Chapter 258

"Woof woof woof!" the dog barked loudly, its long mouth resting on the edge of the box, its fluffy paws lying on either side, the half‑human‑tall spotted dog lay inside, sticking out its tongue at him, grinning wide.

The dog's bright, scorching gaze could melt anyone's heart.

"Ow ow ow I finally got out!"

"Mr. Darri, I thought we'd only meet again in heaven, sigh~ how sweet the air is~"

It enjoyed the fresh air, curled up comfortably in the box, while even more excited were the anxious crew members; the chief mate scooped it up into his arms, his face flushed with excitement.

"Good heavens! Harley, you're actually here!"

She really guessed it right…… oh no, I mean, she got it right!

At this moment, everyone's gaze toward Ling Yue was completely overturned, as if they were looking at a miracle.

The spotted dog Harley knew Ling Yue had saved it, raising its two paws before its eyes; having learned a few tricks from the ship's entertainers, it placed its paws together and kept bowing, thanking Ling Yue.

The onlookers clicked their tongues in wonder: "Is Harley thanking her?"

"It truly is a good dog, the most loyal little guy on our ship!"

The chief mate who had brought it aboard chuckled as he stroked the dog's fluffy head: "Harley is the smartest; when I first met it, it was just a puppy the size of a palm, and it already knew how to bite my pant leg to get me to save it."

Hearing his owner say that about him, Harley blushed and lowered his head: "That was ages ago; why are you bringing up these embarrassing stories, pretty lady?"

It quickly adjusted its mood, its fluffy tail almost wagging like a rattle drum, the dog's eyes sparkling as it greeted Ling Yue: "Hi, hi~ hello there, beautiful lady."

"Thank you for saving me."

It was as well‑behaved as could be.

Ling Yue couldn't help but smile, bending down to pat the dog's head: "No worries, little cutie."

The spotted dog Harley startled, looking astonished at the human—was she speaking to me? To a dog?

Harley whimpered, leapt out of the box, and affectionately rubbed against her pant leg: "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Ling Yue tapped her knuckle on the dog's head: "What do you think?"

That statement truly confirmed Harley's idea; frightened, it plopped down on its rear, an exaggerated, comical move that made a crowd burst out laughing.

Only Dailinna, seeing the dog's reaction, vaguely guessed something.

Ling Yue, on the other hand, made a good friend because of this.

Harley, frank and optimistic as a dog, lively and energetic, is a very good local dog, puffing out his chest proudly and telling Ling Yue: "There's nowhere on this ship I can't go!"

As the crew's companion, Harley is practically the ship's mascot, able to go in and out of almost every place.

"Except the kitchen," the chief mate said.

Ling Yue couldn't help but wonder; the chief mate scratched his head: "We used to ignore this, but later we found Harley sneaking into the kitchen to eat, so we had to restrict it."

Harley blinked at the words, glanced furtively at Ling Yue, and whined unwillingly: "It's not that bad, I have my reasons!"

"And besides…" it tilted its head toward the chief mate: "I'm not that stupid; I'll sneak in anyway!"

Ling Yue glanced at the well‑behaved dog as the sun set westward; the orange‑red sun and the glow of the clouds reflected each other, resembling a half‑cooked custard‑filled egg, while the sea looked like rich, melted liquid gold.

The spotted dog's white fur with black patches turned golden, its elongated, well‑proportioned silhouette outlined on the deck.

Noticing Ling Yue looking at it, Harley shook its head, and after the chief mate left, it extended a paw toward Ling Yue and waved: "Don't believe me? Then come with me!"

Ling Yue raised an eyebrow, but indeed followed along.

The enormous ship was like a city, speeding across the sea; for Harley, who had practically lived here since birth, it was intimately familiar.

It first led Ling Yue through a maze of twists and turns to a hidden corner, where Ling Yue saw the dog scratching at some debris, and a small opening instantly appeared before her eyes.

Harley threw her a proud little glance: "See, I wasn't lying."

Saying this, it scraped the ground with both paws, twisted and wriggled into the dog hole, and a muffled sound came from inside as Harley said: "Wait outside for a moment; I'll be right back!"

