NOVEL WEB Chapter 045 – The Girl and the Whale
This matter was set aside just like that, and Zhao Zhao didn’t pay much attention to it. She really lacked for nothing now, unless the military could invest two billion yuan to build her a fish farm and a dock, but was that possible? The beautiful girl lacked for nothing but money.
The intelligence of the transformed Siren was without question. After observing a few times, it completely understood the process.
Finding and chasing large fish schools, waiting for the boat to come and haul them up, would exchange for delicious water and the most tasty big white fish.
Later, Zhao Zhao returned to the boat, and Siren played by itself outside. Whenever it saw a fish school, it knew to come back and call the boat, continuously howling and urging them to follow it.
The captain, Xiong Quan, was already bewildered. His phone search history these days was always: 【What is the IQ of an orca?】【Can an orca become a spirit?】【To what extent can an orca be trained?】
Thanks to owning the top marine hunting dog, Yaoguang had sailed for a week and was already eight-tenths full. They docked once again at the Shanghai pier, and with the addition of big yellow croakers, this trip’s income was even more than the last.
The next day after returning to Jinshi Island, Zhao Zhao calculated and distributed the shares. If she had more boats, the island could easily become prosperous.
The crew received their shares and immediately inquired what Siren liked to eat, preparing to buy it some good food. With Siren leading the way, they realized that fishing could be so blissful; as long as they worked hard, there would be good harvests.
Zhao Zhao was speechless for a moment. Siren liked to eat big yellow croaker, so why not leave some for it instead of selling them? "This time was just good luck. How many times have you seen a big yellow croaker school in these decades? Who knows when the next time will be, so keep your expectations realistic."
Xiong Haiming said, "Just these two lucky trips have earned us a year’s income for the whole family. We feel uneasy not showing appreciation. Would Siren like pork or beef? I checked, orcas can eat them. We want to treat our Siren, everyone thinks so."
"I really don't know, I've never given it those. If you insist on treating it, buy a little for it to try. I don’t think it’s necessary..." Before she finished, Xiong Haiming happily agreed, "I'll go to Changshan to see and pick the freshest ones. I'm off." Liu Guang’an followed, "I'll help carry, let’s buy more."
Really? Zhao Zhao had no choice but to bring Siren out and release it into the sea in front of her house, not at the dock where there were too many people.
Siren, enjoying a feast in the space, was suddenly thrown into a desolate patch of water. It was aggrieved, lifting its head out of the water and howling.
This stretch of coastline was generally deserted, with water depths of three or four meters right by the shore, making it unsuitable for a bathing beach and lacking in fish. The scenery, however, was quite beautiful, with several uniquely shaped large reefs jutting out of the sea, dotting this serene expanse and preventing it from being monotonous.
Zhao Zhao found a large reef and jumped onto it to sit, listening to Siren's tantrum.
The orca was no longer the orca of the past, it was very cunning. Zhao Zhao wasn’t worried about it stranding itself.
"Stop whining. Isn't it nice to go on a date, just the two of us? The crew went to buy you some snacks to change your taste. Let’s wait here and try it. If they buy it and can’t find you, they’ll be so sad. Don’t waste their efforts; they usually don’t even buy beef for themselves..."
A couple out for a stroll came around from the north and saw this scene. The man hurriedly lifted the camera hanging around his neck, capturing the moment.
Not far from the shore, on a large reef, a girl in Hanfu was sitting leisurely, one leg propped up, her eyes gazing at the sea where a giant whale's head emerged, seemingly conversing with the person on the reef. Behind them, the setting sun was beginning to paint the sea in its hues.
Ke Zhao was a photography enthusiast. He couldn't help but press the shutter several more times. His girlfriend, Wang Meng, watched quietly, not wanting to disturb the scene. She could almost hear the gentle conversation between the girl and the whale.
Which, in fact, wasn’t far from the truth.
Zhao Zhao was saying to Siren, "Someone's coming from the left, behave. After you’ve had your snack and the people are gone, I'll take you back to your happy place. I think you should eat less from now on; you’re getting fat. If you wipe out all the white dragon eels, see what happens!"
You're lying. There are so many big white fish; I couldn't eat them all in a hundred years.
The couple didn’t want to interrupt, but they made a call.
Zhao Zhao received a call from Xiong Haiming, informing her that they were at the east coast near her inn. Soon, a small iron boat arrived.
The couple watched as four or five fishermen on the iron boat vied to throw large chunks of meat to the orca. The orca lifted its head to catch the meat, and when someone threw it high, it would jump out of the water to catch it, revealing its entire four or five-meter-long body.
Seeing they had thrown quite a bit, Zhao Zhao quickly called a halt, "That’s enough, take the rest home and eat it yourselves. A taste will do. It should stick to eating fish."
Da Shan was enjoying the throw but stopped reluctantly, "No, this was bought for Siren by everyone. We paid for it; it has to eat it all. It seems to like it."
So the meat was crowd-funded?
Indeed, Siren was enjoying it, causing splashes all over the place.
Xiong Haiming said, "You two stop that. Throwing both pork and beef together, how can we tell what Siren likes?"
Enough, then.
After everyone left, she put Siren back into the space and strolled home.
