Chapter 68

Although Professor Zhou and the others were emotionally agitated, this was not the time to lose their temper.

Taking a deep breath, Professor Zhou lowered his voice and asked Steve, who was beside him, "What is he doing?"

Steve's expression was subtle, "He is probably... dancing with the snake."

Professor Zhou rubbed his forehead, "I can see that! I just don't understand why he's getting more and more into it! Has he forgotten what he was supposed to do? Most importantly, does he have enough experience to handle the snake?!"

Thinking about this, Professor Zhou tried to remind him in a calm tone, "Feng Yi! Don't forget the main task!"

"Ah!"

Feng Yi stopped his movements and said to Professor Zhou and the others, "Sorry, I got a bit excited! I just wanted to verify how it 'dances.'

"From what I can see now, the so-called snake dancing to the flute is indeed a fraud!

"I didn't play the flute, didn't play music, and just used my palms to make it sway and 'dance'!"

Feng Yi acted entirely on instinct and talent. When he approached the snake, he seemed to be able to sense its emotions.

Since he started evolving, Feng Yi no longer felt fear towards snakes. This was an indescribable feeling; before evolving, he saw snakes as snakes.

After evolving, snakes no longer looked the same to him.

If he had to compare it, it would be like—

A spicy stick placed in front of him.

He couldn't feel fear.

After facing the cobra, Feng Yi quickly discovered the key point. Its vision was good, but its line of sight was very direct, always staring straight at the target.

Therefore, Feng Yi could easily predict its attacks.

Because it stared straight, it would follow Feng Yi's palm movements once they attracted its attention.

Meanwhile, Steve was explaining to Cheng Si and the others why the cobra was cooperating with Feng Yi's "dance," which was basically the same as what Feng Yi had guessed.

"... It keeps staring at a target, and its raised body sways. However, when it stares, it's probably thinking, 'What is this thing in front of me? When should I bite? Which moment has the highest success rate?'"

Cheng Si asked, "Then why did it lean back when Feng Yi pushed his hand towards it, instead of biting forward?"

"This question..."

As he spoke, Steve suddenly raised his hand and waved it at Cheng Si.

Cheng Si leaned back to avoid it.

Steve: "Got it?"

Cheng Si: "Got it."

When something unknown suddenly swings at you, you can't help but lean back tactically.

"It's the same principle, but if the snake is particularly aggressive, you have to be even more careful," Steve said.

In documentaries, the snake charmers and their snakes have a默契 (rapport) developed from a young age, and they understand their snakes' temperaments well, so they don't push them to the brink of anger.

But when a stranger encounters a strange snake, especially a highly venomous one, even an experienced handler like Steve would be extremely cautious.

Don't be fooled by his ease in handling snakes; it's all accumulated experience, and behind that experience, who knows what has happened.

"Feng Yi's interaction with this 'Little Zhou' might look like a dance between man and snake to those who don't understand, but it's not.

"It's more like an interaction with a certain safe distance, where both sides are on guard. It seems harmonious, but it's actually a tense standoff.

"Experienced handlers know when to advance and when to retreat.

"Once this balance is broken, if there isn't absolute control, one side will suffer."

Humans are probing with a purpose, while the snake is figuring out how to kill the thing in front of it.

Steve said, "In my view, appropriate probing is called interaction.

"Inappropriate probing is like a stranger randomly waving and provoking you, even getting into your attack range and taunting, 'Come on~ Come bite me~'

"The degree of appropriateness can only be controlled by someone with enough experience. Non-professionals should never try!

"You must never try!"

As he spoke, Steve noticed the cobra had turned away and stopped interacting with Feng Yi.

"Feng Yi! It's going to run! Be careful..."

Steve wanted to remind Feng Yi to be cautious when grabbing its tail to avoid getting bitten.

But before he could finish, he saw Feng Yi rush over and—

Without any tools, he reached out directly!

Whoosh!

He precisely grabbed the snake.

He didn't pull its tail at all.

Steve's words got stuck in his throat.

Before he could finish, Feng Yi had already caught the snake!

Feng Yi held the snake and asked, "Professor Zhou, what's next?"

"You hold it, we'll take some measurements," Professor Zhou said.

Steve came over to discuss snake handling with Feng Yi.

Talking about this, Steve was quite proud, given his extensive experience.

"... Actually, you can use your hand, knee, or anything else to attract its attention, then use the other hand to touch its head~

"Similarly, you can distract it and then kiss it~

"However, this depends on the snake's temperament. For example, with 'Little Zhou,' some individuals might not be happy when you distract and touch their head, but they won't necessarily attack. Others might hiss at you."

