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Breaking News: Eugene to Enter the Uncharted Zone!
<An image of Eugene hovering over the PVP list before clicking the Uncharted Zone.>
Run, you idiot!
[All Comments][By Date]
Mecha Eugene vs. Eugene—my heart is racing, haha
Don’t come, you insane bastard!!!!!!!!!!
Is Eugene gonna hunt down everything that moves in the mountains and fields?
Users who scrape by, collecting credits little by little, are gonna die today, haha
Can’t you just snipe from a distance?
I’m only picking up grenade launchers at the terminal, haha.
If Eugene shows up, doesn’t he just wipe out the whole session?
But if he’s level 1, won’t all his skill trees be locked? If he fights against max-level players, it should be close, right?
Doesn’t Eugene just fill his bag with food?
If Eugene ever lists his items on a flea market, they’d probably go for 100 million, haha.
I can hear Katou’s sobbing all the way over here, haha.
Bishunbasyung—Is there a streamer who literally takes over the whole match?
[Notification: Icarus Gear downgraded combat support equipment shows irreversible damage.]
[Notification: Estimated repair time for self-repair to send distress signal: 3697 days, 21 hours, 27 minutes, and 34 seconds. Materials for repairs requested.]
[Recommendation: Survive.]
"This is how it works."
Once again, an overwhelming wave of interference. But I was now an 8-month streamer, and soon I’d be hitting the 9-month mark. I could now slowly tune out the various distractions and nonsense from my million-strong audience.
Anyway, Uncharted Zone escape mode. The game, affectionately known as EU, was truly different from Apex Predator. It wasn’t much of a surprise, but there were obvious differences. The key difference being that there was no base camp—a tactical center—like we were used to seeing.
Instead, players were tasked with designing their own hideouts, buying or gathering supplies, and building the necessary facilities, making it a much more personal experience.
But there was one thing that stood out: survival.
The main goal in EU was survival.
"I should probably take a look at the system."
Saying this, I opened the gear box in front of me. It was massive, about the size of two shipping containers. The shelves inside were neatly arranged. On one side, there was a workbench for customizing firearms.
There was also a small refrigerated space for storing food and liquids, and along the back, I could see canned goods, several bottles of water, five handguns, and four rifles. There were also body armor, a medium-sized backpack, and other supplies.
Grenades and flashbangs were neatly stored in boxes—eight of each, totaling 16.
After briefly inspecting the items, I glanced at the watch on my left wrist. It flickered slightly, and my current health status appeared on the screen: segmented health bars for my head, chest, abdomen, arms, and legs. I also saw various tutorial pop-ups. The system detailed different types of damage—bleeding, fractures, and also debuffs like dehydration and hunger, reminding me that food and water weren’t just for show.
In short, this game aimed for a far more realistic experience than Dark Zone.
"And then, after restoring the downgraded gear, I get registered as an Icarus agent..."
The system’s message continued to inform me that, through collecting materials and completing quests, the repair time of 3697 days could be reduced, and once repaired, the gear would have very limited functions—hence all the mentions of "downgrades." Afterward, I’d become an Icarus agent.
The main task in this mode was to deal with whatever happened in the Uncharted Zone, to block certain occurrences, and try to survive. I suspected that Mecha Eugene was designed with a similar event in mind.
All these facts led me to one conclusion.
"There’s subcontracting even here..."
I hoped this didn’t happen in the other world.
Anyway, there was still more to check out—specifically the quests. Someone in the chat had donated saying that the alpha and omega of EU’s escape mode were the quests and survival. Some called it farming, but, of course, survival came first.
By completing quests, I could level up my gear, increasing my stamina, strength, metabolism, and immunity. It made sense now why new players had no chance against seasoned veterans.
So, what was the next step?
"Looks like a new player arrived. Let’s call him Cash Mendoza."
As I closed the warehouse door, I saw someone suspicious standing nearby.
"How’s the warehouse? Took quite a bit of cost to stock up and build the facilities."
"You’re not just giving this away for free, are you?"
"Nice and quick with the response. You're right. If you don’t want to cooperate or refuse, I’ll have to either reclaim this facility or forcefully collect the costs of construction. You understand, right?"
