Chapter 281: A Godlike Middle School Student

After Zheng Tan sent a message to Xiao Luo, he didn't pay much attention to the case's progress, nor did he read the newspapers of the past few days, because one day when he went to Jiao Yuan's room intending to flip through some spicy magazines, he discovered a bag of something.

Zheng Tan remembered clearly the "xx brand milk tea" printed on that small bag; it was something he had seen when he followed Er Mao to look for Hetaoshixiong, which he had initially thought was a counterfeit product but later turned out to be a certain kind of hazardous material.

It's been over half a year since that drug-related cleanup incident; shouldn't this stuff have been destroyed long ago? You know, the leakage of these things is no joke—it's likely to harm a large number of people.

Jiao Yuan is only in eighth grade, right? He's usually well-behaved—how could he have come into contact with these things?

Zheng Tan himself had indeed encountered that kind of stuff back in middle school, though he never dared to get too involved; now that it's happened to Jiao Yuan, Zheng Tan's feelings are quite complicated. Of course, Zheng Tan also isn't sure whether the powder in that bag really is that substance, since back then he saw that only a few bags in that batch actually contained the "goods".

Or perhaps Jiao Yuan doesn't even know there's something else hidden inside?

So, after spotting that bag of suspected hazardous material while flipping through the little magazine, Zheng Tan lost the mood to play with his phone and just stayed at home pondering what to do next.

In the afternoon, waiting for Jiao Yuan to come back, Zheng Tan lingered in Jiao Yuan's room, staring at him, which left Jiao Yuan bewildered—normally after meals Zheng Tan would be in Xiao Youzi's room or out playing, rarely standing by to watch Jiao Yuan do homework.

"Hei Tan, what are you doing?" Jiao Yuan lightly poked Zheng Tan with his pen.

Zheng Tan raised his hand to brush it off—he had no mood to play around with this kid.

"Why do you seem so serious today? Bored, right? I'll give you something to play with."

Saying that, Jiao Yuan opened the drawer, intending to rummage for a tennis ball that hadn't been used in ages, but unexpectedly a cat's paw reached out and flipped the bag of milk tea powder lying at the edge.

"Hey, Hei Tan, what are you doing?" Jiao Yuan was about to pick up the milk tea powder that had fallen to the floor.

"What are you doing? Helping you, you little brat!" Zheng Tan gave it another hard flip before Jiao Yuan's hand could touch the bag, aiming for the trash can beside the desk.

Jiao Yuan frowned at Zheng Tan's action and asked, "Hei Tan, is there something wrong with this milk tea powder? Besides, the production date is long past—drinking it would probably give you diarrhea."

"Just a simple case of diarrhea wouldn't get me this worked up!" Zheng Tan flung the bag of milk tea powder into the trash can and also tied up the mouth of the plastic bag lining it.

Jiao Yuan stared at Zheng Tan for a few seconds, then got up and went to the master bedroom of his parents nearby to make a call, closing the door before dialing.

Jiao Ba wasn't home, being busy in the courtyard, while Jiao Ma sat on the sofa watching TV. Seeing Jiao Yuan's action, she clicked her tongue. Making a phone call and closing the door—typical teenage awkwardness. Jiao Ma didn't think much of it and continued watching TV.

Zheng Tan lingered outside the master bedroom door, cupping his ear to listen. He heard Jiao Yuan say to the person on the other end: "My cat probably sniffed out something—you guys definitely shouldn't drink it! I'll keep calling others; back then those few third-year students seemed to have given us five, right? They said it was some precious good stuff, and when they handed it over they looked reluctant, but I'm sure the exemption stamp on it is fake."

Hearing Jiao Yuan's words, Zheng Tan felt a bit relieved—at least realizing something was off was good; regardless of whether the bag contained those banned substances, taking precautions is always wise. Knowing this stuff was given to Jiao Yuan and his friends by others, while these kids had no idea the bag might contain 'goods,' Zheng Tan felt a surge of anger.

