CHAPTER 62 - THE ALIEN CANON

[A.N I know the Sea Mantis is called the Prawn Suit, but I think Sea Mantis sounds cooler and is in theme with Seamoth so I'm going to keep it Sea Mantis, also Crab-serpent changing to Crabsnake]

The chat exploded with admiration.

You had to understand, when PureWhite explored this area, his Seamoth was nearly destroyed in one hit by the Crabsnake. He only managed to escape by the skin of his teeth, losing one of his vital modules in the process.

Compared to that? The difference in performance was like night and day.

The Sea Mantis's raw combat power was absolutely ferocious.

And soon, Natalie had taken down a ten meter long Crabsnake with ease.

"Whew... That was a clean solo kill! This feels awesome!" Natalie laughed, exhaling deeply.

Her joy was unmistakable. "This mech... guys, this mech is INSANE! I'm telling you, it's too damn fun to pilot!"

The viewers were drooling.

Fighting sea monsters in a mechanical exosuit? That was the childhood dream of half the chat.

"But man, that Crabsnake was terrifying..." Natalie shivered. "Snakes and spiders... those things are just way too creepy."

Despite the adrenaline rush, Natalie stayed cautious. Even though she had taken one down, she knew better than to get cocky.

After scanning the Crabsnake and the surrounding mushroom like coral structures, she carefully continued forward, avoiding the strange fungi entirely.

She knew what lurked here. There were way too many snake mushrooms. Hidden among them had to be hundreds of Crab Serpents.

She could handle one. But if a group ambushed her?

Not even the Sea Mantis would save her. It wasn't worth the risk.

And sure enough, just as she had feared, pink Crabsnakes began slithering out from each mushroom stalk, dozens of them, silently weaving through the water nearby. Thankfully, they didn't approach her. Not yet.

Even so, Natalie felt her head tingle just looking at them.

"Damn... If a female streamer saw all these pink snakes in one place..." she muttered to herself, letting the thought trail off.

Before she could finish, the chat burst out laughing.

"PFFT! Natalie, aren't you the female streamer?!"

"This IQ... she roasted herself!"

"Careful! What exactly are you planning to do with these 'cute' pink snakes?!"

Natalie froze, realizing she'd walked right into that one.

"I didn't mean me, I meant, you know... the other kind of streamer!" she fumbled. "Whatever, forget it! Don't twist my words!"

She quickly changed the subject before things spiraled, lest the moderation bots zap her for inappropriate conversation.

Continuing deeper into the forest of serpents and mushrooms, Natalie finally reached the crew's shelter that was left behind by the Intrepid.

She parked the Sea Mantis outside and entered the base with a flashlight in one hand and a pistol in the other. Just like PureWhite before her, she was blown away by what she saw inside.

Blueprints filled the walls, seawater filtration systems, bio energy generators, large aquarium systems, small scale nuclear power units...

"With these blueprints, I could build an underwater city of my own!" she gasped.

Excitement bubbled inside her as she reached the final room and spotted a voice recorder on the bedside table.

She pressed play.

The voice of the Captain, leader of the Intrepid, came through clearly, solemn and calm.

She explained everything, the mysterious bacteria infecting the sea, the Warpers designed to hunt down infected lifeforms, the alien buildings connected to them...

At the end of the recording, the captain left behind two key tools and her final words of encouragement for any future explorers who might find this place.

Natalie listened in silence.

The thrill from earlier had completely faded. In its place was a quiet respect, a deep, lingering sadness.

"Everyone we've met in this world..." she said softly, "they were all good people."

"You're right, Natalie."

"The second officer who gave us the land coordinates... the crew of the Aurora who tried to send out a distress signal... even the Sunbeam team who came to help... all of them were brave."

"But none of them made it... this world is merciless."

"Damn you, devs! Why couldn't just one of them survive?!"

The chat sighed with her. This wasn't just tragic, it was emotionally brutal. But at the same time, the story's values shone through. In the face of death, these NPCs were selfless, united, and human.

Holding back her emotions, Natalie opened the two back drawers, and discovered the Shock Cannon and the Stasis Gun.

Just like that, her spirits shot back up.

It was an emotional rollercoaster of going up and down again and again.

And not just her. Anyone who'd reached this part of the game had probably felt the same. The devs behind all this? Master manipulator of emotions.

"These two guns are BUSTED!" Natalie shouted. "This one, this shock cannon, can manipulate gravity! And the stasis gun?! It freezes time! Who wouldn't love this?!"

Yeah. Freezing time? That's the kind of power both boys and girls dream of.

Excited, Natalie began testing the guns, just like PureWhite had done. Honestly, every player who got them did the same.

Unfortunately, the local ghost eye fish paid the price. They were used as live test subjects, again.

For nearly ten minutes, Natalie played gleefully with her new toys before finally stopping herself.

"Alright, alright. Time to get serious."

She turned to the camera.

"Okay, guys. Our next destination is the alien Canon! Now that I've got the key, it should open the force field gate. And with the Sea Mantis and these two OP weapons in hand... even if that place has a leviathan, I'll bust right in!"

Her confidence was at an all time high. She was fully kitted out, and nothing was going to stop her now.

"Let's go! Can't wait to see what's inside that turret!"

"Natalie, hurry up!"

"HYPE!!!"