That evening, a photo titled "The Girl and the Whale" was uploaded by Ke Zhao to a photography forum and Weibo.
Photography enthusiasts on the forum discussed the composition, technique, and angles.
On Weibo, it caused a wave of traffic.
【Animation? Which studio made this? It’s quite good.】
【Is this a photo? Looks like two images spliced together.】
【I can tell from this distance that she's a beauty. Is she an idol or an actress? Not interested in the entertainment circle.】
【That’s an orca; it’s asking humans for directions.】
【The killer whale asks: Where am I? How far is it to Shanghai? I want to visit my friend the sperm whale at the Shanghai Life Science Museum, as a specimen.】
【Annoying person above, that sperm whale died naturally and was picked up by the Shanghai Museum. Are you still being sarcastic today?】
【Looks like a composite image, verified】
【People said it's a photography piece, why are you jumping to say it's photoshopped?】
【If it's not fake, can you believe this scene? Is it possible?】
【Obvious fake, what kind of people are online nowadays?】
A large number of people claimed it was a photoshopped image, created in post-production. Zhao Ke was not convinced and uploaded another photo of the iron boat feeding the killer whale chunks of meat. This time it was closer, with the faces clearly shown, though he had censored them.
Zhao Ke v: [This photo was taken on a small island called Jinshi Island. From this picture, you can see both the girl and the whale in the frame. No photoshop, just a captured precious moment. Please stop arguing in my comment section! Here’s the picture!]
Modern netizens convinced? Absolutely not.
【I told you, it's staged! Just trying to attract attention】
【With today's advanced technology, it could be shot in an aquarium and edited later, right?】
【If you say it’s real, then the fishermen feeding the killer whale? Are they raising it? They wouldn't just feed it meat, right? Killer whales are a nationally protected species, you know】
【So many trolls, they are feeding it, not killing it, is that illegal?】
【Why would fishermen feed a wild killer whale? Are they that rich? Give me some money! A killer whale eats a lot of meat in one meal】
【Did they lure the killer whale with meat for staged photos? Or illegal captivity? Tagging animal protection groups】
【Can the comment section be more positive? Killer whales are very friendly to humans. Sharing a captured precious moment with you, why so many problems?!】
Trolls managed to push the photo onto the lower tier of trending topics. On an uneventful day, it easily climbed to 45th place on the trending list.
This attracted many onlookers, including fans who followed "Panda."
【No way, no way, I'm telling you there is no overlap between Panda users and Weibo users! As a Panda VIP user, let me explain. I know both the person and the whale in the picture. This isn't hype, photoshopped, or staged. Move on】
【Could there really be a problem? Is this a PR team trying to cover it up?】
【Covering it up won’t work, tagging animal protection groups】
【Hilarious, I've been desperately messaging Little Bear on Panda to go live, no response. Then they end up on Weibo trending, serves them right! Ignoring fans has consequences! Hahaha】
【I’m a true fan, let me explain. The girl in the picture is called Bear Druid, and the whale is called Siren. Their relationship started from Siren's one-sided antics. There’s no illegal activity. Siren is active in the waters around Jinshi Island, so the photo is likely real. If you still don’t get it, check out the Panda live account: Jinshi Island Excellent Islander Little Bear. They’ve been on trending before, you trolls can look it up, #StrongGirlRescuesKillerWhale#. That's it, Bear, if you're reading this, please start live streaming, I miss Siren!!!】
Many people were directed to the live account, and seeing the redirect to another platform, the trending topic was quickly removed. Zhao Zhao, who rarely checked Weibo, was unaware of this incident.
As for the few thousand new followers, she didn’t notice. They were already internet celebrities with two million followers, so gaining a few thousand more seemed normal.
She didn’t see it, but Meng Hui did. Probably because he had previously searched about killer whales, the news was pushed to him by big data as soon as he opened Weibo. He read the whole story with great interest and was also directed to the Panda account. He had to admit the live stream fans were very dedicated.
He didn’t just watch it himself, he also shared it with Qiao Jinnian.
“The Mermaid Duo actually has 2 million followers. This photo is really good. I wasn’t the only one who thought they could talk to each other. Look, netizens think so too!”
Qiao Jinnian glanced at it and went back to his military magazine, ignoring him.
Meng Hui, while watching the video, stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Is live streaming that profitable? Maybe I should fish after I retire. What do you think?”
Qiao Jinnian, “Are there not enough fishermen already?”
Meng Hui, “True, and no other fisherman has viewers. So it’s still about looks, right? Another path blocked! Jinnian, can you ask if she takes apprentices?”
Qiao Jinnian, “Apprentices for what? Live streaming?”
Meng Hui, “No, she’s not even professional at that. I mean martial arts. I guess I’ll just hang myself in the army.”
Qiao Jinnian, “Isn't it a bit late?”
Meng Hui, “Learning is endless. Even at sixty, it’s not too late! I’m only 30, okay? Ask her for me!”
Qiao Jinnian closed his book and walked out, saying, “You’re right, it’s never too late to want to improve. I’ll tell Captain Wang tomorrow to give you extra guidance.”
Meng Hui, “!! I don’t want Captain Wang! He’s not as good as the Mermaid Duo. She can tow tons of whales with one hand…”