Dito and Anna took turns checking the condition of the Soviet L-3 submarine.
It sounded tedious if viewed as a mere routine, yet both of them tried to enjoy this aimless journey that could last for several days—or perhaps over a month.
They simply left the decisions up to the submarine’s captain and legendary Soviet War Hero, Vladimir Konovalov.
“Damn it!” Dito cursed under his breath.
“There’s no need to be that annoyed, Dito.
Complaining won’t change a thing,” Anna snapped, grabbing a set of tools to repair a leaking pipe in the hull.
“How long is this actually going to last?
And where on earth are we even being taken?” Dito grumbled.
“How should I know!” Anna retorted casually.
She then yanked out a sharp object jammed into the pipework and added, “Why don’t you go ask the captain?
And while you’re at it, ask him to free those five people.
We’re going to drown in exhaustion if we have to do all this heavy labor by ourselves!”
Anna’s point made complete sense, especially considering she and Dito were the only ones doing any actual work while Huey Long was busy chatting away with Vladimir.
At least venting her frustration like that helped let off some steam.
Half an hour after welding the pipe, Anna tossed her tools into a corner and headed toward the control room.
Upon arriving, she was greeted by three warriors from the Semke tribe, who looked like they were going through a similar ordeal.
Anna walked right up to them.
“Pardon me…”
“You must be Anna, right?
Nice to meet you.
We’re from the Semke tribe, and we’d like to properly introduce ourselves,” one of the warriors said.
True to form, Anna responded with a chilly demeanor.
Even as they shook hands, a strange sense of revulsion washed over her.
They wore only rudimentary lower-body coverings and went completely bare-chested, their bodies rippling with thick muscles and reeking of a heavy, pungent musk.
Anna felt a sudden urge to empty her stomach right then and there, but managed to fight it down.
Since these men were trained for brutal survival, she forced herself to endure the discomfort and keep the peace.
“It’s fine,” Anna said flatly, keeping her hand extended to shake theirs.
Uotu flashed his signature grin, followed closely by his two companions.
As Anna shook hands with them, her eyes darted around the room.
She couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing android robots calmly moving about, coordinating with one another and maintaining the submarine’s inner workings—a space usually reserved exclusively for the captain and high-ranking officers.
Anna slowed her pace, closely observing her surroundings.
Meanwhile, Uotu looked entirely unfazed in her presence, one of his eyebrows cocked in a playfully teasing arch.
Anna met his gaze with a look of undisguised disgust, though she quickly plastered on a flawless, albeit entirely fake, smile.
At least they seemed harmless enough.
“By the way, are you three always stuck together?
Both on missions and in your personal lives?”
Uotu and his companions exchanged puzzled glances.
They couldn’t quite grasp Anna’s meaning, as the phrasing was completely foreign to them.
However, gathering from the gist of her question about their constant companionship, one of them stepped forward to answer.
It was Agmar.
He was a man whose facial features bore an uncanny resemblance to Anna’s father when he was young.
A jagged burn scar stretched from his left temple down across his cheek, contrasting sharply with his piercing dark eyes and ash-gray hair.
Tucked into his belt was a crude knife forged from imperfect ironstone.
Even so, Agmar didn’t seem to mind its poor quality, using it readily to fend off enemies.
It sounded extreme, but at least Agmar could take care of himself.
“That sounds like you’re making fun of me,” Agmar muttered dryly.
“That’s not what I meant, Agmar!
Don’t jump to conclusions!” Anna snapped back defensively, her voice rising a notch.
The last man standing beside Agmar was named Emna.
While the name sounded feminine, his appearance was anything but male. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
With bright blond hair and a physique far more muscular than his two companions, his calm blue eyes held a deadliness that couldn’t be ignored.
A bow was propped up near the control station, though Anna couldn’t tell for sure if it belonged to Emna or one of the others.
On the back of each of his hands was a tattoo etched in the shape of a butterfly.
It was strange—their tribe lived deep in the woods, where wildlife was usually revered in the form of spirits or simple carvings, yet the edges of the butterfly’s wings seemed to softly glow, catching the faint reflection of light in Anna’s eyes.
It wasn’t blinding, but for some reason, Anna instantly disliked it.
“Come on, Agmar!
We can’t just ignore Huey’s orders, can we?”
“Orders?
What on earth are you two talking about?” Anna asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.
“Actually, Huey asked the three of us to join up, but Vladimir turned us down because he’s too busy.”
Busy, my foot, Anna grumbled inwardly about the old man.
She hurried off to find Vladimir and Huey.
As she marched down the corridor, she stepped past several androids that had just finished recharging.
To her surprise, she found the two men deeply engrossed in a game of chess, looking far more serious than she had ever anticipated.
~o0o~
Meanwhile, Huey and Vladimir carefully placed their chess pieces with absolute concentration, neither side willing to give an inch.
There was no idle chatter between them, save for the scratching of pencils on paper across the table.
With every turn, both Huey and Vladimir would not something down on a small, pocket-sized yellow slip of paper before moving their chosen piece.
Five minutes ticked by in total silence, broken only by their intense focus on the board—until Huey finally decided to break the ice.
“You’re looking awfully calm, old man.”
“Is that so?
I never really thought of it that way.”
