Nan Liujing looked at the whole-wheat bread he’d opened from the treasure chest on his first day.

【Whole Wheat Bread】

【Status: Fresh】

No matter how you look at it, the product description consists of just two simple lines, giving off an air of half-heartedness that makes no attempt to hide its laziness. On the other hand, the bread he’d snagged for free from an indigenous shop using a coupon came with a full set of detailed descriptions. Nan Liujing rubbed his chin. “What does this mean? They’re both bread—are there really different classes of it?”

It goes without saying that this distinction couldn’t possibly be about whole wheat versus non-whole wheat. Is bread made with refined white flour really a higher grade than whole wheat? I’ve never heard of such a thing.

“It must just be a difference in origin.” Nineteen percent of the items obtained from treasure chests bore a distinct Earth mark, and items with this mark almost never came with detailed descriptions. Despite having opened so many chests by now, Nan Liujing had only encountered a few exceptions: an apple sapling with a question mark in its name, low-quality rum, and blueprints.

Compared to Earth products, these three items seem more like products of this world.

Both the apple sapling and the rum were obtained from oak barrels.

Statistically speaking, is the probability of obtaining such items from oak barrels higher? Yet blueprints seem to drop more frequently from wooden crates… “I just can’t figure it out,” Nan Liujing sighed, casually tearing open a loaf of whole-wheat bread to eat.

His stamina was maxed out, but he was hungry. You can’t keep getting up early without eating breakfast; stamina is one thing, but human physiology is another. If he were to obsess over maximizing stamina and wait until he was completely drained before eating, Nan Liujing felt he’d be well on his way to developing a stomach ailment.

A little waste was inevitable; he’d just have to think of it as an advance investment in his health.

The whole-wheat bread had been sitting in his backpack for nearly four days and was already a bit… too dry. Nan Liujing chewed it with great effort, trying to moisten the rough loaf with his saliva, but he choked until his face turned pale.

Fearing he might choke to death, he had no choice but to start a fire and boil some water.

The simple water collector gathered fresh water, but not distilled water, so he had to boil it first to make it safe to drink.

While eating breakfast, Nan Liujing took out the last item he’d found in the mailbox—a small, pale-red slip of paper with a familiar design—it was a coupon. Nan Liujing suspected this was a thank-you gift from the newspaper delivery bird for the sardines he’d given it.

【Novice Farmer Assistance Voucher】

【Category: Coupon】

【Issued by the Harvest Association. Each person may redeem this coupon for a free set of basic farming tools!】

“This comes at just the right time.” Nan Liujing’s eyes lit up at the prospect of getting a free set of farming tools. Sure, they were labeled “basic,” but why complain when they’re free? Better to have something than nothing.

“I really need to thank the newspaper delivery bird for this.” He’d just set up his farmland, and now free farming tools had arrived—how could such a coincidence happen? It must be that the newspaper delivery bird, having previously helped him claim poor-quality farmland, knew he wanted to start farming on the island and had specifically picked out this coupon for him.

Nan Liujing quickly filled out the postcard, placed it back in the mailbox along with the coupon, and decided to catch two big fish today to put in the mailbox before tomorrow morning.

It takes two to tango—that’s the only way to maintain a lasting relationship. For Nan Liujing, boosting the newspaper delivery bird’s favorability could only be beneficial, so of course he would do his very best.

Before long, it was 8:00 a.m., low tide.

With last night’s experience in mind, Nan Liujing didn’t rush out but stood by the window instead. The farmhouse was situated on the highest point of the island, and the south-facing window, which looked directly out onto the beach, offered a clear view of most of the shoreline.

If another dangerous giant sea creature were to come ashore, he would have more time to react while hiding inside the farmhouse.

Soon, he watched as the tide rolled back, churning up pure white waves. A black-and-white creature burst from the waves, like a carp joyfully leaping through the Dragon Gate—only instead of the golden light of a dragon’s transformation beyond the gate, there was a golden beach.The black-and-white creature plunged onto the sand, its tail flapping helplessly twice. Realizing it could no longer return to the sea, it immediately let out a frantic whimper.

