The wind rustled the oily green leaves, creating a whispering sound, while sunlight pierced through from behind the leaves, illuminating Bi Fang's slightly constricted chestnut pupils, with his chest barely rising and falling.
A man and snake faced off on the branch, silent like two boulders in a flowing stream.
Bi Fang eyed the brown venomous snake, scanning the surroundings with his peripheral vision, his thoughts racing like lightning.
Retreat?
Behind him lay the end of the branch, and a nearly ten-meter drop that he couldn't safely land from.
Escape?
The distance was less than a meter; snakes, being among the fastest-striking creatures, wouldn't give him much chance to react with his agility at only eight!
"Whew! Today is really my unlucky day," Bi Fang said to the camera, mocking himself.
[My god, the host can still smile in this situation?]
[The video quality is so strong, I can see every scale on the snake's body clearly, and I'm going crazy just watching it through the screen—I'm most afraid of snakes]
[Does anyone know what kind of snake this is?]
[Don't know, but with a triangular head, it's definitely venomous!]
This was not necessarily the case; Bi Fang wanted to correct the last comment, but the situation didn't allow for extended explanations, so he had to focus on what mattered.
"This is a Short-tailed Viper, also known as the Flying over Grass or Ground Flattened Snake, highly venomous. A bite could easily kill an adult," he said.
Seeing that many people did not recognize it, Bi Fang whispered some facts, "And this one in front of us is over half a meter long, definitely a standout among its kind, with a venom yield several times that of smaller specimens."
[Doesn't this make it even more dangerous?]
[The more you talk, the more scared I get. I'll never dare to disturb a nest again in my life]
As the live stream's excitement grew, the scene suddenly split into two screens: one from the drone's perspective, and the other from the first-person viewpoint.
Selecting either one allowed for full-screen display, stunning all viewers.
[Damn, there's a first-person view too?]
[Why does it feel even more advanced than other equipment, there's no warping, it looks just like being there in person!]
[This gear, it's unbeatable, isn't it?]
[Does Master Fang think we're not scared enough?]
Even Bi Fang was surprised for a moment, not expecting the System's accessory to be so intelligent as to automatically activate another perspective.
In the tension of the moment, he hadn't even remembered the first-person view, but reality didn't give him the luxury to think about it, as dealing with the Short-tailed Viper was more pressing.
[Speaking of which, isn't Master Fang explaining so much risky? Could it startle the snake?]
[Yeah, isn't that very dangerous?]
Some viewers began to worry whether Bi Fang speaking could alert the Short-tailed Viper, potentially causing it to attack prematurely.
"That's not a problem," Bi Fang assured them, "Snakes have a very simple ear structure with only an inner ear and no outer ear or eardrum, so their hearing is quite dull and basically has no perception of sound transmitted through air."
"However, because of this, snakes are extremely sensitive to vibrations, which puts me in an awkward situation where I can hardly move."
[So what do we do, just wait for it to leave on its own?]
[Do we have to rely on luck now?]
[How unreliable is that? Isn't this supposed to be about survival? Isn't there anything that can be done?]
After hearing Bi Fang's explanation, the live stream audience grew even more tense, with the barrage of messages visibly increasing.
"Don't panic, everyone. The time it takes to blink once is enough for a snake to strike four times, and I'm already within its striking range, so panicking is useless," Bi Fang said, mildly comforting the audience.
However, even though he was the one in danger, why did it seem like the viewers were even more nervous than he was?
These viewers weren't cutting it.
"Don't be afraid, everyone," Bi Fang continued, keeping his eyes on the Short-tailed Viper, his tone calm, as if he wasn't the one facing the snake, "An old professor once taught me something that I've always believed. When a wild beast confronts you, never run. It's actually observing you. If you run, it knows you're afraid and will chase and bite you."
"Wild animals can smell your fear. The more afraid you are, the more excited they become."
