Chapter Summaries

Lu Ao and Song Zhou prepared for a seventeen-day Antarctic research trip to help rebuild cetacean populations. After packing, they planned to buy outdoor gear, and Lu Ao confessed his love to Song Zhou, who warned they might not leave the house if he kept talking.

• Lu Ao coordinated with the production crew and arranged to depart on December 21 for a trip returning January 6.
• Song Zhou packed Lu Ao’s suitcase and checked the supplies against a detailed list while Lu Ao watched him fondly.
• Song Zhou said they still needed to buy outdoor gear, and he and Lu Ao agreed to go shopping after dinner.
• Lu Ao climbed onto Song Zhou’s back and told him he loved him more than the ocean.
• Song Zhou warned Lu Ao that another word might keep them from leaving the house, and Lu Ao suggested they could go tomorrow instead.

Song Zhou and Lu Ao spent the night together, then planned their future by arranging custom rings and shopping for Lu Ao’s trip. They left the ring design unfinished and prepared for Lu Ao’s upcoming departure.

• Song Zhou and Lu Ao spent the night together, and Song Zhou stayed with Lu Ao until he fell asleep.
• The next morning, Song Zhou brought Lu Ao beef pies and porridge, then suggested they shop and have rings custom-made.
• Song Zhou and Lu Ao met with a designer, who made a preliminary ring plan because they were in a hurry.
• Song Zhou bought Lu Ao more than ten bags of travel gear, and Lu Ao stopped him from shopping further.
• After eating something light, Song Zhou and Lu Ao prepared for the day of departure, which arrived soon afterward.

Lu Ao prepared to leave for Antarctica with the production team while Song Zhou saw him off at the airport. They exchanged matching rings before Lu Ao boarded, where he found Lin Qiyan sitting beside him.

• Lu Ao and Song Zhou arrived at the airport in New Luzhou to join the production team for their flight to Drake City.
• Song Zhou gave Lu Ao a silver-white ring with an ocean-blue diamond, and Lu Ao put a matching ring on Song Zhou's finger.
• Lu Ao boarded the international flight after exchanging a reluctant farewell with Song Zhou.
• Lu Ao found Lin Qiyan in the seat beside him, and Lin Qiyan admired their rings and remarked on how quickly Lu Ao had settled his future.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan traveled with the production crew to Drake City, where Lu Ao paid extra for a private room and settled in without waking Song Zhou. After showering, Lu Ao answered a persistent knock and found Lin Qiyan admiring his physique.

• Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao endured the long flight and arrived at their destination with the production crew.
• Lu Ao took Lin Qiyan's luggage, and they boarded the hotel bus together.
• In Drake City, Lu Ao paid the room fee difference so he could stay alone, then messaged Song Zhou that he had arrived safely.
• Lu Ao began showering after the exhausting journey and told the person outside in Spanish that he did not want room service.
• Lin Qiyan came to Lu Ao's door, blushed at his appearance, and complimented his body.

Lin Qiyan invited Lu Ao to join him on a nighttime King Crab fishing trip before their Antarctic voyage, and they traveled to the docks to meet Captain Yang. They boarded Captain Yang’s boat and headed out to sea, where Lin Qiyan asked how they would catch the crabs.

• Lin Qiyan asked Lu Ao to come King Crab fishing with him, and Lu Ao agreed after finishing his shower.
• Lin Qiyan explained that he had arranged the trip with Captain Yang and had set up a safety check-in before they left.
• Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan took a ride to the docks and found Captain Yang after Lin Qiyan called him.
• Captain Yang welcomed them and led them aboard his boat with three other Chinese crewmen.
• Captain Yang started the boat and headed toward the fishing grounds as Lin Qiyan asked whether they would use nets to catch King Crab.

Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao joined Captain Yang’s crew to retrieve deep-sea King Crab traps, and the first cage yielded eleven large crabs. As the crew hauled more cages through the cold night, Lu Ao volunteered to help and effortlessly pulled one up in under five minutes.

• Captain Yang explained that King Crabs were caught with baited trap cages lowered to the seafloor, and the boat reached the buoy-marked fishing grounds.
• The crew hauled up the first cage and found eleven large King Crabs inside, delighting Captain Yang, Lin Qiyan, and Lu Ao.
• Captain Yang put the crabs in the live hold, explained how King Crabs differed from ordinary crabs, and returned the baited cage to the sea.
• The crew continued retrieving cages, and Lu Ao offered to help despite the crew’s warnings that the work was strenuous.
• Lu Ao pulled up a heavy crab cage in less than five minutes with little effort.

Lu Ao helped Captain Yang’s crew haul crab pots, displaying extraordinary luck and catching a rare blue King Crab. As the crew sorted their catch, Captain Yang explained how warming waters had allowed King Crabs to spread toward Antarctica and threaten its ecosystem, leaving Lu Ao troubled but unable to do much about it.

