Shin Hayato nodded at me,
"Fine then. We have received a new clue from Sheng Yue. This bunker seems to be working with an unit. I suspect it's Unit 1."
I sat on the floor, glancing around the empty corridors,
"No one is around. And yes, I suspect it's Unit 1 as well, but we don't have enough evidence yet."
Shin Hayato placed a finger on his chin,
"So, any plans ?"
Cassandra raised a brow and spread her hand,
"How about we escape through the tunnel, or we infiltrate whatever that unit has going on."
Shin Hayato stood still for a moment before shaking his head,
"The tunnel is uncertain. I just walked past it and we don't know where it leads. As for the unit, we're not sure if these people are just trading for supplies or something else."
I sighed, furrowing my brows,
"What do we do now ?"
BEEP BEEP
Three of us turned toward the noise. IRIS came hovering over, carrying a chess board. It twirled around in the air before setting the board on the floor.
Cassandra stared back and forth between IRIS and the board,
"So ?"
IRIS displayed "(╹▽╹ )" on its screen, taking a seat on one side of the board and inviting any of us to play.
Cassandra smiled smugly, sitting down in the opposite direction where IRIS is,
"Let's see what you've got."
She rotated the board to claim the white pieces, confidently advancing a pawn from e2 to e4. IRIS' screen flashed [Analyzing...] before moving a pawn from e7 to e5.
Shin Hayato squatted beside Cassandra and pointed to a knight,
"Move that to f3."
Cassandra followed his advice, crossing her arms with a snicker.
Observing the chess board, I patted IRIS on the back,
"Knight b8 to c6."
IRIS tilted to the side, staring at me. I gave it a small smile and helped adjust its piece.
Cassandra raised her head, smirking as she moved her bishop from f1 to c4,
"Huh ? Helping that robot ? Or is it that dumb ?"
IRIS lunged forward...
SLAP
Cassandra rubbed her cheek,
"Ouch... Never knew metal could hurt this much."
IRIS hovered back to its position, sliding a knight piece from g8 to f6. Its screen lit up with "ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ". The game continued for two turns, until Cassandra suddenly froze.
"The guards are here !"
She shouted, pointing down the hallway.
Instinctively, three of us whipped our heads around.
Nothing.
IRIS glared at Cassandra with "(눈‸눈)" and slowly raised its arm.
Cassandra drew her Vibro Dagger, dropping into a low crouch,
"You dare ?"
IRIS retracted its hand, checking the board for a moment. It looked back up at Cassandra, then slammed the board hard enough to make the pieces float.
Cassandra smirked,
"What ? Too bad you can't speak."
IRIS slapped my thighs, hovering right beside my ear and snapped my head around to face its screen.
The text was flashing in bold, practically screaming:
[CONVINCE HER TO LOOK AWAY.]
I stuttered, my pupils dilating,
"But—"
IRIS clamped its grip on my jaw, the text changing instantly,
[NO ! AS A GOOD FATHER, YOU MUST DO WHAT YOUR CHILD SAY !]
Biting my lips, I held back a laugh and nodded.
I tapped Shin Hayato's shoulder, pulling him closer,
"Hey, can you help me convince Cassandra to get us a meal ? I don't want to waste my own money."
Shin Hayato nodded, standing up and extending a hand toward Cassandra,
"Cassandra, come with me. Let's treat the four of us to a meal."
Cassandra glanced back and forth,
"Excuse me, what ?"
"Come on, Aléssio is hungry." Shin Hayato added,
"He just survived an explosion inside his stomach."
Cassandra grumbled, pushing herself up and followed Shin Hayato to the cafeteria. She continued throwing suspicious glances back at us as she walked away.
The second her back was turned, IRIS practically threw itself across the board. It snatched up all of Cassandra's pieces, shoving them straight to my face. It tried to force the wooden pieces into my mouth.
"Mmmph—!" I tried to push IRIS away, but it dodged every swipe and kept forcefeeding me.
A tired grunt came from nearby as Sheng Yue approached,
"I... need to go now ! See you—"
IRIS paused, turning its screen toward Sheng Yue. I reached out a hand, pleading for help with my mouth full of chess pieces.
