Chapter 37: Visiting the Empire, Section 8

The analysis of the dolphins’ sound waves was completed. Thus, when Kurokami saw these giant animals again, he was able to communicate with them smoothly.
As he had expected, these dolphins indeed possessed high intelligence. Especially when they realized they were facing the leader of warriors as powerful as death itself, they all showed a fear typical only of highly intelligent beings.
Although the Li Feng was large, it didn’t have seawater inside, so it was impossible to let these dolphins aboard. Therefore, Kurokami had no choice but to pilot the Killing Emperor and appear before them.
This, however, put even more pressure on the dolphins.
After all, the aftereffects of the recent battle still lingered, and the ferocity of the Blood Wolf warriors still echoed in their minds. Especially after they mistook the mechs for the warriors themselves, they feared these massive, steel-bodied “beings” even more. Now, upon seeing the Killing Emperor—a creature even more terrifying than those steel monsters—they were no longer deceived.
After all, in terms of both performance and appearance, the Killing Emperor was unique among the Death Star’s creations. Even the most powerful Blood Moon and Sunset Warriors paled in comparison, like toys in its presence.
So when Kurokami floated thirty Sunset Warriors in front of the dolphins, a tense silence ensued. The Blood Wolf warriors could see fear in every dolphin’s eyes, yet none of them dared to approach and communicate.
This situation lasted for several seconds before the largest dolphin hesitantly swam up to Kurokami, opened its mouth, and emitted a series of rapid sound waves.
Thus, Kurokami received the following message in his cockpit:
“Strangers, what kind of fish are you? Why did you save us?”
“Fish??” At this term, Kurokami couldn’t help but laugh. But realizing it was the translated meaning, he understood. Living in water, dolphins naturally didn’t have human concepts. Their way of referring to other creatures probably could only be translated as “fish.” Still, the idea that his own people were called fish amused him greatly.
Of course, this translation was simultaneous, and the Li Feng also received the exact same message. Laughter erupted immediately, dissipating much of the tension from the recent battle.

Waving his hand, Black Hair signaled for the person behind him to speak more quietly. Only then did he properly examine the dolphin in front of him. Perhaps because it had just tried to save itself, this largest dolphin had clearly recovered significantly. The more obvious wounds on its body had disappeared, replaced by faint scabbed marks. Clearly, these creatures had an extremely powerful self-healing ability.

Seeing this, Black Hair nodded inwardly. Yet he still had no interest in such healing abilities. After all, he had the Wandering Tribe as allies. When it came to self-healing and regeneration, these aquatic creatures were nowhere near as good.

After organizing his thoughts, Black Hair finally spoke up. “You can call me Beck. As for my race, I can’t tell you. I’m just passing through this area. Don’t worry; once we find the giant bubbles, we can leave. But as for you, why are you being chased by those sharks?”

“Sharks?” The large dolphin was stunned and shook its head confusedly before realizing what Black Hair meant. “Oh. You mean the Sakks. They’re the rulers of this ocean. Our natural enemies. It’s normal for them to chase us. This time, it was our mistake—we didn’t stay alert after discovering a habitat, so they were able to get close. Their short-distance speed is extremely fast. Although they can’t keep up with us on long journeys, they’re experts at ambushing. Several of our brothers were injured, and we couldn’t increase our speed. If it weren’t for you, we might all have died here.”

“A habitat?” Black Hair noticed the term in the dolphin’s words and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s that?”

“It’s our home. In this ocean, there are areas with high oxygen levels and plenty of small fish, which make great food. They’re places we often visit. Also, since the environment in such areas is usually complex, it allows us to avoid being harassed by predators. That’s why we like to stay there. This time, it’s because there’s not much food left in our old habitat, so we’re looking for a new one. Um… Beck, is that okay? If you need it, we can give up this discovery.”

By the end, the dolphin’s voice was trembling slightly. Black Hair knew it was a feeling of reluctance.

He understood. Although the dolphin’s description of the habitat was simple, in these waters, there surely wouldn’t be many habitats that met their requirements. In fact, they could even be described as rare. Otherwise, these creatures wouldn’t have been so overjoyed at finding a habitat, to the point of not even noticing the sharks approaching.

