The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Chapter 157

Just then, someone said, “Ms. Coleman is here.

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“Ms. Coleman, please come take a look. We were about to water Sample No. 3 since it’s running low, but these groundhogs just won’t let us near the pump no matter what we do.”

A middle-aged woman with glasses and a graceful manner quickly approached when she heard them.

She was Eloise Coleman, the lead specialist at the center.

She watched the group of groundhogs at the well, signaling ‘X’ with their paws and chattering away. She didn’t blame them; instead, she adjusted her glasses, deep in thought.

She said, “Turn off the pump for now. They’re not just messing around; it looks like they’re urgently trying to warn us about something.”

Just then, Nina and Simon arrived.

Nina took a step forward and spoke gently, “Hello, Ms. Coleman, I’m Nina. The police department brought me in as their animal communicator.

“I asked these groundhogs to come over and stop everyone from using the well water.”

The groundhog that had been on lookout instantly perked up when he heard Nina’s voice, letting out an excited squeak and waving his paws in greeting.

The other groundhogs, as if on cue, quickly scurried away from the well and hurried to gather behind Nina.

Lining up neatly with their heads raised expectantly, they practically treated her as their chosen leader.

Eloise and the students were all taken aback by the scene and who Nina was. “An animal communicator?”

Some students instantly whipped out their phones, whispering to each other, “No way. The trending girl from today’s Jelasburg University welcome ceremony just popped up right in front of us.”

“Ms. Summer, why did you have the animals block us from using the water?” someone couldn’t help but ask.

Simon flashed his badge, face serious. “We have reason to believe the groundwater’s been tainted with something toxic.”

Nina hurried to add, “We’ve already found that red-crowned cranes and groundhogs are showing symptoms of poisoning.”

Everyone gasped.

Eloise stepped forward, her face serious. “Hello, I’m Eloise, and I’m in charge of this research center.

“Can you tell us what happened? And what kind of toxin are we dealing with?”

Nina shook her head. “We still don’t have a clear answer. All signs point to a rare toxin with a really complicated composition.

“We’re still looking into it.”

At that moment, Simon’s phone rang.

He picked up, and his previously calm face grew tense as he listened in.

Nina’s heart was in her throat.

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Chapter 157

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After hanging up, he turned to Nina, his voice low. “The test results are in. It’s ricin.”

“Ricin?” Nina repeated, looking puzzled.

Eloise stepped forward, frowning as she explained, “It’s a protein toxin that comes from castor seeds.”

Since she was an agriculture expert, she knew her stuff. “Castor is mainly grown for its oil, which is used in industrial lubricants, but the leftover pulp after the oil’s pressed out contains ricin, and that stuff is insanely poisonous.”

Her expression turned grim. “Pure ricin is colorless and has no smell-and even a tiny bit can trigger fever, vomiting. internal bleeding, and eventually total organ failure. It’s deadly.”

“This matches the symptoms in both the red-crowned crane and groundhogs exactly.” Nina clenched her fists, frustration clear in her eyes. “This toxin is unusual. No wonder routine tests came up empty.”

Simon squinted, intensity flickering across his face. “The problem is, extracting this level of purified, colorless, tasteless ricin from castor seeds requires highly specialized laboratory equipment and expertise.

“There’s just no way something like that should randomly turn up in Oakridge.”

Nina also realized things had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. She needed to catch the culprit-and directly ask how they got such a dangerous toxin.

Now that she knew what kind of toxin it was, Nina immediately called Jevon.

Jevon’s voice crackled with excitement. “Perfect. I’ll get started on a treatment plan for the red-crowned crane.”

Eloise stared at the stopped irrigation system, still visibly shaken.

She said, “Thank you so much. If you hadn’t stepped in just in time, all our important research crop samples would have been ruined.”

She bent down, her eyes soft as she looked at the groundhogs, and said gently, “Thank you, little ones.”

Just then, a chubby groundhog stood up on his hind legs, tugged at Nina’s pants/his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Nina, when humans want something, what kind of gesture do you make?”

Nina couldn’t help but laugh. Right away, she showed them the classic move for politely asking for something-she spread her palms directly.

The groundhogs immediately caught on, raising their paws together and all staring up at Eloise with their sparkling eyes.

They started squeaking, just like a line of hungry kids hoping for a treat.

They said, “Ms. Coleman, can we have some of that delicious grass from your research center?”

Eloise pushed up her glasses, looking totally baffled. “What are they doing?”

Nina stifled a laugh and translated, “These little addicts have set their sights on the gourmet treats from your research center -they’re craving the grass there.”

Eloise gazed at the adorable little heroes, a gentle smile spreading across her face.

She turned to her students and said, “Don’t we have a batch of leftover tomatoes and cucumbers from the test field?

“And those sweet potatoes we’ve been testing for disease resistance-they might not be the prettiest, but they’ve got great flavor. Hurry up and bring some over to thank our furry friends.”

The students, delighted that they finally got the green light to spoil the adorable groundhogs, sprang into action. Excited,

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Chapter 157

they rushed to the warehouse and test fields, returning with all kinds of “research treats”.

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