CHAPTER 56 - INTREPID CAPTAIN

[A.N Big Chapter, also might be a bit late but changing 3D printing to Fabricator, also changed Skybreaker to warper]

"Yeah, just thinking about playing this game and riding the Reaper Leviathan... it's awesome!"

"But let's be real, taming the Reaper Leviathan? That's no joke. Not even an aquarium could hold something like that!"

"It doesn't matter! Every beast starts off small. Just raise it from its baby stage!"

"I didn't expect this at all! After enjoying the scenery, sailing, building homes, custom gear, and exploring, Subnautica even lets you raise sea creatures?"

"So, what exactly is the core of Subnautica?"

"Let's just say... the devs are too kind. Every wild feature we didn't even think of? They made it happen!"

"That's the magic of the New World!" PureWhite shouted with excitement. "Even when you've cleared the main storyline, the gameplay keeps evolving. Just the creature raising mechanic alone could keep me hooked for ages!"

The chat exploded with agreement. Forget about taming a Leviathan, just sailing around was entertaining enough.This game? Definitely a lifelong investment!

"I'm building that aquarium no matter what. Forget raising a Leviathan for now, I'll start by raising a Toxicfish first!" Pure White grinned.

He'd already encountered one before. Just like Natalie, he'd been floored by the fish.

Toxicfish were terrifying. Their toxins could dissolve flesh and bone in seconds!

"If I manage to raise one...I'll be unstoppable!" he smirked.

Even the mighty Leviathan, it was still flesh and blood. And Warpers? They could still be corroded!

Once tamed, PureWhite imagined bringing an entire school of Toxicfish with him wherever he went.

"Alright, PureWhite, that's a solid plan!"

"Toxicfish FTW! With one in hand, I fear nothing. Bring on the Leviathan!"

"Hey, hey! You better not mess with my Toxicfish again!"

The stream chat was buzzing. Viewers were cracking jokes, tossing memes, and laughing nonstop.

Honestly, everything about this game was just too much fun.

Eventually, PureWhite calmed the mood and walked into the next room, and froze.

A massive machine loomed before him, taking up nearly the entire chamber.

Startled, he scanned it with his bracelet.

Ding!

[Small Nuclear ReactorUses uranium ore to generate immense energy. Capable of powering a 20-person base. Radiation protection is required at all times. Overclocking may result in catastrophic explosion. Blueprint Unlocked: Small Nuclear Reactor]

"No way... we can build nuclear reactors too?!" PureWhite gawked.

"Unbelievable! That's a full on reactor?"

"Wait, is the crew that hardcore? Just casually crafting nuclear reactors??"

"It's fabricating, not hand-made!"

"Still... imagine printing a nuclear reactor like it's IKEA furniture!"

"Now nuclear reactors are a thing, I swear, this game lets us build anything..."

With awe still on his face, PureWhite continued exploring, collecting new blueprints, bookshelves, potted plants, wallpapers. Mostly decorative stuff, until he entered the final room.

It was a bedroom. Neat bed. Nightstands.

His instincts kicked in. He rushed to the nightstand and opened the drawer.

Sure enough, there it was, an old voice recorder.

"Another one? Did the crew move again?"

"They're 800 meters underwater. Where would they even go?"

"Whatever, just play it!"

"Right now! We need to hear this!"

Under pressure from chat, PureWhite hit play.

"Hello... to whoever hears this. I'm Emma, Captain of the Intrepid..." Her voice was frail. Serious. The same as before.

"Since moving to this underwater base, things started off peaceful. But then... we discovered something horrifying."

"A strange bacteria infected us. It started with an itch. Then weakness. Eventually, full respiratory failure. We believe it's alien. Something we brought in when we first entered the ocean."

"Our tech... can't cure it."

"As if that wasn't enough, we were hunted. By monsters called Warpers. They specifically target the infected. All my crew... are dead. Only I remain."