Ling Yue propped her chin, half‑crouching to peer into the hole; her sharp ears picked up the faint rustling within, as if there were voices—

"Today's seafood is good, wait, there's also fresh fruit!"

"Let's make a seafood feast tonight; the newcomer looks rather thin."

"She's young, looks about the same as my daughter when I was in junior high—truly amazing Chinese people, you can't tell their real age at all."

Ling Yue hadn't expected it to actually find the kitchen and crawl in successfully.

As she pondered, the rustling grew closer, then suddenly a "pop" sounded and a black‑white spotted dog's head shot out, like a tiny mushroom suddenly pushing up from the ground.

The spotted dog whined: "See, am I impressive or not?"

Only then did Ling Yue see clearly that it was holding a plump big squid in its mouth.

Harley crawled out on its belly; to Ling Yue's surprise, its journey had just begun, and looking at the big squid it exclaimed, half‑astonished, half‑delighted: "What luck! Today I actually found a big squid!"

Ling Yue looked at it doubtfully: "Don't you have special dog food?"

Who knew that upon hearing this, Harley let out a weary sigh: "As a dog, I've worn myself out for my friend."

Ling Yue: "How so?"

Harley: "I have food, but the new friend I met earlier had none; to keep it from starving, I, as a dog, could only sneak some food."

Saying this, it scraped its paws, resealed the opened dog hole, lowered its head to pick up the big squid, then looked at Ling Yue: "You wanna come with me to my den?"

The muffled utterance made Ling Yue burst out laughing; she nodded: "Sure."

She was also curious what the dog's friend would be like.

Does it like fish? Could it be a sea creature?

The dog dashed to the stern with the big squid in its mouth; there Ling Yue saw only an empty expanse of deck, the dog barked a few times, and a sharp, crisp "plop‑plop" sound suddenly rang out, making her start.

A low shadow seemed to plummet like storm clouds; before Ling Yue could even react, she heard a deep "thud" followed by a gruff voice.

"Hiss~ my goodness, that hurts!"

"Ow ow ow, people ahead, make way—here comes the big bird!"

Ling Yue: "???"

The little question mark above her head fluttered in the wind, her heartbeat suddenly quickening; instinct made her whip around, and in the next instant, where she had been standing, a huge bird thudded to the ground.

Ling Yue: "……"

She finally saw the true face of the other party—a black-backed albatross, one of the most loyal animals in the world—but the albatross before her seemed to have encountered something.

Ling Yue observed it; its wingspan was at least three meters, and the only feathers on its body were these two pairs, glossy black, while the rest were white—hence its name, black-backed albatross.

It lay slumped on the plank, head drooping, looking utterly dejected.

"Ah, how did I fail again!!"

"Hiss, that fall really hurts!!"

The spotted dog Harley had already rushed forward anxiously, not disappointing Ling Yue's expectation; complaining, the albatross suddenly saw the spotted dog and immediately tensed its beak.

"My dear friend, are you alright?"

"Look what I brought you—your favorite fresh giant squid, just pulled from the sea!"

The fallen big bird immediately trotted over, took a bite, and exclaimed: "Wow, it really is a giant squid!"

It looked astonished at its good friend Harley, who grinned proudly; the albatross, without hesitation, lowered its head and began to feast heartily.

Through observation, Ling Yue realized it was an adult albatross; given its rapid eating speed, she guessed it had gone a while without food.

As for the cause of all this——

Ling Yue's gaze fell on the black-backed albatross behind it, where its folded black wings formed three sections—birds typically can fold their wings into three parts because they consist basically of the wing root, middle, and tip.

But the albatross's abnormal posture clearly told Ling Yue that its wing was injured.

Having finished its meal and satisfied its hunger, the albatross seemed to notice Ling Yue only then, staggering back two steps.

"Human, human?!"

Ling Yue fell silent, her gaze fixed on the black-backed albatross, which chuckled "hehe" and said: "Just joking."

From this we can see that, as an albatross, how could it cross species and befriend the spotted dog Harley?

