Pet King

There weren’t many opportunities to take pictures of whales swimming with their mothers, and they were often monopolized by high-end marine photographers. Zhang Zian knew he couldn’t miss the opportunity. He picked up his phone and took a few shots. Along with the previous ones he had sent to Huang, Xiao Zhi would be very happy to see the photos.

The minke whale’s mother was wary of Zhang Zian and his assault boat. It didn’t approach the boat, but it kept a distance of two to three hundred meters away as it swam around the boat.

Zhang Zian understood the mentality of being a mother. In order to not disturb them, he did not bring the boat towards them.

The minke whale played happily for a while around his mother, then as if it got bored, it swam towards the assault boat again.

Splash!

The minke whale’s mother moved, too. Although it didn’t trust Zhang Zian, it was more worried about letting its child act alone. So, it followed the minke whale, protecting it from the side as they swam towards the assault boat.

Fortunately, they weren’t moving fast. Otherwise, Zhang Zian would have had to consider speeding up and leaving the area to prevent the boat from being knocked over.

In order to show that he was not hostile, Zian placed his phone back into the waterproof bag and slid his hand into the water. He gently played with the water as if to welcome them.

Three hundred meters…

Two hundred meters…

One hundred meters…

Their distance grew closer and closer.

Zhang Zian stared at them intently, completely oblivious that an unexpected situation was about to happen.

Fwoosh!

Right in front of the assault boat, a third, grayish-black minke whale jumped out of the sea without warning. Its giant body rolled in the air before it smashed back down into the sea.

Due to the close distance, the light assault boat violently swayed from the impact of the waves. Zhang Zian, who was caught off guard, was almost tossed out of the boat.

“Not good!” Zian watched as the waves, mixed with white foam, came crashing down on him. Zian shouted in surprise, and with no time to dodge it, his hair and face became soaked.

Water had also gotten into the assault boat, causing the inside of the boat to become slippery. Zian was unable to balance himself, and he fell to one side.

Fortunately, Zian reacted fast. He held onto the bracket that fixed the awning for support, and at the same time, he crouched down to lower his center of gravity, stabilizing himself after many difficulties.

The assault boat rolled like a toy boat between the waves and the troughs, going up and down. It was more exciting than riding a roller coaster.

Zhang Zian’s face turned pale. He grabbed onto the hull with one hand and a lifebuoy in the other. He was prepared to abandon the ship to save his life.

Shortly after, when the second wave did not come as expected, Zian carefully straightened his body on the boat.

When he wasn’t looking, the young minke whale had swum up next to him, blocking right in front of the assault boat. While its mother had stopped by the side, its intention to protect Zian was clear to see.

A short distance away, an adult, male minke whale swam a little aggressively, spurting out a more prominent air pillar than the young minke whale and its mother.

Zhang Zian suddenly had a thought: he wondered if the male minke whale was the giant whale he saw, but he immediately denied those thoughts. Their size comparison was just too great––it would be like the difference between an elephant and a wild boar.

He wiped the water on his face and knew that the minke whale had saved him. If it didn’t stop the second attack, Pi might have had to write a new story on Zhang Zian’s Drifting Journal…

In fact, the first attack from the adult male minke whale was not to take his life; it was just a warning, like a warning shot. Otherwise, it would have directly rammed the boat from below. With its size, overturning the boat was a breeze for it.

Zhang Zian’s boat was too small and too light, so it couldn’t even withstand an attack meant as a warning.

The minke whale let out a long cry, and its mother echoed after.

Zhang Zian felt that it would’ve been good to have Sihwa there. She would have been able to understand what they were saying, and she could also plead with them to spare his life. Zian could also roughly guess that the minke whale may have been explaining that he was not a bad person.

He believed in the minke whale, and he was also grateful to it. His hand was still holding onto the handle of the motor, ready to escape when the negotiations broke down.

Just moments after, the male minke whale seemed to have dispelled some of its hostility and slowed down.

If an ordinary person were to see the scene, they would have been overwhelmed with emotions—the family of minke whales, their mutual love, mutual protection… They were a really enviable family… If it were someone with literary talent, they might even have been able to write out a long, hearty Chicken Soup for the Soul article.

However, even if the Chicken Soup for the Soul article was really written, it could only deceive the ignorant girls and those who lacked proper knowledge. The male minke whale was not the biological father of the young minke whale––at most it was Old Wang, the next door neighbor. The taste of the Chicken Soup, though, was really euphoric!

In the world of whales, a young whale was born into a single parent family, and the individual known as the father would have already left after the task of spreading its seeds. After the ten plus months of pregnancy, when the baby was born, its father might have already been thousands of kilometers away living a happy life with no worries.

So what was the story of the male minke whale by Zhang Zian’s boat? Of course, it was the female minke whale’s admirer; it was a knight in shining armor. However, before the young minke whale left its mother to live independently, the knight in shining armor would just be the knight in shining armor; they would not have any kind of relationship. At least when it came to their demeanor, the whale was much stronger than Old Wang the next door neighbor…

There were many dangers in the ocean, including dangers from other marine life and human beings. Also, a single mother raising her child was very vulnerable to bullying. Knight in shining armors like the male whale were also called primary escorts. They would silently follow the orphans and widows, standing up to protect them when they were in danger, even if the orphan did not have any blood relation to it.

From that point of view, whales were really like human beings, and it was worthy of being titled the wisest mammal in the ocean.

Before the young whale left its mother to go independent, the chief escort whale would silently protect them until the day the female whale accepted it.

Not just any whale could be the knight in shining armor. Since there was a “chief,” it went to show that it had beaten other competitors to claim the seat as Old Wang, the next door neighbor…

Being able to beat the other competitors and be selected as the knight in shining armor proved that its body was strong enough and had more genetic advantages, which would help win the favor of the female whales. After all, as a male, there was no doubt that the strongest was the most respected.

It suddenly attacked Zhang Zian because it felt that Zhang Zian might pose a threat to the mother and child, but the whale’s nature of being close to humans held it back from directly killing Zhang Zian. It had only attacked Zhang Zian as a warning, and if Zhang Zian knew better, he would immediately place both hands on the keyboard and type to prove that he was clean… Okay, it was not that one… He was supposed to retreat immediately to a safer distance.

But if he didn’t know better…

Zhang Zian was aware of the habits that the cetaceans have, and he also knew that it was just trying to protect the mother and child. So, although he was drenched and was almost tossed into the sea, he did not blame the whale; he just felt very wronged. With what power could he use to cause harm to the mother and child?