Chapter 3

Episode 3. Kidnapped by a Crappy Game. (3)

The speed at which messages were popping up in the chat window was getting faster and faster as time went on.

-[Maman, please let me out of here.]

-[What about my fleet? My characters?]

-[Wait, is it true that all the resources and stuff are gone?]

-[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]

-[Survivor spotted, so♡lucky]

-[What the hell, get out of here]

“…Was this always a thing?”

As I looked at the lively chat window, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of doubt.

After all, the game I had been transported into, “Astral Lagrange,” originally didn’t have an in-game chat feature at all.

But maybe Jessica saw this as an opportunity to lighten the mood.

Jessica, who had been watching me, approached with quick steps and started explaining while pointing at the status window.

“Commander, have you checked the new update by any chance?”

“Update?”

I tried to recall what I had seen on my phone before being kidnapped and brought here…

But I shook my head and countered Jessica’s words.

“No, the update email didn’t mention anything like this.”

“R-Really?”

And there was no mention of being kidnapped and forced into this kind of gameplay either.

Seeing my reaction, Jessica nodded and began explaining while pointing at the status window in front of me.

“First of all, with the new update to Astral Lagrange, we’ve introduced a community system so that Commanders like yourself can share necessary information with each other!”

“Hmm.”

“Right now, since your level is low, you can only use the chat feature of the community system…”

As Jessica trailed off, I nodded and concluded her explanation.

“So, if I level up, I can unlock all the other features of the community system, right?”

“Yes, exactly!”

Clapping her hands in excitement, Jessica’s response made me want to ask about the other features of the community system, but…

“I’m sorry, but due to permission issues, I can’t tell you about that in advance…”

“Hmm.”

It seemed there were restrictions on revealing the features, as Jessica clearly expressed her inability to share more.

Thinking it was a system limitation, I decided to ask about it in the chat window instead.

-[Hey guys, how do you know what features the community system has?]

And as soon as I sent that message, replies started pouring in.

-[Bro, you’re such a fresh noob.]

-[If you don’t know about it yet, even if we tell you, it’ll get censored in the chat.]

-[Oh, really? I didn’t know that either.]

What kind of community features are so secretive that they get censored?

I couldn’t help but feel suspicious of the developers’ policies.

-[If you’re a noob, start mining resources ASAP.]

-[And quickly build a patrol ship from the shipyard, then roll the gacha for characters.]

-[But are there even new players in this game?]

-[Could be some old grandpa with dementia.]

-[Grandpas are like babies, gotta take care of them.]

-[Anyway, since the blueprints for existing ships are still there, the best thing to do is mine all the resource zones around your base and gather resources quickly.]

As the chat window continued to flood with advice, I quickly typed [Got it, thanks] and closed the chat.

<Chat window closed>

“Ugh, this is overwhelming.”

“Phew.”

“Commander, what will you do now?”

As soon as I finished gathering information through the chat, Jessica, as if she had been waiting, asked me.

After a brief moment of contemplation, I shrugged and said to Jessica.

“Nothing much, let’s start by mining some resources.”

“Yes, Commander.”

With that, I pulled out the command console—a tablet pad prepared on the commander’s seat—and began full-scale operations.

Jessica, following my orders, headed to the communication equipment in the command center.

<Command console activated>

<Mini-map system> (Current status: OFF)

<Resource mining operations available>

<Current available resource mining ships: 1>

Just like the other ships, I selected the only remaining resource mining ship and immediately turned on the mini-map on the command console to order it to harvest the resource zones in our current star system.

Of course, all these actions weren’t much different from what I used to do on my phone while playing the game.

So, as I went through these motions, I felt a strange sense of calm.

But right at that moment.

-Kugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugugug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Suddenly, it felt like an earthquake had struck the entire base where Jessica and I were.

A powerful vibration seemed to engulf me.

‘What the hell is it this time?!’

I couldn’t help but wonder if we were already under attack by space pirates or monsters, even though we’d just started.

I instinctively tensed up, my body shrinking in anticipation.

“Commander! You placed the Resource Mining Ship’s path too close to the base!”

Jessica, who was in front of the communication equipment, rushed toward me with a frantic expression.

Through the wide external observation window in the command center, I saw a massive structure—something I had never seen in my past life.

No, it was the Resource Mining Ship grazing past the base.

A moment later.

Shocked by the unexpectedly enormous size of the Resource Mining Ship, I immediately opened the chat window to both freak out and ask about the situation.

I sent a message to clear my doubts about whether the mining ship was really that big.

-[How big is the Resource Mining Ship? It’s freaking huge!]

-[Looks like Resource Mining is starting now.]

-[Newbie, welcome!]

-[How big are we talking?]

-[It’s freaking massive, even the small ones are like Heavy Cruiser-sized.]

-[True, I was shocked when I first saw it too.]

-[I tried to park it near the base without knowing, and when I saw it was bigger than the base, I freaked out lol.]

Through all these comments, I realized that the size of the mining ship I just saw was actually “normal.”

Even though I quit three years ago, I’m still an old-timer who’s been around since the beginning.

Seeing the chat treating me like a newbie made me feel… weird.

==========

Anyway, there were some minor issues like that.

But life is all about overcoming problems and hardships, right?

About a week after that incident.

<Resource Mining Complete>

<Ship is automatically heading to the mining area.>

<Storing resources...>

I used the resources in the base to build two more big, beautiful Resource Mining Ships.

Now, with three ships working in shifts, I was fully focused on resource storage.

The only downside was, unlike the game where you could check your resource count instantly through the UI, I had to rely on Jessica.

“Jessica, how many resources do we have in the base right now?”

“Currently, we have about 500 minerals and 150 fuel.”

I don’t know what features the community might add later, but for now, I absolutely needed Jessica’s help to check.

Of course, that wasn’t a big issue at the moment.

Anyway, with those thoughts in mind, I clicked away, hoping the mining ships would fulfill their dreams of being fully loaded.

“Um… Commander?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you planning to produce any additional Patrol Ships?”

“Patrol Ships?”

“If we keep going like this, the pirates are very likely to raid us.”

Right after Jessica cautiously asked that question…

—————————————-

<Pirate Attack>

<News has surfaced that small pirate groups have been spotted near the planetary system!>

<According to reconnaissance drones, if things continue like this, the pirates are highly likely to attack your base!>

<If you don’t want all the resources you’ve worked so hard to collect to be stolen, start preparing now!>

<Time until Pirate Base Attack: 71:59:33>

<Pirate Group Size: 3 Patrol Ship-class vessels>

—————————————-

Naturally, an event message popped up with a “time limit.”

After checking the pirate group’s size and the pirate emblem on their ships…

-Bam!

With a cheap-sounding effect, a flashy notification appeared in front of my eyes.

<Time to Claim Returning Player Rewards!>

<You’ve obtained a Random Gacha Ticket for Returning Players!>

<Use it right now!>

But since it was just the usual “forced gacha for newbies” event, as a three-year-old veteran, I couldn’t help but feel a complex mix of emotions.