CHAPTER 54 - WARPERS

When you're streaming the same game as others, taking a different path in the storyline helps attract more viewers.

Naturally, PureWhite's decision to pursue an alternate plotline was met with full support from his viewers.

"Alright, let's go!" Without wasting any time, PureWhite sprang into action.

Ding.

[Warning: You are about to enter waters 800 meters deep. It is highly recommended that you craft a pressure resistant diving suit to withstand the extreme pressure.]

"No problem!"

Following Cortana's instructions, PureWhite gathered the required materials, crafted the pressure resistant diving suit, put it on, and dove straight into the ocean.

This would be a long journey. The shelter was 130 kilometers from the island, and most daunting of all, it was 800 meters under the sea.

Eight. Hundred. Meters.

Even for someone as fearless as PureWhite, the deepest he'd ever gone in-game was a little over 200 meters.

Riding the Seamoth, PureWhite made his way toward shelter. After almost an hour, he finally arrived above the target location.

But even now, he still had to descend over 800 meters.

"Alright guys, get ready, I'm about to dive." PureWhite announced. He took a deep breath and started the descent.

The chat instantly turned tense.

Buzz...

All he could hear was the quiet hum of the Seamoth's engine. As he looked downward, there was nothing but pitch black water beneath him. Not even a glimpse of the ocean floor.

Only a few small fish drifted past in the murky darkness.

As he dove deeper, more species appeared, bunches of fish darting around, some of which PureWhite had never seen before. Curious, he scanned the most common red ones.

Ding!

[Species: Piranha. Small, aggressive predators. Will attack any wounded lifeform. Prey: Small herbivores. Capable of swarming to take down creatures 100 times their size. Assessment: Avoid large groups. Do not bleed.]

"They really are piranhas?!" PureWhite exclaimed in shock. These fish were notorious on Earth, frenzied killers the moment they smelled even a drop of blood.

"Wait, there's hundreds of them around me..." He swept his headlights across the surrounding water, and gasped. They were everywhere.

"Holy crap, one drop of blood and he would be stripped to the bone in seconds!"

"Relax, PureWhite's inside the Seamoth. He'll be fine."

"Yeah, those fish can't hurt him in there."

The chat reassured him, and PureWhite thought the same. As long as he stayed in the Seamoth, there was no real danger. It wasn't invincible, it couldn't take on a Leviathan, but piranhas? No problem.

He held his breath and descended further through the swarm of fish.

But just then, PureWhite spotted something strange below.

It hovered silently beneath him, roughly two meters tall, humanoid in shape, glowing with an eerie purple hue. It floated upright in the water like a person.

Its head looked vaguely like a fish's, but the lower body ended in squid like tentacles. Its arms were shaped like mantis scythes, and its translucent skin revealed its glowing inner organs.

"What is that thing...?" PureWhite squinted.

"This doesn't look like anything else we've seen in the game so far."

"Yeah, its style is totally different."

"Maybe it's a predator that only hunts small fish?"

The viewers chimed in too. Judging by its size, it didn't seem too threatening. The scythe like arms were more like tiny daggers than weapons of mass destruction.

It wasn't nearly as intimidating as the sea crocodile that devoured the woman in Pod No. 2.

As long as he remained inside the Seamoth, he should be safe.

Then, suddenly, Cortana's voice rang out again.

"Unknown signal detected. Do you wish to play the transmission?"

"Wait, another broadcast?"

"Could it be survivors? Or maybe a rescue ship?"

"No... Cortana said it's an unknown signal!"

Curious, PureWhite ordered, "Play it."

The Seamoth speakers crackled to life. But it wasn't a human voice, it was a bizarre stream of distorted syllables, like a mosquito's buzz played on repeat.

"What is that?" PureWhite frowned.

"An alien broadcast, most likely," Cortana replied. "Attempting translation... Translation complete."

"Alert: New bacterial infected lifeform detected. Mode: Hunting. Sharing coordinates with all active Warpers."

PureWhite froze.

"What... does that mean?"

Was this tied to the aliens from the strange tower? What new infected lifeform? What's a Warpers? And hunting mode?

Just as he was processing it all, another buzz echoed from below, and PureWhite's eyes widened.

That purple creature was suddenly gone from its original location.

It had teleported, past the swarm of piranhas, and appeared meters away.

"What the... How did it move that fast?!"

"Did it just teleport??"

"No way, that thing can teleport?!"

The chat exploded.

Everyone watched in shock as space around the creature shimmered. In the blink of an eye, it vanished and reappeared ten meters closer to the Seamoth.

And it was still coming.

PureWhite's heart began to race. "This thing can teleport... and it's headed straight for me!"

"More precisely, it's spatial teleportation. You can clearly see the surrounding space distortions!"

Even the viewers in the stream were starting to panic. PureWhite, however, stared straight at the strange creature on the screen, shocked by its abilities.

