Chapter 23

That night, Xu Mo specially waited for the little green snake.

The little green snake returned very late. After returning, the first thing it did was to lick the green fruit growing on the unknown plant on the balcony. After licking, it entered the room, swam to Xu Mo's pillow, and lay down. Xu Mo, mustering his courage, reached out his hand to the little green snake. The little green snake quickly swam up along his finger, wrapped around his wrist, and pressed its whole body against his skin.

Xu Mo reached out and touched it. The little green snake was very obedient, lying still on his arm, eyes closed, clearly enjoying his petting.

Xu Mo smiled, and the fear he originally had for the little green snake was greatly reduced. He tore a piece of paper with one hand, poured some of the toxic powder from the glass bottle onto it, and brought it in front of the little green snake.

The little green snake opened its eyes, flicked its tongue at the toxic powder, but did not eat it, and then closed its eyes again.

"Is it full?" Xu Mo wondered, but had no choice but to put the toxic powder back on the table, using a key to press down the paper to prevent it from being touched by rats or other creatures at night, which might scatter the powder.

He thought: If I leave it here, by tomorrow, this little snake will surely eat it when it's hungry. But if it continues to absorb toxins from other poisonous insects while eating the prepared toxic powder, the snake venom it secretes will not be pure. Then, when the Dream Powder and the highly toxic substances mix, won't the Dream Powder be wasted? Should I confine it for a while so it can't eat the toxins from other poisonous insects?

He glanced at the little green snake and quickly dismissed this idea. He decided to observe it for a while. It still seemed attached to him, and if he used force to confine it, it might turn him into an enemy. Besides, whether the Dream Powder would mix with highly toxic substances was just his guess. Why ruin the relationship with this little snake over a guess?

He reached out and touched the little green snake again, thinking: Always calling it 'little snake' isn't good; I should give it a name.

He then lowered his head and said to the little green snake, "Hey! I'm going to give you a name. Do you want it?" Even though he knew the little green snake couldn't understand him, he couldn't help but ask. After asking, he found it amusing.

The little green snake opened its eyes at the sound of his voice and flicked its tongue at him.

Xu Mo chuckled, "You don't say anything, so I'll take it as a yes. Hmm... little green snake, little green... I'll call you Little Green."

Little Green, of course, didn't understand what he was saying, and flicked its tongue at him again.

"Little Green, Little Green..." Xu Mo stroked its small head and softly called its name a few times.

Suddenly, he remembered that there was also a Little Green in the Legend of the White Snake. His Little Green having the same name as someone else's felt strange. He then couldn't help but daydream: If one day, my Little Green could transform into a human like the Little Green in the Legend of the White Snake, that would be great.

That night, he took the Dream Powder again, lay in bed, and experienced the feeling of deep breathing, recording these feelings with a pen to ponder over them in his spare time.

The next day, he got up and immediately noticed that Little Green hadn't gone out. While he was sleeping, it had swum to the table and licked the toxic powder on the paper.

Xu Mo was delighted, thinking: If Little Green is full of toxic powder, it won't go out to hunt other poisonous insects.

He then poured some more toxic powder from the bottle onto the paper. Little Green's appetite wasn't very large; it ate some and then stopped. Xu Mo looked at the amount of toxic powder left in the bottle and couldn't help but worry. Although Little Green's appetite wasn't large, his supply of toxic powder was also limited. This consumption would last at most a month or so.

Now, thinking about it, Ma Wu's purpose in stealing the toxic powder might not have been to feed Little Green but to study the formula and make it himself. However, he had the conditions to do so, while Xu Mo did not.

Xu Mo shook his head, at a loss for what to do.

After Little Green was full, it swam to the pillow, coiled up, and closed its eyes, no longer moving.

That morning, Xu Mo received an interview notice from a printing factory. He now submitted resumes without considering the nature of the job or his future career direction, as long as it seemed suitable and had low requirements, he would apply.

Thus, the factory he interviewed at last time produced steel pipe materials, while this time it was a printing factory.

He brought his resume and went with enthusiasm, but when the interviewer asked if he had previous experience, he couldn't even utter a word of the lies he had prepared. In the end, he told the truth and was rejected again.

