Chapter 26: World War lll (Kai 2)
"How do I look today?" Lina asked, then sat down on the bed beside him.
"You're beautiful," Kai said with a smile.
Lina turned her head to the side, blushing. She took a moment to calm herself, then turned back to Kai, who had gone back to staring into nothingness.
"You know… I… lost my husband in the war…" Lina said softly, still blushing. She placed her hand on Kai's thigh. "So… would you maybe—"
Before she could finish her sentence, Darian walked into the room.
"Hey, you two!" he said cheerfully.
Kai and Lina looked at him, then quickly stood up, both of them blushing furiously.
"Did I interrupt something?" Darian asked, scratching the back of his head, completely clueless about what he had walked in on. "Well... Kai... Would you come with me?"
Kai thought for a second, then nodded. The three of them left the room together and headed to another place.
"Here we are!" said Darian, pointing at some old wooden doors standing in front of him.
Gunfire could be heard from inside the room.
Kai looked at Darian, then at the door. "Will you open them already?" he asked impatiently.
Darian smiled, then swung the doors wide open, revealing a shooting range.
"Follow me!" Darian said, stepping into the room.
Kai and Lina followed right behind him. The sounds of gunfire pierced their ears as they moved through that chaos of lead and gunpowder.
Darian stopped next to another man. It was a green-haired guy with a massive sniper rifle in his hands. "This is Kael, he's the leader of the assault team and our best sniper."
"Hello there, kid!" Kael said, raising one hand.
"And this lady, whom you've already met, is Lina. She's the leader of the infiltration and intel team," Darian explained, pointing at Lina before smiling and continuing. "Would you like to join us?"
Kai looked around, taking in the situation before him. He thought for a moment, then sighed and asked, "What's in it for me?"
Darian blinked a few times. "Excuse me?" he asked, confused. "Um..." he scratched his cheek, "Well... We'll stop the war!"
"And...?" Kai pressed, seeing their confused faces, then continued.
"First..." he raised his hand, showing his index finger. "I'm from Japan, not China."
"Second..." he continued, lifting his middle finger. "I have no desire to live anymore."
"Third..." he said, raising his ring finger. "I don't care about stopping the war."
Kai lowered his hand and looked at their faces — no longer confused, now simply disappointed.
Lina sighed, then decided to use her trump card. She hadn't wanted to, but now she was forced.
She stepped closer to Kai and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Really...?" she asked in an innocent voice. "Am I not reason enough to live?"
"Uh..." Kai blushed furiously.
Lina pressed her whole body against him, pushing her breasts around his arm. She leaned toward his ear and whispered:
"If you join us, I'll be your girlfriend~" She kissed his ear, then slowly pulled away. That was enough to stir his young mind.
Kai swallowed hard, his face as red as a tomato.
"What should I do...?" he thought, then took a deep breath.
"I'll do it!" he shouted loudly.
"Perfect!" Darian said with a smile. "So... Which team do you want to join?" he asked, pointing at Lina and Kael.
Kai looked at both sides, his eyes landing on the huge sniper rifle in Kael's hands and Lina's breasts.
"Wait... Wait... Wait... This is a false dilemma... They gave me two choices because they want me to pick only between those two..." Kai thought while stroking his chin. "What's the best 'third' option for me?"
Suddenly, Kai had an idea — the perfect idea.
"I'll work alone!" he said firmly, watching Darian's reaction.
Darian looked a bit confused, but also completely impressed.
"Okay! What do you plan to do?" he asked, staring into Kai's eyes.
"What's our main objective?" Kai asked, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.
"To get the data on chip 99. It's in the main headquarters, but we've heard it's heavily guarded," Darian explained, mimicking Kai by putting his own hands into his pockets.
"Piece of cake. There's a secret entrance through the ventilation. Consider the job done," Kai said. "Got a weapon for me?"
Darian looked at Kai, even more impressed. "I'm afraid we're out of real guns... We only have this..." he said, handing him a stun gun he had tucked in his back pocket.
"Let's go right now..." Kai said, turning and starting to leave.
"Hey, hey, hey..." Darian interrupted. "You can't go yet. We leave in two days, when everyone's ready."
"Fiiine! I'll wait," Kai muttered, his voice sharp and tinged with irritation.
After that, Darian made him practice shooting, even though Kai was already quite good at it. The only difference was that now he was using a stun gun instead of a regular pistol.
After that boring day — at least boring for Kai — he went back to his room to sleep. Lina followed him, and they lay down together in the bed.
"Lina..." Kai began. "I promise you... I'll find your children!" he said firmly, clenching his fist.
Lina smiled and pressed against his arm. "Thank you..."
They fell asleep.
A few hours later, Kai woke up. It was still night.
He slipped out of bed silently, careful not to wake Lina. From the nightstand, he grabbed the stun gun and, without hesitation, a kitchen knife.
Lina slowly turned, her eyes half-open. "Where... are you going?" she asked drowsily.
"To the bathroom. Just sleep..." Kai lied with a smile, as he gently covered her with the blanket. "I'll be right back..."
He turned and quietly walked to the door. With a soft push, he opened it and stepped into the hallway. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, his smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression.
"I'm Kai, though I guess it's a bit late to be introducing myself… I just needed to say that I miss my family so much.
Especially my sister, my big sister. She was always there for me. Does she… really not want me anymore?" Kai thought, glancing around as he searched for a way to reach Japan's main military headquarters.
He spotted a motorcycle and decided to ride it. Luckily, someone had left the keys.
Kai turned the keys and set off.
"My dad owned a vehicle repair shop... Good thing he taught me how to ride... Thank you, Dad... wherever you are."
A few hours later, Kai arrived at his destination. He stood hidden behind a few cars, and in front of him was a massive complex.
"Let's get started."