The bitter scent of medicinal herbs and the sweet aroma of fruit mingled in the rain-freshened air. Surrounded by such a soothing fragrance, Xin Ye’s breathing nevertheless began to quicken.
During his conversation with Fu Shu, the man had mentioned that within the context of this competition, several of the materials were "escapees."
Since they were escapees, they had to satisfy the condition of being able to "escape." The Virginia Creeper had already proven its capability by growing numerous legs and running quite fast, but what about this fig tree?
Small plants were one thing—they could be carried by other mutants—but for a tree of this size to move long distances was a bit too far-fetched.
The closer plants were to the fig tree, the better they grew, likely due to the white sap dripping from its branches. If that were true, the fact that even distant weeds showed a noticeable difference in growth proved the fig tree had been here for a long time, rather than recently returning to the Natural Zone.
Most importantly, Xin Ye still hadn't seen the Headquarters logo.
【Don't get yourself so worked up,】 Xun Yin said, sounding as if he wanted to shove a biscuit-stick "cigarette" into Xin Ye's mouth to calm him down, before proceeding to eat one himself. 【Quiet your mind and look closely. Isn't there something on that tree?】
Having just wounded a camouflaged colubrid back at the squirrel colony, Xin Ye quickly identified the mutant coiled around the trunk.
The giant tree’s trunk leaned against the edge of the sinkhole. Setting aside the leaves and fruit above, this section—aside from its smooth, dull gray bark—retained almost no characteristics of a fig tree. Instead, it resembled a century-old banyan, with roots and branches intertwined and overlapping, its crevices overgrown with green grass.
Among them was an exceptionally thick "trunk" that encircled the entire tree from left to right before extending upward. If one didn't have a sharp eye, it would be nearly impossible to spot the anomaly.
It was a snake—a snake whose length allowed it to peek its head directly out of the deep pit.
A snake that could sweep them all to their deaths with a single flick of its tail.
【Fitting its status in the Natural Zone, this is a Forest King Snake. Once it sheds its camouflage, its natural scales are a beautiful shade of blue.】
【Here’s a useless bit of lore: during its escape, an S-ranker chopped off a small section of its tail tip. It regrew thanks to the fig tree's white sap. The material you need to collect is the venom that mutated because of that sap.】
Trying to obtain venom from such a titan and survive felt like a pipe dream.
Leng Xianye placed a hand on Xin Ye’s shoulder and gave him a light shake. "Snap out of it. You okay?"
"I'm fine," Xin Ye said, biting the tip of his tongue. "This tree isn't the mutant designated by Headquarters."
Explaining the situation to his teammates wasn't the difficult part; the difficulty lay in the fact that within those few sentences, the small snakes on the ground had swarmed back toward them.
Though they had been heartlessly shaken off by these humans half an hour ago, they now huddled close again, affectionately climbing up their shins. Their complete lack of self-preservation made them look like children whose parents had stepped away, approaching a stranger holding candy.
The small snake that had been shot had already spat the squirrel onto the ground and was now wriggling over, eager to join the "human-hugging" brigade.
The humans found themselves at a strange disadvantage.
Xing Yue lifted a small, peach-colored snake in front of her face. The little thing flicked its tongue at her. "Any ideas on how to handle this? So, are we all going to climb that tree together?"
Xin Ye pondered for a moment. "Why not?"
"The snakes aren't attacking us. It’d be a waste not to climb."
Xing Yue blinked. "Uh... is that really how you use the phrase 'waste not'?"
The surface of the trunk was slick from the rain, making it an objectively poor time for climbing. However, the slope at the base was gentle enough to walk up. As if cursed, Lian Muyun nearly tripped again.
It was the surrounding small snakes that gave him a literal hand—or rather, a coil.
Only when they stood directly beneath it could they see clearly: the snakes moving incessantly in the canopy were snapping fruiting branches and squeezing the figs, causing the white sap to concentrate and flow down in a single spot, forming a tiny rivulet. Xin Ye specifically used his detector to check for toxicity; it was non-toxic.
He recalled that only a small portion of the Colubridae family was venomous, and the Forest King Snake was not among them.
Once they cleared the root system, the formal ascent of the trunk began.
Xin Ye wanted three people to stay below as backup while two went up.
"The attitude of the small snakes is one thing, but the snakes in the tree are another," Xin Ye said, his tone solemn as he pulled safety ropes from his Fragment. "One yawn from that thing and your head could be gone... Wait, those snakes are still at our feet? They won't leave?"
"No," Tang Qiuqiu, in cat form, looked back from Xing Yue’s shoulder. "They stopped at the bottom; they won't go up the tree... Captain, why is a piece of the bark bulging next to your foot?"
Xin Ye held a set of ropes in his hand. He took a moment to glance at his feet, then turned back with a forced expression of calm.
That wasn't bark. That was a snake's tail.
The tail was nuzzling the edge of his boot.
He had just finished saying the big snake in the tree hadn't shown its stance, and here the creature was, coming down to introduce itself.
With a healthy respect for the remaining thirty percent chance that the giant snake might bite his head off, Xin Ye told the others to stay still while he knelt to inspect the tail.
