When Jackson woke up, he was in a milky-white room. A golden tetrahedron of energy hung from the ceiling. Data inside it moved very fast.

“This looks like the place I saw at the recruitment station,” Jackson thought.

He looked around and felt surprised. Everything seemed real. He could hear his heartbeat. He looked at his hands and feet. They looked just like they did on Earth.

“This feels like a real world!” Jackson said.

The room was simple and futuristic. It had no furniture. White light filled the space, but the source was not visible.

There were many light gates on the walls. Each one had a curtain of water. The water separated the room from what was behind the gate.

Words floated on the water curtains. Some said Qiandu, Treasure Hunt, and EchoSound.

One gate had the words Empire of the Eagle.

Jackson realized these gates were entry points to programs in the holo-network. They were like app icons on a phone.

The milky-white room was Jackson’s personal space in the network. It was linked to his soul. No matter where he connected, this room was the starting point.

There was a physical door in the room. Its handle was made of blue sapphire.

Jackson walked to the door. He wanted to see what was behind it. He turned the handle. It clicked open. When he opened the door, he froze.

Instead of a bright world, he saw green symbols moving in a black void. The symbols flowed like water. It reminded him of The Matrix.

From far away, Jackson’s small white room floated alone in the dark.

He looked farther and saw many rooms, castles, cities, and worlds scattered in the chaos. Each one glowed with green symbols.

Jackson quickly shut the door. Earlier, he had tried to reach into the void. A sharp pain shot through his hand, and it started to dissolve.

“This room is safe. If I want to go somewhere, I need to use the light gates. If I don’t, my soul might fall apart,” Jackson thought.

He walked to the gate labeled Empire of the Eagle.

The water curtain turned into colorful lights. The lights formed a tunnel. In an instant, Jackson’s soul appeared in a hangar.

“CS2012! Welcome to Empire of the Eagle,” a robotic voice said.

Above Jackson’s head, a floating ID showed: CS2012. This was his account in the game.

A sound notified him of new messages. A holographic screen appeared.

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Jackson opened the messages. Most were from a teammate named Karl in the Fire Fox Squad.

The first message said: “Hey, Justin! You’re amazing! You took down Phoenix-5 and made the Fire Fox Squad proud! Phoenix-9 got me, though. I’ll get revenge next time.” Date: December 22, 202012.

The second message said: “Wow! We crushed the Phoenix Squad today. The captain took down Phoenix-5 and Phoenix-7. I got Phoenix-1. Tiller and Alba took down Phoenix-3.” Date: December 28, 202012.

The third message said: “We got destroyed! Phoenix-9 came back and wiped us out. Justin, where were you?” Date: January 6, 202013.

The fourth message said: “Justin, where have you been? Why aren’t you logging in? Did you join the army? I saw news about the Kabas Empire fighting the Frolo Federation.” Date: January 14, 202013.

Other messages were less important.

Jackson checked his stats:

* ID: CS2012

* Aircraft Model: XF-305 Delta-Wing Space Fighter

* Battles Fought: 640

* Enemies Destroyed: 52

* Times Destroyed: 588

* Win Rate: 8.1%

* Rating: Poor

Jackson frowned. “This is terrible. That Justin guy must have been awful at this game,” he muttered.

A ground crew NPC walked over. “Sir, Fire Fox 2 is fully recharged and ready for combat,” the NPC said.

The crew members looked real, but Jackson noticed their names were red. This meant they were NPCs. Player names were white.

Jackson turned to his silver XF-305 Delta-Wing fighter. The spacecraft was 5 meters tall and 18 meters long. It had no traditional wings. The front was slim, and the back was wide. Three triangular fins surrounded its three antimatter engines.

The ship’s design would have looked silly on Earth. But as people said, “If the engine is strong, even a brick can fly.” The XF-305 proved this. It could fly and perform faster-than-light jumps.

Jackson opened the Fire Fox Squad chat. He typed, “This is Fire Fox 2. Where are you guys?”

“Hey, you’re back! I thought you joined the army! We’re in the Hela-2 map, fighting now. The captain is battling Phoenix-9!” Karl replied.

“Got it,” Jackson said. He powered up Fire Fox 2.

The hangar doors opened slowly. Bright sunlight filled the space, and the sky was clear.

Jackson guided the fighter to the runway. He pulled the controls and increased the engine power. The three antimatter engines roared. Fire Fox 2 shot into the sky at a steep angle, like a rocket.

The sudden force pushed Jackson into his seat. The power made him shout, “This is a real fighter! Earth’s fifth-gen jets can’t compare to this!”

Once the fighter leveled out, the onboard AI checked all systems. Data appeared on Jackson’s helmet screen:

* Weapons System: On

* Radar System: On

* Communication System: On

* Energy System: Good

* Shield System: On

* Propulsion System: Stable

Jackson didn’t understand the details. He followed basic controls based on Justin’s memories.

He opened the Hela-2 map. With one tap, a black hole appeared in the sky. It looked like a tear in the air. It swallowed light near its edges.

Jackson had played many games on Earth. He knew this was the map entrance. He flew Fire Fox 2 straight into the black hole.

When he entered Hela-2, his radar showed a 3D battlefield. Friendly fighters were green. Enemy fighters were red. Three green and three red fighters were in a fierce battle.

Jackson flew toward the fight. On the radar, he saw Karl’s Fire Fox 4 being chased by Phoenix-5. It was a dangerous situation.

“Dodge! Dodge! Dodge!” Karl shouted. He flew in an S-pattern to avoid Phoenix-5’s shots.

Phoenix-5 fired kinetic rounds to disrupt Karl’s movements. These couldn’t break shields but were annoying.

Xiao Xun’er, the pilot of Phoenix-5, grew frustrated. She had been chasing Karl for three minutes but couldn’t hit him. She felt impatient.

Her AI warned her, “New enemy fighter entering the battle.”

Xiao Xun’er glanced at the radar and sneered. “It’s Fire Fox 2. That weakling who’s been shot down over 500 times. What a joke!”