It relies on its years of consistent humor and wit.

Regardless of what Ling Yue thought, Harley took a liking to her, and Ling Yue also learned from the dog's enthusiastic, open‑mouthed chatter how they had met.

The spotted dog Harley lifted a paw, placed it on Ling Yue's pant leg, and told her: "Snowflake is something I picked up on the deck."

The sea wind howled; Harley slept in his little room, dawn had not yet come over the ocean, the gale piled up dark clouds, and everything seemed shrouded in shadow.

Suddenly, a "bang" sounded from outside.

The spotted dog Harley, a veteran of the sea, was instantly awakened; it stretched, wiggled its hips, flicked its fluffy tail, and darted out quickly.

Only then did he discover that on the deck ahead stood a large black-and-white bird, beside a large puddle of seawater mixed with blood.

Upon seeing it, Harley bared his teeth in a grin, while the black-backed albatross gazed calmly at the sea surface and said: "Hey bro, hullo~"

The sudden unfamiliar accent made it startle, then it heard the albatross say: "You're also here to watch the sunrise?"

The spotted dog Harley tilted his head: "……"

It made its fiercest, most menacing face, yet saw no reaction—could it be an idiot?

Just as it relaxed its guard, the black-backed albatross suddenly unfurled its wings and rose straight up.

The spotted dog Harley: "!!!"

He had been careless—this was actually a delaying tactic!

Before it could react, the albatross that had risen straight up came crashing down hard, landing right in front of it—just a few centimeters shy of smashing the dog's head.

The black-backed albatross waved its wings: "Hey bro, if I say I didn't do it on purpose, would you believe me?"

Harley stared at it with a "you're an idiot" expression.

"You guess whether I believe it or not?"

Afterwards, the black-backed albatross stayed on the ship, and Harley continually helped treat its wing, but each time, when it flew to a certain height, pain struck, causing it to slip and fall with a patter.

As for why it didn't tell humans, upon hearing the suggestion, the black-backed albatross nervously said: "I've heard that many animals picked up by humans end up in zoos, locked in narrow little cages—I'd rather not go!"

Harley is a dog that has spent its whole life drifting at sea, never setting foot on land, unaware that humans would treat the black-backed albatross Snowflake this way; hearing Snowflake say that, it vaguely agreed.

It had experience picking things up, but almost all were fresh sea fish; after giving them to humans, they usually bent down to pat its head and praise: "Harley's great! Tonight I'll give you an extra meal!"

Thus, its dinner would often include an extra sea fish, stewed until soft and fragrant.

Its instinct told it best not to tell Snowflake about this.

After Harley finished speaking, his big round eyes looked at Ling Yue: "You're my good friend—you won't send Snowflake to the zoo, right?"

Ling Yue blinked, then laughed: "Of course, I definitely won't!"

Meanwhile, seeing the person and dog exchange promises, the black-backed albatross couldn't help but interject: "And me—I'm still here too!"

Ling Yue and the dog exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.

Black-backed albatross Snowflake: "> 3<"

After they finished laughing, Harley seriously introduced Ling Yue to Snowflake—his newly made good friend, and also his lifesaver!

After hearing the whole story, the black-backed albatross looked at Ling Yue in astonishment: "Wow, I really underestimated you, humans!"

During its injury, its meals depended entirely on Harley's feeding; without Harley, it could scarcely believe that, with a wounded wing and no hunting ability, it could survive.

Thinking of this, the black-backed albatross Snowflake instantly drooped its head in dejection, then its bright eyes turned to Ling Yue: "Humans..."

As it spoke, it shifted left and right, as if standing not on planks but on glowing coals—an uneasy, hesitant manner of wanting to speak but not daring to.

Finally, it made up its mind, but Ling Yue beat it to the punch, saying: "You want me to help heal your wing, right?"

Snowflake's eyes lit up instantly, nodding like a chick pecking at grain: "Yes, yes."

Ling Yue first asked how it had been injured, but at the first step Snowflake got stuck, staring blankly at Ling Yue, opening and closing its beak without making a sound.

