CHAPTER 58 - NEW HOME

"By the way, Coach," Brook said with a kind smile, "this game... it gets pretty intense right at the start. You might want to close your eyes during the first sequence and just power through it."

"Yes, yes!" Terra quickly chimed in. "The beginning is no joke!"

"How scary could it possibly be? You think I'm too timid, don't you?" Mei chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. "Come on! You're underestimating me. I didn't win a world class title for nothing! Just a video game, how scary can it be?"

Mei had no background in gaming. The most she'd seen was her son dancing around on a VR platform. So she grossly underestimated what she was getting into.

"Alright, let's do this!" she said, confidently putting on the VR headset.

A few seconds later, her sharp screams echoed throughout the VR area.

It wasn't even a monster that frightened her, just the opening scene of falling from a high altitude. That was enough to send her heart racing.

Brook couldn't help but shake her head and sigh... she didn't listen.

Surprisingly, after surviving that initial scare, Mei adjusted quickly. Once she landed on the alien planet, her shock turned into awe. Like Brook before her, she was mesmerized by the Aurora and the vast, beautiful ocean.

For a moment, this middle aged woman found herself enchanted. The breathtaking visuals stirred up long buried fantasies of futuristic worlds and youthful dreams.

Is this really just a game? she wondered. It feels like another world... Suddenly, she understood why her son had become so obsessed.

With Brook's reminder, she turned her focus to swimming.

Once in the water, Mei was stunned. The swimming simulation was so realistic, it felt just like the real sea.

"Wow... This game really simulates swimming perfectly." She had no choice but to admit it.

Compared to the boring repetition of a pool, this ocean was a dream. It was immersive, exciting, even addictive.

"And that's not all, Coach!" Terra piped up. "There's an AI coach in the game named Cortana. She can teach you everything. Just call for her!"

Mei tried it. Moments later, a soft, intelligent female voice responded, startling her again.

As someone unfamiliar with futuristic tech, Mei had no clue what an AI even was. It took her a while to get used to Cortana's presence. But once she did, she began training under the virtual coach's guidance.

Then, the coach side of Mei kicked in, she decided to test Cortana.

She started intentionally making subtle mistakes with her strokes, ones most swimmers would overlook.

But Cortana caught every single one.

As soon as Mei's posture was off, the AI immediately pointed it out and offered corrections, both in voice and video format.

Intrigued, Mei kept trying to fool the AI with various small, hard to spot errors.

But no matter what she tried, Cortana caught them all, and corrected her, step by step.

Mei was floored.

She spent half an hour in this VR world, swimming in the deep ocean, and came out drenched in sweat.

Her first words, "I give in! I really do!"

She was completely convinced by Cortana's professionalism. The AI's ability to give feedback on even the smallest details, arm swing angles, breathing intervals, timing, was beyond anything she expected.

Even the correction points were spot on. In all her years of coaching, Mei had never seen anything this meticulous.

'Tsk, even I didn't train my students this carefully', she thought.

The only minor flaw? You don't actually need to breathe in the game. But even that was covered, Cortana still taught the correct breathing techniques.

If someone followed her instructions seriously, learning to swim would be easy.

With this level of precision, Mei believed Cortana could rival a national level coach, and even surpass one in certain areas.

She imagined if a truly talented swimmer trained with Cortana in this game... they could probably become a champion.

That thought left her stunned.

Has game technology really come this far?

While Mei was still reeling from the experience, a few other female athletes decided to give the game a try too. At first skeptical, they quickly came to the same conclusion, the visuals feel real, Coach Cortana is no joke. And Subnautica is no ordinary game, it's a masterpiece!

"Okay, Terra, Brook," Wang Mei said seriously after her session, "you were absolutely right. I'm going to talk to Administrator now. We need to submit a request to the higher ups."

She had already analyzed the game in just that short time. The potential it held for training, especially in mastering swimming techniques, was undeniable.

She couldn't let personal feelings get in the way. This wasn't just about fun. It was about team performance.

And even emotionally, she had to admit, she was completely sold.

She finally understood why her son had grown stronger, both physically and mentally, since playing this game.

This isn't just a game, it's a training revolution.

"Okay! Okay!"

"Thank you, Coach!!!"

"Ha ha! Training's going to be fun from now on!!"

