Interception of vampire fish (modern story)

Mysterious little fish

Henderson, 33, has been engaged in biological investigation and research in the field for many years. In February 2005, Henderson's four papers on freshwater fish were honored by the Royal Society and published in an authoritative journal in the United States, which caused great repercussions. The hard work finally paid off, and Henderson decided to take a good rest. In early March, Henderson and his beloved wife Janet went on vacation in the subtropical forests of Esponte in southern Bolivia, stopping by to visit their old friend Horn. Horn, a biologist from London, England, studied amphibians and spent five years in the subtropical forests of Espont.

Near the scientific research station where Horn works, there is a small resort. In March, during the rainy season, visitors to the resort have been evacuated due to the recent heavy rainstorms in the subtropical forest area of Esponte by the Meteorological Department, and the warning of the danger of flash floods in the hills near the resort. But Henderson did not retreat, such a danger was common to him who often ran in the wild, he did not have the slightest fear, but took his wife Janet to live in the research station.

The weather didn't seem to be as bad as the weather department had warned, and after a few consecutive rains, the sky cleared. Janet, who rarely sees wild scenery, seemed excited, and this afternoon, she jumped in her swimsuit to swim in a small lake surrounded by mountains on three sides and about two miles in circumference next to the research station, while Henderson sat on a pier made of trees jutting into the lake, watching his wife enjoy the comfort and fun of nature.

More than half an hour later, just as Janet was about to go ashore, there was a sudden scream, and it turned out that the soles of her feet were stepping on a tree stump hidden in the shallow water of the lake, and blood was flowing out.

Henderson quickly jumped into the lake and dragged Janet to the shore. As she swam back to shore, Janet felt the injured soles of her feet being touched by something, and with each touch, she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

When Henderson dragged his wife ashore, he found that the sole of her foot had been poked in a stump, and what made his heart palpitate even more was that he had dragged a small fish that had burrowed into half of his head in the bloody wound. Out of professional sensitivity, Henderson carefully inspected the fish, which was very small, only about 2 centimeters long, and the markings on its body were very unique, and in his impression, he had never seen a similar fish. Henderson got a little excited, and he wondered, could this be a new species of fish? If so, that means a new discovery in biology.

While Henderson was studying the fish, Horn and two of his colleagues returned from an expedition. Seeing the wound on Janet's paw, Horn apologetically told Henderson and Janet that he had forgotten to remind them that the water quality of the lake seemed to be problematic and that it was best not to go down and swim. Horn said that in the last six months, he has found a sharp decline in the variety of amphibians and fish in the lake. Because no ferocious aquatic animals have been found in the lake through drag-net fishing, Horn suspects that the water quality has been contaminated by some unknown cause, and he is preparing to invite the relevant departments to conduct a detailed test of the water quality of the lake and the surrounding ecological environment in the near future.

After listening to Horn's account, Henderson picked up the little fish he had just pulled out of the wound on Janet's foot and asked him if he had seen it before. Horn looked at the small fish and said that the fish might have flown into the lake half a year ago. A few years ago, an environmental group near the subtropical forest of Esponte, in coordination with the police, intercepted a shipment of smuggled fish. Environmental groups sent the fish to Horn's research station in the hope that they would identify what species they were. Horn found that the fish didn't seem interested in any food and died in large numbers in just a few days. Just as he was preparing to study further, a sudden flash flood overwhelmed the research station, washing all the fish in the pond into the lake. The seemingly ordinary accident didn't catch Horn's attention at the time. At that time, the fish were still very small and the individuals were not very clear, so Horn felt that the fish he was holding in Henderson's hand was a bit like those fish, but he was not absolutely sure.

Henderson immediately asked Horn to find the fishing net, and the two men rowed a small boat toward the center of the lake. In the middle of the lake Henderson cast a few nets, some of those strange little fish on the net. Once ashore, Henderson placed the fish in a large glass jar with some other fish and amphibians inside. After ten minutes, when the small fish had adapted to their new environment, Henderson and Horn were stunned: the small fish were attached to other fish and amphibians, and bit their gills, tearing their tissues, and sucking the blood inside. Soon, the glass jar was floating with the carcasses of fish and amphibians that had been sucked dry of blood.

