CHAPTER 512: 203 ALL-AROUND GENIUS_2

No taste, the color looks normal too, doesn’t seem poisonous.

"Test your knowledge: besides being a nutritional supplement, what other functions does ascorbic acid have?"

Ascorbic acid is the scientific name for Vitamin C.

Gao Yuyue answered without hesitation, "The diene diol structure in the C molecule easily releases hydrogen atoms, which makes it highly reductive."

Its reduction capability allows it to donate electrons to other substances, thereby participating in chemical reactions.

Gao Yuyue looked at the bottle of water in her hand, then at the bottle of Vitamin C, and suddenly realized something.

Except she didn’t yet know what inorganic toxin it was.

"It’s arsenic," Shen You’an answered her question.

"Pentavalent arsenic is reduced to trivalent arsenic by the strong reduction properties of ascorbic acid, producing arsenic trioxide."

Shen You’an’s gaze landed on the withering green plant in the corner, her eyes dark and deep.

Fortunately, Gao Yuyue hadn’t slacked off in chemistry class, where the teacher had mentioned that many seafood products contain pentavalent arsenic, which is non-toxic to humans. However, when combined with high doses of ascorbic acid, they undergo a complex chemical reaction, reducing to toxic trivalent arsenic, commonly known as arsenic trioxide.

Arsenic, whether pentavalent or trivalent, is both colorless and tasteless, making it incredibly difficult to guard against.

Therefore, the teacher had warned everyone to be careful when eating seafood, as many things shouldn’t be consumed together. Especially with arsenic trioxide, a dose as small as 0.01 grams is enough to cause poisoning. Due to its similarity to phosphorus, it can bind to sulfur-containing proteins, leading to apoptosis of tissue cells. In severe cases, it can cause respiratory and circulatory failure, resulting in death.

It’s safe to say that when biological evolution selected phosphorus as the basis for genetic material, arsenic was destined to be poisonous.

Gao Yuyue marveled, "An’an, you truly are a genius in every subject. But I’m curious: the pentavalent arsenic in the water is colorless and tasteless—how did you discover it?"

Shen You’an lowered her gaze.

Through systematic refinement, her body had been strengthened, and her sense of smell far surpassed that of ordinary people, allowing her to easily detect molecules in gases.

Seeing Shen You’an remain silent, Gao Yuyue assumed she didn’t know either and had discovered it purely by chance.

"Who could be so malicious as to want you dead?"

The more Gao Yuyue thought about it, the more she broke out in a cold sweat.

This method is truly insidious to the extreme, making it impossible to guard against.

Shen You’an lowered her head, took out her phone, and dialed a number. Her voice was unusually calm: "I want to report a crime."

Gao Yuyue clicked her tongue, "Your life, day after day, is truly something else."

One moment she’s submitting a legal complaint, and the next she’s caught up in a poisoning case—case after case, never-ending. Is this what the life of a stunning beauty is like?

Even as an outsider, Gao Yuyue felt exhausted.

After hanging up the phone, Shen You’an took out her laptop and began typing furiously.

Gao Yuyue couldn’t understand a single thing on the screen.

She squinted her eyes: "During our time in Chunzhou, apart from Xu Na, you haven’t offended anyone else, right? But Xu Na is just a high school teacher; she doesn’t have the means to meddle here. Who could it be? Think carefully."

On the laptop, a surveillance video clip appeared. At 7:30 in the morning, the hallway on their floor showed a cleaner pushing a cart, going room by room to clean.

Gao Yuyue had put a sign on the door refusing cleaning service, as she disliked strangers invading her private space.

With the sign on the door, the cleaner saw it and didn’t step into the room—this was explicitly stated in the hotel’s manual.

Shen You’an sped up the surveillance footage. While the cleaner was cleaning the room opposite theirs, a figure appeared in the hallway. The person was wearing a black skirt uniform different from the cleaner’s and had neatly styled hair.

The individual walked to the door of Shen You’an and Gao Yuyue’s room, used a card to enter, and after staying inside for one minute, quickly exited and closed the door.

In the hallway, she encountered the cleaner who had just finished cleaning and walked past her, each going their separate ways.

Staring at the person’s back, Gao Yuyue suddenly said, "That’s the hotel’s customer service manager, Li Zonghong."

This person frequently stood nearby while they were eating, watching them from not far away, making Gao Yuyue feel very uncomfortable.

It seems this person indeed has issues.

"It was strange at lunch too. The water you always drink wasn’t replenished in time. For a five-star hotel, service is their utmost priority—how could they make such a rookie mistake? It seems she’s definitely the one behind this. With this surveillance footage, the police can thoroughly investigate her."

In fact, this piece of surveillance footage had already been deleted from the hotel’s system; it was restored by Shen You’an using technical means.