Ajal.

Chapter 66: Seriously? Everyone’s a Friendly Rival Developer?!

Yin led his Twitch crew to the Apex Interactive booth, hyped by chat for Fearless Sniper’s visuals.
The demo revealed its story: a special forces team infiltrates an overseas crime syndicate’s stronghold, botches the op, and gets wiped out. The lone protagonist must escape and dismantle the group, sans support.
Standard anti-terrorism fare—nothing groundbreaking.
But Yin, stepping out of the VibeX1 pod, was impressed. “Graphics are insane in-person. Big screen doesn’t do it...

Chapter 65: Small but Cute

You’re killing it!
Zoey Parker nearly blurted it when Gus Harper asked for all of WindyPeak’s cash for Left 4 Dead 2.
But she held back.
What if he meant $100,000,000?
Selling WindyPeak wouldn’t cover that.
“Uh… haha…” Zoey laughed awkwardly.
Karma bites.
She used to double Gus’s budgets without blinking, but now? She was broke.
“We’ve got about $7,000,000 liquid,” she admitted. “Use that for now?”
So embarrassing.
WindyPeak’s system b...

Chapter 64: Is this the second-generation FPS?!

Crash!
Days later, Gus Harper dumped a bag of toy guns on the WindyPeak conference table.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers gaped.
“What’s this?” Luke asked, grabbing a pistol.
“Glock 22,” Gus said, channeling a tech expo swagger. “.40 S&W, 15-round mag, ideal for close-quarters, standard for U.S. cops’ quick-draw style.”
“Not what I meant,” Luke groaned, facepalming. “Why toy guns?”
“To play games,” Gus said, shouldering an AR15, aiming. “This p...

Chapter 63: She Really, I Cried to Death

“It’s not bird flu,” the hazmat worker said, pulling off his mask and pointing ahead.
“Just a spill up front. Routine check, no biggie.”
“You said that last time!” the driver snapped. “If it’s another outbreak and I drove for nothing, you’re done!”
“Quit griping,” the worker sighed, waving a baton. “You’re clear.”
The driver, muttering, rolled up his window and drove off. “What’d they spill? So damn secretive…”
Beep beep beep.
His phon...

Chapter 62: Drawing inspiration from movies

Knock knock knock.
“Come in,” Zoey Parker called.
Gus Harper stepped into her Portland office, spotting Zoey grimacing at a stack of papers.
“What’s got you so grumpy?” Gus asked, shutting the door.
“Sales summary,” Zoey sighed, flipping the Phasmophobia revenue report upside down.
Chloe Quinn had handed it over, charting the game’s sales spike—55,557 copies, $2,500,065 revenue, $2,000,052 profit.
A dagger to Zoey’s $13,700,000–$18,000,000 rebate dreams...

Chapter 61 – Thoughts on Second-Gen FPS

#Fireline Rush 2nd Anniversary Hits VibeX1 Today#
#CloudWave Tech Teams with Vivendi’s Blaze Studio for Ultimate VR FPS#
#Pointbreak Games Delays Heavy Strike#
#GunCraft 2 Wraps Pre-Production#
#PeakPulse Studio Drops Outpost 3 Trailer#
In WindyPeak’s Portland office, Gus Harper slouched, scrolling X posts.
Shooting games—PC to VibeX1—ruled the market.
WindyPeak aimed to go big, challenging U.S. and global giants.
Gus’s research showed a crowded FPS scene: fi...

Chapter 60: Achievement Achieved - Comeback!

Zoey Parker knew Phasmophobia’s day-one sales: 2,085 copies, $93,800 revenue.
Weaker than her lowest predictions.
She’d ditched WindyPeak for a week, holed up in Portland, grinding her thesis, U.S. Currency Exchange Rates and Global Trade Impacts.
Even at 2,000 copies daily, weekly revenue would hit $630,000 max—$504,000 after IndieVibe’s cut.
Miles from the $2,000,000 cost.
Zoey was thrilled, already picturing kissing the $50 bill on her desk tomorrow, welcoming its �...

Chapter 59: Old Ma, Ah—Ah—!!!

What’s the creepiest trope in American horror?
Ghost weddings top the list.
Pairing a corpse with a living or dead spouse—grim, twisted, and ripe for nightmares.
Spectral urban legends fuel dread, outshining skeletons or demons.
“Gus Harper’s a sicko!” P.J. Larson’s voice shook.
Chat on Twitch went wild:
“Gus is unhinged!”
“He knows what freaks us out.”
“Manor map’s built for American psyches.”
“Paper figures, red lanterns—just standing...

