After being engulfed by the portal, a creation of the prism-shaped teleportation device turned Earthstone crafted by Lois, Manav lost consciousness.
His body was merely tumbling through the vibrant tunnel, and though only a few seconds had passed, it felt as if an eternity had elapsed.
Suddenly, a rift materialized within the tunnel, pulling Manav's body into its grasp.
This rift materialized above a swimming pool nestled within a luxurious room, and Manav was unceremoniously dumped into the pool, causing water to splash everywhere.
A startled scream echoed through the room, originating from a young woman who was horrified to see a man materialize out of nowhere and land in her pool.
She quickly stifled her scream and swam to the edge of the pool, hastily checking a radar device that displayed three-dimensional figures moving outside the room where she had been bathing.
Relieved to see that no one had been alerted, she climbed out of the pool and walked towards a large work table littered with mechanical parts and tools.
Among the clutter was a half-finished exoskeleton and a pair of piston gauntlets.
She slipped the gauntlets onto her hands and returned to the pool, wielding a stick with a hook attached to one end.
Manav was lying unconscious in the shallow pool.
The hooked stick snagged Manav's shirt, pulling him out of the pool.
After dragging Manav to her work table, the woman bound his hands and legs to the sturdy legs of the table.
After securing Manav, she quickly changed from her towel into luxurious clothes, resembling a noblewoman from a diesel-punk themed world.
Her beauty was ethereal, reminiscent of an Apsara from Indian mythology, rivaling the allure of renowned women like Lois, Kara, Mera, and others.
All of them have their own merits, and advantages.
She inspected Manav thoroughly but found nothing of interest.
The bag he had carried before teleporting was missing, presumably lost in the colorful tunnel.
Her attention was drawn to a ring on Manav's finger, which intermittently glowed.
She removed the ring and examined it, hoping for some reaction, but to her disappointment, the ring merely continued its pattern of glowing and dimming.
Bored with the ring, she turned her attention back to the bound Manav.
She retrieved an injection and carefully administered it into Manav's hand.
After doing so, she stepped back and observed him.
Manav's eyes began to flutter, and his body broke out in a sweat.
After several dozen seconds, Manav awoke, gasping for breath.
He tried to clutch his chest, only to find his movements restricted.
Manav's face was a mask of despair as he quickly surveyed his surroundings.
He saw a woman seated in a mechanical wheelchair, appearing to be paralyzed from the neck down.
She was observing Manav's actions with the detached interest of someone watching a show.
Manav attempted to lift the table to free himself, but his efforts were in vain.
He couldn't even budge the table a millimeter.
Resigned, Manav sat on the ground, taking in his surroundings.
He noticed that the luxurious room was merely a bathroom used by the nobility.
Two robots stood at the end of the room, powered down.
As Manav was surveying the room, a voice broke the silence.
It was the woman in the wheelchair.
"Are you done? Now, tell me how you appeared in my bathroom?" she asked Manav, her voice carrying a noble accent, as if she were a queen.
"And why should I tell you?" Manav retorted, tilting his head.
"If you don't want to die, don't tell me," she replied.
"Nah, I'm not," Manav shook his head, testing the extent of the woman's patience.
The woman immediately sensed Manav's intentions.
"There are guards outside my room. If I call them, and you get caught, you won't like the consequences of being found sneaking into the room of a soon-to-be-married woman who owns a large company," she warned cunningly.
"Well, I will tell you, but you have to hide me from others, okay?" Manav proposed, setting a condition before the woman.
"Hmm, setting conditions before the hunter, interesting. Tell me, and I will keep you safe," she responded, her eyebrows raised in intrigue.
"I was just a loner, and when I was driving, cannibals caught me. I was running from them and fell into a dried river valley, where I stumbled into a cave. There, I found this ring. The moment I wore the ring, I was here," Manav quickly fabricated a story.
The woman's face was skeptical, but she had to believe him.
After all, how else could a person appear out of thin air?
"Okay, I will give you a new identity and protection, but in return, you will be my subordinate from now on. Don't you want this ring?" she asked, showing him the ring she was wearing.
Manav had already noticed that his ring was missing.
Manav was shocked how a normal person can accept this ridiculous story.
"I have to be careful around her; she is as clever as a fox," Manav thought to himself.
"I will. Can I use your workshop, or can you give me a workshop?" Manav agreed and asked in return.
"That depends on your performance. Now listen, your identity will be established before evening. Tomorrow there is a marriage court selection for me, and you will participate in this. You will raise your hand to marry me, okay?" she explained her plan.
"Hmm, it seems like she doesn't want to marry, but she has to, and she definitely has a problem with this," Manav thought to himself.
