Chapter 326 - 299: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
They had one day for this trip.
Qin Ziwu and the others had been assigned to retrieve the Cards from the surrounding altars.
Meanwhile, Qin Ziwen brought Du Yu to the riverbank.
The two of them checked the Earth Cage traps they had set last time.
"My lord, this Earth Cage has been destroyed," Du Yu said, pulling one of the cages from the water.
Water gushed out with a SPLASH from a large tear in the mesh.
There were bite marks along the edge of the cage.
The wire frame was bent and twisted, and all the fish inside had escaped.
"From the looks of these bites, it’s definitely a crocodile." Qin Ziwen observed it for a moment. Based on the extent of the cage’s deformation and the direction of the pressure, he made the call instantly.
Du Yu took a look as well and praised, "Indeed, it’s a crocodile."
They checked the remaining cages in succession. Only two had escaped destruction.
One was a bust; the bait inside was gone.
The other had survived because of the snake inside it.
It glittered with silver, its scales dazzling the eyes.
When the cage was pulled from the reed-choked bank, a large, silver snake as thick as a child’s arm began to thrash wildly, rolling like a hula hoop.
Qin Ziwen’s hand trembled, and he nearly threw the cage back in.
He glanced at the large snake in the cage and used Insight.
[Extraordinary Silver Thread Snake: ☆☆☆]
’So it really is this thing,’ Qin Ziwen thought with a sigh.
An Extraordinary Silver Thread Snake.
It was the exact same snake he had seen before.
Out of caution, however, Qin Ziwen didn’t open the cage.
He thought for a moment. If he included this Silver Thread Snake...
’At this stage, we’ve already hunted three Extraordinary Animals for our Home, haven’t we?’
They had already made 3/10 progress toward the minimum requirement of ten Extraordinary prey for constructing the Miracle Building, the Eternal Hunting Tomb.
The caged Silver Thread Snake, having been lifted from the water, sensed the change in its environment and began to thrash frantically.
Water splashed everywhere, and a few Water Beads landed on the back of his hand.
A moment later, a faint pain followed.
Qin Ziwen frowned and looked down at the back of his hand. The spot where the Water Beads had touched him was already turning red.
’This snake is that venomous?!’
Qin Ziwen quickly put the cage down.
Even the water that had touched the snake’s body and then splashed onto his hand was enough to cause a burning sensation.
’Just how potent is the snake’s own venom, then?’
No wonder it was an Extraordinary Level serpentine beast.
Qin Ziwen tried prodding it with a stick, but before he even got close to the cage, the Silver Thread Snake launched a ferocious counterattack.
Its slender head slammed against the cage again and again as it opened its mouth wide, exposing two menacing fangs.
’It’s too aggressive,’ Qin Ziwen thought with a frown.
He was struggling with how to deal with this Extraordinary venomous snake. Based on its behavior so far, not only was its venom incredibly potent, but its temperament was also extremely volatile and aggressive.
The slightest mistake could have severe consequences.
"My lord," Du Yu advised, "I don’t recommend keeping this snake. We don’t have a suitable enclosure, and an ordinary person wouldn’t have the skill to handle it."
Qin Ziwen tried to use Resonance to communicate with the Silver Thread Snake.
But it had no effect; if anything, the snake’s aggression only intensified.
There was no other way. Qin Ziwen finally gave the order, "Kill it."
If it were kept in their Home, it would be extremely dangerous should someone with ulterior motives secretly use it or release it. With its speed, it would be a major threat.
After some effort, they finally managed to kill the Silver Thread Snake through the bars of the cage.
They waited a good while longer, then repeatedly tested it with a stick. The moment the slender stick touched the Silver Thread Snake’s mouth...
...the dead Silver Thread Snake suddenly snapped its mouth open, bit down hard on the stick, and refused to let go.
Qin Ziwen remarked, "I’ve long heard that snakes still have nerve reflexes after death, that even a decapitated snake can bite and inject venom. It seems that’s really true."
It was worth noting that killing the Silver Thread Snake did not drop a Card. This indicated that when returning to a previous map, one could not obtain Cards by hunting beasts; they could only be acquired by searching altars.
After waiting a long time and testing it repeatedly, they confirmed it was well and truly dead.
Only then did Du Yu open the cage, grab it by the tail, and slowly pull it out. Finally, he gripped the Silver Thread Snake just behind its head, his five fingers clenched tight, and held it up high. The snake’s tail just about touched the ground.
The snake was a full two and a half meters long.
A flash of surprise crossed Du Yu’s eyes. "My lord, this snake is so light."
"Let me see."
Qin Ziwen took it and found that while the Silver Thread Snake looked large, it actually weighed less than two pounds. It felt feather-light. No wonder it was so fast.
After extraction, they ultimately obtained 800 milligrams of venom from the Silver Thread Snake’s body.
The clear, viscous venom lay quietly at the bottom of the vial.
Just looking at the stuff made Qin Ziwen’s temples throb.
’This stuff is incredibly potent,’ Qin Ziwen mused. ’I’ll have to find a suitable target to test its venom.’
If stored for too long, the venom’s potency would diminish.
Qin Ziwen thought of the upcoming sea voyage; he could bring this venom along just in case.
Qin Ziwen had the cages taken back for repairs, planning to place them out again in the surrounding area once they were fixed.
If there was one Silver Thread Snake, there could be a second.
Speaking of which, this forest was so rich in resources that if it held one Extraordinary Beast, the probability of a second was high.
With the matter of the venomous snake settled, Qin Ziwen mounted the Beaked Eagle. He planned to scout the surrounding area thoroughly. If he found a suitable spot, he could try to leave an anchor point, allowing them to change their starting location next time.
He remembered that there were plains downstream from the forest. Qin Ziwen, seated side-by-side with Du Yu on the Beaked Eagle’s back, flew downstream, following the course of the river.
Up ahead, a few birds circled low over the forest canopy.
Sensing the Beaked Eagle’s approach, the birds scattered in terror.
"SCREECH—"
The Beaked Eagle let out an arrogant cry that traveled far and wide. In its wake, a dead silence fell. The usually raucous monkeys on both banks of the river trembled and hid beneath the treetops.
From high above, the river below looked like a turquoise jade belt embedded in the forest.
On the calm surface of the river downstream, crocodiles that looked like logs drifted in clusters. At a glance, the lower reaches seemed to be a crocodile paradise.
’No wonder the crocodiles are endless. We kill so many, and after a while, more just show up upstream,’ Qin Ziwen realized. Suddenly, his gaze sharpened.
As the river gradually widened, this section became nearly ten times broader than the stretch by their Gated Community.
And beneath the surface of this vast expanse of water, he saw an extremely long and thick black shadow moving slowly in an S-shape.
Wherever it passed, the crocodiles scattered.
Judging by its length relative to the crocodiles, this shadow—which looked like a giant python—was likely no less than thirty meters long.
It roamed for a short while before diving into the deeper parts of the river and vanishing from sight.
"Crouching tigers, hidden dragons..." Qin Ziwen murmured. He suddenly felt that perhaps a Giant Beast the size of the Giant Toad was not an isolated case in this forest.
After flying for another ten minutes or so, the scenery below changed abruptly, as if a clear-cut line divided the dark green forest from the light green grasslands.
Farther on lay a vast, endless prairie.
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