Chapter 64: First Encounter with the Giant Python (2)

In this world, there are many unknown places and many mysterious phenomena science cannot explain.

Yet people blindly believe in science, treating it as the truth of this world—how similar this is to medieval theology, except that medieval theology claimed gods ruled the world, while today, science rules everything.

Any phenomenon contradicting science is deemed a demon or monster, false science, pseudoscience, deserving of condemnation; all phenomena beyond current scientific understanding are labeled as aliens—beings like us, but with far more advanced technology.

Sometimes Ye Nan wonders: if humanity condemns the Middle Ages as ignorant, a dark age blinded by theology, then when a new existence emerges in the future—say, the rise of ancient martial arts—will our own century also be called ignorant, a dark age blinded by science?

Ye Nan did not know, nor did he care; he was no great sage who could foresee five hundred years ahead or behind, nor did he have any interest in exploring the future, so he buried his thoughts deep within. But now, seeing Ellie’s reaction, he immediately recalled a fragment of thought he had forgotten.

“This violates mechanics! How could such a small body generate this much energy? It’s impossible, impossible—unless there’s a power source inside your body,” Ellie shrieked like a cat with its tail stepped on.

Science, once revered as truth, collapsed in an instant. Ellie’s mind froze like a crashed system; conflicting data rendered her incapable of judgment, and she became incoherent.

“Power source?”

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener seized on it—Ye Nan instantly connected it to the world he entered mentally, that explosive world where immense energy was generated through constant detonations.

“Could that be Ed’s source of power? But where is that world? How was it created? How much energy does it produce?” A cascade of questions overwhelmed Ye Nan until he himself grew confused.

“Forget it for now. There’ll be plenty of chances later to uncover the truth. The priority right now is obtaining the Blood Orchid.”

Ed watched Ellie babbling, and in his proud eyes flickered a hint of unexpected concern. He crouched slightly and said, “During a mission once, I came into contact with nuclear fuel. I suspect I was irradiated.”

Ed spoke casually, as if that moment had been effortless—but everyone knew the grave danger of nuclear radiation, and mutation was never guaranteed to be beneficial.

Hearing this, Ellie instantly calmed down. She grabbed Ed’s right arm and fired off a rapid stream of questions.

“Have you experienced any abnormalities? Any pain, discomfort, strange sensations? What’s your current strength limit? Have other parts of your body been affected?”

At this moment, Ellie had transformed into a research fanatic, no less intense than Dr. Ma Xiu. For research, she would disregard everything—yet she only recorded data; unlike Dr. Ma Xiu, she never experimented on living humans.

“Looks like Big Brother Ed has taken a liking to Miss Ellie,” Kenneth whispered, his eyes filled with sincere blessing.

“So they’ve fallen for each other already?” Ye Nan was slightly astonished. Ellie and Ed had only met a few times—how could they have taken to each other so fast? This was moving too quickly.

“If Big Brother Ed didn’t care for Miss Ellie, he’d never show this kind of posture. I know him—his emotions are actually fragile,” Kenneth murmured. “Big Brother Ed is getting old. It’s time he found a woman and settled down.”

“I see,” Ye Nan mused. If Ed formed a family, he would quit being a mercenary—because a family meant attachments, and attachments meant he was no longer suited for the mercenary life, where one walks the edge of death.

Right now, he was considering the possibility of recruiting Ed. After all, Ed’s abilities were formidable, especially that power—Ye Nan felt a restless itch in his chest, eager to seize it for himself.

“Such terrifying power,” Jack said, watching Ed’s strength, then grinning with excitement. “With these people’s help, we’ll get the Blood Orchid soon.”

“Hurry up, everyone. We’ll soon reach the Shur tribe’s village, rest there, then press on toward the Blood Orchid. We will get it.”

“Move out,” Ye Nan ordered. Whether it was a gorilla or some other creature, their goal was the Blood Orchid. They might not even clash with it—and even if they did, they weren’t afraid.

With their major financier giving the order, the group immediately advanced, wading across the river into a village shrouded in thick smoke.

The village was lifeless, empty of people—but the fires on the ground clearly showed they had been there just moments ago. No one knew where they had gone.

“Look!” Kerr pointed behind a pile of stones.

Ye Nan stepped forward and saw a massive python dead on the ground, torn cleanly in two—as if some colossal force had ripped it apart.

“This is the largest python I’ve ever seen,” Shan murmured, unconsciously leaning toward Jack.

“Who can tell me why this snake is even bigger than the last one? Don’t pythons have their own territories? How can there be so many?” Gao felt like she was going insane.

She had never agreed to come here, but everyone else wanted the Blood Orchid, so she had no choice. Now, first came the dead Iverson, then a creature more terrifying than the python, and now a python even larger than the ones they’d seen—dead, torn apart by some monstrous strength. She felt the jungle teemed with unseen dangers and grew desperate to leave.

“We should leave.”

“No!” At Gao’s words, Jack leapt up. A million dollars was within reach—he would not allow anything to ruin it. “We all agreed to this! What’s so scary about a snake? We’ve got plenty of people here, all elites, armed with heavy weapons—we have nothing to fear.”

“And everyone else thinks the same.”

“Really?” Gao looked around, hoping someone would support her. She sadly realized no one agreed with her.

“Fine. If you want to die, go ahead.”

PS: Recommend a friend’s good book

[e=《Super Fake Bad Guy》]

He told me that crying kids get milk, and kids who beg for recommendations get recommendation votes—so if you’re mad, blame him.