Spring Break was in full effect. There were plenty of visitors exploring NYC. There were concerts to attend, cruises to enjoy, and anything that the city had to offer. Dinh and Khuong really looked forward to the cruise. As soon as their boarding passes were processed, they made haste to their cabin. It had a window view. They began exploring the cruise ship. As the ship was filling up with more passengers, a silhouette brushed against Khuong's shoulder. Khuong turned around to apologize for bumping into their shoulder. When he looked up, Khuong said, "Mai?" Wearing a sun hat and linen summer jumpsuit, Mai replied, "Hey, bestie!!"
Khuong introduced Mai to Dinh. Mai was a famous celebrity cosplayer, known for her appearances as Sivir from League of Legends and Kitana from Mortal Kombat, and was Khuong's childhood friend.
Dinh said, "Nice to meet you! I'm a huge fan of your work! Do you mind if we take a selfie? Please!!"
Mai replied, "Sure thing, sweetie!" The three of them posed for several shots. Afterwards, Mai suggested to go to the pool. And so, they did. Mai slathered on tanning oil to get ready to get some rays. Dinh admired Mai's physique, which she always maintained in tip top shape. Khuong tossed a ball towards Dinh's head to prevent him from staring at Mai too long. Dinh grabbed the ball and charged at Khuong, as Khuong ran away!
Later in the evening, Mai joined them for dinner. They mainly conversed about Mai's career.
Mai gracefully changed the topic and said, "So, Khuong, how long were you planning on hiding Dinh?" Khuong and Dinh blushed! Khuong replied, "It's not what you think! We work together at Equinox Sports Club. We've been hanging out more often recently."
"Oh, so Dinh is available!" Mai said with the biggest grin. "I'm gonna snatch him one day!" she continued as she laughed.
Dinh was hopeful. But Khuong assured Dinh that Mai was just being playful. Dinh was crushed by the new revelation.
After a long day and evening of fun, Dinh, Khuong, and Mai decided to call it a night. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Mai said before she headed back to her cabin.
Back at Dinh and Khuong's cabin, Dinh expressed his gratitude for having met Mai. Khuong asked, "Is she your type?" Dinh answered, "She is! But she's probably out of my league. What kind of guys does she date?"
Khuong answered, "Honestly , she does not really date or feel the need to depend on someone else." Dinh inquired, "Why not?" Khuong explained, "She had a rough upbringing." After a long pause, Dinh asked, "Did Mai and you ever date?" Khuong replied, "I tried it when we were in jiu-jitsu class as kids. But her condition was that I had to win in a sparring match against her. Seriously, Mai was very strong. In fact, she was the best student in the entire academy!" Dinh exclaimed, "Woah!"
Suddenly, the meteorite and star shard appeared and began to pulsate. Dinh yawned and said, "Seriously?! I was ready to go to sleep." Khuong chuckled. They both got ready to pass through the portal to Votros.
༄༄༄
Dinh and Khuong arrived at a remote area in Votros. Angel greeted them and said, "Good! You've arrived." Dinh asked, "What's been happening ?" Angel answered, "There seems to be a disturbance in a different sector. Many Processors went there to investigate and attempt to resolve it. However, they were all wiped out."
"Sounds awful!" Dinh said. Khuong asked, "What's the nature of this disturbance?" Angel explained, "All we know is that it originated from a malevolent source. Although its purpose remains uncertain, the disturbance is impacting the sector's biomes."
