"Tank! Tank! Tank!"
Three shouts rang out!
P.J. Larson, gripping an M4 rifle, fired at the zombies while yelling to Winter Melon nearby:
"Winter Melon! Tank! Tank!"
"I'm getting wrecked!!!"
The next second, Winter Melon's cursing echoed!
He was caught in the Tank's grip, slammed to the ground like a ragdoll, tossed around!
"I'm getting crushed by a Tank! You think I don't know? Holy crap!"
"Pfft—hahaha!"
The absurd scene made Eggplant crack up. Even facing the roaring horde, he couldn't hold it in:
"Hang on, man! I'm coming to save you…"
Nice!
The Eggplant Team, FPS veterans, picked up Left 4 Dead 2 fast and blazed through.
While Yin's squad was still fighting for survival in the first map, Eggplant, Winter Melon, Rusty, and Benny cleared the first safe house and pushed on.
Compared to the first building map, the second map felt wilder.
Exploding bile-spitting fatties, tongue-lashing smokers, pouncing hunters.
And now, the Tank pounding Winter Melon into the ground.
These special infected were freaky, each with unique tricks, always spawning with hordes, throwing the team into chaos.
But!
Eggplant's crew was pumped!
First, the challenge hit the sweet spot, spiking the thrill of the game.
Second, this was the first second-gen FPS, and it felt unreal!
And most importantly!
Sliding and crawling gave a totally fresh vibe!
So, they weren't running—they were sliding!
Whoosh—
Eggplant slid, aimed, and popped three bullets, blasting a zombie's head.
Whoosh—
Rusty slid, his katana slashing, cutting a zombie pack in half.
Whoosh—
Benny slid, dual-wielding Desert Eagles, clearing a vacuum zone around him.
Whoosh—
Winter Melon slid, crashed into the Tank, and got yeeted on the spot.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Rat-a-tat—
Finally!
The horde ended.
Under the trio's relentless fire, the Tank roared unwillingly and crashed to the ground with a thud.
The barrage sighed in relief—
"Finally remembered Winter Melon."
"Winter Melon! Tank!"
"That Tank fixed Winter Melon's thyroid, huh?"
"Winter Melon and Yin, pure bad-luck magnets."
"Haha, just came from Yin's stream. Man's gone full gremlin mode."
"Yin's putting on a circus over there."
"This ain't bad either. Winter Melon's a magnet for every special infected…"
"…"
Amid laughs and banter!
The squad pushed forward.
Sliding sounds echoed, their cackling making the stream feel like a zoo, monkeys hooting on both sides.
Scattered zombies popped up, but the team's crack aim dropped them fast.
Crossing a road and turning a corner, they hit an overpass.
Few zombies under the bridge. Rusty's katana sliced through, clearing them quick.
But one thing stood out: the zombies lunged like rabid dogs.
Yet, on a nearby corridor, a figure knelt, still, with no urge to attack.
From behind, it looked like a woman.
Pale skin, almost ghostly.
Wearing a torn tank top, barely hanging on.
Even skimpier below, faintly showing a curved hip line.
She covered her face, shoulders trembling, softly sobbing.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Winter Melon's eyes lit up!
He nudged Eggplant:
"Yo, Qie! Check that out! Hot damn!"
Winter Melon's nudge pulled the team's focus.
They looked and let out a collective: "Well, damn—"
Maybe she heard them, or maybe she was done sitting.
The woman slowly stood, still covering her face.
Long legs, bold style, pale, smooth skin.
The Eggplant Team's faces flushed, hearts racing.
"Man, this is too much, I can't handle it,"
Benny said he couldn't, but his eyes were glued, barely blinking.
"Nah, don't look at me, Benny! Eyes off!"
Eggplant called out the hypocrisy, staring openly.
"This game's too good! No wonder it's 17+…"
Winter Melon, practically drooling, stepped closer.
Rusty, banking on the 17+ stream shield, went full chaotic:
"Yo, Winter Melon! She's heading to the bathroom? Don't go there, take a hit for me…"
That line broke the team!
They roared with laughter and jeers, the stream buzzing with wild vibes, pure cyber chaos!
"Rusty, you absolute gremlin, hahaha…"
"You're such a nutcase! Freaking wild!"
"What a weirdo! I'm done!"
"You and me, we're both certified lunatics…"
The barrage exploded—
""
"Everyone's thirsty and shameless."
"I'm dying, this is too much, hahaha…"
"Loudspeaker on, and now I'm mortified, dang it."
"Pure chaos mode activated."
"17+ is your golden ticket, huh?"
"Thank the rating system for saving this zone."
"This is unhinged, straight-up unhinged."
"Peak gremlin energy."
"I'm laughing so hard I'm gonna hurl…"
"…"
Amid the chaos and roasts!
They trailed the woman.
Her sobbing grew creepy, stirring some pity.
Winter Melon stepped closer.
He raised his shotgun, flashlight beaming:
"Hey, lady, out here alone?"
Woo woo woo—
Her crying softened.
Seeing a reaction, Winter Melon edged forward: "Don't cry, it's cool, we're not… bad guys!"
