I need to pick up the pace. I heard the other streamers' Auroras have already exploded, but mine is still perfectly fine.
CaseOh silently thought to himself. Because the plot was progressing too slowly, the Aurora in his game was still in pristine condition. He hadn't even seen the classic explosion scene yet.
Hold on.
CaseOh suddenly came up with a cheeky idea.
"Chat, how about I go check out the Aurora right now to see what's going on?"
This idea immediately got a response from the water friends:
[Sure!]
[Damn, great idea! Fatass, go now and see if you can get inside the Aurora!]
[Yeah yeah yeah! That's definitely doable!]
[Wow, just imagining what the inside of such a massive aircraft carrier would be like!]
[CaseOh, do we go to the same mcdonald location? i went out the other day and it's sold out.]
"Mods, ban this guy."
Previously, quite a few streamers had tried going near the Aurora, but at that time their Auroras had already exploded. So before they could even get close, Gaia would warn them that radiation levels were too high and the temperature was excessive. Continuing forward would result in immediate death.
Therefore, they could only abandon the idea. But CaseOh was different!
At this moment, CaseOh's Aurora had not yet exploded. There was no radiation or high temperature yet. This gave him the perfect conditions to go explore!
"Who would've thought that progressing slowly in the plot would have its advantages!"
CaseOh let out a pig-like laugh, then, encouraged by the viewers, activated his underwater propulsor and swam toward the Aurora!
"Wow, CaseOh is so sneaky!" At this moment, Jenny was still watching CaseOh's stream. After seeing his decision, she couldn't help but exclaim, "He's actually going to explore the area while the Aurora hasn't exploded yet!"
"Hey, if I had known earlier, I would've gone to check it out first too!"
That wrecked Aurora had appeared in the players' view from the very beginning and was extremely eye-catching. There would definitely be a lot of viewers interested in it.
This move was indeed very good at attracting the viewers' attention.
"You said he's heading to the Aurora?" Lucien asked back instead.
"Yeah."
"Then he's in for it." A smile appeared at the corner of Lucien's mouth.
"What do you mean?" Jenny looked confused.
"Ahem, because I placed a Leviathan there. Not the Reefback kind." Lucien said.
Lucien had long predicted that some players would want to explore the Aurora, so he had prepared a surprise for those trouble-making players.
CaseOh would be one of the victims.
Jenny was first stunned, then also broke into a smile. She patted Zhou Che on the shoulder. "Damn it, you're really such a sneaky bad boy!"
Lucien spread his hands, "Let's pray for CaseOh."
At this moment, CaseOh had no idea that disaster was about to strike. He was still swimming hard toward the Aurora.
According to Gaia's calculations, the Aurora was roughly over a thousand meters away from him. With the underwater propulsor accelerating, he could reach it in just a few minutes.
Watching the Aurora getting closer and larger in his view, anticipation appeared on CaseOh's face.
From a distance, one could already see that the Aurora was quite massive. Getting closer, who knew what kind of magnificent sight it would be.
Roar
However, a strange roar suddenly shattered CaseOh pleasant fantasy!
"What sound was that?!" CaseOh was so startled that his whole body trembled. He nervously looked around.
He was currently floating only a few meters below the sea surface (he was afraid to go too deep). CaseOh looked around, but besides small fish and shrimp, he didn't spot any other creatures.
"Chats, did you guys just hear a weird roar?!" CaseOh quickly asked.
[I heard it, and it was very clear!]
[That strange cry travels so loudly underwater. It's obviously from some giant creature!]
[Is it the Reefback?]
[Definitely not the Reefback. The Reefback has a nice, gentle sound. What the hell is this!]
[This sound has such strong penetration. It feels like an animal trying to imitate a woman's scream with a thin voice. It's weird and creepy!]
[For a moment there, I fucking dreamed back to Silent Hill PT, thinking that corridor ghost had crossed over here!]
[Exactly, my headphones got flung off from the scare!]
The audience in the live stream instantly panicked. The previously silent Gaia suddenly spoke up.
