60: Devouring Python

“Does this mean I can survive on land for extended periods without dehydrating?”

“It seems I’ve been underestimating the Survival of the Fittest ability all this time! Perhaps, this ability is actually my strongest one right now!”

Su Yuan looked at the Survival of the Fittest displayed on the panel. He was incredibly lucky to have obtained such an ability on his first upgrade.

Otherwise, he would have been long gone.

“Perhaps, I can explore the land for the first time. I’m also curious about the overall mutation level of land creatures, so I’ll just check it out.”

Su Yuan gazed at the forest ahead. Thanks to his astonishing eyesight, he could spot some creatures hiding in the shadows.

Because of his presence, most of the surrounding creatures had already fled, but some still remained hidden.

Su Yuan stepped into the forest, his massive tentacles deftly coiling around a ten-thousand-pound rock. Behind that rock, a rat was hiding.

However, this rat was considerably larger than the ones Su Yuan remembered, approaching the size of a domestic cat.

The moment Su Yuan rolled away the rock, the rat was terrified and fled desperately.

But Su Yuan didn’t think this rat was a vegetarian; there was still blood on its incisors.

However, when facing Su Yuan, it was more afraid than encountering a cat, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Su Yuan didn't pursue. With the attack speed of his tentacles, he could have caught it if he wanted to.

But rats, along with cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes, were something Su Yuan detested.

He couldn't bring himself to eat a rat, at least not yet.

“Whoosh!”

A bird cry echoed. High in the sky, a Bird of Prey, mottled grey, brown, and white, swooped down. Its massive body, with an estimated wingspan of over four meters, instantly snatched a wild rabbit the size of a dog.

But at that moment, its sharp gaze finally noticed Su Yuan’s presence. It shivered, the wild rabbit in its Claws dropped to the ground, and it frantically flapped its wings, soaring straight into the clouds.

“Oh, why run? Am I that scary?”

Su Yuan chuckled. Unbeknownst to him, he had already developed a hint of kingly demeanor.

Su Yuan turned his head and continued walking. Despite his enormous size, the flexibility of his tentacles made his movements incredibly light and almost silent.

However, his massive size was incredibly conspicuous when his Camouflage Ability wasn't activated.

Thinking of this, Su Yuan activated his Camouflage Ability. Instantly, his form merged with the surrounding environment, and as he walked, it automatically adapted to the surroundings.

As Su Yuan concealed himself, the forest gradually regained its vitality.

Rats as big as house cats, wildcats the size of leopards, wolves rivaling tigers in size, colorful venomous snakes, Birds of Prey with wingspans exceeding three meters, and so on.

Su Yuan looked at so many vibrant evolution points and couldn't hold back. Well, it was to cope with the threat of the Mysterious Organization; he needed to continuously improve his strength.

Thanks to his Beginner Camouflage ability, Su Yuan’s tentacles directly coiled around a pheasant without it noticing anything.

“Cluck cluck cluck!”

The pheasant had just let out a cry when it was pierced by an extended Claws, killing it. But that cry also drew the attention of all surrounding creatures, and some timid ones had already started to flee.

Su Yuan wasn't in a hurry to eat the pheasant. Five tentacles swept out, each coiling around a colorful venomous snake, a bird in a tree, a lizard, a wild rabbit, and a deer-like creature.

At this, the surrounding creatures could no longer sit still and fled in all directions. Su Yuan stuffed the six captured animals into his ferocious beak.

You devoured a pheasant and gained 2 evolution points.

You devoured a forest musk deer and gained 4 evolution points.

You devoured a brittle snake lizard and gained 0.5 evolution points.

...Due to the act of devouring, Su Yuan’s Camouflage Ability weakened, and he was seen by many creatures, scaring away the vast majority of them.

Su Yuan didn’t mind. Just like in the water, because of the resurgence of spiritual energy, there were an extreme number of creatures in the forest, and all of them were abnormally large.

