Chapter 120 - 117: A New Species?
Chapter 120: Chapter 117: A New Species?
The howling echoed incessantly in the pitch-black valley, as mournful as the souls of ghosts and spirits.
The cold wind blew, making the flames flicker continuously.
The light, now bright, now dim, cast the confronting sides in a savage and bloody relief.
The creature clearly sensed its disadvantage and wanted to retreat back into the water, so it twisted its body frantically to move backward.
Bi Fang even saw that it had webbed limbs, and it was shaking them as it moved back!
What on earth was this thing!
An indescribable shock filled Bi Fang’s mind; in just a split second, the creature violently surged, nearly dragging him into the water, but Bi Fang’s nails dug into the creature’s tongue, like iron hooks piercing into soft flesh.
A liquid of an indiscernible color flowed over his hands, and the monster’s howling became exceptionally shrill as its mouth suddenly clamped shut!
Bi Fang stumbled back several steps, fell to the ground, and his hands were empty.
At that moment, the monster had attempted to sever Bi Fang’s hand along with its tongue, but fortunately, at the last moment, Bi Fang let go.
“Splash!”
A huge splash of water erupted, and the monster disappeared.
Bi Fang lay on the ground, his heart hammering wildly in his chest, his grappling hands still trembling.
After this confrontation of less than a few dozen seconds, he felt exhausted.
At that moment, the live stream room exploded with comments!
In the early hours, when audiences should have been leaving, Bi Fang’s live stream room experienced another explosive surge in viewer numbers!
The popularity quickly returned to five million!
Countless people were discussing what that thing was just now, eagerly @Bi Fang, hoping to get an answer from him.
[That head kinda feels like a Scavenger, looks damn hard][Add one, especially since there are spines behind the head, and the body HIA looks a bit like a catfish]
[Pete generously gifts the host a Spaceship*!- -Damn it, I was almost scared to death just now, what the hell, Master Fang is too cool, that pull on the tongue, one word, handsome!]
[Are there really such big fish in the desert?]
[It even wanted to eat people…]
[Suddenly reminded me of the prehistoric tyrant salamander.]
[What is that thing? Master Fang, stop lying there and tell us!]
[Supreme Law gifts the host a Yacht*i- – Add one, Master Fang, please respond if you receive this, respond please! Over!]
With his eyes closed, Bi Fang regulated his breathing before sitting up again, leaning against the rock wall with a headache from straining too hard, resulting in insufficient blood supply to his brain.
Especially facing so many questions made his headache even worse.
Even Wu Gang was all ears, having watched Bi Fang’s live stream since his second broadcast. Although he hated to admit it, as a graduate student specializing in biological evolution, he didn’t recognize many animals and plants that Bi Fang could list off as if they were common knowledge…
Unfortunately, to everyone’s surprise, the much-anticipated Bi Fang shook his head!
“I don’t know either; I’ve never seen it before.”
At these words, the online friends were stunned.
[Holy crap, is this thing so awesome?]
[There’s an animal Master Fang doesn’t know?]
[That’s outrageous, right?]
[A new species? This is unknown evolution!]
“Don’t think too highly of me,” Bi Fang shook his head, mercilessly shattering the audience’s perfect illusions about him. “Researchers in the field of biology discover about 15,000 new species every year, and this rate of discovery shows no sign of slowing down. It’s normal to come across an unknown species.”
“I’m not a computer that can instantly store a new species in my brain and retain it forever, or be able to find any information about any creature at any time.”
Wilderness Survivalist isn’t the same as a biologist. If it were about Purple Biological Identification, there might be a chance, but right now, Bi Fang really has no clue whatsoever.
Especially the monster’s strange fin-like limbs…
Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Bi Fang continued.
“It’s almost dawn now, and I need to set up camp and rest because the temperature has been dropping more and more severely. Moreover, having traveled all day, I am very tired. Traveling in this state is very dangerous, especially in the dark, as many hazards can be overlooked.”
Bi Fang stood up, packed up the fire and snake meat. This place was no longer safe—he needed to move further away.
Two hundred meters away.
Bi Fang found a large rock that was illuminated by the moonlight. He touched it with his hand, and the warmth spread from his fingertips throughout his body, making the fatigue seem to disappear.
He began to dig the sand beneath the boulder, preparing to excavate a cave to shelter in.
“In the desert, the best way to survive a cold night is to find a sun-facing slope with plenty of rocks, and then build a wall with the rocks to ensure safety.” “These rocks have been baked by the sun during the day and are very hot. They will continue to emit heat throughout the night, so we make sure to use the sun-warmed side as the inner side of the wall. These rocks will serve as a heat source and make it quite comfortable during the cold night.”
“But make sure not to dig the cave too big. Remember the principle of ‘small and beautiful.’ Avoid expending extra energy to create unnecessary space, no matter how much you might want to, and ensure it’s sealed because if you like crawling in, so will other small animals, hence a wall is absolutely necessary.” As Bi Fang was digging, he explained, “You wouldn’t want to wake up to find yourself surrounded by venomous snakes and scorpions.”
Soon, a very narrow cave appeared before everyone.
Bi Fang then searched around for some rocks to place around it. After squeezing his body inside, he began to build a wall.
“The downside of such a cave is that it will be destroyed when you come out in the morning, and you’ll have to rebuild it. But trust me, as a short-term shelter, it’s fantastic!”
Soon, a wall enclosing the entrance of the cave was erected.
Bi Fang yawned, explained a few more points to the audience, and then switched off the drone.
“What the hell is this thing!”
In the dormitory building, Wu Gang pressed his head, reexamining the screenshot of the monster, but he didn’t have a clue.
He had never seen such a creature before and had asked many senior students, all of whom didn’t recognize it either!
“Could it really be a new species?”
Wu Gang found it hard to believe. He couldn’t imagine the discovery of a new species happening in a broadcaster’s outdoor livestream!
“Why don’t you ask Professor Gu?” a senior suddenly suggested via message.
“Isn’t that a bit inappropriate? It’s so late,” Wu Gang hesitated, though he was tempted. Professor Gu was his professor, extremely knowledgeable. Unless it was really a new species, he would certainly know!
But it was already after midnight. Even if he asked, it should be the next day. “No, I just got out of the lab. Professor Gu is still experimenting. He hasn’t rested at all. If you are really eager to know, ask him now,” the senior replied. On hearing this, Wu Gang got excited. He thanked his senior and hurriedly sent the picture to Professor Gu.
Meanwhile, Professor Gu, who was just about to tidy up and leave the laboratory, had also just turned on his phone.
Ignoring a few unimportant calls, Professor Gu noticed Wu Gang’s message. “Oh? Could this be a new species?”
Professor Gu saw the floating message and shook his head with a smile. His students rarely ventured out; where would they get the chance to discover a new species? Most likely, they had identified some rare animal incorrectly without proper study.
But as he opened the conversation and saw that photo, he paused for a moment, a strange sense of familiarity washing over him, prompting thought as he walked.
Even as colleagues bid him farewell, he didn’t react.
It wasn’t until the door to the lab closed and Professor Gu stepped into the corridor that he suddenly slapped his thigh.
“DamnlTiktaalik!”