Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 199 - 164 Can’t Even Think About It!_2

Chapter 199: Chapter 164 Can’t Even Think About It!_2

Feng Chi sprawled lazily on the couch, staring at his phone, "These two look a bit big in size."

Feng Yi: "They’re both over two meters. One of them might be a little bigger, but not more than three meters. Not exceptionally big—the research center has some that are four meters, and I’ve sent you pictures before."

Feng Chi: "Captive ones can’t compare with those in the wild. I just feel that wild ones are more... wild! More dominant! That’s what I like! It’s just those teeth make me uncomfortable. I almost wish I could find a dentist to give them braces."

Feng Yi: "..."

As they were speaking, another alligator surfaced, bigger than the previous two, likely around four meters, and, what’s more, it was approaching their boat.

Feng Chi sat up, eyes glued to the phone screen, voice tense, "Bro, is it heading towards you guys? It seems like you’re too close..."

Warren, also noticing the large alligator: "Oh, my God!"

Feng Chi: "My brother ahhhhhh it’s coming your way!"

Back in China, late at night, Feng Chi howled louder than the dogs next door from his home.

Feng Yi: "...No need to worry, we’re still at a distance."

While speaking, he adjusted the camera zoom, and the view returned to normal, no longer showing the magnified alligator face.

Seeing there was some distance, Feng Chi stopped howling but remained tense.

Feng Yi watched the alligator. He wasn’t nervous because, first, it hadn’t entered his alert zone, and second, he didn’t sense a strong intent to attack from this particular American alligator. Plus, at such a distance, Warren could easily steer the boat away.

After the large American alligator got a bit closer, it suddenly turned and ran towards the woods before diving into the water and disappearing without a trace.

Steve and Warren both sighed with relief—had the alligator come one meter closer, they would have started the boat and left.

From the phone, Feng Chi, clutching his nearly jumping heart, finally managed to tremble out, "Bro! Florida is too dangerous, just come back!"

"No, I really enjoy my current job. It’s not as dangerous as you think," Feng Yi replied.

"But you were seriously too close just now! Aren’t you afraid? If it were me, I’d probably hightail it out of there the moment it popped up its head, glancing back to see if any alligators were chasing me on the way!"

"Didn’t you think they were cool just a moment ago? What about your admiration?" asked Feng Yi.

"My admiration is based on a safe distance!"

"American alligators tend to be more docile, and not as aggressive. Just now, it may have been just curious and testing us, not really meaning to attack," Feng Yi explained.

"Banded kraits are also docile! Does that make people less afraid of them? Danger is danger, no matter the temperament! Only people like you can stay so calm!"

In fact, contrary to what Feng Chi said, both Steve and Warren were also on edge earlier, keeping an eye on the large alligator and their surroundings. Warren had been about to instruct Feng Yi and Steve to get ready to leave.

"I’m not sure why that alligator turned and ran. Maybe it realized after getting close that it was no match and took off?" said Warren. "With its size, it could reign supreme around here, and when hungry, it could even cannibalize."

Although the alligator didn’t attack them, this area with many and some large alligators was too dangerous. It was best to leave quickly.

They continued along the planned route and completed all lines of the first part of the plan. By the time they were heading back, it had already turned dark.

On the way back to the residential area, they encountered another boat moored to the shore with five people on board, one of whom Steve recognized.

They were capturing a python, which they had stumbled upon on their way back and stopped here for.

"Need any help?" shouted Steve.

"Steve? We can handle it... but if you’re willing, you can give us a hand. It’s a big snake and not easy to catch in this spot," replied the person from the other boat.

Steve was, of course, willing!

A big snake, wow!

After getting the boat closer to the shore, Steve jumped off and headed towards them. He took a few steps then looked back at Feng Yi and said, "You don’t need to come over."

By this time, it was very dark, and the people on the boat were using lights, with their attention focused on catching the python.

The area by the shore was not too deep, just above knee height, and was fairly grassy.

The dampness and the plant scent made him excited.

After Steve went over, Feng Yi stepped off the boat, but didn’t approach the action.

Underwater, he stomped his feet into the mud.

Awesome!

Having gathered some mud, he also stepped on the moist grass near the shore.

It was freaking awesome!

He felt a bit strange in the boots, and his tail was restless, itching to break free and try things out, eager to come out.

