Why Do All the Beasts Want Me?

Chapter 9

A faint sensation, not even pain, came from his thick arm; he could only feel that the other party had bitten him, and that was all.

Audiss lowered his head, puzzled, to look at the Little Polar Bear gnawing on his arm. Was it hungry?

Or was it teething?

These were the only two possibilities Audiss could think of.

A cub's teeth have a long growth process; at just over a year old, they are not long and sharp, and it takes five years for them to reach their peak condition.

During the teething process, polar bear cubs like to tear things.

Including food, they will tear apart everything they see that can be torn.

Audiss calmly withdrew his arm, quietly waiting for the Little Polar Bear to imitate his action of shaking off water, but Qiao Qixi remained still. He thought the other party wouldn't, and was about to demonstrate again.

This time, Qiao Qixi would not let him succeed. Rather than being harmed, it was better to strike first and let the other party experience the taste of being splashed in the face.

Unfortunately, Qiao Qixi was too short; he couldn't possibly splash Audiss's face. His attack range could only reach the other party's lower body.

Audiss shook his limbs. With his simple and pure mind, he couldn't possibly know that this Little Polar Bear was deliberately being mischievous. As a male polar bear, he rarely lowered his head and nudged the Little Polar Bear with his muzzle, encouraging it to walk forward.

It seemed he was afraid the cub would fall into the water again behind him.

This was exactly what Qiao Qixi wanted. He also felt that walking behind Audiss was not a wise choice.

There was a smell of blood in the air. Qiao Qixi followed the scent and found the prey Audiss had left behind. Great! He had been swimming for so long, and he was already hungry.

He lay down and took a bite of the prey. Qiao Qixi felt he had been too careless.

This hard chunk of ice almost broke his milk teeth.

It turned out that the prey Audiss brought back had already frozen into a slushy state. Well, the prey was originally brought back from quite a distance.

After returning, some time was delayed, so the food froze.

Qiao Qixi grimaced at Audiss. Oh, this was the disadvantage of not being able to speak; there was no way to express a precise complaint.

Seeing the Little Polar Bear's unusual behavior, Audiss was merely curious why it wasn't eating.

Can't bite it!

Audiss, without a word, dutifully tore open the prey. Some of the meat inside was still unfrozen, though certainly not as good as when it was freshly caught.

Audiss tore off the unfrozen meat for Qiao Qixi to eat. After passing through his mouth, much of it had thawed.

Audiss finished the remaining frozen food without any problem.

polar bears have iron stomachs. Not to mention just this level of freezing, when food is scarce, they will eat it even if it's frozen solid like steel.

Leaving behind a pile of remains, they left the area, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the likelihood of returning here was very small.

The entire Arctic Circle is simply too vast. Wandering in fresh environments every day is incredibly stimulating.

Under Audiss's guidance, Qiao Qixi rarely saw other carnivores besides seabirds and food.

For example, other polar bears, Arctic foxes, and Arctic wolves, etc.

That was because Audiss deliberately led him to avoid these carnivores, and these carnivores would also avoid Audiss.

This kind of wild life inevitably created a false impression for Qiao Qixi that he was walking sideways in the Arctic Circle.

As long as there was enough food, it was actually really good.

After eating their fill that day, Audiss took Qiao Qixi for a walk along a Beach where the ice had mostly melted.

Stones, smoothed by the seawater, were scattered sparsely among the sand.

In a blink of an eye, it was already June.

On the Beach this season, some small shelled creatures were busily crawling, giving a false impression of prosperity and liveliness.

Qiao Qixi went to observe them with great interest. If he had a display screen on his head, it would show: This is not tasty, this is too small, this is so cute!

Suddenly, a wave slowly rolled in.

The crashing sound of the tide attracted Qiao Qixi's attention.

He looked up and saw something floating on the water, like a yellow plastic bucket.

Qiao Qixi quickly ran over, chasing the yellow plastic bucket, and snatched it into his mouth before the tide could carry it away.