Like a puppy kicked by a passing villain. Nan Liujing, who had witnessed the entire scene: “……”

Why did it have to learn to surf of all things? Now it’s stranded.

After waiting another two minutes, with no other sounds or movements to be seen or heard, the island fell silent, broken only by the pitiful whimpers of the stranded poor thing. Nan Liujing scratched his head in frustration and pushed open the door to step out of the farmhouse.

“Ugh, what a hassle.”

The moment he appeared on the beach, he immediately caught the little unlucky creature’s attention. The whining sound, like boiling water, grew louder. The creature cried out in distress, its pair of wet, jet-black eyes following Nan Liujing’s figure, revealing a human-like plea.

Nan Liujing lacked the enthusiasm to help his own kind in their plight. He possessed empathy, but because of it, he deliberately avoided contact or reacting to others, which sometimes made him seem cold. But when it came to animals, he could never bring himself to stand by and do nothing.

It couldn’t be helped. Humans were vile creatures, while animals were always innocent. Oh, except for octopuses and crabs—those were just ingredients.

He sighed helplessly, stepped forward, and stood before the black-and-white creature, reaching out to touch its jet-black head. It was slippery and damp.

The black-and-white creature stood motionless, letting him stroke it, its eyes fixed on him.

“How can I help you?” Nan Liujing asked softly. “Wah…”

The black-and-white creature let out a pitiful whimper.

“Don’t even think about it. I can’t push you,” Nan Liujing said helplessly. This was different from the giant jellyfish that had beached itself yesterday—that thing was heavy too, but it was mostly seawater, so with some effort, he could have lifted it.

But this one? It wasn’t even a giant marine creature. It was just a juvenile orca, weighing at least a ton or two.

Under these circumstances, unless Nan Liujing could somehow get his hands on Archimedes’ lever, subduing this orca on his own would be an impossible task.

The most he could do was soak some scraps of canvas, drape them over the orca’s body, and occasionally pour seawater over it to keep its skin moist.

In an hour, the rising tide would carry this unlucky soul, whose joy had turned to sorrow, back out to sea.

Fortunately, Nan Liujing didn’t have much other material on hand—just plenty of scraps of canvas. He gathered all the scraps, soaked them in seawater, spread them out over the orca’s body, and managed to cover most of it.

He kept pouring seawater over the orca from a plastic bucket, over and over, until every scrap of canvas was soaked through and dripping. Only then did he stop, panting, and take a moment to gather supplies from the beach.

With the canvas scraps shielding it from the sun and keeping its skin moist, the orca’s condition improved significantly. It lay quietly on the beach, like a giant inflatable toy, its tail swaying gently as its eyes followed Nan Liujing’s movements.

Nan Liujing walked a full circle along the beach, collecting 4 wet planks, 2 canvas scraps, 3 empty bottles, and 1 wooden crate.

The scarcity of supplies after the tutorial days was heartbreaking, but Nan Liujing had grown somewhat accustomed to it. He was even considering the feasibility of intercepting supplies drifting away with the waves.

Until yesterday, he could still go into the water himself to chase after them, but as long as there was a risk of marine creatures coming ashore, that method was out of the question. Perhaps he could use those torn fishing nets to set up a barrier in the water?

As he pondered these far-fetched ideas, he carefully stowed away the only treasure chest. This stark change in attitude caught the orca’s attention.

“Hmm?” It looked at the human, then at the small, square object, its eyes betraying clear confusion before taking on a pensive expression.

Just then, Nan Liujing walked over carrying a plastic bucket and began the second round of watering.

Don’t let his youthful appearance fool you—he’s already quite a large specimen, and the water he’d just poured was merely a drop in the bucket for him.To ensure his earlier efforts weren’t wasted, Nan Liujing simply kept fetching water, watering, and fetching water again, repeating the process endlessly. There was naturally no time left for beachcombing. But there was no other way—since he’d decided to save it, he had to do everything possible to the best of his ability.

Nan Liujing was absolutely not one to give up halfway through anything.