• Captain Yang praised Lu Ao’s unusually large catches and promised to treat him to as much King Crab as he could eat.
• Captain Yang spotted a rare blue King Crab in Lu Ao’s pot, and Lin Qiyan filmed it as Captain Yang joked that it resembled Lu Ao’s ring.
• Lu Ao helped the crew haul all the crab pots in just over three hours, and Captain Yang inspected the catch and sorted out pregnant and undersized crabs.
• Captain Yang told Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan that warming seawater had spread King Crabs toward Antarctica, where they threatened local ecosystems.
• Lu Ao felt troubled by the environmental damage, but Captain Yang said fishermen could only leave the problem to scientists and focus on their work.

After selling most of the King Crab, Captain Yang brought Lin Qiyan, Lu Ao, and the deckhands to his home for a late-night meal. They began preparing the crabs for a barbecue in his courtyard.

• Captain Yang returned to the dock, sold the catch, and kept ten large King Crab to eat at home.
• Captain Yang invited Lu Ao and the others to his house, and a deckhand explained why the coastal trees leaned in the same direction.
• Captain Yang brought the group to his home, where Mrs. Yang welcomed them and prepared tea and a barbecue.
• Captain Yang demonstrated how to kill a King Crab and remove its legs while Lin Qiyan filmed.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan joined Captain Yang and the crew for a feast of freshly caught King Crab, learning how to prepare and eat it. After Lu Ao ate nearly ten grilled crab legs, a crewman served chilled King Crab meat as sashimi.

• Captain Yang prepared the King Crab and explained how the crew grilled its legs and baked its shell.
• Sister-in-law Yang brought garlic chili sauce and condiments, and Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan sat down to eat with the crew.
• A crewman showed Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan how to twist crab legs open and pull out the meat.
• Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan ate the sweet, tender grilled crab while Lin Qiyan filmed and drank with the crew.
• After eating nearly ten legs, Lu Ao began dipping the meat in sauce, and a crewman served them chilled King Crab sashimi.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan shared a King Crab feast with Captain Yang, who tried to recruit Lu Ao to work with the local fishing crew. When an otter wandered into the courtyard, Lu Ao fed it life force and then sent it away, while Lin Qiyan wished otters could be kept as pets back home.

• Lu Ao sampled King Crab sashimi and grilled crab while Captain Yang invited him to join the crew, but Lu Ao declined because his partner had a confidential job back home.
• Captain Yang went to retrieve the baked crab shell and found an otter near his feet, saying it had snuck in to steal crab innards.
• Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao took turns petting the docile otter while Captain Yang explained that people there could keep registered, vaccinated otters.
• Lu Ao gave the otter a crab leg and secretly fed it a trace of life force, making it cling to his wrist and want to follow him.
• Lu Ao used his will to make the otter leave, then suggested that Lin Qiyan keep a cat instead.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan finished their late-night meal with Captain Yang, then boarded a research vessel bound for Antarctica. After sending Song Zhou a photo and suggesting they vacation there together, Lu Ao settled into his cabin and slept before meeting Lin Qiyan for lunch.

• Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan ate baked crab shells and chatted with Captain Yang until after three in the morning.
• On the way back to the hotel, Lu Ao said he would think about Song Zhou if he had a partner he was satisfied with.
• After breakfast, Lu Ao and the group traveled to the pier and prepared to board a research vessel for Antarctica.
• Lu Ao photographed the sea and sky, sent the picture to Song Zhou, and suggested they vacation there together.
• Lu Ao collected his cabin key, unpacked, and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.
• Lu Ao woke at noon, went to the dining room for lunch, and learned that Lin Qiyan had not slept at all.

Lu Ao spent the day aboard the ship, listened to Lin Qiyan complain about reshooting a scene, and later spotted a whale near the Antarctic waters. He left the researchers to their work and watched the distant sea.

• Lin Qiyan invited Lu Ao to watch seabirds, but Lu Ao declined and listened as Lin Qiyan complained about repeated filming.
• Lu Ao ate a large meal, received a tip from the chef about pufferfish soup, and messaged Song Zhou that he was safe.
• Lu Ao woke early, went to the foredeck, and offered to help the researchers collecting seawater and seabed samples.
• Lu Ao spotted a distant spout and told a researcher that a whale was nearby.

Lu Ao and the people aboard a research vessel encountered a Blue Whale during an ocean survey. As the whale followed the ship and drew dangerously close, the crew fled the decks and ordered everyone back to their cabins.

• The researchers collected seawater and seafloor mud, then sent drones out to survey the ocean.
• Lu Ao spotted a Blue Whale approaching, and the researchers confirmed its identity with binoculars.
• The production crew and researchers rushed to film the whale as it surfaced and called near the vessel.
• As the Blue Whale came closer, people aboard the ship grew frightened and ran toward the cabins.
• The captain steered the vessel away, but the whale followed and called out beside the ship.
• The staff ordered everyone to return to their cabins.

Lu Ao communicated with the Blue Whale and stopped it from approaching the ship, then continued the voyage toward Antarctica. The ship entered the rough Drake Passage, where most passengers began to feel seasick, but Lu Ao remained unaffected.