“Perhaps, the duration of the spiritual energy resurgence is even longer than I anticipated.”

Su Yuan had a hunch, because the gestation period and cycle of some mammals are relatively long.

Su Yuan walked through the forest, his six tentacles like silent, invisible giant pythons, catching many prey, allowing Su Yuan to taste wild game he could never have eaten as a human.

Throughout his journey, Su Yuan continuously monitored himself; there seemed to be no sign of dehydration, and his skin surface remained moist.

“Survival of the Fittest, it seems I’ve always underestimated this ability.”

Su Yuan was completely relieved.

Just then, he noticed that the surrounding environment was very quiet, with only very small creatures, such as insects, small birds, and small lizards, and no other medium to large-sized creatures.

“Oh, it seems I’ve encountered a good meal.”

A hint of a smile flashed in Su Yuan’s eyes. He concluded that a powerful creature resided here, treating it as its territory, which was why no medium or large-sized creatures dared to approach.

“Rustle rustle rustle!”

Just then, a rustling sound came from the ground, which was covered in thick fallen leaves, catching Su Yuan’s attention.

A giant python, mottled brown and yellow, appeared. It was astonishingly large, Su Yuan estimated it to be over ten meters, probably around twelve meters, with scales that shimmered with a metallic luster, as if cast from metal.

Such an astonishing giant python far exceeded any normal modern giant python in size; it could be used directly in movies without any special effects.

The giant python flicked its chilling tongue, seemingly having detected traces of Su Yuan’s presence, and its cold gaze scanned its territory.

“Scent.”

Su Yuan thought of the reason. He himself possessed such an ability, so the next moment, he canceled his camouflage, and his massive body was revealed.

The giant python’s pupils suddenly constricted. It had not anticipated such a formidable enemy. It coiled on the ground, its head held high, flicking its tongue, and emitting threatening hisses.

It seemed the giant python intended to drive Su Yuan away with this.

“Tsk tsk, such a large spicy stick, it should yield a lot of evolution points, I’ll gladly accept it.”

Su Yuan scrutinized the giant python with the gaze of someone sizing up prey. A tentacle shot out like lightning; just one tentacle was no less massive than the python’s body!

The giant python was fierce, a hegemon in this area. Seeing that Su Yuan didn't leave and even launched an attack, it ferociously coiled around Su Yuan’s tentacle, intending to defeat its formidable enemy with the python’s signature skill.

“Coiling isn’t just something you can do.”

Su Yuan didn’t use his other tentacles, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. His mucus-covered tentacle was slick and instantly coiled around the giant python’s body, the dense suckers firmly adhering to the python.

At the same time, one ferocious Claws after another extended, reaching seventeen centimeters in length. They all pierced into the giant python’s body, easily breaking through its steel-like scales, penetrating into its flesh and blood, cutting and twisting!

The giant python cried out in pain, frantically tightening its coils around Su Yuan’s tentacle, exerting terrifying constricting force. Unfortunately, Su Yuan was a soft-bodied creature, and his tentacles were astonishingly flexible.

Its action had no effect; instead, it caused Su Yuan’s Claws to pierce even deeper into its body, even into its internal organs!

“It’s over!”

Su Yuan’s tentacle coiled and moved, erupting with even more terrifying power. The seventeen-centimeter-long Claws, already approaching half the python’s diameter, cut and twisted, directly dismembering its internal organs! Its entire massive body was almost torn into a thousand pieces!

Under Su Yuan’s explosive power, the giant python instantly fell into a near-death situation. (This term seems to be a specific game/novel term, I'll keep it as is since there's no glossary entry, but the context implies 'a dying state' or 'a critical state')

Su Yuan grabbed the giant python and immediately began eating the “spicy stick.” Its slender body made it exceptionally easy for him to eat; no extra cutting was needed, just biting it off with his beak.

Soon, Su Yuan had finished eating the entire giant python.

You devoured a Burmese python and gained 280 evolution points.