Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 706 : 703

"Hiss, I really don't want to get into the water!"

In the biting cold, Bi Fang shivered and clenched his teeth; unless his body reached a point where it absolutely needed cleaning, he truly did not want to touch the icy seawater. The piercing chill invaded inch by inch as if wrapped by a python, causing an overwhelming sensation of suffocation.

But now he had no choice but to go in.

Moments ago, Bi Fang had seen the fishing net on the Gray Whale, and an incredibly bold idea suddenly surfaced in his mind—

Could he gain the trust of the Gray Whales by helping the Little Gray Whale cut free from the fishing net?

Once his mind opened up to this idea, it was very hard to close it again. The audience was shocked to hear Bi Fang's idea and wondered if he had gone mad?

If there had been a long-term interaction, perhaps it would be possible to build feelings and trust, but could simple help with removing a fishing net suffice?

Not to mention the inherent dangers; the frigid seawater was one thing—perhaps not much for Bi Fang, who had recently demonstrated "winter swimming"—but the danger was indeed a real and objective one.

Moreover, the ocean was unlike a river; being swept away in a river meant only so much range, not too far and mostly depth, but being swept away in the sea could mean vanishing in all directions.

Lastly, the status of the whales cast doubt; even if they were affectionate, having been trapped for so long, who's to say they wouldn't be in a foul mood? People could become Yuyu, but who could be certain about whales?

All these considerations understandably caused people to worry.

Regrettably, Bi Fang was determined to go, and he had a considerable degree of trust in the whales.

"Whales are a kind of marine creature that is still very mysterious to humans, and their intelligence remains a major topic in oceanic life research. They possess an astonishing sense of perception and analytical ability towards their immediate three-dimensional space, which also equips them with ample understanding of human behavior. I strongly believe in this."

"Different species of whales exhibit different temperaments—the hunting prowess of Killer Whales, the cuteness of Beluga Whales, the docility of Humpback Whales, the freedom of Blue Whales, and the resilience characteristic of Gray Whales."

After all, they are the creatures with the longest migration distance, patiently and tenaciously covering a quarter of the Earth's circumference every year.

As Bi Fang attributed "personality traits" to whales, it inevitably felt somewhat discordant to the audience.

[This is too exaggerated, isn't it? It feels like they are just like humans.]

[Actually, whales are indeed smart. I heard they have the intelligence of a fifteen-year-old human teenager.]

[Really? Fifteen-year-old humans can do geometric functions, can whales do that?]

[Your comparison isn't accurate. Feral children are also fifteen and yet why can't they learn to speak even after years of being back in society? Knowledge is knowledge, the development of humans relies on society. Haven't you studied Marxist Philosophy?]

The audience engaged in a heated debate over the intelligence of whales. Whether or not whales possess the intelligence of fifteen-year-old humans, one thing remained unchanged: whales indeed could understand and respond to certain human actions and gestures.

Whether it was "Old Tom" from the last century, a Killer Whale known for its collusion with humans to prey on the tongues of Baleen Whales, or the more recent good relations that people on the western coast of Ugly Country had cultivated with migrating Gray Whales. More and more Grays allowed humans to touch them, sometimes with mother whales even taking the initiative to bring their calves close to small boats to show friendliness to humans.

Both instances demonstrated this point.

There was even a more mystical belief that whales inherently passed down memories, whether dietary habits or behaviors, everything was inherited from ancestors. It's highly possible that in the far distant past, humans and whales had some sort of agreement, but as time passed, we completely forgot, still puzzled by the behavior of whales.

Of course, this assertion is too mystical and lacks credibility, likely being just a form of self-entertainment for whale enthusiasts.

Ben's example of Old Tom was somewhat shocking, but it nonetheless captivated the audience.

Killer whales like to eat the tongues of gray whales, and Old Tom was the best among them, often cooperating with fisherman Davidson's family.

Old Tom and his pod would corral the little baleen whales into a certain area near the coast, keeping the baleen whales from escaping.

Then Old Tom would swim to the whaling station and forcefully slam his tail against the surface of the water to notify Davidson's family.

Sometimes, Old Tom would work with another killer whale. If they felt that Davidson's boat was moving too slowly, they would tug on the rope of the boat's anchor, dragging the boat forward; thus, Davidson's boat was often the first to arrive.

In return, Old Tom and the killer whale pod's reward was the little baleen whales' tongues and lips.

In these parts, the pod would get 4 tons of soft, boneless whale meat.

The two sides cooperated for a full forty years, with three generations of Davidson's family taking turns.

However, in 1930, Old Tom collaborated with fisherman George Logan to catch a whale. But Logan thought it was the last whaling season and, since the whale they caught was small, he was reluctant to give the head to Old Tom. As a result, during the tug-of-war, Old Tom lost several teeth to Logan's rope.

As a mammal, losing teeth meant infection and death.

A few months later, Old Tom's carcass washed up on the beach at Eden.

As a social animal, after Old Tom died, his pod never appeared off the coast of Eden again, nor did any killer whale cooperate with humans in whaling.

[Is this story about Old Tom real? It seems a bit far-fetched.]

[It appears to be true. I checked, and Old Tom's carcass is still displayed in a museum as a specimen...]

[Incredible... That's practically a legendary creature.]

The audience, dumbstruck, could only silently watch as Ben stripped off his clothes, took a few deep breaths to expand his lungs and increase his blood oxygen level, and leaped into the ice hole.

The piercing cold penetrated each pore and seeped into his marrow. Ben instinctively shivered, and the conditioned contraction of his muscles almost caused him to choke on water, but fortunately, he stifled it.

For a gargantuan gray whale, Ben's leap into the water, weighing just eighty kilograms, hardly registered as anything, and the whale continued to breathe without any reaction.

Floating quietly in the water for a while, Ben's heart throbbed violently, and sugar broke down in large quantities, beginning to transmit heat continuously to his limbs.

This chapt𝓮r is updat𝒆d by ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom.

After a brief acclimation to the icy environment, Ben began to look for the little gray whale.

The Arctic night is brighter than anywhere else on Earth, but even so, once in the sea, it is still pitch-dark. While one can still see clearly above the ice, it's near total darkness in the ocean.

Ben struggled to widen his eyes and capture as much light as possible, barely making out the silhouettes of three large creatures as he tried to identify the smallest one.

The audience held their breaths, their palms full of sweat without realizing it. When the cold wind blew, chills spread, as if the Arctic's low temperatures were catching up to them.