Zhang Zian looked up at the red sun hanging in the sky. The temperature of the air was gradually rising as the sun rose. He knew that the gray and black skin of the whale would absorb the heat from the sun, and its thick layer of fat would prevent the heat from escaping. Although the surface of its body had yet to show any signs of decay, the degree of decay in its body was probably accelerating under the heat of the sun, and it was already unstoppable.
After most animals died, they started to decay from the inside out. The first to decay was the internal organs, and it was the same for whales.
In addition, whales had another unique feature: their skin was too thick and tough.
After animals on land died, all kinds of scavengers would come and eat the carcass as soon as it showed signs of decay, regardless of whether it was the king of beasts or something else.
But if a whale died on the beach, it was a bit more special, because there were often no particularly powerful scavengers on the beach.
Without razor-sharp teeth like sharks, ordinary shrimp, crabs, and seabirds couldn't even break through the skin of a whale. So if a whale died on the beach, its carcass would often be well preserved.
Zhang Zian tried to reach out and press the skin of the gray whale's carcass. The skin was hot and fishy, and the water had been dried by the sun. When his palm pressed on it, it still seemed to be elastic, similar to the feeling of pressing on a waterbed.
He went around to the other side of the whale's carcass, where part of the whale's abdomen was exposed. He tried to press on the whale's abdomen again. It was softer and more elastic than pressing on the whale's back, and it seemed to be a bit too soft.
When he helped the stranded minke whale leave the beach, he also pressed on the minke whale's abdomen. It gave him a feeling of firmness and elasticity. Although whales of different species and ages might not necessarily be compared horizontally, the difference in the feel was a bit too big.
He walked to the gray whale's head again, leaned close to its mouth, and sniffed.
The gray whale's mouth was slightly open, and a strong, nauseating, irritating smell slowly overflowed from the depths of its mouth. It made him cough, stagger a few steps away, squat down, and retch a few times.
He wasn't the only one next to the whale's carcass. There were five or six other people taking photos and selfies with the whale's carcass as the background, and then posting them on Weibo and WeChat Moments to show off.
Zhang Zian wiped his mouth and watched as one of the people happily finished taking a selfie. He was focusing on retouching the photo, adding an artistic filter to the photo, and adding the words "Deer in the deep forest, whale in the blue sea." He was ready to post it on WeChat Moments to show off.
He walked over and tried to strike up a conversation. "Bro, excuse me."
The man was startled and looked at him warily. Realizing that he didn't know him, he asked indifferently, "What's the matter?"
"I want to ask, when was this whale stranded here?" Zhang Zian asked, pointing at the gray whale.
"About that … I'm not too sure. Anyway, it was here when I came … Hey, do you know when the whale got stranded?" the man asked the others beside him.
"I don't know."
"Not sure."
"I was also called over by a friend. She said that there was a stranded whale on the beach here. She asked me to hurry over and take a look," a girl said.
Zhang Zian asked, "When did your friend see it?"
"Hmm …" The girl thought for a moment. "Maybe in the morning. She has the habit of running along Huanhai Avenue in the morning. She told me when she returned to our shared apartment."
"About what time?"
"What time is it … Maybe around seven."
Zhang Zian checked the date on his phone, then silently estimated the time of the high and low tides in his mind.
Due to the influence of the moon's gravity, there were two high and two low tides every day. The time of the high and low tides was not fixed, but cycled like the moon's waxing and waning. There were about 12 hours between the two high tides every day, and the same was true for the low tides.
As a child who grew up by the sea, he knew this pattern very well.
The last time he helped the minke whale, the high tide happened near noon. According to his calculations, the first high tide today would be around 9: 30 in the morning, but the gray whale would have been stranded there by then.
First of all, this huge adult gray whale must have been pushed to the beach by a high tide.
Since it wasn't pushed to the beach by the high tide at 9: 30 in the morning, it was most likely pushed to the beach by the high tide at around 9: 00 last night. It was nighttime at that time, and no one would come to the beach at that time, so it was discovered in the morning.
As for whether it was earlier … It was hard to say, because when he came to the beach yesterday morning, he didn't pass by this area, so he wasn't sure if the gray whale was already there.
According to the most conservative estimation, its carcass had already been there for … about 14 hours.
After it died, how long did it float on the sea before it was pushed to the beach? No one could say for sure.
"This whale should be dead, right? It's smelly. "
"Probably."
"Do you think there's a restaurant owner or something that took the whale's carcass away to sell whale meat?"
"No way … That's too disgusting, and it's smelly …"
The few people next to them chatted while taking pictures.
Zhang Zian asked again, "Do you know if anyone reported the death of this whale to the relevant departments?"
"…"
The few young people looked at each other.
"I didn't."
"Me neither."
"I think someone else should have reported it …"
They laughed as they talked, and their expressions were relaxed. They seemed to think that someone else might have already reported it, and it had nothing to do with them.
"Speaking of the relevant departments, which department is the relevant department?" One of them smiled bitterly. "Do we have to call 110? It wouldn't be considered a false alarm, would it? "
"Hello? 110? We found a carcass on the beach. Please come over. Please protect the scene and tell us your specific location. Is the carcass a man or a woman? Reporting, it's the carcass of a whale. I don't know if it's a man or a woman … Get lost! "Another person imitated the tone of someone calling the police, which made the few girls there laugh.
Zhang Zian was speechless.
"Since no one is calling, I'll do it. After you finish taking pictures, leave this place quickly. It's dangerous to stay here any longer. The carcass of this gray whale might explode. "
He warned them, but he didn't have time to explain in detail. He took out his phone and found a phone number in his address book. The owner of the number was Ke Shaohui, the staff member from the Fishery Administration who had called to save the minke whale last time.
His finger moved to Ke Shaohui's name. Just as he was about to press the button to dial the number, he was shocked and quickly stopped.
The pungent smell that overflowed from the whale's mouth lingered around him. Using a phone next to a decaying whale carcass was as dangerous as using a phone at a gas station.
He jogged a distance away and dialed Ke Shaohui's number.
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