While he was busy, the orca kept staring at him. Nan Liujing, panting heavily, propped himself up on his knees, pulled out his tablet to take a look, then tilted his head and cursed under his breath.

No wonder he suddenly felt so exhausted—watering plants actually takes physical energy!

“I can’t go on. I need a break.” He shuffled over to the orca, plopped down on the sand, pulled a glass jar from his backpack, unscrewed the lid with trembling hands, and popped a garlic oil-soaked oyster straight into his mouth.

The aromas of oil, garlic, and salt intertwined; the oyster was rich and tender to chew, with a faint hint of black pepper’s heat. The single bite of oyster quickly soothed Nan Liujing’s fatigue.

The orca was also drawn to the golden glass jar and the plump, white oyster inside. It looked at the jar, then at Nan Liujing, and let out a low hum from its throat.

“You can’t eat that,” Nan Liujing quickly refused. How could a wild animal eat human seasonings? Wait, surely it couldn’t? Nan Liujing wasn’t entirely sure, and his voice trailed off with a questioning tone, “…right?”

The orca keenly sensed the human’s hesitation and immediately seized the opportunity, letting out a plaintive cry: “Woo—woo.”

“No way. If it gives you an upset stomach, whose fault will that be?” Nan Liujing still refused. He rummaged through his backpack, pulled out the last two small sardines, and dangled them in front of the orca by their tails. “These are okay. Want some?”

The orca glanced at the tiny sardines with disdain. They were so small—not even enough to fill a tooth gap! But fine, for the sake of it being a gift from a human, it reluctantly opened its mouth, and Nan Liujing promptly tossed the sardine inside. The orca closed its mouth.

“……” Just as expected—they were too small. They slid down its throat before it could even taste them. Sigh.

The orca swished its tail gloomily, looking at the human slumped against it, its gaze turning sympathetic. What a weak human—to be able to catch only such small, meager prey.

When it hunted with its grandmother and encountered a school of sardines, it would charge in and swallow hundreds with a single bite, but the human had only caught two.

And he gave them all to it.

Humans may be weak, but they have a pretty good heart. They even water their plants.

What can you do? The orca thought, wagging its tail. Well, it would reluctantly protect this frail human then. Once it returned to the sea, it would definitely catch a few big fish to give him!

Nan Liujing suddenly sat up and gazed out toward the ocean.

Suddenly, several pitch-black, sickle-shaped dorsal fins rose from the surface of the sea, followed by dark, glossy backs.

One after another, orcas appeared on the surface; as far as the eye could see, there were at least thirty or forty of them, mostly adults. The largest one, nearly 9 meters long, raised its head, revealing the oval-shaped white patches around its eyes.

I have to say, witnessing this scene up close was truly spectacular. Nan Liujing patted the young orca on the body: “It looks like your family has come to find you.”

“Huh?”

The young orca couldn’t move or turn its head, so it could only let out a puzzled cry.

Just then, a long, drawn-out whale song rose from the ocean, carried by the sea breeze, and reached the young orca’s ears directly. The young orca stiffened all over, not even daring to move its tail, which had been swaying leisurely.

“Woo—woo woo—” “Woo—”

Nan Liujing patted the little orca again. Unable to understand the language of orcas, the human said without a care: “They’re calling for you.” 

The little orca: “……”

“Did you sneak out here to play on your own? They seem really worried about you.”

Orca: “…… ”

Nan Liujing put away the glass jar, pushed himself up with his arm, and helped the little orca standing beside him to its feet, patting it twice on the way: “Don’t worry, you’ll be back with your family soon.”

Little Orca: “… ”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

A Note from the Author:

Here’s the thing: orcas are notorious troublemakers of the seas—a truly unruly bunch. When they communicate with each other, they’re basically just swearing at one another.

So what the little orca hears is…

Grandma (Orca Clan Chief): You little brat, you think you’re all that now? 【Beep—】 Just wait till I kick your head off! 【Beep—】 You’re nothing but a 【Beep—】

Let’s just be glad that Xiao Nan doesn’t understand orca language