139: Playing with orcas

After crossing that hellish, roaring West Wind Drift, the world suddenly grew quiet at dawn.

As the first ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and spilled onto the sea, Jiang Yuan discovered that the scenery around him had completely changed.

The previously ink-black, violent ocean surface now presented a deep, intoxicating Prussian blue.

The sea was as smooth as a mirror, with only layers of ripples stirred by the gentle breeze.

And at the edge of his vision, white ice floes of various sizes began to appear.

They were like white jade fragments scattered on blue satin, drifting slowly with the ocean currents.

The air was bone-chillingly cold, and with every breath, a thick cloud of white mist could be exhaled.

The temperature here had dropped to minus five degrees.

The "phantom" yacht was weaving through the ice floes at a low speed of ten knots.

Its black, streamlined hull looked exceptionally striking in the white world of ice and snow, like a black ghost from deep space.

On the aft deck.

Jiang Yuan was sitting on that white floating lounge chair, enjoying his unique "trophy breakfast."

That bluefin tuna he had caught in the center of the storm last night had now been turned into exquisite sashimi.

He used his chopsticks to pick up a slice of pink "otoro."

This piece of meat was taken from the fattiest part of the tuna's belly, its texture as delicate as snowflakes.

Dipping it in a little freshly ground wasabi, he put it into his mouth.

The rich, warm fat melted instantly on the tip of his tongue, and the intense umami flavor burst forth in his mouth along with the refreshing sweetness of the wasabi.

This was the ocean's finest gift, a freshness and wildness that no Michelin-starred restaurant could replicate.

"Not bad."

Jiang Yuan took a sip of warm sake and cast his gaze toward the calm sea.

Just then.

"Beep."

Zero's notification sound rang in his mind.

"Warning. Multiple biological signals detected approaching. Quantity: 12. Size: Large. Distance: 300 meters."

Jiang Yuan put down his wine glass and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Sharks?"

"No, sonar characteristic analysis indicates... they are orcas (Orcinus orca)."

Before the words had even faded.

On the sea surface fifty meters to the left of the yacht, a high spray of mist suddenly erupted.

"Pfft—!"

Immediately after, a towering black dorsal fin sliced through the blue water surface.

That dorsal fin was over a meter high, looking like a black sickle, appearing majestic and awe-inspiring.

Then came the second, the third...

Within just a few seconds, an entire pod of orcas surfaced.

Their iconic black and white coloring, rounded heads, and the white eye patches that seemed to be smiling appeared especially vivid under the sunlight.

This was a typical matrilineal orca pod.

They did not show any aggression, but instead displayed great curiosity toward this strange ship.

Usually, ships have propeller cavitation noise and engine roaring, which are the noises marine life hates most.

But Jiang Yuan's "phantom" used magnetohydrodynamic propulsion; there was no mechanical vibration in the water, only an extremely faint electromagnetic hum.

For orcas, with their extremely keen hearing, this was like a moving, silent, giant monster.

They circled the yacht, poking their heads out from time to time to size up Jiang Yuan on the deck with their small, intelligent eyes, while making "creak, creak" communication sounds.

"Interesting."

Jiang Yuan stood up and walked to the ship's rail.

He looked at the huge black shadows swimming underwater, and a sudden urge welled up in his heart.

What was the point of just watching?

Since he had come to this pure sea area, he naturally had to completely immerse himself in it.

"Zero, activate the constant temperature coating."

Jiang Yuan said calmly.

Hum—

The black casual loungewear on his body instantly liquefied.

This time, it did not turn into a heavy diving suit, but instead transformed into a layer of bio-nano active membrane, thin as a cicada's wing and nearly transparent, clinging tightly to the surface of his skin.

Although this membrane made it look like he wasn't wearing anything (except for black fluid covering his private parts), it could lock in body temperature through molecular vibration and simultaneously filter oxygen directly from the seawater to deliver it to his skin pores, allowing a human to breathe freely underwater like a fish without feeling a hint of cold.

"I'll go down and play too."

Jiang Yuan stood on the gunwale, his posture relaxed.

Splash!

A perfect dive into the water.

The moment he entered the water, the world changed.

There was none of the bone-chilling cold of the minus 1.8-degree seawater he had imagined.

The nano-membrane perfectly insulated against the low temperature, and Jiang Yuan only felt a cool liquid enveloping his entire body.

The seawater was shockingly clear.

The visibility was at least over fifty meters.

Sunlight pierced through the water surface, casting countless golden beams onto the deep blue seabed, beautiful enough to be dreamlike.

And at this moment, Jiang Yuan had become an intruder in this blue dream.

A dozen orcas immediately noticed him entering the water.

In the natural world, a human in front of an orca is just a fragile little seal.

They are the ocean's apex predators; even great white sharks are their snacks.

Several large adult orcas immediately turned and swam toward Jiang Yuan.

They were moving extremely fast, carrying immense water pressure.