Chapter 58: Good News, Bad News

Noon, next day.
Gus Harper sifted through data on recent VR cabin shooters at WindyPeak’s Portland office.
Knock knock knock.
“Come in,” Gus said, setting the files aside.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers slipped in, grinning like they’d pulled a prank.
“What’s up?” Gus asked, eyebrow raised.
These two never knocked.
Sun rising in the west?
Luke flashed a waiter-like smile. “Morning, Director Gus! Good news or bad news first?”
“I’d rather hear your...

Chapter 57: "Great Value for Money" Promotion Seminar

Chat was losing it.
“HOLY—THIS IS WILD!”
“Bro, I’m drenched in sweat!”
“Yin’s gone quiet. RIP.”
“You gonna ghost us like that, Yin?!”
“This is TERRIFYING!”
“Who said multiplayer makes horror games less scary?”
“Gus Harper’s a sadist, using teammates to crank the fear!”
“If ShuBro hadn’t snapped that pic, Yin wouldn’t have clocked the ghost on his back!”
“Teammates don’t help—they just spike your heart rate!”
“...

Chapter 56: Maybe I’m Not Human, But You’re a Real Dog

“HOLY CRAP!”
“Chills, man, CHILLS!”
“This is MESSED UP! Why’s the audio in surround sound?!”
“Felt that ghost breath in my headphones!”
“SlickRick got yeeted offline, LOL!”
“Not his fault, I’m shook and I’m just watching!”
“This game’s EVIL!”
“SlickRick didn’t even see the ghost!”
“What happens when it actually shows up?!”
“Gus Harper’s out here dissecting human fear.”
“Someone check Gus’s mental state!” 2025-08-05 04:13:17 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 55: Tricking Players into Terror

“Holy crap,” SlickRick Brooks gasped before Phasmophobia even loaded.
“This intro’s straight out of a blockbuster. I’m in a damn movie!”
The screen faded in, like waking from a dream.
A voice crackled over the intercom, growing clearer.
“Yo, Investigator? You there, Investigator?”
SlickRick blinked, finding himself in a truck’s cargo bay.
It looked like a ghost-hunting command center—gear racks on the left held flashlights, cameras, EMF readers, thermomet...

Chapter 54: A Horror Game Like No Other

Chat exploded with laughter.
“Hahaha, Gus looks way too chill!”
“Zoey’s face, lol, she’s done!”
“This is next-level unhinged!”
“Gus: ‘Sleep with one eye open, fam.’”
“Zoey’s about to yeet herself outta there!”
“What kinda shady ghost-hunting scam is this?”
“Y’all just stressin’ homeowners for kicks?”
“So the game’s about ID’ing ghosts?”
“Never seen a horror game like this!”
“WindyPeak’s cooking something w...

Chapter 53: Viral Teaser Chaos

Zoey Parker leaned back in her Seattle office, grinning like a cartoon tycoon sniffing a cash pile. Two million bucks down the drain. The $2,000,000 Phasmophobia budget blew past IndieVibe’s “mini-game” threshold, nixing the commission-free perk. To break even, they’d need $2,500,000 in sales within a week—over 55,555 copies at $45 per unit.

Vampire Survivor hit 40,000 sales in a day, but it rode a perfect storm: 14-day free play, vote-rigging drama...

Chapter 52: Twisted Genius Unleashed

Game on!
After locking in Phasmophobia, Gus Harper got to work.
He drafted the project based on memory. With his game dev experience, the framework was a breeze.
Days later, his Inspiration Points System hit 50,000 emotional points. Gus swapped them for Phasmophobia’s full blueprint in the system.
Plan polished, he kicked off the project with Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers.
First, he had to hype them up. Both had been moping since the horror genre was set.
Gus couldn’t let...

Chapter 51: Brainstorm or Brainstormed?

Luke Bennett was numb.
The second Zoey Parker waltzed in, he knew they were screwed.
Zoey was a wildcard, clueless about game dev but ready to back any wild idea Gus Harper pitched.
Sometimes, she’d toss in her own unhinged suggestions.
Now Gus had gone full mad scientist, possessed by some horror-game obsession.
Luke sighed.
Great. The company’s top two are nuts.
WindyPeak Games was sprinting toward a cliff.
Soon, the project kickoff meeting began.
Less a “me...

Chapter 50: Double Down on Doom

“Chloe?”
Gus Harper blinked, surprised to see Chloe Quinn.
“You didn’t go to San Francisco?”
Slurp.
Chloe sipped her lemonade, looking defeated. “We’re back.”
That fast?
Gus perked up.
Maybe the deal fell through. Morning trip, afternoon return—too quick for a done deal.
Perfect.
If it tanked, he’d have time to grind emotional points for Escape.
“Rough talks?” Gus asked, waving her in to sit.
Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers glanced over, c...

