Chapter 391: Launch [3]

Samura71’s real name was Darwin Nomadell.

Before becoming a streamer, he’d worked as a salesman. He was never particularly successful, and money had always been scarce, but from that job, he’d picked up a few valuable skills.

The most important of them all was learning how to talk... How to sell an idea with nothing more than his voice.

He was also able to learn another important ability.

To grab an opportunity when it comes.

Ding!

A chime rang from his phone.

[You have been transferred 35,000$]

"Heh."

A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he stared down at his phone, the glow of the screen reflecting faintly in his eyes.

’What an easy job this one is.’

His job was simple: do whatever it took to bury a certain developer named Seth Thorne. The request had come straight from Nightmare Forge Studios, and in return, they’d promised him a generous sum of money.

At first, he’d only planned to do it for the money. But after seeing the target’s responses roll in, something shifted. He stopped treating it like just another job.

He was actually quite annoyed.

"Heh... You’ll quit, you say?"

Seeing his last statement online, Darwin almost had the urge to laugh.

No, he did laugh.

"I guess I’ll be taking a shitty developer from this industry. You can say that I’m cleaning shit up."

Ding!

Another notification rang.

"Ah, just in time."

He looked at the message. It was from Nightmare Forge Studios again.

[We’re excited to announce that the update for our upcoming game will be released soon. As one of our valued partners, we’d like to invite you to begin streaming and showcasing the game to help generate awareness and engagement around the launch.]

It was just a formal letter inviting him to play the new update once it was released. Or at least, this was how it was on the outside.

What they were really asking was, ’Start streaming and make sure to provide us with enough traction to make the update a success.’

Being used to such an industry, Darwin could more or less tell the true intentions of the company he interacted with. Not that he cared, since he was going to benefit directly.

"I guess I should get started."

His setup was nothing short of extravagant. He lived in a sleek penthouse perched atop a high-rise near Zone 1, its glass walls offering a panoramic view of the city below. By the windows sat a large desk, lined with multiple monitors and a powerful PC that hummed quietly amid the dim glow of LED lights.

There was even a VR capsule not far from where he was.

"Let’s see."

Darwing looked around before picking up a small device from the side of the table. Botting the PC on, he messaged his mods and immediately started the streams.

"Hey, Hey."

[●Live]

The number of viewers quickly started to skyrocket. A lot of people had been eagerly anticipating this stream, and with the feud he had with the unknown developer, he managed to amass quite an audience.

It didn’t take long for him to pull extremely high numbers.

[●Live]

Viewers — 74, 203

Seeing the numbers, for just the briefest of moments, Darwin was left without words.

Holy shit!!

These numbers...

They were unlike anything he’d ever seen before. His highest peak had once been around thirty thousand, but now the numbers on his screen far surpassed that, climbing higher and higher with every passing second.

The chat was similarly exploding.

—Hehehe. Who here waited the entire night to see this? I spent the entire night waiting for this moment. I’ve been edged for too long!

—Finally!! I’ve been waiting for too long!

—Hahahahaha!

—Let’s fucking go!!!

—Time to play that shitty game! Let’s see how bad it is lmaooo!

Seeing the numerous comments, Darwin had to try his best to hold his smile back.

This...

This was incredible!

Who would’ve thought that such drama would cause this much of a stir?

Darwin wasn’t one to waste an opportunity.

"Hehe, it looks like a lot of people have shown up to see me play the new game. Is that what it is?"

The chat exploded even more, and the gift notifications started to flood. Darwin could even see his follower count rising, and his heart shook.

"...If that’s the case, then let’s not waste any time. Let me get the game loaded."

Opening Dock, Darwin immediately searched for the game. It didn’t take long for him to spot it.

He paused at the page, his expression turning strange.

"Nightmare Hotel? Really? They’re not even putting in any effort at this point. Even the description of the game looks rather cheap. Oh, but wait...!"

Spotting something, Darwin pointed at it.

"VR?"

His eyes widened for a moment.

"This game actually has VR?"

The chat paused alongside him.

Then—

—Do it!

—Play it!

—Play the game!

—It’s even better now that it’s VR!

Darwin cracked a smile.

"This honestly grabbed me by surprise, but who am I to say anything? It looks like the little developer took our advice to heart. He’s actually gone ahead and developed a VR game. I’m honestly surprised, but given the limited amount of time, I doubt it’s going to be any good. Aish..." Darwin shook his head, "He should’ve stuck with PC games. Now it just looks like he wants to quit this business."

Many laughed at his words, some even adding fuel to the fire.

Darwin took in the sight without a smile, downloading the game before reaching for a strange device next to him.

"I’m sure a lot of you have seen these before," he said, holding up the device. "They’re the latest trending VR gear. Lightweight, easy to use, and they let you enter the Virtual World without needing a massive capsule or bulky helmet. Sure, the experience isn’t as realistic as using a full capsule, but honestly, who cares? I doubt the game’s even optimized for that kind of setup."

Reaching for his PC, he connected it with his goggles and put them on his right ear.

Booting them on, he proceeded to connect the stream with his vision.

"If any of you have any headsets or anything like that, you can connect them. You’ll be able to feel everything that I feel."

This feature was one of the main reasons the gear was so revolutionary.

It allowed viewers of a VR streamer to experience everything more vividly, seeing, hearing, and even feeling fragments of what the streamer felt in the VR world.

"I’ll give you all a moment to grab your stuff. I’ll load the game in the meantime."

The interface wasn’t anything fancy.

On the screen was a large building, its image framed by several icons shaped like keys along the side. The backdrop behind the building was pitch black, casting the whole scene in an eerie, almost foreboding atmosphere.

[Start Game]

[Load]

[Settings]

[Quit]

Darwing fixed his attention on the viewer count.

[●Live]

Viewers — 122, 104

He nearly had a heart attack when he saw the number present before him, but he quickly collected himself.

"Since it looks like everyone is here, let’s start the game."

He pressed

[Start]

, and the world around him began to shift. The home screen dissolved into nothing, replaced by a sudden burst of light that flooded his vision. It was blinding, so much so that Darwin nearly flinched, a startled yelp catching in his throat.

He barely managed to suppress the sound as a gentle lavender scent drifted through the air. It was soon joined by the faint melody of soft jazz and the low murmur of distant chatter.

Darwin’s eyes snapped open.

The light receded, and a new scene emerged around him. A long counter stretched before him, placing him behind it like a clerk waiting for customers who had yet to arrive.

The floor was made of yellowed marble that gleamed too perfectly under the soft lights above, each reflection shifting just a little too late, as though lagging behind his movements. A faded red carpet ran down the middle, its color dark enough to resemble something wetter than fabric.

The place carried an antique charm, but something about it felt off... like a memory of a place rather than the place itself. Darwin’s hand brushed the counter, and the marble felt unnaturally cold, pulsing faintly under his touch.

This...

It felt

too

real.

’H-how is this? How is this possib—’

".....!!"

Ding! Ding!

The sound sliced through the air.

Darwin froze. Slowly, he lifted his head.

Someone stood on the other side of the counter. Their figure was still, their features hard to make out beneath the warm light that seemed to bend around them. What little he could see of their face was... weird. The smile stretched just a touch too wide, the eyes a little too still, their pupils reflecting him like glass.

"Hello," the figure said.

The voice was gentle, pleasant even, yet something in its tone made his stomach tighten.

"I’d like to check in."

Ba... Thump!

Darwin’s heart started to race.