What kind of insane creature did the devs design this time?

Born with spatial teleportation?! That's completely broken!

Suppressing the chill that ran down his spine, PureWhite forced himself to stay calm.

"Don't panic," he muttered. "Even if this thing can teleport, it doesn't seem very strong in combat. As long as I stay inside the Seamoth, I should be fine. Let me scan it first and see what we're dealing with."

True to his fearless nature, PureWhite didn't retreat. Instead, as the creature blinked through space again and drew within five or six meters, he piloted the Sea Moth closer, raised his wrist, and activated the scan.

Ding!

[Target identified: Warpers. A hostile entity capable of spatial teleportation for both itself and external lifeforms. Exhibits aggressive hunting behavior. Notably, it possesses no digestive organs and displays a far more complex internal structure than any known species. No genetic similarity with native fauna. No defensive strategies found in current database. Threat level: Unknown.]

PureWhite's pupils contracted sharply. So this thing really is the Warpers mentioned in the earlier alien broadcast... and it really can teleport other creatures?!

A low, vibrating hum echoed again, and before PureWhite could even react, the world around him flickered, and the hideous face of the Warper was suddenly inches from his own.

"Holy shit!!"

His heart skipped a beat. He'd been teleported out of the Seamoth. It wasn't the Warper that entered, he'd been forcefully pulled out!

"Damn it! That nearly gave me a heart attack!"

The live chat exploded.

"What just happened?! The Warper went inside?"

"No, no, it yanked PureWhite OUT of the Seamoth!"

"That's insane. It can just grab players like that???"

Before the shock wore off, the Warper struck. Its sickle like arms sliced through the water, and PureWhite barely managed to block with his arm.

A sharp sting tore through him, blood sprayed from his right arm, and his health bar plummeted by a quarter.

The attack wasn't even that powerful, but the real danger hadn't started yet.

Just as PureWhite reached for his sidearm, spatial ripples shimmered again. The Warper vanished, teleporting away in an instant.

"Trying to run now? I won't let you escape!" PureWhite growled, ready to give chase, until he suddenly froze.

His eyes widened in horror.

Rustle!

A terrifying noise surrounded him. The water churned violently as swarms of bloodthirsty piranhas converged on his position.

The wound on his arm... it was leaking blood into the water.

"No, No, NO!!!" PureWhite shouted in panic. The piranhas, sensing fresh blood, charged like a red tide.

He was instantly engulfed.

Rows upon rows of razor sharp teeth tore into him. Every nerve screamed. His skin burned and itched as dozens, hundreds of tiny mouths bit into his flesh.

He tried to curl up to protect his head, but there were too many. The pressure of their bodies crushed against him, he couldn't even move.

The screen flashed red. Then... black.

[You Died.]

"Fuck!"

Gasping for air, PureWhite yanked off the VR headset, drenched in cold sweat. He frantically looked down at his arms, his legs, his whole body.

Still intact.

"Damn it... that was way too real!" he panted. "I could feel them tearing me apart!"

"That death was brutal."

"The piranhas swarmed him like maggots. Gave me chills!"

"PureWhite just unlocked a new death animation!"

"This is worse than Silent Hill!"

PureWhite didn't reply to chat. He was still patting himself down, still shaken by the sensation of being devoured alive.

Only after confirming there wasn't a single bite mark did he finally let out a shaky breath.

"I seriously thought I was being torn apart. It felt that real." He wiped sweat from his brow. "If there was pain feedback too, I don't think I'd have survived that."

"This is just like Silent Hill! Remember when that ghost woman jumped at you?"

"That time the game cut out before the actual hit. But this... it made you feel everything."

"Just like in a nightmare. You fall off a building, wake up, and instinctively check if your legs are broken."

PureWhite shook his head. "The games are getting more and more extreme. I swear, the devs are out to kill us... virtually, anyway."

After a short break to recover, PureWhite logged back into the game.

He respawned at the start of the dive, still aboard the Seamoth.

Looking down into the dark, endless waters below, where piranhas swarmed and a teleporting alien waited, he felt his scalp tingle again.

"Guys," he said with a helpless smile, "we'll have to avoid that area. That Warper/Piranha combo seems unbeatable for now."

"Seriously. The Warper is too broken."

"Teleportation is one thing, but being able to teleport others?!"

"Even Natalie's Sea Mantis wouldn't survive that."

"Exactly," PureWhite agreed. "And that Warper isn't just dangerous, it's smart. It knew how to use the piranhas to finish me off. It didn't even need to kill me itself."

"I can't believe I got outsmarted by a NPC..." he added, voice tinged with disbelief and frustration.

"No shame in that. The devs behind this is are geniuses."

"The Warper might be tied to the alien signal. What about the infection mentioned in that broadcast?"

"Too many mysteries. We'll have to uncover them piece by piece."

1740 Words.