He quick-stepped around to see her face, asking:
"You an NPC? Got quests? How do I—?"
Next second.
His voice caught.
From her pale wrist, blood-red claws branched out, veins pulsing, glowing red eyes like bulbs staring him down.
Vengeful, vicious, terrifying.
Winter Melon flashed back to the dread of Mary Jane's ghost in Phasmophobia.
One big question hit him—
Why the heck use the same nightmare face model twice?
But then.
Oh.
This is WindyPeak, Boss Harper's twisted brainchild.
Makes sense.
Winter Melon raised his shotgun, aimed at the Witch—this zombie Mary Jane—took a deep breath, and bellowed:
"Holy crap!"
BANG!!!
Gunfire and the Witch's piercing scream rang out!
Right after!
A red warning flashed on everyone's HUD:
[You disturbed the Witch!]
The Eggplant Team lost it!
"Holy crap, Winter Melon! You again!"
"Shoot it! Shoot it! Quit yelling!"
"Whoa, whoa, it's coming!"
"Run! Run…"
Chaos!
Seeing it go south!
Winter Melon screamed, bolting fast!
But he ditched Rusty, who was screwed.
The Witch's AI targets the closest unit.
Rusty, still joking moments ago, didn't see it coming. A shrill scream hit!
Next second!
A blood-red flash, and the Witch's claw smashed his face!
Crunch!
Rusty dropped, no words.
The barrage went wild!
"What kinda damage is that? Full health, one-shotted?"
"Kid's got stamina, naps the second he hits the floor."
"9:10 PM, April 6th, Rusty's 'take a hit' got him wrecked. Wake-up call."
"Hahaha, that's nuts…"
"This thing's brutal!"
"SlickRick doesn't make chill games. Not his vibe."
"Yup, WindyPeak can't resist cooking up nightmare fuel."
"This Witch is straight from hell! Normal mode, near one-shot? Expert's gotta be instant death."
"Verdict—game's cracked open."
"That's a cheat-level hit, right?"
"Keep it rolling, this is wild…"
"…"
With things spiraling, the audience ate it up!
The three survivors wished for extra legs and booked it!
Originally, the Witch would lose her target after a set distance.
But!
As the barrage said, would a twisted mind like Gus stick to that?
If you could just dip after causing chaos, it'd be like a Dark Souls run without a fog gate—pointless.
So!
Gus tweaked the Witch's AI to chase forever once triggered.
You die! Or she dies!
The Witch was lightning-fast.
In seconds!
Benny, trailing behind, screamed and got one-shotted!
Only Eggplant and Winter Melon left!
They slid and ran, like kids playing tag in a panic.
Eggplant saw the Witch closing in and yelped: "What the heck do we do, Winter Melon! She's gaining!"
"What else? Run! Shoot and run!"
Winter Melon fired two shots back!
"No way!"
The Witch took the hits and kept charging. Eggplant's voice cracked:
"We can't outrun her!"
"I know, didn't say we had to."
Winter Melon grinned wickedly, pulled an adrenaline shot from his belt, and jabbed his thigh with a pfft.
"Long as I outrun you, I'm good! See ya!"
Eggplant's screams and curses echoed in the stream—
"Winter Melon! You freaking jerk—!!!"
…
Today's Twitch platform!
Zombies roared, chaos reigned!
Super admins were swamped!
They'd never seen so many streams needing 17+ locks at once!
From gaming to dance, looks to singing.
Every section had dozens, or at least a few, streaming Left 4 Dead 2!
Sure!
The game's zombie virus didn't spread among the four protagonists.
But the game itself spread like a virus across Twitch!
So hot, it screamed "phenomenal hit"!
The Iron Triangle—Gus Harper, Luke Bennett, Jake Rivers—was over the moon.
They'd banked big on this game.
At this rate, they could hit 100,000 copies in week one!
Worth celebrating.
Per IndieVibe Tech stats, only six games on the VibeX1 platform hit 100,000 first-week sales last year.
All cost over $50 million.
So!
If Left 4 Dead 2 joined the "710 Club" (100,000 in seven days) on the VibeX1 platform with its $10.85M budget…
WindyPeak would make history, boasting the highest profit ratio in gaming art.
This would cement second-gen FPS's success and future potential!
The honor could make WindyPeak a deep strategic partner with IndieVibe Tech.
Sparking full-on, multi-layered collaboration.
All upside, no downside.
Everyone at WindyPeak, except Zoey Parker, was thrilled to their core!
But.
They didn't know.
While Left 4 Dead 2's success hyped its creators…
Far off in San Francisco, Dylan Kane, head of Radiant Games, one of Apex Interactive's five flagship studios, was just as stoked!
"WindyPeak, leading the charge, proved second-gen FPS works. I'm thrilled."
Dylan picked up a red rook on his chessboard:
"I've said it—only when the gaming scene thrives and new players rise do we, the big dogs, live better."
"After all, a rook always outruns a pawn…"
He slid the rook forward, swallowing a lone black pawn.
Bang!
"Checkmate!"