Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 688 - 444 Just a Suggestion_1

Chapter 688: Chapter 444 Just a Suggestion_1

Feng Yi didn’t actually believe that the smell of snake on him had scared away the sea lizards, but since Santos had provided an explanation, it was easiest just to go along with it.

Right, it was the smell of the snake that frightened them away!

Figuring that this side of things would probably take a while, Feng Yi had Ding bring over some portable beach chairs for the officers handling the case.

At the reef, as one sea lizard after another climbed out of the water onto the rocks, Santos and his team observed the creatures. After cautiously testing a few times and seeing the creatures did not flee, the team members sampled them for testing.

"Looks like they fell off a cargo ship, but we still have to wait for the test results to be sure," team member Gray said.

"Hmm," Santos didn’t say much, taking the device from the officers and scanning it over the body of the sea lizards.

If these sea lizards had been implanted with identity chips by conservation organizations, their unique identity codes would appear when the device scanned them.

"No chip response."

"It’s quite possible they’re the product of illegal breeding, which makes the likelihood of them having fallen off a cargo ship even greater."

Santos handed the scanning device back to the officers and continued to observe the sea lizards closely.

"I remember, after we seized that batch of smuggled animals, a herpetologist said that these artificially bred sea lizards are more delicate. They might not even adapt to their original habitat and would need wildness training. So, what about these few in front of us?"

Santos’s gaze fell on a sea lizard that had just crawled up onto a rock from the sea.

"It’s amazing they can live here so healthily for two or three days! So lively and strong in climbing. If it was just one that could adapt, we might attribute it to individual traits. But when all nine sea lizards are the same, it’s not an isolated case!"

Gray, who was nearby, said, "Perhaps the artificially bred variety is better suited to the environmental conditions here? To them, this might actually be a comfort zone?"

Taking off his suit jacket, Santos looked up at the sunshine, then reached out to feel the temperature of the seawater.

"Maybe. Although they’re both in the tropics, the climate characteristics of the area where the wild population lives aren’t the same as those of Feng Yi’s island."

Santos was there to investigate the case; the differences in habits and physical qualities between the bred and wild species weren’t his primary concern.

Quietly observing every detail around him, Santos gathered his thoughts, brushed his wind-tousled brown hair back into place, and walked towards Feng Yi’s position. His smile in the sunlight was exceptionally earnest.

"Are you renovating here? What plans do you have for this reef area?" Santos asked.

Listening for the subtext in his question, Feng Yi didn’t answer directly, "Why? Is there something wrong?"

"No, no, no. You’ve done a great job; I just have great admiration for your... professional ethic!" responded Santos, his gaze sincere.

Feng Yi’s expression remained indifferent.

Compared to the smiling, welcoming Special Task Force leader, Feng Yi preferred dealing with someone with a serious demeanor like Old Yuan.

With this one in front of him, Feng Yi always felt like he was up to something.

Feng Yi didn’t judge people by their appearance. Being able to hold the same rank as Old Yuan, Santos was not as accommodating as he seemed on the surface. The change in Santos’s emotional signals put Feng Yi on alert.

"Let’s be straight to the point, I am familiar with your Special Task Force," said Feng Yi.

Santos clicked his tongue. That’s why he disliked dealing with those who knew the rules; they were too hard to fool, and he hadn’t even started his prepared speech yet.

"These sea lizards have adapted quite well here. What do you think?" Santos said with a note of emotion.

Feng Yi’s face was expressionless, "You have your sights set on my place?"

Denying it, Santos said, "No, of course not! Just offering a small suggestion. Since you can’t take care of them, and they seem to be surviving well, why not just let nature take its course and let them stay here?"

If the Island Master had been anyone else, Santos certainly wouldn’t have made such a statement. But the island they were standing on now belonged to an expert certified by the Union for Conservation, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

That was Santos’s style of conducting things; regardless of the process or method of resolution, as long as the outcome was good, that was all that mattered.

This was beneficial for all parties involved. They’d have resolved this incident, and the nine troublesome sea lizards would be able to live happily in this new place. And as for Feng Yi, it wouldn’t be a bad thing either, if the Island Master didn’t mind.

"Artificially bred ones are tricky to deal with. If taken away, they’d either end up in zoos or research centers, but more doesn’t necessarily mean better care. Funding cuts have led to a rise in dirty deals, which are hard to monitor," said Santos.

"This is allowed to be privately bred?" Feng Yi asked.

"No, it’s not considered private breeding, nor is it casual. I remember you also have a python?"

"That’s from an adoption with the zoo, in cooperation with the local zoo," Feng Yi said.

"Oh, this is similar. Different countries have different ways of dealing with it. We’ll coordinate with the higher-ups; it’s a minor issue," Santos said.