Sheng Yue paced back and forth, tapping her chin,
"Hmm... Should I help or not ? Nah, I think I'll leave you to face it alone, Blondie. See ya !"
I tried to yell after her but she was already sprinting away. Left alone with IRIS, I was forced to endure the taste of raw wood.
◇ ◇ ◇
I panted heavily, pressing a hand against my chest. Shin Hayato was currently holding IRIS back while Cassandra continued to tease the angry robot.
Sheng Yue handed me a glass of water,
"Next time, fix your robot unless you want to be choked to death, Blondie."
I nodded, my face pale as a ghost,
"Alright... I'll fix it later."
Shin Hayato handed IRIS over to Sheng Yue,
"Now that Cassandra's match against IRIS failed miserably. How about a game with me, Aléssio ?"
I tilted my head, leaning forward,
"Me ? Sure. I'll take black."
Shin Hayato sat across from me, moving his opening pawn move. I began analyzing his setup, completely blocking out the ambient noise around us.
◇ ◇ ◇
Shin Hayato glared at the board intensely, clenching his fist in silence.
Without uttering a word, he narrowed his eyes and reset all the pieces their starting position,
"Rematch."
I took the white pieces this time.
Several turns later, I slid a piece into position,
"Checkmate again."
Shin Hayato took a deep heavy breath, stood up then walked away.
Sheng Yue uncrossed her arms,
"I think he is going to punch the wall—"
THUD
Cassandra shrugged, sliding into the seat across me,
"Oh well. I wouldn't be surprise if he accidentally triggered his shield and hit his head."
BONK
Cassandra rolled her eyes,
"Alright, no time to waste. Sheng Yue, play against me. Let me see if that mouth of yours actually comes with skill."
Sheng Yue shoved me aside, grinning with fierce determination,
"Oh, you bet !"
The match began, the two of them trading turns at rapid speed. At one point, I had to reached out and stop Sheng Yue's hand mid move.
I tapped the knight piece she had just placed down,
"Knights moves in an L-shape. They don't move in the shape of an 'F', Sheng Yue."
She stared at the board in bewilderment, then pointed an accusing finger at Cassandra,
"Oh yeah ? Well, she is eating my pieces !"
Cassandra whistled innocently, covering her ears,
"Did I ?"
I sighed and pulled IRIS over to face Sheng Yue instead. IRIS' screen flashed "ᕦ( ⊡ 益 ⊡ )ᕤ". Sheng Yue crossed her arms, refusing to make a first move.
Cassandra raised a brow,
"Why aren't you moving ?"
Sheng Yue grinned like a Cheshire cat,
"As you can see, there are no chess pieces left on the board !"
I stuttered,
"Wait what—"
All of IRIS' pieces had vanished without a trace. I zipped my mouth shut.
What kind of game am I even playing right now ?
IRIS' screen displayed:
[Sheng Yue vs IRIS = 1:0]
[Reason of checkmate: Unknown]
[Is Sheng Yue an alien?: Maybe]
I facepalmed and walked away for my own sanity. My social energy was rapidly hitting rock bottom, until...
"Aléssio !"
I pinched the bridge of my nose and clutched my hands together in prayer,
"Oh dear Lord, I've witnessed incomprehensible scenarios today and I am not in the mood to spend my afternoon talking to a teenager who can't connect basic dots."
I turned around.
The hallways was completely empty.
I let out a sigh of relief, right before someone poked me hard in the stomach. As I bent forward, the person clapped a hand onto my shoulder.
He proudly shoved me forward while shouting,
"Since I saw how well you play chess, you have to meet our best player ! He's not originally from Russia, we found him trespassing so we kept him here ! Eventually, we let him leave but he decided to stay here instead."
My jaws dropped as he brought me to a sudden halt. Standing right in front of me was a massive man casually lifting a heavy dumbbell.
I clasped my hands together and muttering beneath my breath,
"Oh dear Lord, please grant me the ability to lose gracefully. I really don't want a dumbbell thrown at my head if I win."