The spaceship nosedived toward the black hole without moving to the side. It shook intensely as if an earthquake had hit the very core of the ship.
Every NPC in the Bridge accepted their fate. Only Max had a pale face when darkness engulfed them. Darkness quickly engulfed them, and he felt as if he was underwater. His body was heavy. No... It wasn't heavy. Max was unable to move his body.
"Has the cutscene started?" He asked quietly. His ability to speak only made him sure this was part of the game's cutscene.
Still, because he took the perspective of the main character, he was unable to see anything but a chat window.
— Yes!
— You will only see darkness for a few seconds; be patient!
— Darkness is your friend. Your friend is darkness. Accept your fate, young man
— He will open his eyes just about... now
"Ugh..."
Just as the chat had said, Max's vision returned. A soft groan escaped the officer's mouth.
The vision was still blurry, but it turned clear after he blinked a few times. While the chat watched it from the third perspective, meaning they could see his body clearly, Max experienced the game from the first point of view. This start was pretty fresh for him.
"Where is this?"
Looking around, Max could see the debris from the spaceship around the white sand. Water spread infinitely in front of him, some parts were burned from the crash. The blackhole sent him and part of the destroyed ship around a beach.
At that moment, a woman's voice rang.
[You are awake, officer. I am Eva, your assistant. We're currently on a planet named 'Earth-19' and are in a dire situation. Our spaceship crashed, and your condition isn't top-shape. Critical injuries aren't detected. No danger to life.]
"Eva?"
The character looked at his wrist, at the watch where light flashed. It was an advanced artificial intelligence that accompanied the officer since his birth. He trusted it more than anyone.
"Tell me the situation."
[Yes. Based on my scan, all equipment is destroyed except for a basic Mech-42. It landed near the forest behind the current location. An emergency supply is detected inside. Suggestion: Proceed to Mech-42 and use it to explore the area.]
"Can't we ask for help from the main headquarters?"
[Negative. All communications are lost.]
"I guess I have no choice." Saying that, the character rose to his feet, "Activate retina guide. Show me the way to Mech-42."
[Affirmative. Showing the optimal path to Mech-42. Please follow the direction shown by the arrow.]
Following the woman's voice, an arrow could be seen in his vision. From this moment on, Max regained control of his body. He clenched his fist and looked around. He noticed the arrow kept pointing at one point on the edge of his vision, on the opposite side of the chat window.
"Wow, this is amazing." He muttered in amazement at the scenery around him. "Every game has such a unique place. I guess I am on a beach right now?
— Cutscene is complete! Proceed to the tutorial!
Not to mention, the snapped tree could be used to climb up. The setting was perfect to prepare players to enter the robot for the first time.
However, it wasn't needed for Max.
"Stop fighting, guys. Let's enjoy the robot experience together."
After saying so, he jumped onto the robot's leg and climbed to enter the cockpit. When he was inside, he noticed it was similar to his VR Capsule. The seat was comfortable, and everything was within an arm's range.
[Pilot has entered. Closing the cockpit.]
The whirring sound echoed within the cockpit. The chest area of the robot was closed. The cockpit turned dark. Max couldn't even see what was in front of him.
But that was only temporary.
[Mech-42 starting up. Checking damage.]
Lights flickered around him. The previously dark cockpit was lit. Everything around him was clear, and the outside scenery was visible as if he wasn't inside a small cockpit.
Destroyed grass, snapped trees, blue sky... Everything was clear.
[Main thruster is damaged. Flying is impossible, but it can still be used for dodging maneuver. Everything else is all green.]
With the voice ringing once again, the robot began to move. Max felt like his hand was guided to pull the right lever.
"Whoa."
The sudden movement surprised him, but he soon got used to it. After the right lever, he pulled the left lever. Those two were for leg movement. If the button was pressed, then the one that moved was the hand.
"Hmm, interesting." He smiled excitedly as he tried to move the robot. He just needed to think about it, and his hand moved itself to control the robot.
"So I just need to think about what I want to do, and the game system will assist my body movement according to that? The support system is pretty much appreciated."
— Indeed
— That's the basic control of the robot
— If you want to hold a weapon, just use voice commands such as "Sword" or "Gun" or "Thruster" and it will follow your command
— No one can actually pilot a robot on a get go
— The tutorial is pretty simple. It's a short game, so the support in control is massive
— Just enjoy the story and robot fight. Go go go!
The game processed as Max read the chat. And he got the first mission.
[Mech-42 is ready.]
[First objective: Scout the surroundings and find an intelligent individual to collect information.]
"Easy to understand." He nodded and tightened his grip on the lever. "Let's go!"