Chapter 18: Orca

Lily commanded Shelly to speed up. About ten minutes later, a young Orca appeared in her line of sight.

It seemed to spot Lily on Shelly’s back and let out a tender cry, seemingly calling for help.

Lily’s gaze shifted past the Baby Orca to what lay behind it. Floating on the surface of the sea was another Orca, several times larger than the baby. Judging by the cries for help she had heard earlier, she figured this massive creature must be the Baby Orca’s mother.

Upon reaching the mother and child, Lily finally got a clear look. The Mother Orca’s once-smooth skin was covered in deep gashes, its flesh torn open and exposed. Due to prolonged soaking in the seawater, the wounds were already showing signs of infection.

"Judging by the look of it, these were caused by sharp claws," Lily observed. She stared at the injuries, which were deep enough to expose bone—a testament to the sheer power of the attacker.

"Please, save my mom." The Baby Orca’s voice echoed again, filled with helplessness and desperate pleading.

After examining the Mother Orca’s condition, Lily pulled out a bottle filled with Healing Water and poured it directly over the massive creature’s body. The effects were remarkable. The moment the liquid touched the cuts, they began to show signs of mending. The Mother Orca, who had been completely motionless and seemingly drained of her will to live, gave a slight twitch of her tail.

Seeing this, the Baby Orca swam happily to its mother’s side, continuously nuzzling against her.

However, the injuries on the Mother Orca were simply too severe. Even after Lily emptied the entire bottle of Healing Water, the wounds did not fully close. Furthermore, she noticed that the Mother Orca had far more injuries than just the ones immediately visible.

"If I just leave them here, they’re probably going to end up as food for other marine creatures," Lily said with a frown.

At that moment, the Mother Orca regained consciousness. She first rubbed her head against the Baby Orca as if to comfort it, then turned her gaze toward Lily.

"Thank you for saving me."

Lily looked at the Mother Orca and replied, "Your injuries haven’t fully healed yet." Given the severity of the wounds, a complete recovery would still take quite some time.

"I know. Thank you, human. You are a good person," the Mother Orca said earnestly.

Staring at the Mother Orca’s massive body, an idea suddenly popped into Lily’s mind.

"Would you be willing to bring your child and come with me?" she asked seriously. "I can’t stay here forever. You should know how dangerous these waters are. With your injuries unhealed, you might not be able to protect your child. If something happens to you, what will your baby do? Meanwhile, I have the medicine that can heal you."

Upon hearing this, the Mother Orca didn’t agree immediately, but a flicker in her eyes revealed she was tempted.

Right then, the Baby Orca beside her chimed in, "Mom, I don’t want to leave you."

The Mother Orca glanced at her child, then said to Lily, "I can accept you as my master, but I need an absolutely safe place to recover. If you can provide that, I agree."

Accept me as her master?

Lily blinked, taking a moment to process the offer. Truth be told, she just thought the two Orcas were quite beautiful, and it would be a shame if they died. Her desire to keep them was just a sudden whim. Besides, she had just acquired a miniature ocean. Wouldn’t it be a waste not to raise an Orca in it?

However, she kept these thoughts to herself. After all, as apex predators of the sea, Orcas possessed undeniable combat power. This was especially true for the one in front of her—its size was noticeably larger than the Orcas back on Azurea. It seemed that all the marine creatures here were much larger than those on Azurea. The whale from before was huge, and the same applied to this Orca.

"I can do that," Lily nodded.

The next second, with a mere shift in her thoughts, the scenery behind her transformed. The solid ground vanished, replaced by a vast stretch of azure ocean.

"Shelly, lower yourself a bit."

Lily directed Shelly to sink down until the ground was level with the sea’s surface. Then, she opened the gate, allowing the two Orcas to enter.

Seeing the open water, the Baby Orca leaped straight into the miniature ocean. It swished its tail joyfully in the water. "Come quickly, Mom! The water here feels amazing."

The Mother Orca was clearly astonished when she saw the ocean manifest behind Lily. Suddenly, a rush of churning water echoed from behind her. Lily was the first to spot the anomaly. Two sharks, their mouths brimming with razor-sharp teeth, were speeding toward the Mother Orca’s position. They had likely been drawn by the scent of blood oozing from her wounds.

"Quick, get in! Something’s coming!" Lily urged frantically.

The Mother Orca had evidently noticed the commotion behind her as well. She threw a glance over her shoulder, a look of utter disdain flashing in her eyes. Immediately after, she slammed her massive tail heavily against the ground. The resulting violent surge of seawater launched the two approaching sharks flying into the air. Riding the momentum of that very strike, the Mother Orca vaulted effortlessly into Lily’s miniature ocean.

Witnessing this scene, Lily’s eyes widened in shock. She knew Orcas were powerful, but she hadn’t expected them to be this formidable. Even while severely injured, the Mother Orca was able to dispatch two sharks in an instant.

After settling the two Orcas in, Lily instructed Shelly to go look for the two sharks. Although the two sharks had been sent flying, they weren’t dead—just knocked unconscious. However, in the ocean, especially for a shark, falling unconscious was virtually no different from being dead. After all, sharks relied on constant swimming to extract oxygen from the seawater. Stopping their movement was akin to a human stopping breathing.

Using a fishing net, she hauled in the two sharks, each over five meters long and weighing an unfathomable amount. She then ended their lives with her dagger and applied her Decomposition Technique and Collection Skill on them.

Seeing the familiar white Energy Balls, she couldn’t help but cheer out loud. Her guess had been spot-on: sharks of this magnitude indeed harbored Biological Energy inside them. The two sharks yielded a total of twenty Biological Energy Clusters. It was far less than what the whale had provided earlier, but she was more than satisfied.

After stowing the Biological Energy away, it was time to process the rest of the shark carcasses. The razor-sharp teeth could be fashioned into weapons, and the shark skin could be used to craft diving suits. The Commons Workshop was capable of making them, but it required specific materials, shark skin being one of them.

"I remember watching documentaries where Orcas hunt sharks specifically to eat their livers," Lily thought to herself. "I wonder if the Orcas here share the same tastes as the ones on Azurea. I’ll go ask them in a bit."

With that in mind, Lily extracted the livers and set them aside to offer to the two Orcas. As for the rest...

Sharks excreted urine through their skin, which meant their meat carried a distinct smell of ammonia. The longer the meat sat, the stronger the odor became. In just this short amount of time, the stench had already grown quite overpowering.