Time rewound a day. In the East China Sea, Fang Er, aboard his gold-mining ship, had only flown a few kilometers when he sensed something was amiss.
Spotting a small island ahead, he quickly veered towards it, retracted the mining ship, and brought out a yacht.
This was the modern era. Countless satellites were watching from above, and he didn't want to cause trouble for China.
Unbeknownst to him, an early warning aircraft was already tracking him.
However, before any orders could be issued from higher up, the ultra-low-altitude flying object disappeared from the radar. In its place, a private yacht, over 20 meters long, was seen operating on the sea.
Fang Er steered the yacht northward towards Japan.
Before even leaving Chinese territorial waters, he encountered three waves of maritime patrol, which caused him considerable inconvenience.
Damn it, modern times were indeed not as easy to navigate as the Great Tang dynasty. Back then, he could travel as he pleased.
To avoid being apprehended as a smuggler, he had to retract the yacht the moment the maritime patrol approached, and dive underwater himself, waiting for them to leave.
"Oh~~"
"Pfft~~~"
Suddenly, a pod of orcas surfaced near him, their massive water spouts erupting several meters high.
"Heh heh?"
Fang Er instantly had an idea. He heard these creatures were highly intelligent?
He swam rapidly towards the orcas, simultaneously attempting to communicate with them using his brainwaves.
Back when he was with the Maya tribe, he had used this method to overcome language barriers. He wondered if this approach would work across species.
"Hey, big guys, what are you up to~"
No response.
"Little Orca?"
"Little Whale?"
"Idiot?"
"Silly Billy?"
"Who’s calling me~"
Just as he was about to give up after several attempts, he suddenly saw an orca turn its head to look at him, its eyes full of confusion.
Huh? It worked?
"You’re called Silly Billy?"
Brainwave communication was peculiar; it wasn't words, nor language, but a direct imprinting of the intended message into the recipient's mind.
Perhaps this was why he could successfully establish a connection with the orca.
The orca looked at him and made a few calls.
Fang Er could clearly "hear" the meaning in its words.
"You’re the one who’s called Silly Billy! I stayed at the Qingdao Oceanarium for a few days, and those bipeds there speak differently from you~"
What the heck? Could this fellow be an escapee!
This thought was directly transmitted to the orca's consciousness via brainwaves.
"You’re the escapee, not me!"
"This whale was just injured and receiving treatment~"
Fang Er: ...
At that moment, he became intensely curious about the marine biologist who had treated the orca.
He casually retrieved a lifebuoy, floated on it, and released a bison.
"Hey, Orca, come, I’ll treat you to some meat~"
He wondered, do these creatures eat beef?
However, his question was soon answered. The orca cautiously swam over, simultaneously testing the waters with a question.
"Biped, have you drugged this in here?"
Fang Er chuckled, "No, absolutely not, I don't do that kind of thing~"
Only then did the orca confidently bite into the bison.
However, its teeth were severely worn, having little effect on the tough bison hide. After a fruitless attempt, it looked at Fang Er with disdain.
"Biped, are you trying to fool this whale~"
Fang Er: ...
He had no choice but to take action himself, using a knife to cut open the hide and toss large chunks of beef to the orca.
The orca swallowed them in one gulp, shaking its head and praising Fang Er.
"Oh, nice, this tastes amazing, hurry up and give this lord a few more pieces~"
The feeding session helped to deepen the bond between man and whale.
"Orca, could you do me a favor?" Fang Er dropped the lifebuoy, swam to the orca, and gently patted its head a few times.
"What is it, say it~"
"Can you give me a ride? I'll give you more delicious food later~"
"No problem, no problem~"
And so, Fang Er's mode of transport changed once again, and he experienced the ultimate harmony between man and nature!
The orca seemed to be the leader of the pod. Fang Er, clad in diving gear, perched on its back, while the other orcas followed. The whale pod traveled south, crossing the Yellow Sea and reaching the East China Sea.
Whenever they encountered patrol ships, Fang Er didn't even bother to hide anymore. He nonchalantly passed by them, leaving the maritime patrol officers bewildered in the wind.
Upon reaching the waters of "Liu Liu Qiu," he instructed the orca to slow down. The risk level here had drastically increased.
He could already see white-headed eagle warships floating on the distant sea!
Damn it, since he was here, he had to leave a memento, hadn't he?
He had the orca take him to an uninhabited island north of "Liu Liu Qiu." After spending a night there, the next day, he brazenly appeared in the airspace near "Liu Liu Qiu" in his gold-mining ship.
"Beep~ beep~ beep~"
In the combat readiness duty room at the white-headed eagle base, the radar suddenly emitted a piercing alarm.
The duty soldier nearby quickly turned to look at the monitor, only to see an unidentified aerial unit that had appeared at some point, rapidly approaching "Liu Liu Qiu."
He quickly grabbed the intercom to report to his superior.
"Siri, at three o'clock, an unidentified aircraft is rapidly approaching our position!"
"Altitude, ten meters above sea level, speed, 700 kilometers per hour."
"Estimated to arrive within our airspace in thirteen minutes, please advise!"
Soon, a Texan voice came through the intercom: "Shit!"
"These are extraordinary times. Invading our airspace is equivalent to declaring war!!"
"Order the USS Shiloh guided-missile destroyer to sortie immediately!"
"Order the third squadron to take off immediately. As long as it's not our personnel, grant them authorization to engage!"
With these three orders issued, the air defense sirens of the entire base were also sounded.
Shortly after, Fang Er, who was rapidly approaching the airspace of "Liu Liu Qiu," found three F-22 fighter jets flying towards him from his front left.
"Hehehehe, I'll play with you guys properly!"
With a cold laugh, he instantly accelerated the gold-mining ship.
Three seconds later, with a jolt of the hull, a Mach ring suddenly appeared behind him.
Thanks to the equipment he "borrowed" from Commander Liu, and the oxygen tank on his back, this supersonic flight didn't feel too uncomfortable.
The pilots of the three approaching fighter jets were also bewildered. What in the world was this thing?
One of them quickly reacted and called out to his comrades via radio: "Supersonic aircraft! Not an ally, open fire!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he was the first to press the missile launch button.
"Whoosh~ Whoosh~"
Two air-to-air missiles, trailing smoke, shot directly towards Fang Er.
"Holy cow, I was just joking, is it necessary to go this far?"
Fang Er's face turned pale as he saw the missiles. These things were much faster than his gold-mining ship!