Chapter Summaries

Lu Ao and Song Zhou watched Humpback Whales and Orcas fight, until one Orca approached Lu Ao and the whales attacked it out of jealousy. Song Zhou took Lu Ao back to the ship to warm up, and they planned to visit the sea creatures again at night as the ship crossed Drake Passage.

• Humpback Whales and Orcas clashed fiercely while Lu Ao and Song Zhou watched from nearby.
• An Orca approached Lu Ao in a friendly way, prompting the possessive Humpback Whales to attack it and restart the fight.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou left the battle and returned to the ship, where Song Zhou warmed Lu Ao after he changed back into human form.
• After Lu Ao disappeared, the Humpback Whales and Orcas searched and called for him before splitting up to pursue schools of fish.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou planned to visit the whales and Orcas again at night after the ship passed through Drake Passage.

Lu Ao spent time with Song Zhou aboard the ship and brought food to the seasick Lin Qiyan, whose condition improved after Lu Ao secretly passed vitality to him. Later, Lu Ao heard orcas calling beneath the ship and arranged to meet them while keeping the crew from noticing; the chapter leaves him preparing to go down to the sea.

• Song Zhou stayed with Lu Ao for two days, and they ate together in the cabin.
• Lu Ao visited Lin Qiyan with food, gave him water, and secretly passed vitality to ease his nausea.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou heard faint cries at night and saw dozens of orcas swimming beside the ship.
• Lu Ao contacted the female leader of the pod and asked the orcas to swim farther away from the ship.
• Lu Ao waited until the orcas could no longer be seen from the ship, preparing to meet them.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou rode with a pod of orcas toward Antarctica, enjoying the animals and Song Zhou’s warm clouds as they played in the polar daylight. They spotted Adélie Penguins near an unapproved landing area, and the orcas raced after them as Lu Ao realized they had reached a remote stretch of coast.

• Lu Ao and Song Zhou joined a pod of orcas and rode on their backs through the sea.
• Song Zhou warmed clouds around them, and the pair continued playing with the orcas toward Antarctica.
• Lu Ao asked Song Zhou the time, and Song Zhou said it was not yet six, so they kept playing.
• Lu Ao spotted distant animals leaping in the water and asked the orcas to take them closer.
• Lu Ao recognized the animals as Adélie Penguins, and the orcas charged after them toward a remote coast.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou watched Adélie Penguins escape orcas and went ashore in Antarctica before returning to the ship. As the ship neared the Antarctic Continent, Lu Ao reunited with Lin Qiyan and was assigned to help the production crew.

• Lu Ao left the orca hunt with Song Zhou and watched Adélie Penguins launch themselves onto shore to escape.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou went ashore, admired the Antarctic scenery, and discussed returning for a vacation and visiting the Arctic.
• Lu Ao and Song Zhou returned to the ship before its passengers woke, and Lu Ao kept wearing Song Zhou’s warm cloud clothes.
• Lu Ao went to breakfast, where he found Lin Qiyan recovering from seasickness, while Song Zhou returned to the Anomalous Personnel Affairs Regulatory Agency.
• The production crew assigned Lu Ao to assist because seasickness had left them short-handed, as the ship approached Antarctica in freezing weather.

Lu Ao watched the crew film and researchers study the orcas that had sought him out, then learned that the passengers would make their first landing in Antarctica that evening. He and Lin Qiyan were assigned to the first group going ashore.

• A pod of orcas recognized Lu Ao and swam over to the ship while the crew and researchers filmed them.
• Lin Qiyan explained that the name “killer whale” did not mean orcas usually attacked humans without provocation.
• Lu Ao communicated with the orcas and persuaded them to swim beside the ship, though they kept asking him to join them in the water.
• Lu Ao kept the orcas near the ship for about an hour before they finally swam off to hunt.
• The expedition team announced an Antarctic landing that evening and divided the passengers into groups of no more than one hundred.
• The expedition team assigned the film crew, including Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan, to the first landing group.