Her voice trembled. PureWhite's heart sank.

"I suspect the Warpers are somehow connected to the alien structures on this island. In my final days, I searched everywhere.

I found a strange object, a key. It should open the alien forcefield gates.

But before I could use it... the disease hit me full force. I can't even get out of bed."

"So I leave the key... and my two most valuable tools... in this drawer. If someone hears this, I hope my clues help you escape this place. Even if you're infected... fight. Don't give up..."

The recording ended abruptly.

A heavy silence fell over the chat.

"So... the crew really did all die..."

"I thought monsters killed them, but it was... alien bacteria?"

"This suddenly got real dark."

"That last message... gave me chills. She couldn't save herself, but still tried to save us."

"Damn, the devs really knows how to twist a knife. This hurts."

"I haven't even seen the captain, but I already respect her so much."

As the chat mourned, PureWhite opened the second drawer.

Inside was a strange green glowing metal object, about the size of a pencil case, engraved with alien markings, possibly the key mentioned.

He scanned it.

Ding!

[Alien Key Composition: Unknown metal. Function: Activates alien tech. Blueprint: Unavailable.]

"Yup, that's the one. The key to the alien forcefield." Pure White nodded.

Then he opened the third drawer. Two more items, one shaped like a hairdryer, the other like a welding torch.

He scanned the first.

Ding!

[Grav-Shock Gun: Allows short-range gravity manipulation (20m). Primarily used in mining and construction.

Operation Guide: Aim and pull trigger to lock target. Pull again to launch target away at high speed. Not effective on heavy targets. Not recommended for use on living beings.]

"Shock Cannon...? This thing can actually manipulate gravity?!" Pure White's voice echoed with disbelief. "Did you guys hear that, chat? This thing's insane!"

He stared at the alien looking device in his hand, still stunned after hearing Cortana's explanation.

"Quit spacing out, PureWhite! Try it out already!" someone in chat urged.

"Alright, alright, I'm on it!" PureWhite replied, gripping the shock cannon tightly.

The thing was surprisingly heavy, definitely not some cheap plastic prop. But as he checked the battery indicator, he noticed the power cell was dead. Calmly, he popped in a fresh one, and the device lit up with a mechanical hum.

"Alright, it's back online," PureWhite muttered. He aimed at a nearby wardrobe floating in the water and pulled the trigger.

Hummmm.

A beam of blue light shot from the muzzle, enveloping the wardrobe in a shimmering net of energy. It suddenly stopped floating and held in place like it was pinned in space.

He moved his arm slightly, and the wardrobe swayed with it, as if tied to a string.

"Haha! It's like flying a kite... just way heavier. This future tech is on another level!"

He let go of the trigger.

BANG!

The wardrobe shot forward like a cannonball, smashing into the wall and leaving a small dent.

"Holy crap! You can use this to control heavy stuff, and launch it like a missile?!"

"I get it now! This is basically a pocket sized version of Universal Pull plus Almighty Push! How crazy is that?"

"This toy is awesome! I could play with this all day!"

"And it might actually come in handy against some of those sea creatures..."

Pure White was visibly thrilled. With a tool like this, exploring the deep sea, or fighting off monsters, would be way easier.

Even if the offensive power wasn't insane, it could still double as a weapon in a pinch.

"Alright, let's check out the next one," he said, turning his gaze to another tool that looked like a futuristic welding torch.

As usual, he scanned it with his smart bracelet. The information that popped up got him really hyped.

Ding!

[Stasis Gun: A device that uses advanced physics to launch an energy orb that, upon impact, creates a time-stopping energy field.

Function: Slows down high speed objects like engines or fans for repair and analysis. Immobilizes fast or dangerous creatures for study, or for escape. The wielder is unaffected by the stasis field.

Warnings: May not work on all creatures or machines. Not to be used aggressively. Max stasis field diameter: 20 meters. Range: ~50 meters. Energy orb has slow projectile speed.