• Lu Ao connected his consciousness with the Blue Whale and asked it not to come closer, and it stopped following the ship.
• The researchers and passengers observed the Blue Whale until it disappeared beneath the sea, and the ship resumed its journey at increased speed.
• Lu Ao returned to his cabin after dinner and planned to call Song Zhou the next morning.
• Lu Ao read a notice warning that the ship was crossing the Drake Passage and sensed that the vessel was already rocking heavily.
• A researcher questioned Lu Ao about seasickness, and Lu Ao said he was not prone to it.

As the ship struggled through the Drake Passage, Lu Ao checked on the seasick Lin Qiyan before joining Song Zhou to watch the rough seas. They teleported to an iceberg so Lu Ao could explore the ocean in Dragon Form, and he transformed after plunging into the freezing water.

• Lu Ao found Lin Qiyan bedridden with seasickness, and Lin Qiyan said the production crew had been given the day off.
• As the ship crossed the Drake Passage, Lu Ao remained unaffected while most passengers suffered from the violent rocking.
• Song Zhou joined Lu Ao at the window, and they decided to explore underwater by teleporting to a nearby iceberg.
• Lu Ao stripped in the bathroom and teleported with Song Zhou onto the iceberg.
• Lu Ao shivered in the freezing wind, jumped into the sea, and changed into Dragon Form.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou explored the deep ocean, then followed Song Zhou’s directions to find Blue Whale. Blue Whale greeted Lu Ao with loud calls and playful rolling, leaving him wondering if it thought he was one of its kind.

• Lu Ao adjusted to the cold seawater and dove with Song Zhou into the dark, deep ocean.
• After they descended into darkness and spotted glowing fish, Lu Ao surfaced and suggested bringing a flashlight next time.
• Song Zhou pointed Lu Ao toward Blue Whale, and Lu Ao sensed the whale’s familiar consciousness and raced to meet it.
• Blue Whale called loudly at Lu Ao, so Song Zhou conjured fluffy coverings to soften the sound around his ears.
• Blue Whale rolled in the water and pushed Lu Ao away with a wave, and Song Zhou laughed that it might think Lu Ao was one of its kind.

Lu Ao befriended a lonely Blue Whale, played with it, and removed the barnacles covering its body. After Blue Whale thanked him, Song Zhou explained that the whale was one of Lu Ao’s subjects, leaving Lu Ao determined to protect them regardless.

• Lu Ao communicated with Blue Whale and rode on its back with Song Zhou before swimming and playing with it in Dragon Form.
• Song Zhou reminded Lu Ao to return, but Lu Ao offered to remove Blue Whale’s barnacles first.
• Lu Ao removed the barnacles, soothing Blue Whale and healing it with his life force when some removals left wounds.
• Blue Whale thanked Lu Ao, and Song Zhou explained that the warmth Lu Ao felt came from the gratitude of one of his subjects.
• Lu Ao wondered whether the world was reminding them to protect those in need and said he would do his best to protect them.

After returning to the ship from visiting the Blue Whale, Lu Ao warmed up and rested with Song Zhou before they went back into the sea. The chapter left them near Antarctica, with Lu Ao in Dragon Form asking Song Zhou where he wanted to go.

• Lu Ao shivered after boarding, and Song Zhou warmed him while he showered.
• Song Zhou held Lu Ao close but suggested they wait before going out again.
• Lu Ao woke after one in the afternoon and learned Song Zhou was unaffected by the time difference.
• Song Zhou brought Lu Ao a meal, and the two ate and rested together.
• Lu Ao visited Lin Qiyan, then asked Song Zhou to take him back into the sea.
• Song Zhou took Lu Ao to another iceberg, where Lu Ao swam in Dragon Form and offered to take Song Zhou anywhere.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou swam toward Antarctica and discovered a vast swarm of Krill being hunted by Antarctic Herring and Humpback Whales. Lu Ao approached the whales and found that they welcomed him.

• Lu Ao carried Song Zhou toward Antarctica to explore the sea.
• Lu Ao spotted a huge yellow patch on the water, and Song Zhou identified it as a swarm of creatures rather than Red Tide.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou found the Krill swarm and watched Antarctic Herring feed on it.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou saw Humpback Whales use bubble nets to catch Krill and Herring.
• Lu Ao swam closer to the Humpback Whales, sensed their welcome, and approached as they called happily to him.

Lu Ao cleaned barnacles from a pod of Humpback Whales, who eagerly sought his attention. When a pod of Orcas arrived to hunt nearby, the Humpback Whales grew hostile, and Lu Ao left them to decide whether to confront the Orcas.

• Lu Ao and Song Zhou reassured one another that the research team would not connect the whales’ missing barnacles to them.
• Lu Ao cleaned barnacles from the Humpback Whales, who eagerly crowded around for his touch and showed their gratitude.
• The Humpback Whales spotted a pod of about thirty-seven Orcas approaching and changed from playful to alert.
• The Orcas began stunning and eating Herring near the Humpback Whales.
• Some younger Humpback Whales considered attacking the Orcas, and Lu Ao soothed one without telling the whales what to do.
• The Orcas noticed the Humpback Whales’ agitation and issued warning calls, while the Humpback Whales remained unafraid.