The expedition team prepared to land in Antarctica, but a blizzard delayed them just as they neared shore. After the storm passed, Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao saw Emperor Penguins from the ship, and the first group began crossing to land by polar kayak.

• The expedition team briefed the passengers on landing rules and polar kayak safety before the ship reached Antarctica.
• A blizzard halted the landing, and Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao identified the penguins on shore as Emperor Penguins.
• Lu Ao urged the cold, shivering Lin Qiyan back inside while the group waited for the storm to pass.
• After the blizzard ended, the expedition team announced that the first group could land and gave the film crew another briefing.
• The first group put on life jackets and boarded polar kayaks to cross toward shore through the floating ice.

Lin Qiyan, Lu Ao, and the expedition crew kayaked to shore in Antarctica, where they learned that warming had exposed rocks once covered by ice. After landing safely, they encountered curious Emperor Penguin chicks and kept their distance as instructed.

• Lin Qiyan asked about the ancient blue ice, and an expedition member explained that warming had caused ice to break away and exposed rocks to appear.
• The expedition team reminded everyone not to leave or take anything and to stay at least five meters from penguins.
• Lu Ao reached shore first and helped the production crew scramble safely out of their kayaks.
• Emperor Penguin chicks waddled toward the group, and the crew avoided touching them by moving around them.

Lu Ao and the others met Emperor Penguin chicks and Adélie Penguins after landing in Antarctica. When an Adélie Penguin attacked a visitor, the man fell but escaped serious injury, and the group watched the Emperor Penguin adults herd their chicks away.

• Lu Ao and the others photographed the docile Emperor Penguin chicks as the director prepared to film their interactions.
• Lu Ao spotted two Adélie Penguins approaching and warned everyone to be careful, but the group excitedly turned their cameras toward them.
• One Adélie Penguin charged at a man in a red hat and pecked toward his thigh, prompting him to retreat and fall backward over a rock.
• Lu Ao helped the man up, and the expedition team assessed him as shaken but not seriously injured as the Adélie Penguin waddled away.
• The Emperor Penguin chicks approached the fallen man until their adults honked and led them back, and the group followed the penguins across the slippery snow.

Lu Ao followed emperor penguins ashore before returning to the research vessel, where he reunited with Song Zhou and fell asleep as the ship departed for its next landing site. The next morning, Lu Ao learned the vessel was stopping near shore again and went down alone because Song Zhou was not on the passenger list.

• Lu Ao and the others watched emperor penguins spread out and move across the land until the expedition team called them back to the ship.
• Lu Ao invited Song Zhou to go ashore with him again, but Song Zhou told him to rest after his sleepless night.
• Lu Ao woke as the ship began moving toward another landing site and fell asleep again in Song Zhou's arms.
• Lu Ao slept past the start of work, then got up for breakfast after Song Zhou assured him no one from the production team had come looking for him.
• Si Lin told Lu Ao the vessel would stop near shore soon, and Lu Ao went down alone because Song Zhou could not leave the ship.

The crew and passengers tried ice swimming after the ship stopped at a suitable spot in Antarctica. Lin Qiyan took the plunge and Lu Ao pulled him out, leaving him shivering from the cold.

• Lu Ao declined the director’s request to join the ice swim and talked with Lin Qiyan, who was tempted but worried about the cold.
• A production crew member made the first jump, then two others and several passengers followed after seeing him resurface safely.
• Lin Qiyan decided to jump after Lu Ao encouraged him, despite regretting it as soon as he took off his jacket.
• Lin Qiyan leaped into the sea and called to be pulled up, and Lu Ao grabbed his hand and hauled him out.
• Lin Qiyan was wrapped in towels, shivering and pale, with his calves too stiff from the cold to move normally.

Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao warmed up after ice swimming before joining the expedition ashore, where the group encountered penguins and Wandering Albatrosses. The Adélie Penguins chased the visitors, then swarmed the director as he called everyone to film.

