Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 872 - 117 Change of Plans

Chapter 872: Chapter 117 Change of Plans

After stitching up Hopkins’ wound, Kledec seemed to relax a bit.

Then, he opened his mouth and took a deep gulp of the bloodied seawater.

Xiang Shan found the scene somewhat... eerie.

However, the killer whale and another dolphin did not seem to think so. Hikashi followed suit, drinking a mouthful of the bloodied seawater. The killer whale immediately shuffled over, though they cautiously turned their backs to the dolphins.

Xiang Shan vaguely remembered that different killer whale pods had different hunting tendencies. Some preferred hunting large baleen whales, some small dolphins, and others favored marine mammals like sea lions and seals. There were even pods that hunted sharks. These choices were not innate but were taught by the grandmother in the whale pod.

Some killer whale pods feared sharks, while others actively attacked them. This, too, was acquired over time.

In other words, killer whales originally had something that could be called "culture."

However, most killer whale pods were destroyed by the Ichigo infection incident, and such research was permanently halted.

As it seems, within the killer whales’ "naturally edible things" list are not only killer whales but also dolphins. Killer whales do have an appetite for these big whales and dolphins.

Those three young killer whales must think the same. They drank a mouthful of the bloodied seawater and even turned around deliberately, using their tails to nudge away the two dolphins.

"I really don’t know if this relationship is harmonious or eerie," Xiang Shan sighed.

"Killer whales have it tough too, sir," Kledec explained. "Aside from the growing youngsters, adult killer whales, upon reaching maturity and completing reproduction, often voluntarily choose to fully cyberize, like humans. They are aware that extremely hungry adult killer whales pose a great threat to other whales, so they willingly do this. They are truly good partners."

After introducing the killer whales, Kledec nuzzled Xiang Shan’s shoulder with his mouth and cheek: "Hello, human. My name, translated into human language, is Kledec. This is my friend Hikashi. And those three killer whales are Rinaldo, Takata, and Jim, respectively. The big fellow is Hopkins, a very good whale."

Kledec was a genius, an exceptional individual among dolphins.

All dolphins, and humans interacting with these whales, judged so.

After Kledec arrived, the young killer whales, as well as the taciturn large whales, automatically delegated the negotiation tasks to Kledec.

Xiang Shan didn’t quite understand the dolphins’ interests, habitually reaching out his hand, then awkwardly grasping the other’s fleshy fin, giving it a light shake: "Hello, friend."

Kledec said, "I’ve heard about your companion. The dolphins are searching."

Xiang Shan nodded, "Thank you..."

"But you have to prepare for the worst, right?" Kledec said, "For instance... uh, what’s your next step? If I’m not mistaken, you don’t have any buoyancy device on you right now, and you can’t float. What will you do if we can’t retrieve your companion?"

Xiang Shan replied, "Naturally, I’ll proceed to our agreed location. We’ve arranged a few spots. I will continue to location A and stay there for a while. If my companions judge that they can’t reach location A on time, they’ll head to location B instead."

Of course, there’s a simpler way for the Heroes to communicate: "do something big"—like "assassinating a well-known officer and leaving a message." This way, when the Heroes search for a particular companion, they can have a general direction and range.

However... who knows what the whales think of human internal conflicts, so let’s not mention that for now.

Kledec shook his head, "Oh, walking alone on the seabed, that’s truly challenging. And it seems like the child beside you still has a completely flesh body. That might not adapt well to the deep sea."

Xiang Shan scratched his head. He hadn’t thought of that. According to his original plan, if things got too dangerous, the escape pod would be ejected, letting Panic find her own path. After all, when this thing was used, he and the others were likely beyond help.

But since the dolphins brought Panic along, he couldn’t let the little girl survive on her own at sea.

"How about giving a general direction?" Kledec suggested, "We might be able to give you a lift."

"North by west," Xiang Shan said, "After crossing a vast sea ridge and trench, you’ll be there..."

With Xiang Shan’s prosthetic body, he might not cross the trench easily. While he could leap in the sea, missing the jump would cause the prosthetic to sink to the bottom directly.

That would be quite problematic.

"Well... that place..." Kledec pondered for a moment, "it’s not great. Human activities are denser there than here. We prefer not to appear in front of humans. Although we’ve already exposed ourselves earlier, we still hope to hide as best as we can, avoiding appearing before those humans again."

Xiang Shan nodded, "I understand."

Kledec suggested, "How about this? Do you mind taking a slightly different route? I could bring you near our base. I will negotiate with our other partners. I’m not sure if we can bring you into the base, but at least we could get you some supplies, give you more freedom of action, and provide the young one with a safer vehicle. In return, we hope that after you leave, you won’t disclose the base’s location to other humans."

Xiang Shan considered for a moment and then nodded, "Of course."

Consequently, Kledec communicated with the whales in another language, conveying the outcome of his negotiation with Xiang Shan.

The killer whales seemed somewhat reluctant, making a few calls. Meanwhile, the whale beneath Xiang Shan picked up speed.

Panic’s escape pod couldn’t keep up with the whales. The killer whales nudged it toward Hopkins, who then engulfed the vehicle similarly.

Panic was terrified at first, crying aloud. But she soon realized there was no danger, and instead, developed a keen interest in this novel environment, pressing her face against the glass hatch to observe the inside of the giant whale’s mouth.

Xiang Shan was curious enough to ask, "Mr. or Ms. Hopkins, what kind of whale exactly are you? You don’t look like a traditional baleen whale."

"Oh, that’s a prosthetic," Orca Takata replied, "Hopkins’ ancestors were supposedly what humans call sperm whales."