After the enemies were captured and brought to the village, everyone who had fought in the battle was lost in thought, trying to process what they had seen. They hid their emotions, not wanting to spread fear among the rest of the tribe, who were still unaware of what had happened.

  Meanwhile, Mike and Jonathan headed to the medical tent and asked Dr. Roger if any of the submarine repair crew were in good enough condition to work. Roger was surprised by the question and asked why they needed to know. Mike and Jonathan told him they would explain later but needed an answer first.

  Roger thought for a moment before replying that two crew members had only minor injuries and could resume work immediately. Their names were Mark and Ron. Mike asked them to come along, and they agreed without hesitation. Together, they walked to the site where the recovered submarine parts had been stored.

  As Mark and Ron inspected the pieces, Ron shook his head and said, “It’s impressive that you managed to retrieve these, but we have bad news. Even if the entire team starts working, repairing the submarine won’t be possible—these parts seem to be damaged.”

  Mike sighed. “Yeah… They were thrown from the mouth of a cave.”

  Mark frowned. “That’s not good, but there’s another option. We can salvage replacement parts from the wrecked submarines. The problem is, with just the two of us, it’ll take a long time.”

  Mike, frustrated, ran a hand through his hair. “We don’t have that kind of time! There has to be another way—anything! Please, think of something!”

  Mark shook his head. “I’m sorry, but this is the only solution we have. If we work non-stop, it’ll still take a while.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Jonathan, standing beside Mike, was usually the one to keep him calm, but this time, he felt just as hopeless. A sinking realization settled over him—this might really be the end for them.

  Then, a voice rang out from between the submarines.

  “Are you seriously breaking down like a scared little kid right now?”

  They turned to see Jones stepping forward. “If this was a personal crisis, sure, go ahead and have your breakdown. But this isn’t just about us anymore. The whole world is at stake. If we don’t warn them in time, those monsters will wipe out everyone. And right now, we’re the only ones who can stop that from happening.”

  Mike clenched his fists. “You’re right… but we have no way to contact anyone, no way to escape, and no idea where we even are.”

  Jones chuckled. “Do you remember when I came back from scouting for an exit and said I had important information to share?”

  Mike nodded. “Yeah, but we got caught up dealing with the enemy tribe and never got around to it.”

  Jones smirked. “Listen carefully, then. This island is located in the far west of our country, in the middle of the ocean. It sits on top of a cone-shaped hill beneath the sea, rising from the ocean floor. It looks like the monsters built it themselves, which means it’s only about a thousand meters below the surface.”

  Mike raised an eyebrow. “And? What does that mean for us?”

  Jones gave him a serious look. “Do you trust me?”

  Mike didn’t hesitate. “Of course we do. But do you actually have a way out of this?”

  Jones nodded. “Yes. My plan is to take the exploration submarine I used before when I was searching for an exit. I’ll use it to get out of here and reach the nearest country. From there, we can contact our homeland and inform them about the situation so they can launch a rescue operation. This is our last resort.”

  Mike was skeptical. “And how can you be sure they’ll act fast enough?”

  Jones smirked. “We’ll have to lie. We’ll tell them that Thomas, the son of the Chief of Staff, is still alive but in critical condition. That should be enough to get them moving.”

  Mike sighed. “They’ll make you pay for that lie.” Then, after a pause, he added, “But let me go with you. I’ll take responsibility for the lie. I was planning to resign anyway, so I might as well take the fall for it.”

  “Don’t worry about the consequences—just leave that to me. Right now, we need to focus on getting that submarine ready. We’re running out of time.”

  Jones grinned. “What are you talking about? We already finished preparing it. I came here just to tell you the plan and say goodbye before I leave.”

  Mike was taken aback. “You already made your move, huh? Fine. Get going now. In the meantime, we’ll start repairing another submarine as a backup in case something goes wrong with yours.”

  Jones laughed. “Something going wrong? Do you even know w

  ho you’re talking to? I never fail.”

  End of Chapter 15