The driver simply thought Feng Yi looked quite handsome, a bit like those popular young celebrities currently in the entertainment industry. Actually, he couldn't tell who was who; to him, their appearances all seemed pretty similar. He had only asked because he had heard rumors of a celebrity coming to Yang City to film a show.
Feng Yi said he wasn't a celebrity, and the driver believed him.
Right, how could a celebrity not even be able to hail a car?
He had heard that celebrities always had cars to pick them up and drop them off wherever they went. And besides, what celebrity would go to Xiao Feng Mountain?
So, the thought "Did I pick up a celebrity?" swirled around in the driver's mind before flying away.
"What are you going to Xiao Feng Mountain for? Scientific research? Shooting a video? Or for an adventure? In the past two years, some internet celebrities did go there to shoot videos, but their experiences weren't that great, and now no one goes there anymore," the driver said.
"I'm looking for someone," Feng Yi, noticing that the driver was quite talkative, also wanted to gather some more information from him.
"What's on Xiao Feng Mountain? This is my first time going there," Feng Yi asked.
"There are snakes, hence it's called Snake Mountain. Even birds don't nest there. Oh, there are also lots of agricultural and pastoral companies, with vast farmlands and pastures at the foot of the mountain."
"So if I want to go up the mountain, I can only go on foot?" Feng Yi inquired further.
"Not necessarily, I've heard that there might be people living halfway up the mountain with vehicles going up and down. I don't know the specifics, but if you're lucky, you might encounter one of those vehicles. You could pay them to take you part of the way. That's what I've heard."
"What should I be mindful of if I go there?" Feng Yi opened the notes app on his phone, ready to jot down what the driver said.
"Mindful of what?" the driver smacked his lips, "Make sure to bring plenty of food when you hike up the mountain, and don't touch anything in the wilderness unless necessary—you never know if it's poisonous. And animals, no matter how curious you are, don't bother them. There's always security drones appearing out of nowhere, and they patrol the area every day at irregular times."
Remembering something, the driver continued, "Last June, three kids from out of town, high school freshmen, sneaked up the mountain with loads of stuff for a barbecue and even planned to catch snakes. A drone detected the fire source and caught them red-handed.
"They ended up being detained for reeducation sessions, including exams on topics like forest management, fire prevention regulations, and so on—ten sets of questions on animal protection. They weren't allowed to leave until they passed."
"Animal protection what?" Feng Yi didn't catch it clearly.
"'Forest management,' 'ten sets on animal protection'—these are our jocular names for regulations like forest laws, fire prevention rules, and outdoor fire source management. 'Forest management' is the abbreviation. 'Animal protection' refers to animal and ecological environment protection related issues, an expert summed up in ten sets of questions. I heard those three kids, all around 1.8 meters tall, ended up crying over the exam papers!"
Feng Yi had a sudden realization, noting down the keywords.
The driver went on, "Overall, the place is a protected area, so don't go touching the animals on the mountain—doesn't matter if it's snakes, birds, frogs—just consider them all as protected species and stay clear for safety. You don't want to hurt or kill any by accident and deal with the consequences. Just remember this phrase—'One incident of violation, ten incur criminal charges.'"
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? What if I encounter a rat? Should I not deal with it? There's been a rat plague in many places recently," Feng Yi asked.
"Are you kidding me? Rats on Snake Mountain? Snakes are the natural predator of rats! The king snake at Xiao Feng Mountain is especially ferocious at swallowing rats; all the rats there have been exterminated!
"You know why there are still people living on the waist of Xiao Feng Mountain? Those people have to manage the feeding! Every so often, they have to transport rats from other places to keep the isolated snakes in the reserve from starving to death."
"Oh right, king snakes eat rats and are nonvenomous," Feng Yi nodded in understanding.
The driver smacked his lips again, "The king snake, also known by many as the 'Chinese flower snake,' locally we call it the 'Great King Snake.' A long time ago, it was actually raised for consumption..."
"Now it's not allowed to be eaten," Feng Yi interjected.
The driver: "Back in my grandparents' time, the old folks would say 'not killing a snake is a three-part sin.'"
Feng Yi: "Now it's 'one illegal act, ten face criminal charges'?"
"Something like that," the driver sighed, "All was well, and then the climate started changing out of the blue, and so many animals just died off."
Feng Yi remained silent. He didn't know how to respond to that.
In the past nearly twenty years of abnormal climate conditions, too many animals and plants have disappeared, the common ones have become endangered, and the endangered have become functionally extinct.
Those who support the strictest conservation laws don't necessarily feel compassion for those animals and plants, nor do they all have a consciousness for ecological and environmental protection. They see the massive extinction events as a warning. The state of animal and plant survival also points to the condition of the human living environment. It's the data that the sixth database needs to collect.
So, the "data" must be protected. This is a common understanding.
The atmosphere in the car became a bit heavy.
But this heaviness, as they drew closer to their destination, began to stir again.
The buildings grew sparser along the road, the warning signs more frequent, and there were signs with telephone numbers printed on them.
The driver spoke up, "If you see a snake outside the quarantine area, contact the number on the warning sign. It's very likely that the snake is from the reserve and has escaped."
Feng Yi saw the quarantine tape not far away, and the closer they got, the closer the road was to the tape.
They were already within the bounds of Xiao Feng Mountain. Feng Yi could see a snake on a large rock within the quarantine area, slightly lifting its head as if looking at a misdirected loach that had entered its territory.