Perfect World VR (31) - Command and Conquer {Finale}

Leah couldn't believe it. She was able to hack the missile guidance system and turn it against its owner. Even as she watched the ICBM change direction based on her order, she still felt like it was unreal, like it was all a dream.

...And this dream started the moment Elena had walked up to her and informed her of her role in their mission to subjugate the Northern Crawler. She was left speechless as she was informed that she would be the key player in their strategy.

It was utter madness. Someone like her was entrusted with the fate of their mission. She couldn't understand why Elena would do such a thing. There were more capable people in their ranks.

Of course, after Elena explained their plan to them, she realized she was the only likely choice to get the job done. But the fact that Elena had built their plan around her… The pressure was a lot to handle.

Thankfully, Nathan was there to support her. As she noticed the eyes of the others looking down on her, only Nathan was kind enough to look at her on level terms. He supported her and believed in her capabilities even when she doubted them herself.

Thus, she reluctantly agreed. As they made their match, she could not help but contemplate the best way to go about her role. It was not at all an easy task.

She had to hack the missile control system of the ICBM. That wasn't exactly a straightforward thing to perform. Their entire plan relied heavily on luck, a foolish strategy in the real world.

But in this gaming world, they could afford such crazy ideas. She waited for the right opportunity. The Mammoth parked approximately one hundred meters away from the Northern Crawler base.

[Stealth had been activated.] The Mammoth was hidden relatively well. There was no need to worry about it since the enemy expected the Mammoth to head for the Missile base.

Once Magnum sent out the launch signal to unleash the ICBM, She intercepted it and decoded it in the shortest time possible, inserting a backdoor to enter once it was time.

She could have out rightly wrestled control of the ICBM from Magnum's grasp but that would have alerted him to danger thus she could only wait for the moment of truth.

Sure enough, it appeared soon after as the ICBM was exactly thirty seconds from the target. She activated the backdoor she had installed and wrestled control from Magnum.

Before the latter had the chance to act on what had happened, the attack had already hit its target.

As she watched the Northern Crawler crumble under the explosion, her heart fluttered somewhat. It was a new feeling. "Is this how Nathan felt whenever he helped the team?"

She glanced over at him to find that he had his attention on the screen as well, he looked pleasantly surprised. She would etch this memory in her heart for as long as she remained alive.

***

"Take them down!!" It was a call to arms. Elena led the charge as Red Wing Thunder mowed down the Machine units. Due to the incapacitation of the Northern Crawler, the Machine units were unable to adapt.

The previous orders remained in their system and they did not involve retaliating against the enemy. They were left completely defenseless with no hopes of escaping.

Elena could feel it. Victory was not too far away. She had succeeded in her first task as Herald. It had helped her reduce the level of doubt she had in her capabilities.

She went all out, the last of the machine units about to be wiped out. Just then, there was a tremor so great, that it shook the entire region.

"What in the world?" [No!!!] A loud sound echoed across the area. It had emerged from the Northern Crawler. "Magnum?" It was a guess, unfortunately, that guess just happened to be spot on.

The Northern Crawler began to move again. No, it was more like something was moving it. It was sinking in on itself. Almost as though there was a black hole within.

But things were a bit more complicated than that. [Commencing integration process. Titan Mecha has been constructed for AI, Magnum008]

"Titan what?" Just as they were attempting to figure out what that statement implied, there was another tremor. This was followed by the complete absorption of the Northern Crawler exterior.

In its place, a six-foot-tall Mech suit equipped with impressive tech stood high and mighty, looking down on everything else like a god.

"This… This is overkill." Even Elena was forced to take steps back as she saw this. Just how were they going to defeat such a colossus of a monster?

"We are done for," Jeremiah muttered as he felt his knees go weak. He no longer had the strength to hold onto his spear, thus it fell to the ground.

[You humans thought you had won?... Machines will always be superior, there is no question about that. Now accept your fate and allow me to crush your hope.]

It put up its right arm and charged up the blaster. There was no escaping the range of the shot or the impact that would follow.

Elena gripped her sword tightly, even if she attempted to use the second dance in the Festival of Blades, the probability of her dealing enough damage to Magnum before the shot was fired was low, very low.

This time around, the look of defeat on her face was genuine. Just as the blast was about to go off, it suddenly stopped charging after which the Mecha began to lose power rapidly.

[What is this?... How could a virus have affected my software?... No, No, No!!!!]

It was almost as though it were. A shout of pain. Once the last 'no' was heard, the Titan lost power and began to collapse to the ground.

Nathan heaved a sigh of relief whilst holding onto Leah. "Whew, I was wondering if he had wiped out the virus already. Guess it was just his last-ditch effort to survive and he didn't make a proper check before making use of the Northern Crawler membrane."

A moment later and Elena's voice came through the transponder. "Was that your doing, Nate?" "Mn."

Outside the Mammoth, the battlefield ahead had been cleaned up, the last of the stragglers shut down. "Does this mean we are done?"

The question had just left Sandra's lips when a general notification sound was heard.

***Ting***

[Congratulations cadets.]

[Main Mission title: Command and Conquer.]

[Mission description: You are aboard the Mammoth, a supply ship built for the mining of energy nodes. It has been sent on a mission to collect three energy nodes placed at the North, East, and West sides of Krakatoa.]

[Mission objective: All three energy nodes have been taken over by The Machines Crawler units. Protect The Mammoth and also destroy the enemy to allow her to collect the energy nodes.]

[Note: The enemy is already aware of your presence and will do whatever they can to destroy The Mammoth. There is a limited time for this mission as they are already extracting energy from the nodes. Once the energy is gone, the mission would automatically fail.]

[Mission: Defeat the enemy and Ensure the Mammoth retrieves the nodes.]

[Mission progress: 100% completion rate.]

[Side mission: The Northern Crawler is being manned by an Android. The energy node located there has been depleted and now, it sets its sight on destroying all biological life forms that threaten its existence in Krakatoa.]

[ Mission reassignment: Destroy the Northern Crawler.]

[Additional information: The Northern Crawler has completed the construction of a missile base a few meters away from its location. Destroy the base or risk getting blown up the moment you engage with the Crawler.]

[Mission progress: 50% completion rate.]

[Please complete the missions to end the game. Thank you.]