Chapter 74

Seeing Feng Yi run over, and not noticing a python in his arms or a snake in his hand, Steve finally put his heart at ease, but it quickly sank again. If nothing serious had happened, Feng Yi wouldn't have called out like that.

"What happened?"

"There's something over there."

"What is it?"

Steve followed Feng Yi to the tree.

"There's a belt tied to a package up there."

Steve looked up for a while.

Although the branches and leaves blocked part of the view, he could still see the package if he looked carefully.

"Did you climb up to check it out?" Steve asked.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to see a belt tied to a package clearly.

"I did," Feng Yi replied.

"Is it an electronic device?"

"Probably not."

"Then we can ignore it. We'll just inform Professor Zhou, and he can tell the forest rangers."

Steve usually wouldn't bother with such trivial matters. He had participated in many scientific expeditions and encountered some private treasure hunts, but he didn't have a strong curiosity about them.

You never know if these private treasures have any special significance.

Steve once encountered a father who deliberately hid something and then took his child to find it.

Of course, there were also other types of events, some good and some bad, but he was only interested in the scientific expedition and finding cute reptiles, not in getting involved in time-consuming troubles.

Feng Yi didn't know how to handle such incidents either. Hearing Steve's words, he decided to ignore it.

However, since they would inform the forest rangers and the police, they should provide more details.

Feng Yi recounted what he found when he climbed the tree.

"The package contains some metal objects, and the belt is made of real snake skin..."

"Real snake skin?!!"

Steve was furious when he heard this.

This was beyond his tolerance!

If it was indeed real snake skin, it would be illegal now!

After the climate anomaly, the strictest protection laws were implemented, and in the country, it was absolutely not allowed!

Steve immediately went to inform Professor Zhou.

"Are you sure it's real snake skin?" Professor Zhou asked Feng Yi.

"Definitely, I can recognize snake skin," Feng Yi replied.

Professor Zhou's expression turned serious, and he nodded. "If it's real snake skin, this could involve a lot more."

Professor Zhou asked Feng Yi, "How did you find the package on the tree?"

Feng Yi said, "There was a bird on the tree, quite beautiful. I was about to take a photo of the bird when I noticed the package."

Several people came to the tree, and Professor Zhou asked Teacher Lei to record the entire process.

Feng Yi climbed the tree to retrieve the package.

To facilitate recording, Teacher Lei attached a portable camera to Feng Yi.

If there was any involvement, they would have video evidence to prove their innocence.

Seeing Feng Yi climb the tree steadily, Steve couldn't help but say, "I didn't realize this kid is also good at climbing trees! We had a few places where we needed to climb trees for filming earlier. We should have asked him for help!"

Teacher Lei agreed, "Indeed, we wasted some talent in the first half of the journey."

Teacher Lei was responsible for filming. Although he had many skills, climbing trees wasn't his strong suit, and he couldn't compare to Feng Yi.

So during the expedition, they had to give up on filming some tree-dwelling snakes a few times or got poor angles.

After climbing the tree steadily, Feng Yi untied the package.

The package was small but heavy, which was why a belt was used to tie it.

It was sturdy and easy to untie.

When Professor Zhou opened the package with gloves on, he found it was full of gold bars!

Steve raised an eyebrow.

Looking at the contents, it was clear this wasn't a family activity!

It was likely involved in a major case!

Professor Zhou also realized the severity of the situation and immediately contacted the base to inform them.

However, when he spoke, he said they found the package while filming tree-dwelling snakes.

Steve quickly understood that Professor Zhou was protecting Feng Yi.

The nature of the involvement was unknown, and Professor Zhou was worried about Feng Yi being targeted for revenge.

The team also unified their statements.

After seeing the photos Professor Zhou sent, the base immediately reported it to the police.

The current location of Team 6 was at the edge of a nature reserve. After Feng Yi took a nap, Professor Zhou told him that the people in charge had arrived.

Five helicopters landed at a suitable location nearby.

Two were police, two were from the base rescue team, and one was from the Joint Protection Bureau.

Given the involvement of a snake skin belt, the Joint Protection Bureau was interested. They had been following the scientific expedition in Nanchong, so they received the news first.

However, the person from the Joint Protection Bureau wasn't Captain Yuan, whom Feng Yi knew. Feng Yi didn't say much to them and walked to the side to daydream.

Professor Zhou would handle the rest.

The leaders and responsible persons of the field expedition had experience in handling various emergencies and knew how to protect the team members' interests.

Because of this incident, the team needed to stay temporarily.

Feng Yi: "……"

Inner thoughts: Ah————

Feng Yi watched helicopters flying back and forth overhead. Police were investigating and collecting clues, and base personnel were also active, providing protection for the team.

The Joint Protection Bureau focused on the snake skin, while the police focused on the gold bars.

The package left clues, and after extracting fingerprints and DNA and comparing them with the database, they quickly identified the suspects.

Feng Yi rarely moved during the two days of stay, mostly lying around. Other team members, like Wang Wentao, were busy organizing records or writing papers, while Feng Yi slept.

Steve informed him about the progress of the investigation.

"The package was left by a pair of brothers surnamed Tian. However, the gold bars belonged to their grandfather.

