Chapter 750: The Giant Python in the Marsh

Early the next morning the special training trio hit the road, then sprinted to the crocodile pond on Hill Fifty-Two for another round of water training.

Just as Xia Qing and Tan Qi started pitching their tent by the lake, Yan Long stopped them. “There are pythons here. Let’s scout around and figure out their size before we decide whether to move.”

Giant pythons are even deadlier than crocodiles. They don’t just rule the water—they can slither across land and climb trees to launch attacks too.

On the north side of Hill Fifty-Two sits Hill Fifty-Five, home to Python Pond. At least six pythons of all sizes lurk there, including one massive giant. Xia Qing suspected that monster had evolved its brain.

She whispered, “Sister Yan, do you think you could beat that big black python from Hill Fifty-Five if you met it in the water?”

Xia Qing still clearly remembered last year’s third Devastation Rain, when Yang Jin and Yan Long teamed up to hunt medicinal herbs near the northern side of Hill Sixty. The photo Yang Jin snapped—Yan Long charging alone at three giant pythons—was burned into Xia Qing’s mind.

Yan Long replied calmly, “The pythons are fierce, especially when they work with the Devastation Snake. If the water’s deeper than three or four meters and I don’t have a knife, I’d lose. But give me a blade, and it’s no match for me. This way.”

Large animals, especially big carnivores, usually give off strong smells. Most beasts rely on scent to hunt prey or avoid predators.

Some animals’ scent comes from their own glands, releasing powerful smells to mark territory, attract mates or warn off enemies. Others pick up odors from what they eat and digest. And some just soak up the unique scent of moss and microbes that cling to their bodies.

Yan Long, whose sense of smell had evolved to the ninth level, picked up the python’s fishy odor immediately.

As she traced the python’s muddy trail and explained to the others how to judge its size, Xia Qing suddenly felt a warning through her magnetic sense. She grabbed Tan Qi around the waist and yanked her aside. “Sister Yan, Devastation Snake!”

The snake that lunged from the underbrush wasn’t just a regular viper. Yan Long, already drawing her knife to strike, seized it with her left hand instead. Sure enough there was a peanut-sized bump on its head.

Tan Qi clung tightly to Xia Qing’s arm.

Tan Qi had always been afraid of creatures that slithered without legs—snakes, worms, even earthworms. She’d nearly died from a bug bite as a child, so those fears stuck with her. Even though she could now take down meter-long leeches, seeing a poisonous Devastation Snake out of nowhere still spooked her.

Xia Qing, knowing how scared Tan Qi was, reached over and gently patted her back.

Yan Long carefully slid the Devastation Snake into a bag and changed up their training plans.

“From these tracks and the Devastation Snake, it’s clear the big black python from Hill Fifty-Five is still in Crocodile Lake. Let’s use this chance to collect herbs from Python Pond on Hill Fifty-Five.”

“Alright!” Tan Qi might have been afraid of snakes, but she’d heard from Xia Qing that even a single herb from Python Pond could fetch tens of thousands of credits—her eyes lit right up.

She really wanted to earn credits with her own effort. More than anything.

Xia Qing was a bit cautious. “Sister Yan, is there a chance the black python already swam back to Python Pond through an underwater channel or along the waterways?”

“No, there’s no undercurrent at the bottom of this lake.” Yan Long had already scouted the area carefully to make sure nothing would ambush them. “The streams flowing in and out are too shallow—the python wouldn’t take the waterway. It probably stuffed itself with a crocodile and is digesting on the lakebed. Let’s go this way.”

Medium and small crocs are prime prey for a giant python. One is enough to fill it up for half a month.

Yan Long led Xia Qing and Tan Qi up a small rise, pulled out a thermal imager from her backpack and asked, “What’s the best habitat temperature for a giant python?”

Tan Qi answered right away, “Ideal is 25 to 35 degrees Celsius. If it drops below 20, pythons slow down. Under 15, they get torpid. If it drops to 5 or 6, they could die.”

Xia Qing nodded. “That’s right.”

“Right now the air’s about 20 degrees. If the python’s just eaten, it won’t stay underwater—it’ll find a sunny marsh to warm up.” Yan Long hunted for heat signatures with the imager and soon spotted their python. “There, look.”

On the screen, Xia Qing saw a glowing stripe—its belly bulged—and glanced over at the marshy meadow where the python was hiding. She whispered, awestruck, “That thing’s got to be at least seventeen meters!”

It was even longer than the Hardness-Evolved Python the wolf pack caught last year. Xia Qing felt Tan Qi’s grip on her arm tighten even more.

“It’s the biggest python discovered by humans in the Huicheng Base area. It keeps the croc numbers under control.” Yan Long kept her voice low. “Let’s not provoke it. Time to move.”

If Yan Long hadn’t lured the giant crocs away from here, what would things look like now? Then again, with the crocs around, the giant python would have retreated to Python Pond instantly—they’d never have had a shot at raiding its turf.

North from here you hit the true depths of the Evolved Forest. The towering trees black out the sun, and even in daylight, it’s pitch dark under the canopy.

The magnetic field here is chaotic. Compasses just give up.

The ground is muddy, tree trunks thick with moss—it’s slick and treacherous.

One moment you can see ten meters ahead, the next a thick fog rolls in and you can’t see a meter. Sometimes it’s just mist, but it could be poisonous gas. Even with protective masks, you can’t let your guard down.

And that’s not even counting all the strange creatures and microbes lurking everywhere.

Make the wrong move here and you’ll lose your life.

Yan Long took point, Xia Qing covered the rear, Tan Qi in the middle—the three of them marched in single file. It took them an hour to reach Python Pond on Hill Fifty-Five.

While they rested in a safe spot, Tan Qi whispered, “Sister Qing, is that pond up there the one?”

“Yeah.” Xia Qing glanced around in surprise. “What happened to the cameras?”

Back when she’d teamed up with Yang Jin to track the Devastation Snake, Xia Qing had installed a camera here. But now, the place where the camera used to be was empty.

Yan Long, radioing in as she scouted the area, answered, “Evolved wolves smashed it long ago.”

By wolves?

Xia Qing asked, “Did you see which wolf did it?”

“Didn’t catch it. The wolf leapt down from above and smashed the camera to pieces. Judging from the angle, it knew exactly how to deal with surveillance. Must’ve had experience.”

Only two evolved wolves Xia Qing knew of were smart enough and skilled enough to do that.

But why would Alpha and Crippled Wolf want to destroy the surveillance here?

Just as Xia Qing mulled over the question, Yan Long called out, “Xia Qing, there are wolf tracks here.”