"Ooh..." In a dim small room, a figure lying on the ground seemed to move slightly, letting out a low groan.
Amidst the sound of clothing rustling, the person propped themselves up with one hand, barely managing to sit up, rubbing their forehead with the other hand, and looking around the surroundings in confusion.
This was a room about eight square meters in size. In the small space, aside from a single bed and computer desk placed under a small window, there was a cabinet similar to those found in pharmacies for storing medical herbs placed against the wall.
The difference was that the drawers were much larger and made of transparent acrylic material.
Every box contained low-wattage night bulbs, emitting a dim glow.
A fish tank was placed alone in the corner, its purpose unknown.
The person sat dazed for a few more minutes. In the dim light, a pale, thin face and a pair of slightly confused eyes could be seen.
A car zoomed past the street outside the window, and strong light pierced through the glass, illuminating the person's face. Instinctively raising their right hand to shield their eyes, they then stared blankly at their right hand as if they suddenly remembered something.
"My name is Shao Zifeng, I am 19 years old, a sophomore at Su City University, majoring in Advertising and Exhibition..."
"No, my major is Breeding Studies..."
"Today is Wednesday, February 19th..."
"No, today is Tuesday, February 18th..."
"There's still an order I haven't processed, but... wasn't I bitten by a round spot viper?" Shao Zifeng muttered to himself.
He looked blankly at his pale right hand, fingers slender and long, with smooth and firm skin, and no bite marks as he recalled.
Various scrambled memories and an inexplicable sense of alienation made him irritably scratch his messy hair.
Shao Zifeng was a student at Su City University. Apart from being a student, he also worked part-time as a Taobao store owner. But the items he sold were quite special, mainly some niche reptiles as pets.
For example, those in the cabinet against the wall—several layers were filled with various pet snakes, while the lower layers housed a few lizards. If customers needed, he could even help order unusual pets like spiders and centipedes.
During class today, he'd received an order. The customer, introduced by someone else, specifically wanted a round spot viper he had been secretly raising.
Speaking of the round spot viper, its nickname must be mentioned.
This creature is colloquially known as the "kidney-deficient snake" and the "widow maker." If bitten, even if one miraculously survives, it causes irreversible damage to the kidneys — horrifying indeed, feared by both men and women.
Of course, this was not the reason he secretly raised it. The reason was that this snake was listed in the "National Biodiversity Red List," and he didn't dare to sell it.
One bite and the whole village would feast.
Selling it could mean a life sentence.
Releasing it was too much of a loss.
But in the end, he compromised. He initially wanted to refuse, but the other party's offer was too generous. After all, he was just a poor student who needed to support himself with his own hands.
After class, Shao Zifeng hurried back to his rented apartment, buying dinner and a two-color ball lottery ticket on the way as he usually did.
Yes, ever since he was persuaded by a friend to buy a scratch-off ticket that won him 300 yuan, Shao Zifeng always felt that he could hit the jackpot, reach the peak of life early, and start living a life of leisure and ease.
Along the way, he could even buy his mother a large house with a yard and hire a few people to help take care of the stray pets she shelters.
Unfortunately, reality gave him a resounding slap. Even so, he continued to buy a two-color ball lottery ticket each period, not for anything else but for that dream in his heart.
Back at the rented apartment, Shao Zifeng hurriedly picked up his notebook and got busy, not having time to eat dinner.
He carefully opened a drawer and took out a snake, observing it carefully.
This was a pale yellow, albino corn snake with dense scales covering its smooth and slender body. There was an arrow-shaped pattern pointing towards its snout on its head. The color around its lips was lighter, and the scales on its lips and different color bands formed a graded pattern. Its pupils were round, with eyes like rubies.
"Albino corn snake, sub-adult, constant temperature in the box at 23 degrees Celsius..."
After putting the snake back in the drawer, Shao Zifeng bit the pen cap, recording seriously in his notebook.
This was a habit he had developed since he got involved in the reptile pet circle. For all the pets he raised, from individual species to development conditions and even feeding times, he would meticulously record every detail.
After finishing his records, he would compare the numbers and feed those snakes due for feeding.
The food consisted of special frozen baby mice bought online. After all, he considered himself somewhat compassionate and couldn't bring himself to feed live animals.
Feeding snakes wasn't too difficult. Juveniles were fed twice a week, sub-adults once a week, and adults could go for a few days, but not too long, or they might see you as food.
