Why Do All the Beasts Want Me?

Chapter 14

The tide rose and fell several times; about half a day, or perhaps a full day, had passed.

The wind on the sea was gentle; compared to winter winds, animals preferred the winds of early summer.

Of course, Audiss felt nothing about it; if he could choose, he would probably choose to stay in winter forever.

In his memory, once such a gentle wind began to blow, it meant that the difficulty of catching prey would increase.

However, for him, it was still effortless.

Audiss licked his paws, one arm resting on Little Polar Bear’s back, as the latter slept with his face buried in his chest.

This was the strangest thing about this Little Bear: he actually liked warmth, whether in winter or summer.

Very strange.

The current temperature was a bit warm for Audiss, especially around his chest and belly, like holding a small warm stove.

But Audiss seemed to ignore the heat, still holding the sleeping Little Bear, enjoying the resting time after a long journey.

About half an hour later, Qiao Qixi woke up for the second time; he opened his sleepy, round eyes, yawned widely, then got up and stretched.

He kicked his hind legs, feeling that his sore muscles had recovered, and his fur was fluffy.

Qiao Qixi felt that his white, fluffy fur should have the smell of the sun.

To confirm this fact, Qiao Qixi, with great scientific spirit, rubbed against Audiss, buried his face in the other's fur, and sniffed hard; indeed, it was the smell of sunshine.

There was also Audiss's unique scent, a scent that, in Qiao Qixi's heart, signified security, comfort, and reliance; to him, it smelled very good.

Audiss also stood up and stretched; they needed to leave here as soon as possible, as not eating for too long would affect their migration south, and the journey should not be stretched too long, especially with Little Bear.

Seeing Audiss stride towards the sea, Qiao Qixi immediately put on his small bucket, feeling a bit regretful that his freshly dried fur was about to get wet again.

The sleepy Little Polar Bear entered the sea and immediately perked up, following Audiss closely.

To shorten the distance between islands, they sometimes swam over some reefs, where the seafloor was covered with seaweed, looking quite frightening from above.

Those dark shadows, strand by strand, posed a risk of marine animals getting entangled in the seaweed, so they had to be extra careful.

Audiss, of course, would not let Little Bear get entangled in seaweed; he would use his massive body to lead the way or bypass more dangerous areas, even if it meant a longer route.

It is well known that there are some undercurrents and whirlpools in the sea; if one accidentally gets too close to these traps, not to mention a polar bear, even whales could be in danger.

Generally, polar bear routes do not include such dangerous areas, and they also avoid areas where sharks are active.

Oh, and they also had to pick the right day.

If they smelled strong winds approaching, they would not easily go into the sea.

However, the surface of the Arctic Ocean during this season is relatively calm.

It is a good time to travel.

So, it’s not easy to be a polar bear, and it’s even harder to be a polar bear with a cub.

Qiao Qixi, who swam for dozens of kilometers in one go, stated that it was not easy to be a cub either; the second leg of the journey had already exceeded 50 kilometers, and he was tired before even reaching the shore.

After persisting for a while longer, Little Polar Bear reluctantly let out an 'ao ao' sound, attracting the attention of the giant polar bear in front.

Audiss, who had not paid attention to Qiao Qixi before, immediately swam back upon hearing the sound; he dived under Qiao Qixi’s belly and surfaced to lift Little Bear up.

With the help of the water's buoyancy, Qiao Qixi borrowed some of Audiss's strength and continued to swim forward; the difference from before was that this time he could lazily paddle and rest every few minutes.

This made it much less strenuous.

Compared to the first resting island, the second island was indeed a bit further, but this island had plants growing, and there were also reefs along the coast, making it a relatively large island.

Seeing the reefs, Qiao Qixi was overjoyed and began to ponder from afar what he would eat later; although it wouldn't fill him up, it would at least satisfy his craving.

There wouldn't be any large mammals for them to hunt on the island, only readily available seabirds to fill their stomachs, if they weren't too picky.

However, seabirds are considered the lowest-tier food by polar bears, and Audiss might not deign to hunt them; perhaps he would rather starve until he reached his destination.

Given that he was no longer a free and unattached bachelor, even if he wasn't entirely willing, he still caught a seabird on the island and brought it to Little Polar Bear, who was prying open oysters on the shore.

Qiao Qixi looked at the bird, smacked his lips, his eyes full of suspicion, wanting to tell Audiss, "You eat this ugly thing yourself."

Audiss cleverly understood Qiao Qixi’s meaning; if he didn't eat it, he would release the seabird, because he didn't want to eat it either.

Eating seabirds required plucking feathers, otherwise they would get stuck in the throat.

What looked like a large bird, after being plucked, was only a skeleton; there was actually not much meat.

Audiss did not like to eat it.

The seabird hadn't even been bitten to death; Qiao Qixi couldn't help but admire Audiss's skill; the seemingly rough Audiss, hmm, could be described as bold and meticulous.

It wasn't that he didn't want to do delicate work; sometimes, he might just be lazy.

It makes one curious: which formidable mother bear raised this cub? He truly has character.

Is he an only child?

Based on various clues, Qiao Qixi inferred that Audiss should not be an only child; at the very least, he had siblings who grew up with him.

Only then would Audiss know that Little Bear needed care, because he could see it.

So, are Audiss’s siblings and mother still living in this area? Or where have they dispersed to?

Qiao Qixi suddenly became very curious about these questions; it was a pity that he couldn't get accurate answers.

Just like he couldn't explain to Audiss that he used to be a scholarship-winning top student, pretty awesome, right?

