[May 12, 2025 – Manila, Philippines]
The sirens were still screaming.
Miguel Santiago crouched behind a cracked concrete barrier, the sharp wail of air raid alarms howling through the empty streets above like banshees. The sound had become background noise by now, just another part of the chaos that had swallowed the world.
He was lean but sturdy, his frame hardened by weeks of scraping by in the ruins of the city. A few days' stubble shadowed his jawline, and his dark eyes scanned the empty street with cautious alertness. His black hair, tousled and streaked with grime, clung damply to his forehead beneath a worn-out beanie.
"Jesus... how long has it been? Two weeks? Three?"
His breath misted in the cold tunnel air as he descended deeper into the abandoned metro station. The soft crunch of broken glass echoed with every step. Concrete dust clung to his coat, and the burnt-metal stench of ozone still lingered in the back of his throat.
He paused beside a flickering wall monitor.
"EMERGENCY ALERT
Martial Law in Effect. Evacuation Routes Compromised.
Avoid Surface. Seek Underground Shelter Immediately."
Miguel scoffed bitterly. "No shit."
The entire surface had become a war-zone. Drones patrolled the skies, satellites blinked out one by one, and cities vanished under mushroom clouds. Somewhere, someone had finally pushed the button. Maybe a dozen someones. He didn't know anymore. He stopped trying to follow the headlines when they dropped the first tactical nuke on Taipei.
What he did know was that everything he'd built, his quiet little life, his freelance automation contracts, his apartment overlooking Quezon Avenue was gone.
'Now what?' he thought.
He slumped against a support pillar and slid down, backpack settling beside him with a dull thud. Two protein bars. Half a bottle of water. One empty pistol. He hadn't eaten in over a day, but adrenaline kept his hunger at bay. The silence was almost comforting.
[SYSTEM BOOTING...]
"What the hell—?" A translucent blue screen hovered in front of him, flickering like a sci-fi HUD. The air shimmered with static, and he felt a faint vibration under the floor.
[Welcome, Core Administrator.]
[Initializing…]
[Terrain scanned. Resources detected.]
[Deploying Core Shard…]
A low hum filled the station, and before he could react, a glowing hexagon etched itself into the concrete near the old train platform. Sparks leapt from the cracks. Something was… assembling itself, metal folding out of empty air, bolts clicking into place like reverse erosion.
A device materialized. It looked like a cube of polished steel and light, thrumming with quiet energy. Miguel stumbled backward, jaw slack.
"The fuck is that?" The screen updated again.
[Core: Shard Deployed.
Initial Resources Granted:
Copper – 300
Lead – 200
New Objective: Establish Base
Place Mining Drill on copper vein.]
Miguel blinked. Once. Twice. "No..No no no. This is a dream. I fell asleep in the tunnels. This is some dumb lucid dream." And yet… it felt real. The chill in the air. The glow of the machine. Even the UI, god, it looked exactly like that old game he used to play back in college. What was it called again?
MINDUSTRY by Anuken
He reached out instinctively and the interface moved with him. His hand hovered over a copper-colored tile near the wall, and a ghostly blueprint snapped into place.
[Construct Mechanical Drill?
Cost: 50 Copper
Time: 15 seconds]
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Still, something in his gut urged him forward. Heart pounding, he tapped the confirmation button. A dull hum resonated from beneath the concrete. Suddenly, a ripple of blue light arced through the Core's platform and from that glow, something emerged. A small, floating machine. It hovered in the air, cyclopean eye blinking with faint cyan light. Miguel staggered back in disbelief.
"No way… that's-" The player drone. The exact model from the game. Compact. Efficient. With a familiar metallic whir, it pulsed once, scanned the area, then silently drifted toward the wall beside the Core.
[DRONE LINK ESTABLISHED
Designation: Operator Proxy
Function: Construction. Logistics. Repair.]
The ground trembled. Blue holographic lines traced a square against the stone floor and with a flicker of energy, a mechanical drill unfolded from the surface like origami in reverse. The drone rotated its tiny plasma welder and began assembling. A moment later, the drill came to life spinning, grinding down into raw earth and hidden copper.
[Mechanical Drill
Copper income: +1/sec]
Miguel let out a dry, shocked laugh. "Okay. Sure. This is happening."
[New Objective Available
Unlock Schematic Memory]
Miguel's heart skipped a beat. No enemies. Not yet. Instead, the system's calm, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Unlocking schematic memory will enable advanced building functions. This will allow construction of conveyor belts, automated routing, and more efficient resource management.]
[Unlock: Y/N]
Miguel glanced around the dim station. His small drill was humming steadily, gathering copper from the veins embedded in the rock. His finger hesitated, then pressed YES. Blue holographic symbols flickered, then stabilized, schematics now unlocked.