Although he was initially surprised by Feng Yi's reckless "snake dancing," Steve now knew that Feng Yi had a good sense of measure.

In Steve's eyes, Feng Yi was already an experienced snake handler, so they could directly exchange experiences without worrying about the other making a fatal mistake.

The exchange of snake handling experiences between Feng Yi and Steve was mostly Steve talking and Feng Yi listening.

Feng Yi planned to try out what Steve suggested the next time he encountered 'Little Zhou,' which might enhance his perception of snakes in various aspects.

"Can you handle the venom extraction?" Professor Zhou asked Feng Yi.

"... Yes."

"Great, that saves us the trouble of passing the snake to Steve."

Professor Zhou brought over the container for the venom.

Usually, they use the bite dish method or the bite film method. When the snake is in an attack state, it will start injecting venom when it bites the dish.

However, the amount of venom released is often not much, so some assistance is needed.

Just as Professor Zhou was about to ask for help, he saw Feng Yi already squeezing the cobra's venom glands!

His movements were precise and quick!

Professor Zhou and the others were stunned.

The teacher with the camera, Lei, said, "Not bad, kid, your moves are pretty smooth!"

Feng Yi managed a smile.

... His cheeks hurt.

Steve watched from the side, "Oh, look at those fangs... The amount of venom is still considerable. It seems it didn't spray much venom while interacting with Feng Yi.

"Actually, when they bite and spray venom, it's different. When 'Little Zhou' sprays venom, it looks like this, watch..."

Steve stretched his neck to mimic, "Dive, open mouth, raise, tu ——"

Feng Yi: "..."

Steve felt his imitation was vivid and clear enough for Feng Yi to understand.

"That's it! Although 'Little Zhou' isn't a professional venom sprayer with high precision and limited range, you still need to be careful. Getting venom in your eyes or on an open wound can be very troublesome."

After collecting the data and samples, they released the cobra back into the forest.

The teacher responsible for filming, Lei, was particularly excited. He had been filming since Feng Yi approached the snake and captured the entire interaction. During breaks, he watched the footage several times and asked Steve to analyze the hidden dangers behind the "dance with the snake."

Cheng Si was itching to try.

When Lei showed the video he had filmed, Cheng Si watched it and even thought of several editing methods and promotional strategies. Unfortunately, Feng Yi wouldn't cooperate with such promotion.

If the person in the video were him...

Cheng Si rubbed his face to clear his head.

He wasn't an expert like Steve and Feng Yi. In a life-or-death situation, he wouldn't be afraid, but controlling a snake to get the desired footage during interaction was much more difficult.

So, Cheng Si could only fantasize about it.

The next day.

Whether it was good luck or bad luck, during a break, Cheng Si went to relieve himself and saw another cobra.

He initially wanted to call Feng Yi or Steve, but he swallowed his words.

A thought sprouted in his mind.

Seeing Feng Yi play with the snake and make it "dance" yesterday, it seemed... so simple?

Why not give it a try?

Considering the number of snakes he had caught since entering the mountains, he had some experience.

This cobra was clearly smaller than the one Feng Yi caught in the morning, and Cheng Si felt he could handle it.

He thought that if he filmed himself playing with the cobra and posted it on social media, it would definitely spark a lot of discussion!

Not every outdoor broadcaster could do this!

The idea grew stronger.

He didn't have a dedicated camera, so he used his phone.

The phone's camera had limitations, and he couldn't keep the lens following him, so he had to make do and try to stay within the phone's range.

After setting up the phone and adjusting the angle, Cheng Si began to recall all of Feng Yi's movements from yesterday.

It hadn't been long, and he had observed carefully, so each scene was very clear in his mind.

He also had his sunglasses with him.

Cheng Si took out his sunglasses from his pocket and took a deep breath.

"Come on, little one."

Facing such a nationally famous venomous snake, Cheng Si was nervous. To be safe, for his first interaction, he wouldn't try the full routine.

The complex movements with swaying and spinning, he wouldn't attempt for now.

Keeping a distance, Cheng Si walked in a circle.

The snake raised its front body, staring at Cheng Si, and its head followed his movements.

Feeling a bit bolder, Cheng Si recalled Feng Yi's actions and approached the snake within the phone's range.

It wasn't exactly the same, but it was close enough.

First, he tried moving left and right.

He squatted down.

Then...

He extended his palms...

Sss—

"Ah!!!"