CHAPTER 22

I sat still in my seat, watching the houses pass by as Atlas drove. We had arrived in Mexico and had come from Cancún International Airport. Our flight had been direct because Atlas had a private plane.

"I'll give you one day to rest before your training. I'll also introduce you to your trainer so you can start tomorrow," Atlas said suddenly.

He was still looking at the road while driving when I turned to look at him. I nodded slowly in response and said nothing else. The flight had taken about 16–18 hours to get here, and I know we were both tired.

A small smile formed on my lips when we passed a sea. It was beautiful. The water was vast, a deep blue, and the sand was very white. I also saw many shops selling souvenirs.

I leaned my elbow and arm on the lowered car window. Atlas also lowered his, and a strong wind blew into the car. I could smell the sea even though we were far away. This place was almost like an island.

I also saw buildings, and they were all mixed together.

"We're here at the El Centro of Cancún," Atlas said. "Since it's your first time here, I need to tell you about everything here in Cancún. Cancún is divided into two main areas. First is the Zona Hotelera, mostly tourists go here because of the world-class attractions and more. There are also many resorts and luxury hotels here, especially nightclubs."

I looked at him and listened to what he was saying.

"Second is the El Centro, this is the city center of Cancún, also known as Downtown Cancún. There are also some tourists who visit here if they want a local experience, and El Centro is much quieter than Zona Hotelera, that's why I prefer to stay here every time I visit Cancún."

He was right about the local experiences. It felt like I was in the Philippines, but it seemed a bit more upscale here. There were also wet markets where you could buy fresh fish and vegetables.

"It's beautiful here, Atlas," I whispered, looking at the houses we were passing.

"I know," he replied simply.

We passed a few public beaches until we reached his house. We turned off the highway onto a small road and drove straight to his house. I think it was still part of the downtown he was talking about because the wet markets were just a short distance away from where we were.

The area was also noticeably quiet. There were bougainvillea plants scattered outside each house, and they were so beautiful. A few petals were falling on the road.

We stopped in front of a large, closed brown gate. I looked up and saw Atlas' house here in Cancún. If I'm not mistaken, it was a tropical colonial villa. It was white and brown with a bit of black.

I looked down at the small brown door located on the side of Atlas' large gate. There was a small sign there with an engraving.

R.D.

Atlas Residence

My eyebrows furrowed because of that. R.D.? What does that mean? I was about to ask Atlas when he suddenly spoke into a small, intercom-like doorbell next to the gate.

"Open the gate, Oceanus."

I peeked through Atlas' window when I heard an unfamiliar voice. It was a voice that sounded like it had just woken up—a deep baritone.

"Copy."

Within a minute, the gate opened, and we were able to enter the villa. There were many plants, flowers, and even a tree in his garage. It was an open space, and the only shelter was the trees there.

When he parked his car, he got out, and I followed. I helped him take out our belongings from the back and carried them to the curved entrance of the villa itself. The double door was open, and I went straight in to put down the things.

"Let me help you."

The duffle bag and backpack I was carrying were suddenly taken from my hands. They weren't heavy, so I was able to carry them.

I looked up to see who it was. He was tall and had a fairly large build. He had blonde hair and light brown eyes that met mine. He gave me a small smile and turned to walk into the living area, putting our things down beside the sofa.

"Come in and feel at home," he said when they approached me.

I took off my shoes and put them aside at the side of the door to keep them out of the way.

"You can take your shoes inside. Don't worry, Atlas won't be mad," he said, stopping me when they saw what I was doing.

"Okay," I replied shyly.

I just carried my shoes and glanced at Atlas in the garage before going inside the house. He was talking seriously to someone on his cellphone. I could hear what he was saying, but I couldn't understand it. He was speaking Spanish. He was turned away from me and sitting in front of his car.

As I finally stepped inside, I looked around. The first thing I saw was a minibar. There were different kinds of alcohol displayed on the divider, and the glasses seemed to be hanging from their holders on the top of the counter. To the left was the living area. The living room was spacious and looked similar to Atlas' warehouse. The only difference was that the chairs here were brown. There was also a center table and a large TV.

I also looked to the right, and there was a large kitchen with a kitchen island in the middle. It was clean and tidy.

"You must be Sarah Dayanghirang, am I right?"

I looked at the man again when he suddenly spoke. He had a smile on his lips as he looked down at me. He had his hands in the pockets of his brown shorts. I already feel my nape and neck are sore because I'm looking up to him. I think he was over 6 feet tall.

"Yes," I nodded.

His smile widened when he confirmed my answer. I looked down when he extended his hand to shake mine.

"I'm Nikolai Vaughnn Sergeev. You can call me Oceanus, that's my code name in our organization. Nice to meet you, Sarah."

"Nice to meet you, Oceanus," I replied softly, feeling a bit shy as I accepted his hand.

His grip tightened around my palm as we shook hands before he let go.

"Welcome to Atlas' Villa. Don't be shy and feel at home here. You're one of our members in El Orden Del Abismo, so there's no need to be shy."

I just smiled at him. "Thank you very much."

He accompanied me to the living room to sit down. We waited for Atlas to come inside because he seemed to still be busy with the person he was talking to outside. Oceanus and I had already had a snack, but he still hadn't come in. We waited for more than an hour before I saw him enter and walk towards us.

"You already met him, Sarah?" Atlas greeted me when he reached us.

"Yes," I replied quickly.

"Welcome back, Atlas. Ismael has been looking for you. You should contact him later," Oceanus interjected while sitting on the sofa opposite me. He looked down at the laptop he was holding and was typing seriously.

"Thank you, and yes, I already contacted him a while ago," Atlas replied before glancing at me. "Good thing that you already know him. I don't need to introduce Oceanus to you."

I nodded slowly at Atlas and looked at Oceanus when I saw him nod too. He raised his hand and gave me a thumbs up.

"Oceanus will be your trainer for the coming days, until you become skilled in both hand-to-hand combat and all of the weapons. We will also keep an eye on your stamina during the initial stages of training until you improve your strength, making sure you build the strength needed to handle every training that we are planning to give you. By the end of your whole training, you'll be well-trained, sharp, and resilient, with the endurance to outlast and the skill to overpower your enemy."

My jaw dropped when I heard what he said. My heart was pounding with nervousness. I was scared because I was afraid my body couldn't handle what they were going to make me do. When I looked at Oceanus again, he was already looking at us, Atlas and me. He had closed his laptop and was watching us seriously.

I was nervous that he would make things difficult for me. All training is difficult, I shouldn't expect it to be easy. Especially since their organization isn't a game, I'll just pray that I can handle it.

"Don't worry, we're not going to force you to become an expert with all weapons. We'll just focus on where you show potential."

SHANGPU