At that, two armed men appeared from behind. They looked rough, but their gear was on point. They seemed like operators well-fed on cash, with heavy bulletproof vests, guns with all kinds of parts attached, and even exo-suits.
Their body enhancement ratio didn’t seem that high, though. So, if it came down to a physical fight, I was confident I’d win.
As I thought about this, Cash Mendoza’s eyes shifted to my shoulder.
Specifically, to the numerous patches all over it.
"...Of course, I don’t want to fight you. I know what those patches are. I don’t have a hobby of betting my life on a gamble."
"That’s a pretty threatening warning."
"Yeah, a lot of idiots think they’re entitled to everything unless I make things clear beforehand. Ignore what I said at first. This investment should bear some sweet fruit, though."
It seemed like a special script.
As the quest window appeared over my gear, I noticed the word "Debut"—meaning it was likely the first quest given to someone entering this mode.
The description was simple: Cash Mendoza elaborated on it.
"A high-value research facility, factory, customs, warehouse, weapon testing chambers... I’ve been keeping an eye on this entire area of about 20 square kilometers since it was designated as Uncharted Zone. This place is going to be a battlefield."
"So, you want me to help with the cleanup?"
"Exactly. There are trash, or even more troublesome people, wandering around here, and they’re mostly not useful in solving this mess."
After a brief silence, he continued.
"Fifteen. The number of people you’re going to send straight to Styx River. I think that’s a fair enough test for those patches on your shoulder. What do you say?"
"Let’s do it."
"I’ve been waiting for that answer. I’ll support you with a few things if you need them. I can throw a couple more chunks of metal your way."
With that, my gear was finally ready. A handgun, a Level 3 bulletproof vest capable of withstanding some rifle shots, three grenades, four flashbangs, and one Tomahawk.
As I stepped into the deployment area, I saw several maps spread out in front of me. As Cash Mendoza had mentioned, the high-value facilities, factory, customs, warehouse, and weapon labs were all marked, but my first choice was... a factory. It might sound a bit boring, but it was a place where I could maximize my strengths of stealth and hit-and-run.
As I entered, the place was more ruin than factory. The smell was foul, and firefights had already begun.
"Is that a player?"
It was a bandit—an enemy NPC.
About 20 meters away, hiding behind some cover, holding a shotgun. It seemed like I could bait him with some nearby objects and take him down quickly.
I quietly moved behind him and threw a nut I had picked up from the ground. The sound was enough to knock him down, and he started firing his shotgun wildly in my direction.
This was going to be tricky. He was about to pinpoint my location.
"Keep it quiet."
With a swift movement, Eugene’s first kill in EU was marked with a satisfying crunch of neckbones.
As the kill count went up to 1/15, the viewers lost their minds. The Icarus gear automatically scanned the bandit’s body and floated his items into the air—some shotgun shells, a knife, and a few basic items like keys and medical supplies.
"Should I take the half-drunk water bottle?" I thought, but left it behind. No real reason for dehydration.
Carefully, I made my way up the stairs toward the office windows. My body had a cheat-like sensory ability, so I knew exactly where anyone was approaching.
The moment I reached the upper floor, I heard the rustling. Someone was inside a room. After checking the hallway, I pretended to shake the grenade pin, signaling an incoming flashbang.
Bam!
"Oops."
As the guy fled the room, I was already inside. The gap between us closed quickly, and when he tried to circle back, he was only 2 meters away.
I took my shot, targeting his knees. It took three shots to drop him—he was tough.
"Did I just kill someone who was beautiful under the helmet?"
A neat, white bobbed hair with ruby-like eyes. The user had fumbled through his bag, stuffing some valuable items into a space that looked like a bandolier.
"This your last words?"
"Yes..."
I took the gun and gear, then checked around. No one was near.
"Hi."
I’m sure this was my next target.
The world was certainly strange.
As I stepped through the window, the sound of a scream rang out.
"Ahhh—!"
"That’s one crazy kid!"
Screaming and firing back at me... probably another user.
Behind them, someone clad in a bulletproof vest and a metal helmet, holding a hammer, was chasing them.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the ironic scene.
"Hi."
That was probably going to be my next target.
The world was truly a bizarre place.
Harmony and Dice’s Reaction to Baby Eugene
So cute, right?
I’ll bring the completed version soon!