CH 8

There was no big meal. Feng Yi only made up a quick excuse to get out of this embarrassing situation. But he knew in his heart that something had changed. In the morning, he had eaten a large basin-like bowl of noodle soup and ten plus-sized buns. It wasn’t even noon when he left Mount Xiaofeng, but the feeling of hunger was getting stronger and stronger.

Fortunately, he had prepared a lot of food in preparation for climbing the mountain yesterday. However, his mind had been preoccupied and his nerves were tense the whole way. As a result, he didn’t have much of an appetite, and most of the food was left over.

“Mister, can I eat in the car?” Feng Yi asked.

“Sure, as long as you don’t eat instant noodles, durian, etc. Be careful not to choke.”

The driver drove out of the Mount Xiaofeng reserve, but he still had the image of the king ratsnake eating the frog just now in his mind, and he couldn’t help but speak.

“There’s a saying in our hometown, ‘One cauliflower snake on a beam can kill two hundred rodents a year’! I don’t know which of the two types of cauliflower snake they are talking about, but compared to the long, slender-bodied, black-browed ratsnake, the short, thick, fat king ratsnake seems to be the bigger eater. I think the food intake of those king ratsnakes in the reserve has only increased every year! Look how fat and arrogant each one of them is!”

“Don’t you think so?” the driver asked Feng Yi.

“Yes!” Feng Yi nodded. “They’re a bunch of gluttons!”

Feng Yi ate all the food in his bag in the car and had another good meal at the airport. When he came here, he bought all kinds of equipment from the outdoor goods store, but he couldn’t take too much on the plane, so Feng Yi packed the equipment up and sent it back by express. Not knowing when he would complete the task, he had not booked a return ticket. He could only buy one on the spot.

When he returned to Rongcheng, it happened to be the evening rush hour. Sitting in the taxi, Feng Yi regretted that he hadn’t just squeezed into the subway. Outside the car window, the rush-hour traffic on the elevated highway formed a long snake…

Bah! Snake again!

Feng Yi felt like escaping from reality right now. He didn’t want to think about anything related to snakes, so he just looked away from the long strip on the elevated highway, rubbed his brow, and turned on his phone to read the recommended news.

By the time he got home, it was already dark. Feeling exhausted, Feng Yi ordered take-out for four people, washed up, and went to bed after eating in a hurry. The takeout trash was simply cleaned up and put aside, and he planned to sort it out tomorrow.

It was the middle of the night, and most of the residents were asleep.

A rat crawled from the balcony next to Feng Yi’s house, and when it reached the balcony, it suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. There was the smell of tempting food in the air. However, there was also an aura that made it instinctively afraid. After hesitating for a while, it finally turned around and crawled down the outside wall.

Feng Yi had a strange dream, but he couldn’t remember anything when he woke up. After disposing of yesterday’s garbage, he carefully checked the house and found no trace of rats or cockroaches. He was relieved.

After breakfast, Feng Yi called the old butler. This time, the old butler directly video called Feng Yi.

Feng Yi answered the call. “I returned from Mount Xiaofeng last night. I have already visited the ancestral home and signed the genealogy record.”

Butler: “Yes, I know. The money will be transferred to your account later.”

On the other side of the video, the old butler’s expression also seemed different from when they first met. Although the old butler spoke politely on their first meeting, he felt more distant. Now, however, the way he looked at Feng Yi through the camera was more gentle, as if he was looking at a kitten that had just opened its eyes.

Feng Yi felt strange being stared at by such eyes, but he was happy to hear that fourteen million would soon be credited to his account. Of course, he wasn’t overly excited. He now had a lot of doubts in his mind that needed to be resolved.

“I… I feel like I’ve changed a little,” Feng Yi said.

“Scared?” The butler smiled kindly.

“Not really. It’s just… I’m not used to it.” Feng Yi didn’t know how to describe the feeling. Instinct told him that this change was beneficial to survival, an advantage, and an evolution. But this change made him uneasy.

“If living life was like everyone else, wouldn’t that be too boring?” the butler said.

Feng Yi wiped his face and asked, “Then am I still human now?”

