Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 275 - 204 My Expert Group’s _2

Chapter 275: Chapter 204 My Expert Group’s _2

But there are so many experts living here that he generally doesn’t call out for someone specific, but rather by their titles or as "Teacher".

Thinking of those online comments, Old Liu corrected himself, "I’ll call you Brother Se then."

"Better stick with Teacher Feng," Feng Yi stated decisively. Putting aside that online nickname, it just didn’t feel right to be called ’brother’ by someone older than his own dad.

Old Liu laughed heartily, "So Teacher Feng, are you heading out to handle some business as soon as you arrived? Not resting a bit first?"

"...Just looking around to get familiar with the place."

Feng Yi’s gaze fell on a big, tethered, country-breed black dog nearby, and he changed the subject, "That’s a fine dog!"

Many animals become overly cautious when Feng Yi approaches. However, this big black dog was different.

As for the dog, Old Liu’s smile grew wider, "I personally picked out the puppy! It’s named Cola."

Feng Yi took a couple of steps closer, and the big black dog watched him, slightly wary but calm, possibly sensing Old Liu’s demeanor.

Feng Yi grew even more curious—the dog really wasn’t afraid of him!

"Quite spirited!" Feng Yi remarked. Its stance exuded a bold and unrestrained vigor.

The big black dog also wore a red collar with the Chinese character for ’fortune’ on it.

Feng Yi: "It’s even got a red collar."

Old Liu: "Put it on for the New Year, and haven’t removed it. Plus, some people are wary of black dogs. Wearing a red string adds a bit of festive spirit. If you ask me, black dogs are for warding off evil and protecting the house – they even use black dog blood in folk exorcisms on TV. But we’re all scientific researchers here; we value science and don’t care much for those superstitions. It’s not the color of the fur that defines whether a dog is good or not, it’s about whether it can get the job done! And Cola is great, capable of basic security and defense, and can even chase away snakes, rats, and weasels!"

Feng Yi: "Wow, it can even chase snakes!"

Old Liu: "Caught one a couple of years ago, a non-venomous snake. It was all fierce and aggressive, but it would’ve been poisoned to death if it had met a venomous one. Not so smart."

Though his words sounded disparaging, he actually liked that kind of dumb bravery.

Old Liu: "Actually, dogs don’t need to be too smart. Overly smart dogs aren’t good at following through."

While talking, Old Liu checked the time and poured some dog food into the big black dog’s bowl.

Watching it eat, Feng Yi commented, "This dog’s eating style is quite bold."

The noise it made chewing was louder than other dogs’.

But because of its overly vigorous eating style, it would drop three pieces with each bite.

After a meal, there would be a circle of food scattered around the bowl.

Once it finished the food in the bowl, it would then lick up what had been scattered on the ground.

Old Liu: "It’s homemade dog food."

Experts and inspection groups often sent from above come and go here, so using dog food is clean and convenient.

Encountering an expert like Feng Yi who actually had some free time, Old Liu got more engaged in the conversation.

Noting Feng Yi’s interest in the dog, Old Liu went on to describe how the big black dog caught mice and snakes.

He was genuinely shocked the first time it caught a snake. It was summer, and after a shift change, he took the dog to the beach to play chess. He left it in the yard of an old friend and when he rushed over at the sound of barking, the dog had a snake in its mouth and bite marks from the snake on its body.

Luckily, the snake was non-venomous. If it had been venomous, that would be a big problem; with a highly toxic snake, there might not be enough time for treatment.

This dog’s temperament, to put it nicely, is courageous. To put it bluntly, it’s a bit dumb, oblivious to the concept of fear.

It’s never frightened of anything.

Rarely meeting a dog that wasn’t afraid of him, Feng Yi reached out to stroke the dog’s head.

The black dog opened its mouth as if to bite. No touching!

It was merely a testy act of refusal, not a real bite.

Even if Feng Yi was slow to withdraw his hand, the dog would only leave a few shallow marks, nothing that would break the skin.

But if someone failed to back off, ignoring its rejection, it would surely bite harder the next time.

Would Feng Yi get bitten by it?

Impossible!

In the time it took for the dog to open its mouth, Feng Yi could have patted its head four or five times!

Still, Feng Yi knew not to rile up the dog, or it wouldn’t be so easy to pat its head next time.

From this black dog, Feng Yi understood that animals not afraid of him were likely to be the kind that were a few sandwiches short of a picnic, a bit daft.