Blueprint unlocked.]

"Wait, wait, wait, did I hear that right? Cortana just said this thing can pause time?!"

"Yo, that's OP as hell!"

"That is terrifying!!"

"Try it! Try it now!!"

Chat exploded with hype.

A weapon that could manipulate time? That wasn't just high tech, it was practically fantasy. Something straight out of sci-fi legends.

"This... this is a god tier item!" PureWhite shouted, spinning in the water excitedly. "Stopping time? That's like every man's dream!"

Time stop powers had long been the fantasy fuel of novels, manga, and certain... questionable films from Japan. And now, he actually had it in his hands.

"Alright, let's do this!"

He swam out of the shelter, looking for a live target. Before long, he found a school of small, red fish nearby. They resembled piranhas, but instead of sharp teeth, they had big, round eyes, kind of cute, actually.

Ding!

[Ghost-Eye Fish: Deep sea species known for their oversized eyes and superior night vision. Edible and delicious.]

"Perfect test subjects!" PureWhite grinned.

He aimed at the fish and began charging the stasis gun. A soft hum filled the water as a glowing white orb formed at the tip of the barrel. The longer he held the trigger, the brighter the orb became.

Then, release.

The orb floated forward slowly, like a drifting jellyfish. It wasn't fast. More like a helium balloon on a gentle breeze.

"Huh... that's slower than I thought. I'll have to lead the target if it's something fast," PureWhite noted.

Luckily, the school of ghost-eye fish wasn't moving much. The orb hit one directly.

BOOM!

A pulse of white energy expanded outward, forming a glowing field about 20 meters wide. Every fish inside froze in place, suspended like statues.

"WOAH! It worked!!" Pure White shouted, swimming into the field.

To his surprise, he could still move freely. He poked a few fish, they didn't flinch. Time really had stopped for everything but him. "Haha! These fish are mine now!"

"Za Warudo!!!"

"This gun is amazing! No wonder the Intrepid Captain held out for so long against the Warpers!"

"Bro, imagine replacing all these fish... with waifus..."

"Man, can you not turn everything into a harem fantasy? Actually, same."

"Okay, this just gave me another reason to buy Subnautica. Time stop is just too damn cool!"

The chat went wild. Just watching the time stop was satisfying. But for PureWhite, using it was something else entirely.

About ten seconds later, the field vanished. The ghost-eye fish resumed swimming like nothing happened.

PureWhite was even more hyped now. With the shock cannon in one hand and the stasis gun in the other, he gleefully messed around, lifting boulders, tossing them like toys, freezing creatures mid-swim.

"Chat, I've got an idea, what if I tried soloing a crab-serpent with just these two tools?"

"Oh boy, here he goes..."

"You're insane! DO IT!"

"YOLO, you can always respawn!"

PureWhite grinned. That was the plan. He'd always been bold, and with this kind of power in hand, how could he resist?

He swam toward the nearest snake shroom nest, and just as he arrived, a massive sea serpent over ten meters long slithered back into its cave.

A bold glint flashed in Pure White's eyes.

"Alright, everyone... time for some gameplay!"

He raised the shock cannon with one hand, pulling a boulder, about 8 feet, toward him.

With the stasis gun in his other hand, he began charging up a shot.

Seeing the stasis gun was almost fully charged, PureWhite let go of the shock cannon in his left hand. With a loud thud, the boulder launched forward like a missile, smashing directly into the mushroom-like cap of the snake den.

"ROARR!!" A thunderous roar echoed through the sea cave as the massive crab-serpent burst out, jaws wide, snapping onto the rock.

Just then, PureWhite released the stasis gun's trigger. The glowing energy orb launched forward, though not with great speed, and ended up striking the rock instead of the python directly.

The orb bloomed instantly into a wide energy field, engulfing the upper half of the pink-hued python. And then... a hilarious scene unfolded. The snake's upper body froze mid-lunge, while its tail outside the field kept thrashing violently!

