Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du couldn’t help but think that the suspicious attitude towards him had a lot to do with the fact of him being a foreigner.
He could not be blamed for thinking that way. It was easy enough for Chinese people to survive in America, but, it was tough for them to live well there. Racism was everywhere and at the lower levels, racism was most common.
In any case, when Li Du met with people who wanted to pick on him, it could often be attributed to racism. It was, unfortunately, a tried and tested hypothesis.
The other party was not a businessperson and did not know the principle that maintaining peace could breed wealth. Hearing Li Du’s words, the youth had yet to strike back. Griffin grew angry. “Are you saying this stuff of yours is from wild snakes? This is the biggest joke I’ve heard this year.”
The youth named Singer added, “Have you ever seen a wild venomous snake? Inland Taipan Snake, Eastern Tiger Snake, King Cobra, do you know what they look like? I bet that you’d pee in your pants if you saw one of them. I have seen many Chinese people scared by those guys!”
Li Du looked at him with some provocation and said, “Since you are so sure, let’s have a bet, OK?”
Lu Guan said to Brother Wolf, “Ha, here’s another one who’s about to get a kick in the rear.”
Brother Wolf said, “Boss has lost one bet before, to Firecracker.”
Lu Gu was shocked. “You must be kidding me!”
The atmosphere became tense. Both parties had forgotten what they have come for. Griffin did not even know why they were here in the first place.
Singer put down the snake eggs he was holding and stood up. He looked at Li Du and said, “You want to bet? Here, on our territory? What do you want to bet on?”
When he finished his sentence, he suddenly threw his hand out. He had been holding a small snake, so now he just threw it towards Li Du.
Li Du was furious. He released the little bug and used Time Traveling and Time Deceleration. Then, he took a step back and avoided the small snake. He glared at Singer and said, “Hey, are you trying to start trouble?”
Singer laughed heartily and said, “Of course not, I was just making a joke. That’s a corn snake and it’s a pet. What are you afraid of?”
The corn snake’s full scientific name was Pantherophis Guttatus. It originated from the southeastern United States, along the Gulf Coast. It was docile and non-venomous, and was often kept as an ornamental pet snake
Griffin said coolly, “You just come here like that and claim your venom and serum come from the wild? You don’t even recognize the corn snake and you claim you would dare to touch a poisonous snake?”
Li Du took a deep breath and said, “I don’t know any snakes. I’m only in charge of catching them. No matter what snake it is, I’m capable of capturing them, do you understand?”
“That’s not even funny,” Griffin folded his arms.
Lu Guan stopped him and said, “Hang on, hang on, aren’t we discussing the wrong thing? We are here to work together with you guys. We don’t want to fight with you. What are you guys doing?”
Griffin looked up and said, “Sorry, we don’t like working with boastful people.”
Li Du said, “Very well. I, on the other hand, do not like working with weaklings. How about this, let’s play around and you can tell if I’m just boasting. I can also tell if you are a weakling.”
“How do you suggest we play?” Griffin asked.
Li Du placed the four small bottles on the ground and said, “There are two bottles of snake venom and two bottles of serum that can purge the poison. All of them come from wild snakes. They are worth more than one hundred thousand dollars. Let’s use these bottles as the stakes in the bet and play one round.”
Singer laughed. “Do you think snake venom and snake serum can be so pricey? Do you think these snakes have been feeding on gold?”
Li Du said coolly, “These come from wild venomous snakes in the Appalachian Mountains that were captured by the native locals. The price is entirely reasonable. If you don’t even know that, I really doubt you have any brains.”
Singer felt that he had been offended and said, “You’re saying that the wild snakes in the Appalachian Mountains are…”
“That’s enough talking, are you taking the bet up?” Li Du interrupted him. He had no more patience for this.
Griffin went over and picked up the small bottle, shaking it. Then he opened it up and sniffed it. He tutted and said, “Alright, then I’ll let you guys see how good I am! Tell me, how will the bet work?”
“Which snake has the fastest speed of attack? Bring it out. See which one of us can catch it first. How about that?” Li Du asked.
Griffin stared at him and said, “Are you serious about that? I wouldn’t dare to do that. I’m worried that you’re biting off more than you can chew. What if you get bitten?”
“Don’t you guys have serum here?” Li Du asked impatiently.
Griffin smirked cunningly. “You gotta pay for the serum.”
“Not a problem.”
Singer left and came back ten minutes later, carrying a box. There was a large snake of about two meters long inside.
In an unfamiliar environment, the snake nervously observed the surroundings from its cage. It kept sticking out its tongue, making the sound of ‘siii-siii’, ready to attack.
Seeing that snake, Brother Wolf said softly, “That’s a Black Mamba, boss. Be careful.”
The color of the snake’s tongue was rare – almost quite black. That was a unique trait of the Black Mamba.
The Black Mamba snake came from Africa. It was the largest poisonous snake on that continent. It could grow to be more than four meters long, and was also the fastest snake in the world, able to move at a speed of sixteen to twenty kilometers per hour.
However, in terms of combat speed, it was not the fastest. It was only one of the more well known venomous snakes among those with relatively fast attack speed. Griffin had meant to scare Li Du.
Li Du did not see that as a problem. He had seen many snakes previously, especially when he was at Seagull Island. It was common to meet with sea snakes when one went to the toilet and he had already accumulated sufficient experience catching snakes.
Venomous snakes were scary, but the fear mainly came from the person facing the snake. It was not too difficult to deal with snakes, actually. All one needed to do was to grab onto its neck and get a firm grip on its head.
Of course, that was if one could be successful in doing so. Otherwise, it was better not to provoke snakes. It was no simple task to hold onto a snake’s neck at the right angle. That was because the speed of attack from venomous snakes was simply too great.
The strike of a snake would take an average of between 44 and 70 milliseconds. Humans, on the other hand, would take about 200 milliseconds to blink. Within that amount of time, the most dangerous snakes could theoretically complete 4 attacks.
Singer looked at Li Du and said, “It’s not too late to regret now.”
Li Du laughed and said, “You guys had better prepare one hundred thousand dollars. I will want to see that sum of money immediately.”
“Ha, looks like you don’t know death when you see it,” a youth who was there to watch the drama laughed coldly.
The cage was opened and the Black Mamba was released. It reared up at once, shrinking his head and staring at everyone.
Li Du folded up his sleeves and walked forward with Griffin. They neared the Black Mamba from its left and right.
Realizing that there were people nearing its left and right, the Black Mamba stuck out its tongue and withdrew it aggressively. It was a warning that came before an attack.
Li Du released the little bug and expended all his effort in willing the bug to use its ability of Time Deceleration. Time instantly slowed down drastically.
Griffin swung his hands around and wanted to hypnotize the Black Mamba. The venomous snake was attracted by his maneuver. Right at that moment, Li Du took a leap forward and grabbed onto the snake’s neck with his hands!
