The sensitivity to snakes stems from years of experience fighting in the jungle. Ordinary people cannot hear the sounds of snakes spitting out saliva or crawling, nor can they easily smell the scent of snakes.
Mrs. Larry was clearly unaware of the danger she was in. She noticed Petru looking at her with a strange expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Madam, do you believe me?" Petru asked.
Mrs. Larry didn't know why he asked that, and despite her surprise and doubt, she answered with absolute certainty, "I believe you."
"Yes, madam, then please don't move. No matter what I do, you mustn't move!" Petru stared intently at the snake, slowly crawling up and approaching Mrs. Larry.
He looked very strange, his eyes were fixed on something, and his body seemed tense. Mrs. Larry instinctively wanted to protect herself. Last night, she could have accepted or even encouraged Petru to do things he shouldn't have, but now she was afraid of him. However, she still chose to believe Petru and listened to him without moving.
Petru's movements clearly attracted the snake's attention. The snake's head stopped less than ten centimeters from Mrs. Larry's face, hissing and spitting out red apricots at Petru.
Petru maintained his slow movements, gradually approaching Mrs. Larry's body. His left hand slowly extended, fingers curled forward, as if trying to grab something, while his right hand gripped the dagger tightly.
Just as his body was about to touch Mrs. Larry, the snake moved. Petru's left hand swiftly reached out and grabbed the snake by its vital spot in an instant. Then he flipped backward, pulling the entire snake out from behind Mrs. Larry, and with a swift slash of his right hand, he severed the snake's head with his dagger.
Mrs. Larry saw the snake, which was over two meters long, and screamed in terror.
This terrified Petru. He never expected that this fearless and indifferent scientific woman would be afraid of snakes. He quickly dropped the snake and rushed over to cover Mrs. Larry's mouth.
"No, don't make a sound, madam!" Petru whispered in her ear, "The snake is dead!"
Mrs. Larry calmed down, but her chest was still heaving violently.
Petru released his grip, silently praying that the lady's scream hadn't been heard by anyone outside.
He asked, somewhat puzzled, "Madam, I don't quite understand. Shouldn't an archaeologist like you frequently go into damp, dark underground environments and deal with snakes and insects? Why are you afraid of snakes?"
"Women and snakes are natural enemies," Mrs. Larry said. "In the Bible, the Jehovah God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, you are cursed more than every cattle or wild beast. On your belly you will go on, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. I will also put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. She will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel...'"
"I didn't expect you to be a devout Christian!" Petru chuckled. "Oh, sorry, I meant no disrespect. I'm just wondering, would someone who studies science believe in... well... Genesis?"
Mrs. Larry said, "Science can also draw nourishment from theology, as long as it does not contradict our pursuit of truth."
"Hmm, that sounds familiar!" Petru thought of the Pastor.
The headless snake was still writhing on the ground. Mrs. Larry turned her head away, closed her eyes, and refused to look at it. "Please, get it away!"
"Madam, I am willing to serve you, but Jehovah seems unwilling to let you go, and is sending your enemies in droves," Petru said.
"Https://www. hetushu. com. com What?" Mrs. Larry was startled and opened her eyes to see Petru standing in front of her, crouching low, holding a dagger. Several large snakes were in front of him, raising their heads in an attacking posture.
Mrs. Larry was sensitive to snakes, and she recoiled nervously. Then she felt something slippery on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw that a snake had crawled up her shoulder, and the red apricots it spat out almost touched her face.
She screamed in alarm, frantically grabbing at her sides. Suddenly, a flash of light appeared, and a dagger pierced through, severing the snake from her shoulder and knocking it to the ground.
Petru pulled Mrs. Larry into his arms while brandishing his dagger, killing or chasing away the snakes that swam towards him.
The dead snakes on the ground seemed to shock their kind; some snakes stopped some distance away from Petru and Mrs. Larry, hissing and spitting out apricots as if testing the waters.
More and more snakes emerged from between the rocks, and their hissing grew louder and louder.
Seeing the dense swarm of snakes surrounding them, Petru felt a chill run down his spine; his dagger was now useless. He couldn't help but miss his gun and grenades; if he had all his gear, what would he have to fear from these snakes?
"Damn it, we've fallen into a snake pit!" he cursed almost resignedly.
Mrs. Larry's body was trembling uncontrollably, so Petru held her tightly and comforted her, "Madam, it's alright. You just said that at worst, this place would be our final resting place. Being eaten by snakes is better than being roasted by savages! These snakes are poisonous; a few bites will be like being anesthetized, and we'll die painlessly."
Mrs. Larry seemed a little better after hearing his words; although her body was still trembling, her spirits had calmed down. Leaning on Petru's shoulder, she suddenly exclaimed, "There! There don't seem to be any snakes on that road!"
Petru looked back and, sure enough, there were no snakes on the ground between the rocks, as if someone had sprinkled sulfur on it.
"Let's go!" He helped Mrs. Larry up, brandishing the knife around as he backed away.
The snakes surged up like a tide, constantly following them.
They slowly retreated to the edge of the steps where there were no snakes; just a little further up would lead to the top of the altar.
The steps were also covered with snakes, leaving only a narrow passage. Petru looked up but did not see any savages.
"I'll carry you up," he said, squatting down, knowing that Mrs. Larry was still not feeling well.
Mrs. Larry said, "No need, I can walk by myself. You focus on dealing with the snake."
Petru nodded and helped the lady upstairs.
Mrs. Larry dared not look at the snakes scattered on the ground, only staring down at the path beneath her feet, muttering, "There's not even a blade of grass here. What did these snakes eat to grow up like this?"
"What did you say?" A sudden thought flashed through Petru's mind, as if he had been struck by lightning.
"I said the environment here simply can't support so many snakes, unless all the snakes on the island are brought here. Where did they come from?"
"I understand!" Petru's heart pounded. "It was a dream!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a dizzying sensation. He thought the dream was about to collapse, but the dream stubbornly held on and never collapsed.
He couldn't escape the dream; it was like a nightmare, and he felt terrible both mentally and physically.
Seeing his pale face, Mrs. Larry asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Petru said with difficulty, "Madam, we're saved. I'm sure this is their forbidden land. As long as we stay here and don't go up, they can't do anything to us. These snakes are fake, a hallucination created by that old wizard after he hypnotized us. We're all dreaming. He just wants us to go up on our own. Now... let's go back... down..."
He looked very unwell; he could barely walk.
Mrs. Larry had no choice but to turn around and support him, asking, "Are you sure we want to go back down there?"
"Yes, madam!" Petru said. "You must believe me!"
Mrs. Larry stopped talking, ignoring her own weakness and pain, and helped Petru down the steps one by one, back to the pile of rubble.
A snake blocked her path, constantly threatening her with its triangular head and scarlet apricot. She lifted her foot, hesitated for a moment, and then stomped down.
With a sudden boom, the air rippled, and a thunderbolt struck both Petru and Mrs. Larry's minds.
All the snakes disappeared, and everything returned to normal.
They looked up and saw that the altar was surrounded by savages on all four sides, and their chieftain was holding a scepter up to them.
A crow flew by, cawing loudly.
The sky suddenly darkened, and a supermoon slowly rose from the heavens.