Chapter 82: Summer Welcome Co-op Game (4)

‘Have we arrived?’

Thud!

With a dull impact, the shaking of the spaceship came to a halt.

My vision, briefly blurred by the vibration, became clear again.

Finally, I took in my surroundings.

The cold, metallic interior of the spacecraft.

Blinking control panels scattered around,

and rough but functional-looking devices.

[Landing complete. Please disengage your safety belt.]

A mechanical voice announced.

“Phew…”

Even though it was virtual reality, the vibration and noise during landing felt surprisingly realistic.

However,

there was a small interface window floating in the corner of my vision,

a constant reminder that this was still a game.

[Time Remaining: 24:00:00]

[Quota: 500 Gold]

[Current Gold: 0]

A day. It looked like we had exactly 24 hours to collect AI Cores worth 500 Gold and deliver them.

Gold was probably the unit used to measure the value of the AI Cores.

At that moment, a voice came through the voice link.

<Wow… It really feels like we’re inside.>

Siren’s voice, mixed with a hint of admiration.

<Right? VR game quality these days is no joke.>

Raidel spoke as she glanced around.

It seemed true that a lot of money had been invested in this horror game.

<First, let’s check our appearances.>

Following Raidel’s suggestion, we looked at each other.

All three of us were wearing white space suits with a bulky, functional design.

On the chest, each of us had a nametag.

[Yoo Seo-yeon]

[Raidel]

[Siren]

We would have to rely on these nametags to identify each other since the avatars looked almost identical.

<Hold on.>

Raidel seemed to be fiddling with something, staying quiet for a moment before speaking again.

“Yeah, for games like this, it’s best to use the in-game voice. I’ll turn off the voice link.”

[External voice link disconnected.]

[Switching to in-game communication system.]

A notification appeared, and the voices of the two sounded just slightly different through the helmet speakers.

There was a bit of an echo, along with a faint hint of noise.

It felt more immersive and realistic.

“Ah, ah. Mic test. Can you hear me?”

Raidel’s voice came clearly through the helmet’s internal speakers.

“Yes! I can hear you!”

Siren responded energetically.

“I can hear you too.”

I replied quietly and continued,

“So, I guess we’re really starting now. Let’s… head outside?”

We couldn’t just stay inside the cramped spacecraft forever.

I approached the nearest exit door and pressed the button.

With a hissing sound, the heavy metal door slowly slid open to the side.

The view beyond the door was…

“Oh.”

It was the epitome of desolation.

It felt like I had landed on the moon.

The ground was covered in fine, gray dust that stirred faintly with each step.

Scattered all around were massive scrap structures,

towering like the skeletal remains of colossal beasts, eerie and ominous.

Since it was outer space, there was no sound of wind.

All I could hear was my own breathing within the helmet and the faint hum of machinery.

The sky was pitch-black, as dark as ebony, and countless stars glittered brilliantly.

“Wow… It looks so real.”

Siren cautiously stepped out of the spacecraft and murmured.

“Yeah, the map design is really impressive.”

Raidel also looked around with admiration.

The vast expanse of space and the ruined, desolate landscape of the planet

gave off a strangely lonely vibe.

But our awe was short-lived.

Our attention naturally turned to one spot.

In the distance, standing tall on the barren ground, was a massive artificial structure.

“That’s… probably where we need to go.”

Raidel pointed with her finger.

Even from a distance, it was clear that the structure was old and abandoned.

The metallic outer walls were rusted, full of holes.

Beyond the broken windows lay nothing but pitch darkness.

The eerie decorations of giant gears and twisted pipes added to its sinister presence.

Especially the entrance at the front, which resembled the wide-open jaws of a massive beast—

dark, gaping, and uninviting.

“Wow… that place really does look… creepy.”

Siren mumbled, slightly hunched over.

Unlike when she was admiring the landscape, her voice was clearly tense.

It looked exactly like an abandoned building straight out of a horror movie, so her reaction was understandable.

“Um… nothing’s going to suddenly jump out from there, right?”

Siren’s worried voice.

“Who knows… Let’s just go and see.”

Raidel tried to answer calmly, but I could hear a slight tremor in her voice.

“First, let’s look around and see if there’s anything useful.”

I suggested, trying to change the topic.

From the gameplay videos I had seen on Etube,

the players usually picked up at least something before heading inside.

It didn’t make sense to enter empty-handed.

‘Let’s start with the ground.’

Before long, something shiny caught my eye at my feet.

I approached it and cautiously picked it up with my gloved hand.

[Rusted Gear (Common) Acquired]

“What… is this?”

I looked at the scrap piece in confusion.

Whirr—

The wrist device attached to my suit emitted a blue light.

Then, a hologram in the shape of a person appeared in front of me.

It was a man in a neat uniform, his expression devoid of emotion.

[Greetings, Yoo Seo-yeon. I am Atlas, your mission support guide.]

I flinched involuntarily at the sudden appearance.

[The item you just acquired is a ‘Scrap Component.’]

[You can use it at the workstation inside the spacecraft to craft survival tools.]

The hologram man, Atlas, explained in a rigid, mechanical voice.

