Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 114: A Debt Owed

The Boss snake slowly raised the upper half of its body, its pupils narrowing into dangerous slits. It looked down upon the restrained Barry from its superior vantage point, flicking its tongue with a slow, menacing rhythm. "If he doesn't submit…"

Suddenly, it tightened its coils with a sharp squeeze, the scales rasping against Barry's skin. Its tail swayed dangerously. "We will strangle him forever…"

It turned around to the other snakes and said, "I'll get my siblings help…" It's tail swayed menacingly as it continued, "We'll wrap around his body… and we'll see if he submits or not."

Hearing the water snakes’ outrageous demands, Nancy stood frozen in place, her fair skin turning a vivid shade of crimson.

"Please, just stop talking!" Nancy pleaded silently. She was only grateful that Barry didn't understand animal speak; otherwise, this display would have been mortifying. These weren't water snakes—they were three highway bandits!

And just like that, the Director of the Zoo had somehow become a bandit queen.

Fortunately, Star was sleeping deeply. He had stirred at the commotion, but after Nancy stroked his head a few times, he had drifted back off. If he had fully woken up, the scene would have been catastrophic. Star would have undoubtedly fought the three "kidnappers" trying to ransom his master!

"Nancy."

Barry’s voice was like ice, yet his left hand moved with lethal precision, pinning the Boss snake’s seven-inch mark. "Care to explain why your employees are committing workplace harassment against a client?"

"I didn't order this!" Nancy scrambled to untangle the snakes from Barry’s tie. "Get down! Right now! Don't you know kidnapping is a felony?!"

In the middle of her frantic efforts, the sleeping Star must have had a vivid dream. He suddenly kicked out, his furry paw pushing against Nancy’s waist. Already off-balance, Nancy was sent sprawling forward. She instinctively braced her hand against the leather seat beside Barry’s ear, her nose coming within an inch of his.

The three snakes watched from the front row, tongues flicking in excitement at the spectacle.

The Boss snake said, "Oh wow, so Miss Nancy thinks we're getting in her way, and she wants to do things herself instead!"

The second snake said, "We still gotta help somehow."

The third snake quickly wound itself around Nancy’s dangling wrist, binding it to Barry’s large forearm. "I'll help!"

Barry looked at their hands "bound" together by the snake’s body and narrowed his eyes at Nancy. "Is this your way of getting back at me for not agreeing to your terms?"

"No, no!" Sweating with anxiety, Nancy turned to the troublemakers. "Kidnapping a human is a serious crime! You’ll go to prison! Do you want me to have to bring you meals behind bars?!"

Upon hearing this, the three snakes immediately abandoned their posts and slithered off Barry. "No way! We still want to be guides and earn a salary!"

The Boss snake vanished into the backpack's water tank in a flash. "I heard that if you have a criminal record, you can't work for the government!"

Nancy stood there, speechless. They committed a crime and then just ran away?! What was she supposed to do now?

Finally free, Barry let out a long breath. He gripped Nancy’s shoulder with one hand and "hoisted" her back into her seat. His long fingers rubbed his temples as the water marks from the snakes soaked into the leather of his suit.

Nancy stole a glance at his crumpled shirt. "I’m so sorry... the lid on the transport tank must have been loose..."

"I’m angry. I don't forgive you," Barry interrupted, his voice low.

Nancy blinked. Wait. According to the "Big CEO" handbook, wasn't he supposed to say something like, "It’s fine, it’s just a suit"?

"Then... what will it take for you to stop being mad?" Nancy asked, clutching the hem of her shirt like a guilty little animal. It was her employees who had done the deed, after all.

Barry arched an eyebrow. "Agree to one condition."

"What condition?"

"I haven't decided yet." Barry straightened his cuffs with slow, deliberate movements. "You just owe me one."

Nancy puffed out her cheeks. "...Fine."

Something felt off. A combat medic like Barry, who had survived literal war zones, couldn't possibly be scared of a few snakes. Had she just been tricked into a debt?

She opened her mouth to argue, but Barry had already leaned back against the headrest, his eyes closed as he drifted into a nap. Seeing the dark circles under his eyes, Nancy shut her mouth and remained quiet.

The following morning.

The lights in the study of the Summers family villa had burned throughout the night until 10:00 AM.

Jack had been too furious to sleep. He had spent the entire night piecing together information about the case. Having reviewed the details, he realized just how significant this "simple drowning" actually was. If the shipwreck tomb was large enough and yielded Grade-I cultural relics, it would mean a merit medal and a provincial-wide commendation for the lead officers.

"An underwater shipwreck tomb..." Jack stared at the screen. "Shipwreck burials were a burial practice used in ancient times..."

Jack’s lens flashed with a cold light. He quickly opened his contacts and dialed a number.

"Hello? Are you still collecting antiques?" Jack put on his most polite, polished tone. "I’m investigating a case and was wondering if you have any channels to check something for me. Has anything from that period surfaced on the black market lately? The kind of items that look like they came from underwater..."