Chapter 2: Beginning (2)

"2 hours remaining! With danger up ahead, I don't even know if I can make it!" Luis muttered, his heart hammering against his ribs.

Every second wasted brought him closer to suffocation.

"System, can you search for the complete map of this ship?"

"Affirmative, Commander. I can display a full 3D layout of the entire vessel instantly!" The System replied promptly.

"Quick, show it to me right now!"

The holographic figure of the System vanished from his wrist, replaced immediately by a rotating, translucent blue model of the colonial ship. It hovered in the air before him, every corridor, compartment, and deck clearly marked.

"Commander, the blinking red dot indicates your exact current position," the System explained.

Luis stared at the model, his eyes widening in shock.

"You really wouldn't understand just how massive this thing is until you see it laid out like this!"

Compared to the entire structure, his red dot was nothing more than a tiny speck, barely visible at a glance.

"The ship itself, it's so huge it looks like a floating small continent!"

From this angle, it did resemble a gigantic, elongated sweet potato, with four massive, cylindrical fusion boosters protruding from its rear lower section, looking powerful enough to propel the vessel across light-years of space.

He checked his position again, right in the middle section of the ship, surrounded by vast stretches of corridors and compartments.

"Why is such a large portion of the ship colored red? Even the area I woke up in is marked the same way," he asked, noticing that more than half of the model glowed a deep, ominous red.

Only the uppermost and lowermost sections remained white, marked as safe zones.

"The red zones are areas where the hull has been breached, life support has failed, or the central network has classified them as hazardous due to unknown threats," the System clarified.

"Well, am I just lucky or what?" He shook his head.

"Though thinking about it, if this place was still safe and stable, I probably wouldn't have woken up here, and the original Luis wouldn't have died either."

After a moment of silence, he asked again, "System, exactly where is the Command Center located?"

"Here, Commander."

A small section at the very top rear of the ship lit up in bright yellow, marking the destination.

"That's way too far!" Luis exclaimed, comparing the distance.

"Judging by the scale, if I just walk normally, it would take me days to reach that spot! And I only have less than two hours before I run out of air completely?"

"Commander, there is an optimized route available," the System said calmly.

"If you follow the path I provide, you can reach the destination in roughly twenty minutes. First, you must make your way to the Central Lift Station. Using it will bring you directly to the upper mid-decks, covering sixty percent of the distance instantly. From there, you switch to the restricted personnel lift, which will take you to the corridor leading directly to the Command Center."

As she spoke, a glowing yellow line appeared on the 3D map, winding through the red zones but showing the shortest possible path.

"Great! Nice work, System! With this map, I can definitely get there in time, haha!" Luis's spirits lifted slightly, a glimmer of hope returning.

"Please be reminded Commander, the route I have marked still passes through areas classified as high-risk. There is a high probability of encountering those hostile creatures or other dangers along the way."

"Ugh, don't go dampening my mood already." Luis sighed, though he knew the warning was necessary.

"Ugh~! The stench is unbearable! How many days have passed since these people died?"

Clamping one hand firmly over his nose and mouth, Luis forced himself to move closer to the bodies scattered in the hallway.

The metallic and rotten smell made his stomach churn violently, and he had to swallow hard to keep from throwing up. But survival came first, he needed anything that could help him fight back.

He rummaged carefully through the torn utility suits and belt pouches, his hands trembling slightly. Just as he was about to give up, his fingers brushed against something hard and smooth.

"Is this a gun?"

He pulled the object free and held it up. It was roughly half a meter long, sleek and silver, with a matte finish. On the side was a small glowing blue panel, showing a battery-like indicator that was already down to just one quarter of its maximum capacity.

It had a handle and a secondary grip, exactly like a weapon should. The only odd part was the front end, instead of a round barrel, it had a narrow vertical slit about three inches tall.

Curious and desperate to test it, Luis raised it, adopting the firing stance he had seen in countless movies and games. He aimed at an empty section of the bulkhead and squeezed the trigger.

Pshhh!

There was no loud bang, no heavy recoil, and no flying bullet. Instead, a thin, glowing blade of blue-white plasma shot out from the slit. It was silent and bright, and when it touched the metal wall, it pierced through instantly, leaving a clean, narrow hole exactly matching the shape of the muzzle.

"Not bad at all! With this, maybe I can actually deal with those giant insect monsters?" Luis said, turning the weapon over in his hand with newfound confidence. But then he looked at the bodies again and frowned.

"Though it's probably not that simple. If this gun was powerful enough to wipe them out easily, these people wouldn't have ended up dead here."

He clipped the weapon onto his belt and gripped it firmly, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

 -----

"This really feels exactly like those horror survival games I've watched people play online," Luis muttered as he drifted slowly through the darkened corridor.

Only the faint, flashing red emergency lights provided any illumination, casting long, shifting shadows that made every pipe, cable, and door frame look like a lurking monster.

His back was soaked in cold sweat, and his fingers tightened around the weapon until his knuckles turned white.

"Just my luck, the only thing missing now is a sudden jumpscare to send my heart into overdrive," he joked weakly, trying to calm his own nerves. But his only companion remained silent, giving no response.

After a few seconds, the System spoke up again, her tone bright and helpful.

"Commander, now that I have gained partial access to the local control panels, I can temporarily activate the standard lighting system along the path you are taking. This will allow you to see clearly and avoid obstacles."

"Oh, wonderful idea, System. I'm so lucky to have you thinking ahead." Luis paused, then replied in a flat, unimpressed tone.

"Thank you for the compliment, Commander! Then I shall switch the lights on righ-"

"Wait! No! Don't do it!" Luis hissed sharply.

"If you turn on all the lights, I'll be lighting myself up like a Christmas tree! Those things will spot me from ten corridors away and surround me before I even know what's happening! What's the point of moving slowly and quietly if I just announce my presence like that?"

"Then I might as well just yell out 'Hey, I'm over here!' and save them the trouble of searching!" He rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling a headache coming on.

"There is no need to be angry, Commander," the System said softly, sounding genuinely confused and slightly wronged.

"Haah~ I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," Luis sighed, calming down.

He was starting to notice something, the System was becoming more expressive and responsive, almost like a real person. It felt less like talking to a machine and more like guiding an innocent, well-meaning young girl who didn't understand danger.

 -----

"Commander, you are approaching a four-way intersection. Once you reach it, you must turn right to stay on the fastest route," the System warned after a few minutes of careful movement.

"Got it, got it, turning right," Luis whispered back, drifting closer to the junction.

"Anyway, aside from the bodies I found near the room where I woke up, I haven't seen any other signs of life or even more corpses," he murmured, trying to keep his mind occupied.

The moment the words left his mouth, he cursed inwardly. "I just jinxed myself, didn't I?"

He immediately slowed down, moving silently toward the corner and pressing his back flat against the wall. Peering carefully around the edge, his blood ran cold.

"Why does my mouth have to be so accurate!?"

Even in the dim red light, he could clearly make out a human figure floating motionless in the middle of the corridor, only about five meters ahead. But what made his hair stand on end was what was happening to it.

The torso of the body was torn open, and something large and dark was wriggling and moving inside the gaping wound. Faint, wet crunching sounds and soft tearing noises drifted through the air, so quiet they were almost lost under the constant blare of the alarm.

Luis clamped his hand tighter over his mouth, his eyes wide with shock and fear. He held his breath, not daring to make the slightest sound, while the creature continued its feeding right in the path he needed to take.

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