If anyone ever called them ocean street loafers again, she would argue with them!
These were clearly kind and adorable ocean lifeguards!
“Big Fatty… hurry, take me to the hospital… oh no, to a human place…”
Her back had been grabbed by the Multi-finned Sea Snake earlier. To secure her, its sharp limbs had pierced her skin and flesh, and it was still bleeding.
The Great Orca emitted a gentle, prolonged call, though it was unclear whether it understood Zhong Xiwang’s meaning, and carried her as it swam through the sea.
Lying on Big Fatty’s back, Zhong Xiwang passed by the forested island from earlier and tilted her head to look.
The entire island was eerily quiet. Among the gloomy, dark woods, no trace of the Tall and Thin Ghostly Shadow could be seen.
After relaxing, Zhong Xiwang, exhausted all over, suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness.
“Big Fatty, I’m going to take a nap. You swim carefully, okay.”
“Mmm!” [Ahhh, the little human is so well-behaved, lying on my back without moving at all!!]
“Ee-ya-ya-ee-ee…”
Hearing Big Fatty’s series of calls, Zhong Xiwang frowned and gently stroked its back, speaking softly, “Stop calling, Big Fatty. It’s noisy.”
“Mmm!” [Ahh! The little human’s voice is so soft too, she looks so weak and pitiful…]
“Ya-ya-ya-ee-ee…”
Zhong Xiwang suddenly found it amusing that she was negotiating with an orca. Ignoring its calls, she closed her eyes and fell silent.
Feeling that she had stopped moving, the orca Big Fatty called a few more times before quieting down.
Soon after, the orca grandmother caught up with the pod.
The adult orcas followed behind, providing escort, while the young orcas swam up to Big Fatty, occasionally peeking out with curious eyes to observe the human on its back.
“Grandmother, is she dead?”
Looking at the blood flowing from Big Fatty’s body into the sea, the experienced orca grandmother gently explained to her uninformed grandchildren.
“She’s not dead, just injured and in pain now. Don’t disturb her.”
“Grandmother, where are her people? Why is she always alone?”
“Grandmother doesn’t know either. Maybe she doesn’t have parents.”
“Such a pitiful Finless Beast, Grandmother. Without parents and injured, will she die?”
“She won’t. Some Finless Beasts will help her.”
“That’s good! Finless Beasts are as good as us!”
Listening to her grandchildren’s joyful cheers, the orca grandmother said nothing more. Not all Finless Beasts were good.
After the young ones gathered around Big Fatty again, the orca grandmother’s children approached.
“Mother, those two things earlier… we’ve never seen them before.”
The orca grandmother pondered and said, “Mmm, they might have been forced to migrate from somewhere else. I heard from other pods that they’ve also encountered unfamiliar things.”
“Why did they come here?”
The orca grandmother sighed. “The sea over there has been polluted by bad Finless Beasts. They probably couldn’t survive anymore.”
“That means there will be less and less food for us here…”
The orca grandmother looked at her worried children. “Hunt quickly and help the young ones grow up as soon as possible. We’ll go to farther seas then.”
“Yes…”
Big Fatty, up ahead, didn’t join the conversation but listened to everyone’s discussion.
Thinking about having to leave this place soon and not being able to see this pitiful little human again, it felt a pang of sadness in its heart.
A long time later, the orca grandmother led the pod to carry the unconscious Zhong Xiwang to an area frequented by humans and left her there.
Only after watching her be discovered and taken away by her own kind did they turn and leave with peace of mind.
But they had no idea that the complexity of the Finless Beast extended not only to other species but was even more terrifying toward their own kind.
After several local men discovered Zhong Xiwang lying unconscious on the ground, wicked thoughts immediately arose in their hearts.
Seeing no one around,
they exchanged glances, clearly recognizing the lechery in each other’s eyes.
Then, they carried Zhong Xiwang toward a nearby grove of trees.
They found a secluded spot and were about to tear off Zhong Xiwang’s clothes when a sea breeze blew through.
Soaked to the bone, Zhong Xiwang was instantly awakened by the chill.
She slowly opened her eyes, her blurred consciousness gradually registering the shadowy figures looming over her.
The cold on her body jolted her fully awake, and she saw several foreign men with lecherous expressions surrounding her, eyeing her body with ill intent.
Without making a sound, Zhong Xiwang grabbed a stone beside her and smashed it hard against the head of the nearest man.
“Argh!” the man screamed, clutching his bleeding head as he glared furiously at Zhong Xiwang on the ground.
“Damn yellow chick! You’re asking for death!”
With that, the man slapped Zhong Xiwang hard across the face.
Already weak, Zhong Xiwang saw stars from the blow.
She bit down hard on the tip of her tongue to stay conscious, wildly swinging the stone in her hand toward the men’s heads.
Seeing her fierce struggle, several of them quickly pinned down her arms and legs.
The injured man straddled her, slapping her face one blow after another while cursing in his native dialect.
Zhong Xiwang struggled frantically, trying to break free from the hands restraining her.
Her delicate skin was scraped by the gravel on the ground, drawing more blood.
Her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood, yet she clenched her teeth, glaring fiercely at the hateful man before her!
Her resolute expression seemed to say that given the chance, she would surely kill him!
Amid the increasingly unrestrained laughter of the men, Zhong Xiwang’s dress was torn to shreds.
Hearing the sound of fabric ripping, tears of humiliation welled in Zhong Xiwang’s eyes, but she did not give up struggling.
Seizing the moment when the men were momentarily stunned, she suddenly raised her knee and forcefully shoved the man off her.
Breaking free from their grip with swift movements, she scrambled to her feet and ran.
Seeing her flee, the men immediately gave chase.
Zhong Xiwang clutched the tattered remains of her clothes as she sprinted away, her legs moving swiftly.
After reaching a crowded area, the men behind dared not pursue further. With reluctant expressions, they watched as Zhong Xiwang was shielded by some kind-hearted people and turned to look their way, prompting the men to quickly scatter.
Later, Zhong Xiwang was taken to the hospital for wound cleaning and bandaging.
In the hospital bed, her entire face was swollen and bruised purple.
Zhong Xiwang lay quietly, staring at the ceiling, the faces of those men replaying endlessly in her mind.
Two days later, she returned to her rented apartment.
Unexpectedly, she saw a surprising figure there.
Startled, Zhong Xiwang cursed this fellow in her mind. Dragging her still-unsteady legs and her body wrapped in bandages, she slowly lay down on the bed.