Chapter 246: Encountering the Cruise Ship Again

Yun Jiao had been too excited when she jumped into the sea, bringing only a net bag tucked at her waist.

So now, she could only use her bare hands to pry the barnacles off this Humpback Whale.

Unfortunately, her hands were too small. Even with her great strength, the work was slow.

She then dove back into the sea and caught a shellfish with a sharp edge. After eating the meat, she was now using both hands to laboriously pry the barnacles off the Humpback Whale with the shell.

They grew not only on the Humpback Whale’s head but also its back, belly, and even around the edges of its mouth.

It was impossible for the whale to clean off the barnacles itself.

Yun Jiao had been drawn over by its mournful cries.

’Who would have thought? The Humpback Whale, an ocean overlord that could go toe-to-toe with a killer whale, was being tormented so horribly by tiny barnacles.’

The Humpback Whale knew Yun Jiao was helping it, so it was being incredibly well-behaved.

But looking at the dense clusters of barnacles covering the Humpback Whale’s enormous body, Yun Jiao felt a wave of despair.

’I regret not bringing a shovel.’

’Cleaning them off with a seashell is just too slow.’

Just as she was fretting, her excellent eyesight caught sight of the cruise ship she had seen earlier.

Yun Jiao patted the Humpback Whale’s head. "Wait here. I’m going to go see if I can find a better tool."

The Humpback Whale let out a profound, far-reaching call.

The sound’s frequency was somewhat similar to the songs of the Merfolk. It seemed to emanate from some Ancient place, carrying a resonance that struck straight to the soul.

That was why the Merfolk enjoyed interacting with such whales and often used them as mounts.

"You’ll take me there? That works too. Let’s go then."

The Humpback Whale’s body was enormous and seemed cumbersome, but its speed in the ocean was anything but slow.

Soon, the girl and the whale arrived near the cruise ship.

Standing on the Humpback Whale’s head, Yun Jiao raised her hands and waved to greet the people on the ship.

Meanwhile, the people on the ship were equally excited to see her.

"It’s the girl who rides the Great White Shark! I can’t believe we’re seeing her again."

"My God, this time she’s not riding a shark—it’s a Humpback Whale that must weigh tens of tons!"

"How does she do it, Lin? Are all you Huaguo people this amazing? Can you ride a Humpback Whale?!"

The foreigners’ eyes were filled with excitement, and they were eager to try it themselves.

Clearly, they were desperate to know what it felt like to ride a Humpback Whale.

The corner of Vice Commander Lin’s mouth twitched.

’Didn’t I already explain this? We can’t ride Great White Sharks, so of course we can’t ride Humpback Whales either!’

Still, they were very curious about the little girl on the Humpback Whale.

"Young lady, do you need something?"

’Judging by the little girl’s features and hair color, she must be from our country.’

Yun Jiao: "Sirs, do you have a shovel? This Humpback Whale has too many barnacles, and it’s too slow cleaning them off by hand."

’So she really is from our country.’

A look of pleasant surprise flashed in the eyes of the Huaguo people on board.

The foreigners on the ship were all experts invited from the Mao Bear Country, mainly to help solve some issues they were facing with their shipbuilding technology.

However, these experts were dragging their feet, making one demand after another, and their hosts had to cater to their every whim.

This cruise was only happening because the experts claimed they were tired and needed to get out and relax.

’They’re so much trouble every day. But since Huaguo was the one asking for help, we have no choice but to serve them well.’

’Hopefully, if they’re happy today, they’ll get to work solving our problems a little faster.’

"We have shovels. Do you want a big one or a small one?"

Yun Jiao’s eyes lit up. "The big one."

’A bigger one will be faster, of course.’

The foreigners anxiously asked the translator what was being said.

When they heard Yun Jiao was going to clean off the barnacles, they all became extremely eager to participate.

"Cleaning the barnacles? Can we give it a try?"

People from the Mao Bear Country were known for their courage; after all, these were people who would actually fight a bear.

"Mr. Andre, you can’t do something so dangerous."

"Nonsense. How could it be dangerous? If a child is safe, I’ll be perfectly fine."

While the people on the ship were still arguing about the safety concerns, Yun Jiao had already taken the large shovel and started energetically scraping off the barnacles.

The crowd on the ship simply stared, wide-eyed, watching a child clean barnacles off a Humpback Whale.

At the firm insistence of Andre and the other foreigners, Vice Commander Lin finally had no choice but to ask Yun Jiao.

"Young lady, a few people on our ship would like to help you clean the barnacles off the Humpback Whale. Is it safe?"

Yun Jiao blinked. ’There are people who actually want to help?’

’In that case, I won’t refuse.’

"Sure. It’s very gentle. Tell the ones who can swim to come down. There’s still a huge patch on its belly that needs cleaning."

Upon getting a positive response, Andre and the other foreigners immediately broke into cheers.

And so, Vice Commander Lin had some of his men put on wetsuits and escorted Andre and his group toward the Humpback Whale.

Up close, the Humpback Whale’s colossal body was even more breathtaking.

’If it opened its mouth, it could swallow several people whole.’

Of course, Humpback Whales feed on small fish and krill; humans are definitely not on their menu.

But if the Humpback Whale became annoyed, a single slap of its tail could instantly flatten them into pancakes.

It could probably even capsize their ship.

So, the whole group approached with extreme caution, terrified of angering the behemoth.

"Miss, you’re amazing! How did you meet it...?"

Yun Jiao dug a finger in her ear. ’What’s this foreigner jabbering about?’

Good thing there was a translator.

Yun Jiao: "Oh, we just met today."

"What? You just met? Why does this Humpback Whale trust you so much?"

"Fish just like me."

’Are we going to work or not? Stop asking so many questions.’

The foreigners excitedly interacted with the Humpback Whale. Once they discovered it was truly gentle and had no aggressive intentions, one of them tried to copy Yun Jiao and climb onto its back.

But the Humpback Whale clearly resisted, nudging the man away with a slight movement of its body.

"Mr. Andre, are you alright?"

That’s right—the daredevil was Andre.

Wearing his diving suit, Andre was pushed away by the Humpback Whale and went tumbling through the water. After steadying himself, he swam right back.

"I’m fine! It’s rejecting me," he said, his voice filled with excitement.

"But how did that kid get up there?"

Yun Jiao put her little hands on her hips. "Are you going to work or not? If you’re not going to clean the barnacles, I’m taking it and leaving."

’Otherwise, they’re just getting in the way of my work.’

"Of course we are!"

Andre and the others stopped messing around. Dressed in their diving suits and armed with shovels or daggers, they began helping the Humpback Whale clear the barnacles from its body.

As the number of barnacles dwindled, the Humpback Whale clearly felt its body lighten, and its mood grew more and more cheerful.

Many hands make light work. The soldiers, in particular, were highly efficient. In about half an hour, the barnacles on the Humpback Whale were almost completely gone.

Yun Jiao hefted the large shovel, which was much taller than she was. Seeing the Humpback Whale’s body all clean, she felt a great sense of accomplishment.

"Young lady, could I ask you for a favor?"