"Not perfect, but still good enough! Got its upper half locked down!" PureWhite grinned, quickly swimming closer. "Time for a dagger combo!"

Diving into the field, unaffected by the temporal stasis, he whipped out his combat blade and slashed viciously at the python's exposed head.

Pu pu pu pu!

The sound of steel cutting into flesh rang out as the dagger carved deep. Lacking an exoskeleton, the python's head quickly turned into something resembling a gruesome sea-flower.

"Time stop plus stab combo? It's broken!"

"Bro you didn't even give the snake a chance! That's foul play! Poor thing just wanted a nap!"

"Crab-snake: I blinked once and got shredded. Should've used Flash!"

"Yo, this combo's insane! Shock cannon to bait it out, stasis field to freeze it, then full on melee attack? GG!"

"Those two tools are straight up broken. Crab-serpent never stood a chance!"

With ten seconds of frozen time, PureWhite easily landed dozens of strikes. As the shimmering energy field began to flicker, signaling the end of the effect, he quickly retreated to a safe distance.

Time resumed.

The giant snake twisted and thrashed in agony. Blood streamed from its mangled head as it collapsed to the seabed... and stopped moving.

The livestream chat erupted in a flood of GGs.

"Hah... that was close." PureWhite exhaled, grinning. "Taking down something ten times my size, now that's satisfying."

Still cautious, PureWhite didn't immediately approach the corpse. Giant snakes, after all, were notorious for post-mortem attacks, even with their heads cut off. This was especially true in this game, where you never knew what kind of cursed design the devs might've cooked up.

He swam over to the den itself to check out what the snake had been guarding.

And that's when he hit the jackpot.

Nestled in the back of the cave were three round, pink eggs, faintly glowing in the dim water.

His scan activated.

Ding!

[Crab-Serpent Eggs: Result of crab-serpent mating. Capable of hatching new crab-serpent offspring.]

"No way! Python eggs?! And three of them?" PureWhite's eyes lit up. "Looks like the fish raising plan's on hold... I'm starting a snake farm instead!"

[Pure White's Pet List Updated: Crab-Snake (x3 eggs)]

"Yooo! Domesticated sea monsters? Let's go!!"

"Bro just committed cold-blooded murder. Killed a mom and stole her babies!"

"I mean... kinda gangster, not gonna lie."

Just as PureWhite was celebrating, an unbearable itching sensation crept across his entire body. He frowned and instinctively scratched, then remembered the Intrepid Captain's warning:

'First symptom of the infection, full-body itchiness...'

Without wasting time, he activated the bracelet scanner.

Ding!

[Unknown bacteria detected. Symptoms align with early-stage infection. Organism not recognized in current human database. Observation recommended.]

"Shit... I am infected," PureWhite muttered grimly.

The captain said the moment he jumped into the ocean, he was already infected. Natalie, too, had shown symptoms earlier during her stream. Whatever this disease was... it was spreading fast.

"Guess the fun's over for now. Animal breeding has to wait, we've got a bigger problem."

His mood shifted. If the infection progressed and he died, all his progress would be wiped. He needed a cure, and fast.

He needed to return to island and unlock Alien Canon with the key but first. He opened the map. The Aurora was closer, just 50 km out. "Alright chat, let's head to the Aurora next!"

"YESS, the Aurora arc is so lit!! So many secrets there!!"

"Secrets? You mean DEATH, right? That Leviathan near the ship is no joke!"

"Shhh! Don't spoil it! Let him go blind!"

"Let's give him a real surprise. Hehehe..."

Completely unaware of the chat's ominous warnings, PureWhite carefully loaded all three crab-serpent eggs into the Seamoth's storage pod.

Then, climbing aboard his Seamoth, he exited the cave and set course for the Aurora, the wreckage that marked the beginning of untold mysteries... and unspeakable dangers.

2711 Words.