"Suspicious individuals? I'm not security personnel and I rarely come here. If you need to know these things, you should ask Grandpa Huang."
"Oh? Thank you!"
We found Grandpa Huang, and he told us that he usually went to bed very early. But one night, he heard noises outside. Several people on motorcycles were throwing iron boxes into the water. He thought they were robbers and didn't dare to get close, only to peek.
After those people left, he wanted to find the boxes, but they had already sunk into the sea.
The boxes must have contained very heavy items with a density greater than water for them to sink. When I was transporting those medicine boxes, I noticed they were indeed very heavy. Remembering this, I realized that when I switched them earlier, I had hidden the truly problematic medicine boxes in the mud near Qiao Jing Bridge. After bidding farewell to Grandpa Huang, I brought Liu Yuning with me to the vicinity of the mud. We hired some people to bring shovels and dug out all the medicine boxes.
Upon opening them, we found packets of heavy objects resembling stones. We took the items back, and then the forensic team tried to smash the stones with hammers several times but couldn't open them.
Now I finally understand why those boxes were so heavy. The density of these stones is truly astonishing. Could it be that the fish scale disease virus was hidden inside? But if such boxes were sunk in the sea, could those viruses be released?
I suddenly thought of something, took out one of these stones, and put it into water. To my surprise, it worked! The stone easily disintegrated upon contact with water, and then a whole cup of water turned blue-purple. Looking at the book.
I, Zhang Keying, collected some samples and gave them to Xie Chuchu to research what this fish scale disease was all about. You know, many hospitals are now admitting patients with this condition, and everyone is looking for a cure.
If we can find a method to combat this disease and develop an antidote, it would be of immense help.
The research and development cannot be solely undertaken by the police. This already involves the health bureau. Many experts have arrived to assist Xie Chuchu and her team in implementing the development of the antidote.
One expert told us: "The fish scale disease samples contain a large amount of cathinone, which is a third-generation drug also known as 'bath salts.' It's a 'new psychoactive substance' created by criminals to evade drug trafficking crackdowns by chemically modifying existing drugs. It's a drug analog.
Cathinone has many names, such as Khat, K2, spice, laughing gas, happy nuts, Kava, pop rocks, milk tea, rainbow smoke, and purple drank. These drugs contain stimulant substances like cathinone, synthetic cannabinoids, nitrous oxide, and methamphetamine. Chewing or ingesting them can cause severe stimulation of the central nervous system, leading to hallucinations. Some third-generation drugs are very potent; once addicted, they not only keep the brain in a state of continuous excitement but also cause extreme addiction, making them difficult to quit!
According to a Guangming Daily report, a Ms. Liu, who was concerned about her figure, became addicted to the third-generation drug 'bath salts.' Ms. Liu had heard from a friend that this drug was less harmful to the body, not very addictive, and had good weight-loss effects. So, Ms. Liu tried it with a 'what if' mindset. However, she never expected that after taking bath salts, not only did she fail to lose weight, but she also became addicted! Gradually, Ms. Liu's thinking declined, she often appeared dazed, and her physical condition deteriorated, eventually causing her to lose her job...
Six years ago, a tragedy occurred in the United States due to the consumption of third-generation drugs: In 2012, an American man, after taking a third-generation drug, experienced hallucinations. Due to excessive excitement, he attacked an innocent homeless man on the street, biting off the homeless man's face with his own mouth!
The names of 'bath salts' resemble ordinary food, and their packaging and shapes are no different from children's snacks, such as 'pop rocks,' which look like ordinary candy, and 'milk tea,' which is similar to regular milk tea and can be brewed and drunk. 'Purple drank' can even be mixed to have a fruity taste...
Furthermore, some third-generation drugs also appear in the form of spices, tobacco, and e-cigarette oils, with the flavors diluted within. The drug dealers do this solely to disguise their activities and lower people's guard.
We had nothing else to do, so recently, relying on my memory, we went to the place where the organization had dumped the medicine boxes and used customs resources to salvage those boxes. During this process, we encountered many more victims.
After about three days of effort, we had visited almost all the bridges I knew of. A total of 16 medicine boxes were recovered. Just this evening, I was resting in the office when Xiahou suddenly called in a panic: "Deputy Director He, something's wrong. Many floating bodies have been found near Qiao Jing Bridge. I've already gone there, you should come and see!"
