Escape from a Video Game: Mystery on the Starship Crusader
By Dustin Brady and Jesse Brady
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Young gamers control the action in this interactive series from the bestselling author of Trapped in a Video Game. With more than 30 endings and an unlockable bonus adventure, this second book in the series promises hours of screen-free fun.
This is one book that will super-power the interest of any "I'd rather be gaming" kid. In this pick-your-path adventure, you join eight strangers inside a video game for a chance to win a million dollars. The challenge is simple: survive to the end, and you're rich. There's just one problem: A traitor is hiding among your group. One-by-one, crew members of the spaceship start disappearing. Can you "suss" out the traitor before it's too late? This whodunnit space adventure is perfect for fans of Among Us.
Dustin Brady
Dustin Brady writes funny, action-packed books for kids. Although he regularly gets locked out of his own accounts for forgetting passwords, Dustin still remembers the Super Mario Bros. 3 game genie code for infinite lives. It’s SLXPLOVS. Dustin lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife, kids, and a small dog named Nugget.
Read more from Dustin Brady
World's Worst Time Machine
Related to Escape from a Video Game
Titles in the series (3)
Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escape from a Video Game: Mystery on the Starship Crusader Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escape from a Video Game: The Endgame Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escape from a Video Game: The Endgame Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trapped in a Video Game Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trapped in a Video Game: The Invisible Invasion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Escape Book: The Cursed Temple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Trapped in a Video Game: The Final Boss Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trapped in a Video Game: Robots Revolt Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Turned Into a Zombie Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Trapped in a Video Game: Return to Doom Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary of a Creeper: The Potion Brewer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Minecraft: Masters of Minecraft - The Awakening Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quest for the Golden Apple: An Unofficial Graphic Novel for Minecrafters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Illusioner in the New World: Mr. Illusioner, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tales of an 8-Bit Kitten: A Call to Arms: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Keeper of Secrets: Legends & Heroes Issue 2 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Adventure's of Steve! Overworld Part 3 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Minecraft: The Lost Minecraft Journals - School of Minecraft Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Recess Warriors: Hero Is a Four-Letter Word Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/575 Best Minecraft Jokes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pigpool: Stuck in Minecraft Book 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiary of a Minecraft Blacksmith: The Blacksmith and The Apprentice: Legends & Heroes Issue 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Clash At Fatal Fields: An Unofficial Novel for Fans of Fortnite Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flynn's Log 1: Rescue Island Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary of a Minecraft Noob Steve Book 2: Mysterious Slimes (Unofficial Minecraft Series) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Super Life of Ben Braver Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diary of a Minecraft Wimpy Zombie Book 1: Middle School (Unofficial Minecraft Series) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Secrets of Minecraft Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Children's Technology For You
The Cool Bean Presents: As Cool as It Gets Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Project Hail Mary: by Andy Weir - A Comprehensive Summary Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMinecraft: Masters of Minecraft - The Awakening Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Day the Screens Went Blank Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hidden Figures Young Readers' Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fallout: A Tale of Mutation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unplugged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Circuitry and Electronics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMinecraft: The Lost Minecraft Journals - School of Minecraft Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Quest for the Golden Apple: An Unofficial Graphic Novel for Minecrafters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Coding For Kids: JavaScript Adventures with 50 Hands-on Activities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Survive Without Grown-Ups Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Weird School Daze #1: Mrs. Dole Is Out of Control! Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Forging Destiny: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: From Seeds to Swords: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Electricity - Your Common Sense Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rosie Revere's Big Project Book for Bold Engineers: 40+ Things to Invent, Draw, and Make Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Path of the Diamond: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sonic Breach Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Rover's Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spectrum Science, Grade 3 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Quest Mode: An Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCece Loves Science: Push and Pull Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Escape from a Video Game
4 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Escape from a Video Game - Dustin Brady
Escape from a Video Game: Mystery on the Starship Crusader copyright © 2021 Dustin Brady. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
a division of Andrews McMeel Universal
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106
www.andrewsmcmeel.com
ISBN: 978-1-5248-7045-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020950776
ATTENTION: SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES
Andrews McMeel books are available at quantity discounts with bulk purchase for educational, business, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail the Andrews McMeel Publishing Special Sales Department: [email protected].
Other Books by Dustin Brady
Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island
Trapped in a Video Game
Trapped in a Video Game: The Invisible Invasion
Trapped in a Video Game: Robots Revolt
Trapped in a Video Game: Return to Doom Island
Trapped in a Video Game: The Final Boss
Superhero for a Day
Who Stole Mr. T?: Leila and Nugget Mystery #1
The Case with No Clues: Leila and Nugget Mystery #2
Bark at the Park: Leila and Nugget Mystery #3
Introduction
Congratulations! You’ve obtained a rare piece of Bionosoft technology. This may look like an ordinary book, but it’s actually a video game that you can play from the inside. Here are some things you should know about it:
1. Bionosoft is not responsible for anything that happens in the game. Do not try to sue them if you get hurt. They’ve been sued enough, and frankly, they are sick of it.
2. Only turn to pages you’re instructed to in boxes that look like this:
14 Yes.
185 No.
If you read the book in order, you’ll get confused and leave a bad review.
