Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 300 - 224 Gentle_1

Chapter 300: Chapter 224 Gentle_1

Professor Shen was also a member of the mission team studying sea snakes. Feng Yi had read his papers; his most recent one was about unique anti-inflammatory peptides in the venom of blue-ringed sea snakes or something like that. Feng Yi didn’t quite understand it and could only grasp the general idea.

Upon hearing that Professor Shen had been bitten by a sea snake, Feng Yi and Cui, who were standing at the station entrance, quickly stepped aside to clear the way. It was no time for dilly-dallying when every second counted.

Professor Shen seemed to be in decent condition for now, accompanied by his students and assistants. Despite the urgency, they handled the situation methodically.

After Professor Shen was taken to the treatment room inside the station, his students and assistants waited outside, their emotions gradually calming down.

A student wiped off sweat and, seeing Feng Yi and Cui standing not far away, managed a smile and heaved a sigh of relief.

Cui consoled, "Don’t worry, getting bitten is common in this line of work, both Feng Yi and I have been bitten before. Plus, treatment has started. He seemed alright just now, and with antivenom and medication, he’ll be fine soon. I’ve also delivered a new batch of antivenom, and there’s plenty of it."

The student acknowledged, "Ah, I know we have serum here, just that, it all happened so suddenly, we were frightened and worried we wouldn’t make it in time."

"What kind of snake was it?" asked Cui.

"Blue-ringed sea snake."

"Hmm, that’s fine then. In areas where sea snakes live, we always have measures in place, especially for dominant species like the blue-ringed sea snake. As long as treatment is timely, there won’t be any issues," Cui stated.

"Yes, luckily it was timely!" Recovering from the initial shock, the student shared their experience of the day, "We went further south along the coast today and still hadn’t spotted any sea snakes – were about to return empty-handed. The professor even mentioned that if we didn’t find any today, we would apply to go out at night for capture with lures.

"Who knew that on our way back, we’d suddenly spot a snake swimming on the surface of the sea! Wow, we were so excited at the time, we could hardly stop ourselves from jumping in to catch it!"

They all thought they were in luck today!

In the sea, compared to the time sea snakes spend submerged, their time on the surface is quite short.

Their party, several members strong, had dived without spotting any sea snakes, but encountered one on the sea surface on their way back.

"We tried to scoop it up with a net, and all being excited, things got a bit chaotic. Just when the snake almost slipped back into the water from the net, the professor, in a rush, just reached out and grabbed it, and then..."

He was bitten.

The student gave them a "you know how it is" look.

"And the professor didn’t let go even then!"

"Did you catch it? Where’s the snake?" Cui inquired.

The students fell silent.

Right, where was the snake?

In the midst of rushing Professor Shen here, no one had thought about the snake.

"Did we forget it on the boat?"

"It’s here." A young man came over carrying a plastic bucket.

Feng Yi looked over.

The newcomer was Zuo Di from the monitoring station, also carrying a big white plastic bucket with a lid.

As he handed the bucket to a student, Zuo Di suggested, "If you want to ensure the snake stays alive, you should transfer it somewhere else soon. It’s not good to keep it in this bucket the whole time."

"We have a special tank for containing sea snakes, it’s still in the car. I’ll bring it over. The professor also specially modified a seawater tank in the lab, we can transfer it to that big tank when we get back."

They had acted hastily at the time, everyone’s attention focused on Professor Shen, not even thinking about transferring the snake.

Before long, the student returned with a water tank on a small trolley.

"Alright, who’s going to grab it?"

"Why not just tip it into the tank?"

"But there’s debris in the bucket, should we dump that in too?"

"I’ll grab a tool," another offered.

Watching the students deliberate, Zuo Di remarked, "They say a sea snake is like a dragon in the water, but once on land, it becomes merely a worm. There’s no need to be so wary."

"Why don’t you give it a try with this ’worm’?" the student challenged.

Zuo Di quickly stepped back, "Forget it, you guys do it. I’m not skilled in this area, let’s leave it to the professionals."

Cui was about to volunteer, "I’ll catch it," but seeing Feng Yi beside him, he said, "Or maybe, Expert Feng, you could do it?"

The others too snapped out of it at that moment. That’s right, Feng Yi was known for his exceptional snake-catching skills, so impressive that they overshadowed his simplistic theoretical knowledge, earning him a place in the Consortium’s Expert Committee.

With an expert on hand, it was only natural to ask the expert to step in.

"Sure," Feng Yi said as he wiped his hands.

He took the bucket, declined the offered tools, and opened the lid.

A student warned, "Be careful! It’s very agitated right now, the aggressiveness..."

Mid-sentence, Feng Yi had already grasped the snake.

Just with two fingers, he firmly pinched the snake’s head with such nonchalance as if he were picking up a spicy strip.

The others: ???

Is this what a master looks like?!!

"Where should I put the snake? Just like this into the tank?" Feng Yi asked.

"Uh... sorry, give me a moment, I’ll just adjust the water tank a bit," said a student.

With one hand supporting the snake’s body and the other releasing its head, Feng Yi let the snake rest its head on his finger.

"It really has a mild temperament," Feng Yi commented.

Zuo Di glanced at the closed treatment room, then at the seemingly harmless snake resting quietly in Feng Yi’s hands.

"How could I not believe it?!"

