First Evolution

He ultimately chose Danger Perception.

Not for any other reason. Digging had helped him so far, but he had made it through all these days without it, so he could hold out a little longer.

Danger Perception, on the other hand, could greatly improve his safety and his ability to fight.

He was the king of snakes, after all. He wasn't afraid of attacks from the ground; at worst, he could just run away.

Besides, he doubted many creatures would dare provoke him. He was so small, yet packed with lethal venom. What predator would have a screw loose enough to try to take him down with it?

What he was afraid of was failing to notice an attack from above as he slithered along the ground, then getting snatched up by an eagle or hawk and eaten like a spicy snack.

He had seen plenty of videos like that in his previous life. He couldn't afford to let his guard down.

At the thought, the Wild Rabbit Model floated up, drew closer, and opened.

The next moment, an immensely complex Double Helix Mysterious Object flew out, its surface shimmering with a hazy glow.

Just looking at it for a little too long made Bai Chuan feel dizzy. He understood that he was being overloaded with information—this was beyond his ability to comprehend.

Fortunately, he didn't need to handle any of the fine adjustments himself. The space was managing everything. His only task was to decide where to place the ability.

Near his head? On some part of his body? Or perhaps on his tail?

Each body part had a different compatibility level. He looked them over and found that the area near his head had the highest, at 85%. When he tried placing it there...

He immediately saw two small bumps rise on the model's head.

"What's this?"

Bai Chuan stared at the little bumps on the model's head, puzzled. After thinking for a moment, he tried taking the ability structure back out and placing it on the body instead.

The next moment, the bumps on the head disappeared, and two small bumps rose at the spot where he had placed it.

Now he understood that the ability was responsible.

But why did it happen this way?

He thought about it and figured it was probably because the ability structure came from a wild hare, whose Danger Perception likely came from its extraordinarily nimble, long ears.

Those long ears gave it incredibly keen hearing, allowing it to pick up sounds from every direction and dodge danger.

But now the ability was being installed in him. He was a snake, and his ears had long since lost their external canals.

So, because of the difference between their species, the ability manifested in him as two little bumps.

With that thought, he zoomed in on the model's head and saw that the bumps really did connect to ear canals.

"Th-this really does make sense!"

Once he understood, Bai Chuan's mouth twitched as he clicked his tongue.

Still, there was nothing wrong with it, so he might as well evolve!

As soon as he made his decision, the mysterious object sank into the model's head and vanished.

His consciousness was then ejected from the space.

At the same time, in the outside world, a strange, sticky substance began to seep slowly from the body of the snake coiled in the tree hollow, gradually covering him completely.

The next day, the eastern sky paled like a fish's belly.

A ray of dawn broke through the clouds and shone into the tree hollow, landing right on a coiled snake.

Bai Chuan slowly opened his black snake eyes and raised his upper body. His forked tongue flicked in and out.

This was a special sense snakes possessed. By catching odor molecules in the air, they could tell whether other creatures were nearby.

Most snakes had rather poor eyesight. They were nearsighted and colorblind, and were sensitive only to moving objects.

So, to survive, they had evolved an extremely keen sense of smell. By catching odor molecules with their tongues and combining that information with their vision, they could determine how far away their prey was.

Of course, the King Cobra was an exception among snakes with poor eyesight. The Eye King was among the best-sighted snakes.

But good eyesight was only relative. It was like comparing someone with 800-degree myopia to someone with 100-degree myopia. And he was still colorblind, so his tongue remained important to him.

To his eyes, the whole world was monotonous and entirely colorless. When nothing living was moving, everything around him was lifeless.

The road ahead is long and arduous! Bai Chuan sighed inwardly. Ten days had already passed, but he still wasn't used to the psychological whiplash of going from a beautiful, colorful world to one that was monotonous and lifeless.

He wondered how the people from his previous life who had been reborn as animals in novels had managed to get used to seeing the world through animal eyes so quickly.

After a few more sighs, Bai Chuan slowly crawled out of the tree hollow, planning to test his new ability while hunting.

First was the matter of Digestion and Absorption. After observing for ten days, he had realized that the rate at which he accumulated points was tied to his ability to digest and absorb food.

And his points were linked to the strength of his evolutionary abilities.

So, if he wanted to accumulate points quickly in the future, improving his digestion and absorption rate was essential. That was the core of how he would grow stronger.

But what animals had especially strong digestion and absorption?

At the thought, Bai Chuan's head began to ache. You only realize how little you know when you need the knowledge. Why hadn't he read more books about animals back then?

Next, he needed to change his vision, too. Having eyesight that was blind to still objects was no good. In his previous life, he had watched plenty of videos of people messing with King Cobras.

He hadn't understood how it worked back then, but now he did. Snakes like him had vision much like that of a Frog: they couldn't see still objects and were sensitive only to things that moved.

So, if you wanted to touch a snake's head, all you had to do was wave one hand in front of it to draw its attention. Then you could easily touch it with the other hand or kiss it on the crown of its head. (Dangerous. If you're not a snake enthusiast, don't try this.)

That wasn't good at all. Just imagine it—if he ran into humans one day with such a huge weakness, wouldn't they toy with him in the palm of their hand?

Just imagining the scene sent a chill through Bai Chuan. He felt as though his scales were about to stand on end.

Not to mention, he wanted to see the beautiful, vibrant world again.

He did know what kind of animal had this ability: birds!

If he could choose, of course he'd want the vision of Eagles. But he was a snake. Could he really go after an eagle now?

That would be like lighting a lantern in a public toilet—asking for death!

Finally, there were all kinds of powerful abilities. They could make him even more invincible, unafraid of every danger.

Thinking about it, he still had quite a lot to improve.

"Splash, splash..."

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water reached him, bringing Bai Chuan back to his senses.

It seemed he had reached the place where he had been drinking water lately: a small stream.