• Lin Qiyan refused vodka because he planned to go ashore, so Lu Ao made ginger soup for him and the other ice swimmers.
• The group put on life jackets and kayaked toward shore after expedition staff warned them to stay at least fifteen meters from elephant seals.
• The kayakers spotted Adélie Penguins on the glacier and watched three Wandering Albatrosses fly overhead and float beside them.
• Lu Ao helped everyone ashore, where Adélie Penguins chased the visitors and tried to peck them.
• The director called everyone to film, and the Adélie Penguins swarmed him and chased him around.

Lu Ao was mobbed by friendly Adélie Penguins and then followed by curious Elephant Seals during the production team’s Antarctic landing. After the group watched the seals for an hour and a half, they headed back to the ship for lunch before their next stop.

• The director was chased by Adélie Penguins, and the production team called Lu Ao over to distract them.
• The penguins ignored everyone else and surrounded Lu Ao, rubbing against him as he tried to escape their attention.
• Lu Ao ran toward a colony of Southern Elephant Seals, while the director and crew filmed and joked about his predicament.
• The Elephant Seals followed Lu Ao until he used his consciousness to tell them to stop, and they reluctantly stayed behind.
• The group watched the seals for an hour and a half before returning to the ship for lunch and rest ahead of their next landing.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan watched Adélie Penguins drive Emperor Penguin chicks away from a route to the water and learned about the effects of warming temperatures on Antarctic wildlife. Upset by the prospect of ecological changes and mass extinctions, Lu Ao returned to Song Zhou, who reassured him that people and nonhumans were working to manage the situation.

• Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan watched Adélie Penguins chase and peck at Emperor Penguin chicks near the coast.
• An expedition member explained that the Adélie Penguins were trying to drive the Emperor Penguins away from a new route into the water after an iceberg collapse blocked their usual foraging path.
• As the research vessel departed, an expedition member told Lin Qiyan and Lu Ao that iceberg collapses had become common and Adélie Penguin numbers had fallen sharply over the past decade.
• Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan returned to their cabins feeling downcast after discussing global warming and its possible ecological consequences.
• Song Zhou reassured Lu Ao that the situation was still manageable and that humans, nonhumans, and the Anomalous Personnel Affairs Regulatory Agency were working to address it.

Lu Ao woke to a sudden Antarctic downpour and worried that it would endanger penguin eggs and chicks. He dispersed the rain clouds, bringing out the sun, then prepared to go ashore with the others while Song Zhou promised they could visit together another time.

• Lu Ao woke to heavy rain and learned that the ship had stopped at a safe distance from Antarctica because of the weather.
• Lu Ao worried that the rain could flood Adélie Penguin nests and leave Emperor Penguin chicks vulnerable to freezing.
• Lu Ao asked Song Zhou whether he could disperse the clouds, and Song Zhou told him he could.
• Lu Ao exerted himself to push the rain clouds away until sunlight returned and the people on deck celebrated.
• Lu Ao rested against Song Zhou, then answered a knock and said he would get ready to go ashore.
• Lu Ao regretted that Song Zhou had not joined the trip, and Song Zhou promised they could come together next time.

Lu Ao lied about being sick so he could skip the group hot springs and visit a secluded spring with Song Zhou. After spending the night together, Song Zhou carried the exhausted Lu Ao through the Antarctic landscape, and they left the hot-spring area together.

• Lu Ao told the coordinator he was unwell and skipped the group hot springs, then reassured Lin Qiyan that he would soak with Song Zhou another time.
• After the others had gone to sleep, Lu Ao and Song Zhou used teleportation to reach a secluded hot spring on the peninsula.
• Song Zhou and Lu Ao kissed and spent the night together in the warm spring.
• Song Zhou dried Lu Ao off and offered to take him to see nearby seals and penguins, but Lu Ao declined because he was too tired.
• Song Zhou carried Lu Ao out of the hot-spring area without using magic.

Lu Ao and Song Zhou visited crabeater seals and chinstrap penguins before the research ship left Antarctica. As the ship headed north, Lu Ao said goodbye to several whales that appeared alongside it, and the mainland was expected at dawn.

