Although the appearance of ordinary Clam Worms was not much to be complimented, they were actually the equivalent of Mealworms in the water. They were harmless, could be used as food for several different kinds of fish, and their protein content was not low. There were even people in the southern seas that cooked them as a dish for consumption. But, some Clam Worms were slightly poisonous, and some people developed an allergic reaction after they came into direct contact with it.
However, ordinary Clam Worms were not aggressive, so it was not possible for them to cause the disappearance of the fish.
Zhang Zian’s heart skipped a beat as he continued to listen. He hurriedly said, “Let me take another look at that picture.”
Everyone else who was present originally guessed the reason for the disappearance of the fish when they suddenly saw the change on Zian’s face. He became very serious. They stopped talking and looked at one another; even Welder Zhao, who kept boasting about how he had saved money, was also somewhat uneasy.
Electrician Wu showed Zhang Zian the picture again. His phone was of an older model so the picture he took was not very clear.
“What is it, Store Manager Zhang? Is this a Clam Worm?” Electrician Wu asked. He was worried about his fellow colleague.
Zhang Zian looked at the picture countless times. “It’s indeed a Clam Worm, there’s no mistake about it. But…”
“But what?”
“Is this the only picture?” Zhang Zian asked. “I’m worried that, aside from the Clam Worms, there might be something else hiding in this reef rock.”
Electrician Wu started to get nervous after listening to what Zhang Zian said. He suddenly remembered. “Right, I’ve also recorded a video for my wife, hoping for her to agree on letting me change to a bigger fish tank. This video is about the fish tank in general and not the Clam Worms… Is that okay?”
“Yes, better than nothing,” Zhang Zian said.
“Let me look for it.”
Electrician Wu swiped his fingers across his phone a few times before he found the previously recorded video clip and pressed play.
The quality of the recording wasn’t that good. Aside from its clarity, the video was also shaking so badly that Zhang Zian wanted to persuade Electrician Wu to conduct an early screening of the Parkinson’s disease…
Welder Zhao’s homemade fish tank was very huge. It’s length was one and a half meters long and, although it’s width was not carefully measured, it was certainly not narrow. There were several black reef rocks piled in the center of the fish tank and, at the bottom of the fish tank, was a layer of rough sand. A few common, small fish were swimming between the overgrown seaweeds, feeding on the algae from time to time.
Overall, the fish tank was quite well set up, but because of the pursuit of the extreme limits of cost-saving, it was not equipped with a skimmer. There were excessive nutrients in the water and the water was slightly turbid. Fortunately, there were only a few fish, and the water quality would not deteriorate that quickly.
The reef rock was chipped from the beach. Its interior were filled with large and small holes––small holes that only a grain of rice could be stuffed into. The larger holes, on the other hand, ran through the inside of the rock, bending and turning. There was no way to know how long it ran.
The more space in the reef rock, the better it was. It could reduce the weight of the reef rock and it could also provide a breeding ground for the proliferation of the nitrifying bacterias. Welder Zhao must have considered this, too, when he mined for the reef rocks.
“Stop! What’s that thing?”
Zhang Zian suddenly found something in the corner of the video image. There was something moving in the reef rocks. It was very fast, but the movement was very small, like something sticking its head out to observe the outside world. It then quickly contracted, only leaving a whirl of sand that was stirred by the movement.
Zian was able to notice that because he knew that the problem was definitely from the reef rock, so he kept his eyes on them.
“What?”
Electrician Wu’s eyes were affected by his old age and he didn’t have any glasses on, so he wasn’t able to catch what Zian noticed.
He wound back the video and started it again. Everyone’s eyes were on the location that Zhang Zian had pointed out.
They finally saw it when he played the video back, but the video image was not very clear and the thing moved so fast, they still couldn’t make out what it was. It was definitely not the slow-moving Clam Worms.
“What’s going on? Zhao, what are raising in your fish tank?” Electrician Wu was spooked by what he saw, so he immediately asked Welder Zhao.
Welder Zhao was still acting tough. “I didn’t raise anything, just fish… look at all of you making a scene here. Isn’t it just a bigger Clam Worm? I heard that Clam Worms are able to grow up to a meter long, so it should be that. Right, Shop Owner, do you have frogs for sale here?”
“Frogs?” Wang Qian hastily asked back. “Are frogs considered aquatic creatures? They’re amphibians, right? We don’t have them for sale here.”
“He’s asking about the Mandarin Dragonet. It’s a fish that looks like a frog, not a real frog,” Zhang Zian corrected.
“Yes, you’re right––the Mandarin Dragonet. I’ve heard that this fish feed on Clam Worms. If I keep a few of them, it’s sure to make the entire tank clean,” Welder Zhao said.
Zhang Zian shook his head. “We can put aside whether or not the Mandarin Dragonet feeds on Clam Worms, but what we saw earlier was definitely not a Clam Worm. I’m afraid that even the Mandarin Dragonet would become its food.”
“What exactly is that thing?” Electrician Wu asked.
Zhang Zian said with uncertainty, “I think… that thing might be a Bobbit Worm.”
“Bobbit? Is that Bolt’s younger brother?” Wang Qian was being dumb again.
Jiang Feifei interrupted. “I think I’ve heard of it before. It’s a really aggressive worm and it can grow very long, right?”
“Yes, that worm is very aggressive. It comes and goes like the wind, and if there’s enough space, it can even grow up to three meters long. They will not only attack fish, but they will attack humans.” Zhang Zian made an estimate from the glimpse he caught in the video. “This one in the fish tank doesn’t seem too small. My guess is that it’s about half a meter long.”
“What? It can even attack humans?” Welder Zhao, who had been acting tough, suddenly asked, looking surprised and shocked.
“That’s right, so… aside from you, is there anyone else in your house who would come into contact with the fish tank?” Zhang Zian sternly asked.
“This…” Welder Zhao gave it some thought. “My daughter-in-law finds the Clam Worm disgusting so she would never touches the fish tank, but my son occasionally takes care of it for me.”
“Are there any children who might come into contact with the water in the fish tank?” Zhang Zian continued to ask.
“My grandson and his little friends have played a game to test their courage. It’s a competition on who dares to touch the Clam Worms…” Welder Zhao swallowed his saliva and said in his defense, “I’ve already reprimanded them and told them not to play such games.”
“Did they stop playing then?” Electrician Wu felt a grip on his heart because his grandson was one of Welder Zhao’s grandson’s friends.
Both families were living in the factory’s workers compound; they lived very close by. Every day after school, the boys of similar age in the compound would gather together and play games on their phones. But because the adults didn’t like their children playing games for too long, the children looked for other kinds of fun when they didn’t have games to play.
Electrician Wu was aware that his grandson was hanging out with Welder Zhao’s grandson, but he didn’t know that they were playing games like such.
He knew that his grandson was a very obedient child and he hated bugs, so he would not take the initiative to touch strange insects. But boys at his age were particularly afraid of being looked down upon by their companions, so if he was being ridiculed, he would often do something that he wouldn’t normally do…