"Your Majesty, please be careful. Based on the sound analysis, you may have encountered a carnivorous Leviathan!"
"Leviathan? What is a Leviathan?" Poor CaseOh had pitifully little knowledge. He didn't even know about the Reefback that most players had already seen.
"Leviathan is the collective term for super-large creatures." Gaia answered directly.
CaseOh was instantly dumbfounded. He roared. "What the hell? Super-large creature?"
"Yes, a super-large creature. Minimum length no less than thirty meters. I strongly recommend you escape immediately." Gaia replied.
"Thirty meters?! Holy shit!!!"
At this point, CaseOh no longer had any thoughts of continuing to explore the Aurora. He turned around and started swimming desperately back toward his escape pod!
[CaseOh, stay calm. Leviathans are huge, their speed should be very slow!]
[Yeah, the Reefback is like that!]
[The Reefback is super slow and cute. No need to be scared.]
The trolls in the live stream were saying this, but in the next moment...
Roaaar!
The Leviathan's strange roar sounded again, and this time it was even louder, seeming to come from just dozens of meters behind CaseOh!
"Fuck me, this is what you guys call super slow? Why does it feel insanely fast to me?!?!" CaseOh's voice began to tremble: "Shit shit, what bad luck did I run into today? I'm fucking done for!"
The roar had sounded quite far away earlier, but now it was echoing right behind him. This thing was definitely not slow!!!
[Hiss, looks like the Leviathan CaseOh encountered this time is much fiercer than the Reefback!]
[No shit, they already said it's the carnivorous type!]
[Plus from this roar, I feel like CaseOh has already been spotted by the Leviathan. It's definitely chasing him!]
[Goddammit, I'm getting nervous just watching!]
[CaseOh, stop running and turn around! At least let us see what the Leviathan looks like before you die. Consider it a contribution to the mankind!]
"Are you fucking human?!?!" CaseOh roared in anger. At this moment, he was using every ounce of strength he had!
His body suddenly became incredibly agile. In this life-or-death moment, CaseOh's potential exploded, and his swimming speed had never been this fast!
For a moment, CaseOh even felt like he could compete with Katie Ledecky!
However, none of it mattered.
The seawater around CaseOh suddenly began to churn, forming a vortex. It felt like something was rapidly chasing him!
That thing was enormous, even causing the surrounding water to surge forward with it!
Roaaaaar
Another roar. This time CaseOh heard it crystal clear. It was right behind him, only a few meters away. The sound stabbed painfully into his eardrums, and the massive foul breath carried by the roar even blasted onto his body!!!
"It's over!"
CaseOh let out a miserable scream. In the next instant, he felt his body jerk to a stop. A heavy constricting pressure came from his waist, as if something had grabbed him!
He looked down and saw a pair of giant red mandibles, like beetle mouthparts, firmly clamped around his body!
Before CaseOh could turn his head to see what exactly had grabbed him, his entire body was lifted into the air like a broken ragdoll, bitten by those red mandibles!
"Ahhhh!"
CaseOh screamed instinctively. The sound coming from this big fatty was as shrill as a woman's!
The surrounding scenery blurred past like afterimages. CaseOh felt his body completely out of control, as if he was riding an extreme pirate ship, being tossed violently around in this vast ocean!
"Fuck fuck!"
"What the hell is happening!"
"Damn, it's making me dizzy!!"
The viewers in the live stream could only see the camera shaking violently, accompanied by the monster's fierce and terrifying roars!
CaseOh was almost instantly shaken until he was dizzy and his consciousness blurred.
But at this moment, he suddenly heard a crisp crack sound, and at the same time felt a heavy blow to his waist!
"Was I cut in half?!"
CaseOh's mind instantly cleared, and this despairing thought flashed through his head. For a moment he felt incredulous, terrified to the extreme, blood rushing to his head!
In the next moment, the screen instantly went black. All sounds around him stopped completely. A familiar line of text appeared before him.
"The system has detected that your blood pressure is too high. Please stop playing the game and rest."
"Now entering relaxation time."