Who the hell is so asking for a beating, daring to come and harm our own child!

Third-year? That would probably be the ninth-grade students at Jiao Yuan's school.

After hanging up, Jiao Yuan returned to his room, no longer rushing to do homework, shut the door and talked to Zheng Tan—after all, there were many things he couldn't say to other family members; now his few buddies were each at their own homes, so at home Zheng Tan was the only listener, and he didn't have to worry about being informed on.

"Hei Tan, do you think those few third-year guys have ill intentions?"

After hearing Jiao Yuan's words, Zheng Tan understood that it was those few third-year students he'd met at Jiao Yuan's classmate's birthday party who gave them these; originally the third-years only wanted to give two bags, but Xiong Xiong thought they were being stingy, so the third-years reluctantly gave each of the five guys one bag.

It wasn't that Xiong Xiong truly disliked their stinginess; rather, he took issue with those people. Among the few third-years who attended the birthday banquet, one had stirred up hatred toward Jiao Yuan's class—this person got along well with the class belle, and when he went over he stood close to her in an intimate manner. Sigh, at that moment Jiao Yuan felt the pH levels of the several guys in their class were dropping in a straight line. That's why Xiong Xiong targets them in everything.

They'd had this stuff for almost two days, yet none of the five had actually drunk the milk tea powder. Fu Lei didn't want to consume something given by enemies, having fought them before; Xiong Xiong almost drank it, but his mother stopped him, thinking the tea was too inferior—just looking at it seemed off, the powder had clumped, drinking it could harm the body, so she tossed it out; as for Jiao Yuan and Lan Tianzhu, they don't usually drink things given by strangers, especially from people they dislike. The most special case is Su An: he didn't plan to drink it, but wanted to use it for an experiment; he just hadn't had time, and after receiving Jiao Yuan's call he squeezed out some time to run a quality test.

The next day, after Jiao Yuan came home and ate dinner, he told Jiao Ma he was going to hang out with Su An and the others; Jiao Ma didn't think much of it, since the boys usually played together and ball, nothing to worry about.

But Zheng Tan saw Jiao Yuan put the milk tea powder that should have been tossed in the trash into his pocket, and his nerves instantly snapped; he hurriedly followed Jiao Yuan out.

Seeing Zheng Tan go out, Jiao Ma didn't say anything—after all, this cat's nature gets wilder the more it plays, and going out for a stroll after dinner is normal.

Jiao Yuan saw Zheng Tan following him persistently, and no matter how he tried to shake him off, Zheng Tan wouldn't leave, so he stopped saying more and just brought Zheng Tan along to Su An's house.

Jiao Yuan, Xiong Xiong, Su An, Lan Tianzhu, and the fight‑loving Fu Lei—these five usually hang out together; after Fu Lei started mixing with Jiao Yuan's crowd, he hasn't fought much either. Their grades have indeed improved a bit; although they're not racing to the top, any progress is good, and Fu Lei's father is so pleased he can barely see straight.

When Zheng Tan and Jiao Yuan arrived at Su An's house, Lan Tianzhu was already there, while Fu Lei and Xiong Xiong showed up a little later.

Su An's father was busy in the courtyard, his mother had gone to the gymnasium to dance and exercise, so there were no adults at home.

Seeing Zheng Tan, the others were only slightly surprised, didn't ask further—they'd known him for a while; some things just aren't surprising anymore.

"Did you bring the stuff?" Su An asked.

Each took out the milk tea powder they were holding. Su An labeled them in turn, then pulled a foam box from the windowsill containing several small vials of reagents.

"Did you prepare these yourself, Su An?" Jiao Yuan asked.

"No, my dad's strict. His grad students and PhD candidates avoid me on sight, afraid I'll come asking for reagents. I still got this stuff from Shi Rui to help me out."

While speaking, Su An put on his white coat, put on small-sized double gloves, and wore a professional‑grade mask.

