The minke whale floated motionlessly beside the boat. It was very dangerous for it to be in such a defenseless state. If someone on the boat had bad intentions, or if there was a lawless kid sitting on the boat, it could easily cause serious harm or even death to it.
If it hadn't heard a familiar voice from afar and recognized Zhang Zian when it got closer, it wouldn't have let down its guard so easily since it had been hurt by humans before. This proved that it was an intelligent creature. Although its level of intelligence was not high, it was enough for it to distinguish between good and bad people.
The whale lice were pale yellow and looked like tailless scorpions. They clung to the surface of the whale's body in groups. The fact that they could not be thrown off when the whale was swimming at high speed meant that they were very firmly attached. The ends of their hook-like limbs were tightly embedded in the whale's skin. Although it was not a big problem for the whale's health, it was inevitable that it would be uncomfortable. The degree of annoyance could be like lice on a human's body. Although it was not fatal, it made people want to strangle them one by one.
The floating minke whale made it easier for Zhang Zian to remove the whale lice near its wound. These whale lice were too firmly attached. Sometimes, it was impossible to pull them out by hand. Even if he used all his strength, he would not be able to pull them out. He had no choice but to take out the Swiss Army Knife, an all-purpose magical weapon that he carried with him.
Playing with a knife on an inflatable boat was basically the same as playing with firecrackers next to a fire. If he accidentally slipped and poked a hole in the boat, people would only scold him for asking for it.
Zhang Zian lay on the side of the boat and raised the knife in the Swiss Army knife as far as possible. He stuck it flat under the body of the whale lice, twisted his wrist, and rotated the knife 90 degrees. He forced the parasites out, grabbed them with his left hand, and threw them far away into the sea on the other side of the boat.
The whale lice were densely entangled, like a bunch of scorpions nailed near the minke whale's wound. It was creepy and disgusting to look at. During the healing process of the wound, they probably grew and multiplied by sucking the blood that came out of the wound.
Some parasites that lived on marine organisms had a mutually beneficial relationship with their host, but whale lice were not so good. They were pure trouble, but whales had no hands, so there was nothing they could do.
After he patiently cleaned them, the number of whale lice decreased. There were only traces of them on the whale's skin — some small pits.
Without their cover, the wound was finally revealed.
Zhang Zian had originally planned to remove the cotton thread from the minke whale's wound. It was the kite thread that Xiao Zhi and Huang had contributed, so it was quite tough and sturdy. Although it would be fine if he didn't remove the thread — it would just slowly melt into the whale's skin — since he had the opportunity, he decided to remove it.
However, when he took a closer look, he found that there was almost no cotton thread left on his skin. There were only a few broken ends left, probably bitten off by the hungry whale lice, which saved him a lot of trouble.
The wound was recovering well. There were no signs of rupturing, and there were no signs of infection. After all, this was a young minke whale with strong vitality.
He put away the dangerous Swiss Army knife and patted it near the wound to indicate that it was done.
Even if the whale lice attached itself to its body again in the future, it wouldn't matter. At that time, the skin around its wound would have thickened again, and it wouldn't be as uncomfortable as it was now.
Without the harassment of the whale lice, the minke whale seemed to be very happy. Even its swimming became much lighter. It slowly circled around the assault boat and spat out low mist from time to time.
Zhang Zian couldn't help but think of the scene of monkeys catching lice from each other. He thought to himself, "Did it think I was another whale?"
He thought of Xiao Zhi and knew that the kid loved whales. It was a rare opportunity. He should take a few pictures of Xiao Zhi and send them to him as a souvenir.
So he took out his phone from the waterproof bag and tried to find an angle to take pictures.
However, since the minke whale was swimming too close, and the assault boat's side was high, it was not easy to take pictures of it.
Zhang Zian was afraid that the propeller would hurt it, so he didn't dare to start the motor. He also didn't dare to raise his phone too far away. What if it fell into the sea? Was he trying to find an opportunity by carving the boat?
He took a few pictures, but he only managed to capture its gray back. If he didn't add a description, it would be hard to recognize that it was a whale.
Zhang Zian was helpless, but then he saw the minke whale suddenly swing its tail and swim away from the assault boat. He quickly took a few pictures and finally managed to get a full picture of it.
Was it tired of playing? Or was it hungry?
Zhang Zian thought it would swim away immediately, but he didn't expect it to stop after swimming for two or three hundred meters. The water in front of it spurted out a thin column of air. Then the water split to the left and right, and another gray back floated up.
It was a much larger adult minke whale. Its appearance was very similar to the half-adult minke whale from before.
Seeing another whale suddenly appear, Zhang Zian was shocked at first. He was worried about the half-adult minke whale, worried that there would be a conflict between the two whales.
Most whales were social animals. A few or even a dozen whales would form a pod together. They might or might not be related to each other by blood. Through group cooperation, they would defend against possible attackers. They would even take care of children who were not related to each other like humans did, forming a united small society.
However, minke whales were not like that. They were famous for being alone. Under normal circumstances, they would not travel with other minke whales, unless it was for mating purposes, or …
When the half-adult minke whale saw the adult minke whale, it did not feel afraid. Instead, it happily swam over and intimately rubbed against the adult minke whale, expressing its love through physical contact.
Sure enough, it was a female adult minke whale. She should be the mother of the half-adult minke whale.
Zhang Zian had thought it was a little strange. The half-adult minke whale did not seem to be old enough to leave its mother and live independently. So where was its mother? Could it have been separated from the whaling ship? Or … had it been killed by the whaling ship's harpoon?
The possibility of being separated was not high, because whales' voices could travel very far in the sea. Even if they were separated, they could still be found. Then …
A young whale that left its mother too early could not survive in a dangerous ocean environment. He was worried about the half-adult minke whale, but whales were not cats or dogs. Even if they felt sorry for it, they could not take it home and feed it. So, although he was worried, there was nothing he could do.
Seeing that its mother had appeared, he was very happy for it, and he was finally relieved.
That day, he had told Huang that the minke whale had left in a hurry after it was stranded. It might have gone to reunite with its family. At that time, he had just said it casually, and he was not very sure. Now, it seemed that he had guessed correctly.
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