Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 284 - 210: Do you know..._1

Chapter 284: Chapter 210: Do you know..._1

Feng Yi quietly sipped his tea, listening to the bosses passionately exchanging their opinions.

The attendees, who had arrived feeling sleepy and tired, were now like weapons loaded with ammunition, firing away relentlessly.

Glancing towards the back, he saw several auditors sitting in the corner, looking tense as if ready to step in and break up a fight at any moment.

Putting down his teacup, Feng Yi opened his notebook and began to write.

The notebook he’d brought to the meeting wasn’t just for show. Although he couldn’t understand much of the experts’ debate, Feng Yi still jotted down some keywords—those that sounded important but were completely incomprehensible to him.

In the two days he’d been there, Feng Yi had come to realize that the gap between him and these professionals wasn’t about professional knowledge reserves, but about attitude.

Feng Yi’s status as an "expert" was all thanks to instinct, but can one get promoted solely based on instinct?

Some knowledge you can afford to lack for a moment, but not forever.

Otherwise, he could only ever be a tool person, from the beginning to the end. Not just for this meeting, but for future meetings too, he would just be there to make up the numbers.

How could he get promoted like that?

On his looks?

Feng Yi seemed to recall someone saying, "The brain is very important. If you get used to doing everything without it, it will gradually start to skimp on you."

Feng Yi knew he wasn’t particularly smart and didn’t know much about theory; his disadvantages were clear. Whether or not it was snake-related, understanding a little bit of many things was common knowledge, and that would allow him to climb higher and add some security for himself.

Listening to the bosses discuss, Feng Yi wrote down even more terms in his notebook, which individually made sense but became incomprehensible when combined.

After the meeting, Feng Yi also went to borrow some lecture notes that the students had used.

Then, he buried himself in studying.

During the day he’d go out to sea with the boats, and at night he cut down on going out, making food gathering quick and decisive, or getting Jia to bring some back when he returned.

For the following two days, Feng Yi did just that, asking other people about minor issues when he had free moments during the day and studying lecture materials and researching at night.

Others naturally noticed Feng Yi’s efforts.

During private conversations about the starfish outbreak, indeed someone had questioned what a snake catcher like Feng Yi was doing here?

One, he didn’t understand starfish management; two, he didn’t know marine ecology; three, he wasn’t specialized in meteorological science, and he couldn’t even understand the data, unable to join in on any conversation.

Using this as a stepping stone? Or taking advantage of this event to elevate his status and establish a persona?

But with the passing of these few days, it didn’t seem like that was what others had speculated.

No matter what others thought of him, Feng Yi himself was quite satisfied with his choice.

Though he still didn’t understand many things, he could now grasp some concepts, and when he listened to discussions, he was no longer completely lost.

Over these two days, the team saw some new faces arrive, and of course, they were only strangers to Feng Yi.

Professor Li introduced these newcomers to him, explaining who belonged to the coral conservation organization, who was involved with the Seabed Forest Project, who were the main researchers, and who worked in administration. He provided Feng Yi with a rough idea, as Feng Yi might eventually come into contact with them in more tasks assigned by the joint conservation department.

The more new people arrived, the clearer it became that the situation here was grave, as people from other places came to understand what was happening firsthand.

The starfish outbreak was just the tip of the iceberg.

Feng Yi looked at the merchants buying starfish along the coast, and the aquaculturists with worried faces, and asked Professor Li, "Have the results come out?"

Professor Li shook his head, "Still in discussion."

"I heard that some have used sound waves to drive away invasive fish."

"That’s not quite appropriate here. At this stage, we can only rely on bait trapping and new types of fishing gear to cope and mitigate losses."

"What if the scale of the starfish outbreak grows even larger?" Feng Yi asked.

"If the situation becomes dire enough to surpass the warning level, we might have to resort to chemical defenses to make them disperse. However, with the current conditions, chemical defense would inevitably alter the marine environment and impact other organisms, including the aquaculturists’ marine products."

"Then... what about natural enemies?" Feng Yi asked.

"Natural enemies? You mean biological defense? It’s not possible at this stage. Those that form the starfish tide are all adults, generally speaking, there are no creatures that can pose a threat to them."

Feng Yi fell silent.

There were some, though.

It was just unknown how large an impact they could have.

In the evening, returning to the dormitory without a meeting, Feng Yi didn’t immediately go out to look for food. He messaged Jia, who was still out fishing, asking him to bring back extra food.

Without looking at courseware notes, Feng Yi sat on the sofa in contemplation.

Instinct told him that there might be a way to have a deterrent effect on those starfish, and not just one way. It had similarities with the "biological defense" mentioned by Professor Li.

These pieces of information were engraved in his ancestral DNA, but simply thinking about it didn’t allow for a clear read, leaving the cognition somewhat vague.

How effective it would be was unknown.

Perhaps it was worth a try?

Nearing eleven o’clock at night, Jia returned with a late-night snack.

These past few days, Feng Yi would self-study for three to four hours in the dormitory and didn’t keep Jia inside all the time, giving him time off.

Today, Jia and some fishing pals from Mo City went out on a yacht for fishing, then had a dinner party. After eating, someone suggested continuing to night fish, but Jia declined and brought back food for Feng Yi.

Jia opened the door gingerly, careful not to disturb Feng Yi’s studying.

But upon entering, he saw Feng Yi sitting focused on the sofa, staring at the TV screen, with an expression identical to when he studied academic issues in the courseware.

Jia glanced at the TV.

On the screen, a large cat was busy digging into the ground.

Jia: ???

This boss seemed to always have some non-mainstream interests.

Knowing this boss as he did, Jia could be very sure that at this moment, the boss’s focus wasn’t on the fluffy cat itself, but rather on the behavior of the cat digging.

So, what exactly triggered the boss’s interest in the "behavior of a large cat digging"?

Sensing the smell of food, Feng Yi’s attention immediately shifted from the TV and he got up to receive the food from Jia’s hands.

Jia wouldn’t let the boss carry stuff and hurried to place the takeout containers on the dining table.

"How was the catch today?" Feng Yi asked.

"Not bad, sold some fish to others, and brought the rest to a restaurant to have them made into dishes for a meal. These two boxes have fish I caught today, freshly killed and cooked, very fresh."

Jia enjoyed the fishing process and the information he obtained from others during it. He was ambivalent about fish meat and could get tired of eating it after several days. However, he knew the boss’s diet was diverse, never tired of anything, and only required a sufficient portion for a late-night snack.

During the fishing pals’ dinner, Jia felt that the restaurant’s chef had good skills, and after the meal, he had them prepare dishes with the selected fish. The cost of processing would be reimbursed by the boss.

While Feng Yi ate, Jia tidied his things and couldn’t help but glance at the TV again.

The screen no longer showed the large cat but another predator.

Just as he wondered why the boss was immersed in animal documentaries late at night, he heard an inquiry from the dining area:

"Jia, how much do you know about wild animals?"

For fear of sounding uninformed, Jia answered cautiously, "Not much, just some basic knowledge."

"Do you know how wild animals mark their territory?"