“The Finless Beast is in danger! I must help her!”
The Great Orca called out as it rushed toward Zhong Xiwang’s direction.
Hearing the distress call, the entire orca pod followed closely behind in an orderly formation.
The leading orca used sharp, piercing calls to drive away and intimidate any creatures attempting to harm Zhong Xiwang.
Meanwhile, the orcas behind communicated through sounds to discuss their strategy.
Zhong Xiwang paddled desperately, her heart pounding in her throat.
She didn’t know if she could be saved, but she remembered reading some descriptions about orcas.
Orcas’ friendliness toward humans wasn’t just because humans weren’t on the menu of these apex ocean predators—it was also because human appearances happened to align with their aesthetic preferences.
Encountering a lone human was like humans stumbling upon stray cats or dogs.
Who wouldn’t feel pity for a poor little cat or dog?
Zhong Xiwang had initially held only a sliver of hope, but when she saw those black triangular dorsal fins actually changing direction and swimming toward her, her nose instantly stung with emotion.
But with just a slight glance to the side, Zhong Xiwang spotted the terrifying six eyes of the Centipede Monster staring at her from not far away.
She was so frightened that her entire body turned cold, and her hair stood on end.
Just as Zhong Xiwang was at a loss, a massive figure charged toward her, bringing with it a vast surge of waves as it forcefully rammed into the Centipede Monster beside her.
With a weight of around five tons and a speed of nearly sixty kilometers per hour, the impact generated thousands of pounds of force, instantly sending the ferocious Centipede Monster flying far through the water.
This was the method they used when dealing with other prey alone, such as great white sharks.
After such a collision, the prey’s spine and ribs would fracture directly, their brains would be dazed, and they would be unable to resist.
The Centipede Monster seemed even more formidable than a great white shark. It merely shook its head before starting to swim toward Zhong Xiwang again.
But by then, it was already surrounded by other orcas. The orcas chirped around the Centipede Monster, releasing streams of fine bubbles through their blowholes.
This not only disrupted the Centipede Monster’s hearing but also obscured its forward vision.
This strange creature was something the orcas had never seen before. Faced with an unknown threat, they cautiously adopted a strategy of attrition.
They planned to exhaust its stamina first and then launch a sudden attack when it grew weary.
By the time the Centipede Monster broke through the surrounding layers of bubbles, Zhong Xiwang had long since disappeared without a trace.
Seeing the orcas preparing to encircle and attack it, the Centipede Monster fiercely struck out with its numerous pairs of limbs at any orca attempting to approach.
The front of its heart-shaped head split open into four lobes, each covered with rows of barbed, sharp teeth. An angry warning sound emanated from within.
For a moment, the orcas seemed to freeze.
The orca matriarch, their leader, gave the order: “Go, leave quickly!”
This thing didn’t look like it had much meat, and its scaly armor would be troublesome to peel off.
Most importantly, it was so ugly that even the matriarch had no appetite for it.
The orcas immediately scattered, afraid to look at it for even a second longer.
Seeing them about to leave just like that, the Centipede Monster still intended to stealthily follow one of them to find the taken Zhong Xiwang.
The orcas quickly noticed it. After calling out a few times in their own language, they didn’t try to stop it. Instead, they led the Centipede Monster toward the open sea.
By the time the Centipede Monster realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
It was treated as a toy, used by the new generation of calves in the orca pod to practice ramming and slapping.
On the undulating sea surface, a black segmented creature several meters long suddenly leaped high from the water.
After landing back in the water, before it could swim away, it was struck by a powerful force from behind.
Its mind was filled with the calls of the surrounding Great Orcas—whether they were teaching the Little Orcas what to do or simply disorienting it, the Centipede Monster felt dizzy and disoriented from the sounds and collisions.
Although the Centipede Monster couldn’t suffer broken bones—since it didn’t have any to begin with—this couldn’t go on forever. It even felt one of its body segments loosening.
To avoid being toyed to death by these creatures, the Centipede Monster immediately curled its body into a ball.
Then, the Little Orcas played even more joyfully.
Meanwhile, Zhong Xiwang, carried away by the Great Orca, lay limp and exhausted on its back.
The harrowing escape left her heart still pounding, unable to believe she had truly been saved by a pod of orcas!
At the same time, she felt immensely grateful to have encountered them.
Sensing her fear, the Great Orca beneath her emitted a short, crisp call.
Zhong Xiwang sat up, stroking the smooth body beneath her. “Th-thank you…”
Her voice trembled as she sincerely expressed her gratitude to the massive creature.
The Great Orca chirped and chattered, “Little human, don’t cry! I’ll take you for a ride!”
Zhong Xiwang couldn’t understand, but its cheerful, babbling sounds seemed adorable. Then, feeling the Great Orca begin to accelerate, she quickly wrapped her arms around its dorsal fin, which towered taller than herself.
Feeling the soft, human body clinging to it, the Great Orca’s heart melted completely.
Its chirping grew even more lively, and soon it dove beneath the water. Zhong Xiwang immediately closed her eyes, then felt her body lift free of the sea.
When she opened her eyes, she saw the Great Orca leaping high out of the water with her on its back. The entire azure ocean stretched beneath them, and the refreshing sea breeze swept over her, seeming to wash away the earlier terror.
A brilliant light sparkled in Zhong Xiwang’s eyes as she gazed in wonder at the scene.
Before her joy could grow further, the Great Orca plunged back into the water. Caught off guard, Zhong Xiwang swallowed a mouthful of seawater.
She quickly patted the Great Orca’s back.
The Great Orca immediately surfaced with her. As she coughed violently, its blowhole sprayed a mist of water vapor, forming a rainbow right before Zhong Xiwang’s eyes.
Still coughing, Zhong Xiwang widened her eyes. Ignoring the discomfort in her lungs, she reached out to touch the rainbow so close to her.
Her hand passed through the rainbow like trying to scoop the moon from water, disrupting its natural beauty. As the mist settled, the rainbow quickly vanished.
But Zhong Xiwang was still overjoyed.
She stroked the Great Orca’s back and leaned forward. “Thank you… cough… thank you!”
The Great Orca’s small eyes watched Zhong Xiwang, and upon seeing her smile, it emitted a series of short, cheerful chirps.
Then it began accelerating through the water again, and Zhong Xiwang immediately prepared to hold her breath.
Once more, she felt her body rise from the water and opened her eyes.
This time, the Great Orca leaped even higher, giving Zhong Xiwang a broader view. She could even see something like a black ball flying back and forth in the distance.
Could it be another monster?
Zhong Xiwang’s expression of joy faded slightly as she patted the Great Orca. “Great Orca, could you take me to where there are humans?”
Neither could understand the other’s language, but the Great Orca could tell from Zhong Xiwang’s expression that she was no longer as happy as before.
It wondered—was this no longer fun?