Chapter 68 : 68: The Crocodile Gar
As soon as the big koi hit the water, it was immediately torn apart and devoured by several strange fish, while the bald man and a few thugs watched in astonishment, "Holy shit, these fish are fierce, Mr. Zhou, are these piranhas?"
"These are not piranhas, but they're worse than piranhas!"
Zhou Jin grabbed a towel and wiped his hands as he said, "This is the crocodile garpike, one of the fiercest freshwater fish, brought over by a friend from South America. These creatures are like crocodiles but even more vicious. They eat only meat and are poisonous. The biggest ones can grow to five or six meters long. In a pond, if you have one of these, hmph..."
"Oh, I get it! Mr. Zhou, you mean to secretly release these crocodile garpike into Shuijun Lake to devour all the fry!"
The bald man gave a big thumbs up: "Brilliant! Mr. Zhou, that's really smart!"
"Hmmph, didn't that kid say we should each raise our own? Fine, I'll let him raise them. I want to see what he can raise with these creatures around! Not to mention fish, even crabs and loaches will be entirely wiped out!" Zhou Jin said fiercely, throwing down his towel.
A henchman off to the side wasn't so sure, "Mr. Zhou, these creatures are fierce, but there's only a few of them, and that lake of his is over a hundred acres. Even if these crocodile garpike eat their fill, they can't consume that many fish, can they?"
"You don't understand." Zhou Jin sneered with a shake of his head: "There are many fish that eat other fish, even humans, but why is the crocodile garpike notoriously vicious? Because it's violent in nature, loves to kill indiscriminately. It will bite to death all other fish in its vicinity, whether it can eat them or not. There's a term for it, called 'overkill'."
"Besides, we're not talking about a day or two here. We've got all the time in the world. Today a few dozen, tomorrow a few dozen more. By the time that kid notices, there'll barely be any fish left in the lake."
The bald man was eager to get started: "You can count on me, Mr. Zhou. I'll climb over the fence tonight and release them into Shuijun Lake."
...
Around ten o'clock at night, Suming was stopped by a patrolling security guard who mentioned that Mr. Dong had been looking for him during the day. With nothing in particular to do, Suming nonchalantly made his way to the security office.
As he entered the gate, he was greeted by a wall displaying dozens of TV screens, each showing surveillance footage from different areas of the zoo.
"Mr. Dong, you really upgraded the artillery!" Suming greeted Dong, who was sitting at the monitoring station, with a chuckle.
The last time he was in the monitoring room, not even a third of those dozens of TVs had clear images, most of the surveillance equipment was broken.
"It's all thanks to you. After that incident with the lucky cat, the higher-ups approved some funding. Plus, you donated a hundred thousand, and the zoo finally had the money to beef up security. We overhauled the entire surveillance system, installing and replacing where needed. The project was just completed today."
Mr. Dong said while gesturing for a young security guard to bring a chair over.
"Mr. Su, please take a seat," the young guard said politely.
"Thank you," Suming nodded at the guard, then jokingly said to Mr. Dong, "So all our moves are being watched under your ever-watchful eyes now, are they?"
"You little rascal, can't you just say what you want to say instead of beating around the bush and cursing me?" Mr. Dong laughed heartily and then said, "I get it, it's about privacy. The old zoo director said there's no need to monitor where we staff live. It's mainly the perimeter fence and the animal areas that matter. You're not planning to bring a girl back to the waterside residence for some fun and are worried I'll see, are you?"
"I wish, but unfortunately, no girl is willing." Suming laughed.
"That's not true, I hear those three girls at the nurses' station are always chattering about you behind your back. They might just be interested in you."
Whenever Suming thought about the nurses' station, his scalp would tingle. After the wolf-dog incident, it was a bit awkward whenever he encountered those nurse sisters. As for Nurse Hu, she was still as carefree as ever.
But Suming really didn't have the courage to bring Hu back to the waterside residence.
"Let me ask you something. Why have you gotten involved with someone like Zhou Jin?"
Mr. Dong shifted his gaze from the monitors, glanced at Suming with some concern, and asked, "Is there a conflict in business? Zhou Jin is not an easy opponent. If you need help, I can talk to him."
"His own fish go missing, and he accuses me of stealing them," Suming said.
"What a joke, with several kilometers between Shuijun Lake and Huating Reservoir where his fish farm is, how could they be stolen? Digging tunnels? He's just used to being a bully. Seeing your fish thriving, he wants to swindle you. It's not the first time this has happened. Several of our neighbors have been pressured by him to the point where they couldn't continue and eventually moved away. You don't need to pay him any mind. If there are any problems, the park will take care of you."
Mr. Dong's casual comment had almost guessed the truth, and Suming also smiled without saying much.
After a little more small talk, Suming was ready to leave.
Before he could step out, a figure suddenly appeared on one of the surveillance screens, clad in torn, ragged clothes, clumsily climbing over the zoo's fence and jumping out.
Immediately afterwards, the wolf-dog brothers appeared in the frame. Although the footage was silent, it was evident they were furiously barking in the direction of the person who had climbed the fence.
In light of a recent sabotage where Monkey Mountain's fence was tampered with, Mr. Dong's heart skipped a beat when he saw the surveillance footage. He grabbed the walkie-talkie at once, "Zhao, Zhao, go check the east back wall. Someone just climbed over! They were chased off by Suming's wolf-dogs!"
"I'll have a look too," said Suming.
By the time the group arrived, the fence climber was long gone, but the wolf-dog brothers were still guarding the base of the fence. With no hope of catching up now, Mr. Dong could only instruct the security guards to be more vigilant during their night patrols.
"I'll be going then, Mr. Dong, you're busy," Suming said, seeing there was nothing for him to do. He turned around with the wolf-dogs and headed towards Shuijun Lake.
Since he was raising fish, Suming naturally had to prevent sabotage or theft. These days, he had the wolf-dog brothers stationed near Shuijun Lake most of the time, especially after today's threatening call from Zhou Jin. Suming had also specifically dispatched several cats to the area and had instructed the alligator snapping turtles and bighead catfish to strengthen their vigilance.
He even sent Er Gouzi to the back hills to gather a swarm of bees and hornets, hiding them in the trees surrounding Shuijun Lake.
With creatures that fly, run, and swim, all under his command, Suming had set up a comprehensive defense in the air, on land, and in water. No matter how capable Zhou Jin was, he'd find no way to mess with Shuijun Lake.
The person who climbed the fence must have visited Shuijun Lake before, to have been chased by the wolf-dog brothers.
...
Under the moonlight, the bald man sprinted down the path along the edge of the reservoir, anxiously glancing back while running, afraid of being pursued.
After finally reaching Zhou Jin's villa, the bald man breathed a sigh of relief and yelled at a lackey, "Water... water... get me a glass of water..."
Meanwhile, outside the villa, Er Gouzi, who had been stealthily following, was perched on a tree branch. His compound eyes coldly watched the bald man enter the villa before buzzing his wings and heading back towards the zoo.
"How did it go!" Zhou Jin hurried down the stairs.
After guzzling half a teacup of water, the bald man wiped his mouth and replied hesitantly, "Uh, uh, uh, done!"
"Did anyone see you, and did anyone chase you?" Zhou Jin pressed.
"Nope, I was wearing a mask. Looked around the whole time, no tails!"
"Good."
Zhou Jin's eyes suddenly narrowed with suspicion as he scrutinized the bald man's disheveled appearance, "How did you get into such a state?"
Upon Zhou Jin's inquiry, the bald man nearly burst into tears and lamented with a miserable face, "Mr. Zhou, I've suffered! I nearly lost my life trying to get this done!"