The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Chapter 156

Nina quickly pulled out her phone, scanning the map as her finger traced the screen.

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When she saw a “National Agricultural Research Base” marked right near Oakridge, her hand jolted so hard that she almost fumbled her phone.

There it was.

Nina crouched down urgently, addressing her little ones. “Did you guys just say there’s also a well at the Agricultural Research Center?

“And it’s drawing from the same underground water as the well in Oakridge, huh?”

The Chief Groundhog nodded his chubby little head. “Yeah. I’ve got a cousin who lives right by the base.”

Excitedly, he gestured wildly. “The humans over there are always dropping these super tasty seeds and feed. My cousin crawls over through a secret tunnel all the time, hollers for us to come join the feast.”

Duck his head, he hushed his voice. “Word is, the grass inside the base is better. One of my greedy cousins snuck in for a taste and almost got fried to a fuzzball by the electric fence. It’s scary.”

Nina realized something crucial-groundhogs were the true masters of underground construction.

Their burrows might seem tiny from the outside, but if a family had worked on it for generations, it could stretch for hundreds of feet and twist every which way. They had bedrooms, dining areas, and even their bathrooms and baby rooms.

When they dug, groundhogs skillfully dodged underground streams but always stayed close to water. Honestly, they knew how groundwater moved and where all the secret wells were better than anyone else.

Nina realized the situation had just gotten even worse. Now it wasn’t only the lives of everyone in Oakridge at risk—even the Agricultural Research Center was in danger.

The source for both wells came from deep underground. Even though the research center’s well and Oakridge’s well were far apart on the surface, underground, they were both pulling water from the same pool.

Therefore, if someone poisoned Oakridge’s water, that poison would leak right into the whole underground pool.

And in the end, when the research center’s well started pumping water up, it would be poisoned, too.

Just then, Simon came back after gathering intel.

To keep a low profile, he had dressed in a dark outfit and a hat, looking like some casual outdoorsman out for a bit of fishing.

However, even in plain clothes, his upright figure and sharp vibe were impossible to miss.

Under his hat, his piercing eyes had that subtle upward slant, giving him a cool, razor-sharp look.

Simon strode over to Nina, his face grim as he quietly spoke.

He said, “I talked to a few people. Folks around here call this Sweetwater Well. They say the water’s always cool and sweet, and pretty much every household gets its drinking water from it.

“No one’s ended up in the hospital yet, but everyone I spoke to said their stomach’s been feeling off. Nausea, low energy, that sort of thing.”

Nina grabbed Simon’s sleeve, her voice trembling with urgency. “Simon, it’s actually even worse than we thought.”

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She blurted out the bad news about both wells drawing from the same underground source. “We have to stop the research center from pulling up any water. If that poison leaks over there, things will be worse.”

Simon’s face went grim, his voice dropping to a tense hush. “Hopefully the toxin hasn’t reached deep groundwater yet.”

Before Simon could get the words out, the Chief Groundhog poked out his fuzzy head, waving his paw like he was itching to help.

He said, “Need help? We know exactly where the research center’s well is.

“We’ve got our tunnels there, and guess what-no electric fence anywhere near that well.

“I’ll send one of our speediest to go warn my cousins. We’ll help you put a barricade around that well.”

Nina’s eyes lit up. “Awesome. That’s really good news.”

The Chief Groundhog quickly turned and called out to his family.

Without missing a beat, a slim and quick-footed groundhog stepped forward.

Nina crouched down again, carefully showing the groundhog how to cross his paws to make an “X”, going slow and making sure it got it just right.

She said, “Cross your paws. When humans see an ‘X’ like this, it means stop or forbidden.

“Can you get your cousins to stand around the well and try your best to make this gesture whenever someone comes to fetch water?”

The little groundhog practiced the crossed-paw gesture with solemn earnestness, his stubby front paws moving with determined focus. His bright eyes shone as if he had just taken on a sacred duty.

With a resolute nod, he turned and dashed off, swiftly vanishing into the mouth of the underground tunnel.

Nina turned to Simon and Riley, her tone urgent and unwavering. “We have to tell everyone here right now. No one is allowed to take any more water from the well. Don’t drink it, no matter what.”

Riley nervously adjusted his glasses, concern flickering in his eyes. “What if we end up spooking the person who did this? If the poisoner figures out we’re on to them, things could get even messier.”

Simon thought for a moment, then made a quick decision. “I’ll call the head of Oakridge and let him handle the announcement, asking everyone to stop drinking the well water. That’ll be more effective and won’t raise any suspicion.”

Simon glanced at Nina, his tone thoughtful. “Nina, can you get the animals around here to keep a low-key eye on the people after they hear the news? See if anyone’s acting strange.”

Nina nodded at once, turning to Mr. Crow and the Chief Groundhog who were standing by. “We’ll need your help with this,

too.”

Mr. Crow straightened up with a swagger, looking proud and ready for action.

He said, “You can always count on me. I’ll rally my bird crew.

“We’ll station one on every rooftop-nobody in Oakridge is getting away with anything under our watch.”

The Chief Groundhog eagerly waved his paws. “When we go chat with the rats for the latest scoop, we’ll have them keep an eye out for anything unusual happening topside.”

Nina looked at them, a wave of gratitude flooding her voice. “Well, I need you to keep watching, run all over, and dig up info. I really owe you guys a ton for this.”

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The Chief Groundhog gave his chest a proud thump, giving a confident look. “No problem. For the underground crew, it’s all a piece of cake.”

The male red-crowned crane lowered his head with a touch of elegance and asked with genuine concern, “Boss, is there anything you need me to do?”

Nina thought quickly. “Just wait here.

“Once the groundhogs and Mr. Crow send any updates, fly over immediately and let us know if anything unusual happens.”

The Chief Groundhog gave a brisk wave of his tiny paw. “Alright, kids. Let’s work.”

At his signal, the groundhogs rushed back into their tunnels all at once.

In the blink of an eye, the whole squad vanished underground, leaving behind only a few trembling blades of grass marking where they had slipped away.

By then, Riley had already grabbed the samples and, without wasting a second, jumped into his car, speeding back to the lab for emergency testing.

The Agricultural Research Center wasn’t far, but tracking down the right contact would take a long time. Without a second thought, Nina and Simon decided to just run over there themselves.

Nina had kept up her workouts lately, but even so, she still couldn’t keep up with Simon-he was practically special ops

material.

By the time Nina finally reached the entrance of the Agricultural Research Center, panting for breath, Simon had already finished briefing the security guard on what was going on.

The security guard quickly logged their info, his nerves practically written all over his face. With a hurried nod, he swung open the gate and ushered them inside.

With the security guard leading the way, Nina and Simon moved at a brisk pace toward the well inside the Agricultural Research Center, not wasting a second.

Before they even got close, they could already hear an uproar coming from nearby.

Turned out, a bunch of staff members and grad students had gathered around the well, all chattering away-surprise and amusement clear in their voices.

“Oh my goodness, are those groundhogs putting on a show or what?”

“Why are they lining up and blocking the water? And would you look at that-they’re doing a full-on dance routine with their paws.”

“No way. They’re making an ‘X’ sign with their paws. Since when did groundhogs become so smart?”

Nina and Simon walked over to get a closer look.

A whole squad of chubby groundhogs had gathered tightly around the well, turning themselves into a fuzzy warning perimeter that nobody could break through.

Each groundhog was frantically waving his front paws, trying hard to make an “X” gesture, their squeaks rapid and urgent.

Every single one of them looked super serious, like they were saying, “This water is off-limits. Stay away from it.”

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