Disaster is imminent

When Janet witnessed this tragic scene next to her, thinking of the fish that had just burrowed into her wounds, she couldn't help but cry out, "Oh God, these terrible 'vampires'!" ”

Horn also said that when members of environmental groups sent the fry, they had said they had been smuggled from the Amazon basin. Henderson had visited the Amazon hinterland, was familiar with the situation there, and when he heard Horn say this, he suddenly remembered the legendary river bottom "vampire" among the indigenous people of the Amazon, it is said that there is a fish that specializes in sucking the blood of fish and herdsmen, if people are injured in the water, the blood flows out, they will also be attacked by them, but Henderson has not seen this fish with his own eyes, and did not expect to see it in Bolivia today.

Over the course of long-term species evolution, the animals that inhabit the Amazon River have adapted to the local complex environment and know how to survive in the cruel competition, so even if there are vampire fish, it will not pose a major threat to the local ecosystem. However, in Bolivia, if this bloodsucking fish is allowed to flourish, it will bring about a huge ecological disaster, and one of the most immediate and significant consequences is that the number of fish and amphibians that lack the defense ability of this bloodsucking fish will be drastically reduced, and even a large number of species will be extinct!

Henderson looked at the lake, which was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and sighed with trepidation: "If they are not trapped in this lake, but breed in other rivers in Bolivia, the consequences will be unimaginable!" ”

But how do you wipe out the vampire fish in the lake? This became a conundrum for Henderson and Horn. Fishing with a net is neither scientific nor thorough; draining the lake is too big a project! Henderson, Horn, and the other two scientists at the station discussed for more than an hour, analyzed the pros and cons of various methods, and finally decided to kill the vampire fish by poisoning, which was the fastest and most thorough!

This small, nameless lake is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one side being relatively low-lying, close to a stream. During the dry season, it is impossible for the lake to overflow, but during the rainy season, the lake water often floods the low-lying shore of the lake, flows to the creek, and then rushes down the stream into the Mamore River, more than 30 miles away. Once these vampires flow into the river, it is almost impossible to control them later. Now what Henderson and Horn had to do was to take effective measures to stop the vampire fish from spreading into the river when the rainy season had just come and the lake had not yet risen.

However, poisoning a lake to kill all the creatures in it is not a trivial matter, and it is not enough to rely on the oral advice of several scientists, and it must be repeatedly studied and demonstrated by the relevant departments. That evening, Henderson and Horn drafted a proposal to be sent to the town government, more than 100 miles away, the next day, where they would forward it to the authorities for approval to implement the poisoning plan.

　God seemed intent on opposing them, and late that night, while Henderson and Horn were still deliberating on the proposal, a very heavy rainstorm suddenly occurred. Several huts at the station were wobbly in the storm, and seeing the rain, several scientists at the station worried that the lake waters flooded the shores of the lake, causing vampire fish to rush into the river along the creek, bringing irreparable ecological disasters.

Horn went on the phone to report the emergency to the Bolivian authorities, hoping that they would send helicopters to throw poison at the lake in an emergency. But before the phone could be answered, a dazzling arc of lightning swept across the night sky, followed by a deafening thunderbolt, the phone was instantly broken, and Horn was numb, and staggered back several steps, almost knocked down. At the same time, sparks were scattered and the only radio transmitter at the research station was struck by lightning.

Witnessing this, Henderson sighed and shook his head, if the torrential rain could not be stopped immediately, as it was now, it would not be a few hours before the swelling waters of the lake would flood the shore. Perhaps before the vampire fish can be poisoned, the toxic lake water will wash into the downstream river, which will also bring huge ecological disasters and serious environmental pollution.

