Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Downstairs, Famous was still tightly surrounded by the movie fans and the customers who had heard the news. Everyone wanted to take a photo with it as a memory before the movie aired; they were afraid that in the future, after it became a famous star, there would not be a lot of opportunities to take any more photos with it.
Zhang Zian picked up the battery that was charging at the corner of the wall and opened the trunk of the car. He connected it to the motor, confirming that the battery had already been charged to 100 percent.
Wang Qian noticed his actions and knew that he was going to take the boat out to sea again. Otherwise, he would not be bringing the battery. He walked over and asked, “Master, could it be that you are going to watch the whales again?”
Jiang Feifei, who was next door, had also heard the news that the movie would be aired publicly. Although she was not that interested in movies, her classmates knew she was working at the aquarium and had all asked her to find out more about the newest information. Since the aquarium did not have many customers at the moment, she walked over to the pet shop.
“Store manager, when are you going to bring me along to whale watch? I’ve even bought my life jacket already…” she said in anticipation.
“About that… It should be quite soon,” Zhang Zian smiled and said, “Don’t be in a rush. We must wait for the suitable time. Everyone will have the chance to go too.”
Jiang Feifei saw how he had loosened his lips and was instantly overjoyed.
Before that, he had kept very tight lipped because there was a giant whale at sea that was moody. As long as the problem with 52 Hertz could be solved smoothly, it would no longer pose a danger to those who wanted to whale watch. It would be much safer to go to sea to whale watch.
He gave some more instructions before turning to enter the car, and headed towards the seaside.
Not long after, he stopped his car at his normal parking spot by the sea and dragged the assault boat out from his trunk.
As a result of two or three days of continuous spring rain, the temperature was somewhat low, and the sea level seemed to have risen a little higher than usual. Foaming waves rushed down to the beach and hit the reef rocks.
Zhang Zian pumped air into the assault boat as he continuously thought about the steps for the operation. If 52 Hertz could understand Sihwa’s song, then that would be all right… But what if it could not understand? Or what if it understood, but did not reply?
He thought about how to respond to all the different possible scenarios in order to be relatively stable, but the ocean was vast, and his boat was just a lone boat. There was no one-size-fits-all strategy, and he had to, at the minimum, ensure his safe return.
The assault boat was fully filled with air, and he simply checked to see if there were any leakages before pushing the small boat out to sea. He then activated the motor, driving into the sea.
He made an estimation based on what he could see, and when he reached close to where he was last time, he switched off the motor, inserted the memory card into the underwater speaker, and started to play it.
After preparing everything, he put on his headphones again, and stopped the underwater speaker at intervals. He listened to the sounds that the underwater sound device recorded.
Countless mysterious and complex sounds surrounded him again. He had heard some of them before, but he had also never heard some of before. Could it be that after not coming for a few days, there were new guests in the sea?
It would be great if the deserted, open seas of Binhai City could take advantage of the precious time during the fishing ban to return to its old vigorous appearance.
Hearing the sounds under the sea, his mind wandered unconsciously. One moment, he was filled with excitement at the thought of Famous’ film coming out soon; one moment he was excited at the thought of his mysterious trip to ancient Egypt; and one moment he was worried about the case of the cat abuse that had yet to be solved. Not to mention the god d*mn statue of the cat was still missing…
Just at that moment, a distant sound suddenly sounded in his ear, like a train whistle in the distance. At first, it was very far and somewhat dull, like it was coming out of a tunnel. It soon drew nearer and nearer, suppressing all other sounds, and evoked echoes throughout the valley.
Other sounds, like the arrival of a sea bully, suddenly grew silent like cicadas in cold weather, or they fled at the fastest speed. It was suddenly as quiet as a pond before a storm.
Zhang Zian suddenly became alert, coming out from the state of where his mind was wandering off.
He had repeatedly listened to the recording of 52 Hertz song. He was already very familiar with its voice, but today, its voice seemed to be different; it was even more hurried, with shorter intervals and a stronger emphasis. It was just like a wanderer who saw his father and elders from afar, dropping all the burden in his hands and rushing wildly towards his parents and relatives that were at the doorway of his home.
He glanced at the small LCD screen, and the sound intensity displayed on the screen increased at a steady speed. It proved that it was moving in a practically straight line to his direction at an unprecedented speed that was faster than ever.
With his previous experience, he estimated the time, and when he felt that it was almost time, he kept the underwater sound device, and only left the speaker. He started the motor and made a short retreat to the shore.
The distance was very tricky. While it was not yet a safe distance, Zhang Zian decided to take a gamble. He trusted in Sihwa’s hard work the last few days. At this distance, even if there were any accidents, he could probably still swim back to shore.
He could not retreat too far. If 52 Hertz came after him because it was too excited, its huge body would probably be stranded on shore. He would have been the main culprit––originally wanting to help it, but harming it in the end.
Zhang Zian took off his headphones. His gaze cruised across the undulating sea. His two hands held onto both sides of the ship and his heart beat like that of a drum, his palms sweating.
To say that he was not nervous was impossible. A huge beast was about to appear, but he did not know how it was going to appear. Would it directly rush up from below and throw the small boat into the sky? Or would it open its mouth that was as wide as a city gate and swallow both him and the small boat?
All right, the second one was probably not possible… If 52 Hertz was a mix between the blue whale and the fin whale, then it probably inherited some of their characteristics. Although the mouth of a blue whale was extremely big, its throat was very narrow and was not able to swallow an adult human. Its throat could even be blocked by floating plastic bags in the sea, and that was how some blue whales died… So, blue whales instinctively avoided devouring larger organisms.
Of course, Zhang Zian did not want to personally find out if the fact was true.
Suddenly, he caught sight of a small, fast moving black spot from the corner of his eye. He quickly picked up the telescope to look at it.
It was a dorsal fin that cut through the sea like a sharp knife, stabbing directly in the direction of the boat. The swinging tail fin could also be vaguely seen behind it.
If a person did not know about marine life and was sitting in a boat that was like an eggshell, like Zhang Zian was, and they suddenly saw the towering dorsal fin rushing towards them, their first reaction would be that a shark had come. Their second reaction would be to be so scared that they urinated on the spot.
Zhang Zian’s heart tightened, but when he saw the tail fin behind the dorsal fin, he put his heart back into his throat.
Differentiating between sharks and whales at sea was simple. Although sometimes their dorsal fins were confusing, there were essential differences in the way they swung their tail fins. Sharks swung left and right, while whales swung their tail fins up and down, so the owner of the dorsal fin was a real whale.
Puff!
As it approached, it slowed down, spewing out a towering water pillar. Half of its body came out of the sea.
It really was 52 Hertz.