"Roughly how many?"
"I can't say for sure, but, sigh, you'll know when you get here!"
From Xiahou's tone, I could tell the situation was definitely not simple. I rushed to the Punishment Team's office, and without thinking, I called out Gao Mingqiang's name. Seeing his empty seat, I realized he was no longer with us. A sense of desolation washed over us, everyone felt a bit sad, but we quickly recovered, rushed out of the office, and drove away.
Upon arriving near Qiao Jing Bridge, we saw many bodies floating on another beach. This time, it had escalated to dozens of bodies, much more serious than before. Liu Yuning told me: "Back then, we only found two or three bodies in these areas. How could there be so many this time? It seems the situation is more serious than we imagined."
"It's getting more and more serious. Fish scale disease spreads faster in water. Anyone who goes to the beach has a 99% infection rate. This is the conclusion Zhang Keying reached after researching with those experts."
"Let's get to work first. We have to be busy again!"
Zhang Keying and Xie Chuchu approached the bodies at this moment, and we all helped nearby, pulling the bodies ashore like deep-sea garbage. Because there were so many bodies, we were all exhausted from the effort. By the time everything was processed, our limbs felt numb, like they didn't belong to us.
Zhang Keying and the forensic team were investigating. Speaking of Ling Xiaotao, we later found her in a laboratory at a factory. Fortunately, she hadn't been dissected yet, but she was very weak, as if she hadn't eaten for days. She is now receiving treatment at the central hospital, and it's unclear when she'll be discharged.
"Time of death was about two hours ago. The cause of death is obvious. Look at the fish scales and wounds on these people," Zhang Keying said.
Xie Chuchu shone a shadowless lamp and said: "Indeed, it's very similar to the bodies found before. The value of autopsies is probably not high, and besides, we can't possibly verify all these bodies. We can only take them back for now."
As the bodies were being sent away one by one, Xiahou walked over and said: "I watched the other side for a while without anything happening, and then something happened here. If this continues, how many more will die!"
"I can't say for sure. Since I abandoned those medicine boxes back then, there must be hundreds of victims by now. The organization is indeed cunning, knowing this is the fastest way to harm people. The development of the antidote is nowhere in sight. I think I need to go see Kelly. She should have a way!"
"Will that person tell you? She wants us dead so badly!"
"Perhaps I have a way!"
I handed over the remaining work to others. When I arrived at the procuratorate, Kelly knew I wanted to see her and didn't refuse. On the contrary, she quickly came over. At this moment, her hands were cuffed, her feet were shackled, and she was escorted by two prison guards to my side.
"Detective He, what brings you to see a prisoner like me?"
"You consider yourself a prisoner now? Didn't you refuse to plead guilty before?"
"Does it matter if I plead guilty or not? I just don't want to admit defeat. Alright, what did you come to see me for today?"
I calmed myself down and took out many photos of the victims taken on the beach, placing them on the table. Pointing at them, I said to Kelly: "Do you know how much harm fish scale disease has caused to this city? The number of victims has risen to 353! Although 300 patients have been brought under control, many have still died."
"Hahaha, so many? I'm not sure. Actually, the experiment hasn't reached the final stage, but since you've caught me, I have nothing more to say."
"You scoundrel! You actually added cathinone to the fish scale bacteria. Do you know how terrifying that stuff is? After taking it, people lose their minds, start beating others violently, tearing their own skin, and even find killing themselves exhilarating. That's the so-called pleasure from a rapid heartbeat, but it's drug addiction, do you know that?"
"Oh? That stimulating? How come I didn't know!" Kelly said with a lying face, which made me really want to stand up and punch her right then. However, I knew it was impossible given my current status.
I took a deep breath, paused, and said in a very calm tone: "Kelly, do you want to see even more victims like this appear? Is that right?"
"I'm not sure. As I said before, I don't understand this drug very well. I'm a scientist, but I can't complete the research and development alone!"
"I've also spoken with your colleagues, and they all gave me the same answer!"
"Then I don't know. What about the design drawings? Did you find them? If you found them, you should have discovered something by now!"