Oh, it was a sturdy, short, wide-mouthed bucket used by fishermen. Qiao Qixi happily carried it back to Audiss.

Audiss looked at the bucket, showing no reaction, but he was happy for Qiao Qixi, who had found a favorite toy.

How is this a toy?

Qiao Qixi thought, this bucket has many uses.

When it's not holding things, it can be worn as a hat, and when there's something delicious, it can be put inside.

Oh, right, it doesn't rain in the Arctic, but it hails. Qiao Qixi felt this bucket would be very useful.

So, carrying the small bucket, Qiao Qixi walked for a while and then tried putting the bucket on his head. Overall, it was quite suitable.

However, someone as old as Audiss certainly wouldn't work; Audiss's head circumference was too large, so he wasn't meant to have a cute little bucket.

As the temperature rose, Audiss led the Little Polar Bear north, chasing the last bit of coolness before the arrival of midsummer.

In summer, food is only found along the coast.

The inland consists of rocks and shrubs. Occasionally, extremely hungry polar bears will also eat plant roots and berries.

In the past, when Audiss spent the summer alone, he didn't find summer particularly difficult, as going without food for a day or two was quite normal for him.

But now there was Qiao Qixi, a Little Polar Bear still in its growth phase.

Audiss had to change his lifestyle. Even if he couldn't have meat every meal, at least there had to be fish.

Today was a day when no meat could be caught on the shore. Audiss came to a shallow sea. He jumped into the water and swam gracefully to a reef in the sea, waiting for a hunting opportunity.

Beluga whales would wander and breathe in shallow waters in groups of three to five. Perhaps they weren't unaware that polar bears were hunting, but they didn't appear vigilant.

The extremely patient polar bear quietly squatted on the reef, turning its head to watch the restless sea around it.

The deep blue seawater was constantly surging, giving Qiao Qixi a sense of danger that he might be swallowed, making him hesitate whether to follow along and learn.

But if he followed, he was afraid of disturbing Audiss's hunt.

Audiss had been squatting for a while now. The Beluga whales playing together near him occasionally surfaced to breathe, spouting water columns from their heads.

Qiao Qixi, wearing his small bucket, sat on the shore, gazing at Audiss, his heart a mix of emotions.

When watching documentaries about polar bears in the past, he used to find polar bears squatting in the water waiting for fish to be adorably clumsy.

Now, he only felt heartache.

Not wanting to be a burden, Qiao Qixi stepped and walked downstream.

What is the most omnivorous animal in the world?

That would definitely be humans.

There are so many things to eat by the sea, and they are very delicious.

Without Audiss watching him, Qiao Qixi ran off again into the reef cluster.

In human perception, reef clusters are very dangerous, and people only dare to come over to search for delicacies when the tide is out.

polar bears, however, have no such concerns; they can dive, and their hundreds or even thousands of pounds of weight won't be easily carried away by the seawater.

Qiao Qixi deeply loved the reef clusters by the sea; he could find delightfully large scallops there.

In fact, Arctic Ocean scallops are very famous, with those from Norwegian waters being renowned worldwide.

However, many waters do not allow harvesting, so the amount of delicious food exported from the Arctic Ocean each year is limited, and only a small number of people are fortunate enough to taste it.

Qiao Qixi, who had no concept of this, pulled out some scallops, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins, and occasionally even saw a few large shrimps, which could be considered an unexpected bonus.

Audiss disliked the taste of oysters but didn't mind eating shellfish.

However, for a polar bear, shellfish are truly insignificant in size, with only a tiny bit of meat, only enough to be a small snack to pick at their teeth.

Audiss would only bother to eat some when he felt like it.

Qiao Qixi collected some scallop meat and put it in his small bucket, while he himself ate some types that Audiss didn't like.

For example, sea urchins. Arctic sea urchins are also very large, covered in spines. This fellow probably never dreamed that he would one day be eaten by a polar bear.

Indeed, Qiao Qixi, who ate it, also never dreamed that he would one day be able to put such raw and wild things into his mouth.

And he even found them quite tasty.