Huey’s brow furrowed spontaneously, both eyebrows shooting upward.
He honestly didn’t know how to respond to that.
“Is that really all there is to it?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“We’re talking about our next move… Captain.
Surely you have a plan up your sleeve, right?” Huey pressed, his tone sharpening.
At that exact moment, Vladimir stopped moving his piece.
He sat up straight for a moment, scanning the room cautiously.
His eyes darted around to make sure no one else was listening, before finally looking up toward the ceiling.
“A.I., lock the doors for the next five minutes.
Nobody gets in!” Vladimir commanded.
“Order received, Admiral!”
The heavy doors hissed open and shut automatically, sealing themselves while internal mechanisms whirred with code in both Russian and English.
Luckily, Anna had managed to slip right inside just in time, though “sneaking in” was putting it lightly.
Finally, Vladimir began to speak, and the words he dropped to Huey caused Anna to gasp and slap a hand over her mouth in sheer disbelief.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.
This isn’t a joke, right?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve never been one to deceive my allies—especially someone as sharp at negotiating as you.
Besides, I don’t have any hidden trump cards left, unless you still refuse to trust me,” Vladimir said with a shrug.
Huey let out a long sigh, completely baffled by Vladimir’s train of thought.
His right hand casually nudged a chess piece forward as he tried to read the subtle shifts in the older man’s expression, hoping to find a way to ease the tension.
On top of that, Huey knew that the five other adventurers were currently locked away in separate quarters—the first room housing the three men, and the other holding two teenage girls, at least from Vladimir’s perspective.
Just how am I supposed to convince them?
Huey thought to himself.
A subtle smirk touched his lips as an idea sparked on how to anticipate Vladimir’s next move.
~o0o~
Dito muttered the words in utter disbelief.
He had originally assumed Huey could easily handle Vladimir thanks to the tactical advantage of his [Copy File] ability, but it turned out to be a dead end.
“[Copy File] only works against actual enemies.
It can’t be used during a friendly sparring match.
I only found out right before boarding this submarine.”
This has got to be a sick joke!
Besides, neither Anna nor I saw him check his status window, Dito thought bitterly.
Yet, he had no other choice but to accept Vladimir’s challenge.
Deep down, the young man figured this was the perfect opportunity to test just how strong the old man really was.
He certainly wasn’t underestimating Vladimir’s proficiency with an M1907 Carbine, especially after watching him smoothly reload the weapon and holster a sharp combat knife.
Nearby, Uotu whispered curiously into Anna’s ear while Huey’s two bodyguards watched Vladimir like hawks.
Leaning in close for the third time, Uotu asked, “Do you think a kid like Dito stands a chance against the captain?”
Anna only responded with a sharp, icy glare, refusing to dignify Dito with a comment.
Meanwhile, a translucent status window materialized before her eyes, visible only to those belonging to the otherworlder race:
Name: Dito Permana
Age: 16
Race: Otherworlder
Level: 6
Job: Crew of L-3 Submarine Soviet Union
Ability: [Agility Maximum]
Skill: [Accuracy Point] [Speed Boost] [Evasion]
Weapon: Revolver Gun
Dito firmly gripped his revolver, sliding six small rounds into the cylinder one by one.
Observing from a distance, Huey stood with a tight-lipped smirk, his eyes locked onto Dito’s every move.
Huey stepped forward between the two combatants, holding aloft a Soviet flag.
The sight instantly made both Anna and Dito frown.
“Could it be… no.
I know Vladimir is from the Soviet Union, but why on earth is Huey carrying that flag?” Anna muttered.
“What’s wrong with the flag Master Huey is holding?” Emna asked Anna.
Anna spun around to face the three guards with a dead-serious expression, lowering her voice as she explained, “That guy is from the United States—the Soviet Union’s arch-rival.
It makes zero sense for him to be siding with Vladimir.”
“Isn’t that a good thing, though?” Uotu remarked casually.
“A good thing, you call this?!” Dito shot back, his eyebrows hitting his hairline.
Anna dropped her head in quiet frustration, realizing how hopeless it was to explain politics to Huey’s bodyguards.
She figured they were nothing more fanatical loyalists who cared more about Huey than any actual mission.
But that was just her wild guess.
Reading Dito’s expression, she could tell he thought she was being way too abrasive, but Dito kept his thoughts to himself.
With a brief inward sigh, Anna glanced back toward the makeshift arena.
It looked like a sparring match was completely unavoidable now.
Huey raised his right arm, signaling that the bout was about to begin.
Here it was—the very first clash between otherworlders.
“The sparring match between Dito Permana and Vladimir Konovalov… begins!” Huey announced loudly.
Both fighters exploded forward with full speed.
Vladimir took the initiative, leveling his M1907 Carbine as hot brass casings rained down onto the iron deck.
Dito moved purely on instinct.
The sharp crack of the carbine’s trigger echoed through the hull as rounds zipped toward Dito.
He threw himself into a low slide, drawing his revolver and squeezing the trigger three times in rapid succession, aiming straight for Vladimir’s torso.
Neither man was willing to give an inch.
As the tension boiled over, Anna could practically feel the lethal intent behind their blows—this was no friendly match; it felt like a fight to the death.