Underwater Siege and the "Princess" in the Room
Time: May 2, 2032. 03:45 AM.
Location: Bottom of the Pacific Ocean (-5000 meters). Outside the walls of Prison "VOID."
The ocean floor was silent, but it was the silence before a cataclysm.
Laylo sat inside the "Night Owls'" specialized bathyscaphe. Her eyes were closed, her hands pressed against the glass. Her "Medium" ability was calling out to the ancient, savage spirits and predators of the deep.
In Laylo's mind, the voices of thousands of sea monsters echoed. They were hungry. They wanted to destroy.
"Go," Laylo whispered, opening her eyes. Blue fire swirled where her pupils should have been. "Crack open that metal box."
From the abyss, massive shadows swam forth.
These were no ordinary sharks. They were "Abyssal Megalodons," mutated by the game system with skin harder than steel, and giant octopuses crackling with high-voltage electricity.
Like living torpedoes, they slammed into the outer walls of "Void."
BOOM!
Inside Prison "Void." Sector -5.
The prison shook violently. The main lights died, replaced instantly by flashing red emergency beacons.
Sirens wailed, deafening everyone inside.
[WARNING! HULL INTEGRITY BREACHED!]
[UNDERWATER PRESSURE: CRITICAL!]
[WATER INTRUSION DETECTED IN SECTOR 7!]
The Warden (The Rat) jumped from his seat.
"What is happening?! An earthquake?!"
The monitors displayed a horrific scene: water jetting through cracks in the walls, and with it, man-sized predatory "Piranha-Men" (Underwater Mobs) swarming in, tearing the guards apart.
S-Rank Captain Kuro (the artificially enhanced guard) donned his helmet. In his eyes was the madness of serum withdrawal mixed with battle lust.
"Boys! Fishing season is open! Increase the dosage! We need full power!"
The guards pressed the injectors on their necks. Their muscles swelled, veins bulging against their skin.
"Kill them!" Kuro screamed, igniting his plasma sword and charging at the monsters flooding in with the seawater.
The corridors filled with blood and brine.
Sector 9. Prisoner Cells.
The tremors were felt here too. Dust fell from the ceiling, and the floor cracked, weeping seawater.
Kenji, Odin, and Zero (Shiro) stood in their cell.
"It's time," Kenji smiled. "Looks like my 'taxi' is here. Laylo always did love making a loud entrance."
The electrical system failed, and the magnetic locks on the cells clicked open with a hiss.
The prisoners poured into the corridor.
But at the far end of the hallway stood two special "Elite Guards" assigned to Sector 9. They hadn't gone up to fight; their orders were to secure this specific area.
"Don't move!" one guard shouted, aiming a heavy machine gun. "I'll shoot!"
"Zero," Kenji said, looking at the white-haired youth beside him. "Your turn to take the stage."
Zero (Shiro) adjusted his glasses.
"Understood."
He picked up a piece of broken metal from the floor—a rusty spoon handle from the cell.
The guard pulled the trigger.
BRRRRT! A hail of bullets erupted from the machine gun.
Zero didn't run. He Slid.
His movements followed a trajectory so strange and broken that the human eye couldn't track it. He wove through the bullets like water.
This was "God Step"—a microscopic movement technique usable only by the highest-ranked PvP players in the game. In real life, it was a miracle.
In a single second, Zero appeared right in front of the guard.
He drove the spoon handle into the only gap in the guard's armor—the artery in his neck.
With his other hand, he snatched the machine gun and drove his knee into the guard's jaw.
The second guard turned toward Odin.
But Odin (The Strategist) had already kicked a loose water pipe under the guard's feet. The guard slipped and fell. Kenji leaped onto him, slamming his head into the floor and knocking him unconscious.
"Not bad," Kenji said, unhooking the "Sector X Key" from the guard's belt. "A Pro-Gamer and a Strategist. We'll make a good team."
Other prisoners began to emerge.
"Shadow! What do we do?"
Kenji pointed upwards.
"Go up. The guards are busy with the fish. Take their weapons and seize the prison. Turn this place into our fortress."
"As for us... we're going down."
Kenji, Odin, and Zero began to descend the stairs—heading for the top-secret "Sector X," a place that didn't exist on any map.
Sector X. The Isolator.
There was no noise here. The water hadn't reached this deep.
The walls were made of white, sterile material, reminiscent of the interior of a spaceship.
At the end of the corridor stood a single massive, glass-like door.
There were no guards outside. Because it was certain that the prisoner inside could never get out.
Kenji pressed the keycard to the scanner.
[ACCESS GRANTED. WELCOME: WARDEN (PRESUMED)]
The door slid open with a whoosh.
They entered.
It wasn't a prison cell. It was a luxurious, windowless room.
The room was filled with massive monitors, servers, and a soft armchair in the center.
A girl was sitting in the chair.
She looked about 23 or 24. Her hair was cut short and dyed a vibrant pink-purple (just like in the game). She wasn't wearing a prison uniform, but her old "Admin Hoodie."
She was staring at a monitor, typing furiously on a virtual keyboard.
When they entered, the girl slowly turned around.
Her face showed exhaustion, but also extreme intelligence. And in her eyes... there was boredom.
"Finally," she said. Her voice was resonant and slightly sarcastic. "I thought I'd die of old age waiting for my rescuers."
Kenji approached her.
"Hello, Rynna," Kenji said. "Or should I call you 'GM_Goddess'?"
Rynna stood up and stretched.
"Shadow. Old friend. I saw you on the monitors. When you hacked Tower 4, you used my code. That flash drive you had... it was mine."
"Yes," Kenji said. "You created this world... or helped create it. And instead of a reward, you got prison."
Rynna laughed bitterly.
"I didn't create it. I was just the 'translator'."
"The government locked me up because I disobeyed their order. They asked me to make the NPCs 'Total Slaves.' But I..." Rynna pointed to one of the monitors showing an NPC guard fighting above. "I gave them 'Sentience.'"
"They might look like they're obeying the government now, but they are waking up. And the government was so terrified of that possibility that they threw me in here."
Rynna stepped closer to Kenji and looked him in the eye.
"Did you come to take me away, Shadow?"
"Or did you come to kill me and steal my 'Admin Rights'?"
Kenji smiled.
"I came to hire you, Rynna."
"I have a new guild. 'NEUTRON.' We have a tank, an assassin, a berserker. But we don't have a Programmer."
"If you come with me... we'll hack the government's servers and leak all their dirty laundry to the internet. What do you say?"
Rynna was silent for a moment. Then a devilish smile appeared on her face.
"Hack the government?"
"That's been my dream."
She slammed the laptop on the table shut and tucked it under her arm.
"Let's go, Captain. I'm sick of this damp room. I need high-speed internet and an energy drink."
Kenji looked at Odin and Zero.
"The team is complete."
"We're going up. A big battle awaits us."
Suddenly, Rynna raised a finger to stop them.
"Wait. Before we go... I have a small gift."
She placed her hand on a panel on the wall.
[SYSTEM COMMAND: "VOID" DEFENSE SYSTEM — REBOOT]
[NEW TARGET: GOVERNMENT SUBMARINES]
Rynna winked.
"Government subs are waiting for us outside. I just turned the prison's own weapons against them. Now watch the fireworks."