Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 722 - 462 Unconventional Release_1

Chapter 722: Chapter 462 Unconventional Release_1

The ones who discovered the stealthy release were two interns from the Conservation and Protection Bureau.

After they arrived, one of them pulled the person out of the water while the other quickly retrieved the bucket that had fallen into the river.

Most of the fish from the bucket had escaped, but one was left behind—a very obvious piece of evidence.

"A koi carp?"

"Haven’t you seen the city’s publicity? You’re not allowed to release koi carp!"

Recently, in response to the issue of releasing animals, authoritative media had carried out publicity campaigns both online and offline, using common examples of animals that were not to be released, including koi carp.

Koi carp and red carp are both carps, but they are different nonetheless.

Red carp are native species, and koi are artificially bred hybrid variants.

From aspects such as germplasm resources and genetic pollution, they are manageable in closed water bodies like parks, but koi carp should not appear in open wilderness water sources.

Moreover, those bred as pet fish or for ornamental purposes have a hard time surviving when released into the wild. Essentially, releasing them is tantamount to sending them to their death.

In strict terms, it’s also not recommended to release non-local germplasm resources, such as fish bought from markets outside the area.

Some places have explicit regulations that are more detailed, but those who release animals illegally are not going to read them. Even if they saw them, they would act as if they hadn’t.

The two interns showed their identification cards from the Conservation and Protection Bureau.

Of course, an intern’s ID is different from that of a formal investigator, but most people don’t know the difference. In any case, they are both from the Conservation and Protection Bureau.

The person in front of them, drenched and shivering, didn’t know whether he was more frightened or cold, or perhaps it was a bit of both.

When asked if he had seen the publicity, the man flatly denied it, saying, "I didn’t know that releasing koi carp was forbidden."

Whether he admitted it or not, they had caught him red-handed.

Not far from there, Feng Yi and Wei Hongxun heard the commotion.

Actually, Feng Yi had already picked up on some information through scent tracking, but since the interns were there, he didn’t elaborate.

"Should we go have a look?" Feng Yi asked.

"No need, they can handle it. Let’s keep moving forward."

Judging by the noise, Wei Hongxun knew it was just a routine incident, a minor matter that the interns could handle.

Shortly thereafter, one of the interns contacted Wei Hongxun, reporting the recent event.

"Caught a young man releasing koi carp, who then fell into the river," Wei Hongxun said.

"Releasing himself into the river?" Feng Yi chuckled. He knew the other must have fallen in the midst of his panic, but regardless, the fact that he had fallen in while releasing fish remained true.

"Nothing unusual. Every year during the investigation of illegal releases, many similar incidents are uncovered. Last year we encountered someone releasing turtles native to other places. He had disguised himself well, covering his face completely, but in his panic, he tossed his own cell phone into the lake along with the turtles. He fled, but we retrieved his phone, and through the SIM card and data recovery, we were able to track him down."

Feng Yi couldn’t comprehend the persistent defiance of these stealthy offenders.

"Madness in the name of release."

Wei Hongxun said, "You can never predict what they will release. Some of the people I’ve caught in illegal release incidents are well-educated. They are normal in every other aspect but show extreme... obstinance on this issue.

"Honestly, compared to illegal releasing, I’d rather they just pay their respects to the sages or pray to gods and Buddhas. At least that doesn’t harm the ecosystem."

Wei Hongxun too failed to comprehend why these individuals would spend money and exert effort to challenge the law, all for the sake of committing misdeeds without earning any merit. What were they really after?

When Wei Hongxun mentioned paying respects to sages and praying to gods and Buddhas, Feng Yi suddenly thought of Uncle Bao.

Just then, his phone received a new message—it was from Uncle Bao.

Looking at the message, Feng Yi’s expression grew strange.

In a high-end hotel suite in Yang City.

Uncle Bao was busy all day yesterday and stayed in his hotel room this morning for an online meeting, then used his phone to chat with family and friends, scrolling through social media.

In his social media feed, someone had shared photos of releasing life.

Uncle Bao initially didn’t think much of it, but as more people posted pictures, he felt a lack of ceremonial sense if he didn’t do something on his end.

He glances at where the fish tank stood yesterday.

The red carp he had painstakingly selected had already been digested.

It wasn’t regret—having decided not to release life in that manner, he wouldn’t think about it anymore.

Still...

He had to do something.

He made a point to pull up the local release regulations and scrutinized them.

"It mustn’t fall within the prohibited or illegal categories..."

