Chapter 248 Coast Guard Dispatched
Xia Lili just said "hmm" softly.
She carefully observed the crew member's complexion and body language and found no signs of poisoning.
“Have you ever had direct contact with these seafood?”
The veteran sailor quickly shook his head and denied it: "No. I was only responsible for moving these foam boxes onto the boat."
"I don't dare touch the seafood inside."
The tetrodotoxin secreted by the blue-ringed octopus is a neurotoxin. Compared with cyanide, the only good thing about it is that it cannot be directly absorbed into the blood circulation through healthy and intact skin.
In real life, if you pick up or touch a blue-ringed octopus with your bare hands without provoking it to secrete toxins, you will usually not be poisoned as long as there are no wounds on your skin.
The supply ship's warehouse was piled high with foamed plastic boxes, and a damp, salty smell mixed with the sea breeze blew in my face.
Xia Lili locked onto the five foam boxes in her illusion. Wearing gloves, she half-crouched in front of the piles of foam boxes, the white light of a strong flashlight piercing the darkness.
Two fully armed bodyguards stood behind her, scanning the surroundings vigilantly.
"This batch of ingredients needs to be processed in the morning, and we must confirm whether there is any contamination."
She whispered, her voice calm and tense.
The blue-ringed octopus is usually gray-yellow in color, and is no different from ordinary octopuses.
The fluorescent blue ring only lights up when threatened.
Therefore, when fishermen are catching seafood, they often mistake it for an ordinary small octopus and cannot be discovered.
Tetrodotoxin is resistant to high-temperature cooking and there is no way to destroy its toxicity.
The blue-ringed octopus is very small, usually only 5 to 20 centimeters, and is quite difficult to find.
Bodyguard Ah Cheng frowned: "Director Xia, do you really want to turn them over one by one?"
"Yes, let's get started."
Xia Lili didn't look up, but used her fingers to push aside a slimy octopus tentacle.
The gray-brown skin shone dimly under the flashlight, the tentacles squirmed, and the suction cups contracted slightly.
She moved quickly, checking one line after another.
The octopuses in the foam box were tangled together, and their slippery tentacles occasionally got tangled in her gloves, which she calmly brushed away.
Suddenly, she paused.
A smaller octopus huddled in a corner, its tentacles slightly stretched out. Its body color was darker than the others, almost brown, but—
Something flashed in the light.
Xia Lili held her breath and gently used tweezers to push away the surrounding tentacles.
The octopus seemed to sense the threat and its body slowly tensed up.
Then, its skin began to change.
The khaki color gradually faded, replaced by a dazzling bright yellow.
Immediately afterwards, dozens of fluorescent blue rings lit up one after another as if they were ignited, flickering eerily in the dark foam box.
Xia Lili's pupils contracted slightly.
"Found it!" Xia Lili whispered.
Xia Lili quickly picked up the blue-ringed octopus with tweezers and carefully placed it into a special isolation container.
With a "click", the sealed lid was fastened. She immediately signaled to the bodyguard: "Seal up this entire box of seafood and isolate it. Do not use it again."
"Blue-ringed octopus?!"
The old sailor's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing the news, his face instantly pale. "This is impossible... This batch of goods has undergone strict quality inspection before being put on board!"
Xia Lili keenly grasped the key point in his words: "Besides the quality inspectors, who else has come into contact with this batch of goods?"
The crew member suddenly remembered something and slapped his thigh: "It's Ah Hai! He has been in charge of this batch of goods!"
Just as he finished speaking, a loud "thump" suddenly came from the stern of the ship.
"Someone jumped into the sea!"
Bodyguard Ah Cheng shouted, and the three of them immediately rushed to the stern.
Seeing a figure swimming desperately on the sea, Ah Cheng jumped into the sea without hesitation.
A few minutes later, Ah Cheng, who was soaked all over, dragged the struggling Ah Hai ashore.
Xia Lili looked down at the trembling young man and asked, "Did you release the blue-ringed octopus?"
Ah Hai lowered his head, water dripping down his hair: "No... no... it got in by itself..."
Xia Lili waved her hand decisively - interrogation was not her specialty, and this tough task was handled by professionals.
She took out her cell phone, slid her slender fingers quickly across the screen, and decisively dialed the coast guard alarm hotline.
"Hello, this is the Radiance Cruise Security Department."
Her voice was calm and clear, and the sea breeze blew her hair slightly. "We discovered a blue-ringed octopus released on the supply ship 'Brilliant Support'. We have the suspect in custody."
A professional and prompt response came from the other end of the line: "Received. Your location has been located. The nearest Coast Guard patrol boat will arrive within 47 minutes."
Xia Lili hung up the phone and turned to look at Ah Hai who was being held down by the bodyguard.
In the moonlight, a barely perceptible panic flashed across the young man's face.
She narrowed her eyes and tapped her fingertips on the edge of the phone - behind this seemingly ordinary crew member, there might be a bigger secret.
It was very likely that it involved the Pei family's business war, which was not something she had the energy to participate in.
An hour later, a dazzling searchlight suddenly lit up on the horizon.
The roar of the engine came from far away, and a blue and white coast guard speedboat broke through the waves, leaving a silver trail under the moonlight.
The speedboat docked steadily next to the supply ship, and the first person to jump onto the deck was a coast guard in a navy blue uniform.
The moment he took off his police hat, he revealed a handsome face with clear edges and corners - under his sword-like eyebrows were a pair of bright eyes, his high nose bridge seemed to be measured with a ruler, and his jawline was clean and neat.
"Hello, I'm Qin Chaoyang."
Qin Chaoyang was surprised to see Xia Lili. He didn't expect that the security director of such a huge cruise ship like the Brilliant would be such a young girl.
Moreover, the bodyguards beside her stood beside her like her younger brothers, which was not at all out of place.
Qin Chaoyang saluted neatly, his voice steady and powerful, "Coast Guard Special Operations Team."
When he opened the certificate with his slender fingers, he could vaguely see gun calluses on the base of his thumb - those were the marks caused by years of holding guns and pulling cables.
Coast guard is a particularly dangerous profession.
They have to chase smugglers in huge waves, and a single wave may throw them and their boats into the deep sea; they have to go out on patrol during typhoons, searching for ships in distress in level 12 winds and waves, and they may be caught in whirlpools if they are not careful; they have to face armed desperadoes, and fight in close combat on the shaking deck, and bullets may penetrate the cabin at any time.
They even have to dive into polluted waters to salvage dangerous goods, and it is common for their skin to be corroded and ulcerated.
Xia Lili couldn't help but take a few more glances - this appearance, this temperament, was exactly like a model that walked out of a police recruitment poster.
When he looked into Qin Chaoyang's eyes, he felt no illusions.
Xia Lili breathed a sigh of relief.
Meeting two unlucky guys today is already enough.
"Is he the suspect?" Qin Chaoyang's sharp eyes swept over Ah Hai, and the young man who had been stubborn just now suddenly shrank his neck.
(See picture of the blue-ringed octopus at the end of the chapter.
Everyone should be careful to identify them in daily life! The risk of stepping on landmines is not low.)
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