Inside the Snow Dragon, it was already the third day since Yang Lin boarded. After the novelty of the first two days, the initial excitement had completely faded.
Fortunately, the ship had ample space for activities, including a cafe, a library, a gym, and even an academic hall specifically for researchers to exchange ideas.
This kept Yang Lin from getting too bored.
At the same time, he learned a lot of useful knowledge from the various experts in their respective fields.
Just as he was preparing to spend some time in the library as he had for the past two days, activity erupted on the deck.
Instantly, Yang Lin, with Gou Sheng and Gou Dan by his side, hurried towards the deck.
Upon reaching the deck, he found a group of researchers in work clothes standing at the edge, all gazing out at the sea.
"What's that over there, is it a whale?"
"It should be, looks like a blue whale."
"It's so big, it must be an adult blue whale."
"I noticed it a while ago, it's been following us for some time."
"Following us? Impossible, it must just be going in the same direction."
...
Hearing the murmurs, Yang Lin had a vague idea.
As he approached, a familiar figure indeed appeared in the sea near the Snow Dragon.
With its grayish-blue skin and massive body, it could only be Kun Baobao.
However, the "Baobao" of the past had now become a marine behemoth.
Seeing Kun Baobao playing with dolphins in the water, Yang Lin excitedly waved at it.
The next second, Kun Baobao, who had been playing with the dolphins, leaped out of the water as if responding to Yang Lin.
Witnessing this, everyone present let out exclamations of surprise.
"As expected of the ruler of the ocean, its speed is incredible. It caught up in less than three days. This Arctic trip is guaranteed to be a success."
In a corner unnoticed by everyone, Yang Lin stared blankly at Kun Baobao in the sea.
But at this moment, two figures, slightly smaller than Kun Baobao, also appeared beside it.
With a single glance, Yang Lin froze.
If he wasn't mistaken, the ones accompanying Kun Baobao now should be the tiger shark Li You and the mutated sea lamprey Li Yongxin.
"Damn, why are those two here? Shouldn't they be at Dolphin Island right now?"
After his surprise, Yang Lin guessed that they must have been tricked into coming by Kun Baobao, possibly even hitching a ride.
Shaking his head with a wry smile, Yang Lin accepted the reality.
After all, an extra fish meant an extra pair of hands.
He immediately issued the same command to the three large creatures: they could only follow the Snow Dragon and must not leave his line of sight. After issuing the command, he returned to the ship's cabin.
Time flies on the ship, and several more days passed.
After a week of looking at the same scenery, the monotonous seascape finally began to change.
Small icebergs and ice floes began to drift past the Snow Dragon intermittently.
Accompanying this was a sharp drop in temperature.
Noticing this change, Yang Lin knew they were nearing the high-latitude route.
This was also the limit for ordinary vessels, with only research ships and deep-sea fishing boats operating in this area.
From here, they would pass Iceland and then head to the Yellow River Research Station on Svalbard.
Then they would proceed to Greenland and the surrounding Arctic Circle for a month-long scientific expedition.
As they drew closer to their final destination, Yang Lin became increasingly anxious.
His main worry was that his parents might have already gotten into trouble.
"Hope it's not too late."
As Yang Lin prayed, two days later, the Snow Dragon officially entered the Arctic Circle. The ice floes, which were only occasionally seen before, were now constant.
Everyone else on the ship had put on heavy scientific research suits, but Yang Lin was still wearing the same clothes he had worn when departing from the port.
The two brothers, Gou Dan and Gou Sheng, were also abnormally unbothered, just like him.
As the temperature continued to drop, they showed no discomfort; instead, they became more excited with each passing day.
Gou Sheng, in particular, being a husky, was more excited seeing the icebergs and ice floes floating on the sea than he would have been seeing his own family.
"Zoo director, I really want to jump in and play."
"This place is amazing."
"Yeah, yeah, when can we reach land? This place looks so exciting."
Gou Dan chimed in beside him.
Yang Lin, however, was somewhat puzzled.
"That's strange, you're a Border Collie, why are you so excited? Do you also have Husky blood in you?"
Just as Yang Lin was about to look up some information, a strange sound suddenly came from the sea not far from the Snow Dragon.
Following the sound, Yang Lin first saw several stick-like objects protruding from the water.
Then, a familiar, massive creature with black and white markings appeared.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an adult orca.
However, this orca looked quite pathetic, with several clear penetrating wounds on its body.
A large amount of bright red blood flowed from its body into the sea.
Yet, despite being so severely injured, it continued to leap onto a large ice floe.
After more than a minute of jumping, it finally managed to get onto the ice floe, successfully stranding itself.
Seeing such peculiar behavior, Yang Lin became curious.
Logically, in these high-latitude waters, orcas should be the apex predators, with no other marine life posing a threat to them.
Yet, it had been beaten to this state, and had even actively jumped onto an ice floe.
As he leaned over the ship's railing to watch, several small heads emerged from the water around the ice floe where the orca had beached itself.
Looking at these small heads, each adorned with a long horn, Yang Lin finally understood what had beaten the orca so badly.
"So it was you, the assassin of the ocean—the narwhal."
As one of the few whale species that lived exclusively in the Arctic Ocean, narwhals, despite their relatively weak combat abilities, could turn the long tusk-like horn on their heads into a sharp lance if pushed to their limits.
When they charged in groups, it didn't matter if you were the king of the ocean; they'd pierce you until you deflated.
Knowing the identity of these creatures, Yang Lin immediately sent a signal to Kun Baobao, who had been escorting them.
The next second, Kun Baobao's colossal body charged directly into the ice floe area.
When it returned, the narwhals that had been cornering the orca were following behind it, looking like subordinates.
As native inhabitants with considerable intelligence, they were undoubtedly Yang Lin's best guides to understanding this sea area and the entire Arctic.