Chapter 3: Food

Chapter 3: Food

Consciousness gradually returned, and Liu Hai felt as if he were back in the Arctic snowfields, listening to the sound of waves breaking against shifting ice, comfortably dozing with half-closed eyes.

The cool ice and the warm sun made every strand of his fur glimmer with golden light.

"Mmm." Liu Hai rolled over contentedly, trying to get more even sun exposure.

He didn’t open his eyes, but he could hear human voices.

"He moved! Ah, still not awake. The police left already—why isn't he up yet?"

"How much did those guys inject him with? Could there be side effects that could affect his brain?"

"No, we’ve already given him a full examination. He’s just sleeping very deeply."

Liu Hai: "..."

Wait, something felt off.

"Ah, his eyelashes twitched."

"Oh—his eyelashes are really long too."

Liu Hai opened his eyes.

Tilting his head back, he saw two faces pressed tightly against the glass.

Six eyes met. After a brief silence, Xiao Jin tried to break the ice and greeted him first: "Hi!"

"Ahhhh!" Liu Hai flipped over and propelled himself into the water behind him.

Though he still didn’t know where he was, being in the water made Liu Hai breathe a sigh of relief.

He was about to swim farther away to put distance between himself and these strange humans when he turned his head and saw Jiang Xun standing—or so it seemed—on the other side of the water, holding a notebook and taking notes.

Jiang Xun met his gaze, offering a faint smile before making a gesture to be quiet.

Liu Hai: "..."

Something was wrong. This "sea" was definitely not right!

Panicked, Liu Hai leaped out of the water to look around and realized he wasn’t in the sea at all—this was just a massive aquarium! Jiang Xun wasn’t standing in the water either; he was simply observing him from the other side of the glass.

Was this some kind of zoo or marine park?

Not that Liu Hai actually knew what a zoo was.

As an isolated Arctic Seal Spirit, his knowledge of humans came entirely from the occasional explorers, scientists, and photographers who visited the Arctic...

In any case, faced with this situation, his only instinct was to stay as far away from humans as possible. He couldn’t think of any other way to handle it.

Liu Hai carefully chose the spot farthest from them, forming a triangle with the two groups. Only his round, wide eyes peeked above the water, keeping a wary eye on them.

"Aw—" Xiao Jin cupped her face. "He looks so pitiful."

"It’s okay, buddy, we’re not bad people. Just look at our faces—can’t you tell? We’re nothing like those unlawful sea raiders without proper jobs or labor protections. We’re upstanding..."

A Yu leisurely added, "Students."

"Hey!" Xiao Jin turned to glare at him. "That doesn’t sound impressive at all!"

"No need to be afraid," Jiang Xun tried to reassure Liu Hai. "I know you must be very confused right now, so I didn’t let too many people come. You can have plenty of time alone to sort out your thoughts."

"Then, when you’re ready, you can just answer a few simple questions for us."

"Mhm, exactly." Xiao Jin smiled warmly. "Our Boss is very intimidating to others. On this ship, his word is law."

Liu Hai’s gaze slowly swept over the three faces but he didn’t respond immediately.

Jiang Xun crouched down, meeting his gaze through the water. "My name is Jiang Xun. I’m a marine biologist."

"These two are my students."

Xiao Jin leaned in. "Call me Sister Xiao Jin, and him Uncle A Yu."

A Yu peered into the tank. "Whatever. You can call me Grandpa if you want."

Liu Hai’s eyes darted back and forth as he surreptitiously studied them. His pupils were large and dark, like shiny black pearls, and water droplets clung to his fur, occasionally sliding down his cheeks, making him look like a soaked and pitiful-looking creature.

"Ugh!" Xiao Jin clutched her chest. "Even the most stone-hearted person would soften seeing this. Boss, maybe we should give him a little more time?"

"There’s no rush anyway." Jiang Xun was patient. Leaning against the glass, he asked gently, "But are you hungry?"

At his words, Liu Hai—who had been too tense to notice his own stomach—finally felt the gnawing hunger.

Patting his flat belly, he realized he hadn’t replenished his energy since his transformation. Wisely, he decided not to be stubborn—no matter what came next, he needed to eat first.

With a light flick of his tail fin, he drifted slightly closer, showing his willingness.

A smile warmed Jiang Xun’s eyes as he produced a cooler from somewhere. "We don’t know much about you yet, but I’m guessing your diet includes fish."

"And judging by your size..."

He paused, correcting himself, "No, from your weight, you probably have a big appetite."

"However, since you were unwell earlier, we prepared some easily digestible fish paste for you. The ship has a good selection of edible fish—I wasn’t sure if you prefer raw or cooked, so I prepared both. Try them and see which you like better?"

Jiang Xun tapped lightly on the glass of the ecosystem tank, and Liu Hai finally noticed a hidden door on the tank. Jiang Xun pushed it open and stepped inside.

He ceremoniously lined up plates of fish paste along the shore.

The Arctic Seal Spirit, who had spent three hundred years diligently catching his own fish, gaped in astonishment. "Cooked? Raw?"

His eyes widened even further as he looked at Jiang Xun in disbelief. "All... this is for me?"

"He talked!" Xiao Jin exclaimed excitedly. "He really can talk!"

Jiang Xun gave her a glance, and she quickly clapped a hand over her mouth.

