Chapter 9: First Mission
1407 Words
A holographic projection floated in the air right above the group.
It showed a terrifying creature that looked like a fusion between a massive stag beetle and a heavy armored tank, thick plates covering its body, large curved horns, and sharp legs that could tear through metal.
"Your first mission begins immediately," Luis said, leading the way forward.
"We have a confirmed breach near Sector 4, the sleeping cabins. That is where you will be operating."
He guided the five players down the corridor until they stopped in front of a set of large metal doors marked with a glowing symbol.
Luis stepped inside and turning around.
He looked at the five standing outside, staring at him with wide, confused eyes as if they had never seen such a thing before.
"Get in," Luis repeated, sighing inwardly.
"Oh! It's an elevator!" one of the men finally realized, laughing in embarrassment.
The rest quickly followed, squeezing into the cabin.
The doors slid shut with a soft hiss, and the gentle hum of machinery filled the small space.
"So this is like the loading screen when moving to another map, right?" one player asked.
"Hey, have you guys noticed? There's absolutely no lag or delay!" another added.
"It feels exactly like reality, no weird glitches or rubber-banding at all when we walked in the corridor."
Before anyone could reply, the hologram in the center of the lift changed.
The image zoomed in, showing the actual size of the creature, about one meter long, with jagged, serrated mandibles and a dull, metallic exoskeleton that looked far harder than steel.
Luis waited a few moments to let them calm down before speaking. "These are called Void Beetles."
"They do not belong to any normal planetary ecosystem. They live deep inside asteroids, surviving in the vacuum of space in a state of deep hibernation. Their metabolism slows down to almost zero, allowing them to sleep for centuries without food, water, or even oxygen."
He paused, letting the information sink in.
"They only wake up when they detect heat, air pressure, and atmosphere. In nature, they wait for their asteroid to crash onto a planet. Once they wake, they eat, multiply, and spread like a plague across the entire surface."
From the back, Maria raised her hand slightly and asked.
"If they are from space, how did they get inside a high-tech colony ship like this? Shouldn't there be strict checks?"
Luis's expression turned grim.
"Human error. This vessel was conducting routine mining operations in the nearby asteroid belt. Raw ore was brought into the main cargo holds. One of our senior technicians got careless."
"He skipped the mandatory biological scan, thinking the vacuum of space would have killed everything already. The moment the bay was pressurized and warmed up, the beetles woke up. Now they have chewed through the maintenance shafts and are nesting right near the living quarters."
"The insects accidentally being taken inside the ship has too mamy loopholes, I don't know who wrote the plot." a player whispered.
He tapped the wall beside him.
"Most of the ship's hull and main decks are made of reinforced alloy that can withstand impacts and extreme heat. But the internal pipes, wiring channels, and ventilation shafts are not as strong. That is how they moved so fast."
Suddenly, a bright blue notification popped up in the corner of every player's vision, glowing clearly:
Quest Available: Clean the Cribs
Objective: Clear the infestation from Sector 4. Eliminate all Void Beetles and secure the area.
"They are tough, but not invincible," Luis continued, looking at their curious and still relaxed faces.
"Their shells can deflect weak blows and small arms fire, but concentrated shots from your kinetic rifles will shatter them. If you want a safe place to rest and sleep later, you have to earn it. Grab your gear, stick together, and clear the corridors. Do not let them expand their nests."
Ding!
The lift chimed, and the doors slid open.
Instantly, the dim red emergency lights and the blaring alarm filled their vision. The corridor ahead was dark, only lit by the flashing red glow.
"This looks exactly like a horror game!" one player said, swallowing hard.
Tell me about it! Luis shouted inwardly, though his face remained calm.
The five stepped out into the passage, looking left and right with mixed curiosity and caution.
"Good luck, warriors," Luis said, stepping back into the lift.
"I will be watching over you. If you need help, just call for AVA, the system will guide you and provide information as needed."
Before they could ask more questions, the doors slid shut, leaving them alone in the dim, echoing hallway.
-----
Earlier, when Luis and the System had been preparing everything before the first summons, he decided to give the System a proper name.
From now on, she would be called AVA. She would act as the in-game guide, the interface, and the friendly mascot for the players.
AVA was absolutely delighted to finally have a name.
She threw herself fully into the work, designing missions, setting up the status panels, calculating damage values, and even arranging safe zones and practice areas.
She did almost everything so efficiently that Luis felt like he had become nothing more than a relaxed boss who just sat back and watched the show.
-----
Back in the corridor, the players did not panic as one might expect.
Instead of fear, their faces showed mostly excitement and curiosity. After all, these were the first batch Luis had chosen~ all hardcore veterans who had played hundreds of games.
"Ugh, I can already smell something foul!" one man said, covering his nose with his sleeve.
"It smells like old, dried blood mixed with rotten meat," another added, doing the same.
"Definitely not something you want to get used to."
"How did you know?"
"it's a secret~."
Suddenly, the quietest member of the group, suddenly dropped straight to the floor, lying completely still.
"Hey! What happened?!" A girl shouted, rushing over to him.
But only a second later, Viper sat up and laughed loudly.
"I found it! You can log out whenever you want! I was worried it would be like those anime stories where you get trapped forever."
The other four stared at him in shock, then quickly began searching their own vision. Sure enough, in the top right corner of their view, there was a small, faint icon that read LOG OUT.
As if it were some kind of game test, they took turns activating it one by one. Each time, their bodies went limp and collapsed to the floor, only to sit up again a moment later.
"Okay, so lesson one," Maria said, brushing dust off her uniform.
"Always make sure you are in a safe spot before logging out. If you just fall down anywhere, you could get hurt or attacked while you are gone."
"Exactly," Tea agreed.
"This is way more realistic than any game I've tried. Imagine if you were in the middle of a fight and suddenly logged out—you'd be dead before you even woke up back home."
"Hey, since we are stuck here together, let's introduce ourselves properly," Key said, scratching his head with a grin.
"We are the first five players in this closed beta, after all. My username is Key@Rapsody, but just call me Key."
"Mine is TeatimeNow21~ just shorten it to Tea," the girl replied.
"I'm MariaMagdalena5555, but everyone calls me Maria," she said with a smile.
"Just call me Texas!" the tall man laughed. "Full username is TheEntireStateOfTexas."
"Wait a minute! Are you that famous game streamer with millions of subscribers?!" Key's eyes went wide in surprise.
"That's me," Texas nodded proudly.
"And I'm Viper100," the last one added. "Just Viper is fine."
In the dim, smelly corridor, with alarms still ringing and danger lurking nearby, the five chatted and laughed as if they were just meeting up in a normal game lobby.
Slowly, they began walking forward, looking into every corner and opening every door, hoping to find loot or supplies.
Back in the Command Center, Luis watched them through the security cameras and shook his head with a smile.
"Well, at least they are treating this like a game for now. With that attitude, they might actually survive their first real fight."
_________________________________________
Don't forget to check out my p*****n page!
https://patreon.com/JJA_Lightzero?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD