In the silent, pitch-black sea.
The faint light on the surface reached only the shallowest depths.
Deeper down lay a dark abyss that light could not penetrate.
From time to time, brilliantly colored fish, shrimp, and crabs flashed through the water and vanished.
But the deeper one went, the fewer fish there were.
A gigantic lizard the size of a large ship, its body covered in strange markings and a single horn on its head, plunged swiftly into the deep sea with its limbs tucked against its sides.
Only when it reached the muddy seabed did it slowly lower its limbs.
Then it crawled slowly across the mud.
Its pale brown, slit-pupiled eyes slowly surveyed its surroundings.
The instant a silver shark swam past, it instinctively flicked out a blue tongue. The tongue immediately retracted, and the silver shark before it vanished without a trace.
The giant lizard's mouth curled slightly, revealing what looked like an expression of enjoyment.
Yet that expression lasted less than a breath before a somewhat annoyed voice suddenly came from inside its body:
"Dafu, don't open your mouth whenever you please."
The giant lizard's slightly upturned mouth froze. It immediately shut its mouth and tilted its head to look at its belly, which bulged out on either side.
A trace of distress seemed to cross its eyes.
Then, after some thought, it carefully rose onto the tips of its claws and crawled across the mud with exceedingly slow, gentle movements.
A helpless voice immediately came from its belly again:
"I told you not to open your mouth whenever you please, not to walk more slowly."
Hearing this, the giant lizard stiffened slightly and hesitantly turned to look at its belly again.
An octopus the size of a small boat shot out of the mud stirred