"Sir, do you like this little hamster?" The female clerk's voice pulled Chi Feichi back from his thoughts.
Only then did Chi Feichi realize he had been staring at the hamster in the glass case for quite a while. He glanced at it again. "No, I just noticed that this hamster's legs are almost five millimeters shorter than the healthy ones we studied in class, and its hind legs are too thin..."
The clerk's beady eyes went blank. "..."
Chi Feichi continued, "When it grows up, it will look better than other hamsters because if it puts on a little weight, it'll look like a round dumpling. But because of that, its athletic ability will be slightly inferior to others. If the hamster itself rejects exercise, its health will be worse than average."
The clerk hurriedly explained, "You studied white lab mice in class, right? Lab mice generally have longer legs than hamsters..."
"No, I study Veterinary Medicine—that is to say, I'm a vet. Compared to lab mice, we mostly observe common pets," Chi Feichi said.
The clerk sweated. Fine, if he's a vet student, he can definitely tell the difference between a hamster and a lab mouse...
And indeed, compared to other hamsters, this one really didn't like exercise much.
Under the somewhat regretful gaze of the clerk, Chi Feichi left the pet shop and continued walking.
He hadn't gone far when he heard a spirited hawking cry:
"Selling snakes! Selling snakes! Can roll over and act cute, can hunt on its own! Cheap Japanese Rat Snake, only 2,000 yen! Just 2,000 yen and you can take home a rare and intelligent mutant Japanese Rat Snake!"
Chi Feichi: "..."
Back home, he used to hear hawking all the time, but here in Japan... in the memories he inherited, he had never encountered it.
Even during mall promotions, they usually just had a girl read a script in a formulaic manner. This was the first time he had heard something with such a rustic, down-to-earth vibe!
So, he stopped and turned his head.
Inside a roadside shop, the owner was busy sweeping the floor with his head down.
Inside a glass partition near the door, a gray-and-black snake was rearing up, its black eyes staring straight at him, its forked tongue flicking happily.
At first glance, it was quite scary.
However, what this guy was saying was: "Sir, wanna buy a snake? I'm cheap, only 2,000 yen! Not even enough for a good meal outside. I don't bite, just please don't make me eat loaches anymore. Or you could just let me go and I won't hunt either. I'm very easy to raise~"
Chi Feichi was silent for a moment, then walked through the door. "Boss..."
Your snake is possessed!
"Ah, welcome!" The owner, who had been sweeping with his head down, quickly set the broom aside.
This was a shop specializing in exotic animals—snakes, lizards, spiders. The temperature felt significantly cooler as soon as he entered.
The owner was quite amiable. "Are you looking to buy a pet?"
Snake: "Look here! Look here!"
Chi Feichi turned his head to look and noticed the snake had turned around in the glass tank and was still staring straight at him.
The owner's face darkened slightly, and he quickly added, "Most of the pets in our shop are very docile. This snake likes to stare at people, but it has no malice..."
Snake roared with cold eyes: "Don't blame me for not selling! If you actually sold me, would I have to stare at every person who walks in? Even if I don't get sold, at least change my diet!"
Chi Feichi ignored the 'Parseltongue' and observed. "Judging by the pattern, this looks like a Japanese Rat Snake (Elaphe climacophora), but there's no red on it at all. What breed is it?"
"Ahem," the owner was a bit embarrassed and took out a booklet. "It really is a Japanese Rat Snake. We have certificates from the breeding farm, and every snake is registered. Its parents are purebred Japanese Rat Snakes. See here..."
Chi Feichi looked down at the booklet. It indeed contained very detailed registration information.
This guy's parents had ID numbers and even photos. Those two snakes had excellent coloring—red and black bands with no gray at all. Who knew how this one turned out gray and black?
The owner continued his sales pitch. "Actually, this snake is quite good. Usually, Japanese Rat Snakes have a fishy, rotten smell, but this one has almost no odor. It's very clean."
Chi Feichi gave the owner a deep look. Does he take me for a newbie? "Although Japanese Rat Snakes are classified as non-venomous, they are rear-fanged and mildly venomous. It's just that the toxicity is basically harmless to humans. But given the mutation, it's hard to guarantee it doesn't carry toxins harmful to humans."
The breed was hard to distinguish, and it was uncertain if the mutation brought any dangers. That was probably why this snake hadn't sold.
Owner: "..."
What do you do when you meet an expert?
Snake flicked its tongue frantically from the side: "Sir, I don't bite!"
Chi Feichi ignored it and continued speaking to the owner. "This snake is at least three years old, right? The lifespan of a Japanese Rat Snake is generally around 6.1 years. Even if I buy it and take good care of it, I can only raise it for about three years."
Owner: "..."
Snake: "No no no, I feel my body is in great shape! I'm still very young!"
Chi Feichi: "Also, raising a Japanese Rat Snake from adulthood means it will have a bigger temper. Usually, people buy them as hatchlings or juveniles. Those raised from a young age are docile, but adults can be aggressive."
Owner: "..."
