Oh no! I've been kept as a pet by a stray killer whale!

Although marine life cannot come into contact with fire, they have a natural fear of "smoke" in their genes. In their understanding, smoke usually means terrible natural disasters.

"Guys! Something's wrong!"

Big Fatty suddenly raised his head, his small eyes looking at the shore in terror.

Thick black smoke was billowing from around the "fragile" pet, and something red and pulsating was devouring the wood.

"Holy crap!! It's on fire!!"

Big Fatty's inner thoughts instantly turned into an alarm:

"Oh no! My pet spontaneously combusted!!"

"I told you this thing shouldn't be exposed to the sun! It'll start smoking if it stays out in the sun too long!"

"Hurry and save them! They'll be burned to ashes if we wait any longer!"

Upon hearing the words "burn to ashes," the "whining monster" next to him was so frightened that its dorsal fin straightened up.

That was its new playmate! A playmate who would play fetch with it! How could it just burn to ashes like that?

"I won't allow it!!"

The whining monster unleashed unprecedented energy.

It didn't need Big Fatty to give it any instructions; as the most "enthusiastic" member of the family, it reacted instantly.

Suddenly, it plunged its large head into the water, its cheeks puffing out like balloons, and took a big gulp of seawater.

then.

Using the explosive force of its tail fin, it suddenly sprinted several meters toward the shore, raising its head high in the shallow water closest to the fire.

At this moment, Jiang Che was facing away from the sea, holding a branch with fish meat skewered on it, and happily approaching the fire, ready to enjoy his first bite of hot protein.

"Just bake it until it's medium-rare..."

He was still muttering to himself.

Sudden.

He felt the sky above him darken for a moment.

An ominous premonition, accompanied by the loud sound of rushing water behind him, instantly enveloped him.

"puff--!!!"

A loud bang.

A high-pressure water jet, thicker, more powerful, and with a larger volume than the previous wake-up service, carrying the resolute determination of the whining monster as a "firefighting hero," traversed a distance of nearly ten meters and precisely covered the target area.

It covered Jiang Che.

It also covered that small flame that had just been lit, carrying the hope of human civilization.

Sizzle—

In that instant, the collision of water and fire produced a piercing scream.

The flickering orange flames were extinguished before they could even utter their last words, by a mouthful of seawater large enough to fill a bathtub.

Not only that.

The force of the water jet was so great that it shattered the carefully constructed pile of firewood. The still-sparkling embers instantly turned into a wet, mushy mess.

Jiang Che was at the epicenter of the explosion.

He still maintained that "handing out fish" posture.

But the bright red tuna in his hand had been washed into the sand and covered in a layer of mud.

His hair and clothes, which had just dried a little, were soaked again, and water was still dripping from them.

A sea breeze blew by.

A wisp of white steam, mixed with the blue smoke from extinguished charcoal, slowly rose and swirled around Jiang Che's blank face.

Dead silence.

Absolute silence.

There was only the sound of ocean waves and the awkward buzzing of the drone's propellers.

Jiang Che stood motionless, like a petrified sculpture.

His eyes were vacant as he stared at the dark, bubbling pool of muddy water in front of him.

Just seconds ago, it was fire, it was hope, it was fire that he had obtained after going through tremendous effort, wearing out his hands and untying his shoelaces.

Gone.

It's all gone.

"call--!!"

The sound of the whimpering monster exhaling with relief came from the sea.

It happily rolled over in the water, its heart filled with the pride of doing a good deed anonymously:

"That was close! That was close!"

"It almost caught fire! Luckily I reacted quickly!"

"Big brother! I put out the fire! The pet is safe! Look, it's not smoking anymore, it's safe!"

Big Fatty swam over, looked at the wet mess, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Well done, third brother! That fire safety awareness deserves praise!"

"This pet is really something, why does it play with fire for no reason? Doesn't it know that's a dangerous item? It can't give me a moment's peace of mind."

"From now on, everyone keep an eye on it. If you see it smoking, spray it with hot air!"

……

Listening to the self-indulgent commendation ceremony of this "fire brigade" in my mind.

Jiang Che's hand trembled slightly.

The piece of tuna meat, covered in sand, slipped off the branch and fell into the muddy water.

He turned around slowly and stiffly.

Through his vision blurred by the seawater, he saw a row of neat black and white heads.

They had expressions that said, "You're welcome, it's what we should do," and were even wagging their tails.

After a ten-second period of shock, the live stream audience erupted in the chat.

[Hahahaha! I can't take it anymore! I really can't take it anymore!]

[The little firefighter is such a crybaby! That was a perfect 10!]

[Orca: Holy crap! Fire! Quick, spray water!]

[Jiang Che: Do you know how hard it was for me to go through all that trouble to start a fire? Waaah: Don't be afraid! I'm coming to save you!]

This isn't fire safety awareness, it's a despair-generating machine!

Looking at that pile of mud, I could almost hear the streamer's heart breaking, even through the screen.

[Sashimi is fine, really. Streamer, please stop messing around. These little devils won't let you play with fire.]

Jiang Che took a deep breath.

He wanted to roar, to scream, to charge down and fight those bastards to the death.

But now he doesn't even have the strength to stand up.

The fire went out. The shoelaces were ruined. The wood was wet.

Even the best piece of fish was dirty.

He stared at the innocent-looking whimper, his lips twitching for a long time before finally managing to squeeze out a single sentence, his voice as desolate as an autumn leaf:

"I...thank you and your whole family..."

Jiang Che remained in that stiff posture for a full three minutes.

His hair was wet and stuck to his forehead, water droplets dripped down his nose, and a dark water stain spread on his windbreaker, which was not completely dry but was soaked again.

anger?

He longed to rush into the sea, grab the orca named "Yingying Monster," and loudly question it, demanding to know whether it understood the true value of "making fire by rubbing sticks together."

But when you're facing a group of ocean behemoths weighing tons and with their faces practically begging for praise, that anger becomes pale and powerless.

"How is it? How is it?"

In the sea, the whimpering monster was still there, boasting about its accomplishment. It rested its large head on the sandy shore, its clear eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Look, brother! I told you I'm a fire-fighting expert! The smoke disappeared in no time! Look how pale the pet is now, it wasn't bothered by the smoke at all!"

"Hmm, not bad."

Big Fatty nodded in approval.

"The reaction was quick this time. We need to maintain this level of vigilance in the future. We finally have a pet, and we can't let him burn himself out by playing with fire."

Hearing these self-righteous thoughts echoing in his mind, Jiang Che's roar, which had been rising in his throat, finally turned into a long, desolate sigh.