Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
No wonder super rich people would buy a yacht when they had the money; it felt great to sail freely in the open sea.
There were no zebra crossings, no traffic lights, no pedestrians, and no vehicles; one could just pilot the boat however they wanted. The strong sea breeze with a hint of saltiness blew against Zian’s face, and his sweat from earlier quickly dried up. It was even a little cold.
At first, Zhang Zian was not used to operating the motor, but once he got used to it, it became second nature. He could even judge the current power intensity through the vibration felt on his palm.
He did his best to not get carried away. From time to time, he would look back to the coast, so as to not pilot the boat too far offshore.
Acceleration, deceleration, turning, stopping… Zian tested the boat in different ways while he paid attention to the battery’s power. He roughly understood the limits of the boat, and currently, it seemed to be worth its price.
Zian looked back again, only to realize that he was already quite far off the shore. He decided to stop the boat right where he was.
After Zian stopped the boat, he took the underwater speaker out of his bag and lowered it into the water. He then began his daily routine of sending away the marine creatures that swam too close to the shore. Most marine creatures did not have the ability to receive low-frequency sound waves across thousands of kilometers like whales; otherwise, it wouldn’t be so troublesome.
During the sailing process, due to the tension, Zian’s hand had been firmly gripping the control handle of the motor. Because of that, Zian’s hand was kind of sore, and he took advantage of the opportunity he had to relax his hand.
Zian carefully supported himself using the bottom of the boat and tried to stand up. The boat was too light and the shallow was draught, so it was not easy to stand still; it seemed like he might fall at any time.
Despite the difficulties, he had to give it a try. What if he needed to pee when he was out at sea the next time? Was it necessary to use the special lid of the mineral water bottle? No, the mouth of the mineral water bottle was too small… It at least had to be Mizone…
After giving it a few tries, Zian decided to give up. Guess it’s Mizone then!
Even if he could stand firm, his muscles were so tense that nothing would come out!
Even if something managed to find its way out, with the inconsistent sea breeze and the surging waves, Zian might just experience the thrill of receiving a golden shower…
Seriously though, if he didn’t wish to pee into the boat, he had to stand by the edge of the boat while he settled his business. It was impossible to maintain his balance when there was only one person in the boat. It would almost certainly turn over, so it was better to just give up.
In the eyes of Wang Qian and the others, Zian was whale watching gracefully, but none of them would have thought that he was actually trying to unlock the 108 different kinds of postures for urinating out at sea…
As for the ladies… It was best not to drink any water before getting on the boat, or else the only option left was to use adult diapers.
Zhang Zian was having fun testing out the different postures. The only thing he didn’t do was pull down his zipper and perform the actual deed. Anyway, no one was watching.
Just then, something flashed at the far end of his sight. He stopped moving and looked around, but he found nothing. He picked up the binoculars and looked again, but still nothing.
“I might be seeing things… or it could’ve been a seabird,” Zian mumbled to himself.
It was about time to end the broadcast. Zian pulled the underwater speaker out of the water and threw it back into the boat. He was all ready to head back. He was satisfied with the test ride today. He had tried all that he needed to, and even that which he shouldn’t have…
Just when Zian started the motor, a thin gas pillar shot out from the sea just in front of him. He was shocked and he quickly shut off the motor.
Then, a semi-mature whale floated on the surface of the sea, spewing out residual water from its nostrils as it slowly came towards Zian’s boat.
Zhang Zian picked up his binoculars and looked towards it. He noticed a ragged depression on the side of its back that should have been smooth. He immediately recognized that it was the minke whale that he and Huang had treated!
What was going on? It had actually appeared exactly where he was just by a coincidence?
The minke whale was much faster than Zian’s small boat, and after a few vigorous dips, it was already right next to him. The whale slowed down and circled the boat, occasionally spurting out some thin water mist from its nostrils. It seemed curious about the boat.
Could it have recognized me? That’s not possible, right?
Whales did not have great vision, so it was really unbelievable to say that the whale had recognized him and approached him on purpose…
Zhang Zian suddenly noticed the underwater speaker that he had casually thrown at the bottom of the boat, and a vague speculation appeared in his heart. In fact, it did not recognize him by sight; instead, it had heard the sound of the underwater speaker.
That day, before Zian had treated the minke whale, he used the speaker to play Sihwa’s song in the water. The whale might have made a connection between him and the song, and after hearing the song from a distance away, it swam over to see if it was Zian.
Zhang Zian leaned over to the side of the boat and waved at it. Zian loudly said, “Hi! Is your wound better now?”
Whales did not have good vision, but their auditory system was very well developed and sensitive. Although it might not understand what Zian was saying, it might have been able to remember his voice.
Sure enough, the minke whale seemed to have let down its guard, and it slowed down as if it was drifting along with the water current towards the boat. It stopped dipping itself under the water, and its eyes were exposed above the surface of the water as it swam close to the boat. It was so close that Zian could touch it.
In fact, Zian did reach out and touch it, mainly to check whether the wound on its back had completely healed.
When his palm brushed across the wound, Zian knew that the wound had healed according to the touch, but… something rough seemed to have attached itself around the wound. It felt like scabs, so he instinctively grabbed on to it and pulled some off its wound.
After it swam past the boat, the minke whale slowly turned around before it swam back again. However, it wasn’t very flexible and its turning radius was relatively large, so it took some time for it to turn back.
Taking advantage of the time, Zhang Zian looked down at his hand and frowned almost immediately. What he saw caused his hair to stand on end. He hurriedly flicked his hands to shake off them off, then washed his hands with the sea water.
What he had grabbed was also known as whale lice, a parasite that would attach itself to a whale. It was particularly easy for them to attach themselves around a wound, and they were also usually clustered together. It easily invoked the Trypophobia in people.
Whale lice were unable to penetrate a whale’s skin, so they were unable to inflict much harm to a healthy whale. But the minke whale was seriously injured not long ago, and the whale lice must’ve taken the opportunity during its healing process to attack.
The minke whale turned back and went past the boat again. Zhang Zian took advantage of the opportunity and, enduring the disgust in him, he reached out and grabbed the whale lice near its wound again. Although he was not a whale, thinking from its point of view, he did not think it was a problem to have the parasites attached to its body. To have them attached to its wound, however, was definitely uncomfortable, and it probably hurt or itched.
Every time it swam past the boat, Zian would grab a handful of whale lice and fling them out to the distance.
The minke whale seemed to feel very comfortable. It even stopped by the boat to let Zian remove the whale lice around its wound.