Unconsciously, Jiang Xun’s tone softened. "Come here. It’s all yours."

"Also, we set up your habitat based on your dense fur. Is the temperature comfortable? Do you need anything else?"

Liu Hai finally pulled his eyes away from the food to look around.

The massive ecosystem tank recreated an Arctic ocean environment, with floating ice on the water and a layer of snow along the shore—clearly designed for seals. At the very least, you could see they’d put thought into it.

Watching Jiang Xun’s movements, Liu Hai gave a light flick of his tail and began swimming toward the shore, little by little.

—He didn’t actually dislike humans.

Though most humans had no sense of personal space, always wanting to touch his fur, cooing weirdly at him, and marveling at his size, they also often left gifts behind, and...

Even if they were different species, it didn’t stop him from understanding the affection they conveyed.

He could recognize fondness from human expressions, so even when they made weird sounds while petting his fur, he usually let it slide.

Liu Hai glanced at the two faces smooshed against the glass—yep, exactly like that.

But...

Liu Hai shifted his gaze to Jiang Xun’s face. His gut told him this guy was their leader—he’d just heard them call him "boss" earlier.

Under the circumstances, maybe he ought to play nice.

He cautiously swam to the shore, still wary, only revealing his eyes—so if things went south, he could immediately dive back into the water and escape.

Based on his experience, humans stood no chance against him in the water.

Jiang Xun stopped a meter away from him, gesturing to the spread of food: "These are common farmed fish in our era, while these are ancient fish we brought back and started farming again. Also, tests show you’re a mammal too. Since we’re not sure you’re all grown up, I’ve prepared some milk—"

"What!" Liu Hai, who had just been distracted by the fish, got prickly over the sore spot, his tail fin shooting up in protest. "Of course I’m an adult! I’m not some milk-drinking cub!"

"My apologies." Jiang Xun’s eyes gleamed with amusement before he cleared his throat. "In any case, you can try them all and pick your favorites."

Liu Hai’s earlier plan to be friendly went out the window, eyeing Jiang Xun warily instead.

Jiang Xun sighed and stepped back toward the door.

Liu Hai crept toward the food, still watching him. "Aren’t you leaving?"

Jiang Xun shook his head. "This is your first time eating food from here. I need to make sure you tolerate it well and don’t develop any adverse reactions, like 'time-jump air sickness.'"

Liu Hai frowned. "Don’t understand."

"Mm—" Jiang Xun looked troubled. "Simply put, I need to confirm you won’t feel sick after eating these."

Liu Hai tilted his head. "And if I do?"

Jiang Xun gave a wry smile. "Then I can call a doctor right away and open the door for them."

Liu Hai accepted this. "Fine."

Xiao Jin watched, green with envy. "So nice. Can I get away with talking to the boss like that when I don’t understand something in class?"

"Better not," A Yu said. "He might just kick you out on the spot."

Xiao Jin: "Cut it out! Don’t jinx me!"

"Shh! He’s about to eat!"

Liu Hai approached the first bowl, about to lower his head when he suddenly realized—he had hands now. Maybe he could eat like a human.

Jiang Xun’s voice chimed in at the perfect moment: "I prepared a spoon. It’s in the box."

Liu Hai pawed at the box, clumsily gripping the spoon and attempting to scoop up some fish, aiming for his mouth—

*Splat.* The fish ended up on his cheek.

Liu Hai: "..."

Jiang Xun: "*Pfft.*"

Liu Hai whipped his head around, his tail fin slapping the ground indignantly. "Get out!"

"Sorry." Jiang Xun straightened his face. "Maybe there’s still some lingering anesthesia in your system. I can help."

He walked over naturally, adjusting Liu Hai’s grip on the spoon and guiding his hand to deliver the first bite into his mouth.

Liu Hai shot him a glare but chowed down obediently.

Jiang Xun released his hand, smiling. "Do you have to stare me down while eating? It feels like you’re eating my flesh."

Liu Hai averted his gaze, butting him away with his head. "Stay back."

Xiao Jin and A Yu: "Ooooh—"

Liu Hai shot them a wary look. "What?"

Xiao Jin smooshed her face against the glass, eyes shining. "Can you nudge me too?"

A Yu raised his hand. "I’m next."

Liu Hai: "..."

Humans, you’re really weird.

Ignoring their requests, Liu Hai dove into his meal. Only after finishing the entire row of fish and the milk did Jiang Xun ask, "Which ones did you like? I’ll prepare more."

Liu Hai patted his barely-touched stomach and said modestly, "All of them." His voice got small, like he was embarrassed. "Still hungry."

"Got it." Jiang Xun smiled warmly. "Seems your appetite’s recovering well. Ah, right."

He pointed deliberately at the empty milk bowl. "Want seconds on the baby milk?"

Liu Hai froze, eyeing the licked-clean bowl. "N-no, that’s not necessary! I just didn’t want to waste it earlier!"

Jiang Xun grinned. "Have a little more. It’s nutritious."

Though his expression was gentle, Liu Hai caught a whiff of something shady behind it.

This guy… was bad news!

Liu Hai dunked himself underwater again. *Suck it up. At least wait till you’re stuffed!*

Author’s Note:

Liu Hai: *Stuck in a fishbowl, even a big cat’s gotta play along!*