The next morning, sunlight filtered through the dense layers of leaves, illuminating the dim forest.
The indigenous chief, who had risen early, approached the protagonist group.
He looked at the group dressed in their strange attire, glanced toward the location where the blood orchids grew, and spoke.
"The blood orchids belong to the sacred grounds of the Blood Pythons. Please do not attempt to destroy them, or you will anger the gods and bring about unimaginable consequences..."
The only team member who understood the indigenous language translated for the rest of the group.
After understanding the information and goodwill conveyed by the natives, the group became even more determined to leave as quickly as possible.
Thus, they gathered together and began discussing a plan to escape this godforsaken place.
"Are you sure you want to take the waterway during the day?"
Lucas suddenly spoke up upon hearing the protagonist group's discussion. He leaned against a tree, sharpening his machete, and continued to himself.
"Haven't you noticed the pattern? Blood Pythons are cold-blooded animals; they need sunlight to increase their activity. Daytime is exactly when they patrol the riverbanks to regulate their body temperature."
Bill, the oldest biologist in the group, pushed up his glasses.
"Mr. Lucas is right, but every extra minute we stay here, the danger increases..."
"That's why we wait until night."
Lucas interrupted him, sheathed his machete, stood up, and looked up at the sky with an unquestionable tone.
"I know a bit about meteorology, and I've heard some legends about the blood orchids. If nothing goes wrong, there will be a heavy rain tonight. Right now, it's the Blood Pythons' mating season."
Lucas took out a map, walked over to the group, placed it on a wooden stump, and pointed to the marked locations and planned route.
"This is where the blood orchids bloom. Based on the current activity patterns of the Blood Pythons, most of them are converging toward the location of the blood orchids."
"Compared to warm environments, pythons prefer to mate on rainy nights. When the time comes, the Blood Pythons will all be attracted to the cliffs to mate. Taking the waterway then will be the safest."
"Otherwise, if we encounter a Blood Python in the water during the day—especially one in mating season—our small handmade raft will leave us severely restricted in a fight. We might even end up being wiped out. On land, at least we have some room to maneuver against them."
Everyone was moved by Lucas's analysis. After all, Lucas was always looking out for them and had even saved them many times. His credibility within the team was quite high.
Even if he hadn't said much throughout the journey.
On the other side, the ill-intentioned Ryan also walked over. When Lucas mentioned the blood orchids, he gave Lucas a pointed look, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
He then turned his gaze toward the hesitant members and spoke.
"I think that makes sense! We'll build the raft now and set off after dark. It'll be much safer once the Blood Pythons are lured away."
"During the day, we just need to set up defenses at designated spots and lay some traps to watch out for Blood Python attacks."
"Besides, it's not like we haven't killed Blood Pythons before. With the strength of Lucas's trio plus all of us, as long as we're well-prepared, even if a Blood Python comes, we'll make sure it never returns!"
The hesitant members turned their gaze toward Lucas's trio, especially the tall and sturdy Lucas. Throughout the journey, almost every Blood Python they encountered had been slain by him; his strength was beyond doubt.
If he hadn't been there, who knows how many casualties they would have suffered by now.
Ultimately, everyone followed Lucas's suggestion and began preparing supplies for the nighttime departure.
For the story's protagonists, the day was a long and anxious process; for Lilith, the day passed in the blink of an eye.
During the day, Lucas's group killed three more Blood Pythons. The three of them were incredibly powerful, far beyond what ordinary people could compare to; they clearly possessed offensive Talents.
However, Lilith had yet to observe exactly what their Talents were.
After Lucas's trio processed the Blood Pythons and threw them far away to prevent the scent of blood from attracting other predators, Lilith took advantage of the gap to obtain three more Blood Python gene fragments.
Night fell. By the riverbed, the crude wooden raft had already been completed and launched. Everyone was waiting for tonight's heavy rain, ready to leave this godforsaken place.
Lilith looked at the sky and had already left the area.
She needed to head to the cliff where the blood orchids grew ahead of time to observe the environment and find a place to hide.
Meanwhile, after arriving at the cliff where the Blood Pythons mated, Lilith found a large tree nearby and hung upside down in its shadows.
The rainstorm arrived as expected. Below the cliff, in the deep pool, Blood Pythons intertwined and coiled around each other, with the red petals of the blood orchids serving as an embellishment to this mating ritual.
On the cliff wall above them, a large number of vivid, dripping-red blood orchids were in full bloom. A piece of deadwood from the other side of the cliff happened to have fallen across, forming a natural single-log bridge.
While Lilith was observing, a Blood Python crawled up from the deep pool and happened to drape itself over the deadwood connecting to the cliff.
Whether intentionally or not, the Blood Python was directly shielding the blooming blood orchids on the cliff behind it.
Once anyone flew over to harvest them, they would enter this Blood Python's attack range.
The Blood Python would definitely launch an attack immediately.
And this Blood Python... Lilith hung from the branch, confronting the snake; the familiar scent on its body identified it as the one that had ambushed her before.
What a pity. These blood orchids must have just bloomed. If this Blood Python weren't blocking the way, she could have harvested them all in one go.
But this was within Lilith's expectations; blooming blood orchids would certainly be guarded by Blood Pythons.
Suddenly, a rustling sound in the distance alerted Lilith. She immediately concealed her form, hanging from a branch hidden by leaves.
She looked toward the source of the movement. It was the only human villain of this drama, the pharmaceutical company representative—Ryan.
By now, he had followed the directions on the map and arrived here alone.
When Ryan saw the blood orchids on the cliff, the joy on his face could no longer be suppressed. Once he harvested the blood orchids, power, longevity, and wealth would be within his grasp!
However, after seeing the Blood Python coiled on the deadwood over the cliff, Ryan instantly calmed down.
The Blood Python noticed Ryan, but it didn't give chase. It was either guarding the blood orchids behind it...
Or it was waiting for its turn to mate.
Ryan, who had been hesitant, heard movement from the distance. A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes as he pulled out a handgun and turned to leave.
Lilith, watching all of this, knew that he hadn't given up. Now, the story had entered its final stage... When Ryan reappeared, there were six or seven people in front of him.
These people's faces were filled with anger, but they were helpless in the face of Ryan's handgun.
Beside Ryan, Lucas's trio walked with him; clearly, the four of them had reached some kind of cooperation.
Otherwise, Ryan alone, even with a handgun, would have found it difficult to control these six or seven people, let alone the three Reincarnators like Lucas.
Arriving at the cliff and looking at the blood orchids, a greedy expression once again appeared on Ryan's face. He pointed the gun at the group, forcing them to go over and harvest the blood orchids.
However, seeing the Blood Python coiled on the only deadwood connecting to the cliff, everyone remained unmoved despite Ryan's threat.
What a joke! They would rather be shot than swallowed by a giant python.
Lilith hung in the shadows, still remaining perfectly still.
Whether it was that Blood Python or Ryan with his gun, both were significant threats to her. She had to ensure absolute safety.
The surrounding atmosphere was almost frozen.
That thick-bodied Blood Python with dull scales was coiled on the deadwood, its cold serpentine eyes watching the group of uninvited guests.
Its tongue flicked in and out occasionally, exuding a lethal threat.
"Go, lure it away."
...