Even as Yinn helped Jin up from the ground, the latter could feel the sluggishness within him. Unable to move as he used to, he moved his body to the best of his abilities not knowing anything but following Yinn from behind.
The bombardments got even more accurate despite the both of them trying to move as far as possible away from it until Yinn stopped midway to remove a few bushes away, revealing a trapdoor right in the middle of this dense jungle.
“Quick Commander, go in!” Yin said as she opened the trap door and let him enter first before jumping into the tunnel herself. Surprisingly, after Jin stepped onto the solid ground after climbing down the ladder, the entire place slowly lit up which made him move to the sides of the wall in hopes to hide from any ambush.
“What are you doing commander?” Yinn said as she locked the trapdoor and slid down gracefully from the top of the ladder to where Jin was.
“The lights!” Jin ‘whispered’ loudly and Yinn gave a resigned look.
“Do not worry, there are motion sensors here. Hmm, I guess Tellie might be right… Do you not have any recollection of this place?” Yinn questioned and Jin shook his head furiously.
“I am sorry, I do not remember a single thing.” Jin could have told the truth but who in his right mind would believe that he had been teleported by some dimensional gods away from everything. If anything, this was akin to an abrupt start for him but in his mind, he cursed those gods.
Being isekai-ed to this brand new world with powers stripped was like the ultimate hard mode. And to make matters worse, he could not connect back to the System no matter how hard he tried. He felt like a piece of him had been torn off and he was partially empty on the inside.
The only positive thing was that those bombardments and motion sensor equipped tunnel had given him the impression that this was not some mediaeval landscape but of a modern setting.
It’s both good and bad since he knows that with his current body, there was no way he could fight against big gaudy opponents. But ranged weapons on the other hand would be a different ballgame. Death might be quicker and sudden but at the very least it gives a fighting chance to any person with a low constitution.
“But your memory loss might be a good thing?” Yinn shrugged, “You seemed less fearful than you used to be…. slightly less.” She added as she beckoned Jin to come out of his hiding area to follow her.
“I am really sorry. I have no idea why I am holding this position of commander, what I had done and what I was fighting for. For all I know, you could be posing as a friend while you are actually my enemy.” Jin said and Yinn in the spur of the moment took out her pistol to aim at Jin.
And that was supposed to frighten him a little, probably like a kind of payback for all the things Jin had done previously. But to her surprise, he disappeared from her sight and her vision went upside down. The Commander she thought she knew so well had retaliated before she was able to bring her pistol out. Right now, she was on the ground, with Jin locking her arm and the pistol in his hand.<.com>
“Is this a test or are you really my enemy?” Jin asked as he forced the barrel down Yinn’s cheeks and subsequently to her neck. However, because of his daily usage of various weapons, he felt that it was too light and decided to shoot at the side to find that there was no bullet in the chamber at all.
“It’s an empty pistol and I am not retaliating. But I am liking this amnesia ridden commander already. Where did you learn such moves?” Yinn smiled as she saw Jin being frustrated by the lack of bullets.
“Why do you even carry an empty pistol on you?” Jin ignored, attempting to hold the upper hand in the conversation (After all, he was supposed to have authority since Yinn called him Commander) and she smiled despite having her face on the cold dirt ground.
“Because that pistol is for you. The clip chamber does not open unless it’s authorised by you.” Yinn said as she wiggled to point that her pistol was on the other side of her. Jin slowly released her and apologised while telling her to not make any abrupt movements. Yinn stood up and slowly reached behind her utility belt in order to pass her commander a new ammo clip.
“See? Would an enemy pass a loaded gun to you?”
“Nothing is impossible,” Jin said as his thoughts alone were more than enough to open the clip chamber, allowing him to insert the ammo clip.
“That’s good Commander. Do not trust anyone but yourself. Even your subordinates might betray you someday.” Yinn advised before walking forward.
“Are you saying that about yourself?”
“What are you talking about? I might tease you but I can never betray you. In fact, your squad of War Maidens can never ever do that unless there is a change in our programming.” Yinn said and that made Jin even more confused and curious. “Unless of course, you forced us to the point that our backs are right against the wall. Then perhaps our sentience directive had decided that it’s best we kill you instead.” Yinn grinned widely while walking at the front which Jin was unable to notice.
“Wait, what?! You are a mecha humanoid?” Jin did not care about her warning and asked about the fact that she was not human at all. In response, Yinn pulled her long dark hair up, revealing a barcode with a serial number right beneath it.
“Yinn, once again reporting at your service, Commander Jin. I will bring you back to the rest of the War Maidens.” She said as she started to pick up the pace to lead Jin to relative safety.
