Top's eyes were practically glued to the red berries, so he naturally didn't notice the unusual movements around him.
Although Top had some doubts, it listened to my advice and immediately stayed obediently to the side, watching me take the spear and chase after the place where it had been before.
My suspicions were quickly confirmed: this guy was quite good at disguising himself. If he were colorblind, he would most likely have fallen for it today.
At this moment, a large snake with a short, thick upper body and a brownish-yellow body resembling withered leaves was coiled under the leaves of the tornado bubble, and it was estimated to weigh more than fifteen pounds.
Its distinctive triangular head and short tail prove that it is not a venomous snake to be trifled with.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the largest venomous snake species in our world, belonging to the Viperidae family, the puff-bellied viper!
The puff-bellied viper is one of the most feared venomous snakes in Africa, causing thousands of deaths and disabilities every year.
Its venom is highly cytotoxic, and symptoms after a bite include severe local pain, extensive swelling and blisters, compartment syndrome, necrosis, hypovolemia, shock, and coagulation abnormalities. It usually causes permanent damage, requiring amputation.
Like other viper species, this venomous snake has long, tubular fangs that can easily bite through rain boots, making it even more difficult to guard against in the wild due to its excellent camouflage.
Realizing it had been exposed, the venomous snake immediately coiled its upper body into an S-shape, its body bulging and hissing as it let out air.
It is because of this unique hissing sound that it gets its name from the bulging belly of the viper; it also has another name: the walking gas cylinder.
Whenever it coils its body into an S-shape and hisses as a warning, it is the moment it prepares to attack.
Despite their seemingly lazy and slow crawling appearance, they are incredibly fast when attacking, twice as fast as a cobra.
If you enter its attack range, this gas cylinder could explode at any time, killing you.
Monkeys are naturally afraid of snakes, and when Top saw the snake's enormous body, he was so frightened that he took a few steps back.
Pat, on the other hand, had a bright look in his eyes when he saw the bulging-bellied viper.
Clearly, Pat was far more interested in snakes than Top was in them. No wonder, snakes were on Pat's menu.
Pat especially loved their snake gallbladders.
Before I could even make a move, Pat, who was standing to the side, couldn't wait any longer and flapped his wings to pounce on the bulging-bellied viper.
I tried to stop him, but it was too late. Pat's claws landed precisely on the head of the bulging-bellied viper from above.
Because the altitude was not high when it took off, the step did not directly kill the bloated hissing viper.
However, Pat himself was quite heavy, and his stomp caused considerable damage to the bulging-bellied viper.
At this moment, the bulging-bellied viper, whose upper body was grabbed by Pat's claws, felt pain and tried desperately to turn its head to attack Pat.
But Pat, who had already gained the upper hand, was not going to let it get away with it. Pat's beak immediately snapped like a sharp pair of scissors.
After securing the viper's neck, Pat snapped it in two like breaking a brittle bamboo shoot.
The spine on the neck of the bloated hissing viper is a vulnerable spot, as it connects to most of the muscles and nerves in the body.
Pat snapped it in two, and the bulging-bellied viper that had been hissing menacingly at me just moments before was now dead. Only the muscles of its body continued to tremble reflexively.
I was worried that Pat would be bitten by the snake, but it turns out I was overthinking it.
Pat is a bird of prey, and snakes are a staple on their menu. Naturally, Pat knows how to deal with its prey, given their natural enemies.
Pat didn't hold back either. Right in front of me, he used his claws to hold the lifeless, bloated viper in place. With a sharp rip, his beak tore open the snake's skin, revealing its internal organs.
Pat first pulled out the bright green snake gall and swallowed it, then he started shoveling the snake's internal organs into his mouth.
These things that are disgusting to me are considered a rare delicacy by birds of prey like Pat.
Seeing that Pat had already started eating, I didn't intend to disturb him.
After poking around the tornado bubble with my spear and confirming that there was indeed no danger, I smiled and said to Top,
"Top, everything's alright now, go pick some."
As I spoke, I squatted down near these wild berries and began to pick them.
When Top saw me picking the berries, it overcame its fear and squatted down beside me, picking and munching away.
I didn't pick them one by one. Instead, I picked a few at a time, just like I used to do when I was a child, and then poured them all into my mouth at once after I had a big handful.
That sweet and sour taste is worth closing your eyes to savor; it feels like returning to the carefree days of childhood.
When I first came into this world, I was dirt poor, so poor that I didn't even have underwear.
When I was starving, my first meal consisted of these berries. I never imagined that I would have been here for over a year.
Even now, I'm not sure if I'll be able to find my way home.
However, I think I still have to do something. If I do nothing, I might not even have the right to discover such an opportunity.
The berries in my hand are pretty good. We've been busy traveling these past few days and have been eating mostly dried meat and grilled fish.
These berries can provide us with some vitamins and other minerals that the body needs.
Top squatted in the berry patch and ate his fill. He was now sitting on a nearby rock, watching Pat continue eating the venomous snake.
By the time I got there, Pat had already eaten all the meaty parts of the snake. There was still quite a bit of meat left on the snake, but Pat had eaten pieces of it here and there.
There's not much meat left to gnaw on besides the bones of this snake, so I think I'll just leave the rest.
There are definitely better resources to be found near that river, so there's no need to waste any more time on this.
This time, I took the lead and used my machete to clear a path as we continued toward the area with its many thorns.
However, our efforts soon paid off. After several consecutive downhill bends, I discovered the first thing I had been looking for all along – bamboo.
What surprised me was that the bamboo here wasn't the ordinary kind, but the giant bamboo known as the Giant Dragon Bamboo.
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