Giant Python

Bill, Jack, and the others rushed toward the riverbank. Meng Zu brought up the rear, gripping the Remington M870 tightly in his hands. The river water was so muddy that they could not see what was beneath it. Suddenly, ripples spread across the water to their left, and Meng Zu saw a huge, blurry shape dart toward Ben, the doctor.

Although he could not make out exactly what it was, its vague outline looked like some kind of snake. Searching for Blood Orchid had originally been the plot of the movie Anaconda, so Meng Zu naturally guessed that this was the mutated Giant Python that had eaten the Blood Orchid in the film.

Without another word, Meng Zu fired at the Giant Python's blurry shape. Bang! Bang! Fire, chamber, reload—Meng Zu fired two shots in an instant. Water splashed everywhere as a Giant Python over ten meters long rolled out of the river. Its body was nearly as thick as a man's waist, and near the anaconda's neck were two huge, ragged wounds pouring blood.

Hearing the gunshots, Bill and the others immediately turned around. They happened to see the enormous anaconda emerging from the water and froze in fright, unable to take another step.

Seeing that his first two shots had only struck the Giant Python's neck, Meng Zu raised his gun and fired at its head. Bang! Unfortunately, the shot missed. Perhaps because Meng Zu had wounded it, whether out of vengeance or because it saw him as a threat, the Giant Python coiled its body and lunged at him the instant he pulled the trigger. The bullet only hit its body.

Meng Zu was only three meters away from the Giant Python. For a python more than ten meters long, that was practically face-to-face. With a single explosive lunge, it was instantly before him, opening its blood-filled maw to bite down on his head.

Although the Giant Python struck with incredible speed, Meng Zu possessed more than four times an ordinary person's physical capabilities, along with Basic Neural Reflex. Facing that gaping maw, he even had the presence of mind to consider firing another shot. This time, the Giant Python definitely would not be able to dodge, and the shot would surely blow through its skull.

But snakes were incredibly tenacious. Even after a snake's head was cut off, it would not die immediately; its body would still twist and move for a while. The Giant Python before him was surely even more resilient. Even if he shot through its head, its jaws would still definitely bite down on his own.

With that thought, Meng Zu threw away his gun and seized the Giant Python's head with both hands. A tremendous impact slammed into him, as if he had been hit by a moving car. His body swayed, and he nearly toppled into the water under the force. Fortunately—

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Bill and the others reacted, they saw the Giant Python wrapped around Meng Zu's body, trying to constrict him to death just as it had done to the animals it had hunted before.

Watching the others stand there foolishly like spectators, Meng Zu's anger flared. He shouted furiously, "Help me!"

"Damn it!"

Jack and the others had been stunned by the Giant Python's massive size. Meng Zu's shout immediately snapped them out of it. Kerr raised his hunting rifle at the Giant Python without thinking, intending to fire, but Bill grabbed the weapon and forced it down.

"You'll hit Evan if you shoot! Achuan!" Bill called out, and Achuan immediately understood. The two of them gripped machetes and waded through the river toward Meng Zu, who was locked in a struggle with the Giant Python.

At that moment, Meng Zu could barely feel his arms and legs. The moment the Giant Python wrapped around him, he had spread his limbs wide to brace its body apart. He spread his legs to keep his footing; if the Giant Python knocked him into the water, he would be in real danger.

A python killed its prey by coiling around its body and stopping the blood flow to its heart, causing death when the blood ceased circulating. Meng Zu understood this, so he braced his elbows against the Giant Python as it coiled toward his chest. Although he had four times the strength of an ordinary person, it was still not enough against the Giant Python. His arms and legs could only barely hold it back, and the tighter it constricted, the greater the pressure he had to endure.

Once Bill and Achuan got close, they raised their machetes and hacked at the Giant Python's neck. They wanted to cut off its head, but its body was nearly as thick as a man's waist. Bill and Achuan were not strong enough; their blades only sank three-quarters of the way in before the python's muscles stopped them.

Blood immediately streamed from the wounds. The Giant Python writhed in pain and, before Bill and Achuan could pull their blades free, released the coils around Meng Zu's legs. With one sweep of its tail, it sent both men flying into the water.

Seeing his chance, Meng Zu summoned all his strength. His right hand released the Giant Python's head while his left hand violently lifted its head upward. He reached out with his right arm, grabbed one of the machetes lodged in its neck, endured the crushing pressure in his chest, and swung the machete down at its neck with all his might.

With a splash, the huge snake head fell into the water. Without its head, the Giant Python's body began to weaken. With Bill and Achuan's help, Meng Zu pried the coils off himself. None of them had time to marvel at what had happened. Worried there might be more Giant Pythons in the water, Meng Zu picked up his gun from the riverbed, and he and Bill's group quickly climbed ashore and fled from the area.

After reaching a safe place to rest, Kerr asked in a panic, "What the hell was that thing?"

"An anaconda!"

Bill had lived here for years, so naturally he recognized what the Giant Python had been.

"There's actually a snake that big here."

"Sam, that was a super python. That thing was almost thicker than I am! God, I'm going crazy!"

"If there are a lot of those things, we're definitely dead."

"Once we get back on the boat, we're going home!"

Kerr, Sam, Gale, and Gordon had clearly been terrified by the Giant Python. Their emotions ran high as the four of them spoke over one another.

Only Jack seemed thoughtful. He asked Bill, "Bill, are the anacondas here all that big?"

Bill shook his head. "No. That one was definitely mutated. It's the first one that big I've ever seen. Usually, they're only five or six meters long. I've heard the biggest anyone has seen was around nine meters, but that one was already fourteen or fifteen meters long."

Jack said excitedly, "Great!"

Seeing Jack's strange reaction, Ben, the team doctor, asked, "What? Jack, what's wrong with you?"

Jack stood up and told them excitedly, "We're about to find the Blood Orchid."

Achuan asked in confusion, "Because of that Giant Python? Why are you so sure?"

Seeing everyone looking at him in confusion, Jack explained, "Houghton first discovered the Blood Orchid in 1892. He was also the first and last person to bring back a sample from Borneo. He once proposed the concept of the Hayflick Limit."

Meng Zu did not understand any of this, so he asked, "What is that?"

"The Hayflick Limit refers to the fact that normal vertebrate somatic cells can only divide a limited number of times. Once that limit is reached, the organism dies. If that limit can be increased, then lifespan can be extended. Houghton discovered that the Blood Orchid contains a component that can extend the life of cells. That anaconda grew so large because it must have eaten the Blood Orchid. It extended its lifespan, which is why it was able to grow that big," Jack said excitedly.

"So that means we'll find the Blood Orchid soon, and we'll become millionaires in the future." As a money-grubber, Gordon could not help imagining a wonderful future.

"Yes."