But it was not possible!

No matter how much he wanted it, it was not possible!

I could only feel it through my boots!

Feng Yi suppressed the slight change in his feet back into his boots.

When Steve returned, his face bore a hint of disappointment. The "big snake" was only about three meters long, not meeting his expectations.

Seeing Feng Yi in such a state, Steve chuckled and said, "I told you not to get off the boat, look, now your pants and shoes are all wet, isn’t that uncomfortable?"

"It’s... it’s okay."

After the people on the other boat caught their snake, they too prepared to head back. Someone saw the cloth bags on Feng Yi’s boat and said, "Is this your catch for today? Not bad! Seven bags, seven snakes? We only caught two today."

Steve replied, "This kid caught them all by himself. We actually planned just to check the route and get familiar with the surroundings today, without intending to catch snakes. But Feng Yi has a knack for finding snakes, so he casually caught seven. Though, they’re all not that big."

"A good start is half the battle," said the other with a smile.

After the conversation, both boats went back to the residential area, delivered the pythons they caught at the designated spot, and by tomorrow they would be able to look up each snake’s length, weight, and other basic data, as well as the corresponding reward.

Feng Yi and Steve returned to the hotel.

The plan for tomorrow was set on the way back, without need for further discussions. Steve said, "Get some good rest first, your shoes are unlikely to dry out easily. Did you bring spare shoes?"

"I did."

"Okay, go back and take a shower, change into some clean clothes, or, you know, the hotel has a bathhouse. Go take a dip, maybe get a massage to ease your body’s fatigue."

Parting ways with Steve, Feng Yi encountered Director He in the elevator on his way upstairs.

Knowing that catching snakes wasn’t part of Feng Yi and Steve’s plan for the day, Director He didn’t start by asking about the pythons but instead inquired, "Tough day? Your pant legs are all wet."

"It’s fine."

Director He observed that Feng Yi didn’t seem to be forcing a brave face, in fact, the young man seemed to be in quite a good mood.

"Did you see any pythons today?"

"Yes, I did."

"How many?"

"Seven."

"...That many? How many did you catch?"

"Caught them all, just came back from delivering them. But they’re not big."

"Very good, very good. Your performance today was quite impressive!" Director He said with satisfaction.

As they spoke, Feng Yi’s floor arrived, and after saying goodbye to Director He, he stepped out of the elevator.

"Wait!"

Director He stopped him and stepped out as well, pointing at Feng Yi’s feet, "Where did you guys go today? Your shoes are falling apart?"

The shoes Feng Yi wore looked like they were made of quality materials, not the cheap sort, but at that moment, they were falling apart at the seams. He hadn’t noticed in the elevator, but the problem became apparent once he started moving, and his shoes began to come apart.

Feng Yi looked down at his feet, "Didn’t go much of anywhere, was mostly on the boat. These shoes might just be a little out of their element."

Director He: "...You head back and rest up. Get to bed early."

Director He thought to himself: Did Steve take the newcomer to some strange places again?

Feng Yi returned to his hotel room and took off his boots.

His socks were torn, and so were his shoes.

His first day on the job and he had already wrecked a pair of shoes. With a whole month to go, what was he to do?

At home, the steward had insisted on preparing two extra pairs of shoes for him. Feng Yi had thought the steward was just concerned about the possibility of him treading a lot in Florida, where catching pythons might wear out the shoes quickly, which was understandable.

Even high-quality shoes couldn’t guarantee surviving a month in the swamps unscathed.

So the steward had prepared two spare pairs of boots for him, including the pair he was currently wearing. All three pairs were custom-made for him by the steward, supposedly using some new type of synthetic bio-leather that was not only durable and waterproof but also extremely comfortable. They didn’t tire the feet, so Feng Yi had taken them all with him.

He had thought that even if he did a lot of walking, he wouldn’t be wading in water every day, and at most he’d wear out one pair of boots. He had no intention of deliberately trekking through difficult terrain.

Now, it seemed he had been naive! The steward had seen far ahead!

His tail was not behaving!

In an environment it favored, it constantly sought to break free!

Fortunately, Feng Yi had long since enhanced his control over it, ensuring it wouldn’t expose itself to outsiders. At most, it would undergo some changes inside the boots when he was excited, showing off a few scales.

It was just too hard on the boots.