He left the interview company, opened his wallet, and saw that he had only about twenty yuan left. Even if he ate only two steamed buns a day and minimized his expenses, how long would those few dozen yuan last? It was getting less and less every day.

Thinking about the approaching hunger, he felt pain, sorrow, worry, regret, and self-reproach. He returned home, dispirited.

That day, Little Green did not secrete any venom.

That night, he lay in bed, stroking Little Green, who was coiled on his chest, and said sadly, "Do you know, Little Green? I went to an interview today, and I failed again. The interviewer asked if I had work experience. For such a low-requirement job, there are countless ways to handle it online. I had already prepared how to answer, but when it came to my mouth, I couldn't say a word."

Little Green seemed to sense his mood, raised its head, looked at him, and flicked its tongue at him.

Xu Mo sighed and continued, "My ex-girlfriend called me a fool for not knowing how to lie. Actually, I'm not that I can't..."

He paused for a long time before continuing, "In such matters, I just don't want to."

He had kept this thought in his heart for a long time, never telling Li Qi or his parents. Now, facing this little snake, he couldn't help but say it.

After saying it, he couldn't help but smile bitterly, "Now, I haven't lied, and my integrity is preserved, but my stomach will go hungry."

He took out a ten-yuan note from his wallet and showed it to Little Green, "Do you see? This is called 'money.' In the human world, it can be used to buy food..."

Realizing that the concept of 'buying food' was too abstract for Little Green to understand, he folded the note a few times, pretended to put it in his mouth, and secretly put it away, making chewing motions with his mouth.

At the same time, he placed the bottle of toxic powder in front of Little Green, unfolded the ten-yuan note, pointed to the note, and then pointed to himself, saying, "Its role for me is like..." He pointed to the bottle of toxic powder and then to Little Green, "like its role for you. You need to eat it, and I need to have this to eat."

While Xu Mo was speaking, Little Green kept its eyes open, looking at him. When he finished, it flicked its tongue on the glass bottle.

Xu Mo couldn't help but laugh, stroked its little head, and praised, "Little Green is really smart."

The pain in his heart seemed to lessen with this laugh. He showed the ten-yuan note to Little Green again and said, "Do you see? This is what I need to eat."

Little Green flicked its tongue at the ten-yuan note and then lay down on him, not knowing if it understood his meaning.

Xu Mo didn't care if it understood, treating it as a confidant and pouring out countless words: his parents' disappearance, his inability to find a job, his girlfriend's rudeness, others' contempt, his girlfriend's departure, his inability to afford food, and his inability to sleep at night due to the cold.

These thoughts had been suppressed in his heart, never spoken to anyone. He appeared tough on the outside, but his inner self was as weak as anyone else's, especially in the past two years, as his situation worsened, he became increasingly silent.

In such a state, his attitude toward things around him became indifferent, seemingly uncaring about everything, but deep down, he cared more than anyone. However, he couldn't show it; he had to rely on a cold exterior to hide his vulnerable inner self.

He talked until very late, then went to sleep. After talking, his pent-up emotions were released, but his will became more depressed.

After falling asleep, he had nightmares all night, dreaming of being chased by ghosts. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw countless ghost faces. He woke up repeatedly, only to fall back into a daze.

As a result, his cold worsened the next day, and he started coughing violently. When he got up, put on his shoes, and tried to stand, his body swayed, and it took a long time to recover, feeling dizzy.

He had no money to buy medicine, so he drank a large glass of water to feel better.

Little Green had long disappeared, no one knew where it had gone.

Xu Mo glanced at the toxic powder on the table. Before Little Green left, it had eaten, and there was still a lot left. This suggested that it was unlikely to go out to hunt poisonous insects.

Thinking about how Little Green had lain down on the pillow after eating yesterday without going out, Xu Mo became even more puzzled, wondering what Little Green was doing.

Before leaving, he looked at his wallet and thought: I don't know when I'll find a job. With only twenty yuan, how long can I last, even if I save? Should I sell some Dream Powder to get through this tough time?

After a moment's thought, he dismissed the idea. Dream Powder was illegal, and if caught, it would be over.

That day, he had no luck again. When he returned home that night, Little Green came to greet him, flicking its tongue at him.

When he turned on the light, Little Green had already swum to the bed and then to the pillow. Xu Mo looked at it and saw a ten-yuan note on the pillow next to Little Green.

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