Ling Yue's heart jumped: "What's wrong? Have you lost your voice?"

Black-backed albatross: "QAQ"

"I, I was bitten by a shark π_π……"

"Shark, shark!" The exclamation drowned out their words; the spotted dog Harley stared in shock at its friend, sizing it up from head to toe—

The albatross Snowflake's feathers trembled, its head drooped, and it made no sound.

It was resting at sea, and through carelessness it nearly was gulped down by a lurking tiger shark; it struggled with all its might to escape the shark's jaws, resulting in the earlier scene of it standing soaked on the deck.

How embarrassing!

It is already an adult albatross, yet being ambushed by a tiger shark is something that usually happens only to newly fledged albatrosses, because those youngsters lack experience, but it is different.

Even while embarrassed, Snowflake still had to spread its wings.

An albatross's pair of narrow, long wings stretch over three meters, like a pair of black blades; their beautiful feathers are extremely lustrous, and they need not flap their wings to maintain a posture for tens of minutes of flight.

Because albatrosses spend most of their lives at sea, they are also called seabirds.

After examining it, Ling Yue found that the albatross's injury was not too serious; she said seriously, 'These few days you need to rest properly. Actually the initial injury wasn't serious, but repeatedly falling over caused secondary or even multiple injuries, which is why your wound hasn't healed.'

After hearing that, the black-backed albatross felt its head go blank for a moment; then a cool sensation moistened the wound, and Ling Yue bandaged its injured right wing.

It glanced at its wing wrapped like a zongzi, a hint of urgency in its eyes, and asked, 'Doctor, when will I recover?'

Ling Yue's action paused; suddenly she felt something, and the long-silent system chimed out: 【Ding, fulfill the albatross father's wish—to return to the family during the breeding season and feed the chicks; reward: Heart of the Sea God.】

Accept or reject?

Ling Yue: '!!!'

After looking up the meaning of the Heart of the Sea God, she was instantly astonished and found it unbelievable; the Heart of the Sea God grants its wielder the ability to control the ocean.

What is there to hesitate about? Of course she chooses to accept! After all, for Ling Yue this task is utterly effortless!

She spoke before the albatross did: 'You want to recover so quickly because you wish to return to the nest, right?'

The black-backed albatross stared, shocked at Ling Yue, and stammered, 'Y-you, how do you know that?'

It hadn't even told its good friend Harley about this.

The reason it is so eager to fly is that it wants to recover quickly and bring fresh food back to the nesting site.

It lives with its wife on an island where countless albatrosses gather; they have met there countless times to mate and produce offspring, and this time is no exception.

However, an accident occurred: the albatross father Snowflake, who took turns with his mate going to distant foraging grounds to feed, met with mishap; because its wing was injured, it could not fly, and it had not returned to the nest for a full week, whereas normally it would be back within five days to bring food for its hardworking wife and chicks.

Thus, Snowflake is practically burning with anxiety.

No one knows better than the albatross how harsh the environment poses a serious threat to its small family.

Albatrosses usually hatch only one chick because the harsh environment cannot support raising two or more offspring.

Hearing its words, Ling Yue subtly revealed a faint smile.

She did not answer, yet this did not lessen the albatross's shock; it could not help but say, 'Can my wing heal faster? I want to go home as soon as possible.'

Ling Yue shook her head: 'At the earliest it will take three days, but—I have another way to help you.'

The black-backed albatross looked at her in astonishment, as if a drowning person clutching the last straw.

It heard Ling Yue say, 'I will personally take you to the sea island so you can return home quickly.'

For Ling Yue, this is utterly effortless.

Upon hearing that, the black-backed albatross Snowflake felt excited and wanted to flap its wings, but then it slumped and said, 'Are you going to send me by boat? But… a boat isn't as fast as I can fly myself.'

Albatross flight speed is top-notch, their flying ability ranking first in the world; among them, the gray-headed albatross can reach a maximum speed of 127 kilometers per hour.

Ling Yue heard its words, shook her head and denied: 'You guessed wrong.',,.