It was clear just moments ago that the snake was getting riled up!

A student said, "Many people have told me that most sea snakes are docile by nature, but I’ve never believed them. I’ve watched them hunting and seen with my own eyes how they brutally pull conger eels out of the sand and swallow them whole, which always made me think that they can’t possibly have a good temperament. But now, I believe it."

"They are far more docile than most land snakes," Feng Yi said.

Feng Yi looked at the snake in his hand, which was not very long, only about a meter, and indeed small compared to the big ones he had caught before.

Its mouth wasn’t very big either.

If it wasn’t inconvenient, Feng Yi would have quite liked to take a look at its teeth.

Compared to land snakes, sea snakes have less effective ventral scales, rendering them less agile on land.

Zuo Di, who had been watching Feng Yi catch the snake, spoke up, "So this is how you catch snakes! It looks effortless. I need to learn more."

"Don’t you dare!" Feng Yi warned. "I have my own method of catching snakes and dealing with them, and I can ensure that even if it suddenly becomes temperamental and aggressive, it can’t bite me. Do not imitate!"

Looking at the sea snake in his hand, Feng Yi frowned, "Is this really the Blue-ringed Sea Snake you were talking about?"

"Yes," Zuo Di said. "That’s what it looks like."

"I don’t think so. At least, not entirely." Feng Yi had picked up a different scent of snake on his first day here. Moreover, he had seen several kinds of sea snake specimens at the Yang City Sub-Bureau of the Ancestral Factory; those were dried snakes confiscated by the bureau.

Although live specimens differed from dried ones, Feng Yi could still distinguish whether they were the same species.

"Aside from catching snakes, my identification skills are also decent. I’ve seen Blue-ringed Sea Snake specimens at the Ancestral Factory, but the one I’ve caught now, I’m certain, is different. Either the dried snakes at the Ancestral Factory were mislabeled, or... this one has been misidentified by everyone!"

How likely could it be that the Ancestral Factory had made a mistake?

Cui leaned in, scrutinizing carefully.

Even though his primary research wasn’t on the Blue-ringed Sea Snake, he was quite familiar with it and had seen many.

"The base color is a slightly darker shade, and the patterns on the head are off," he observed.

For this reason, Cui had specially taken photos in the specimen room at the station, where there were both specimens and images.

He compared them side by side.

"They are different! If you look carefully, the patterns on the body aren’t the same either!" Cui said. "However, the antivenom serum should still have some effect..."

No sooner had he spoken than the door to the treatment room flew open and people hurriedly wheeled out Professor Shen.

"Make way, make way! Don’t block the way!"

Station Chief Yan’s expression was grave as he arranged for people to rush Professor Shen to the hospital.

After making a phone call, his gaze swept over the people present and settled on the sea snake that Feng Yi was holding, his expression puzzled, "Did this snake really bite Old Shen?"

"Yes, we all saw it. But just a moment ago, Feng Yi and this... gentleman were saying that this is not a Blue-ringed Sea Snake."

Upon hearing this, Station Chief Yan’s face looked even worse.

"Is the treatment not going well?" Cui asked.

Station Chief Yan nodded.

Sea snake venom is a composite of neurotoxins, various enzymes, and small molecule substances; the reaction to poisoning is caused by the combined effects of these components in the venom.

An unknown species of sea snake, whose venom composition was not known and was recognized as highly toxic, posed a significant danger if the prepared serum’s immunity didn’t cover it.

Seeing everyone’s concern, Station Chief Yan reassured, "I’ve already reported to the higher-ups. The Ancestral Factory has people in charge of these cases, and they will find more effective medication through certain channels."

A student said nervously, "I’ve heard... from Professor Shen, that the core lab at the Ancestral Factory is researching... broad-spectrum anti-venom medication. There have been similar emergencies in the past, and they’ve managed to save everyone. Could we possibly..."

Station Chief Yan raised his hand to stop the speaker, "The people from the Ancestral Factory will know how to choose the best option."

He was aware of such medication, and indeed, the lives of those who had been forced to take it in the past were saved, but the treatment process came with many adverse reactions.

Cui muttered, "Is there really a broad-spectrum anti-venom? It always seems unlikely... "

Station Chief Yan gave him a warning glance.

No matter how reliable it may or may not be, now is not the time to speak carelessly, especially with all the students looking pale with fear.

The only one who seemed relatively calm was Feng Yi, still holding onto the snake.

"Don’t let this snake get away at all costs!"

The production cycle for anti-venom serum was long, and it was too late now to make a targeted serum, but if they could first preserve Professor Shen’s life, they could later start from this snake’s venom to develop a treatment plan. The premise, though, was having enough time.

"Alright, don’t just stand around here, disperse," Station Chief Yan said.

With that, Station Chief Yan hurried off.

A couple of Professor Shen’s students stayed to watch the snake while the others quickly followed, unable to stay put and eager to check the situation at the hospital.

Cui took a photo of the snake in Feng Yi’s hands with his phone before leaving.

Feng Yi placed the snake into a water tank, wiped his hands, returned to his dormitory, and sent a message to Geng at the Ancestral Factory.

He was not sure which version their anti-venom medication research had reached.

Feng Yi had provided his venom and serum to the core lab previously; the last time he had asked, they said there had been a breakthrough.

If the Ancestral Factory’s people got the medication, it should have some effect, right?