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

"Gurgle."

Jiang Che swallowed hard, gripping the folding knife in his hand even tighter. Although reason told him that the knife was useless, it was the only sense of security he could hold onto at this moment.

However, just when he thought these guys were discussing how to divide him up, the "Voice of All Things" system in his mind once again faithfully fulfilled its translation duty.

An in-team voice chat that was enough to shatter Jiang Che's worldview officially began.

The first to speak was, as expected, the most restless young orca.

Its enormous head suddenly lunged forward, almost touching Jiang Che's nose. Jiang Che could even see a tiny bit of squid tentacles remaining between its teeth.

"Wow—!"

The young orca's inner voice was a vibrant, even slightly neurotic, boyish voice, spoken at an extremely fast pace:

"This is a two-legged creature? Is it really a two-legged creature? Brother, you're not kidding me, are you? The books say that two-legged creatures are all covered in colorful skin, right? Why is this one smooth? Is it not cooked yet?"

Jiang Che: "..."

It's not cooked yet! Those are clothes! My clothes were ripped by the waves!

Before Jiang Che could finish his internal monologue, his "mount," Big Fat, let out a dissatisfied breath, its booming voice making Jiang Che's head throb:

"You don't know anything! That's wild! Wild, you know?! Those with skins on are the farmed ones from the shore! This one looks like it grew wild in the ocean, it's called... what's that word again? 'Native'!"

At this moment, the elegant female orca on the left—clearly the fat man's "wife"—interjected in a slightly gentle but still curious, mature voice:

"But honey, he looks so soft. Look at his arms, they're as thin as ribbonfish. Won't we hurt him if we carry him like this? I've heard that these kinds of creatures die easily out of water."

Big Fatty confidently wiggled its dorsal fin, almost shaking Jiang Che off:

"Don't worry, honey! I'm rock steady! I deliberately held back when I headbutted him just now. If I had headbutted a seal normally, he would have been sent flying! But look, he's still bouncing around!"

Upon hearing this, the young orca—the "little rascal" of the family—saw its eyes gleam with even greater curiosity.

It suddenly tilted its head, opened its mouth, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, and tentatively rubbed against Jiang Che's thigh.

"Is it really that brittle? I don't believe it. It looks plump and quite bouncy, so I'll poke it... Dude, can I just gently poke it with the tip of my teeth? I want to see if it deflates."

An air leak?!

Jiang Che's scalp tingled instantly, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

This is utterly inhuman! This is treating me like a balloon!

"Get lost!"

Big Fatty roared angrily, lashing the brat with his tail underwater: "Is that a poke? That's a stab! Get out of here! This is my limited edition pet, if you ruin it, you'll lose your whole squid!"

The mischievous child whimpered pitifully and shrank back, but his eyes were still darting around, staring at Jiang Che, clearly still harboring wicked intentions.

Just then, the "grandmother" who had been silent finally spoke.

As soon as it opened its mouth, all the orcas in the arena fell silent, and even the most mischievous little ones obediently lowered their heads.

The old grandmother slowly swam closer, her cloudy yet wise eyes scanning Jiang Che's entire body like an X-ray.

"Two-legged creatures..."

The grandmother's voice sounded like that of a kind but talkative old woman, carrying a sense of having seen the vicissitudes of life:

"I saw this thing when I was young. That was a long time ago, in that icy sea in the north."

It paused for a moment, seemingly lost in memories.

Jiang Che's heart leaped into his throat. What was he hoping for? Was he hoping this elder would say something like "humans are friends"?

However, what the old lady said next made Jiang Che feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

"Back then, I was just as curious as Xiaobao. I saw him shivering on an ice floe, so I wanted to go over and say hello to him. So I gently nudged him with my head..."

The old grandmother sighed, her voice filled with regret:

"It was just a light touch, and... *splat*, it fell apart. Red liquid was everywhere. It was so fragile, really so fragile, even more fragile than a shell-less sea turtle."

At this point, the grandmother raised her head and solemnly warned the younger generation around her:

"So, you all better watch out! This thing is supposedly very intelligent, capable of building those huge, rumbling iron ships, but its body is practically a shoddy construction! Especially that hairless skin, it breaks at the slightest touch!"

"Also, what's that thing called again...right, land monkey! These monkeys can't stay in the water for long, they'll rot. Get him back to shore right away."

After listening to their grandmother's teachings, the orcas all showed expressions of sudden realization, and their eyes became even more "cautious" when they looked at Jiang Che, as if the person clinging to Big Fatty's back was not a person, but a melting ice cream or a porcelain doll that would break at the slightest touch.

"Yes, ma'am! Did you hear me? Grandma's spoken! Handle everything with care!"

Big Fatty loudly echoed, then his massive back muscles contracted slightly, adjusting his position to try and make Jiang Che more comfortable.

……

Jiang Che, at the eye of the storm, was internally devastated.

What was originally thought to be a wild and bloody escape from the jaws of death turned into a family seminar on "how to raise and care for high-risk and vulnerable pets".

The horror movie has turned into a sitcom.

And it even has a Northeastern accent.

This stark contrast caused Jiang Che's nerves, which had been taut for over ten hours, to strangely relax.

Looking at the several pairs of eyes around him filled with "care for intellectually disabled/vulnerable children," he suddenly realized something:

He is safe.

At least at this moment, in the logic of these deep-sea behemoths, he was no longer "food," but a "fragile object" that had to be carefully protected.

That being the case...

Jiang Che took a deep breath and looked down at the folding knife in his hand, which was already sweating.

At this distance, if they really wanted to kill him, this knife wouldn't even qualify as a nail clipper. On the contrary, holding a knife would make him look like a madman who might suddenly become agitated and hurt people. If he accidentally scratched these "big shots," it might cause a misunderstanding.

"call……"

Jiang Che made a bold decision.

In front of the five killer whales, he slowly folded the blade and sheathed the knife back into its scabbard at his waist.

Then, he struggled to control his still slightly trembling body, straightened up from the float, and settled himself on Big Fatty's back.

He looked up, his gaze sweeping over the group of large animals one by one, finally settling on the "mischievous kid" who seemed the most curious.