After tending to the snakes in the cabinet, Shao Zifeng went to the square fish tank in the corner.
The bottom of the tank was covered with a thick layer of yellow sand, with some rocks and animal bone models casually placed on top. A lizard about ten centimeters long was staring warily at his approaching hand.
The South African armadillo lizard, dark yellow all over, had six large, prominent scaly bones behind its head, and similar scaly bones formed bands around its torso and tail.
This was a very interesting lizard. When threatened, it quickly hid in rock crevices.
If caught, it curled its head and tail into a ball to protect its soft belly.
Due to breeding difficulties, the South African armadillo lizard, being a protected local animal, was hard to export. Thus, it often sold for sky-high prices domestically (while a Chinese Water Dragon only cost a few hundred yuan, a South African armadillo lizard could easily sell for tens of thousands).
This armadillo lizard was ordered by a customer who later changed their mind. Shao Zifeng found it after a long search but ended up losing thousands, despite receiving a thousand yuan deposit.
Looking at the armadillo lizard biting its own tail and curling into a ball, Shao Zifeng couldn't help but poke its rough scales with his finger.
With a trembling body, the South African armadillo lizard tensely watched Shao Zifeng.
"Little money-waster, go ahead and eat."
With this, Shao Zifeng gently flicked its small head and placed some food nearby.
Despite the financial loss, he quite liked this little guy.
South African armadillo lizard: (°ー°〃)
After finishing everything, Shao Zifeng stretched heavily, not even in the mood to eat. He collapsed on the bed, pinching his nose to alleviate the soreness in his eyes, feeling like he had forgotten something.
He picked up his phone to check the time...
"Darn it, I forgot to ship the order."
"Hmm... what does it matter if it's a day late? He didn't specify a time after all," Shao Zifeng muttered, comforting himself as he collapsed back onto the bed.
After a brief nap of half an hour, it was nearly nine o'clock. He turned on his phone radio, tuning into a familiar broadcast channel, favored for the sweet and cute voice of the female host...
Who would announce the winning numbers each period.
Placing his phone and the lottery ticket on the table, Shao Zifeng approached the drawer with the round spot viper as the sweet voice of the host announced the winning numbers.
Looking at the round spot viper curled up in the corner of the cabinet, he inexplicably opened the drawer.
This snake was not exactly bought through official channels but was a gift from an oily middle-aged man in the circle who was clearing out his inventory while retiring from the circle.
At that time, Shao Zifeng was new to the circle. He bought many juvenile snakes at high prices from the greasy middle-aged man. The man had smiled, squinting his eyes, and said there was a surprise in the bottom box, a personal gift for him.
Shao Zifeng clearly remembered being startled while researching and recording it — life-threatening.
"Little guy, how about I find you a new owner tomorrow?"
Shao Zifeng tightly pinched the triangular head of the round spot viper. The snake opened its mouth wide as its two crystal-clear fangs extended from the soft flesh.
Venom seemed to flow from the fangs, hissing as the snake coiled tightly around his forearm, tail coiling around its body and constricting his arm.
Shao Zifeng remained unfazed, even smiling at it, as if looking at his financial treasure.
"Dear listeners, it's time to say goodnight again. Before we say goodnight as usual, let me, Xiaoxin, announce this period's winning numbers: 03, 06, 17, 22, 25, 27, and the last number 08. Now, to repeat: 03, 06..."
"Buzz"
Shao Zifeng felt a rush of blood surge to his head. The host's sweet voice announcing the numbers echoed in his ears, numbers matching those on his ticket.
"Oh my! I won!" Shao Zifeng quickly rushed to the table, grabbing the lottery ticket with numbers matching those announced. In his excitement, he didn't notice the round spot viper biting into his thumb, venom quickly flowing towards his heart as his excited blood circulated faster.
A sudden dizziness interrupted Shao Zifeng's euphoria, bringing a sense of loss.
Looking down at his right hand, the round spot viper still tightly bit his thumb. Its emotionless eyes met his, and he could feel the snake continuing to inject venom into his body.
He tried to lift his right arm, but it felt like a ton.
Staggering a few steps, he fell heavily to the ground.
His thoughts froze, growing increasingly blurry. He vaguely felt his hands grasping the round spot viper and the winning ticket.
"I... I seem to have won the lottery..."
"And... I've been bitten by a snake..."
"And this snake is the infamous kidney-deficient round spot viper!"
"Oh, my kidneys..."