All the theoretical knowledge nchi had co from books, but she had never read anything about a connection between Starfish Grass, Sucker Bugs, and the Spiny Sea Pork. The thod Law ntioned to her also sounded downright unbelievable.
Starfish Grass was a marine plant that grew in shallow waters near coral reefs. It got its na because its shape resembled a starfish.
Sucker Bugs, on the other hand, were usually found near reefs. It is a flat, soft-bodied creature with yellowish-brown spots on its back.
The only thing these two had in common was that they lived in shallow waters, which had absolutely nothing to do with the deep-sea-dwelling Spiny Sea Pork.
With nothing to lose, nchi decided to go ahead with the so-called poison-neutralizing thod.
Once the poison sac removal failed, the originally swollen sac would deflate, and the poison inside would spread throughout the puffer's body, turning it into a deadly poison.
What nchi had to do was feed the Sucker Bugs Starfish Grass, then attach them to the Spiny Sea Pork's body, as they would beco the key to establishing a circulatory.
Feed them, place them, all done in one smooth motion.
Five Sucker Bugs clung to the area around the flattened poison sac, and before long, they began to swell.
In a process invisible to the naked eye, the poisons were drawn into the Sucker Bugs' bodies, mixed with the Starfish Grass, and then returned to the Spiny Sea Pork's body, continuously neutralizing the poison in the process.
The massive LCD screen on stage broadcasted this scene to everyone in attendance. This was sothing that had never been shown to the public before, so until the results were confird, no one could definitively say it wouldn't work.
Zizhu is a Gourt Hunter. While he hadn't traveled the entire world, he had been to many places and witnessed countless strange phenona. But when he saw the subtle signs of flow between the movents of the Sucker Bugs, he couldn't help but stunned.
The ecosystem had many symbiotic relationships, but right now, the Sucker Bugs and the Spiny Sea Pork's corpse appeared to have ford one of their own.
'Could there really be a way to completely eliminate the poison?' Zizhu wondered silently.
Everyone held their breath in anticipation, and nchi never took her eyes off the Sucker Bugs clinging to the Spiny Sea Pork's body.
After about five minutes, the Sucker Bugs gradually deflated.
Seizing the mont, nchi yanked all five off and tossed them aside, then decisively picked up her knife and began cutting into the Spiny Sea Pork's flesh.
He soon found a piece of snow-white liver, which was the only part that could be eaten raw.
Tap. Tap.
Two dical staff in white coats stepped forward, standing by with ergency equipnt and the antidote.
The mustached man looked at nchi and said, "It's not too late to back out now. After all, the Spiny Sea Pork's poison is very strong. Even with the antidote, it won't fully cure you. Even if treated in ti, not only will there be lasting side effects, but there is also the possibility of death."
nchi ignored the mustache man and stared at the Spiny Sea Pork's liver in her hand, her heart beating faster and faster.
At the end of the day, she was still just an underage girl. When faced with life and death, she will still be afraid and nervous.
She glanced at Law in the audience. Seeing how calm he looked, she forced herself to steady her nerves, sliced off a small piece of liver, and held it in her hand.
'Here goes nothing!'
nchi tossed the piece of liver into her mouth and chewed it quickly. She didn't even bother savoring the taste before swallowing the liver.
She didn't get a clear impression of the flavor. It didn't have any fishy sll at all and her tongue was slightly numb. She wondered if it was because of the poison.
Whether this thod worked or not would be clear in ten minutes.
nchi closed her eyes and stood still, waiting for Death's verdict.
The Spiny Sea Pork's poison would show symptoms within two minutes, reach peak effect in five, and kill the victim within ten.
Law stared at the girl with a nervous expression on her face. The corner of his mouth curled slightly before he turned and slipped into the crowd, disappearing monts later. The people around were all looking at nchi, so they did not notice Law's departure.
Two minutes is the ti it takes to determine whether the poison had taken effect.
Law observed for two and a half minutes before leaving. He had a feeling that staying here any longer might lead to trouble, so he chose to slip away.
As for whether the organizer would make things difficult for nqi afterward, it was none of his concern.
At the beginning, he could have used 1.5 million Jenny to help nchi settle the matter, but he didn't do that. Instead, he gave nchi a choice to solve the problem. And in the end, nchi had shouldered it with her own courage.
'See you again if we are destined to.'
The image of nchi as she first appeared in the original work flashed through Law's mind. He chuckled softly as he pushed his way out of the venue.
On the stage, ti passed, and ten minutes went by quickly, but nchi was still completely fine.
"It… worked?"
Everyone in the venue struggled to contain their shock.
They didn't expect this thod was actually viable. With this, the Spiny Sea Pork would disappear from the black market entirely, and no one would have to risk their lives just to taste one ever again.
'But why had no one discovered this before? And how did so random kid know about it?'
As the person involved, nchi was also overwheld with emotion, 'That guy's thod had been real. Before he revealed it, no one in the world had known about it.'
'Just who the hell was he?'
The mont that thought crossed her mind, nchi suddenly looked towards where Law was, but there was no trace of Law.
"Where'd he go?"
nchi froze.
Not just nchi, but almost everyone in the venue snapped to attention, scanning the crowd for the young man who had given her the thod.
"Where did that kid go?"
The entire venue erupted into chaos.
"Everyone, please calm down!"
The mustached man rushed to the auction podium and shouted into the microphone, trying to calm the crowd.
"Law…" Zizhu furrowed his brow, silently repeating the na in his mind, committing Law's face to mory.
At that mont, nchi moved and ran towards the outside of the venue. At this ti, no one stopped her, including Zizhu.
nchi vaulted out of the venue, darting through the bustling fish market, desperately searching for any trace of Law. but But in the endless sea of people, how could she possibly find him? Besides, Law had already left the fish market.
"I didn't even get to thank you..."
nchi stood in the busy corridor, biting her lip in silence.
…
At this ti, Law was wandering around the town of Gray Harbor with Kuro. He still had to wait for Ging to arrive, so he was now thinking about whether he should buy a fishing rod and go fishing in the reef area.
He had already forgotten what happened in the venue. He'd only gone there out of curiosity, and running into nchi had been an unexpected surprise.
Disclosing that thod would undoubtedly cause a stir, but the real issue was that he'd also given nchi his na, so he didn't know whether his na would be included when the thod beca known.
Not that it mattered. Law didn't care much either way. He bought a fishing rod and headed to the reef area to fish.
Two days later, Ging arrived to pick him up in a boat.
Standing at the harbor, Law looked at the yacht-sized ship in front of him and his jaw almost dropped.
The ship is the size of an ordinary yacht, a mast-driven sailboat with no engine, let alone any proper navigational equipnt.
This kind of boat might be fine for fishing near the coast, but if they want to cross the sea to reach distant islands, a single big wave could easily capsize it.
"... This is the ship?"
Law felt exhausted just looking at it, 'Hadn't Ging been supposed to be loaded?'
Ging patted the mast and said reassuringly, "It's reliable."
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