95: Swimming with whales

Splashes of water hit the deck, dampening the hem of Jiang Yuan's clothes.

However, that humpback whale didn't dive back into the deep sea to leave as it usually did. It floated on the surface, its massive blowhole shooting up a tall column of water.

"Oooooh—" The long, mournful whale song pierced through the hull, striking straight at the soul.

It was circling the yacht.

Even its deep, profound eye was staring intently at Jiang Yuan, who stood at the bow.

A strange sense of connection surged in his heart. It was calling out to him.

Both Son of the Sea and Affinity with All Things came in handy at this moment.

Jiang Yuan didn't say a word; he turned and went into the cabin to change into swimming trunks.

He didn't take any oxygen tanks or flippers.

The butler, Charles, who was nearby, was just about to open his mouth to persuade him otherwise, but Jiang Yuan had already taken a running start.

Splash! Water sprayed everywhere.

This scene nearly terrified the maids on the boat; this was the deep-sea area of the North Atlantic Ocean, where the water temperature was in the single digits, and there were giant beasts.

But the moment he entered the water, Jiang Yuan felt as if he had returned to a temperature-controlled bathtub.

He opened his eyes underwater, and his vision was absurdly clear.

Seeing him come down, the humpback whale was so happy that it slapped the water with its tail, the turbulence nearly sweeping Jiang Yuan away.

Swimming closer, Jiang Yuan finally understood why it was calling out.

The folds of this big guy's chin and belly were densely packed with barnacles.

The greyish-white hard shells were embedded in its flesh, and just looking at it made him feel itchy for it.

At a time like this, there was no need to maintain the demeanor of a Divine Magnate; Jiang Yuan got hands-on immediately.

This thing had an extremely strong grip; an ordinary person would need a chisel, but Jiang Yuan just hooked his fingers.

Snap.

A large chunk of barnacles was forcibly pried off.

The humpback whale shivered in comfort and simply rolled over to expose its belly, wearing a shameless expression that said, "I want some here too."

The man and the fish began a "spring cleaning" in the ocean.

How to describe the feeling? It was a bit like popping pimples, even a bit stress-relieving.

After removing the barnacles, the big guy, in order to repay the favor, curled its tail around Jiang Yuan and began to dive.

One hundred meters, three hundred meters.

The light vanished, and the surroundings were terrifyingly dark.

To Jiang Yuan, the powerful water pressure felt like nothing more than wearing an extra tight-fitting suit.

The seabed wasn't actually as bright as it was portrayed on TV; most places were a deathly, silent black, with only the occasional cluster of glowing coral.

The humpback whale took him and charged into a school of fish, opening its massive mouth to swallow a ton of fish and shrimp.

It even specifically let a few large ones slip out and pushed them in front of Jiang Yuan.

"Thanks, brother, but I'll pass on the raw food."

Jiang Yuan waved his hand, declining the kind gesture.

Having had enough fun, he flipped over to ride on the whale's head, letting this living vessel carry him back to the surface.

When he climbed onto the yacht, Charles's hands were shaking as he handed over a towel.

"Sir, your swimming skills are somewhat extraordinary..."

"Just practiced haphazardly."

Jiang Yuan brushed him off with a casual remark, not giving him a chance to be shocked.

Jiang Yuan had a wild time that night.

Deep-sea fishing, jet skiing, sailing—he went through every activity available.

It was already midnight when he returned to the main building.

It was still bright outside; this illusion of the polar day made it easy to lose track of time.

After washing up and lying in bed, the two maids on the night shift pushed the door open and entered.

Their appearances were different from the daytime group, but they weren't large-framed white women; instead, they had mixed-race features that aligned with Eastern aesthetics.

He casually swiped through the employee roster on his phone screen, and as he looked, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"Charles, this old man, is quite interesting."

The data on the report was astonishing: a maid team of 160 people, a security team of 60, and 50 male logistics staff.

But what satisfied Jiang Yuan the most was the "Regional Management Regulations" marked in bold red text.

