CHAPTER 41 - ESCAPE POD #2 SAVED

[A.N Sorry for the Chapters timed uploads, for some reasons the publish timer is not posting the Chapters when I want them too]

"What?!" Tony froze mid bite when he heard Natalie's exclamation as a deep frown formed on his face. "No way. That has to be fake! It has to be!" he blurted out in disbelief.

This wasn't some casual surprise, this hit him like a bolt of lightning.

In Subnautica, he had personally designed the mission to save the woman in Escape Pod No. 2 as one of the hardest challenges in the game. He'd estimated that no one would complete it for at least a month.

"It doesn't look fake, Tony. Just watch this video," Natalie said, handing him her phone.

Tony put his food down and tapped on the video. The screen lit up with the image of a boy, no older than fifteen or sixteen, smiling brightly at the camera.

"Hello to all players of Subnautica! I have some awesome news to share, today, with my sister's help, and a god tier guest she invited, we successfully rescued the woman in Escape Pod No. 2! And that's not all... we even made a shocking discovery!"

"First, let me introduce our two MVPs!"

As he finished speaking, a man and a woman stepped into frame, both greeting the audience with friendly smiles.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Why did they look so familiar...?

Luckily, the comment section below the video was faster than his memory.

"Holy crap, is that Brook Linx? The Olympic swimming champ?!"

"And next to her... that's Rick Holsher! Olympic gold medalist in rifle shooting!"

"What kind of lineup is this?!"

Tony stared blankly at the screen. That's when it hit him. So that's how they beat the mission...He had underestimated just how wild things could get when real world Olympians got involved.

In the video, the boy, Asher Linx, acted like a seasoned host as he continued, "Alright everyone, let's check out how we pulled off the impossible rescue!"

The scene transitioned into gameplay footage.

Brook, now in full control of the VR gear, dove gracefully into the sea at the start of the mission.

With ease, she cruised through the shallow waters nearby, collecting titanium ore and crafting an oxygen tank with it, allowing her to breathe underwater for longer periods.

With her new tank on her back, she began searching for the jetflower plant. She soon located one, swiftly swam over, triggered the self destructing fish, and then twisted away like a mermaid.

The bomb fish exploded behind her, but the blast only grazed her, taking off a mere 8 HP.

"Damn! That's Olympic-level movement for you!"

"She's not even using a propeller and still dodged the explosion like a pro!"

"I've lost a third of my health just getting close to those things. This is amazing!"

Viewers were stunned. Brook's every move was clean, efficient, and professional. After expertly triggering eight bomb fish and gathering enough sulfur, she used the 3D printer to craft a pistol.

Just then, a distress signal from Escape Pod No. 2 came in. Brook noted the coordinates and swam toward it without hesitation, gun in hand.

The pod came into view, dented and on the verge of collapse as a massive sea crocodile rammed into it again and again.

"Pause the game!" Asher's voice shouted from offscreen. "Sis, swap out, Rick's up!"

"Mmhmm, I'm on it!"

"Let's go!"

Brook quickly removed her headset, and RIck, already waiting, put it on and jumped into action.

The comments section exploded.

"Wait a second, they're tag-teaming this?!"

"This has to be the most cracked strategy I've ever seen."

"Pro swimmer clears the path, Olympic shooter finishes the job... Absolutely genius."

Now controlling the game, Rick pulled out the pistol and calmly aimed at the sea crocodile thrashing against the pod.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five consecutive shots, all direct hits. Blood bloomed in the water like roses.

The sea crocodile let out a bone chilling roar and turned its attention toward him, charging full speed. But Rick remained calm under pressure. He didn't retreat. He didn't panic.

He simply kept firing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Twenty-five bullets in total. Every single one hit the target.

"What in the, EVERY shot landed?!"

"Cracked aim. Gun King confirmed!"

"No wonder he's the Olympic champ. Those shots are insane!"

With a final groan, the sea crocodile, bleeding from dozens of wounds, slowed, then collapsed, sinking into the deep.

It was dead. Mission critical threat, eliminated.

"Pause it again, Sis, you're up!" Asher's voice shouted in excitement.

"Got it!"

They swapped again like a synchronized relay team. Brook re-entered the game and swam directly toward the shattered pod.

Inside, the woman was barely conscious as seawater flooded the cabin.

Inside the shattered escape pod, a woman lay unconscious. Though not stunningly gorgeous, she had the air of someone calm, self assured, and dignified. Her black hair was tied in a high ponytail, her eyes shut tightly, and her pale face told the story of oxygen deprivation.

She had clearly passed out from suffocation.

The moment she appeared on screen, the entire comment section lit up with excitement.

"Holy crap! There's actually another living person in Subnautica!?"

"New World Confirmed, Pod No.2 girl can be saved after all!"

"But damn... it actually took two Olympic champions to pull it off, and they still almost failed. This difficulty is brutal."

"Haha, they really went all out just to save one NPC!"

"I bet the devs never expected anyone to clear this! No way they thought someone could pull it off!"

Off screen, Natalie was grinning as she glanced sideways. "Uh... Tony, looks like the people are roasting you."

Tony didn't even look up. His expression was calm, but his voice was laced with sarcasm. "No need to point it out. I'm not blind, I can read the comments."

