At the edge of the park, the halos of the streetlights were shattered by the dense foliage.

In the shadows beyond the wall, Su Wenxuan’s heart hammered—half from anxiety, half from the sheer relief of almost having back what she’d lost.

Time crawled by, each second stretching into an eternity.

The noise from within the park seemed to fade, leaving only the rustle of leaves in the night wind and the sound of her own suppressed breathing.

’It’s here!’

An extremely faint RUSTLE came from the weeds at the base of the wall.

Su Wenxuan held her breath.

A shadow, no thicker than a finger, emerged. Even in the dim light, it glinted with a faint, dark-gold luster. It slid silently from the gap in the drainage grate at the corner of the wall, moving like a liquid.

It was the snake!

The little snake seemed to hesitate. Its slender body paused for a few seconds on the cold ground, its triangular head raised slightly, forked tongue flicking rapidly as it tasted the air for information.

Finally, it confirmed the familiar and tempting scent from within the purse and began to move slowly and warily toward it.

Inch by inch...

At last, the snake slithered up to the open gap of the purse and paused again, as if to confirm it was safe.

Then, with a twist of its slender body, it quickly slipped inside.

’Now’s my chance!’

Overjoyed, Su Wenxuan immediately stepped out from the shadows. She strode forward, and with a swift motion, grabbed the purse and zipped it shut.

"Put the bag down."

A calm male voice spoke.

Su Wenxuan froze.

Clutching the bag, she slowly turned around. The handsome young man from before, the "Animal Expert" who had helped catch the snake, was standing on the sidewalk about five meters behind her.

In the darkness, she couldn’t see his expression clearly, but his eyes seemed exceptionally bright.

’When did he get here?’

’How did he find this place?’

’How much did he see?’

A series of questions flashed through Su Wenxuan’s mind.

She opened her mouth, wanting to explain or say something.

However, before she could make a sound—

RUSTLE!

Several figures suddenly rushed in from all sides.

Uniformed police officers quickly closed in, forming a circle around her. The beams of powerful flashlights instantly converged on Su Wenxuan.

"Police! Drop the bag! Hands on your head!" a tall male officer shouted sternly.

The other officers were on high alert, their hands on their waists.

Su Wenxuan’s mind went blank. Her last shred of hope was completely shattered.

Her face was deathly pale. Under the glare of several stern, vigilant gazes, her fingers went limp, and the purse fell with a THUD onto the cold concrete ground.

Two female officers immediately stepped forward, grabbing her by the arms and restraining her.

Meanwhile, two male officers moved forward to inspect the purse.

"Wait!"

Yang Qi’s voice rang out again as he quickly approached. "There’s likely a venomous snake in the bag. Everyone, back up."

A venomous snake?!

Upon hearing this, the surrounding officers felt a chill and subconsciously backed away, their gazes fixed warily on the purse on the ground.

"Let me handle it."

Yang Qi said, taking a pair of long-handled snake tongs from an auxiliary officer—a tool with curved clamps at the end, specifically designed for catching dangerous snakes.

A quick-thinking officer also brought over a long pole with a hook.

"I’ll use the hook to pull the zipper. Advisor Yang, you get ready to grab it," the officer said to Yang Qi.

Yang Qi nodded, gripping the snake tongs firmly with both hands, his eyes locked on the purse’s zipper.

The officer used the tip of the long hook to carefully catch the zipper pull, then slowly drew it back.

The zipper opened, and the mouth of the bag gaped.

SWOOSH!

A dark-gold shadow shot out from the opening like a coiled spring, so fast it almost whistled through the air.

But Yang Qi, who was already prepared, reacted even faster!

SNAP!

The curved jaws of the tongs clamped down precisely on the golden shadow’s midsection, right at the apex of its leap, the very instant its body was fully extended.

The inside of the jaws had soft, non-slip padding that held the snake securely without easily injuring its body.

The golden shadow writhed futilely in the air a few times before Yang Qi brought it under control at the end of the tongs and lifted it up.

Only then, in the bright lights, could everyone get a clear look at the snake.

Its body was a pale orange-yellow, patterned with earthy yellow rings. Its head was a distinct triangle, and its eyes were dark red.

It was now staring fiercely at Yang Qi, its slender tongue flicking in and out relentlessly.

"What kind of snake is that?" a young officer asked, both curious and wary.

"It’s got a triangular head, so it’s definitely venomous. Look at those markings—the venom must be potent," a more experienced officer surmised.

Yang Qi carefully examined the struggling snake, cross-referencing it with his knowledge before he spoke.

"Based on its morphology and markings, this is most likely a Golden Spearhead Viper, a rare pit viper found only on a single island in South America. Its venom is extremely potent—more than five times stronger than that of a common spearhead viper. It’s a complex cocktail of toxins, and the snake is highly aggressive."

"A Golden Spearhead Viper?"

Qian Yu frowned. "How could something like that end up in Donghua?"

"Because this snake is rare and its venom is unique, it’s extremely valuable on the international black market."

Yang Qi continued to explain, his gaze sweeping over the ashen-faced Su Wenxuan. "Its venom, in particular, is highly valuable for medical research. On the black market, half a milliliter of its pure venom can fetch a price of nearly thirty thousand US dollars."

"So, smuggling live snakes or harvesting and selling their venom is an extremely profitable black market industry."

As soon as he said this, the way all the officers looked at Su Wenxuan changed, their gazes now holding both comprehension and severity.

A young woman, carrying such a dangerous, valuable, and exotic venomous snake in a public place at night—her intentions spoke for themselves.