Hours earlier
Grace was watching a snake charmer perform, holding a snake by its body and swinging it around, sometimes in a straight line, sometimes in a human-like shape.
He performed the dangerous movements with ease and casualness, as if performing magic.
People around cheered.
But Grace's eyes were fixed on the snake's mouth – its fangs had been removed, so it couldn't bite.
Even though it was a venomous snake, even though it was a black mamba, the king of snakes, without its fangs and venom, it was nothing more than a harmless little pet.
Her recent research was all about various highly venomous snakes.
As a Doctor of Chemical Engineering, her research institute had reached an agreement with a pharmaceutical company, entrusting her with the task of researching special capsules for anti-tumor drugs.
Regular capsules would reduce the drug's activity, rendering it ineffective for treatment.
Therefore, a new type of capsule needed to be developed that not only wouldn't counteract the drug's effects but would even enhance them.
This presented a significant challenge for Grace's team.
Since the drug was developed from venomous snakes, she thought of using snake venom mixed into the capsule's coating.
However, the research was less than halfway complete when the snakes disappeared, and the supply was cut off.
Grace inquired about the reason, and her superior explained that there was a problem with the supply of venomous snakes, and they needed to find a new supplier or come up with another solution.
Grace couldn't solve supply chain issues; she was a researcher, not a businesswoman.
Snakes are cold-blooded animals, and not many people like snakes, especially venomous ones.
Grace looked around and noticed that the already small crowd was dwindling, with several people disappearing within half an hour.
What was going on?
She looked around and saw a hidden passage behind the exhibition booth, with people leaving through it intermittently.
Where were they going?
She had a feeling something was amiss…
Could it be… related to her research…?
"Miss, do you like venomous snakes too?" a man approached, interrupting Grace's thoughts.
Grace eyed his shifty gaze, her suspicion growing, and nodded, "Yes."
The man said, "We're holding a snake-catching competition. Would you be interested in participating?"
Grace replied, "I can."
The man gestured for Grace to enter a lecture hall through the hidden passage.
Before entering, her phone was confiscated.
The snake-catching competition was simple: the top three fastest participants to capture the most venomous snakes would qualify for a chance to share a grand prize of 5 million US dollars in cash.
Upon hearing the prize money, everyone was extremely excited and gave it their all.
Besides being a scientist, Grace was also a wildlife expert and had previously studied various venomous snakes with relevant researchers.
She successfully became one of the winners.
"The three of you, please follow me."
A man in a black suit led Grace and the other two snake catchers through the hidden passage out of the exhibition center and into a van.
"We have a business proposition for you."
"Upon completion, each of you will receive two million US dollars."
Grace showed no sign of excitement. The man sitting next to her asked, "What kind of business?"
The bodyguard replied, "You'll know when we get there."
More than two hours later, the man led them to raid a venomous snake farm.
Grace: "????"
Not just one farm. This man, armed with a gun, was even discussing raiding snake farms across Europe, and even China, the largest supplier market for venomous snakes globally.
Grace knew she had encountered an organized and well-equipped criminal group. It was almost impossible for her to bring them down single-handedly.
She needed help.
Grace's first thought was Du Ruoxin, but Sister Xin was pregnant, and she absolutely couldn't let her get involved in such a dangerous matter.
So, Grace contacted Christiano.
Her phone had been confiscated, but she had a special communication tool – the cross she wore around her neck.
It looked no different from the crosses worn by ordinary Christians. The only difference was that she had modified it.
She had hidden the communicator within a mechanism that any known device (metal detectors, security scanners, X-ray machines, material inspection scanners, signal detectors, etc.) could not detect.
Finding an opportunity, Grace sent a message to Christiano.
What she didn't expect was that after successfully raiding a venomous snake farm in the UK, the group drugged her.