After completing his explanation, he showed a faint hint of a smile and added:

[Information is both power and survival, Yoo Seo-yeon. Please… use the gathered data wisely.]

[Good luck.]

With those words, the hologram dissolved back into blue light and disappeared into the device.

“Wow… that scared me. What was that just now?”

Raidel, who had been watching from the side, asked with a surprised expression.

“It’s a guide. It said we can use the scrap pieces to craft items at the spacecraft’s workstation.”

It seemed to be a tutorial guide.

After I relayed Atlas’s explanation, Raidel nodded.

“Oh! Then we should gather more and return to the spacecraft.”

“I-I found one too!”

Siren, who had been looking around, soon picked up another scrap component.

A little later, we returned to the spacecraft and looked around inside.

In one corner, there was a rough metal workstation.

[Flashlight: Requires x2 Scrap Components]

[Pickaxe: Requires x3 Scrap Components]

“We definitely need to make a flashlight…”

Raidel said, operating the device at the workstation.

“There’s also a pickaxe. Is that part of the basic equipment?”

“Yeah. Let’s each make one and take it with us.”

We gathered the necessary scrap and crafted a flashlight and a pickaxe at the workstation.

[Flashlight crafted successfully]

[Pickaxe crafted successfully]

“Okay.”

Now all three of us had a flashlight in one hand and a short pickaxe in the other.

Clad in clunky space suits, holding a flashlight and a pickaxe, we couldn’t help but laugh.

“Alright. Let’s go… Pffft.”

Seeing each other like that,

we couldn’t hold back our laughter.

The sight of clumsy space-suited people holding pickaxes looked more awkward than intimidating.

Raidel couldn’t help but laugh first.

“Ahem… We look so lame, don’t we?”

“For real. Why did they give us pickaxes of all things?”

Siren also chuckled a bit.

The tense atmosphere eased a little, which was a relief.

“Alright then, let’s actually go in now. Let’s see if we can set the longest survival record.”

Oh, right.

Apparently, streamers were competing to see who could survive the longest.

It was a way for the viewers to have fun too.

As long as it didn’t become too toxic, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Step, step—

We walked towards the massive abandoned building we saw earlier.

The closer we got to the entrance, the darker it became.

It was quiet.

The eerie silence of space only heightened the sense of unease.

“Haa…”

Raidel, who was leading the way, kept letting out short breaths, which I could hear through the mic.

Her shoulders seemed slightly hunched.

Her steps looked more cautious compared to before.

‘Is she going to be alright…?’

I recalled the video I had seen on Raidel’s Etube channel yesterday.

An uneasy feeling crept up my spine.

And then—

Ssshhhhh—!

Right next to us.

The old, rusted pipe stuck to the wall suddenly blasted out a thick white steam.

A sharp sound of pressure being released.

Due to the previously quiet environment, the noise felt particularly loud and sudden.

Siren flinched slightly,

but quickly realized that it was just steam leaking from the old facility.

It didn’t seem particularly dangerous.

However—

“Kyaaaaaa!”

A scream erupted from right in front of me.

It was Raidel.

She shrieked and started wildly swinging her pickaxe on the spot.

“W-what was that! Where did the sound come from! Don’t come any closer!”

“Raidel-nim, c-calm down.”

At this rate, she might accidentally blind herself with her own flashlight or end up hitting someone with that pickaxe.

“It’s just steam. It came from that pipe over there.”

I shone my flashlight on the old pipe where the steam had just burst out.

Psssshhhh—

The pipe was still faintly releasing steam.

“S-steam…? R-really?”

Raidel, who had been spinning around like a whirlwind, finally stopped moving.

She was breathing heavily, her voice slightly quivering.

“Yes, look. It’s just an old facility problem.”

“…Ah.”

Raidel stared blankly at the pipe for a while before coughing awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but recall the video I watched of Raidel playing a horror game yesterday.

It was on Etube.

It was a rather old video.

At first, she was confidently playing,

but it didn’t take long for the atmosphere to overwhelm her, and she started to sniffle.

“Is it… is it really okay? Everyone…? Sniff… don’t leave me…”

Her usual confident demeanor had completely transformed, and she clung to the viewers like a scared little girl.

It was a stark contrast to her usual self.

And as soon as the first monster appeared, she let out a scream.

Her voice was so loud that viewers had to lower the volume.

– “Ahahaha”

– “That reaction is gold”

– “Lolol that’s it!”

– “Is she crying?”

– “Even Delings have a soft side…”

It was exactly the kind of reaction viewers wanted from a horror game streamer.

Thanks to that video, Raidel broke her previous highest viewer count until just before our collab.

No wonder it had such a high view count on Etube.

It was almost like she had activated some kind of suction vortex,

drawing in all the horror game fans—known as “Concrete”—with that broadcast.

“I-I’m not scared…”

Now, Raidel was sniffing, trying to act unbothered, but it was clear she was still shaken.

It felt oddly familiar because the beginning of that horror game video looked just like this.

‘I’m sure it’ll be fine.’

I sighed and moved toward the entrance of the building.