“Of course. Why would you not be? You can think of this as a human who took another evolutionary route.”

“You too?” Feng Yi asked.

“I’m different from you.”

There was a subtle nuance in his words. But seeing that the butler didn’t want to say more, Feng Yi didn’t continue the topic. He would figure it out eventually.

“Then, what do you think about snakes?” Feng Yi asked.

“What do people think of monkeys? No, they don’t even count as monkeys. They are just pets or food,” the butler said flatly.

“…Eating snakes is not allowed now.” Feng Yi reminded.

“Of course, law-abiding citizen.” The butler leafed through a document in his hand. “The inheritance that Madam Feng left you, besides the fourteen million, includes real estate, stock funds, etc., which I will take care of for you first. These are of lesser importance. Your main energy now should be on your own transformation. In the next few days your body will undergo some small changes. When these changes are completed, all the things left by Madam Feng will be handed over to your hands.”

Feng Yi’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the words, “’small’ changes?”

Although real estate and stocks were also relatively eye-catching, Feng Yi was more interested in the “small changes” that the old butler mentioned. He could earn money and real estate himself, as much as his capabilities allowed, but he wasn’t all that interested in becoming a billionaire. No matter how much money he had, he wouldn’t be able to secure it if he didn’t have the ability. If he had the ability, he would be able to get it on his own without others giving it to him. But “small changes” were related to his own body and could not be controlled!

The old butler smiled slightly and comforted him, “Don’t worry, it’s just some minor changes. If you pay attention to them, others won’t notice them. Once you start changing, you can call me.”

After thinking about it, the old butler added, “Remember to wear a mask when you go out.”

After speaking, the call was disconnected. Feng Yi pondered what the old butler had said. To sum up the meaning of the butler’s last few sentences:

First, the changes weren’t big. If he covered up a little, others wouldn’t notice, and it wouldn’t affect his daily life.

Second, the “small changes” could likely be resolved by wearing a mask. Could it be… teeth?

“At least I’m still human!” Knowing that he wouldn’t turn into anything strange, Feng Yi was indeed greatly relieved.

The fourteen million promised by the old butler arrived before dusk that night. With this huge amount of money, Feng Yi didn’t have to think hard about how to make money, and he could buy a few luxury cars that he coveted before. But Feng Yi didn’t intend to do that.

He paid back five million to the old butler and kept the rest for now. The work studio had been closed down, and he was now unemployed, so he had to think about what to do in the future and make plans. Who knew what else was left in that inheritance, and whether it could guarantee his future life? Instead of fantasizing about the things he hadn’t received, Feng Yi believed in what he could earn. But it wasn’t urgent. The old butler had already said that he would undergo some small changes in the days to follow. He first had to find out what kind of “small” changes there were.

Feng Yi turned on his phone and looked at the group chat of the community’s property owners. Since the afternoon of the previous day, the community had organized a rat extermination, but the rats that had already entered the residents’ homes were not easy to deal with. The property management office bought a lot of rodent glue traps for those property owners who needed them. However, when Feng Yi opened the group chat, he saw some property owners complaining:

“I got the glue traps from the property management office last week, they’re amazing! I stuck them all over my house, but I haven’t caught any rats!”

“Another rat came into the house yesterday. I have no idea how it got in – it’s so big! What has it been eating to get so large! Think the hormones went overboard on that thing!”

“Trigger warning! [Video] It’s fucking capable of pushing open the window screen! If it can’t break through with its teeth, it’ll push the window open! Are they about to become a higher form of existence!!”

“Actually, this kind of big rat has infiltrated human society for a long time and can understand some words. That’s why the elders always say that if you want to lure the rats, speak softly or not at all. If they hear you, they won’t take the bait.”

“So what are we going to do? They are disturbing people! In all kinds of ways! They are disturbing the whole city, and they have high combat power, no other creature can surpass them!!!”

The group chat was almost in a state of mania at this time. While reading, Feng Yi received a message from Wu Ji.

Wu Ji: [How did you sleep last night? Everyone said the rats were the worst last night.]

Feng Yi: [I slept very well until morning.]

Wu Ji: [Goodbye]