Snake: "I've been watching people come and go since I was little. I feel close to humans when I see them. My personality is fantastic!"
Chi Feichi looked at the speechless owner and sighed.
No wonder he couldn't sell it; his skin wasn't even as thick as the snake's...
The owner smiled awkwardly and changed the subject. "Actually, you could look at others. We have normal Japanese Rat Snakes too. Oh, and Corn Snakes! Corn Snakes are docile and can live up to 15 years. They are very suitable as pets..."
The snake slumped down weakly: "Sir, look at me again, just one more look. This black-hearted boss has fed me small loaches for three years! Three years! I haven't eaten a bite of anything else. I can only watch other snakes get extra treats. Isn't it just that my color is a bit weird... it's killing me..."
"No need to look," Chi Feichi stopped the owner who was about to lead the way. "I'll take this one."
The owner froze, looking at the glass tank in surprise.
The snake inside immediately propped itself up again, eyes fixed on Chi Feichi.
"How much?" Chi Feichi asked again.
The owner snapped out of it. One fixed price: 2,000 yen. Packaged with the care manual and certificate, plus a free transparent plastic carrier. He sold the snake almost with the feeling of sending away a god of plague, gratefully watching Chi Feichi leave.
This snake really knew its own price; it didn't shout the wrong number earlier.
Once outside, Chi Feichi turned into a nearby alley and placed the plastic box on the ground.
Inside the box, the snake lay lazily flicking its tongue: "Little mice, little frogs, little chicks, little fish... W-What are you doing?!"
Chi Feichi pinched the snake by its "seven-inch" spot (the vital point below the head) and lifted it up, examining the creature before him.
Before... no, until he met this snake, he had never thought about raising one.
Even if he wanted to train a helper, snakes had many shortcomings.
Snakes couldn't see much at night, relying mainly on their tongues to sense vibrations or their built-in "thermal sensors" to perceive the surrounding world. They were almost useless for searching for non-living things.
Moreover, snakes generally didn't have high IQs; most survived on instinct. The smartest were probably King Cobras, but he couldn't raise one of those even if he wanted to.
Also, snakes were afraid of the cold and needed to hibernate.
Originally, he leaned more toward buying creatures like cats or birds that were convenient for investigations, communicating with them and training them to help gather intelligence...
But alas, this guy had a high IQ, almost comparable to an average human.
The snake let Chi Feichi hold it, not daring to resist. Biting someone and getting sent back was a small matter, but the key was that this guy was holding its vital spot!
What does this guy want to do?I heard some humans eat anything... he wouldn't...
In the dim alley, man and snake stared at each other. Both the human eyes and the snake pupils were calm and indifferent, yet their thoughts had already spun several times.
Finally, Chi Feichi broke the silence, taking a keyring out of his pocket. "Can you see what I'm holding?"
The snake stared for a while, muttering with a flick of its tongue: "Playing this game with a snake... is he the 'nutjob' humans talk about? Will I not even get loaches to eat in the future? My life is so hard..."
Chi Feichi's face darkened slightly, his voice eerie. "I don't know if your life is hard, but I'm going to count to three. If you don't answer my question, I guarantee you'll appear on a dinner table tomorrow."
The snake suddenly raised its head. Its round eyes were still emotionless, but it was clearly startled.
Chi Feichi began counting. "One, two..."
Snake: "I can! I can! I can! I can see it, isn't it just a key? I recognize that thing!"
Chi Feichi nodded, thinking for a moment. "You recognize it? That means you can see clearly at night too, the only issue is whether you recognize the object or not?"
"I can see..." After its surprise, the snake seemed suddenly happy, nodding its head frantically like a chick pecking at rice. "Actually, I know a lot of things. Look, I know that when you humans express 'yes' or 'correct', you nod like this..."
Chi Feichi: "..."
This... no, this goofy snake!
Among the shortcomings of snakes, this guy didn't have the low IQ problem. If it could see at night too, hibernation wasn't unacceptable. He was too lazy to run around everywhere in winter anyway.
Actually, thinking about it, snakes had plenty of advantages.
Feeding once a week was enough, and they didn't need to be walked...
The snake made itself dizzy from nodding and finally stopped, sighing with emotion. "From the time I was born until now, this is the first time I've communicated with a living being. Humans don't know what I'm saying or that I'm imitating them, and my own kind can't understand my meaning. They just swim around, hunt, and rest..."
Chi Feichi looked into those snake pupils that seemed coldly devoid of emotion, feeling a faint tug at his heartstrings. He quickly regained his calm, but his tone softened slightly. "My name is Chi Feichi. I ke hi o so."
As he spoke, he set the snake aside, took out a pen and notepad, tore off a page, and wrote the characters, katakana, and romaji, placing it next to the snake's eyes.
"You will be called Feichi. Hi a ka..." Chi Feichi tore off another sheet, wrote on it, and placed it next to the previous note. "It fits perfectly. A Japanese Rat Snake (Akamata) that isn't red (aka). It suits you."
Feichi stared intently and nodded, but this time he didn't ramble.