[New build option: Conveyor Belt. Use to transport resources automatically
Cost: 3 Copper, Time: 1 second ]
The system projected a translucent blueprint, hovering in front of him. It highlighted a path from the drill's output to the glowing Core in the center of the chamber.
Miguel focused, touching the blueprint's outline. Light traced the path along the concrete floor, as if inviting him to build. He reached down, summoning the familiar drone. It hovered expectantly.
The drone zipped forward, plasma welder whirring softly as it laid down glowing conveyor tiles with mechanical precision. The belt unfurled smoothly, connecting the drill and the Core. Seconds later, raw copper ore began sliding along the conveyor efficient, automatic.
Miguel let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. No flashing red warnings. No urgent sirens. Just the steady rhythm of his base coming alive. He looked around, still half expecting this to be a dream or some cruel hallucination.
"No… no way this is real," he muttered, Slowly, he reached out and ran his fingers over the smooth metal surface of the drill.
Cold. Solid. Real.
He pressed his palm against the glowing Core. Warmth pulsed beneath his skin. "It's real," he said to himself, voice steadying. "All of this… it's actually happening."
Miguel pulled his hand away from the Core and stepped back, rubbing his chin as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind. 'Which version was this again?' he wondered. He hadn't played Mindustry seriously in years not since college. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to recall the last time he'd booted up the game. 'Beta build 147…' That was it. The last build before the big overhaul, Beta Build 147. Not just any version, but one packed with all the advanced buildings he'd ever dreamed of powerful turrets, new ores, new world and new objectives.
He shook his head, trying to piece it all together. 'How did I get this? Why now? And why me?
Ignoring the questions for a moment, Miguel focused on survival. If this system was real, he needed to act fast. He scanned the dimly lit tunnel floor and tapped the interface hovering in front of him. Three more mechanical drills unfolded from the ground like metallic flowers opening to the sun. Each whirred to life, blades spinning hungrily as they bit into the earth. Copper, Lead, and Coal. He hoped the ores would keep coming.
"System," Miguel called out softly, his voice echoing in the cold air. "Does the ores ever runs out?"
[Common resource nodes such as water, copper, lead, scrap, sand and coal are effectively infinite. Following the system's emergence, planetary resource regeneration laws were enacted, preventing depletion of these essential ores.]
Miguel sighed "So the usual stuff won't run out... That's a relief. But what about the rare ores?"
[Rare ores are finite and require careful management. Over-extraction may lead to depletion.]
Miguel nodded slowly, the weight of that reality settling on his shoulders. Then he remembered the Core, the heart of his operation. "System," he asked cautiously, "does the Core: Shard still have the storage capacity of 4,000 units per ore?"
[Affirmative. Core: Shard maintains a maximum storage capacity of 4,000 units per ore type. Exceeding this capacity will halt further resource intake until space is freed.]
Miguel's brow furrowed, curiosity gnawing at him. "System, what are my current total resources? Show me the Storage" The interface flickered to life, projecting a translucent holographic display in front of him. Numbers and icons floated in neat columns.
[System Interface
RESOURCE OVERVIEW
- Copper: +4 units/sec (4 Mechanical Drills active)
Total Copper: 2.4k Copper
- Lead: 0 units/sec (No extraction active)
Total Lead: 200]
Suddenly, the display flickered. A new window expanded in bold gold text, accompanied by a soft chime.
[Tutorial Completed
Congratulations, Administrator Miguel Santiago.
Basic Extraction and Core Stabilization Achieved.
Reward Unlocked:
x3 Field Ration Packs (Calorie-dense survival meals)
x1 Utility Toolbelt (Increases build and repair range by 25%, +10% Construction Speed)
+1 Industry Point]
A small crate materialized beside the Core, unfolding with a hiss of compressed air. Miguel raised an eyebrow and walked over, popping it open. Inside were three neatly packed MREs and a Utility Toolbelt.
A faint mechanical chime echoed through the station. The drone chirped, tilting slightly toward him as the System continued.
[Congratulations, Administrator Miguel Santiago. Initial integration complete. You have been granted one (1) Industry Point.]
He picked it up. "System, what's this? This Industry Point?"
The drone's tone shifted, becoming slightly more instructional.
[Industry Points are system-level credits. Not physical. They are used to unlock additional features, claim or buy nearby resource patches or install custom system modifications (Mods)]
"Wait, so I can buy patches of ore with it?" he asked, scratching the stubble on his jaw.
[Correct. Industry Points may be exchanged for exclusive resource node access or research upgrades. Current balance: 1.]
Miguel gave a low whistle. "Okay… that's new."