The day after the launch, the gaming world was buzzing. A single announcement, posted by the developer Leo Sterling and immediately amplified by every major gaming news outlet, was being frantically shared across every social media platform.
On Pixel Nexus, the editor had pinned it to the top of the homepage, where it had already earned the coveted flame symbol, signifying a topic of intense discussion. The editor's headline was simple, but the information it contained was seismic.
["Dark Forest" Shatters Records with Over 240,000 First-Day Sales! Developer Thanks Fans with Shocking Announcement: A New VR Game is Coming in One Month!]
The news detonated in the community like a bomb.
Two hundred and forty thousand copies. In one day. The number was so large it was almost abstract, until players started doing the math. At fifteen dollars a pop, that was over three and a half million dollars. For a solo indie developer. In twenty-four hours.
It was unprecedented. In the past, the most successful indie titles might have hoped to break 200,000 sales in their first week, maybe their first month. To do it on day one was unheard of. And the bitter, beautiful irony was not lost on anyone. It wasn't a flashy shooter or a high-octane racing game that had broken the record. It was a horror game. The genre everyone had left for dead.
The comments section was a chaotic mix of awe, celebration, and disbelief.
"I knew the hype was real, but this is insane. 240k on day one. A new bar has been set."
"This game deserves every penny. The quality is unreal. I bought it, and am currently getting my ass handed to me in the third area. 10/10."
"Anyone who looks down on horror games from now on is getting these sales numbers thrown in their face!"
"I really hope the big studios are paying attention. This is what a high-quality horror game looks like. Not the garbage they've been feeding us."
"My only worry is that now we're gonna get a flood of cheap, crappy copycats…"
"The dev said 10+ hours of content, and he wasn't kidding. I'm 20 hours in and still haven't cleared the second area. Send help."
But it was the second half of the announcement that truly sent the players reeling. A VR game. In one month.
The immediate, universal reaction was skepticism. This, they thought, had to be fake news. Everyone knew VR was a wasteland, a technical nightmare that even the world's biggest, most experienced studios couldn't tame. Leo Sterling was brilliant, yes. But he wasn't a miracle worker. Developing any game in a single month was a Herculean task. A VR game? It was impossible. This had to mean he wasn't a solo developer after all; he must have a secret team that had been working on this for ages. But a quick search of his company, Only Game, showed zero registered employees. The mystery only deepened.
"Okay, the sales numbers are one thing, but this is just a lie, right?" "A VR game in a month? I may not be a developer, but I'm not an idiot." "Don't play us for fools, Leo! We love you, man, but c'mon!" "I really hope this isn't true. Stick to what works! You've got millions in revenue now. Don't blow it all on a failed VR project like that other big studio did. We want Dark Forest 2, not a bankruptcy announcement!"
Far from the swirling vortex of online debate, in his small apartment kitchen, Leo was blissfully unaware. He was humming to himself, his hands expertly cleaning a fresh batch of pork intestines. Beside him on the counter sat a tray of freshly wrapped dumplings and a pair of pig's feet, ready for the braising pot. He was preparing a feast.
He couldn't stop thinking about the numbers. Over 240,000 copies sold. After the Cyber Platform's thirty percent cut, his company's bank account now held over two and a half million dollars. He had become a multi-millionaire in a single day. The knowledge was a giddy, electric current running through his veins.
To celebrate, he was cooking. Not for himself, but for them. He was making his parents' favorite dishes, the ones they rarely, if ever, had time or money for.
For his mother, who loved dumplings more than anything, he had hand-wrapped over sixty of them. He had chopped the pork himself, refusing to use the mushy, textureless meat from a grinder, and mixed it with finely diced carrots and water chestnuts for a crisp, refreshing bite. He knew she hadn't eaten a homemade dumpling in over a year.
For his father, he was preparing braised pig's feet, a special treat his father usually only had once a year, during the New Year. And, for the first time in a long time, he was making stir-fried fat intestines. He remembered how his father had stopped eating them because a young Maya had complained about the strong smell. But he also remembered the quiet, longing looks his father would give the glistening piles of them at street food stalls. He was a man who had silently given up a small, simple pleasure for his daughter's sake. Not anymore.
And for Maya? A simple, comforting plate of her favorite braised chicken wings.
As the pig's feet simmered, filling the small apartment with a rich, savory aroma, Leo took a moment to check his other, more important, account. He closed his eyes.
The system panel was glowing. The line item for Dark Forest had updated. The number of people frightened had skyrocketed from 67,000 to 239,000. And his Fright Value… it had exploded. From 143,000 to a staggering 568,000.
He felt a surge of pure, unadulterated power. This was his true capital. Excited, he immediately entered the system's store. It was time to choose the game that would serve as the proof of concept for his VR venture.
He knew he'd have to hire people soon. The system wouldn't provide free assets forever, and he couldn't handle art, music, and console porting all by himself. That meant the VR demo had to be something he could realistically polish in a month. It needed to be small in scope, but massive in impact. Something refined, replayable, and terrifying.
His eyes scanned the list of available titles. He filtered by 'DLC'. And then he saw it. An expansion pack for one of the greatest horror games ever made. The goal was instantly clear.
He selected it.
Resident Evil 7's DLC: "21."
PLS SUPPORT ME AND THROW POWERSTONES .