A thick blanket of toxic dust settled over the gray dunes at the world's edge. The desert wind howled, rattling against the steel beams of Bunker B far beneath the surface, sending hollow echoes through hundreds of meters of earth and concrete. Down here, the air was cooler than the scorched wasteland above, but so bone-dry that skin cracked like old concrete.
Fewer than two thousand souls eked out an existence in the main hall—one of only five vast underground bunkers left after the final genocidal wars. Here, people slept between gargantuan air purifiers, their lungs tethered to respirators, while all their food was grown in hydroponic farms dozens of levels below. Malnutrition was common; emaciated bodies spoke of hunger and despair. Elders still whispered legends of the 'old world,' where fields of green grass and fresh air were taken for granted—memories now fading like distant dreams.
Lea, an eighteen-year-old girl with a slender frame, stood in a sand-colored coverall that clung to her like a second skin. A long scar marred her left arm—a souvenir of last year's oxygen-deprivation incident. Her gray-green eyes were fixed on the massive observation window across the hall, where the first "Bio-Key" of the Explorer Reserve cohort was being prepared. This was Key #347, and she knew it might be her last chance to see a cerulean sky again.
"Lea, are you ready?" her mother whispered, her voice soft but steady. Draped in a diaphanous gray cloak, her mother's breath remained shallow after months of lung treatments, yet her eyes shone with fierce determination.
Lea nodded, clenching her fist until her knuckles whitened. She remembered her mother's words: never surrender to fate.
Lea lifted her gaze and met her mother's trusting eyes. "Do you ever wonder if the place we're about to enter is more than just a shelter?" she asked quietly.
Her mother offered a gentle smile, glancing at the hopeful faces around them. "It may very well be our last hope," she replied. "But none of us can know for sure what it truly is until we step inside."
Lea swallowed and tucked her mother's answer deep into her heart.
A booming announcement crackled over the bunker's PA system:
"ARK Members: The first Eden 3000 cohort has been chosen. Will the individual bearing number 347 please step forward?"
Lea's heart thundered as she climbed onto the raised steel platform. Her boots slipped on the cold metal floor, and for a moment her vision blurred. Beneath her, the glass-clear stage reflected the crowd's distorted silhouettes, their features unrecognizable.
"Congratulations, Lea—number 347," the announcer intoned. "You have been selected as an Explorer Reserve."
An ARK attendant placed the slender silver Bio-Key around her neck, its delicate chain resting lightly against her throat. As the cool metal touched her skin, a brief pulse of electricity swept through her, and the roar of the crowd faded into eerie silence—replaced only by the sound of her own ragged breathing.
"Good luck," murmured the nurse, pressing the key's backplate to activate the neural interface. Soft ivory lights glowed at each connection point.
Lea's world tilted as she felt herself rise, her consciousness drawn from the bunker's depths. Mountains of machinery and steel gave way to a blinding white void. Then—light.
When her vision cleared, she stood in a realm of vibrant color. No mask sealed her face, no tubes restrained her breath. She inhaled deeply, her lungs filled with fresh air for the first time in her life.
Behind her, a wall of shifting light receded, revealing rolling emerald meadows under a cobalt sky. Cotton-white clouds drifted overhead, and the warm sun painted the grass in brilliant green.
"Welcome to Eden 3000," a soft, almost musical voice whispered in her mind. Holographic text shimmered across the horizon:
Learn the basic rules to survive—and earn your first Maintenance Point.
Silver glyphs materialized before her, offering options to customize her avatar's appearance, gender, age, and starter ability.
Lea reached out and tapped "Appearance," choosing to remain true to herself by selecting "Lea—Age 18." She believed that preserving a piece of her real identity would anchor her to reality—it was no mere game.
As the confirmation beeped, her synthetic avatar flesh rippled with a hint of life. Her tunic and cloak fluttered in an unseen breeze.
Then, in the distance, a shadow flickered. Tall and ink-black, it moved with impossible grace, its ruby eyes locking with hers for a heartbeat before vanishing as if sucked into another dimension.
A single line of text blinked in her vision:
Are you truly ready to break free?
Her pulse spiked. Gripping a smooth river stone at her feet—an item in her inventory—she steeled herself.
A tutorial prompt glowed in mid-air:
Tutorial Card: Step 1Earn Maintenance Points by exploring your surroundings.
Lea took her first cautious step onto the soft grass, her boots leaving fleeting footprints. Her heart pounded with a mix of fear and exhilaration.
"This is the start of proving humanity is not beyond redemption," she whispered, eyes fixed on the horizon.
And as a single golden firefly flickered past, disappearing behind a lone pine, Lea knew she had truly arrived—into Eden 3000, a world of hope… and hidden peril.