Chapter 199: Eclipse Immersion Pod Exterior Design

Max immediately flew to Aethernova’s headquarters without hesitation.

He had already informed Enzo and Auntie Sarah, and he expected to return in the evening.

Apocalypse Online’s first world event would occur at 12 midnight.

Max had already planned everything.

Unless the plane he took crashed or had any accidents along the way, he was confident that he was proceeding with his time management.

In the plane, beside him was Kylie, who began reporting to him.

"Various media outlets have been contacting me to interview you before the first world event starts.

You anticipated it to happen, after all.

You were the closest compared to those analysts who believed that the first world event would occur on the anniversary of the game’s launch."

Max smiled. The analysts were indeed correct, but Max’s progress was absurd.

He managed to reach B-rank before the first year of Apocalypse Online, and him being the biggest variable hastened the first world event to emerge.

After all, the players were supposed to be at C-rank when the first world event emerged.

"That’s good that you didn’t disturb me at all."

"Well, you’ve already made a promise. As long as you advertise the Eclipse Immersion Pod, Aethernova is willing to overlook your actions.

Though, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve only accepted this demand simply because you are itching to try the Eclipse Immersion Pod."

Max nodded.

In his past life, he could not afford the Eclipse Immersion Pod’s first version, only having to rely on his old NovaLite Immersion Pod, which was constantly repaired and had its hardware updated until Aethernova reached the limit.

Now, in this lifetime, not only was he able to utilize the NovaPro Immersion Pod, but he would be the first player to receive the first edition of the Eclipse Immersion Pod.

Max felt a sense of accomplishment, but he couldn’t rejoice.

There were still more to come, and he didn’t want to feel contented with the Eclipse Immersion Pod until the apocalypse descended.

It took only a little more than two hours to arrive at the Aethernova headquarters.

Kylie brought him to the middle floor of the building, where the Eclipse Immersion Pod was sitting inside the pod bay.

It was a large, enclosed capsule designed somewhere between a luxury gaming chair, medical recovery chamber, and futuristic sleeping pod.

It was approximately 2.5 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, and 1.5 meters tall.

Designed for a single person lying comfortably inside, it featured a smooth, aerodynamic exterior with almost no exposed mechanical components and was heavy enough to remain stationary on a reinforced floor platform.

The exterior had a sleek, seamless shell made from layered composite materials.

The shell was primarily matte metallic with polished sections around the edges.

When active, a thin ring of light illuminated around Max’s head.

The most recognizable part was the large, curved smart-glass canopy.

It would completely enclose Max once closed.

The glass could transition between transparent, tinted, and completely opaque, giving Max privacy while also allowing emergency personnel to see inside.

Inside was a reclining biometric cradle rather than a conventional gaming chair.

The mattress-like surface automatically conformed to Max’s body.

The design featured adaptive cushioning, temperature regulation, pressure distribution, muscle stimulation points, and integrated biometric sensors.

Max’s head rested inside a specially shaped neural interface cradle.

Rather than having a bulky helmet, the Eclipse used a discreet Neural Interface Halo surrounding Max’s head.

It didn’t physically cover his face.

But small contact points around the head and neck established the neural connection while keeping Max’s face unobstructed.

The sides of the interior contained concealed medical modules.

These systems deployed only when necessary, such as activating the nutritional delivery, hydration interfaces, waste-management connections, and vital-monitoring sensors.

When not being used, these components retracted completely into the interior walls.

Furthermore, there was no large physical control panel.

Instead, a small retractable touchscreen sat beside the player’s arm.

It controlled immersion intensity, pain feedback, sensory feedback, temperature, sleep mode, an emergency exit, and medical status.

Most functions could also be controlled through voice commands.

The Aethernova logo was discreetly placed on the front of the pod.

The model’s name Eclipse was engraved beneath it in a metallic font.

A narrow-illuminated strip ran around the perimeter of the pod.

The lighting changed according to its state: white for standby, blue for immersion active, amber for sleep/recovery mode, and red for medical warning.

The medical warning would also resonate with a loud noise enough for Cassie to call an emergency hotline.

Lab coat workers surrounded the masterpiece they created and began writing on their papers as the Eclipse Immersion Pod came to life.

It was currently illuminating a white light, meaning Max could finally enter and the Eclipse Immersion Pod could recognize him as its new owner.

The head engineer of the Eclipse Immersion Pod walked towards Max and greeted him.

Max was extremely polite and full of respect towards the head engineer, which delighted the latter.

"The Eclipse Immersion Pod has been a futuristic gaming pod concept that we’ve finally produced."

Max nodded.

He said, "The NovaPro looks like an advanced piece of gaming hardware, but this guy... He’s something between a luxury automobile, medical capsule, and personal sanctuary."

The head engineer’s eyes lit up. "I like how you described him!"

He turned towards the Eclipse Immersion Pod and told Max about the features of the Eclipse Immersion Pod.

"The Eclipse has full-spectrum neural synchronization.

In other words, the pod provides extremely precise two-way communication between the player’s nervous system and Apocalypse Online.

It also has adaptive neural feedback balancing, which means it automatically adjusts sensory feedback according to the player’s condition..."

As the head engineer informed Max of the features of the Eclipse, the advertising agency finally arrived while carrying their equipment.

The room was simple and magnificent—because of the futuristic pod in the center, astonishing them.

They hurriedly set up their cameras, facing Max and the futuristic gaming pod, as Max would finally advertise it to the players.

The revolutionary age of gaming pods by Aethernova had arrived...

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