Scallops and oysters and the like cannot bring a sense of fullness, but they can indeed supplement nutrition and help recover expended physical energy more quickly.

While Qiao Qixi was intently eating his snacks, Audiss, unwilling to bother, ate some seaweed to fill his stomach; he didn't even bother to find better-tasting seaweed, only eating large, easily harvested varieties.

His eyes caught sight of bunches of kelp, but he remembered that Qiao Qixi loved it, so Audiss picked up a bunch on his way back.

Upon receiving the kelp, Qiao Qixi happily fed the other two large scallop adductor muscles; Audiss seemed to quite like this, and shells were indeed the only shelled seafood he could accept.

Mainly, the scallop adductor muscles here were very large and tasted good, sweet and juicy, and could replenish water.

Audiss finished eating, licked his lips, and narrowed his eyes with a lingering expression of enjoyment.

However, he only tasted it; when Qiao Qixi tried to feed him again, he wouldn't eat, only affectionately rubbed Qiao Qixi's head, signaling Qiao Qixi to eat it himself.

#Where are Audiss and Alexander drifting today?#

In the aerial footage, the large polar bear was lazily lying on the reef, sleeping, while Little Polar Bear stayed in the water, in the crevices of the reef, doing who knows what.

: hhhhh, is he digging for shells?

: This scene looks exactly like a big tangyuan stuck in a rock crevice.

: Yes, Alexander is digging for shells to eat; he's very skilled at it, clearly a repeat offender, and he even feeds Audiss—their affection is truly enviable.

: Why is Audiss sleeping?

: He's probably replenishing his strength; he occasionally has to carry Alexander while swimming, which is very tiring.

: So cute, two poor yet lucky little sweethearts.

: Fortunately, there's a companion nearby; even though it's tough, you can see a hint of contentment. Keep going!

: I wonder where Audiss's chosen summering coast is this time; it shouldn't be too far now, right?

Qiao Qixi thought the same, “It shouldn’t be too far now, right?”

After two ocean marathons, he was already afraid; if this continued, he feared his plump limbs would develop solid muscles.

Imagining a polar bear with eight-pack abs, Qiao Qixi quickly shook his head; this did not align with his aesthetic.

Audiss indulged Little Polar Bear in the reef crevices for most of the day, then went down and carried Little Bear by the scruff of his neck back to shore.

They needed to sleep further away from the sea.

Their time on the reef just now was merely napping.

Audiss chose a dry, elevated spot that offered a good view of the surroundings.

Falling asleep under the glaring sun was commonplace; Qiao Qixi had already forgotten what night felt like.

Even everything from the past felt very distant.

Including life at the rescue station, it felt like a dream.

As if from the very beginning, he had lived on the boundless ocean and ice.

This meant that Qiao Qixi did not dislike his new life; in fact, he quite liked it.

In his dream, he and Audiss arrived at a continent suitable for summering, where the temperature was around 10 degrees Celsius, with a maximum temperature reaching 10 degrees Celsius, making it a scorching summer.

The polar bears around them were all complaining about the heat, constantly needing to jump into the sea to cool off.

Qiao Qixi: “Is it really that hot?”

10 degrees Celsius, in his opinion, still required wearing a padded jacket.

No, he suddenly thought of a question: in summer, he would still sleep close to Audiss.

So, would Audiss be hot?

So, he curiously asked Audiss, and Audiss told him, “Very hot.”

10°C is a scorching summer for polar bears.

Qiao Qixi asked again, “Then why do you still sleep next to me?”

Audiss thought for a moment, tilting his head to look at him with a pair of round, deep black eyes.

Just as Qiao Qixi was about to get an answer, the sound of a flock of seabirds woke him up.

Little Bear’s absurd dream faded away; there was no talking polar bear beside him, only Audiss, living by instinct in reality.

No, Qiao Qixi felt that Audiss was not simply following instinct; at least in the matter of raising him, the other party displayed a very special personality.

Although he had never had close contact with other polar bears, Qiao Qixi was particularly certain that Audiss was different.

He affectionately hugged Audiss's neck, thinking of the dream he just had: “Right, would Audiss be hot?”

In the dream, the other party said yes.

Then why would they still sleep together?

In the dream, Audiss did not answer because the dream ended; Qiao Qixi decided that the next time he dreamed, he would continue to pester Audiss for a clear answer.

A day later, the two polar bears, deep in slumber, had a satisfying sleep on the island.

Then they continued their journey south.

When they were initially released, they were sent to an island near the eastern coast of Greenland; when the ice began to melt, they even traveled a long way north to chase the last of the ice floes.

At that time, the ground was entirely ice, and polar bears could move back and forth without swimming.

Now that the ice had melted, they had to return to the relatively food-rich coast of Greenland for the summer, relying solely on swimming.

Fortunately, there were transitional islands in between; the polar bears worked hard and, after some effort, returned to shore.

Audiss and Qiao Qixi were the same; they swam and rested, and although it was incredibly hard, they saw the light of victory.

The continuous coastline appearing in their sight finally gave them a sense of security and the motivation to push harder.

Are we finally there?

If they didn't reach their destination soon, Qiao Qixi thought, “My fat blubber will be left in the sea.”

Audiss remained as steady as ever, showing no emotional change because they were nearing their destination, nor did he get lazy and stop carrying Little Bear because they were almost there.

His care for Qiao Qixi was as consistent as ever, even more cautious; he only swam over after ensuring that landing here was safe.

The moment they reached shore, Qiao Qixi, dragging his plump body, panted heavily and flopped onto the ground, thinking, “I’m going to sleep for three days and three nights!”

“No one call me to wake up.”

“Except for eating.”