Pet King

The relative of the middle-aged woman had some discernment, as the Nussatella cone (Hermes nussatellus) was a special species among cone shells.

Most cone shells were heart-shaped with a wider end and a sharp, narrow end. The Nussatella cones’ narrow edge was less sharp, and they looked more like bullets. They didn’t look like cone shells, but more like ordinary, harmless snails.

The Oliva emicator looked quite similar to Nussatella cones in both shape and color and were often mixed up by amateurs. But in fact, they were not the same species at all.

Zhang Zian was fully confident that the creature in the container was an Oliva emicator and not an extremely venomous cone snail.

When Snowy first heard his words, she was expecting him to present some evidence to turn the situation around. He ended up turning the entire table of negotiation! If the creature was not a cone snail, then the previous accusations were total nonsense. The woman would end up being the one at fault.

Jiang Feifei was completely stunned. Her head was buzzing, and her heart was pounding. She really hoped that what Zhang Zian said was true. If it was true, then she would no longer need to apologize, nor fear the police.

The middle-aged woman didn’t want to give up so easily. “How dare you! You call my relative an amateur,” she said with a poker face. “I think you are more like an amateur! You said that this is an Oliva emicator. Do you have any evidence? Can you prove it? Anyone is capable of making up nonsense! Since you say it’s an Oliva emicator, fine. Do you dare to hold it in your hands?”

Clearly, she trusted her relative much more than Zhang Zian. She talked quite provocatively. Zhang Zian became the target of the arrow.

The surrounding crowd was doubtful, as Zhang Zian just uttered a very professional name––Oliva emicator. None of them were certain if his judgment was correct.

“Young man, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t claim whatever you want!” someone tried to persuade him.

“That’s right. Don’t play the hero if you are not one. If this is really a cone snail, then you’ll certainly die if you hold it in your hands!” Someone was afraid that he might act impulsively.

Someone tried to step in and end the fight. “Just let it go. You should meet each other halfway and stop it there.”

Snowy didn’t know what to do. She believed Zhang Zian, but it was too risky. What if…?

The online fans, who had always been ridiculing him, could not stay calm anymore.

“Manager Weak Bird, just be a weak bird. Don’t be a fool!”

“I give you 99 points, you poser. Forget about the remaining one point as long as we know that it’s an Oliva emicator.”

“I wanted to say, ‘I’ll take care of your wife,’ but Manager Weak Bird doesn’t have a wife! You should at least get a wife before posing!”

Zhang Zian wanted to let it go. But if he did so, the online fans in the broadcast might mock the crap out of him in the next year. Plus, he thought that the middle-aged woman was overreacting. Even if she had her rights, she had to behave within the limits of the law.

With a smile, before the other people had realized what was happening, he quickly put his hand underwater, grabbed the beautiful snail in his palm, and lifted it out of the water to show to everyone. Clear water dripped through his fingers.

“Wow!”

Snowy was too shocked to watch and turned her head. Jiang Feifei closed her eyes. Everybody else exclaimed in astonishment. A few nice people even tried to tap Zhang Zian’s arms so that the snail would fall out of his hand.

The face of the middle-aged woman changed abruptly. She thought that Zhang Zian could not have been so stupid. He actually took the snail in his hand. If he ended up being poisoned by the cone snail, then she would have been responsible in some way.

Yet, Zhang Zian’s face remained calm as usual, as if the thing in his hand was nothing but an ordinary button.

“The Nussatella cone looks very similar to the Oliva emicator. They have the same color, but there is a major difference. The grooves on a Nussatella cone shell are slightly protruding. You can feel them with your hand and can see it if you take a close look. But an Oliva emicator’s shell is smooth. If you don’t believe me, you can come here and touch it yourself.”

He stretched out his hand to the crowd, but nobody had the guts to touch it. Everybody stepped back when it was in front of them.

Even though they didn’t touch it, everybody saw that the snail did have a smooth shell.

Suddenly, it stretched out a light pink antenna out of its mouth and pointed it at the center of Zhang Zian’s palm.

“Ah!”

Even the grown men shouted like girls. They all looked terrified, thinking that if Zhang Zian was wrong, then he should surely be dead.

After a few seconds, Zhang Zian still looked calm and well. His palm was not hurt at all.

The antenna was soft and only slightly touched his palm. It changed direction as soon as it hit the obstacle.

It was then that the crowded figured out that the snail was, indeed, not a cone snail. As Zhang Zian said, it was a harmless Oliva emicator.

While everyone was still frightened, Zhang Zian thought they looked kind of funny.

He explained, “You don’t need to be frightened like this. Even if it is Nussatella cone, it’s not as venomous as other cone snails. They can hardly kill a grown man. The toxicity of a cone snail depends on the width of its mouth. The wider the mouth, the more venomous it is. In other words, the more it looks like a heart, the more venomous a cone snail is. The Nussatella cone snails have narrow mouths shaped like bullets. In terms of toxicity, it is nothing more than a weak bird among cone snails… not to mention that this is not a Nussatella cone.”

The crowd was finally relieved. Everybody’s foreheads were covered with sweat.

In comparison, the broadcast fans were not physically present to experience the tense atmosphere. They came back to their senses first.

“Nussatella cone says, ‘You’ve hurt my feelings!'”

“When Manager Weak Bird utters the word ‘weak bird,’ it sounds particularly irritating…”

“Isn’t that so! Look at his ugly face intoxicated with success! His posing attempt is once again successful…”

Facts were louder than words. The middle-aged woman could not utter a word; she was too embarrassed to stay.

After the situation had changed direction, the crowd started to rebuke her.

“What are you doing? You blamed the wrong person without figuring out what was going on… It’s your fault that we almost helped you do wrong!”

“Luckily this knowledgeable young man is here. Otherwise, this poor girl would have never gotten out of this mess!”

“Don’t say anything else. Just apologize, as you wronged her incorrectly…”

“After you return, tell your amateur relative to be careful next time. You almost ruined someone’s life!”

The middle-aged woman finally experienced how Jiang Feifei was feeling. After she was blamed by the crowd, her face changed color in embarrassment. But she just could not utter a word to apologize. Her words were too mean, after all, and she didn’t leave any room for the girl to defend herself. By doing so, she left no room for herself, either.

Anyway, she was just a stranger to the crowd, and nobody knew her well. She lowered her head, took her boy’s hand, squeezed themselves through the crowd, and left the aquarium market in embarrassment.