Uncle Bao touched his conscience, pacing around the hotel room. After much thought, he finally came up with a solution that wouldn’t break his promise or local laws and regulations.

"Cyber releasing!"

If it was cyber releasing, then it didn’t matter if it was a native red carp or an artificially cultivated hybrid koi carp.

Of course, he would choose his favorite!

Brother Bao had been watching fish for many years, and even up to this point, the koi carp in the pond at Feng Family’s Xiao Feng Mountain were his absolute favorite!

"Good thing I already took photos!"

He dug out the high-resolution pictures of the Feng Family’s koi carp he had on his phone, and there were plenty of usable images.

Just looking at the photos of these koi carp uplifted his mood immensely!

Uncle Bao muttered to himself:

"It must be a special fate that makes me meet special people like you!"

"How many should we release?"

"Everything goes smoothly with six-six?"

"Ah, when it comes to cyber releasing, we can go for more!"

"Prosperity with eight-eight! Let’s choose eight!"

After deciding on the number, they picked the location.

Opening the map application on his phone, Uncle Bao chose a location that suited his fancy.

Cyber releasing, no logic required!

Temples, ancient cities, scenic areas, primeval forests, strategic locations...

From highlands to plains, from freshwaters to saltwaters, from cities to wilderness...

Oh, Xiao Feng Mountain is a must!

That’s the family home!

Couldn’t get in yesterday, but cyber releasing makes it possible!

And it must be the first one on the list!

He chose his favorite koi from the photos, cropped the image, then moved this cyber koi onto the opened map, to the location of the Xiao Feng Mountain family home, and released his finger.

"Biu~, release successful!"

Precision!

Efficiency!

Eco-friendly!

Innovative!

"They say that life forms in different dimensions can sense things in different dimensions. With the ability of the ancestors, they must surely feel my sincere wish in the cyber dimension, right?"

After releasing all eight koi, Uncle Bao leaned back on the sofa, thoroughly content.

Finally, he could relax.

He even made a point of boasting about his successful release on his social network.

To avoid any misunderstanding, Uncle Bao privately messaged Feng Yi to explain with a message.

And right now, Feng Yi, who was heading to the inspection area, had just received that message from Uncle Bao.

"Cyber releasing?" Feng Yi asked with a puzzled face.

"Hm? What releasing?" Wei Hongxun looked over.

"A distant relative of mine just shared with me his unique way of releasing life."

Feng Yi relayed the content of Uncle Bao’s message.

After a moment of silence, Wei Hongxun commented, "It’s unique indeed!"

He expressed understanding and respect for such a novel way of releasing. As long as it didn’t pollute the environment or disrupt the ecology, it was fine by him.

While they talked, they reached their patrol area, and it was time to work, so no more chatting for now. They started their inspection round.

They mainly looked at places not visible to patrol cars and drones. The terrain and plant distribution created many hidden areas.

It wasn’t just about catching people; they had to carefully check for suspicious animals as well. For example, local foxes and lizards that should not be present might have come over from releases elsewhere.

These were incidents that had happened before.

As for aquatic life, like plecostomus, alligator gars, red-eared sliders, and others, that was someone else’s responsibility.

Feng Yi and his team were focused on watching for illegally released land animals and casually checking for various invasive species plants and animals on the "Invasive Species List."

Feng Yi sniffed the air for scent information.

"This area is quite peaceful; not many people have come to release life here this year."

"Maybe it’s because of an increased effort in publicity recently," said Wei Hongxun.

"The area here is quite large. You take this side; I’ll go check over there," Feng Yi said.

"Okay, just be careful on your own and don’t go too far. Keep in touch," Wei Hongxun cautioned with a bit of worry.

Feng Yi gestured okay with his hand.

Wei Hongxun thought about it and realized he didn’t need to be overly concerned.

Feng Yi wasn’t just any rich guy; this guy had braved deep mountains on his own and even dared to play with venomous snakes in the mountains without any protection!

Watching Feng Yi walk away, Wei Hongxun withdrew his gaze.

Everything indeed was quiet around here. The recent drop in temperature had many creatures hibernating, and now they were not very active.

There was no palpable presence of other people here, nor any suspicious animals in sight.

As the leader of the task force, if the interns all found something and he came back empty-handed, it wouldn’t look good.

Wei Hongxun inspected even more thoroughly; even if no one came here to release animals, checking for invasive species could at least add to the report, even if it were only one. There might still be a "big fish" hidden around here.