It could say such things in front of him. Clearly, it was a trade—as payment for saving them, they could only offer this habitat in return. Of course, it wasn’t ruled out that they were making sacrifices out of fear that he wouldn’t spare them. But Kurokami no longer wanted to think about it. In his eyes, although these dolphin creatures were nice, they were no different from other alien species. They weren’t worth too much effort. Besides, he had more important things to do. With that thought, Kurokami’s tone softened greatly. “No need. I’m not interested in your habitat. The reason I’m still here now is just to find a bubble that can hold the warships behind me. By the way, little guy, how many of your kind are left? Are you the only ones left?” “Um…” As soon as Kurokami spoke, the dolphin across from him immediately grew nervous. It wasn’t strange that it was nervous—Kurokami simply didn’t understand the rules of this ocean. In this ocean, there were no deep-seated feuds. All creatures were part of the primitive natural cycle—birth, aging, sickness, death, survival of the fittest. The food chain remained in its ancient, perfect state. So even the wisest creatures wouldn’t seek revenge for the death of their companions. There were also no racial taboos. Even if you could eat tens of thousands of other creatures, you didn’t have to worry about them retaliating. But there was one exception among exceptions: the population size and stronghold. Normal predation was just part of the food chain cycle; no matter how many died, it wasn’t a big deal. But revealing the population size and stronghold of one’s own race meant handing over one’s lifeline. If the other party harbored intentions to destroy their race, it would often lead to extinction. So Kurokami’s question seemed simple, but it struck at the heart of the dolphins’ concerns. Yet they had to answer. According to the ocean’s rules, since Kurokami had saved their lives, he was equivalent to their master. Even if Kurokami decided to kill them, they could only accept death calmly. That was the rule, and it couldn’t be broken. After hesitating for a moment, the dolphin finally spoke simply. “There are still over thirty thousand of our kind. They’re all still in our original habitat. This time we came out to search for a new habitat, so they didn’t follow. But once a new habitat is found, they’ll migrate over. As for the bubble you mentioned… Hmm… Beck, I think I really have seen one before.” “Oh!?” Kurokami was stunned and immediately overjoyed.

They are the natives of this ocean—how could they have forgotten? When it comes to knowing their environment, surely no one can compare to them. With these dolphins as guides, it’s far better than groping around like blind people, right?
“Where? Where?” In the fierce wind, the other crew members also became excited. They crowded around the screen and shouted loudly, not caring whether the dolphins could hear them. It was Blackhair who reacted fastest, immediately asking,
“That bubble is to the north here. It’s about three thousand nautical hours away. At our speed, it should take around two days to get there. It’s not far from the new habitat. When we searched, we found a very large stone ball there—the stone ball was cracked, and the bubble was inside that crack.”
“Are you sure?” Blackhair’s eyes lit up, hope rising in his heart.
Of course he knew that the so-called stone ball mentioned by the dolphins must be a planet underwater. And even a fool could imagine how huge the crack in such a celestial body must be. Based on the data on water tension, it was indeed most likely that a bubble could exist in such a crack.
Sure enough, the large dolphin didn’t disappoint him. It nodded and emitted a definite sound wave.
“I’m sure. But…”
“But what? Don’t keep us in suspense,” Blackhair replied impatiently. Seeing the hesitation in the dolphin’s eyes, he quickly realized what he meant and added, “Don’t worry. We just want to find such a bubble. We’re not interested in your species. As long as you can help us find it, I won’t harm you. In fact, I can even help you take over that habitat.”
“Really!?” The large dolphin was overjoyed, its massive body trembling in the water.
“What I say is a promise,” Blackhair frowned. It was the first time someone had doubted his credibility. It was an unfamiliar feeling.
“Hmm, I believe you, Beck. Actually, that place is easy to find. The reason I hesitated is because it’s a gathering place for the Sakks. If we go there, we’ll be easily attacked by them. But since you’ve promised to help us get that habitat, there’s nothing to fear. I’ll send one of my brothers back to deliver the message. The others will guide you. As long as we distract them for a while, I’m sure you’ll get what you want.”
The large dolphin was excited. But it didn’t notice that as it spoke those words, Blackhair froze for a moment.
One brother to send the message, the others to guide, distract them for a while. I’ll get what I want.

To get me to help you obtain a habitat, are you planning to sacrifice yourselves?