This harrowing experience was truly perilous. Previously, she had only known that the undead sea contained man-eating fish; never had she imagined the existence of something so terrifying. Sakurako surfaced once more, taking a deep, shaky breath to settle her nerves.

At that moment, Da Mao was already swimming a considerable distance toward the center of the lake. A strange curiosity gripped Sakurako: first, how had it suddenly appeared in the lake? Second, why was it swimming directly toward her intended destination? Could it possess precognition, somehow knowing what she planned to do?

Bearing this question, Sakurako plunged back into the water, kicking hard, following Da Mao’s rear end. If Da Mao hadn't intentionally waited for her, she wouldn't have caught even a sliver of him before sunset. The speed of a living torpedo in the water was something she dared not even imagine achieving herself.

Soon, the human and the monkey arrived near the roof of the stone structure at the lake's center. Da Mao exchanged no glance with Sakurako, instead darting straight into a crevice in the stone and heading for the tunnel. Sakurako was left stranded behind, looking decidedly displeased. This Da Mao is exceptionally strange today, she thought. It goes exactly where I want to go, and always beats me there. We’ll see what it intends to do once we reach the stone chamber.

With that thought, Sakurako pushed aside the stones concealing the entrance and followed Da Mao into the tunnel. Within two or three minutes, they reached the end. Sakurako cautiously poked her head out toward the already brightly lit stone chamber and saw Da Mao standing next to the weapon rack, holding a length of iron chain. A knot tightened in Sakurako’s chest, and she gasped sharply. She suspected she had fallen victim to some evil enchantment, or perhaps she hadn't woken up yet—the entire sequence of events felt like a dream. Otherwise, how could Da Mao seize the initiative at every turn, always staying ahead, as if he could read her very thoughts?

Before Sakurako could process any of this, Da Mao raised the iron chain and fitted one end around his own hind leg. With a sharp clank, the loop, which had been the size of a bowl, instantly contracted, shrinking down to a size just right to secure his leg. Sakurako’s eyes widened in utter disbelief. Da Mao pulled a funny face at her, then lightly tossed the other end of the chain toward the wall. With a rattling sound of metal, a section in the center of the solid stone wall actually recessed inward. The loop at the chain’s end settled perfectly into this groove, leaving a span of intact wall between them, acting like a support beam to lock the shackle in place.

With that, Da Mao secured himself to the stone wall. The chain was only about two meters long, restricting his range of movement entirely. Sakurako crawled out of the tunnel, keeping her distance, and cautiously observed Da Mao from above and below, yet she dared not approach. Although the monkey had just saved her life, and they hadn’t been together for just a day or two, today’s events were profoundly shocking. Her instinct for self-preservation warned her that in this current situation, she had to tread carefully, even if her own parents were standing right there.

Seeing that she wouldn't come closer, Da Mao seemed to realize his recent behavior had been surprising. He closed his eyes and crouched on the ground, entering a state of deep meditation. Less than half a minute later, there was a clank as the iron chain snapped free from both shackles. The two rings—one binding Da Mao’s leg, the other attached to the wall—vanished instantly, leaving only a single length of iron chain lying forlornly on the ground. Da Mao opened his eyes, picked up the chain, handed it to Sakurako, and with a whoosh, disappeared back into the tunnel, leaving Sakurako standing alone in the stone chamber.