Then the scene changed, and CaseOh instantly found himself in that very familiar pink room.
There were piles of dolls placed around, along with a group of cute cats and dogs.
"Damn, these familiar words, this familiar scene. Isn't this the safety system from Silent Hill?"
[Haha, those fucking devs put this safety system into Subnautica too?]
[Nice, nice. Devs is as thoughtful as always!]
[But why CaseOh again? Last time I saw this screen was in CaseOh's live stream, and it's still him this time!]
The viewers complained, but CaseOh had no mood to respond to them. He didn't even notice the scene change. The first thing he did upon regaining consciousness was to touch his waist with his hand.
Only after confirming that his waist, which was fatter than a toilet seat, was still there, did CaseOh let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, it was all an illusion. His waist was still there, his waist was still there...
"Fuck, I almost really thought I had been cut in half by that thing, you know?" While feeling relieved.
CaseOh plopped down on the ground and said somewhat numbly.
"Damn, I really thought I died just now."
[That scene just now was seriously scary!]
[Just watching the stream I felt terrified. CaseOh was being thrown around, the camera shaking like crazy. HAHAHAHAHA!]
[The fucking developer let us players experience a free pirate ship ride. It felt really good! I can only say $100 was a total steal!]
[Compared to Silent Hill, it's a different flavor of horror, but both are really scary!]
[But CaseOh, you were really something. You got killed by a Leviathan but didn't see what it looked like from beginning to end!]
[True, I'm impressed. I told you to turn around and look. At least see what the monster looks like before dying, but you wouldn't listen!]
"Say whatever you want." CaseOh waved his hand. He clutched his little heart with a look of surviving a great disaster, "You guys go experience it in the game yourselves and you'll understand. It's definitely way more stimulating than just watching the stream."
"Whatever, I need to take a break. If I keep playing, I'm afraid I'll end up in the hospital again."
CaseOh knew very well that these viewers watching the stream only saw the constantly shaking camera. They had no other sensations. Only when it happened to you personally would you know how horrifying and despairing it was!
It was like the feeling of an ant when a human uses their finger to crush it.
"Hiss."
At the same time, Jenny, who was holding her phone and watching CaseOh's stream, had the playful smile on her face instantly vanish, replaced by a much more serious expression.
Unlike the viewers who were just cloud players, she could imagine exactly what CaseOh had felt earlier.
A few minutes later, the terrified CaseOh turned off his stream. Jenny also silently put down her phone.
"I've decided." After a few seconds of silence, she spoke, "I'm never going near the Aurora in this game, even if it kills me!!!"
After all, CaseOh's experience looked way too painful.
"Ahem, that's not really up to you." Lucien thought to himself, but didn't say it out loud.
"By the way, what kind of Leviathan attacked CaseOh? It looked so scary!" Jenny asked Lucien again.
"Secret." Lucien smiled slightly.
Jenny's eyes widened.
"You won't even tell your own sister?"
"Anticipation is very important when playing games!" Lucien explained.
"Anticipation? What anticipation? You think I have any anticipation for that thing?" Jenny said emotionally.
Lucien sighed.
"Fine, I can tell you a little. That thing is called the Reaper Leviathan."
"Reaper Leviathan..." Jenny subconsciously shivered. Anything called 'Reaper' was obviously extremely vicious just from the name.
[Image]
"Hey, CaseOh is really useless! He got taken out by the Reaper Leviathan but didn't even see its appearance, only a pair of blood-red giant pincers!!!" Jenny complained again.
If she knew what it looked like, she could avoid it next time she saw it...
Hearing this, Lucien patted Jenny on the shoulder and said meaningfully. "Don't worry, sis. You'll see it with your own eyes sooner or later."
"..."
The way he said it made her feel a chill down her back.
Soon, the two returned home. Although CaseOh's painful experience had made Jenny momentarily afraid to enter the game again.
But for the sake of her streaming career, after thinking it over, she set aside her concerns and opened her live stream.
"Hello! Everyone, time to start the stream!"
[Stop wasting time, just enter the game already!]