The athletes were thrilled. Even with just a short demo, they were already hooked on Subnautica.

Before Mei could even call the Coach of the men's national team, her phone rang.

It was him.

She quickly picked up. "Hello? Leon, what's up?"

"Mea," Leon said seriously, "my team just told me something crazy. Apparently there's this VR game where you can actually train swimming. Sounds ridiculous, I know... but I tried it myself. And it's legit. I think we should consider integrating it."

Mei chuckled. "You mean Subnautica, right? I just finished playing it. I was about to call you!"

"No way! So... shall we submit the application together?"

"Let's do it!"

Just like that, the two coaches were in full agreement.

After hanging up, Leon turned to his curious athletes and said with a grin, "It's done."

Almost immediately after that, the official social media account of the national swimming team posted an announcement:

"Following overwhelming suggestions from team members, the national team plans to officially integrate Subnautica into daily training sessions."

That single sentence instantly set the internet on fire.

"Holy crap, they really did it?! HAHA!"

"Wait, is this for real?! Subnautica is going pro now?"

"Queen Brook said it first! She's always on point!"

"It's not just her, look at the wording. 'Overwhelming suggestions from athletes'? That means tons of swimmers were in on this!"

"Is this the first time a game's been used for official training?"

"Yo, Tony, Subnautica is trending again!" shouted Natalie, practically tumbling into the room.

"Didn't it just trend last week? What's the big deal?" Tony replied calmly without even lifting his head.

"It's different this time! The national swimming team is adopting your game into their real world training! That's huge!"

"Oh?" Now that got Tony's attention. He pulled out his phone, checked the team's official post, and raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. I've gotta say, that's a smart move. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if other countries follow suit."

"Still, I'll take this as a win," Tony added. "Especially now that players are all grumbling about the Sunbeam storyline. So much backlash online... I don't even dare check New Worlds notifications."

"I just wanted to make a game people would enjoy. Why are they so insane about it?"

"You feel wronged?!" Natalie exploded, her face turning red. "You conned not just players, you conned me!"

"What hidden storyline? What trigger after sleeping on the island garbage?! I waited for Sunbeam to show up... AND IT GOT BLOWN UP INSTEAD!!"

She smacked him with her tiny fists, furious.

Tony, completely unbothered, casually blocked her hits. "That was a white lie. I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Surprise my butt! You wanted to mess with me!"

"And that stupid Leviathan from the Aurora! Did you have to make it so terrifying? I nearly had a heart attack!"

Natalie suddenly stopped herself, blushing. That part was... a little embarrassing to admit.

"Hey, I was nice about it!" Tony defended himself. "I even made it possible to escape the Leviathan if players reached the deck. You didn't get insta-killed, right?"

"Barely! I almost died of fright!!"

"That's it, I'm exposing you. I want the whole internet to know that the evil dev behind this game is my little brother!"

She raised her phone, aiming it at him.

But Tony only smirked devilishly, leaned in close, and whispered in her ear.

"You sure about that? You want everyone to find out about that thing you did...?"

Natalie froze.

Her face turned pale. Her phone slowly lowered.

She had a very bad feeling that from now on, she was going to be blackmailed... regularly.

"Bro, you're being evil. You're not trembling on the edge of darkness, you've already jumped in."

"Hey, hey, it's not me!" Tony raised his hands innocently. "I gave everyone options. Want a relaxing time? Chill by the shore. Enjoy the view. Catch a few fish. Want horror? Dive into the deep sea and try not to get eaten by ancient sea gods. I just provide the tools, players choose their poison."

"..."

She wanted to argue, but she honestly didn't have a comeback.

Just then, Tony's phone buzzed. He picked it up, chatted briefly, then turned to Natalie.

"Alright, enough joking. The movers are here. Pack up, we're moving."

"Huh?! Moving?! Where?!"

"Bought a new house. A Villa near a Lake."

"Wait, what?! When did you buy a villa?! That place must have cost loads!"

"Have you been too busy gaming to notice? And hello? We're rich now. Time to live like it."

Natalie blinked again.

"Oh right... we are rich."

"You don't have to pack everything. Just grab the essentials. We're keeping this place too, if you forget something, just swing by. Or buy a new one."

"Okay, okay... wait, can the VR platform be moved too?"

"You dummy. Just buy another one."

"Right. Right! Got it!!"

1663 Words.