“Pretty much.” The driver sighed. “Everything was fine, but how can the climate just change like that, and so many animals just die all of a sudden?”

Henry Clark fell silent. He didn’t know how to respond to that.

During those nearly twenty years of abnormal climate, too many plants and animals disappeared—what used to be common became endangered, and the endangered became functionally extinct.

Those who supported the strictest protection laws didn’t necessarily feel compassion for those plants and animals, nor did they all have any real sense of ecological or environmental awareness. They saw the mass extinction event as a warning. The survival status of plants and animals was also an indicator of the human living environment, and it was data that the Sixth Database needed to collect.

So, “data” had to be well protected. This was a shared understanding.

The atmosphere in the car grew a bit heavy.

But this heaviness, as they got closer to their destination, began to turn restless.

There were fewer and fewer buildings along the road, more and more warning signs, and even signs with phone numbers printed on them.

The driver spoke up: “If you see a snake outside the quarantine zone, call the number on the warning sign. Chances are, that snake escaped from the reserve.”

Henry Clark saw the quarantine tape not far ahead, and the further they went, the closer the road got to the tape.

They were already within the boundaries of Little Feng Mountain. Henry Clark could see, on a large rock inside the quarantine tape, a snake raising its head slightly to look at them, as if watching an eel that had wandered into a group of snakes.

The further in they went, the closer they got to the quarantine tape, and the more they could see the figures crawling along its edge.

“There really are a lot of snakes here.”

Henry Clark’s face turned pale.

The driver was fine; it wasn’t his first time driving here, so he wasn’t surprised. “They just like to gather at the edge of the quarantine tape to watch the cars and people passing by.”

“So bold?”

“This kind of snake is generally bold and fierce. Now that everyone’s too scared to eat them, they’re getting even more arrogant. Alright, we’re here!”

The driver stopped the car at the designated spot. From here on, Henry Clark would have to walk the rest of the way himself—outside vehicles weren’t allowed up the mountain.

Seeing how tense Henry Clark was, the driver patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t be scared, it’s just the checkered keelback.”

Henry Clark didn’t feel comforted at all.

A field full of rapeseed might just be a rural drama, but a field full of checkered keelbacks—that’s a horror movie!

The driver glanced around the parking lot and parked in the smoking area. He hadn’t dared to smoke while driving, and here at Little Feng Mountain, there was a special drive-through smoking area.

Lighting a cigarette, the driver watched Henry Clark put on his gear.

He was practically armed to the teeth.

Smiling, the driver said, “We have an old saying here: ‘One king ratsnake in a mile, and for ten miles, no venomous snakes.’”

There are two ways to interpret this saying:

Ten miles / no / venomous snakes — meaning there are no venomous snakes here.

Ten miles / non-venomous snakes — meaning the place is full of snakes! Just none of them are venomous.

Actually, it’s all the same!

The driver said, “It sounds exaggerated, but the king ratsnake eats other snakes too. You have to believe, the power of a foodie is not to be underestimated.”

Henry Clark pulled a wry smile. “Thank you, master, you really know how to comfort people!”

The driver shook his head with a laugh. “Look at you, so afraid of snakes, and you come to a place like this? Aren’t you just asking for trouble?”

Henry Clark said gloomily, “Life isn’t easy.”

That line instantly hit the driver’s sore spot. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes looked world-weary. “It’s not easy for anyone.”

Henry Clark asked, “Aren’t you afraid of snakes?”

Driver: “I’m not getting out of the car, so what’s there to be afraid of?”

Henry Clark: “……” That actually makes a lot of sense.

Driver: “As long as I’m in the car, not a single snake can sneak in! I don’t even go to the bathroom! I’ll wait until I leave here to find a place.”

Henry Clark: “……So thorough.”

Driver: “We have another saying here: ‘If there’s thunder on the Waking of Insects, bugs and snakes will gather in swarms.’ After this year’s Waking of Insects, the old folks said there might be more bugs and snakes than last year. Now that it’s getting warmer, there really are more snakes, bugs, rats, and ants on the mountain, so be careful.”

“Thank you, master. Please leave me your number, so I can contact you for the return trip—I’ll pay extra,” Henry Clark said.

“Alright.” The driver had a pretty good impression of Henry Clark, didn’t want to miss out on a big fare, and was a bit worried about him too.

After thinking for a moment, the driver said, “How about this: three days at most. If you don’t call me, I’ll call you. If I can’t reach you, I’ll call the police, okay?”

“Okay!”

Henry Clark was also concerned about his own safety, so the driver’s plan suited him.

They exchanged phone numbers. After finishing his cigarette and checking the car again, the driver left right away.

Henry Clark shouldered his backpack, adjusted his helmet a bit uncomfortably, took a deep breath, and gripped his snake-repelling stick as he headed up the mountain.

He’d come this far—what was there to be afraid of now?

As he walked further up the mountain, the quarantine fence ran along both sides of the road. The checkered keelbacks gathered on the other side of the fence, flicking their tongues, moving along with Henry Clark as he walked.

Two-meter-long checkered keelbacks weren’t uncommon here, and there were even bigger ones. Henry Clark didn’t look.

Right now, he just felt like his goosebumps were about to explode.

After living in the city for over twenty years, his idea of getting close to nature was visiting major scenic spots or elegant farm stays. This was his first time approaching a wild ecological reserve where plants and animals grew unchecked and human presence was rare.