The waves lapped at the beach, and the wind howled around him. Du Lai faintly heard a different kind of sound amid it all.
He looked around suspiciously, his gaze settling on a cluster of reef rocks not far ahead. He quickened his pace toward them, climbed up onto a lower rock, and finally saw the source of the sound——
A monkey.
To be precise, a monkey trapped inside a golden cage.
Du Lai couldn’t help but sigh.
More than a monkey, he would have preferred to find something useful — bottles or canisters that could collect rainwater, or plastic bags, or outdoor tools like knives and rope.
But none of that was here.
Only a monkey.
The cage was wedged between several reef rocks, and the monkey inside was emitting pitiful wails. Its large round eyes looked at Du Lai innocently, as if pleading with him for rescue.
If he didn’t save it, when the tide came in it would drown.
Du Lai braced himself against the reef, lowered himself down into the gaps between the rocks, grabbed the metal ring at the top of the cage, and with great effort pulled the cage free.
The monkey had been thoroughly frightened. The moment it was free, it immediately thrust both paws through the bars and clutched Du Lai’s leg tightly!
Du Lai pried its paws loose and looked around the reef area once more — there was nothing else to find.
He felt disheartened.
He picked up the cage and walked back. The young miss spotted him approaching from far away and called out: “Did you find anything? Where are we sleeping tonight?”
Du Lai only shook his head.
Closer now, the young miss spotted the cage in his hand and opened her eyes wide in surprise: “You found Alice? Did you see any of my bodyguards?”
Du Lai shook his head again, set down the cage and said: “It’s almost dark — we likely won’t get rescue today. Young Miss, we need to make long-term plans. This cage, with some modifications, can be used to catch fish. The monkey can also serve as food. As for fresh water, we’ll need to go into the jungle to look.”
The young miss stared at him wide-eyed: “Alice is so adorable — you want to eat it? How cruel!”
Du Lai: “……”
Who was it who wanted to throw it into the sea to feed the fish?
Faced with a person who was erratic and refused to acknowledge her own past actions, Du Lai had no desire to waste the energy and time arguing with her.
He didn’t want to die.
He would use every ounce of strength to survive.
“I’m going into the jungle to look for a water source,” Du Lai said.
The young miss asked: “What about me?”
“The Young Miss can wait here. The situation in the jungle is still unknown and may be dangerous — I can move more efficiently alone,” Du Lai said, bending down as he spoke to tie his trouser legs tight, keeping insects from crawling in.
When he straightened up again, he saw the young miss standing with a firm expression blocking his way.
Du Lai: “……”
The young miss: “I’m going with you! What if you abandon me here!”
The corner of Du Lai’s mouth twitched. He said: “How could I do that — I’m still counting on the Young Miss’s bodyguards to rescue us both. And the ten million the Young Miss mentioned, isn’t that right?”
She thought about it and decided his reasoning made sense. Still, she was unwilling to let him go. She furrowed her brow and said: “No — I’ll be scared on my own here.”
Du Lai felt the rescue signal spot should ideally have someone keeping watch, so that if a plane really did fly over later, they wouldn’t be completely unaware.
But someone also had to go search for water.
He hesitated for a long time, then gave in: “Alright, come with me. But we need to move quickly — the jungle becomes very dangerous after dark.”
The young miss added: “My legs hurt.”
Du Lai: “……”
His head genuinely ached. Looking at her face that seemed utterly ignorant of the world, he asked: “So what would you like?”
The young miss was direct: “Carry me on your back.”
Du Lai: “……”
Moving through the jungle was itself an enormously taxing endeavor — and he was supposed to carry her on top of that?
Were they going to look for water, or look for their deaths?