Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 870 - 115: Whales and Artiodactyls in Action

Chapter 870: Chapter 115: Whales and Artiodactyls in Action

"Human offspring... human offspring?" Hikashi was very surprised, circling the escape pod twice: "So humans also have offspring?"

"Of course they do," Kledec said. "They used to be just like us."

"Oh, I know," Hikashi wagged her tail. "It’s just that the humans I’ve met are all mechanical. Only adult killer whales are like that. I’ve never seen their offspring."

"Yeah, I’ve never seen them either. But isn’t there an unused air room in Area 5 of the base? That’s the human nursery," Kledec said. "Uncle Jin said he used to see humans raising their young there."

"That place, that place, hasn’t it been unused for a long time? It’s so empty, emptier than the sea."

Kledec shook his fin. "Now those humans don’t want to reproduce anymore, right?"

"Why? I’ve never seen humans afraid of hunger. Hunger isn’t really a concern for them."

"This is the ocean, isn’t it? They’re land animals," Kledec said. "I’ve heard that human offspring can only live in the air, their skin is gently colored, reflecting a soft light. They’re soft, very cute. Their voices are also quite like ours."

Hikashi pressed her eyes against the glass door of the pod again.

Panic’s eyes widened.

Mammals with a certain level of sociality generally have similar instincts. Apart from a few males who would kill offspring to make their mothers enter estrus again, most social mammals are friendly to the young ones.

And the offspring of mammals usually have "larger eyes compared to adult individuals," "short and small bridges of the nose," and "slightly upturned corners of the mouth."

Most animals lose these features called Kindchenschema (baby schema) as they grow.

Of course, as everyone knows, evolution isn’t particularly precise.

If a creature possesses multiple traits of the "baby schema" simultaneously, it can be regarded more favorably by social mammals, even if it is inherently a cruel predator that toys with its prey—like a certain feline.

This is equivalent to a "game glitch" in evolutionary history.

And fortunately, dolphins happen to have "upturned corners of the mouth." The facial layout of marine creatures and land animals is entirely different; the dolphin’s upper jaw combined with the corresponding forehead features is recognized by Homo sapiens as a "short nose bridge."

This is a creature that instinctively appears cute to humans.

Panic, on the other hand, is a juvenile Benchmark Man girl, having traits that social mammals like. Moreover, her sharp voice strikes at the dolphin’s innate flaw.

"Hmm... hmmm! What a cute little one!" Hikashi exclaimed. "Shall we take her back?"

"What?"

"Humans are land animals. Isn’t she in danger here? We need to take her to meet our humans."

"But, what if this vehicle has a tracker?"

"It hasn’t emitted any electromagnetic or sound waves, right?"

"It’ll be too late when it does."

"No one would use offspring as bait, would they?"

"Who knows? You’re dealing with humans, the species that once almost wiped themselves out!"

Panic tapped on the glass door. She seemed to realize that these two new creatures had no ill intent towards her.

So Panic wasn’t scared at all. Living with Xiang Shan for years, she had always witnessed prosthetic body structures that defied human instincts. Compared to that, the flesh of these two dolphins was much cuter.

The little girl anxiously tapped on the glass door, gesturing with sounds and motions. She wanted these "new friends" to take her to see Yuki. Yuki might be in danger right now. She needed help.

But obviously, these two dolphins couldn’t understand. Kledec and Hikashi couldn’t comprehend human gestures.

"What to do?" Hikashi asked aloud.

She directed her question towards the distance.

Then, a beam of ultrasound arrived.

It was feedback from the other companions observing the situation. In the distance, two groups of humans were clashing. Hopkins noticed those two groups of humans.

Humans were slaughtering each other again.

Then, others reported witnessing a battle with weapons and vehicles.

"That’s the disturbance from earlier!" Hikashi concluded.

"Yeah, it seems this offspring came with others. Then the offspring’s relatives were attacked and scattered," Kledec said.

Hikashi was startled: "Abandon the offspring?"

"From various signs, it seems the offspring’s family drew away the attacks, hoping the offspring could survive."

Hikashi instantly remembered the virtual stories humans had told her. In the stories, humans were amazing. Some narrow-minded whales would say, ’If only humans were always that great.’ Now, humans as great as in the stories actually appeared!

They actually appeared!

Hikashi swam in a big circle in the sea. When she swam back in front of Kledec, she said to Kledec, "We need to come up with a plan to help them."

"Of course... this can’t be!" Kledec, led by instinct, almost agreed without thinking. He struggled to suppress his urge to "rescue" and said, "We still don’t know which side those humans are on!"

"Humans who treat offspring this way can’t be bad! Humans who can’t even spare the offspring can’t be good!"

"Humans are very complex creatures! Humans aren’t that simple!"

"But we have to help them!"

Kledec felt waves of fervor rushing to his brain. This group of dolphins inherently had a desire to rescue. It’s said that before gaining wisdom, if a dolphin got stranded, its mournful cries could easily lead several dolphins to recklessly rush to the shallow sea and encounter danger.

And after gaining sentience, this acquired trait and their inborn instincts created a chemical reaction.

Hikashi was already somewhat fervent.

Kledec desperately tried to find a reason for "not rescuing"—a reason that could override everything. Soon, Kledec realized that it wasn’t just Hikashi; he also needed to convince himself.

The killer whales’ roars echoed from a distance. They seemed aware of the dolphins’ thoughts. Hikashi shouted unceremoniously, "Brats!"

Finally, the giant whale shouted loudly, "Enough!"

He said, "I really dislike those inside the dolphin! Everyone, come help!"

So, everyone stopped arguing.

Xiang Shan then saw the scene now.