3. You super-duper do not want to leave a bad review for this book because it’s been programmed to emit random unpleasant screeches if it’s been rated fewer than five stars.
4. This is a mystery story. Part of the fun is choosing which clues to follow and which to ignore. For that reason, do not go back and try different paths until you’ve completed the story. There are dozens of paths through this adventure, but don’t worry—you’ll find enough clues to solve the final mystery no matter which path you take. If you have trouble solving a puzzle, check the back of the book for hints and solutions. If you run into a dead end, a checkpoint will bring you back to the last save location so you can try again.
RETURN TO CHECKPOINT ON P. 53
5. BOOGERS ARE NOT BOOKMARKS. Goodness gracious, we should not need to say this.
6. Every path in this book has a secret letter that looks like this:
What are the letters for? Can’t tell you yet! You’ll find out once you beat the game. Don’t worry about them until that point.
7. If you run into a blank page, the sensitive electronics might be corrupted with dust. Try opening the book wide, blowing back and forth between the pages, then checking again. If you’re confused about the correct blowing technique, please consult an adult who grew up with a Super Nintendo.
8. The e-book version of this story features several modifications to make it easier to read. First, all choices have been hyperlinked so you can navigate with a single tap. In some cases, you’ll have to find a specific page number rather than make a choice. When that happens, simply tap the table of contents
button to quickly jump to that page number. Finally, visit escapefromavideogame.com to print a worksheet that will allow you to fill in secret letters and solve puzzles easier.
9. Select the game difficulty below. If you choose medium or hard, return to this page and cross off a heart every time you run into a dead end. If you cross off all the hearts, you must restart from the beginning of the game.
AVAILABLE IN WORKSHEET
The Adventure Begins
this is a big day for you. Maybe even a huge day. And while no one would go so far as to call this the biggest day of your life, it’s certainly in the conversation for top 20.
You see, today, you got mail.
Crazy, right?! It’s not your birthday. You’re not old enough to get junk mail. Yet here it is: a little miracle with your name on it. You turn the package over. It’s a plain cardboard box, no different from the millions of boxes that get delivered to adults every day, except this one is special because it’s yours.
Who could have sent this to you? Your grandma? A long-lost uncle? Maybe a bad guy?
Wait!
Could this be a bomb?!
You hold the package to your ear. It’s not ticking. (Do real bombs tick, or is that just a movie thing?) Of course, bad guys don’t usually mail explosives to kids, but here you are, holding a package addressed to you even though it’s not your birthday, so the rules of everyday life don’t exactly apply to today, do they?
You finally work up enough courage to slice open the box. You slowly lift the flaps and wince. Nothing explodes. This is a great sign. You look inside to find . . . this book.
Your heart sinks a little. Books are definitely better than bombs, but nowhere near as cool as any of the possibilities that were going through your head moments ago (video game, block of gold, alien technology, etc.). You open the book and immediately get blinded by a flash of light.
Alien technology! You stumble backward. A hologram of a man pops up. The six-inch little guy is wearing a crisp dress shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned like he thinks he’s James Bond, except he looks way too out of shape to play a Hollywood superspy. He’s smiling that smile famous people do when they’re surprising fans on TV, which makes you feel a little bad because you don’t know who he is.
Hey,
the hologram says.
Uh, hi.
I’m James Desmond Pemberton, and I’d like to invite you to play a special game. I can’t tell you much about it, but trust me that it will be worth your while. Win, and I’ll share a great treasure with you. Lose, and you die.
Your eyes get wide, and you reach to slam the book closed.
Kidding!
the man says. Kidding, kidding, kidding. Kind of. It’s a video game thing. I wish I could explain more, but this is a recording, and I’m almost out of time. If you’re up for the game, simply tap ‘YES.’ If it’s not for you, no biggie. Oh, um, one more thi—
The hologram cuts off midsentence. It’s replaced by two floating buttons—YES and NO. You stare at the buttons, then run to your computer. This day just went from top 20 to top 3.
You look up James Desmond Pemberton. Turns out that he’s famous enough to have his own Wikipedia page, but not nearly famous enough to be smiling that smile. He started a tech company with a boring name 10 years ago, then cashed out for a lot of money and hasn’t done much since. The only other thing of interest on the page is a picture of Mr. Pemberton in his trimmer days wearing a Sherlock Holmes hat.
Hmm, the Pemberton guy does have a lot of money. But what about the game? You search for Starship Crusader,
and a video game named Galaxy Chase pops up. There’s not much online about it because it got abandoned pretty early in development. There’s some concept art, a fan-made trailer, and . . .
A single word makes you freeze.
Bionosoft.
That’s the company that got in trouble for trapping people in video games, isn’t it? You realize that this whole thing is very, very real, and you’re about to be faced with the biggest choice of your life on the biggest day of your life. Do you want to play Pemberton’s game?
14 Yes.
185 No.
you try pressing the floating yes
button, but your hand goes through both the button and the book. Now your hand’s stuck!
HELLLLP!
You try shaking off the book, but instead of loosening its grip, the creepy book swallows more of your arm. It stops for a moment when it gets to your shoulder, then jumps and swallows your head. You fall into