33 THE HUNTER

CHAPTER 33 THE HUNTER Clickety click! A strange sound was echoing from the deep. Clickety clickety click! Over the course of her life, Roz had communicated with many kinds of animals, but she had never heard an animal sound like this. Clickety clickety clickety click! Something darted past! It was a squid. No, it was ten squid. No, it was hundreds of squid, each one as long as the robot. Fins flapping, tentacles trailing behind them, their long bodies were flashing bright red in a way that meant, "Swim for your lives!" You see, the squid were being hunted. Roz turned and joined the squid, desperate to escape whatever was hunting them. As they darted by, the squid released puffs of black ink to hide themselves, and Roz found herself lost in an inky cloud. When the ink cleared, the squid were gone, and the hunter was closing in. Clickety clickety clickety clickety…

第三十三章猎人咔嗒！一种奇怪的声音从深处回响。 咔哒咔哒！在她的一生中，罗兹与各种各样的动物交流过，但她从来没有听到过动物发出这样的声音。 咔哒咔哒咔哒咔哒！有什么东西跑过去了！那是一只乌贼。 不，是十只鱿鱼。不，是几百只鱿鱼，每只都和机器人一样长。 它们拍打着鳍，触手拖在身后，长长的身体闪着鲜红的光，意思是：“活命游吧！”你看，乌贼被猎杀了。 罗兹转过身，加入了乌贼的行列，不顾一切地想逃离正在追捕它们的东西。 当他们飞奔而过时，乌贼释放出黑色的墨水来隐藏自己，而罗兹发现自己迷失在一片墨水云中。 墨汁一清，乌贼就不见了，猎人正在逼近。 咔哒咔哒……

The clicking sound grew faster and stronger, becoming a continuous buzz. Then a giant toothy mouth surged out from the darkness and bit down on Roz! Teeth grinded against her body, and her pain sensors flared. But the mouth had expected to find a soft, slimy squid. Instead, it found a hard, tough robot, and before any real damage was done, the giant mouth spit Roz out. When the robot looked back, she saw that the clickety clickety creature was a sperm whale. The whale's low voice grumbled, "What kind of squid are you?" "I am not a squid. I am a robot. My name is Roz." "Were you trying to fool me?" said the whale. "I don't like being fooled!" "I did not mean to fool you," Roz explained. "I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." Judging from the whale's many scars, he knew what it was like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. "A friend of mine is a whale," said Roz. "She saved my life. Do you know a whale named Coral?" "No, I don't know Coral. Do you think all whales

咔哒声越来越快，越来越强，变成了持续不断的嗡嗡声。 然后一个巨大的长着牙的嘴从黑暗中冒了出来，咬住了罗兹！牙齿在她的身体上磨磨蹭蹭，她的痛觉器发出了闪光。 但嘴巴本以为会发现一只柔软粘稠的鱿鱼。 相反，它找到了一个坚硬的机器人，在造成任何真正的伤害之前，它的大嘴把罗兹吐了出来。 当机器人回头看时，她看到那个咔哒咔哒的生物是一条抹香鲸。 鲸鱼低声嘟囔着：“你是什么鱿鱼？”“我不是鱿鱼。 我是一个机器人。我叫罗兹。” “你是想愚弄我吗？”大鲸说。 “我不喜欢被愚弄！”“我不是有意愚弄你，”罗兹解释说。 “我只是在错误的时间出现在了错误的地方。” 从鲸鱼身上的许多伤疤来看，他知道在错误的时间出现在错误的地方是什么感觉。 “我的一个朋友是鲸鱼，”罗兹说。 “她救了我的命。你知道一条叫珊瑚的鲸鱼吗？”“不，我不认识珊瑚。 你认为所有的鲸鱼

know each other? There are thousands of whales in the ocean, and you think we all know each other! That's ridiculous." "I apologize if I offended you," said Roz. "This is my first time traveling through the ocean, and I still have a lot to learn." "It's fine," said the whale. "I'm angry because so many animals are heading south. They're afraid of the poison tide. It's getting harder to find food, and I was just about to catch a mouthful of squid, but I ended up catching you." "If it makes you feel any better," said Roz, "I am on a mission to stop the poison tide." At this, the whale released a series of snorts and grunts, and Roz realized he was laughing. When the whale's laughter subsided, he said, "You think you can stop the poison tide? You must be joking. The poison tide is vast, and it spreads farther every day! I'm a giant, and even I couldn't stop the poison tide. A puny creature like you has no chance." Then the whale started laughing again. "I will not be alone," said Roz. "I am searching for the Ancient Shark. Together, I know she and I will succeed." The whale stopped laughing. "Oh, well, that's different. With the Ancient Shark's help, you might actually have a chance. And if you succeed, the animals

彼此认识？海洋里有成千上万的鲸鱼，你以为我们都认识彼此！那太荒唐了。” “如果我冒犯了你，我向你道歉，”罗兹说。 “这是我第一次穿越海洋，我还有很多东西要学。” “很好，”大鲸说。 “我很生气，因为这么多动物都往南走了。 他们害怕毒潮。 现在找食物越来越难了，我正准备抓一口鱿鱼，结果却抓到了你。” “如果这能让你感觉好点的话，”罗兹说，“我的任务是阻止毒潮。” 听到这里，鲸鱼发出了一连串的鼻息和咕噜声，罗兹意识到它在笑。 当鲸鱼的笑声平息后，它说：“你认为你能阻止毒潮吗？ 你一定是在开玩笑。毒潮浩浩荡荡，一天比一天蔓延得更远！我是一个巨人，即使是我也无法阻止毒潮。 像你这样的小人物是没有机会的。” 然后鲸鱼又笑了起来。 “我不会孤单，”罗兹说。 “我在寻找远古鲨鱼。 我知道她和我一起会成功的。” 鲸鱼停止了笑。 “哦，好吧，那就不一样了。 在古鲨的帮助下，你可能真的有机会。 如果你成功了，动物们

will return, and the hunting will be easier. You know, it's a good thing I didn't eat you, Roz." "I agree," said the robot. The whale's belly groaned with hunger, and he said, "I'd better chase down those squid before they go south too." He then swung his mighty tail and surged away, back into the dark. Clickety clickety click!

就会回来，狩猎就容易多了。 你知道，还好我没有吃你，罗兹。” “我同意，”机器人说。 鲸鱼肚子饿得咕咕叫着，他说：“我最好在那些乌贼也往南走之前把它们追上。” 然后，它甩了甩它那粗壮的尾巴，窜到黑暗中去了。 咔哒咔哒！