Feng Yi didn’t respond.

Santos continued, "This big smuggling case implicates a lot of issues, and we don’t know what to do with those artificially bred creatures we seized yet. Sending them to zoos doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, and it’s uncertain if they could adapt if released into the wild."

In the grand scheme of the case, fewer than ten sea lizards weren’t much to consider. What he was proposing now was the optimal arrangement for these nine sea lizards.

Feng Yi also weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

"It’s not about asking you to take trouble over them; if you don’t mind, you’re just providing a place for them to live. You don’t have to worry about anything else," offered Santos.

"If they die, who’s responsible?" Feng Yi asked.

"I am."

Santos could handle this minor matter.

"Otherwise, let’s leave these nine sea lizards here for a while, until the case over there is concluded, then we’ll see what to do with them. Oh, you might even observe them during this period and potentially write a paper about it," Santos suggested.

Feng Yi: "..."

"If you decide to keep them, the procedures are very simple, just registration. With your current rank, the process is even simpler. I’ll send someone to implant them with chips, and a scan will reveal their identity codes, like putting a license plate on a car. As long as you complete a series of registration that complies with the regulations, there might be an annual inspection or something, but most of the time, they won’t bother you."

"I need to consider," Feng Yi said.

"Of course, I’m just making a suggestion. The decision to accept is yours."

Santos and the others continued to busy themselves on the rocky beach while Feng Yi spotted Xin not too far away and walked over.

Whether to keep the nine sea iguanas mainly depended on Xin’s mental state.

"These are very likely to be illegally bred sea iguanas, not as robust as the wild type, but they are in good shape now."

Xin smiled, "It’s good that they can adapt."

Feng Yi then told him about Santos’s suggestion.

"What do you think? Is it troublesome?"

"No, it’s not troublesome," Xin said.

He indeed preferred marine creatures, and the sea iguanas were among those he could accept.

Compared to pets like cats and dogs, the fearsome-looking sea iguanas made him feel more at ease.

Feng Yi also smiled, "Then let them continue living here."

Thinking of something else, Feng Yi asked him:

"Xin, do you want to show your love for them in those highly prestigious journals?"

"Boss, are you talking about writing academic journal papers?"

"...Yes."

"I don’t want to!"

After all, do people who like pet cats and dogs keep them to write papers?!

After chatting for a while with the boss about the arrangements for the sea iguanas, and before ending the conversation, Xin stood up intending to leave but then hesitated.

Still uncertain, Xin asked, "Boss, the thing you just mentioned about writing papers, that was a joke, right? I don’t need to write a paper, do I?"

"No writing," Feng Yi said.

Xin let out a long sigh of relief. That’s good.

In his view, the fact that the nine far-traveled sea iguanas could survive here was mostly due to the more active seawater and the more vibrant seaweeds growing on the underwater reefs, which allowed them to adapt faster and better.

If he really had to write an academic paper, how could he explain it?

Luckily the boss was just joking.

Otherwise, honest people like him really wouldn’t know how to fabricate.

Xin ran back to where he was temporarily staying. He knew that the boss decided to keep those few sea iguanas largely considering him, the island keeper. For this reason, he wanted to ask his colleagues.

After all, the island wasn’t just inhabited by him; there were other colleagues besides the boss.

It was rare for Xin to take the initiative to talk to people, and Jia and the others were quite surprised. However, after hearing what Xin had to say, their expressions became subtly similar.

"Why that look? You guys don’t like sea iguanas? They don’t attack people, and moreover, if there is enough seaweed, they always eat vegetarian. They pose no threat to humans," Xin said.

"No, no, no, we have absolutely no concerns in that regard," Jia said.

"Then what is it?"

Jia cautiously looked around, and upon not seeing the steward, he lowered his voice and said:

"You haven’t been to where the boss lives, have you? The boss also raises koi, and he does it very well!"

Xin was puzzled, "Is there any inevitable logic between the two?"

Jia didn’t continue, instead, he ran to find Bing, "Bing, lend me your phone."

Bing: "I won’t lend it! No peeking at my privacy!"

Jia: "Stop it, just dig out the video of the koi."

Understanding, Bing quickly scrolled through his phone gallery, picking out the video that best highlighted the koi’s plump shape and full vigor.

Watching the video thrust in front of him, Xin was speechless for a while.

How can someone raise koi to look like this?!

"Uh... eating feed is different from eating seaweed," Xin said.

"Maybe,"

Jia gave him a knowing look.

Could it really be the feed that made them grow like this?

Can eating seaweed prevent them from getting fat as pigs?

Xin went to a higher place and looked towards the rocky beach.

He could almost see, in the near future, the rocks covered with lazy pigs basking in the sun.