He rolled his eyes. Seriously, these players dare to talk to me like this? The sheer disrespect was almost impressive.

Natalie chuckled and teased, "Come on, though, your rescue mission is totally messed up. It took two world champions swapping off mid battle to even barely make it! Are you trying to torture players?"

But then she paused, a memory surfacing. "Wait... that's weird. I remember when I played, the sea crocodile wasn't that hard. I just stayed calm, kited it around a few times, then pumped it full of bullets. Why was it so much harder in their version?!"

Tony gave a knowing smirk. "That's because there are two versions of the boss."

He leaned back and explained, "If the woman in Pod No.2 is still alive, the sea crocodile enters an enraged state, higher health, faster speed, more aggressive, and no delay in turning. It's designed to make rescue almost impossible under normal conditions."

"But," he continued, "if the woman dies, the crocodile's stats drop drastically. Its health, speed, and attack rate go down. That way, players can still kill it and feel that rush of revenge. That's the design, give them the satisfaction of avenging her."

Natalie blinked. "Ohhh... no wonder it so weak when I killed it." She scratched her head, slightly embarrassed. "For a moment I actually thought I was stronger than an Olympic champion..."

Tony almost laughed. "You're not that delusional, are you?"

"Shut up!" Natalie playfully punched his shoulder, then grew more curious. "But seriously, Tony, I gotta ask, why did you design it this way? Was it just to torture players on purpose?"

Tony raised an eyebrow, then replied in a deadpan tone, "What do you think?"

"Am I really that kind of person?" Tony sighed, exasperated.

Natalie raised her brows, giving him a look of exaggerated shock. "You're not?!"

"..."

"...Well, at least not this time," he muttered in defeat.

Natalie wasn't letting it go. "Then tell me, what were you planning with that insane rescue setup?"

Tony simply pointed at the screen. "Watch the rest of the video and you'll understand."

Still skeptical, Natalie leaned forward. "Fine, but I'm not buying it yet..."

The footage resumed.

In the video, Brook had just broken into the pod. There, lying unconscious, was the woman, a survivor who had almost drowned. The moment Brook reached out to touch her.

Poof!

She disintegrated into a cluster of sparkling bubbles, vanishing into the water.

"What the-?!" Brook muttured, "She just... vanished? Did we fail or was that supposed to happen?!"

But before the panic could spread, the screen froze. A dialog box popped up, and its contents shocked everyone.

[Congratulations! You've completed the hidden mission and successfully rescued the survivor in Escape Pod No. 2.]

[Online Mode Unlocked! You may now invite your Steam friends to play as the Cabin 2 survivor and explore the deep sea world together.]

The internet exploded.

"NO WAY. Saving her unlocks online co-op?!"

"Broooo, this game was online all along???"

"Turns out it was already in the game... just locked behind the hardest hidden quest ever."

"Letting someone play as the rescued girl, genius! It explains her plot AND opens multiplayer!"

"And now I'm even madder. I KNOW how to unlock it but there's no way in hell I can actually do it!!"

"Took two world champions in a tag team to pull this off. What chance do us mortals have?"

"Still, I kind of respect the setup. He knew people would obsess over this. Sick, twisted genius..."

By now, the video had reached its climax.

Asher's excited voice rang out in the background narration.

"Players! That's the entire rescue operation for Escape Pod No. 2! And what a surprise, we found the secret to unlocking co-op mode! I'm telling you, the devs at New World Studio are just incredible!"

"Also... Joseph! Are you watching?! Your dream came true, we saved her! Don't forget the money."

Natalie sat there stunned for a moment, then slowly turned toward Tony. "So... this whole time... the girl in Pod No.2 was actually the key to multiplayer mode?"

Tony gave a wry smile. "Yeah, that was the plan."

Natalie gave him a huge thumbs up. "Tony, I take it back. This idea is amazing. Like, really amazing!"

But Tony didn't look proud. In fact, he was frowning. "No... I still wasn't careful enough."

"Huh?" Natalie tilted her head.

"I originally designed this so that no one could rescue her in the first month. The difficulty was intentional," he explained. "Only by the second week, after players got better at the game and developed combat tactics, did I expect anyone to even have a shot."

"It was supposed to be an Easter egg. A reward for those who embraced the loneliness of this alien ocean. After surviving it once alone, players would unlock a second playthrough, this time with friends. I wanted that emotional contrast."

He let out a long sigh.

"But I underestimated one thing..."

He reached up and pressed a palm to his forehead in despair. "I didn't account for physical plug-ins. Freaking human plug-ins! Two world champions, taking shifts like a speedrun relay?! What the hell is this, esports?!"

Natalie burst out laughing. "Oh man! I wish people could see your face right now, total collapse! I'm so posting this online!"

"Can you not?" Tony glared at her.

Natalie straightened her face and said with mock solemnity, "Hey, I'm your older sister, yes. But first and foremost, I'm a player."

Tony scoffed. "Tch... Whatever. Go ahead and post it. Let everyone know."

He folded his arms.

"It doesn't matter. Sure, some god tier players unlocked online mode early. But for the rest of them?" He smirked.

"They'll still suffer alone their first month, just like I planned."

1931 Words.