Qian Feiyang suspected he was hearing things.
What's with handing out sunglasses at a time like this?!
Did he get it wrong because he was too agitated?
Seeing other fishermen approaching and security personnel in bright uniforms running over, Feng Yi urged again, "Quick! Hand me the sunglasses in the bag! The ones in the black glasses case!"
Certain he hadn't misheard, Qian Feiyang didn't have time to think too much and handed over the sunglasses in the case.
Feng Yi, with his free hand, took the sunglasses and put them on, covering his eyes.
Dressed in long-sleeves, long pants casual wear with sunglasses, a face mask, and a fisherman's hat, even high-definition photos wouldn't reveal his face!
Feng Yi had just put the sunglasses on when someone sprinted over even faster than the security personnel, capturing the spectacle. They exclaimed, "Wow!" before whipping out their phone to snap away, boldly finding the best angle to ensure both the snake in Feng Yi's hand and themselves were in the same frame.
Qian Feiyang: "..." He could roughly guess why Feng Yi would put on sunglasses at a time like this.
He had thought they were coming to help, but they were rushing up to take a photo with him!
The security staff pulled the photographer back, "Poisonous snake! Dangerous! Move back, move back! Do you have a death wish?!"
However, they could stop one person, but not a crowd.
It was a weekend and many people were fishing. Although the fishing area was large, word spread fast.
The first group to arrive exclaimed:
"Wow, look at that big snake!"
"This is rare! To see such a big venomous snake while fishing!"
"Hold on tight, young man! I've already called the police!" an elder shouted at Feng Yi, while frantically taking pictures with his phone.
Younger fisherpeople were even quicker and more agile, shooting video while exclaiming, "Wow, that's terrifying!"
Perhaps dissatisfied with being unable to capture the details from a distance, their faces pale and legs trembling, they quickly moved into the inner circle while the security staff were busy with others, stepping closer to Feng Yi for a quick snapshot before retreating to post on their social media and friends' circles.
Some people watched out of novelty, others for the spectacle, and some purely to take photos to sell to social media marketing accounts.
At this point, Wu Ji couldn't afford to be scared anymore, and together with Qian Feiyang, they helped block the crowd, murmuring, "Are these people so desperate to take pictures they don't care about their lives?"
Fearful of snakes, Wu Ji truly couldn't understand the excitement of these people.
After twenty years of abnormal climate conditions, a large number of species had gone extinct, and many once-common animals had become scarce, including snakes. Wu Ji had gone out fishing many times, but this was the first encounter with a snake. The last time he stepped on a snake as a child, it was during a school-organized visit to a conservation park for a science lecture. Otherwise, seeing a snake meant going to a museum or a related snake conservation area.
So, for those out fishing now, encountering a snake was indeed rare. As soon as the word got out about the snake, the curious crowded over.
As the crowd gathered, suddenly someone shouted, "A white tail! Holy crap, it's Qing the dragon! Wasn't it declared extinct in the wild long ago!"
"Qing the dragon? Is there such a snake?"
Someone immediately searched on their phone, then excitedly shouted at Feng Yi, "Don't kill it! That snake was a top-grade protected species even before the strictest protection laws were enacted!!!"
Woosh—
The crowd exploded again.
Those who had taken their photos and watched the commotion for a while and were about to leave became excited again, promptly contacting nearby friends and family.
"Quick! A close-up view of a top-grade protected animal! That's something you usually can't see!"
In another corner of the fishing area.
Being far away, they couldn't hear the commotion. But as messages popped up on their phones, they too couldn't stay put.
"Quick, quick, let's go take a look, I heard there's a Qing the dragon over there!"
"A dragon? Are there really dragons?"
"No, it's just a very scary-looking venomous snake! But it's said to be a national treasure-level protected species, believed to be extinct in the wild."
Upon hearing the news, people focused on "Qing the dragon" and "national treasure-level protected animal."
As for the key word "venomous snake"...
What venomous snake? That's not important! Anyway, it's already been caught, no threat there.
The most venomous snake couldn't stop their excessive curiosity and their enthusiasm for the spectacle.
Some people dropped their fishing rods into the lake and didn't bother to retrieve them, rising to rush towards the scene. While running, they pulled out their phones, positioned their cameras, fixed their hair, and sprinted to the site at a pace they had never achieved in a physical fitness test, sidestepping the onlookers in front to squeeze into the inner circle.
There wasn't much high ground in this area, and the slightly elevated spots were already occupied.
...
Wu Ji's parents were picking vegetables in the farm's vegetable garden.
Wu Ji's father was distracted, with his mind already at the fishing area. He was actually supposed to go fishing after resting, but Wu Ji's mother had dragged him here to pick vegetables and fruit.
"Ah, let's pick less, we can pick more tomorrow when we go back, it'll be fresher then," Wu Ji's father said.
"No way, haven't you seen how many people are here this weekend! If you're slow, the good stuff will be picked clean!"
While they were talking, the sound of a fire engine siren reached their ears.
The visitors in the vegetable garden looked over.
"What happened?"
"Did someone start a fire against the rules? There was a news report not long ago about a tourist who secretly smoked in a no-smoking zone and caused a fire."
"Ah, the nerve of some people these days!"
Since it was not unusual, no one paid much attention and planned to continue picking vegetables. Before they could start, another siren from a police car was heard.