Emergency interception

Outside, the wind was howling, the rain was pouring, and a thunderclap sounded, as if the ground was shaking. Henderson had a flash of inspiration in his mind, and he said eagerly to Horn: "Quick, you hurry up and drive to the town government and ask them to quickly dispatch some demolitionists and explosives, and we can blast several mudslides on the slopes on both sides of the creek, block the creek with collapsed rocks and dirt blocks, and prevent the overflowing lake from rushing into the river." After making up his mind, Horn immediately jumped on the buggy and sped toward the town government more than 100 miles away. Henderson secretly prayed in his heart that the lake would not flood the embankment until the explosives were transported.

The lake continued to rise, and Henderson knew that in this bad weather, the already rough mountain roads must have become very muddy, and if Horn's car fell into the mud and could not extricate itself or the car broke down, it would be a big trouble, so it was impossible to bet all on the explosives, and some emergency measures must be taken. Henderson left his wife Janet to monitor the lake's rise, while he led two other subtropical plant scientists at the station to the creek in the rain, cutting a fishing net, dividing the stream closest to the lake, which was only a few feet wide, into several segments, and then cutting down some trees to pile in the creek, and then moving rocks to press them to minimize the number of fish that slipped through the net.

Having done this, Henderson felt unsafe, and he and two botanists took the remaining fishing net from the station and rowed a small boat into the lake. They killed some of the big fish with knives and re-dumped them into the lake, and the boat was soon covered in red with the blood of the fish. Henderson did this to lure the vampires over to facilitate the fishing.

Sure enough, the strong smell of blood attracted many vampire fish, which were clustered on the surface of the lake, greedily sucking blood, and the scene was chilling. Henderson and others took the opportunity to catch them.

Whenever the cabin was filled with vampire fish, they rowed the boat to the shore and unloaded all the fish on the shore, where Janet had built a defensive line of trees and rocks to prevent the vampire fish from jumping back into the lake. But because of the heavy rain, some vampire fish were thrown ashore and did not die immediately, but swam back into the lake through the gaps in the flow of trees and rocks. Janet had to run up and down, stomping as many vampires as she could that had crossed the line to death with her feet and stoning them to death.

The small ship at the research station fell into disrepair, swaying in the wind and rain and could capsize at any time. Henderson stood at the bow of the boat casting a net when the boat jolted and threw him off the lake. Where he fell, there were many vampire fish tumbling, and he became the target of the vampire fish attack, his skin was bitten open, and blood flowed out. When this Amazonian vampire sucks blood, it can release an anti-clotting chemical in its mouth to prevent the blood from clotting and losing freshness, so the wound on Henderson's body has been bleeding. The constant flow of blood irritated the vampire fish, and he was quickly bitten all over the body. By the time the two botanists had pulled him onto the boat, Henderson, who had lost too much blood, was unconscious. But the cold rain woke Henderson up after a while, and in order to catch more vampire fish, he stood at the bow of the boat and continued to cast the net in spite of his wounds.

Three hours passed, and Horn, who had driven to ask for help, had not returned, and the swollen lake was less than 1 foot from the embankment. Henderson is distraught, but unable to contact Horn, so he and the two botanists continue to hunt the "vampire" at the risk of the boat capsizing and being attacked by vampires. The shore was already piled high with the vampire fish they had caught. With so many fish, the trees and rocky lines couldn't house the terrible guys well, jumping in the rain and many of them returning to the lake.

The waters of the lake continued to rise relentlessly, and just as Henderson was about to despair, he suddenly heard Janet shouting excitedly at them from the shore: "Horn is back!" Through the rain curtain, Henderson dimly saw an off-road jeep heading toward the research station, followed by three large trucks.

As soon as the truck stopped, the rescuers quickly jumped down, and the mayor of the town, Garmisen, personally led several demolition men to the creek, and after surveying the terrain, the demolition men placed explosives on several narrow mountain passes where the creek flowed, and with a few loud "booms", the mudslides on the slopes next to the creek rolled down with trees and rocks, in three sections dividing the flow of the creek towards the large river 30 miles away. Almost at the same time, the water in the lake overflowed, but before it could flow out, it was blocked by obstacles formed by mudslides...