"Okay, I will do it. Now, can you untie me?" Manav asked, raising his bound hands.
"Okay, but don't try to do anything foolish. I have injected a poison into you that requires the same injection every week, and you need three injections to stay alive, okay?" she warned, pointing to the empty injection.
"Okay," Manav nodded, thinking to himself that this woman was definitely a devil. How could someone be so clever and cunning?
The woman told Manav the password, and he unlocked his bindings. Manav stood up and stared at the woman.
"Now what do I do?" Manav asked the woman, staring into her innocent-looking eyes.
Manav was almost fooled by her innocent appearance.
"No, no, don't be fooled by her appearance. She is a fox in the guise of a beautiful woman," Manav shook his head, dismissing his thoughts.
"Okay, there is a steel suit in the box under the table. Wear it," she instructed while checking a screen on her mechanical wheelchair.
Manav did as she said and donned the suit.
After wearing the steel suit, which stood 2 meters tall and was quite bulky, Manav resembled a large robot.
However, Manav had difficulty moving, as the steel suit was not flexible and only allowed for rigid movement.
"Uh, I can't move in this suit for long," Manav explained his problem to the woman.
The woman didn't say anything and pointed to a fuel box beside Manav on the table.
Manav picked up the box with all his strength.
The suit was very heavy.
After he injected the fuel into the small tank installed behind the steel suit, he pulled a rope on the side, and the suit started working.
Manav was surprised at how small engines were installed in this suit, especially in this world where nothing was advanced except for diesel engines.
"Follow me," the woman instructed Manav.
Manav tried to nod his head, but the suit was not capable of such a movement.
Manav started following her step by step.
The suit was powered by diesel and worked well.
Although this suit couldn't enhance any attributes of the wearer, it could protect them from bullets, which were not of a heavy caliber.
The woman wore a gauzy veil, which covered her entire face.
She wore gloves on her hands and fully covered her neck.
Not even a millimeter of her skin could be seen.
She wore a hat befitting an aristocratic woman on her head.
Manav was confused but didn't say anything, as he would eventually understand in the future.
The woman opened the gate by entering a password into the heavily reinforced gate of her bathroom.
The gate opened a small gap, enough for the woman and Manav to exit.
The woman exited the bathroom on her mechanical wheelchair, and Manav followed her.
The guards were shocked to see a large robot following the woman.
"Miss? What is this?" a butler standing outside the door of the bathroom asked the woman.
"He is my robot. I was tired of using puny robots, so I thought of using a large robot as my follower," she replied without stopping her mechanical wheelchair.
She moved through the vast corridor sitting on her mechanical wheelchair, with Manav following her in the steel suit at a slow pace.
The butler just nodded, thinking that these were the new hobbies of the rich every day.
He followed the mechanical wheelchair side by side with the large steel robot powered by diesel.
"Miss, tomorrow is the day when your bridegroom will be chosen," the butler informed the woman.
"I know," she nodded.
After they arrived in the large hall, which resembled the court of a king, the woman moved towards the highest position using her mechanical wheelchair.
After reaching her position, she announced,
"The meeting starts now."
Manav stood behind her.
"Miss, our first problem is that the company's sales are decreasing," a man said.
"Okay, we will soon release new products that will boost our sales and company reputation," she replied.
"Miss, our products are being looted again by those punk gangs," another man said.
"Engage mercenaries to eliminate those marauders plundering our merchandise. Let their fate serve as a deterrent to others lurking in the shadows, coveting our goods," the young lady commanded, her voice laced with a hint of fury.
"Understood, Miss," the man responded, nodding in agreement before sinking back into his plush chair.
Thus, a day-long meeting was conducted, filled with strategic discussions and decisive actions.
As dusk fell, Manav trailed behind the young lady, accompanying her to her opulent quarters.
Once inside, she ordered an array of sumptuous dishes to be served in her room. A parade of servants promptly delivered a feast fit for royalty.
"Leave." she commanded the maids, who promptly obeyed, exiting the room without a second glance.
Their lack of suspicion was due to the presence of a food-serving robot in her room, a common sight in these modern times.
"Now, you may emerge," she announced.
Manav, concealed within a steel suit, stepped out into the open.
"Phew, this suit is exhausting. Thankfully, it's equipped with an air ventilation system. Otherwise, I'd be cooked alive in here," Manav confessed, his voice heavy with fatigue, his body slick with sweat.
"Refresh yourself. The bathroom is over there," she instructed, pointing towards a door in the corner of the room.
Manav nodded in acknowledgment and proceeded to do as she suggested.