Rudy landed at a certain location which was also a crossroad.
"Standing at a crossroad where there is no traffic and no traffic lights… feels unreal. I am used to seeing that, but not in a city."
A car stopped in front of Rudy, and he got in.
"Where did you wander off to?" Maria asked with a judging look on her face.
"I will tell you on the way." Rudy tapped at the back of the driver's seat and said, "Go as fast as you can."
He told everything to Maria on their way and found her reactions amusing.
"We are here."
"Thanks for the ride."
Rudy, Maria, and the guard got out of the car while the car drove to the parking area.
He expected to see a massive and unique hall, but he found himself standing on open ground.
"Uhh… I have so many questions."
"I am sure you do. Follow me, please."
Rudy and Maria followed the guard and reached a flat platform that was on the same level as the ground.
Soon, a car stopped in front of them, and Rudy was left speechless after he noticed it was the same car and the same driver.
"..."
"Get in."
They sat in the car again.
"Care to explain why we had to get off?"
"You will see soon."
The platform the car stopped moved as the car shook a little.
Maria held Rudy's hand as she was scared, but Rudy realized what was happening.
SIGH!
"Your surprise has been spoiled," he muttered.
"..." A brief silence later, the guard turned her face to the side and uttered, "Please don't tell that to the master. She went the extra mile just to make this possible for you."
"Don't worry. Even if the surprise is ruined, the experience hasn't."
Maria clenched Rudy's hand tightly and asked, "What are you two talking about?!"
Suddenly, the car dropped down the platform and fell into the sea beneath through a passage.
"This car can run underwater. That explains why it looked like an egg from the outside."
"Wha…t?"
"The hall is under the sea. Lu Bela is going all out in this event."
"All the other guests were taken to the port, from where they had to get on a submarine. But only you have been given an emotional ride," the guard informed them.
"Wait, so the other guests are sharing the submarine? Doesn't that mean—"
"No." The guard interrupted Maria and said, "They are in the same submarine but have different rooms. No guests would run into each other except at the party hall. Of course, the other lower rank guests who weren't invited to the party will share the vehicle to return home.
But there will be guards with them. Master only guarantees their safety as long as they are on the island. What happens once they leave doesn't concern her."
"I don't see anything wrong with that," Rudy shrugged. "The same thing happens in other events in the world."
"Indeed."
"Rudy, Rudy!" Maria tabbed on Rudy's hand and pointed her finger at the fishes swimming around their car.
"Oh, right. This would be your first underwater experience, right?"
"Yes!" she said cheerfully while pressing her face against the window so she could see more of the underwater world.
"Wow. There are all type and color of fish. I never knew the water could be so clean. I can even see the sky from here. The moon is wiggling."
"That's because we are not that deep yet, nor are we going that deep."
"Are there sharks, too?" she widened her eyes.
"There shouldn't be any sharks around. We made sure of it," the guard responded.
"You killed the sharks in this area?!" Maria exclaimed.
"No. We simply installed devices in the area that emits a frequency only audible to the sharks— which keeps them away. Which is also the reason why there are so many fishes in this area."
"I don't really understand, but okay. What about whales? Are they here? But they don't attack humans, so it's fine if they are here."
Rudy chuckled softly and said, "Even if they don't attack, they can accidentally eat us alive, and it won't even realize."
"That's scary!"
A few seconds later, Maria asked, "What would happen if I opened the door or the window?"
"We would die."
Rudy couldn't help but miss Angelica at that time.
'She would also ask such questions.'
Rudy was used to having Angelica around, and his life was incomplete without her. Even during his year-long stay in 1989, there wasn't a moment when he didn't miss her. He missed her the most, for he loved her the most.
She had become an inseparable part of him, which he wasn't ready to part away from.
He had asked Lu Bela to create a suitable body for Angelica that could work without a core. Although he had yet to receive any updates regarding that request, he knew that sooner or later, Lu Bela would make it possible.
If that happened, he wouldn't be with Angelica all the time.
'Well, that would be better for her. If she has her own body, she can live like a normal girl and have a life she couldn't experience before she died. She would become alive.'
A few minutes later, the car's speed decreased, and they entered an artificial passage that led them to the underwater parking spot, which was an air-compressed chamber.
"Is it safe to get out? What if we all drown?" Maria asked.
"Nothing will happen."
Rudy got out first and opened the door for Maria so she would feel at ease. He glanced back at the car and noticed extra cylinders beneath the car.
'So that's why we had to get off.'
"It's like an open, or rather a transparent submarine designed as a structure of an island. There is enough oxygen and food here to live for a year without leaving this place," the guard informed.
"Oh, so you are our guide too?"
"You may assume so. Please, follow me."
The night had almost ended. However, it was simply the beginning of something that was going to change Rudy and everyone's life around him.
