PUBG

Sera leaned back in her chair, her excitement palpable as the game download finished. She placed her custom-made nerve gear helmet over her head, and her stream screen transitioned to display the visuals from the gear, allowing her viewers to experience the game through her perspective.

"This gear connects directly to the game core using mana as the medium," Sera explained to her audience. "Alright, let's dive in!"

A faint hum resonated as the game loaded, and Sera found herself standing in a dimly lit room. A glowing screen materialized in front of her, displaying the option to create a character. The choice was simple: male or female. She selected female, and in an instant, her virtual body transformed into that of a girl with a high ponytail, a white shirt, blue pants, and sturdy shoes.

As she looked down at herself, she marveled at the level of detail. The textures on her clothing, the subtle movements of her hands, and the faint reflections in her shoes were astonishing. Her audience wasted no time sharing their thoughts:

"Wow, what's with these visuals? They're insane!" "Is this really an F-rank game?!" "He must've spent all his time on just the character models!" "These graphics alone could make this game a success!"

Sera grinned and said, "Alright, guys, there's an option to start a match. Should I click it?"

The comments flooded in:

"Yes, of course! Start it!" "We want to see what happens!" "Maybe it's just for show, but give it a try!"

Without hesitation, Sera clicked on the Match option. A new screen appeared, displaying a counter: 1/99 players remaining to connect.

"Wait… what?" Sera muttered, tilting her head in confusion. "Guys, what am I supposed to do now?"

Her viewers speculated wildly:

"I think it needs 99 players total to start!" "Why would it need so many people?" "I downloaded it too—let me try matching!"

As she watched, the counter ticked up: 2/99 players connected.

"Alright, guys," Sera said with a sly smile, "if you're watching this, download the game! Let's see what happens when we hit 99 players. Maybe this is just a strategy to get more downloads."

Her loyal fans didn't disappoint. Many immediately began downloading the game, and the numbers climbed steadily. The chat was a mix of excitement and speculation as the counter finally hit 99/99.

Suddenly, Sera's surroundings changed. She found herself standing on a sprawling spawn island, surrounded by other players. The environment was breathtaking—lush greenery, sandy beaches, and distant mountains under a vivid blue sky.

She turned to her left and spotted a boy among the crowd. He was identical in appearance to many others except for one key difference: a glowing number "2" floated above his head. Turning around, she saw two more players—a boy and a girl—each with numbers "3" and "4" above them.

"Can you hear me?" Sera asked hesitantly, her voice steady but curious.

The three players nodded and moved closer so they could all hear one another. Around them, other players formed groups of four, but their conversations were inaudible.

The boy with the number "2" chimed in. "I think this might be a team-based game."

The girl with "3" tilted her head, intrigued. "Really? Oh, by the way, my name's Maya. I've never seen anything like this in a game before."

"Same here," the boy with "4" added. "I'm David. Honestly, I didn't even know games could be this immersive."

Sera smiled warmly and introduced herself. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Sera. So, what do you think this game is about?"

Before anyone could answer, a loud, authoritative voice echoed from nowhere:

"Welcome to PUBG. Match starts in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1."

In the blink of an eye, they were transported again. This time, they found themselves seated in the back of a large airplane. The sound of engines roared around them as they looked out of the open side doors. Below, a vast green landscape stretched endlessly, dotted with rivers, mountains, and small clusters of buildings.

A parachute was strapped to each of their backs.

Maya's voice wavered as she stared out at the land below. "Wait… are we supposed to jump from here?"

The group exchanged nervous glances. Finally, David laughed nervously and pointed at the parachutes. "I think that's exactly what we're supposed to do."

Sera took a deep breath and muttered, "Well… here goes nothing."

And with that, the countdown for the leap into battle began.

As the countdown ended, Sera and her team found themselves standing at the edge of the plane's open door, the green expanse below growing larger by the second. The rush of wind was deafening.

Sera took a deep breath, steadying herself. "Alright, guys. No fear. Let's go!"

She leapt from the plane without hesitation, her body slicing through the air. Her teammates exchanged nervous glances before following her lead.

"The queen doesn't fear anything," Ron muttered, taking a shaky step forward and jumping after her.

Maya and David weren't far behind, each letting out startled yelps as they plummeted downward. The sensation of freefalling was unlike anything they had ever experienced. The glowing words in the air, spelling "Melta," caught their attention but faded just as quickly.

"This is insane!" Maya shouted, her voice carried away by the wind.

Sera tilted her body forward, gliding gracefully through the air. It was her first time experiencing something so exhilarating, yet she seemed to handle it like a natural. Below them, clusters of houses came into view, scattered across the vibrant green terrain.

"Open your parachutes now!" Sera yelled, pulling her own cord.

Her parachute unfurled above her, catching the wind as she drifted downward with surprising control. The others scrambled to do the same.

Sera landed first, wobbling slightly as her feet touched the ground. She steadied herself just in time to see the others following suit—though their landings were far less graceful.

Maya and David both hit the ground hard, landing on their backsides with pained groans. Ron, on the other hand, crashed face-first into the dirt.

"Shit, that hurts!" Ron grumbled, pushing himself up.

David winced and muttered, "Pain sensors… definitely active."

Sera smirked. "Well, at least we know the game's realistic. Look up!"

The group's attention turned skyward, where dozens of black parachutes dotted the sky. More players were descending into the area, some landing closer than they expected.

Back on her stream, Sera's chat was exploding with messages:

"This is unreal!" "The immersion is insane!" "Sera, don't let your guard down!"

She addressed her viewers, her voice brimming with excitement. "Guys, remember those guns we saw in the images? I think we all know what they're for. Let's start searching these houses!"

Her team nodded in agreement and scattered toward the nearest structures.

David was the first to find something—a sleek SCAR-L rifle, complete with a magazine and ammo. "I found a gun!" he called out instinctively, before stopping himself. "Wait… do I have to run and tell them?"

A voice responded in his ear. "You don't have to. We can hear you even when we're not close," Sera said.

"Yeah, we're all connected," Ron added.

David blinked, surprised by the feature. "That's… convenient."

Before they could celebrate the discovery, faint gunshots echoed in the distance. The team froze, listening closely. Moments later, a small notification flashed across their screens:

Team 4 Player 1 killed Team 5 Player 4.

"Did you guys see that?" Maya asked, her voice uneasy.

Sera nodded. "Yeah… things just got interesting."

Her chat was going wild again:

"This is more intense than I thought!" "Sera, watch your back!" "This game is insane!"

"Alright, guys," Sera said, addressing both her team and her stream. "Load your guns. Remember what we learned in the academy."

Following her lead, the team quickly loaded their weapons, the sound of magazines clicking into place filling the air. They regrouped near a small house, huddling to discuss their next move.

Sera glanced at the others. "We could follow the sound of the gunshots and eliminate whoever's out there… but we don't know the terrain or the layout of this place. It could lead us straight into an ambush."

Ron frowned. "Yeah, we'd be walking blind. If only we had a—"

Before he could finish, a glowing gesture appeared in front of them, indicating a swiping motion.

"What's this?" Sera asked, staring at the strange icon.

She hesitated for a moment, then followed the gesture and swiped downward. Instantly, a map appeared in front of her, with a blinking red marker indicating their location.

"I guess we got what we needed," Ron said, staring at the map in awe.

Sera smirked, her eyes scanning the map for potential threats. "Alright, team. Let's move smart. Stick together, and let's see what this game is really about."