But she didn't head out right away. First, she spent some time inside the shelter, repairing gear and gathering a ton of materials. She didn't want to run out of supplies halfway through the expedition.

And credit where credit's due, the Intrepid crew had chosen a good location to settle. Minerals and raw materials were everywhere. Before long, both her backpack and the Sea Mantis's storage were packed to the brim.

She was finally ready to leave the cave...

...only to realize there was one problem.

The exit was above her.

To get out, she'd need to grapple straight up, Spider-Man style. Thrusters and a well angled grappling hook combo. Not easy.

She tried a few times and failed.

Then she gave up.

"Cortana... any chance I can just let you pilot the Sea Mantis outta here?" she asked hopefully.

Cortana, her onboard AI, replied coldly. "The Sea Mantis does not support autonomous navigation. Please be self reliant. It is understandable that you may struggle with fine control. If you'd like, I can offer training."

"...I'm going to cry, Alright teach me." Natalie muttered.

With that, she underwent over ten minutes of training from Cortana. Under the AI's guidance, she finally managed to swing her way up and escape the mushroom cave. Although she had become somewhat proficient in piloting the Sea Mantis mech, she was still far from mastering that flashy boosted launch move she'd seen earlier.

After exiting the cave, Natalie spotted another Reefback fish and used it to help guide her back toward the surface. With its help, she gradually ascended, the surrounding waters growing brighter with the approach of daylight.

Twenty minutes later, the shadow of land appeared in the distance, the island was finally in sight.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Heavy footsteps rang out as Natalie, clad in the Sea Mantis mech, stomped onto the island's sandy beach. Each step of the mech left deep craters in the ground.

She made her way directly to the alien canon.

The massive green tower was just as she remembered it, silent, mysterious, and looming at the edge of the island like some ancient sentinel.

Natalie stepped up to the force field console and pulled out the key she had recovered from shelter. She placed it carefully into the slot.

Click.

The key slid smoothly into place.

A low hum echoed through the air, and just as expected, the shimmering force field blocking the entrance dissipated into nothing.

"It worked! The barrier's down!"

"That really was the key!"

"All thanks to the Captain. Without her, we'd never have made it in!"

The livestream chat exploded with excitement. Natalie took a deep breath and nodded solemnly. "That's right. The Intrepid Captain couldn't fulfill her mission... So now, it's up to us to see it through for her."

At that moment, immersed in the atmosphere crafted so perfectly by Subnautica, both Natalie and her viewers felt completely drawn into the story.

Just in case danger was lurking ahead, Natalie remained inside her mech and stepped into the alien canon.

The first thing she saw was a broad corridor. The inside of the canon looked just like the outside, made entirely of sleek, dark green alloy, its surfaces etched with strange yet beautiful patterns. Lights were embedded into the walls and floor, casting a cool glow over everything.

It was completely silent. There was no sign of life.

Natalie advanced slowly, her wristband scanning the environment. A moment later, Cortana's voice chimed in.

"Scan complete. The material structure of this facility consists of an unknown high-integrity alloy. No matches found in any human database."

"So... totally unrecognizable. Well, I guess it's official, we really can't compete with alien tech." Natalie sighed as she continued on.

The structure was massive, but largely empty. Then, something caught her eye, a glowing green cube embedded into the wall. It looked like some kind of crystalized Rubik's Cube.

"What's this?" she muttered, scanning it.

[Ion Crystal: This alien crystal permanently stabilizes ionic potential energy. The energy stored is equivalent to that of a small-scale nuclear explosion. Likely used as a power source.]

The chat immediately lost it.

"WHAT?! That tiny cube holds the power of a NUKE?!"

"And they just use it... as a battery?!"

"Bruh, I thought humanity had a shot, but these aliens are cracked."

"Force fields for door locks, nukes for batteries... Aliens built different."

"I- uh- maybe I won't touch it then." Natalie said nervously, pulling her hand away from the crystal cube.

Moving on, she soon reached the end of the corridor. What lay ahead was a tall, square shaped chamber, about the size of an elevator shaft. Except... there was no floor. Just a dark, seemingly bottomless void.

Curious, she scanned it.

[Alien Elevator detected. Utilizes force field propulsion to transport individuals or objects to various levels. Recommendation: Step in to activate.]

"...Just jump in? That's it?" Natalie blinked. "That's kinda hardcore..."

Taking a deep breath, she mustered her courage, and jumped.

And immediately screamed.

"AHHHHHHHH, CORTANA, YOU LIED TO ME!!!"

She was in full free fall, a strong sense of weightlessness overtaking her. The game's realism made it feel like she had leapt off an actual skyscraper.

Just when it seemed she was about to crash into the abyss, her descent suddenly slowed. An invisible force field gently caught her, lowering her safely to the ground below.

"...Goddamn, I almost had a heart attack..." she muttered as she stepped out, still clutching her mech's wall in terror.

This was not at all what she'd expected. She thought the force field would wrap around her softly like an elevator.

Instead, it let her free fall like a rock.

And then Cortana's voice returned.

"See? I told you it would work."

"..."

Mocked. By her own AI.

At that moment, Natalie had a very real urge to fling her wristband into the nearest wall.

But of course, it was just a thought. Without Cortana, she wouldn't even be able to survive in this world, let alone make progress.

1987 Words.