Chapter 49: Priceless Friendship, Penniless Card

Zoey Parker strutted off the high-speed rail from San Francisco to Portland, practically glowing.
Jackpot!
The game wasn’t even a concept yet, and she’d already blown $150,000 on IndieVibe Tech’s VibeX1 landing fee.
She’d wanted to go bigger—say, a cool million—but her Investment Rebate System threw a red flag.
A million was way over market rates, screaming “intentional loss.”
So, she settled for the top-tier $150,000, matching big dogs like Tokyo-based Komera a...

Chapter 48: Zoey’s Insane Gambit

What?!
Victor Lang was floored.
That’s not enough?!
Zoey was pushing it.
If she were anyone else, Victor would’ve shown her the door with a polite “see ya” from Secretary Carter.
But this was Zoey Parker, princess of Parker Capital, daughter of Mr. Parker.
So he swallowed his frustration, forcing a smile. “Zoey, that’s our best offer.”
“If you’re not happy with it, I swear, compared to top-tier VR pod brands worldwide, VibeX1’s landing fees and commiss...

Chapter 47: Victor’s Too Nice

San Francisco, IndieVibe Technologies.

At the front desk, Sarah Jones coached the new receptionist, Lily. “The other day, Victor Lang was practically bowing before that girl even reached us—smiling like a kid at Christmas!”

Sarah adjusted Lily’s scarf. “Treat every visitor like royalty, no matter how young. You never know who’s got clout. I got promoted to lead for nailing that visit.”

The elevator dinged. A girl with twin buns, lollipop in mouth, stepped ou...

Chapter 46: Mad Genius and Moneybags

Chloe Quinn froze in Zoey Parker’s Seattle office, a déjà vu chill hitting her. This scene mirrored Gus Harper’s first interview—her objections ignored, Zoey hyping Gus’s wild plan. Something’s wrong with these two.

She frowned. Gus was an abstract wildcard; Zoey, a reckless tycoon. One dreamed up insane schemes, the other bankrolled them. Chloe opened her mouth but shut it. Let’s see how this trainwreck plays out.

Gus blinked, stunned Zoey agreed s...

Chapter 45: Déjà Vu Disaster

Gus Harper wiped his hands and nodded at Chloe Quinn. Perfect timing. He’d been itching to pitch his next move to Zoey Parker, especially after the IndieVibe exchange sparked his obsession with VR pods and horror games.

He’d dug deep, consulting Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers, then scouring X for answers. A decade ago, VR pods were luxury toys, but mass production made them mainstream. Horror games had a brief moment—studios like Apex Interactive and Comila Games dropped ch...

Chapter 44: Genius or Lunatic?

Zoey Parker’s brain sparked in the Seattle Convention Center’s bathroom. She locked the stall, sat on the toilet lid, and exhaled. Quiet at last. Her competitors’ dumb questions had birthed a wild plan.

Small studios like WindyPeak were doomed in the VR pod market. Buying a VR game engine cost hundreds of thousands—$500,000 to $1 million a quarter. Development needed dozens of coders, artists, and testers. More cash. Big studios like Apex Interactive owned the market, l...

Chapter 43: A Wild Plan Sparks

The Seattle Convention Center’s Hall 5 roared with applause and chatter.

“Gus Harper’s that young?!”
“Same age as Zoey Parker!”
“Talk about a power duo.”
“How do you make a niche game a global hit?”
“Comparing myself to him makes me want to quit.”
“He’s so chill on stage, like he owns it.”
“Look, he’s giving the media a thumbs-up!”
“His vibe’s as wild as his games.”

As devs buzzed, Gus Harper wrapped his intro...

Chapter 42: I’m Gus Harper

The Seattle Convention Center’s Hall 5 erupted in chatter.

“This is WindyPeak’s CEO?!”
“She’s so young!”
“Told you her casual vibe screamed big money!”
“Pfft, didn’t you call her an intern earlier?”
“Ambition doesn’t age.”
“After her speech, I’m begging for a chat to learn her secrets.”

The crowd was floored. The mastermind behind three chart-topping games, including Vampire Survivor’s record-shattering 43,775 ...

Chapter 41: Spotlight Shock

“Bringing you the pulse of gaming! Hey, I’m Tara, your host for GameVibe News!”

Wednesday, Seattle.

Outside Hall 5 of the Seattle Convention Center, Tara, a bubbly reporter, grinned at the camera.

“Welcome to our special coverage,” she said, gesturing behind her. “I’m at the IndieVibe Development Festival Exchange Conference. Over 400 game dev teams are gathering here today, including Gus Harper, the ‘Supernova’ designer who stole the show with Vampire ...