So It Was Hungry

Ordinary Bamboo Vipers were venomous too, but they were not especially hard to find. In the warm, humid depths of old-growth forests, traces of them could always be found.

But the White-lipped Bamboo Viper was different.

Legend had it that only one White-lipped Bamboo Viper would appear among every thousand Bamboo Vipers.

Its venom was said to be a thousand times more potent than that of an ordinary Bamboo Viper.

Claims like a thousand times more venomous were best taken with a grain of salt, but it was true that the White-lipped Bamboo Viper's venom was stronger and deadlier.

Lin Xuan had not expected to encounter a White-lipped Bamboo Viper here.

(Woah, this White-lipped Bamboo Viper just locked eyes with the streamer. Is it going to attack him next?)

(This is a forest. If the streamer gets bitten by that venomous snake and doesn't receive treatment in time, then he...)

(Ahh!! Go away, go away! Stay away from the streamer! Don't get any closer!)

(Such a handsome streamer—I don't want anything bad to happen to him!)

(Yeah, I still want to keep watching his livestream.)

The viewers in the livestream room were all expecting the worst.

After all, this venomous snake had appeared right by Lin Xuan's feet, and it looked as though it was about to attack him.

They did not even dare imagine what might happen next.

Lin Xuan lowered his head and looked at the White-lipped Bamboo Viper meeting his gaze. Its eyes were brimming with intelligence.

A minute passed just like that, and Lin Xuan realized that the White-lipped Bamboo Viper had not attacked him.

That made him fairly certain that his Animal Affinity ability had taken effect, which was why the White-lipped Bamboo Viper had not attacked him.

But this could not go on forever.

He had been squatting there so long that his legs were starting to go numb.

(What's wrong with this White-lipped Bamboo Viper?)

(It's not attacking the streamer, but it's not leaving either. What does it want?)

(Yeah, if it's not going to attack him, then hurry up and leave!)

Just as the viewers in the livestream room were wondering about this, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper slowly began crawling up Lin Xuan's leg.

???

(Oh my god, does this White-lipped Bamboo Viper want to get closer so it can attack the streamer?)

(It's over. He's really done for now.)

(If we'd spotted that White-lipped Bamboo Viper earlier, we could have warned the streamer sooner. He wouldn't have ended up in this situation.)

(What do we do? Should we contact the Forestry Bureau and have them send someone over with antivenom?)

At the Xia Country Endangered Animal Research Institute, Su Yao sat before his screen, watching the scene with great tension.

He had originally agreed with Lin Xuan that they would meet someday if they got the chance.

But who would have thought that, after so little time, Lin Xuan would run into danger?

And it was a White-lipped Bamboo Viper, even more venomous than a Bamboo Viper!

Congratulations, Host, you have unlocked the White-lipped Bamboo Viper Illustration Book. Animal level: S-class.

Foreign name: White-lipped Tree Viper. Aliases: Bamboo Viper, Green Bamboo Snake, Green Bamboo Marker. Chinese scientific name: White-lipped Bamboo Viper. Latin name: Cryptelytrops albolabris.

Kingdom: Animal Kingdom. Phylum: Phylum Chordata.

Class: Reptilia. Order: Squamata. Suborder: Serpentes. Family: Viperidae. Genus: Bamboo Viper. Species: White-lipped Bamboo Viper Snake.

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: one Bird-shaped Stealth Drone and one Insect-shaped Micro Drone.

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: one Positioning and Monitoring Instrument as small as an earring.

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: one equipment upgrade.

Hearing the system notifications, Lin Xuan felt a tiny bit happy, even though there was currently a White-lipped Bamboo Viper crawling over him.

Maybe this was what it meant to suffer and be happy at the same time.

Although he had not received any skills this time, he could make full use of the items the system had rewarded him with.

While Lin Xuan was distracted, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper crawled onto his shoulder and turned its head toward his pocket.

Lin Xuan came back to his senses and glanced over, only to discover that the White-lipped Bamboo Viper was looking at his pocket.

He thought back for a moment and began to understand.

He remembered that there were still some dried meat strips in that pocket, leftovers from feeding Panda Mother.

Had it smelled the dried meat and gotten hungry, so it wanted to eat?

Just as he was thinking that, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper slowly crawled to Lin Xuan's pocket, poked its head inside, and soon emerged with a strip of dried meat in its mouth.

???

(No way, this White-lipped Bamboo Viper got close to the streamer just for a strip of dried meat?)

(That means the White-lipped Bamboo Viper was hungry and wanted something to eat.)

(It eats dried meat. Does that mean it won't hurt the streamer?)

(I hope so. Then once the White-lipped Bamboo Viper is full, it can leave.)

(Yeah, I hope it fills up and leaves soon, so we won't have to worry about the streamer.)

The White-lipped Bamboo Viper worked its jaws and slowly swallowed the dried meat into its belly, then continued searching through the pocket for more.

In only a few minutes, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper had eaten every strip of dried meat in Lin Xuan's pocket.

Perhaps because it was full, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper's eyes were filled with satisfaction as it slowly crawled down toward the ground.

(Is the White-lipped Bamboo Viper finally full? Is it finally leaving now?)

(No, I feel like my heart is about to leap out of my chest.)

(In just a few minutes, I'm already drenched in sweat!)

(It's good if it leaves. Then the streamer can leave too.)

Just as everyone happily assumed that the White-lipped Bamboo Viper would leave—

The next moment, something happened that left everyone dumbfounded.

After reaching the ground, the White-lipped Bamboo Viper looked at Lin Xuan and let out a hissing sound.

Then it rubbed its triangular head against Lin Xuan's thigh.

It looked just like a little animal acting cute with Lin Xuan.

(Damn it, you're a venomous snake! How can you make that kind of move?!)

(Look, doesn't the way that venomous snake rubs against the streamer resemble a cat acting cute when it wants to be petted?)

(Hey, now that you mention it, I noticed it too. When my cat wants to be petted, it rubs its head and body against me.)

(The people upstairs, are you showing off the fact that you have cats?)

"Do you want me to pet you?"

Lin Xuan was completely baffled by the White-lipped Bamboo Viper's actions. After glancing at the comments, he wondered whether it really wanted him to touch it.

"Hiss, hiss~"

The White-lipped Bamboo Viper flicked its tongue at Lin Xuan, then, right before everyone's eyes, actually nodded.

???

Seeing it nod, Lin Xuan swallowed. They said all things possessed spirit, but wasn't this White-lipped Bamboo Viper a little too intelligent?