"Another two police cars just went by, could something really have happened?"
"I didn't see any ambulances, so it's probably not serious."
No sooner had the words faded than an ambulance whizzed past.
Now the tourists had no mind for picking vegetables anymore.
"There's definitely been an accident!"
"What's that area over there? Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances are all heading that way."
"Over there... that's the fishing area, right? I remember the farm's fishing area is over there," someone said.
Wu Ji's parents heart skipped a beat, and they exchanged a glance.
Wu Ji's father took out his phone to call Wu Ji, it took a while before he finally picked up.
"Where are you!" Wu Ji's father listened to the noisy background on the phone, something about dragons and snakes, so much noise he couldn't make out the details.
"Things are a bit complicated here, wait a moment."
Wu Ji hung up the phone, and soon sent a video call request.
The worry Wu Ji's parents felt had subsided when Wu Ji picked up the phone, but when the video call connected and they saw the situation on the other end, their hearts nearly leapt out of their throats.
Wu Ji quickly said, "Don't worry, the fire and rescue team has already arrived. We will head back soon; you just wait in the room."
Even after ending the call, both parents were still fraught with worry.
A tourist who was picking vegetables nearby came over and asked if they knew what happened.
Wu Ji's father absent-mindedly said, "Over at the fishing area, they've found a snake, a really big venomous one!"
The tourist gasped upon hearing this and went back to be questioned by others.
"There's a huge venomous snake in the fishing area! No idea if it bit anyone."
People who got the news shared it with others.
And then the rumor spread.
"A huge venomous snake was found in the fishing area, and it's said someone has been bitten!"
"Wow! There are venomous snakes in the fishing area! Whoever got bitten is surely in a bad condition!"
"My goodness! I heard someone in the fishing area was bitten by a venomous snake! Did you see the ambulance? That's what it went for, to rescue them!"
"Oh, poor thing, someone in the fishing area got bitten by a venomous snake. A friend of a relative of my student was there, they said the person was carried into an ambulance!"
The exaggerated rumors showed no sign of waning even after videos and photos from the scene were shared, on the contrary, based on these, they were adapted into countless versions and continued to spread.
Meanwhile, Feng Yi, the one "carried into the ambulance" according to the rumors, still had a stoic face, maintaining the posture of gripping the snake, serving as a tool. In his mind, he had silently cursed those who "risked their lives to take photos" eight hundred times over.
Watching the fire and rescue team arrive and separate the crowd gave Feng Yi a sigh of relief.
The tourist area of Yue Mountain was vast, and there was a fire and rescue station nearby, so seven firefighters arrived first.
Feng Yi had thought that once the firefighters were on the scene, his role would be over.
However, the firefighters took one look and decided, no, we need more professional people for this.
They weren't particularly skilled in snake-handling, and the one who was, was off duty that day.
If Feng Yi couldn't manage, or no one could subdue the snake, they would have intervened immediately, with human life being the priority. But since Feng Yi was handling it so steadfastly, and his snake-handling technique seemed much more professional than theirs, they doubted if even with gloves they could hold it as securely as Feng Yi was bare-handed.
Given the high protected status of the Qing, it might be the only one left in the wild, of great significance. Any mishap could crush them with public opinion. Thus, even the firefighters who arrived didn't know what to do; ordinary venomous snakes like the banded krait or water snakes weren't an issue for them, but this one...
What a dilemma!
"Can you hold on?" one of the firefighters asked.
Feng Yi braced himself, "I can."
"All right, you keep holding onto it for now. The professionals to take over will be here very soon, don't be scared, don't feel too pressured! We've got the anti-venom serum ready, don't worry!"
As they spoke, the police cars and ambulance had also arrived.
The police maintained order at the scene to prevent others from startling the snake, which would add to Feng Yi's burden.
And the snake that Feng Yi was gripping seemed to be dazed by the grip, with only its tail, hanging on the ground, twitching slightly every now and then.
"Is the snake almost strangled to death?" asked an onlooker who was fishing and not shy about making things bigger.
"I heard that harming a second-class protected animal is enough for prosecution. This one, being top-tier... Well, if this young man really strangles it to death, what then? It's not like he's doing it on purpose."
The firefighters exchanged glances and approached Feng Yi. They thought perhaps they should take over while the snake was still alive. If Feng Yi ended up killing the snake, he could be crushed by public outrage.
Feng Yi gestured to the firefighters, "It's okay, the snake is still alive. Let's wait for the professionals to come take over."
Yue Mountain Tourist Scenic Area's shopping street.
The shopping crowd had also received mixed messages, but most were more eager to shop, not paying much attention to the events at the farm stay fishing area. In their view, so many things happen every day; they see it, sigh, and then move on without dwelling.
Two young girls, laden with bags, walked out of a shop, planning to find somewhere to eat, opened their phones to search for highly-rated nearby eateries.
Receiving new messages on their phones, they glanced at them casually.
"I heard there's been an accident at one of the farm stays!" one of them pointed in a direction.
"Who knows if the photos are real, the rumors are too exaggerated, just wait for the debunking." The other spoke nonchalantly, "Let's continue looking for food."
As they talked, they heard something and looked up at the sky.
Two helicopters flew over, heading in the direction of the farm stay they had just mentioned.