"If you’re not in a hurry, Teacher Feng, you might want to check out the new small exhibit hall next door. There are various sea pansies and sea swallows, all alive," Old Liu suggested.

Not everything called ’sea swallow’ is a bird.

It could also be a sea star.

The recent outbreak of the sea star plague was caused by an army of critters like the multi-armed sea pansy and sea swallows.

Feng Yi had looked up information about this before coming, after all, having promised to help out, it wasn’t possible to just barge in knowing nothing, as that wouldn’t leave a good impression on the other professionals.

But Feng Yi’s understanding of these matters was still superficial, so it wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look at the exhibits.

After thanking Old Liu, Feng Yi walked out of the north gate, first finding the cafeteria to eat something more, before heading to the exhibit hall Old Liu had mentioned.

This place wasn’t open to the public and was sparsely populated. At this time, aside from Feng Yi, there was also a boy about ten-years-old with a five or six-year-old little sister, probably the family of someone on the internal staff.

"Do you know what this is?" the boy asked his sister, pointing at the painting next to the front water tank.

Little sister: "Golden Daddy~"

The boy corrected, "Golden turtle! Turtle!"

"Bee—Dad! Daddy!"

"...You might as well say ’golden armor’ then!"

Feng Yi chuckled to himself from the sidelines.

He also looked toward the water tank.

In the water tank, aside from the interior landscaping, there were no turtles to be seen, one could only discern from the painting what kind of turtle lurked beneath the sand in the tank.

It was an albino mutated species.

In the wild, turtles usually live in rivers, lakes, or ponds, not seafood, but appearing here means they were either research subjects or ornamental creatures.

Looking at the annotation on the painting beside it, this turtle was found when checking for illegal red coral trade. It was a genetic mutation from the northern strains. The trader had bought it from someone else and raised it for several years. It was quite fragile; releasing it directly into the wild might not ensure its survival. The zoo didn’t take care of it well, so a researcher here who had previously studied turtles stepped forward to take over.

After getting better, it was placed in the exhibit hall to enrich the variety.

So, in summary, the turtle’s placement here was as an ornamental creature, with no extensive scholarly or economic explanations beside it.

Looking closely in the tank, one could also find a golden "pig snout" popping out from the sand.

Feng Yi had a hard time understanding the ornamental appeal of this turtle.

Was it for its exposed "pig snout"? Or to see how it buries itself in the sand?

If it’s about attracting wealth, there are many mascot creatures that symbolize it and are easier to care for. This little thing was a hassle to maintain.

One had to say, human aesthetics and preferences were truly peculiar and unimaginable.

Complex senses can always produce some magical chemical reactions, influencing a person’s consciousness and choices.

The same object could look unspeakably ugly to some, but for others, it was incomparably beautiful, every detail a stroke of genius, captivating the heart.

Just like one subject can create both fanatics and harsh critics.

Unexplainable, and yet reasonable.

Feng Yi shifted his gaze to the aquariums housing the multi-spined sunstars and sea swallows.

Beside them were detailed descriptions and some related research findings.

During abnormal climate periods, the people here even used starfish as feed and bait.

However, starfish are toxic, and using them to feed fish without detoxification is not feeding; it’s poisoning.

Reacting to the sunstars, the two kids who had been looking at the golden turtle earlier came over.

In Feng Yi’s view, these starfish were too willful in their appearance, but in the eyes of the children, they were incredibly cute.

The little girl asked her brother to lift her up so she could stretch her hands on the edge of the tank and look inside, "So many little feet!"

The boy said, "Do you know what it’s called?"

The sister shifted her gaze from the tank to the text and images on the side.

"Sticky animal~"

"Echinoderm! You should read more! That word is pronounced ’echinoderm’! Thorn, like in brambles! Gee— Aunt! Extreme!!"

"Chicken-skinned animal!"

"..."

After the boy corrected his sister’s pronunciation, he asked, "Do you know how starfish eat?"

Feng Yi looked toward the electronic screen next to them, which was playing an explanatory animation.

In it, the starfish spat out its "stomach", that fearsome weapon, upon finding prey.

The animation was a bit exaggerated, but the feeding method of starfish was indeed miraculous.

When Feng Yi first saw footage of a starfish eating a clam, he was even more shocked than when he saw a Husky eating sunflower seeds.

Despite their looks, these creatures were indeed ferocious carnivores!