Two days later, at the construction site of Belobog Heavy Industries.
At the break of dawn, Koleda was already hard at work on-site, wielding her tools with practiced ease. Though it was still early and official operations hadn't yet begun, she had willingly sacrificed her rest just to ensure she'd be there the moment that mysterious caller arrived.
As the sky gradually brightened, the Bear Thiren laborers began their daily tasks across the site. Core personnel like Anton and Grace also got started on their responsibilities.
Koleda was gripping a massive hammer weighing over a hundred pounds, pounding away at a nearly-scrapped machine in front of her. Sweat streamed down her forehead, and even when it stung her eyes, she merely wiped it aside with a bare hand and continued working.
At last, just as the lunch hour approached, the person she had been waiting for appeared.
Zhong Yan, now assuming the identity of Tobi, activated Kamui and emerged on the worksite. His arrival didn't go unnoticed by the Bear Thiren workers.
Ben was the first to jog over, eyeing Zhong Yan's strange outfit with some curiosity. "Hey there, friend. You looking for someone?"
Zhong Yan glanced up at Ben, who towered at least half a head taller than him, and responded calmly, "I'm here for Koleda. We made an agreement—I'll help retrieve the three machines lost in the Hollow."
Ben blinked in surprise, then practically lit up with excitement.
"Wait here," he said quickly before dashing off to find Koleda, who was still hammering away. At the top of his lungs, he shouted, "Boss! The guy you were waiting for is here!"
Upon hearing Ben's shout, Koleda instantly stopped what she was doing and lifted her head, a wide and unmistakable smile spreading across her face.
Without even bothering to wipe the sweat from her brow, she tossed the hammer aside and ran over, soon arriving in front of Zhong Yan.
"You... you're the one who called me, right?" Koleda asked with a suspicious expression, eyeing Zhong Yan's uniquely styled outfit as if trying to confirm his identity.
The mask—yeah, she'd heard about that. New Eridu had recently been hit by a mask craze. Even within Belobog Heavy Industries, quite a few employees had taken to wearing masks on the job, claiming it brought good fortune...
Koleda didn't buy into that nonsense, but she wasn't bothered by it either. If her people wanted to wear masks, fine. What she didn't understand was—why did his mask have only one small slit for vision? Wouldn't that mess up depth perception?
Wait... didn't she also have one eye covered with an eyepatch?
"Nice to meet you, President Koleda. You may call me Obito," Zhong Yan said, his tone steady and unhurried.
That deep, resonant voice confirmed it for Koleda—this was definitely the mysterious man who had called her.
"Strange... you seem to know more about Belobog's affairs than we do. I don't know where you got your information, but since you're offering to help, I want to thank you in advance."
Perhaps because Zhong Yan had already done so much for them, Koleda's tone had grown noticeably more respectful.
Ben stood off to the side, slack-jawed. He was honestly wondering whether this smaller guy really was his boss anymore.
"Before we start, let me introduce you to our technical specialist. She knows more about those three machines than I do." Koleda waved someone over, summoning Grace.
Grace was in the middle of calibrating a new machine when she was called. She complained the whole way, insisting she had to finish her work first.
If it weren't for Koleda's insistence, she probably wouldn't have come at all.
"Grace..." Zhong Yan's eyes narrowed slightly behind the mask as he looked at the grease-covered but still striking woman.
Back when the game first launched, Grace had been one of his favorite female characters—not for her looks, but because of her generous spirit. She was the only one who could go toe-to-toe with Nicole in that regard.
In fact, visually speaking, she might've been even more captivating than Nicole.
Of course, Grace was a hardcore gearhead—that was her biggest appeal, and also her greatest flaw. Her mind was filled with nothing but machines, with no room for much else.
"Huh? So, this is the guy the shrimp dragged in to help, huh?" Grace's eyes lit up as soon as Ben told her Zhong Yan was the one coming to recover the lost machines.
She walked right up to him and unceremoniously grabbed his hand. "Thanks a ton. Those three babies have been stuck in the Hollow for way too long. If you can bring them back, I'll make sure you're properly rewarded."
A proper reward... did that include the kind of reward Zhong Yan was thinking of?
Yeah, probably not. No way a pure-blooded gearhead like her would ever entertain those kinds of thoughts.
"Big sis, don't scare the guy!" Koleda quickly stepped in to separate the two when she saw her sister getting a bit too enthusiastic, while Zhong Yan stood there looking slightly overwhelmed.
She was just about to explain the specifics of the incident when a booming voice suddenly cut through the air, catching everyone off guard.
"Yo! You're the guy who helped us bring down Vision Corporation, aren't you?"
The next moment, a strong, muscular arm clapped down on Zhong Yan's shoulder.
Anton leaned around from behind him, grinning broadly. "First time meeting, I'm Anton. That mask of yours... are you copying Uchiha or something? Heh, I've heard about him. Strong guy. I'd love to meet him someday if I could."
Unlike Grace, whose passion was reserved solely for machinery, Anton was more outgoing and people-focused. That's why players affectionately called him bro.
Not many characters were willing to help out with random mobs while grid-running. Anton was one of the rare few.
"Would you people... please watch your damn image for once!" Koleda barely managed to pry her sister off Zhong Yan, and now she turned around to find Anton glomming onto him too. Her face flushed red with frustration.
Seeing her reaction, Anton immediately let go, turning meek as a kitten.
Under Koleda's commanding presence, everyone finally quieted down.