Then the man laughed and said,
" This is not as easy as you think. Reality is brutal."
They both got onto the land, and after reaching it, they saw big trees near them, covered with thick bushes and plants.
"How can we get our ID back?" Manu asked.
"Don't think about anything. I'll be coming to the same point every day. If I find anyone, I'll return it to you," the man said and left with the boat.
"This man thinks we won't come back from the other side," Srini said.
"Don't worry about it. Come, let's go. Did you do what I said?" Manu asked.
"What do you think, who am I? Of course, mission success," Srini said with a smile. Then he took out the watch that the man in the boat had been wearing.
Manu took the watch and looked at it. It was still working.
"Woo... great! The watch is still working. I think we can negotiate for money when we get back to the base," Manu said and returned the watch.
Srini kept the watch safely in his pant pocket.
"When did you steal the watch? I didn't even see it," Manu asked.
"When he was looking closely at your locket, I gave him my ID. That guy didn't notice me because he was staring at the locket. At that time, I slowly took his watch," Srini explained.
Then they walked for a while between the trees. Soon, the sun slowly began to rise. The rising sun was shining over the ruined buildings, which were covered with small plants, bushes, and greenery. Most of the buildings in the city were destroyed. Only a few were barely standing, everything else was ruined.
Both of them stood on a small hill, looking at the view that covered most of the city which was now called "the other side."
"Woo, it is more beautiful than our settlement. The sun, the plants... I don't even remember seeing them before. I thought I would never be able to come outside, but today is very special," Srini said.
"Now, will you just stand here and stare at the city, or will you get down the hill to see something?" Manu asked.
"We are going to look for anything we can sell in the market," Srini said.
"No, not just for scrap. We're going to find something interesting that could fetch us a fortune—if we are lucky," Manu said.
"How?" Srini asked.
"I got some important information about the outer world," Manu said.
"What? When? How? Tell me!" Srini asked eagerly.