"Their grandfather was involved in a gold theft case over thirty years ago. I don't know the details, but the old man brought the gold bars back to his hometown. Before he could sell them, the entire village was relocated, and he didn't dare to take them out. He found a place to hide them and made a hidden mark, even drawing a map in a notebook to prevent himself from forgetting.

"Their ancestors were local mountain dwellers, and their former home was the small village surrounded by plants that we passed.

"Their grandfather moved out of the village and died in an accident soon after. No one knew about the gold bars.

"Recently, they heard about the scientific expedition online and learned that the Nanchong Research Base was collecting information about the Nanchong Mountains and the surrounding forests and species."

Feng Yi knew this.

The Nanchong Research Base was concerned that if the climate changed again, the endangered animals in the mountains might all die out, so they collected information and planned routes, assigning additional tasks to each team.

In terms of understanding the mountains, the base couldn't match the local mountain dwellers.

For example, ancestral stories...

Where they saw mythical creatures, where there were monsters in the ponds, where there were giant snakes in the caves, etc. These exaggerated stories provided clues for the expedition team to search for endangered species or new species and determine if they needed protection.

"The brothers recently heard that a fellow villager sold a piece of information they considered worthless for 500 yuan, so they got the idea.

"A story they heard since childhood, which they considered worthless, could be sold for 500 yuan, just like selling scrap.

"They found their grandfather's notebook while sorting through old items and believed he must have hidden something."

Steve was amazed.

"Their ancestors lived in the mountains, and although the brothers themselves weren't familiar, they knew more from the images and files left by their ancestors. For example, where there were shortcuts and hidden paths, which others didn't know.

"They successfully bypassed the forest rangers and surveillance, entered the former village, and dug up the gold bars according to the map, but..."

Steve's tone changed, sounding a bit gloating.

"On their way back, the younger one was bitten by a venomous snake. Although they had some medicine, it wouldn't last long, so they had to call for help. The older one hid the gold bars in a tree and took the younger one to get treatment."

Steve shrugged.

"You know what happened next. Oh, and about the snake skin belt, they each had one. They were vain but didn't have much money, so they found a way to get two hard-to-detect fakes.

"They were proud of the belts and had never been caught wearing them.

"Now, the Joint Protection Bureau is waiting on the side."

...

In the brothers' minds, they didn't lose to anyone, just to the snake.

If not for the snake bite, they wouldn't have hidden the gold bars and called for help.

If not for the snake, the expedition team wouldn't have found the package in the tree.

They hid it so well, with the belt pattern and the package color not standing out, how could it be found under normal circumstances?

They even wondered if there was really a mystical snake in Nanchong.

Of course, they never imagined that what exposed them would be a fake belt.

Soon, the news was reported.

Involving a major gold theft case from years ago, many people had forgotten or never heard of it. Seeing the news, they searched for the old case, combined the reported information, and started commenting, even criticizing the brothers.

The story gained a legendary flavor, and social media reaped a wave of traffic.

The topic trended on hot searches.

Cheng Si, who saw the news about Team 6 again today, was speechless.

Many of Cheng Si's fans tagged him in the comments, saying he missed a big event.

From the news reports, Cheng Si could tell that the expedition team didn't want to appear in such news, but...

I would have been happy to!

Seeing the trending topics and news discussions on various platforms, Cheng Si felt his heart bleeding.

What a loss!

His trembling hand covered his chest, and his lips quivered.

"Why did I provoke that cobra!"

Cheng Si's assistant entered the room and saw him holding his chest.

"Cheng Si! Cheng Si! Are you okay!"

After hearing Cheng Si's low voice, the assistant comforted him, "Cheng Si, let it go. It's better to think positively."

Who could have predicted that a cross-industry news story would emerge near the end of the expedition?

After all, only a few people followed the expedition's progress. Today's news sparked more discussions, with some even saying that the Nanchong Mountains definitely had mystical snakes!

Otherwise, how could the brothers be so unlucky, falling victim to snakes twice at critical moments?

Even Cheng Si's assistant believed this.

The Nanchong Mountains definitely had mystical snakes!

Even Cheng Si fell victim!

If Cheng Si hadn't provoked the cobra, he could have appeared on national TV!

---

The expedition team delayed for two days to cooperate with the investigation.

During these two days, Feng Yi couldn't go out to find food alone.

Sitting on the ground, Feng Yi stared blankly into the distance.

Another helpless and angry cry in his heart:

Ah——————————

But soon, good news came.

Professor Zhou received a weather warning and made a decision.

"The weather for the next few days is unsuitable for fieldwork, and the remaining route isn't long. We'll end the expedition early. We'll leave on the rescue team's helicopter shortly."

Feng Yi: !!!

Visibly excited.

He quickly ordered ten boxes of beef jerky on his phone!

He could eat it when he got back!

Before packing and boarding the helicopter, Teacher Lei looked back at the forest and took another set of photos.

Under the mist, broad-leaved plants obscured the creatures in the mountains, and only by entering the forest could one truly feel the vitality of all living things.

"Many secrets are hidden in the mountains, and most will never be known by anyone. Only the water, trees, and rocks remember, but they won't tell anyone."

Teacher Lei looked at Feng Yi, "So, will you come to explore the mountains next year?"

Feng Yi: "……"

Thanks for the invite, but no!