Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 196 - 162 What Gives You the Confidence_1

Chapter 196: Chapter 162 What Gives You the Confidence_1

The starting point varied, with some driving on highways, others cycling on small paths, and still others walking at a leisurely pace from the sightseeing area. Different purposes warranted different modes of transportation.

Then there were those who got themselves a boat, the marsh’s divine vessel, the airboat.

Feng Yi saw a group that seemed to be amateur participants from within the country, about five or six people, renting a somewhat larger airboat. As the boat started up, someone was taking a selfie with their phone while others were making strange excited noises, reveling in the novelty and unknown thrills of the activity.

"The boat Old Josh mentioned is over there," Steve said.

With the photo and information about the boat he had received on his phone, Steve led Feng Yi to the boat Old Josh had rented to them, quickly locating it docked at the riverside.

Most of the other participants had already set off, and there weren’t many boats around, making it easy to locate theirs by comparing it with the photo.

"Warren?" Steve looked at the person on the boat.

Standing on Old Josh’s boat was a white male in his forties. Steve recognized him as someone also from the research center, but not a researcher—he did other logistical work.

The man on the boat raised his hand, "Hi Steve, Old Josh said to have me as your pilot."

Steve was stunned, thinking Warren was just there to hand over the boat to him, not to stick around.

Picking up his phone, the latest message was an audio from Old Josh: "Let Warren take you to the marsh forest."

Steve texted back, "Don’t worry, I can pilot an airboat, too."

Old Josh replied swiftly, "I’m not worried about you, I’m worried about my boat!"

Steve: "I think you’ve got some misconceptions about me!"

Old Josh: "Then let’s go with that! Good luck! And be gentle with my boat!!"

Steve: "Look at what you’re saying, it’ll certainly be gentle. Rest assured! Our friendship guarantees it!"

After sending the message, Steve called to Feng Yi, "Let’s go!"

Steve rubbed his hands together: My big lovely!

Feng Yi rubbed his hands together: My experimental equipment!

Like Steve, Feng Yi was also wearing sunglasses today. He wasn’t bothered by the glare, but sunglasses served to protect from wind and, while catching or searching for snakes, to conceal one’s gaze and prevent people from noticing anything unusual.

At the time, there weren’t many boats on the river, and with Warren at the helm, who was clearly well-versed in the lay of the land, they were moving rapidly through the water.

The river’s current was slow, and in places, it was almost entirely covered by vegetation. As boat after boat passed through, paths were carved out.

Most of the people piloting the boats were locals, who were more familiar with the area. There were rivers and pools covered in grass, and during the rainy season, the area would be even wetter, the grassy expanses disguising the waterways, making it feel like you were flying straight over a meadow.

During the dry season, many of the smaller pools had dried up or were left with only a shallow layer, lacking the wild, unrestrained freedom of full waterways.

After a stretch of travel, they would stop briefly.

Steve and Feng Yi disembarked to walk around the vicinity and make additional annotations on their hand-held map and using the location services on their phones.

On their first day, they were in no rush to catch pythons; they needed to get a handle on the terrain first and familiarize themselves with the area using the map, to have a sense of what was where.

Before the event began, Steve had planned to bring Feng Yi into the marshes to get acquainted with the terrain, not expecting the area to be closed off. However, there was no rush—they still had time, a whole month.

Their ultimate goal this time wasn’t to catch more snakes, but to catch bigger snakes!

So, at the start of their venture, some specialized analysis was necessary, followed by targeting a few key areas for searching. The marshland was too vast; they had to prioritize.

The ancients said, "Sharpening your axe will not delay the chopping of firewood!"

Steve was discussing the map in his hands with Feng Yi, which also included a seasonal water distribution chart. It wasn’t particularly detailed, but it was highly informative.

While they were analyzing it, a rescue helicopter flew overhead with a whoosh.

Steve exclaimed, "Busy already?"

Warren had been sitting on the boat the whole time, scrolling through his phone, and said calmly, "Oh, someone got bitten by a crocodile. Two squads saw the same python and rushed to catch it. They didn’t notice they stepped on a crocodile. One of them was bitten. Luckily, the crocodile was small, and the wound wasn’t severe; he’ll be able to walk again in a month."

Feng Yi: "..." That injury still sounded pretty serious.

Warren was flipping through several chat groups on his phone, gathering more updates, and remarked, "This damn competitive drive."

After a while, Warren lost interest and stopped looking. He saw Steve making notes on the map and said, "It’s harder to catch pythons in the dry season because they aren’t very active. During the rainy season, especially breeding season, they’re easier to catch. Have you heard of the ’clearance plan’ at the research center?"

Steve nodded, "I’ve heard of it. During the breeding season, capture an adult female python, fit it with a tracker, then release it back into the wild. Wait for it to attract more male pythons, and then capture them all at once!"

Warren was very supportive of this high-efficiency python-catching method: "During breeding season, you can always find many male pythons near a female. The research center has caught a lot of pythons, and over the past few years, you can feel that the number of pythons in the Everglades has been somewhat controlled. The clearance plan has been successful!"

Feng Yi sighed, "This ’seduction trick’ works like a charm! No, it should be called ’beauty python trick’."

Warren said, "So, there might be more young pythons here. It’s hard to find big pythons, and the difficulty increases during the dry season."

Warren suggested with a joke-like smile, "Maybe you could try praying to God?"

"I don’t believe in God," Feng Yi said.

"What do you believe in then?"

"I believe in my ancestors."

"Oh~ Then you can wish to your ancestors for luck in finding a python quickly!"

"Actually, for me, finding pythons isn’t that difficult."

"What gives you such confidence?" Warren asked.

"Maybe it’s... ancestral DNA?" Feng Yi said.

"Hahahaha!"

Warren laughed heartily, thinking: This young man is really humorous!

But he’s a bit overconfident, cocky even. The Everglades will teach him a lesson.

Each year, many experienced python hunters from around the world come here, but actually, their catch isn’t much more than what the researchers achieve with the ’beauty python trick.’ Maybe they only find a dozen or so in a month. There are many who come back empty-handed.

"When the sun is high and the temperature is hot, they won’t expose themselves but will hide under cover, like dead branches or thick grass, or somewhere else. You might search a place where you think there are snakes for several hours and end up finding nothing. Sometimes it’s right at your feet and you don’t even know."

"Is it something like this?"

Feng Yi bent down and pulled a python out from under a pile of dead branches at his feet. It wasn’t too big, just over two meters.

Warren: "..."

Feng Yi hadn’t planned on catching this python as it was smaller than their target size. He thought about marking the spot near the dead branches and sending the location to others in the team to let them catch it, but since Warren had brought up the topic, Feng Yi just casually pulled it out.

Warren looked at the pile of dead branches, then at the snake in Feng Yi’s hand, his face a mix of confusion and amazement, "How did you know it was hiding in there?"

Feng Yi: "Ancestral DNA."