Chapter 290: Rescuing the White Dolphin

Such top-tier big shots become top-tier big shots for a reason; bluntly put, they have some sort of sixth sense.

It seemed to feel that it wasn't being tangled by rope but caught by humans, so the white dolphin stopped struggling and let the winch pull the net up.

Besides this white dolphin, the trawl net also held some small fish and shrimp; once on deck, the dolphin strained to lift its neck toward Ye Cheng and let out a mournful cry.

People talk about dolphin sounds, dolphin sounds—this thing really does sound like that; it's quite distinctive.

But seeing the pitiful white dolphin, Ye Cheng didn't dare delay a moment; for fishermen, the white dolphin is not only a first-class protected animal but also a symbol of luck, and upon encountering it, they must rescue it.

"Xiao Hu, go get scissors, first cut this rope, then you fetch seawater to rinse it—don't let it die, or we'll bear a great sin."

A dolphin out of water can survive only 10–15 minutes; mainly because its skin dehydrates quickly once out of water, causing bodily functions to fail, plus there's the breathing problem.

Ideally, the boat would have a water tank, but since it doesn't, we can only use pouring water.

"Brother, there are no scissors, only this." Xiao Hu walked over holding a kitchen knife.

Ye Cheng looked at the knife speechlessly; damn it, if one didn't understand, they'd think they were going to kill the dolphin.

But that's all the tools we have, so we'll have to make do.

"Fine, I'll use this; you get a bucket and start pouring water on it."

After saying that, Ye Cheng touched the dolphin's head and whispered, "Brother, I'm about to cut the rope—hold on."

The dolphin's head rubbed against Ye Cheng's palm, letting out a soft cry, as if agreeing.

Ye Cheng couldn't help but marvel: nature is truly amazing—humans and dolphins can communicate; thinking of Da Huang, though, it seems equally unlikely that humans and turtles could communicate.

After calming the dolphin, Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu pour a bucket of water onto its neck, where the rope was tight.

After flushing with a bucket of seawater, Ye Cheng took the knife and began looking for a place to start.

This rope has likely been bound for a while, and it keeps tightening, having already sunk into the flesh of the neck.

Direct cutting wouldn't work, so Ye Cheng could only slowly grind it, finding an angle and carefully separating the rope layer by layer.

Meanwhile, Xiao Hu kept pouring water on the dolphin to keep its skin moist.

At first the outer rope was easy to cut, but as we ground inward it became troublesome—we often accidentally hit the dolphin's flesh; this patch of flesh is somewhat rotted, and touching the dolphin makes it shudder and whimper, giving a sense of its pain.

Ye Cheng could only slow down, grinding while soothing the dolphin; fortunately the rope had soaked in water a long time, making cutting relatively smooth, and after ten or so minutes he finally severed the rope.

Then Ye Cheng put down the knife, gently patted the dolphin's head, and said, "Brother, I'm going to remove the rope now—it'll hurt a bit, so bear with it."

After saying that, Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu a look, signaling him to slowly pour water from the bucket onto the rope area to keep it moist.

When the rope was pulled, the rotting flesh came out with it; the dolphin let out a painful scream, but it was still somewhat sensible and didn't struggle.

After Ye Cheng pulled the entire loop of rope out, the dolphin cried out in pain yet relief, pressing its head hard against Ye Cheng's hand to show gratitude.

"Brother, looking at this makes one's heart ache." Xiao Hu stared, his eyes getting a little wet.

"Well, there's nothing we can do—undersea trash is increasing; each bottom trawl brings up so much plastic, and this kind of rope is the same: once it's entangled, it's a death sentence; it's lucky it ran into us."

After gently patting the dolphin, Ye Cheng began cleaning the barnacles off its body.

Assessing the situation, the barnacles covered about half the surface, so there was a lot to clean.

This is different from Da Huang's thick skin and flesh; it's directly on the dolphin's skin, so it must be handled carefully.

Ye Cheng didn't let Xiao Hu help; instead, he had him keep pouring water on the dolphin.

Ye Cheng himself found a few pieces of cloth, wetted them and laid them on the dolphin's back to soften the barnacles, then took a shovel and began carefully removing them.

If the barnacles were pulled out directly, they'd easily tear the skin, so we could only shovel them off from the edges.

The only good thing about this dolphin is that it has no barnacles on its eyes; otherwise, treatment would be troublesome.

Ye Cheng was busy, and Xiao Hu wasn't idle either—he poured seawater while also applying some disinfectant water to the treated skin; fortunately, basic medicines were still on board.

After an hour, the barnacles were mostly cleared, but the dolphin was also nearing its limit.

"Brother, this dolphin can't hold on much longer." Xiao Hu pointed at the dolphin and said; at first it would occasionally cry out, but now it lay motionless on the deck.

Ye Cheng also noticed something was wrong; frankly, he's not a professional rescuer or a zoologist, so he doesn't know the dolphin's exact condition, but he knows it should be returned to the sea now.

"Come on, let's lift it—first get it into the sea, then I'll go down later to finish cleaning the barnacles."

The two poured a layer of water on the deck, then pushed the dolphin forward to the edge and gave it a gentle shove.

With a plop, the dolphin entered the water.

Upon entering the water, the dolphin immediately perked up, dove happily into the sea, then surfaced again, feeling the joy of easy swimming.

Ye Cheng squatted on the deck, feeling great—helping others brings joy, and aiding the dolphin made it happier.

He waved at the dolphin; it noticed, slowly swam back, poked its head out, and called out a few times to Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng reached out his hand, and the dolphin obediently rose slowly from the depths, bumping his hand with its head.

"Brother, you're like those animal trainers on TV." Xiao Hu laughed.

"Damn, I used to think animal trainers were amazing, but it turns out the dolphin itself is smart." Ye Cheng was also overjoyed.

"Xiao Hu, bring over those small fish and shrimp we just caught to give it some nutrition."

Xiao Hu did as told, bringing the items over; the two grabbed a frame, sat on deck, and began feeding the dolphin.

When the small fish were tossed, the dolphin instantly stuck out its head, swallowed one in a gulp, then let out a happy cry.

Watching this warm, harmonious scene, Ye Cheng suddenly felt inspired,

"Xiao Hu, I'm going down to clean the barnacles; take my phone and help me take a photo with it as a keepsake."

"Sure."

Ye Cheng handed the phone to Xiao Hu, then lightly leapt into the water.

Seeing Ye Cheng come down, the white dolphin immediately swam over affectionately, rubbing its head against his body, making him feel a little itchy.

"Brother, stay still a moment, let me take a photo first."