[Yeah yeah, we've been waiting forever!]
[Jenny, work hard! If you don't stream more frequently, other people's game progress is going to overtake yours!]
"OK OK, I got it. Starting now!!!"
Jenny quickly put on the motion suit and VR helmet and entered the game.
The screen darkened. At this moment, she was sitting inside the Seamoth, floating in the ocean.
"Whew, good thing I already built my precious Seamoth." Looking at the instrument panel ahead, Jenny felt fortunate in her heart.
It had to be said that having the Seamoth made things much more comfortable. First, she no longer had to swim desperately. Second, sitting inside the Seamoth gave her a greater sense of security.
She didn't have to face this terrifying deep sea with just her own flesh and blood. At least between her and the ocean there was now a layer of metal frame.
It was like the sense of security you get driving a car alone in the wilderness being much greater than walking alone on a dark road at night.
"Alright, Chats. Let's head toward the land coordinates that the Aurora's second officer gave us earlier!"
As she spoke, Jenny started up the Seamoth. Gaia also projected the location of the target land onto the Seamoth's virtual panel, allowing her to clearly know the exact direction. The land was still dozens of kilometers away from Jenny, but with the Seamoth, this distance didn't seem too far.
No wonder Lucien had designed the game map to be so large, because the vehicles for underwater travel would also be very powerful.
Jenny continued advancing toward the land like this. The sky had already darkened, and everything around was pitch black. The Seamoth's bow light was much stronger than the previous flashlight and could clearly illuminate a dozen or so meters around.
But compared to the vast ocean, what was a mere dozen meters of light?
For safety, and also to not feel too oppressed, Jenny always chose to navigate only a few meters below the sea surface.
In fact, it wasn't just her. Up until now, all Subnautica players, when playing, would subconsciously only move near the surface and avoid entering deeper waters.
They might not even realize they were doing this themselves.
Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is the instinct of living creatures. Even humans are no exception. That dark, deep sea, where even sunlight cannot reach, subconsciously represents danger to humans.
But it was fine. The ever-kind Lucien would make the players forcibly experience the feeling of the deep sea.
"Warm reminder: When you feel fatigued, you can have me take over the Seamoth's operating system and autopilot for you." At this moment, Gaia's voice came through.
[Damn, does Gaia have an autopilot function too?]
[Whoa, something Tesla has been working on for so long but hasn't perfected, and New World actually did it?]
[No way? Another great technological invention from New World Studio?]
[It probably isn't that complicated. It's probably similar to auto-pathfinding in MMOs.]
[Yeah, after all it's a game, not real life. Don't think too highly of New World!]
The viewers complained. When Gaia AI offered autopilot, they felt shocked, but subconsciously didn't dare believe it was real.
After all, autopilot was currently a very hot research field.
Especially Tesla, which had even launched self-driving vehicles.
Then they were widely criticized because of frequent accidents.
Tsk, New World always brought them some new surprises they never expected.
"Autopilot, huh? Sure!" Jenny also wanted to try it, so she released her grip on the steering wheel.
"Autopilot engaged."
Gaia's voice continued. The Seamoth continued sailing steadily through the ocean.
When it occasionally encountered floating reefs ahead, the Seamoth could turn in advance to avoid them.
Jenny watched with novelty and said.
"Can we dive a bit deeper?"
"Diving."
The Seamoth immediately began to dive.
"Hey, too deep. Float up a little."
"Ascending."
"Wow, this autopilot feels pretty good! And it can be voice controlled too!" Seeing the Seamoth perform various actions under her commands, Jenny couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
[Hiss, this driving technology is really intelligent!]
[Doesn't this autopilot feel like it's completely above Tesla?]
[Not sure. After all, it's in a game, different from reality!]
The viewers also grew more and more confused the more they watched. Why did they always feel like some of the technology in Subnautica could actually be applied in the real world?
It was as if New World had really created this kind of technology.
Illusion. It must be an illusion!
How could a game studio be this badass!
[Advanced 30 chapters on patreon .com/EdgyReader]