In the eyes of an ordinary person, this would simply be like Death coming for them.

But Jiang Yuan hovered in the water without any panic.

He slowly opened his arms, closed his eyes, and unlocked "Omni-Communication."

A gentle, friendly, yet majestic mental wave, carrying the authority of a superior being, radiated from him as the center, spreading out into the surrounding ocean.

"I have no malicious intent."

"I want to play with you."

This signal, acting directly on their brainwaves, instantly stunned this group of highly intelligent ocean spirits.

The male orca rushing at the front—it had the tallest dorsal fin and several scars from fights on its body, clearly the guardian leader of this group—suddenly slammed on the brakes two meters in front of Jiang Yuan.

The current stirred up by its massive body caused Jiang Yuan's hair to fly about wildly.

It widened its eyes, curiously sizing up this tiny human.

On this human, it could not smell the scent of fear.

On the contrary, it felt an aura that made it feel very comfortable and close, as if it had met one of its own kind, or rather... met the master of this ocean.

"Eee—!"

The orca let out a crisp cry.

It tentatively leaned in and gently nudged Jiang Yuan's palm with its smooth, hard snout.

The touch was like a piece of cold, wet rubber, both slippery and hard.

Jiang Yuan smiled.

Although he couldn't speak underwater, the smile on his face was transmitted to the other party through the clear seawater.

He reached out and hugged the big guy's large head, gently scratching its chin.

This seemed to scratch the orca's itchy spot; it squinted its eyes comfortably, exhaled a string of tiny bubbles, and its huge tail began to wag happily.

Seeing this, the other orcas nearby also crowded around.

Some circled around him, some gently touched his legs with their pectoral fins, and one playful little orca even tried to take Jiang Yuan's fingers into its mouth.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan felt as if he had become the king of these deep-sea spirits.

"Take me for a ride?"

Jiang Yuan patted the lead orca's dorsal fin and transmitted a thought.

The orca understood in a second.

It lowered its body slightly, signaling Jiang Yuan to come up.

Jiang Yuan did not stand on ceremony; he flipped over onto its broad back and grabbed that towering dorsal fin with both hands.

"Hold on tight!" (Although this was a line imagined in his head, the orca's actions conveyed this meaning.)

Boom!!!

The orca whipped its tail, and a huge explosive force was instantly released.

Jiang Yuan felt as if he were a torpedo being launched.

The scenery around him instantly turned into blurred blue lines.

The feeling of being pushed back while speeding through the water was a hundred times more thrilling than driving a supercar.

The orca took him straight to the depths of the seabed, then suddenly pulled up.

They wove under the huge ice floes, watching the colorful light refracted by the sunlight through the ice layer.

Startling several penguins that were diving, sending them fleeing in all directions.

"Up!"

With a long cry from the lead orca.

It took Jiang Yuan and charged toward the sea surface at a nearly vertical angle.

Faster and faster, faster and faster.

Splash!!!

Breaking out of the water!

At that moment, time seemed to slow down.

An eight-meter-long giant orca, with a tiny human riding on its back, soared a full five meters into the air above the Antarctic sea surface, which was floating with broken ice!

The spray turned into countless diamonds under the sunlight.

Jiang Yuan opened his arms in the air, feeling the cold air and the moment gravity returned.

Beneath him was the black giant beast.

Before his eyes were white glaciers and the blue firmament.

This was an ultimate wildness and romance that transcended species.

Thud!

A huge splash exploded.

Man and whale landed heavily back into the sea.

The orca seemed very excited too; it rolled around in the water, making happy cries.

Jiang Yuan let go, hovering in the water, looking at this group of cute big guys.

"Thanks, buddy."

Jiang Yuan patted the leader's head again.

He made a farewell gesture in the water.

The orca pod seemed to know that this magical two-legged beast was about to leave.

They swam one last circle around Jiang Yuan, and the leader let out a long, lingering cry, as if saying goodbye, or perhaps blessing him.

Then, they uniformly swished their tails and swam toward the deep sea, leaving only those black and white backs gradually disappearing into the dark, deep blue.

Jiang Yuan watched them leave until they were completely out of sight, then activated the anti-gravity thrusters under his feet.

Whoosh—

Like a rocket, he shot straight out of the water onto the deck of the "phantom."

The nano-membrane faded instantly, and his clothes returned to being dry and comfortable loungewear.

Jiang Yuan shook his hair, but no water droplets flew off—because it hadn't gotten wet at all.

He walked to the bow and took a deep breath of the unique, biting, and pure Antarctic air.

The revelry just now had made his mood unprecedentedly joyful.

"The real Antarctica is just ahead."

Jiang Yuan looked ahead.

On the horizon, a continuous white coastline was already clearly visible.

That was the continent covered in ice and snow, the extreme cold place on Earth, and also the final destination of his journey—Antarctica.

"Full speed ahead."

Jiang Yuan picked up the wine glass he hadn't finished earlier.

"Let's go see what is hidden at the end of this world."