him?"

Zhai Yiyu followed the direction he pointed and looked, "You talking about Feng Yi? My roommate at the Hai City training base, I know him a bit, what about him?"

"I noticed he’s carrying an expert access pass, just curious. Is he the legendary ’Brother Se’? He does look like him. He’s not wearing sunglasses or a mask, almost didn’t recognize him, also looks way too young. I thought some young celebrity was here to show off and ride the popularity wave. Was surprised he could even get an expert badge!"

Zhai Yiyu laughed, "Appearances can be deceiving, Feng Yi is one of the leading active members of the national expert team. Steve and he, one’s appointed and the other’s specially recruited, could they be special recruits of the Joint Protection Agency without any real skills? I heard their target this time is large pythons."

"How big is considered large?" Pan Weining asked.

"By their standards, over four meters, I guess. But I heard they’re looking for even larger specimens this time, like those that are five or six meters long."

"...Impressive!"

"He’s really capable. If you run into pythons you can’t handle in the swamp, seeking him out will definitely do the trick."

On the other side,

Feng Yi, holding his newly acquired pass, "Does this really have a tracking feature?"

"Yeah, but only the heads of each party have the right to check it, so it’s fairly private. Overall, it’s for safety. People go missing in the swamp every year," Steve explained.

With that, Feng Yi didn’t say much more and placed the pass into his bag.

"Director He was nagging me again yesterday, telling me not to lead you astray," Steve grumbled.

While speaking, Director He of the expert team came over, "You two, come here, I need to speak with you for a moment."

They had no choice but to go and listen to Director He’s "pre-competition care." Although the python hunting event had a competitive nature, with prizes awarded at the end to those who captured the most snakes and the largest one—both individual and team prizes were available.

However, since Feng Yi and Steve were specifically targeting giant pythons this time, Director He was worried and made a special trip to emphasize a few points to them again.

When a leader calls you for a talk, it’s best to not say much, not to argue, just to listen quietly. Whatever they say, just nod and agree, go along with it.

Anyway, Feng Yi and Steve looked quite obedient to begin with.

Behaved x2.

Then, once the python hunting competition officially started...

Wild boars on the loose x2.