Of course! These ingredients, if put on the market, are top-tier ingredients that are hard to come by.

How many gourmets are captivated by them.

Raw and wild things, like this octopus brought in by the tide, also looked quite edible, except that its body was dotted with small blue circles.

Although he had never seen a real blue-ringed octopus with his own eyes, most people knew the infamous reputation of the blue-ringed octopus.

This cute and striking creature is highly venomous, and Qiao Qixi instinctively kept his distance from it.

Audiss, who was catching Beluga whales upstream, knew that Qiao Qixi had gone to the reef again to eat snacks. That was the other party's hobby, and although it was a bit incredible, he wouldn't interfere.

The surging seawater rose, and he seemed to have finally found a perfectly opportune moment.

Audiss plunged into the seawater, stirring up a splash on the surface. His body and the Beluga whales quickly dived down.

Although it's incredible, a polar bear's burst speed is indeed faster than a Beluga whale's.

When Audiss surfaced, he already had prey in his mouth. Blood spread out on the water, staining the seawater around him.

Audiss dragged the prey back to the shore. By then, his Little Polar Bear had also obediently returned, carrying its small bucket.

When the prey they each caught were put together for a shared meal, the food Qiao Qixi brought back seemed insignificant by comparison.

However, Qiao Qixi didn't feel shabby. Today there were a few large shrimps, which Audiss might like.

Just as Audiss didn't mind raising the Little Polar Bear he found along the way, he also didn't mind complying with the Little Polar Bear's wishes and eating some of the food it brought.

The scallop meat and large shrimps in the small bucket were quickly eaten, followed by the main meal.

Audiss didn't spoil Qiao Qixi as he used to. Even a cub needed to learn survival skills. Even if it didn't join him in hunting at sea, it should at least learn to tear open the prey's belly itself.

Qiao Qixi wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt Audiss was very serious today. Hmm, it was clearly time for the main meal, but the other party was squatting motionless, just looking at him.

What does that mean?

Qiao Qixi mused that he hadn't contradicted him today, nor had he run around everywhere. Hadn't he returned by mealtime?

Thinking about the Beluga whale lying on the ground, Qiao Qixi seemed to understand. Audiss wanted him to tear open the prey himself.

Indeed, Audiss had always done it for him, so it was perfectly normal for the other party to worry that he wouldn't know how.

To show that he wasn't so crippled that he couldn't tear open the prey's belly, Qiao Qixi, right under Audiss's nose, tore open the Beluga whale's belly.

Audiss made a very low-frequency sound, which, according to Qiao Qixi's own interpretation, seemed to express praise.

Qiao Qixi looked embarrassed: ''

No need to be so dramatic.

Beluga whale meat is very good, fatty but not greasy. Compared to Seal meat, which is delicious but easily becomes cloying after eating too much, Qiao Qixi, with his preference for lighter flavors, could eat more Beluga whale meat.

Once Audiss confirmed that the Little Polar Bear could tear open the prey itself, his stern father image immediately vanished, and he continued to adorably help the other party tear up the prey.

Qiao Qixi looked at the boneless pieces of meat Audiss prepared for him, and then compared it to the rare teaching behavior the other party had shown just now. He suddenly felt that Audiss was really not suited to raising children.

If the child wasn't sensible on his own, and had to rely on Audiss to raise him, he probably wouldn't be able to live independently even in another hundred years.

But thinking about it, Audiss is male, and naturally doesn't possess the maternal instinct of a mother bear to raise cubs.

It's already good enough that he can raise him to adulthood.

Thinking this, Qiao Qixi affectionately raised his head and rubbed Audiss's face, sticking out his tongue to help the other party lick away the bloodstains below his eyes.

This position is relatively difficult for him to clean himself.

Audiss stopped eating and responded to Qiao Qixi in the same way, except his strength was much greater, licking Qiao Qixi so hard that he almost lost his balance and fell on his rear.

Author's note: Qiao Qixi has leveled up! Current assets: one bucket. Has assets bear.