Chapter 750

Early the next morning, the three-person special training group again drove first, then ran to the crocodiles in Mountain No. 52 to conduct special training for the water-based project.

Upon arriving at the lakeside, Xia Qing and Tan Qi, who were just about to set up their tent, were stopped by Xiang Yanlong. "There are pythons here. Let's scout first, judge the size of the pythons, and then decide whether or not to change locations."

Giant pythons are even more formidable animals than crocodiles. This is because they are not only capable of being in the water, but they can also crawl and launch attacks on land and in trees.

To the north of Mountain No. 52 is Mountain No. 55, where the Python Pool is located. There are at least six pythons of various sizes in the Python Pool, and one of them is even a behemoth; Xia Qing suspects that fellow is a brain-domain evolver.

She asked in a low voice, "Sister Yan, in the water, can you defeat that giant black python from Mountain No. 55?"

Xia Qing has a particularly deep memory of the photo Yang Jin took last year during the third round of the Qi rain, when he and Xiang Yanlong teamed up to search for medicinal herbs north of Mountain No. 60, showing Xiang Yanlong charging alone at three giant pythons.

Xiang Yanlong answered calmly, "The giant python's combat power is very strong, and it has Qi snakes working in coordination with it. If the water is deeper than three or four meters, I can't beat it without weapons; if I have a dagger, it is no match for me. This way."

Large animals, especially large carnivores, generally emit a relatively distinct odor. Many animals rely on scent to find prey or avoid natural predators.

An animal's scent may be due to its own glands secreting substances with strong odors used to mark territory, attract mates, or warn off predators; some are due to the production and release of odorous compounds during the process of eating and digestion; others are because microorganisms and humus from the living environment remain on the animal, giving its body a special smell.

Xiang Yanlong, a level-nine olfactory evolver, discovered the fishy smell of the python through her sense of smell.

As she was explaining to the two trainees how to distinguish the size of a python based on the crawling tracks it left behind, Xia Qing used her magnetic sense to capture a feeling of impending danger and quickly hugged Tan Qi around the waist with one hand to dodge. "Sister Yan, Qi snake!"

Upon hearing that what had popped out to attack them was not an ordinary venomous snake, Xiang Yanlong, who had already drawn her blade to hack at the snake, switched to using her left hand to grasp this fiery-red little snake and indeed discovered a bump the size of a peanut kernel on its head.

Tan Qi gripped Xia Qing's arm tightly.

Tan Qi has an instinctive fear of snakes, earthworms, and even insects that have no legs and rely on muscle contraction and wave-like body movements to walk, because she was almost bitten to death by an insect when she was a child. Even though her combat power has improved now and she can grab a leech over a meter long, Tan Qi, who was caught completely unprepared, was still badly frightened by suddenly seeing a snake, especially a venomous one capable of releasing Qi-synthetic toxins.

Xia Qing often trains with Tan Qi and knows she is afraid of these things, so she raised her hand and gently patted her back.

Xiang Yanlong carefully put the Qi snake into a bag and changed today's training project.

"Based on the tracks left by the python and the Qi snake, it can be concluded that this is the giant black python from Mountain No. 55. It hasn't left the crocodile lake yet, so let's take this opportunity to go to the Python Pool on Mountain No. 55 to harvest medicinal herbs."

"Okay!" Although Tan Qi is afraid of snakes, she had heard Xia Qing say that a single plant of the medicinal herbs in the Python Pool could sell for tens of thousands of points, so she immediately nodded her little head vigorously, her eyes shining.

She wants to rely on her own ability to earn points; she wants to very much!

Xia Qing was more cautious. "Sister Yan, is it possible that the black python has already returned to the Python Pool from the undercurrents at the bottom of the crocodile lake or along the waterway?"

"No, there are no undercurrents at the bottom of this lake." Xiang Yanlong had already scouted this lake in detail beforehand and confirmed there were no potential dangers before daring to bring the two of them here for special training. "The streams flowing into and out of this lake are relatively shallow; if the python wanted to leave, it wouldn't take the waterway. That black python must have swallowed a crocodile and is currently slowly digesting it at the bottom of the lake. Go this way."

Small and medium-sized crocodiles are the giant python's main food source; eating one is enough to keep it full for at least half a month.

Xiang Yanlong led Xia Qing and Tan Qi to climb to a slightly higher spot, took out the thermal imager from her backpack, and asked, "What is the temperature requirement for a giant python's living environment?"

Tan Qi answered immediately, "The most suitable temperature range is 25 to 35 degrees. If the temperature is below 20 degrees, the giant python's activity will significantly decrease; when it is below 15 degrees, the giant python may enter a state of numbness; when the temperature drops to 5 to 6 degrees Celsius, the giant python may die."

Xia Qing nodded along. "Correct."

"The current temperature is 20 degrees. A giant python that has eaten its fill won't stay at the bottom of the water, but will lie in a swamp where it can be exposed to the sun to absorb heat." Xiang Yanlong locked onto the area and quickly found the giant python using the thermal imager. "Look."

After glancing at the bright strip on the screen where the belly was bulging, Xia Qing turned her head to look at the swamp meadow where the giant python was hiding and exclaimed in a low voice, "This must be seventeen meters long!"

It is even longer than the hardness-evolved python that the wolf pack caught last year. Xia Qing felt the little hand Tan Qi was holding onto her arm with tighten even more.

"This is the largest python discovered by humans in the Hui City base; it can effectively curb the number of crocodiles in this area." Xiang Yanlong also lowered her voice. "Don't go provoke it; let's go."

If Xiang Yanlong hadn't lured the giant crocodile away from here, what would the scene be like now? In fact, if the giant crocodile were here, the giant python would likely have returned to the Python Pool immediately, and the three of them would have lost this chance to sneak into the python's home.

Going further north truly belongs to the depths of the evolutionary forest; the tall trees block out the sky and sun, and it is dark in the forest even in broad daylight.

The magnetic field here is chaotic, and compasses are ineffective.

The ground here is damp, and the tree trunks and ground are covered in moss, making it slippery and difficult to walk.

Here, visibility can be over ten meters one second, and the next second, fog will suddenly rise, with visibility of less than one meter. These mists could be simple water vapor, or they could be toxic gas; even when wearing a protective mask, one must be careful.

Not to mention, there are also animals and microorganisms of all sizes here.

Acting here, one will lose their life if not careful.

Xiang Yanlong led the team, Xia Qing brought up the rear, and Tan Qi was in the middle; the three formed a single-file column and took an hour to reach the Python Pool on Mountain No. 55.

When the three found a safe place to rest, Tan Qi asked in a low voice, "Sister Qing, is that the pool in front?"

"Yes." Xia Qing looked around and asked in surprise, "Where are the cameras here?"

When Xia Qing and Yang Jin teamed up, they discovered this place while tracking a Qi snake and installed a camera here, but now the position where the camera was installed is empty.

Xiang Yanlong, who was scouting around, replied using the walkie-talkie, "It was destroyed by evolutionary wolves a long time ago."

By wolves?

Xia Qing asked, "Sister Yan, did you see clearly which wolf it was?"

"I didn't see it; it smashed the camera directly from a high vantage point. Judging from the angle chosen, that wolf is very familiar with surveillance equipment."

As far as Xia Qing knows, there are only two evolutionary wolves that are familiar with surveillance equipment and know how to find an angle.

Why would the Alpha Wolf and the Broken-Waist Wolf want to destroy the surveillance equipment here?

Xia Qing hadn't figured it out yet when she heard Xiang Yanlong call her, "Xia Qing, there are wolf tracks here."