Zheng Tan watched on the side, his eyes twitching—this demeanor hardly looks like that of a middle schooler!

"Fully equipped" Su An opened his family's "study," which in other homes would be a study, but here it's different.

Although it's not large, there is a partition; at the inner side a simple fume hood has been built. Su An carried the box into that inner compartment, pulled shut the transparent door, and let the others wait outside.

Zheng Tan watched Su An cut open a small corner of the milk tea powder given by Jiao Yuan and the others, take out several small test tubes labeled with marks, pour some into one, and then proceed with a series of tests.

"What does the one marked 'horse ii' mean?" Xiong Xiong looked through the glass partition door at the letters on the small vials; he recognized things like 'iodine—potassium iodide', 'sodium nitrite', etc., but he didn't understand the 'horse ii' label.

"It's the upgraded version two of the horse-modified reagent." Jiao Yuan, who already knew some of the details, said.

"What did he say might be inside earlier?" Fu Lei also asked curiously.

Lan Tianzhu's face turned slightly cold: "Amphetamine." Seeing Fu Lei and Xiong Xiong still blank, Lan Tianzhu gave a brief explanation.

Hearing those sensitive words, Fu Lei and Xiong Xiong almost shouted out—especially Xiong Xiong; if he weren't afraid of disturbing Su An, who was still analyzing inside, he would have yelled already. Though he couldn't shout loudly, Xiong Xiong took a deep breath and then muttered low: "His grandma!! I'll make him know what it means to be unforgettable without teeth!"

Lan Tianzhu glanced at him and softly said, "The phrase 'unforgettable without teeth' carries a somewhat positive connotation."

Xiong Xiong: "..." After thinking, he still couldn't come up with a derogatory substitute, so he said, "Anyway, we just need to teach them a lesson—give them a hard one!"

Fu Lei also clenched his fists, obviously quite angry.

"Lan Tianzhu and I extracted something last week from his grandfather's little garden; we'll give them a proper welcome then." Jiao Yuan said.

At that moment, Su An also finished the test.

"How did it turn out?" Everyone looked toward Su An.

"Same as my bag," Su An pointed to the transparent test tubes in the fume hood whose liquid had shifted from milky white to a reddish‑orange, "about eighty percent it's an amphetamine‑type substance; the reagents are limited, so the test isn't absolute, and a small portion could be a ketamine‑type."

"No problem, as long as we know there's 'poison' in there." Xiong Xiong was already thinking about how to take revenge.

Fu Lei gave Su An a thumbs‑up; just now watching Su An operate inside, he felt the movements were smoother and more standard than those of the school's chemistry teachers.

Su An modestly waved his hand, "Back then my cousin even made 'ice' from cold medicine."

"That's so awesome!!" Xiong Xiong and Fu Lei opened their mouths wide.

"Well, then he got beaten by his dad and lay in bed for half a month." Su An pouted, "That stuff is illegal; lying in bed for half a month is better than being locked up in a cell."

"How am I supposed to tell apart similar stuff in the future? I can't possibly bring it to you every time for you to check." Xiong Xiong said worriedly.

Xiong Xiong is the most worrisome among the few of us; his knowledge is limited and his nerves are a bit thick.

"You haven't heard this saying?" Su An said, "Ice (methamphetamine) looks like rock candy but isn't sweet; ketamine powder looks like salt; head-shaking pills look like milk tablets. This is what my dad told me when I was in junior high; just remember that. However, stuff mixed with other things is harder to tell apart. In short, don't eat anything from strangers, and don't get caught."

As for Zheng Tan, he just stood there, dumbfounded.

A godlike middle school student. (To be continued...)

ps: (6.8) After several attempts of posting and editing, I finally managed to post it; there are harmonious words, some parts replaced with pinyin, separated by symbols. Indeed many things can't be written.

ps: Today, while taking the bus home, I overheard a conversation:

a: "These past few days have been overcast, how nice~"

b: "Shabi, what a p, that's 'haze'!"