The first-person perspective intensified the audience's sense of immersion, especially as they listened to Bi Fang's soft gasping, watching the Short-tailed Viper flick its tongue, their own breathing grew more rapid.
Many people were still frantically asking in the barrage what to do, whether to flee or stay!
"Damn it, it's coming!"
Just as Bi Fang contemplated a breakout strategy, the Short-tailed Viper began to coil around the branch, lifting its triangular head and slowly gliding toward him!
The distance was swiftly closing in!
From the first-person view, the audience felt as though the Short-tailed Viper was slithering toward them, and combined with the restrictive feeling of being on a branch, the sight of the snake's flickering tongue seemed to bring a fishy scent straight to their face.
[My god, I can't watch, boo-hoo-hoo!]
[I've peed my pants!]
Seeing this, Bi Fang felt he couldn't just sit and wait for death; he quickly spoke, "Keep calm, you have to stay calm. Snakes generally don't attack humans proactively. It might just be curious about me. Whatever you do, don't startle it now or it's all over."
[But if you don't dodge, it'll be right in your face!]
Bi Fang took a deep breath and said, "I've said before, snakes are very sensitive to vibrations, but minor movements won't provoke them, and unprovoked, a snake won't attack. What we need to do now is to move away slowly, using slight vibrations to make it hesitate."
After speaking, he lowered his body, gently rubbed his legs together, and began to move backward little by little.
This branch was thick and sturdy; otherwise, birds wouldn't build nests on it, hence these slight movements barely caused any sway.
But Bi Fang was still somewhat terrified because snake behaviors were general rules, but individuals differed—one never knew if this particular snake would be aggressive or extremely timid, possibly snapping when the slightest scare occurs.
For this reason, with every slight move, Bi Fang had to take deep breaths to calm himself.
Feeling the minor vibrations, the Short-tailed Viper also stopped moving, fixating on the large heat source in front of it, "hiss hiss," flickering its tongue.
Being a type of snake, the Short-tailed Viper wasn't large in size; it was short and bulky, which granted it incomparable burst strength and attack speed.
When attacking, its triangular head would dart out like an arrowhead, fiercely piercing the prey's body!
"Heh..."
Bi Fang, who had been moving for a quite a while, took a breath of relief watching the momentarily still Short-tailed Viper.
Indeed, the slight tremor hadn't alarmed it, but instead, caused it to hesitate and back off.
The viewers too were relieved, partially letting out a sigh, which indicated that Master Fang's method was effective.
[666, worthy of Master Fang]
[Forever Godlike]
[Gift for you]
Instantly, the live chat bursted with flattery, but Bi Fang did not let his guard down, as he wasn't yet completely out of the Short-tailed Viper's striking range.
Moreover, a new problem arose; he had backed up to the limits of the branch's thickness that could support his weight. Any further, and the shaking would not only increase but might also snap outright.
He had come up from a branch on the left, but now straddling the branch, he couldn't possibly leap across, and the nearest branch below him was nearly five meters in vertical height.
Bi Fang pinched his palm, soaked with sweaty hands, and gazed at the fierce snakehead not far away, his mind already made up.
Then, he slowly lifted his left leg, carefully stepping over the branch, transitioning from straddling to sitting sideways.
Unexpectedly, this movement made the retreating Venomous Snake advance again!
Although much slower, the distance shrank once more!
The tension spiked again!
Bi Fang swallowed and said, "Not good, it might feel threatened now, considering me an enemy, which is why it's keeping its eyes on me."
"This is tricky, I don't know how much longer I can bluff it."
The chatroom erupted into chaos, with a myriad of suggestions.
But Bi Fang had neither the attention nor the time to look; with each delay, the distance to the snake closed by another fraction, and the peril increased by a percentile!
No, if this continued, it would definitely strike!
Bi Fang, with keen awareness, noted that the Short-tailed Viper was flicking its tongue more rapidly, a signal of warning as well as a collection of enemy information, deciding whether to attack or flee!