Chapter 4: Hunger

  As soon as I entered the forest, I suddenly had a feeling of being like a fish entering water.

  Lin Bei is a researcher, so he also roughly studied snakes in this aspect. Of course, the study was not thorough, after all, his work is not that.

  According to Lin Bei, there are approximately over 3,000 species of snakes, among which China has more than 200 species. Half of them like to roam in plains or hills, while the other half likes to dominate in forests. Compared to outside the forest, the food in the forest is obviously more abundant, and the competition in the forest is also more intense. Therefore, most of the snakes encountered in the forest are venomous.

  Lin Bei didn't know what kind he was now, but Lin Bei still thought that as a snake species, the forest was the ultimate destination for snakes. As a snake with human thoughts, Lin Bei also had enough confidence to survive in the forest now. However, if Lin Bei wasn't so powerful, he wouldn't have considered the forest at all.

  Is the forest dangerous? Of course it is, modern people can spend the night in the forest with a tent, that's nonsense, either it's not a primitive jungle. As someone who loves nature, he has had many experiences of camping outdoors, except for the first time, every time Lin Bei makes good preparations, long clothes and pants, various anti-snake and insect medicines and medications, food and water, all these must be prepared, in addition to various tools that must be taken along. Otherwise, it's simply a nightmare in the forest, just mosquitoes can suck people to death. But now, Lin Bei thinks this shouldn't even count as anything.

  As soon as they entered the forest, Lin Bei stopped and sniffed around, gathering information about the area, being relatively cautious.

  It has to be said that the snake's instincts are quite powerful, or rather, the instincts of this body are quite powerful. In the midst of various air shocks, Lin Bei almost instantly sorted out all the information here.

  This should be the periphery of a primeval forest, which is not surprising. In ancient times, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and most forests were places where humans rarely ventured. Even experienced hunters did not dare to venture too deep, so the original appearance of the forest has been preserved quite well, with various plants being much more lush than in modern times.

  Outside, the sun is shining brightly in the sky, and the air is dry. However, inside the forest, it's cool and misty, with high humidity due to the circulating airflow, which has even formed a thin layer of white fog that floats around the forest.

  Although it was only the periphery of the forest, various bird calls had already entered Lin Bei's ears, followed by the rustling sounds made by small animals as they moved. Through his keen senses, Lin Bei could see these little creatures: mice, rabbits... and even a yellow fox. The yellow fox had cautiously poked its head out of a small hole, its front legs raised, in a pose of careful listening, its target likely being Lin Bei himself. After possibly noticing Lin Bei, it suddenly darted back with a rustling sound, clearly frightened by Lin Bei. Now, Lin Bei not only had an intimidating presence among humans but also possessed an even greater intimidating power over these small animals.

  The yellow mongoose generally only lives on the outskirts of the forest, and they will migrate with the mouse population because their main food source is also mice. If there are wild rabbits, they won't mind having a bite to eat, but occasionally they will kill small snakes, although they won't eat them. The reason they kill small snakes is to prevent competition from other snakes, of course, they don't have the concept of competition in their brains, it's just instinct. However, it's precisely this instinct that makes them all the more frightening.

  At the moment he saw the weasel, Lin Bei suddenly developed a kind of hatred value for this guy and wanted to bite the weasel to death in a hurry. Lin Bei suppressed this hatred because it was also the instinct of snakes, but now it was dominated by Lin Bei's thoughts. Lin Bei was making an effort, those good instincts he wanted to inherit, those bad instincts he wanted to abandon. It wasn't difficult to do so, after all, what made humans human was their clear rationality, which was the most obvious difference between humans and animals.

  "Squeak squeak squeak!" Lin Bei heard a few urgent cries.

  A hapless wild rabbit ran into a hunter's trap, the trap was set very simply and should be specifically used to catch small animals like rabbits. It was made of rattan and was a live cage. The hapless rabbit was trapped inside and was struggling desperately, its four legs kicking wildly, but the more it struggled, the tighter it got stuck. If it couldn't break free from the rattan in the end, then the outcome would be that the rabbit would become human food.

  The yellow fox cautiously poked its head out of the hole, first looking around Lin Bei's side to see if there was any danger. Seeing that Lin Bei seemed harmless, it then turned its attention to the rabbit. This little guy had an incredible sense of smell and was probably eyeing the wild rabbit as prey. However, whether or not it had the guts to attack was another story. Humans are a threat to all living creatures, with a high threat value.

  Seeing this unlucky rabbit, a strong sense of hunger arose in Lin Bei's stomach, and he felt hungry.

  Snakes wake up from hibernation feeling hungry, and this is also when they are most ferocious. If it's a venomous snake, then the toxicity is at its strongest during this time, as the venom in their fangs has been stored for an entire winter. Lin Bei didn't know how long his previous body had slept, but now he felt like he could swallow an elephant whole.

  His hungry instincts reminded Lin Bei to eat that rabbit, because for snakes, rabbits were a delicious food.

  Lin Beidong moved, but he didn't go towards the rabbit, instead he went forward into the forest, he didn't choose to eat the rabbit.

  Eating raw food was normal for a snake, but for Lin Bei, who possessed human thoughts, it was too abnormal. Lin Bei found it difficult to accept swallowing a living creature whole and letting it slide into his stomach, which made him feel somewhat horrified. It was said that when one was hungry, they would lose their rationality, but Lin Bei was still far from reaching that point. At least, he didn't dare eat for now.

  Because he was too hungry, Lin Bei didn't care about the surroundings anymore. He crushed through some low shrubs to find something to eat as soon as possible. Filling his stomach was now the thing Lin Bei wanted to do most.

  For beasts, especially powerful ones, the forest will never be short of food, but for Lin Bei, there are now 10,000 galloping horses in his heart, how can the forest be full of animals?

  Mice, frogs, hares, pheasants, badgers... Lin Bei even saw some of the same species as before, namely snakes. The resources in this forest are quite rich, but Lin Bei can't eat anything. Lin Bei has a somewhat tragic premonition, could it be that he will become the first giant python in history to have the ability to hunt, yet starve to death?

  Lin Bei's snake body was getting faster and faster, it had to be said that this snake body was indeed exceptionally strong, although hungry, but still had extremely strong vitality, running for tens of miles, Lin Bei didn't feel a bit tired, the thorns of the shrub forest scratched his scales without leaving any marks, this was a robust physique.

  At this time, Lin Bei had already ventured deep into the forest. The ground here was thick with fallen leaves that had been rotting for years, giving off a pungent smell that was hard to imagine. However, Lin Bei could now tolerate it, and in fact, he couldn't care less. The constant feeling of hunger in his stomach had made him abandon all external concerns.

  "Food, come on and eat quickly, no beasts, bring some fruit!!" Lin Bei muttered to himself.

  Hard work pays off, a not-so-tall tree appeared in Lin Bei's line of sight, upon seeing the fruit on the tree, Lin Bei's eyes lit up, followed by an urge to spit blood, damn it, it was actually a walnut tree!

  Walnut!! Heaven.

  PS: I've always thought that if humans really turned into animals, the hurdle of eating raw meat and drinking blood would be quite difficult to overcome. Not to mention animal instincts, human instincts are even stronger. Even if I turned into a snake, I probably wouldn't dare eat raw food for a short period of time.