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

Chapter 36 Happiness is always so fleeting

Looking at the gaping maws in front of him, each large enough to fit a basketball, with glistening liquid hanging from their lips, Jiang Che took a deep breath of the air, which smelled of burning.

He knew he had no way out.

What was originally a small stone stove built to feed himself has now become a highly anticipated "Michelin three-star restaurant" - although there are only five diners, the total tonnage exceeds thirty tons.

"Okay, you want to eat, right?"

Jiang Che looked at the Swiss Army knife in his hand, now gleaming from sharpening, then at the large chunk of tuna meat remaining beside him, and gritted his teeth: "Then let me show you what true culinary art looks like!"

Just do it.

To satisfy the appetites of these enormous diners, the delicate thin slices we just prepared were definitely not an option. That amount would be barely a sound if thrown into the orca's mouth.

It has to be thick-cut! And it has to be big!

Jiang Che no longer hesitated to use the ingredients. He cut the precious tuna belly, along with the lean meat from the back, into palm-thick, brick-sized cubes.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

Three heavy fish-shaped bricks were slammed onto the scorching basalt slab.

Sizzle!!

An even more violent popping sound of grease erupted.

Because the meat chunks were too thick, Jiang Che didn't plan to cook them fully, as it would take too much time, and orcas might not be used to the texture of fully cooked meat.

He uses the cooking method for top-quality steaks: searing the surface over high heat to lock in the juices and preserve the tender center.

The high temperature quickly causes the Maillard reaction on the surface of the fish meat, and the brown, crispy shell quickly forms under the firelight, while the fat inside melts into liquid under the pressure of the high temperature and surges in the muscle fibers.

Thirty seconds per face.

Flip over.

Thirty more seconds.

Edge sealing.

In just two minutes, three pieces of "thick-cut tuna steak" that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with oil bubbles still bubbling on the surface, were ready to be served.

The aroma of burning in the air was so strong that it even overpowered the salty smell of the sea breeze.

The other family members, who were initially observing, could no longer resist when they saw how much fun their eldest brother was having.

"Me too! Me too!!"

The elegant "wife" orca abandoned all pretense of being a lady, pushing past the large, fat man and charging to the front with her mouth wide open: "Honey, move aside! You've already eaten a piece! It's my turn!"

"Give me one of those smoking ones too! I want the one with the slightly charred crust!"

The old grandmother was not to be outdone. Although she was old and her teeth were not very good, she was deeply moved by Big Fatty's words, "It melts in your mouth."

"Ahem—my child."

The old grandmother swam to the shore and looked at Jiang Che with kind eyes: "Grandma's teeth aren't good, and raw fish always gets stuck in my teeth. Could you get me a piece of that soft stuff too?"

"Just one piece, to taste the saltiness."

Looking at this group of maddened ocean behemoths, Jiang Che felt both proud and overwhelmed.

"Don't rush! Don't rush! Everyone gets some! Whale has a share!"

Jiang Che's movements were so fast that only afterimages could be seen.

Cut the meat, place it on the cutting board, flip it over, remove it from the pot, and feed it to the animals.

The movements were fluid and seamless, comparable to those of a skilled worker on an assembly line.

The crackling sound was incessant.

One piece of tuna steak after another was thrown into those waiting mouths.

Every orca that eats cooked food reacts exactly like the big fat one: first shock, then ecstasy, and finally complete surrender.

"Wow! This shell is so crispy! It's like chewing on a seashell, but a soft one!"

"My God, this warm feeling—it's like being in the sun all day, like I've eaten the sun!"

"Hmm—not bad, really not bad. It can be swallowed without chewing, which is so friendly to older whales."

The chat room was filled with laughter, but at the same time, people were drooling with envy.

[Hahaha! Seeing that chubby guy's clueless, worldly-wise look, I burst out laughing like a pig!]

[Orca: Oh no, we can't go back now. From now on, eating raw fish will be like eating grass.]

[Human civilization's greatest export: the allure of cooked food!]

This isn't opening the door to a new world; it's kicking the door down!

[This streamer's cooking skills are impressive; he's won over a group of wealthy people who are used to eating sashimi.]

I suspect that tomorrow this pod of orcas will catch every fish in the entire Pacific Ocean and bring them to the anchor for him to grill.

however.

Happiness belongs to them.

For Jiang Che, this gradually turned into a disaster.

That 40-pound tuna, after removing the bones and internal organs, only had about 20 pounds of clean meat left.

That sounds like a lot.

But to give it to five killer whales? That's like sprinkling pepper into the ocean—you wouldn't even be able to taste it.

Soon, the fish was all gone.

Jiang Che looked at the last scrap in his hand, then glanced at the group of large fish in the sea whose mouths had just been whetted and whose eyes were gleaming with greed, clearly not yet satisfied with their meal.

"Um—everyone, brothers and sisters."

Jiang Che held up the last piece of meat and gave an awkward smile: "That's all."

"That's all. That's all for today."

The air froze for a second.

"That's it?!"

Big Fatty's voice suddenly rose eight octaves, filled with disbelief: "How could it be gone? I'd only just tasted it!"

"I haven't even finished eating! You just stirred up my cravings, and you're already abandoning me?"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"One more piece! Even a small one will do!"

To express his dissatisfaction and urgency, Big Fat used the most traditional order-pushing method of the orca family—spraying water.

"puff--!!"

A jet of water sprayed at Jiang Che's feet.

"Hurry up and cook! Hurry up and cook!"

"I'm so hungry! I need food!"

Other orcas followed suit.

puff!puff!puff!

For a moment, water jets flew wildly across the sea, resembling a fountain plaza.

"I want the red meat! Ten more pieces, please!"

"I want the shrimp in its shell! They'll smell delicious after grilling!"

"Boss! More orders! More orders!!"

Jiang Che stood in the mist, holding the last piece of meat in his hand, soaked to the bone, on the verge of tears.

"Guys! Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice!"

"You've eaten all the meat! Should I bake the air for you to eat?!"

He pointed to the fish head, which was now just a skeleton, and then showed them the empty banana leaves.

Seeing that there was really no meat left, the orcas finally quieted down.

The disappointment was palpable.

Big Fatty rested his chin on the sand, dejected, looking at the still-warm stone slab with a resentful gaze like a young wife abandoned by a scumbag.

"well----"

"That's it—"

Happiness is always so fleeting.

"The taste is still lingering in my mouth, how could I have swallowed it? I should have chewed it a little more."

Jiang Che sighed as he looked at their pitiful state.

He threw the last piece of meat he had intended to keep for himself into the fat man's mouth.

"Alright, stop being so down."

"We don't have it today, but we still have tomorrow."

"As long as you can catch fish, I can cook for you. The fire won't go out, and the stone slab won't move."

"9