• Song Zhou took Lu Ao to watch crabeater seals and chinstrap penguins, and Lu Ao chose not to disturb the wary penguins.
• Lu Ao returned to the ship near six in the morning, and Lin Qiyan gave him ginger tea because he was still recovering from a cold.
• The research ship left Antarctica, and the program director gave everyone the day off as the group grew subdued about leaving.
• Lu Ao checked the nautical chart and estimated that the ship would reach the mainland around dawn the next day.
• A blue whale appeared beside the ship, and Lu Ao interacted with it before urging it to move away from the people.
• Humpback whales and orcas appeared in turn, and Lu Ao urged the humpback whales onward when they lingered beside the ship.

Lu Ao returned to China after his research voyage, and Song Zhou came to the airport to bring him home. Reunited with Chubby, Lu Ao checked on their geese while settling back into life with Song Zhou.

• Lu Ao and the others left the research vessel and flew back to China after saying goodbye to the crew and expedition members.
• At the airport, Lin Qiyan worried about Lu Ao being alone, but Lu Ao said Song Zhou was coming to pick him up.
• Song Zhou surprised Lu Ao at the airport, and they held hands as they left together to buy food and head home.
• Song Zhou brought Lu Ao directly to their courtyard, where Chubby woke up and excitedly greeted him.
• Lu Ao learned Chubby had chewed a corner off the kitchen door, then went to check on the geese.

Lu Ao agreed to help Xiang Xingchang and the volunteers replant coral in Mingya Bay after an illegal pair trawl destroyed their restoration site. He planned to test whether he could restore the damaged ecosystem by spreading vitality through its algae, and arrived to meet the volunteers the next morning.

• Lu Ao checked on his geese, then ate a late-night snack with Song Zhou and fell asleep.
• Xiang Xingchang called Lu Ao and explained that a pair trawl had destroyed the coral and seagrass at Mingya Bay.
• Lu Ao examined photos of the damage and learned that Huang Ningna had provided the coral seedlings for the volunteers’ project.
• Lu Ao told Song Zhou he would replant coral and experiment with injecting vitality into the algae over a wide area.
• Song Zhou teleported Lu Ao near the meeting place, where Xiang Xingchang and several volunteers noticed the large ring on his hand.

Lu Ao and the volunteers restored coral at Mingya Bay, then celebrated and discussed their plans for the new year. Lu Ao revealed that he was considering establishing a large offshore Marine Ranch, leaving the group surprised by the scale and expense.

• Xiang Xingchang teased Lu Ao about his rings, and Lu Ao said he and Song Zhou had made their relationship official long ago.
• Lu Ao and the volunteers planted coral at Mingya Bay and inspected the damaged area for clues about the people who had used twin trawl nets.
• The volunteers encouraged one another and discussed plans to clear marine litter and plant more coral during the new year.
• At a celebration, Lu Ao told the group he was considering leasing offshore waters to establish a large Marine Ranch.
• A volunteer questioned Lu Ao's plan, pointing out that it would cost a fortune and bring in little at first.

Lu Ao told his friends he was considering starting a Marine Ranch as a charitable business, and their support encouraged him to take the idea seriously. After drinking too much, he was taken home by Song Zhou, who cared for him through the night and brought him breakfast the next morning.

• Lu Ao explained that seeing wildlife in Antarctica had made him reconsider fishing and that he was exploring a half-charity, half-business Marine Ranch.
• Xiang Xingchang and the others promised to support Lu Ao, and several began seeking potential sites and offering advice.
• Song Zhou arrived to find Lu Ao drunk, helped him home, and carried him to bed when he was too dazed to settle down.
• Lu Ao clung to Song Zhou's coat while he slept, then woke with a hangover and found Song Zhou home with breakfast.
• Song Zhou asked Lu Ao why he had drunk so much, and Lu Ao said he had kept drinking without realizing how much he had had.