This estate implemented an absolute physical isolation comparable to that of an ancient imperial palace.

The inner circle, with the main building as its core, was a "restricted zone."

The 160 maids inside lived, resided, and worked entirely within this area; they even had their own exclusive inner garden for walks.

Meanwhile, the hundred-plus male bodyguards, gardeners, and drivers were all relegated to the outer defense zone.

Forget about dating the maids; those big men didn't even know which way the doors to the maids' dorms opened.

Apart from Charles, the chief butler, who could enter and exit to report on work, any other male creature who dared to cross that electronic warning line by even a single step would be immediately locked onto by the security system.

To put it bluntly.

The outer circle was a heavily fortified military camp, and the inner circle was a land of beauty and song.

The only intersection point between these two worlds was Jiang Yuan.

This feeling of being surrounded and pampered by hundreds of people while exclusively enjoying this gentle utopia could indeed greatly satisfy a man's possessiveness.

Watching the two maids climb onto the bed cautiously, Jiang Yuan closed his eyes with peace of mind.

The next morning.

Jiang Yuan's routine remained normal; the two maids from last night had long since left.

Going downstairs, he saw that the dining table on the first floor, which was long enough to run fifty meters, was covered in plates.

French foie gras, Eggs Benedict, Cantonese shrimp dumplings, and even Jianbing Guozi.

A dozen maids stood by with trays, looking as if they were standing in punishment.

Jiang Yuan sat down, picked up only the bowl of millet porridge to take a sip, and grabbed a fried dough stick.

Comfortable.

Nothing beats this bit of carbs for feeling full.

He ate for less than ten minutes, and ninety percent of the dishes on the table remained untouched.

The lobster prepared by a Michelin-starred chef was sitting there getting cold, which seemed a pity.

"Alright, clear it away."

Jiang Yuan wiped his mouth and stood up.

Seeing the head maid about to have people dump all this into the trash can, Jiang Yuan frowned.

"Wait."

He pointed to the table full of substantial dishes.

"Take it down and share it among yourselves; don't put on that show of throwing it away. Wasting food is shameful."

Having said that, he ignored the strange looks from the maids behind him and walked straight toward the underground garage.

It was time to try out that big guy.

On an independent lift in the deepest part of the garage was the [aurora] gifted by the system.

An all-terrain off-road vehicle.

But its design had absolutely nothing in common with cars on Earth.

The body was matte silver, the lines were sharp, and the four wheels were made of memory metal mesh tires; it looked hardcore.

The coolest part was the power source—a micro cold fusion reactor.

Meaning it never needed refueling in this lifetime, and could even supply electricity to half of Iceland on the side.

"Hum—"

The car doors opened automatically; there was no roar of an engine, only a hint of a futuristic electrical sound.

Jiang Yuan sat in the cockpit, and a holographic projection directly laid the terrain map onto the windshield.

Who needed a driver for this?

He stepped on the accelerator.

The feeling of being pushed back into the seat wasn't just a push; it was like someone kicking you in the back.

Boom—!

The aurora rushed out of the estate gates and plunged straight into the desolate, uninhabited area.

This scene looked exactly like the live-action footage from a top-tier action blockbuster.

On the ground, the silver off-road vehicle sped like lightning across the black volcanic rock wilderness, its speed hitting two hundred directly.

In the sky, an Airbus ACH130 helicopter emblazoned with the estate's emblem lowered its nose, tailing the car closely.

The massive roar of the propellers and the tire noise from the ground intertwined.

One man, one car, one helicopter.

Within tens of kilometers, there wasn't a soul around, so there was no need to worry about speed limits or traffic rules.

Jiang Yuan held the steering wheel with one hand, his eyes filled with a sense of cathartic pleasure.

Forty minutes later.

A strong smell of rotten eggs began to permeate the air—that was the scent of sulfur.

A black mountain range shrouded in thick smoke appeared ahead.

Reykjanes Peninsula, Fagradalsfjall Volcano.

This was one of the most active volcanoes in Iceland at present, and also the legendary entrance to the center of the earth.