【That's the tip of the tail,】 Xun Yin said. 【See that indentation? That's where it was cut. It took a lot of effort to grow back.】
"Found it." Xin Ye’s hand reached into his spatial storage, bypassing the ropes and pulling out a bottle of wound-repair ointment instead. He had used this just yesterday to restore Tang Qiuqiu’s health after Lian Muyun accidentally hit him. "And you said that lore was useless. Look at it coming in handy."
【Are you trying to butter up a mutant?】
"Show some respect. This is a Forest King Snake. Call him Big Brother Snake."
If you can't beat them, become their subordinate.
He applied the ointment to the indentation. Sure enough, the moment he touched it, he could feel that the "bark" was actually snake scales. The tip of the tail twitched as if startled the moment his hand made contact, but it quickly settled under his soothing touch.
"It's okay now," Xin Ye said, stroking the tail after finishing the application. "Be more careful next time."
The tip of the tail bobbed up and down twice in response, and its color began to shift.
Xun Yin chuckled, remarking that Xin Ye currently looked exactly like someone from the "Help the Mutants Escape" faction.
【But I have to say, the win rate for the 'Helper' faction isn't zero.】
The dull gray surface gradually transformed into a deep, mysterious indigo-black.
Tang Qiuqiu’s eyes lit up. "Captain, look! It’s the Headquarters logo!"
Just above where Xin Ye had applied the ointment, a series of white marks formed a somewhat haphazard logo. The snake's tail moved, this time coiling around Xin Ye’s legs and tightening slightly, intending to pull him upward.
For the first time, a voice other than Xun Yin’s echoed in his mind.
【If you are here for the material, please come up.】
Hearing those words, Xin Ye felt a wave of relief, though he asked Xun Yin in disbelief, "Is obtaining the second material really this simple?"
【It's only simple for you,】 Xun Yin replied. 【Go on up. This colubrid’s intelligence level is likely the second highest in the entire Breeding Farm, and it has a decent personality. It was pumped full of hormones by humans alongside that fig tree to grow into this state. It took a literal blade to the tail just to play its part as an 'actor' in this competition. The kid is just happy someone treated its wound.】
Once it was confirmed that only Xin Ye could hear the King Snake’s voice, the plan changed. Xin Ye would go up alone to retrieve the white material.
He sat on the snake's tail and was coiled tightly and protectively by the tip. As the tail lifted him, it knocked loose a shower of leaves.
The blue snake tail was like a natural, eco-friendly sightseeing elevator, delivering the human it had acknowledged to the summit of the "Tree of Wisdom," sincerely offering its fruit.
Xin Ye watched his altitude rise steadily until he left the depression of the sinkhole and returned to the surface level. He thought to himself that it was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights; looking out over the Eastern Sector, the scenery was quite beautiful and well worth the view.
Looking up again, he saw a massive snake head emerge from the canopy, several fig leaves perched atop its crown.
Fearing it might frighten the fragile human before it, the Forest King Snake slowed its approach.
【The material you seek is my venom,】 the gentle voice spoke again. 【My base species is non-venomous, but the mutation experiments gave me venom-injecting rear fangs. You may have to enter my mouth to retrieve it.】
Xin Ye: "..." It wants me to go into its mouth.
Xun Yin: 【It won't eat you.】
Xin Ye: "But it wants me to go into its mouth."
Xun Yin: 【It really won't eat you. Don't make me beg.】
Xin Ye gripped the crystal vial for collecting liquids and replied to the King Snake, "I'm ready."
The giant snake blinked submissively and opened its maw.
Its tongue flicked out, proactively drawing him inside. The fleshy walls on either side of the mouth looked soft and delicate. Xin Ye quickly spotted his target—two rear fangs secreting venom. The white, fruit-scented venom dripped down the fangs.
He was about to move the vial closer when he noticed the venom was laced with red streaks of blood, which were slowly tinting the droplets pink.
"...Is there something wrong with your teeth?" Xin Ye pulled his hand back slightly.
【There is a significant problem, but it does not matter,】 the King Snake replied. It was tiring to keep its mouth open, but it showed no impatience. 【The researchers installed these. I will endure it.】
Xin Ye fell silent. When the next drop of venom fell, he caught it carefully.
Because of the King Snake’s massive size, a single drop was enough to satisfy the material requirement.
True to Xun Yin’s word, it did not harm Xin Ye. It even picked up the other four teammates and brought them up, delivering the entire squad out of the deep pit. When the teammates saw Xin Ye, they immediately rushed to check for injuries, only relaxing once they saw he was truly unharmed.
The giant snake rested its head on the edge of the sinkhole, looking lazy as if it were about to drift off to sleep.
It held one final conversation with Xin Ye.
【Do you think... one day, I might be able to pull out these two venomous fangs? I do not need them to hunt.】
"I believe so," Xin Ye said aloud this time, so his teammates behind him could hear. "If that day comes, I can even come help you pull them."
He reached out and stroked the snake’s snout. The snake’s tongue flicked out and licked his hand.
【You are the first team to come to me. Next, you will be heading to the Water Zone, yes?】
"Yes."
【The master there and I share the bond of having been in the laboratory together. If you show it my venom, perhaps obtaining its material will be easier... However, it hides very deep. Before you find it, you will encounter many mutants that are not quite so friendly.】
【But it does not matter. This is just a game, is it not?】
***
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Promoted to Protagonist: Persecuted by the Meta-Narrative | Chapter 42 | The King Snake's Favor | Novela.app | Novela.app
