Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Cone Snails, also known as Cone Shells, were named after their shape that resembled a cone. Just on the coast of China, there were already more than 70 different types of cone snails that were widely distributed. Although they weren’t as famous as the Blue-Ringed Octopus or the Portuguese Man O’ War, the hidden, poisonous creature did not inflict any less harm to humans each year when compared to them.
The Blue-Ringed Octopus and the Portuguese Man O’ War were mollusks with tentacles, and since they looked really disgusting, most people would not take the initiative to touch them. But the shell of a Cone Snail was really beautiful and they looked like a delicate piece of artwork lying on the beach, so people couldn’t help but want to pick it up.
The content of the Cone Snail’s venom was very complicated, and each type of cone snail had a different kind of venom, so there was no specific detoxification serum.
The little boy’s mother had never seen a Cone Snail before, but she had vaguely heard of the poisonous creature. She was badly frightened when she heard of its name, so she snatched over the lunch box from the boy and checked both the front and back of his hands countless of times to make sure that there was no wound before she let out a sigh of relief.
Still shaken up from the scare, she sternly questioned her child where he had bought the creatures from.
The little boy was also scared into a blur. He began to stammer and said that he bought them from the fish market.
So, she held onto the evidence and led her child back to the market in an aggressive and threatening manner. She then scolded Jiang Feifei the moment she saw her.
The sound of her scolding had attracted a number of people who came over to watch, and after they heard of the cause, they all started to blame Jiang Feifei for her careless actions.
At that time, Jiang Feifei was reading a book for revision as she sat by the stall. She was thrown into a blur from the sudden disaster that befell her––she could not even say anything. But she also had no way to say anything since the facts were all right on the table and there was no way for her to deny.
She immediately regretted her harvest the moment she learned that her unintentional mistake had almost led to a disaster. She felt like slapping herself a few times.
Now that things had come that far, she had no other wishes. She just wanted to plead for the middle-aged woman to not call the police, or else she would really be done—if the school were to find out, she would either be punished or, if things were serious, she would be kicked out of school. How was she going to face her parents and family who had spent the money to send her to a university?
The netizens were all scared after Zhang Zian had made clear how the situation came to be. They now believed that a wild harvest wasn’t something for everyone. If they were to go on a blind bird pick and picked up a cone snail, then harming themselves was one thing… but if they were to cause harm to others, wouldn’t that be considered manslaughter? It was better to remain in the city for the offline meeting, after all.
Snowy was very sympathetic to Jiang Feifei’s experience, but the issue was not going to be easy to solve. The middle-aged woman was extremely furious; she would not be easily persuaded.
The same was true for the onlookers. Speaking in terms of reason, they were in support of the middle-aged woman, yet they were also emotionally biased towards Jiang Feifei. That one wrong step on her part had brought her to a situation that was beyond redemption.
If Jiang Feifei had unintentionally sold the Cone Snail to the little boy, even if the police were to arrive, they might just give her a lecture and be done with it. But if the middle-aged woman were to insist that Jiang Feifei had done it on purpose––selling the Cone Snail even after knowing what it is––then things would be different.
The key was if Jiang Feifei could prove that she had not done it intentionally.
Everyone knew that it was almost impossible because the only ones who were there during the purchase were the little boy and Jiang Feifei. The little boy’s testimony would also not have much credibility since he had already forgotten what he had said.
Everyone looked at Jiang Feifei sympathetically, but there was nothing they could do to help.
There were one or two people who were more experienced in the ways of life. They quietly signaled with their eyes for Jiang Feifei to fork out more money to resolve the issue, treating it as if it were a lesson.
But where would Jiang Feifei find any extra money––if she had money? She wouldn’t be going out on a wild harvest while her schoolmates were all sleeping.
Seeing that the middle-aged woman was about to press the dial button, Zhang Zian stepped closer to her and looked into the lunch box.
In the lunch box that was half filled with water, a beautiful snail laid there.
Its outer shell appeared to be streamlined––wide on one end as it gradually narrowed with a smooth angle to the other end. The enamel-glossy surface was evenly distributed with quicksand-like spots. It was really beautiful.
The most eye-catching thing was that it would occasionally spit out a pale pink feeler shaped object as if to test the movements of its surroundings.
It was its appearance and the feeler-like thing that made everyone believe that it was a dangerous Cone Snail.
The middle-aged woman continued scolding Jiang Feifei while the onlookers and the netizens had their own opinions.
“Cough! Can I saw a few words?” Zhang Zian let out a dry cough.
He’d been standing to the side and he was so quiet that everyone had forgotten about him.
Hearing what he said, the middle-aged woman suspiciously looked at him. “What? Let me tell you, all of you can forget about persuading me today. I’m going to call the police!”
A glimmer of hope appeared in Jiang Feifei’s heart. She hoped that Zhang Zian would be able to persuade her not to call the police.
Snowy felt the same way, too. She knew that Zhang Zian would not just involve himself in such situations, but when he did, there was something he could achieve.
“This… Big sister.”
Zhang Zian pondered for some time on how he was supposed to address her, and finally, he decided to go against his heart and call her big sister like the others. In fact, it was supposed to be ‘aunty,’ but to prevent making things worse, he decided that it was better to suffer a little!
“It’s fine if you want to call the police––I’m not going to stop you––but I feel that it’s best if you did not call the police. Because once the police are here, I’m afraid that you’re going to be the one receiving the lecture and blame,” Zian said to her.
The middle-aged woman immediately paid attention. She thought that Zhang Zian had some special connections with the police. “What are you talking about? Justice is on my side, so I won’t be afraid of anyone today! I’m going to get the blame? Why would I be the one receiving the blame? It’s obviously her fault!”
She pointed at Jiang Feifei’s face. The tip of her fingers could almost touch Jiang Feifei’s forehead.
Zhang Zian laughed and said, “The reason why you want to call the police is because she sold a Cone Snail to your son, right? But what you’re holding now isn’t a Cone Snail. So even if you were to call the police, they would be making a wasted trip! So if you’re not going to receive the blame, then who is?”
“What?”
The unexpected twist got everyone present confused.
“Mr Store Manager, isn’t that a Cone Snail?” Snowy asked in a delightful surprise.
The middle-aged woman gave a look that said, ‘don’t try to lie to me just because I’m uneducated.’ With a very aggressive tone, she questioned, “You’re in cahoots with this girl, right? Stop trying to lie here! Are the two of you conspiring together to cheat people? How much money is she giving you? My relative told me very clearly that this was a type of Cone Shell. It’s also known as Nussatella Cone! I clearly remember the name!”
Zhang Zian immediately refuted, “I don’t know her, we’re not working together, and I’m also not siding with her. I just happened to be here and can’t bear to see her being treated unfairly, so I’m here to say a few words out of fairness. From what I see, your relative is just a smatterer. Although this thing is similar to a Nussatella Cone, it’s actually an Oliva Emicator and is not poisonous.”
