đź”´ LIVE
KAI.EXE Title:
"Viewers Control My Choices in This Horror Game (This Is a Terrible Idea)"
Current Viewers: 2.8 Million
Kael adjusted his headset.
"Good evening, everyone."
The chat immediately became a waterfall.
> FIRST!!
BARRY WHERE??
KAI DON'T TRUST CHAT
PLAY HARD MODE
DONUT MAN SUMMONING CIRCLE ACTIVATED
Kael laughed.
"You guys ask for Barry before you even say hello."
The stream alert chimed.
FastGuy1998 has joined the call.
Barry's voice came through.
"...Did someone mention donuts?"
The chat exploded.
> HE'S HERE
SUMMON SUCCESSFUL
THE PROPHECY
Kael smiled.
"Right on schedule."
Barry sounded offended.
"I was only... six minutes late."
"You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago."
"...Details."
The game began.
Every major decision was left to chat.
Kael opened a suspicious-looking basement door.
Chat voted YES.
Barry groaned.
"They're trying to kill us."
Kael nodded.
"They usually are."
Five minutes later...
A monster burst through the wall.
Barry screamed.
Loudly.
Kael calmly sidestepped the attack.
"You know..."
Kael said while solving a puzzle.
"...the monster reacts to sound."
Barry whispered.
"...Sorry."
The monster immediately charged toward Barry.
"I SAID I WAS SORRY!"
Chat spammed laughing emotes.
An hour into the stream...
A notification quietly appeared on Kael's smart glasses.
Visitor at Lobby
Bruce Wayne
Kael blinked.
"...That's unusual."
He muted himself for a moment.
"Barry."
"Hm?"
"Bruce is downstairs."
Barry almost dropped his controller.
"...Bruce?"
"As in Bruce."
"...During stream?"
"He didn't say why."
A few minutes later...
The apartment door opened.
Standing there...
Bruce Wayne.
Perfectly tailored suit.
Expensive watch.
Coffee in one hand.
A small paper bag in the other.
He looked exactly like every business magazine cover ever printed.
Kael pointed toward the camera.
"I'm live."
Bruce glanced at it.
"I know."
He casually walked into frame.
The chat froze.
Then absolutely exploded.
WAIT
WHAT
ISTHAT
BRUCE WAYNE??
EXCUSE ME??
WHY IS BRUCE WAYNE THERE?!
Barry, still on voice chat, went completely silent.
Bruce set the paper bag on Kael's desk.
"You skipped lunch."
Kael looked inside.
His favorite sandwich.
"...Thanks."
Bruce nodded.
"You also forgot this."
He placed a small flash drive beside the keyboard.
Kael recognized it immediately.
The encrypted mission data Batman had asked him to analyze later.
To everyone watching...
It was just a USB drive.
Bruce looked toward the monitor.
"So..."
"This is the famous stream."
Kael nodded.
"Pretty much."
Bruce watched for a few seconds as chat raced by.
"...They type very quickly."
"They've been practicing."
"Hm."
One viewer donated.
$100
"Mr. Wayne, invest in Kael's gaming skills."
Bruce read the donation aloud.
"...No."
Kael covered his face.
Barry burst into laughter over voice chat.
The chat went wild.
LMAOOO
SAVAGE
HE SAID NO
CLIPPED
Another donation appeared.
"How do you know Kael?"
Bruce answered without hesitation.
"WayneTech occasionally sponsors independent technology creators."
Technically...
That wasn't a lie.
Barry finally found his voice.
"Uh..."
"Hello, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce looked toward Kael's second monitor.
"...Barry."
Barry sat perfectly straight despite Bruce not being able to see him.
"H-Hi."
Kael smiled into his microphone.
"You sound like you're talking to your principal."
Barry whispered,
"...Old habits."
Bruce noticed the horror game.
"Are you winning?"
Kael looked at the screen.
His character immediately fell into a trap.
"...Not currently."
Bruce considered this.
"You ignored environmental clues."
Barry laughed.
"See? Even he noticed."
Bruce folded his arms.
"The blood trail led left."
"The broken boards indicated structural weakness."
"The lighting highlighted the correct path."
Both Kael and Barry stared in silence.
Barry finally muttered,
"...You analyze horror games like crime scenes."
Bruce looked confused.
"...Is that not normal?"
After a few more minutes, Bruce checked his watch.
"I have another meeting."
He picked up his coffee.
As he reached the door, he paused.
Without turning around, he said,
"Kael."
"Yeah?"
"Remember the report."
"I'll send it tonight."
Bruce gave a single nod and left.
The apartment became quiet.
The chat absolutely erupted.
DID BRUCE WAYNE JUST VISIT??
WHY DOES HE KNOW KAI??
WAS THAT A BUSINESS MEETING??
KAI IS SPONSORED BY WAYNETECH CONFIRMED
Kael took a sip of water.
"See?"
"I told you guys today's stream would have a surprise guest."
Barry laughed.
"I don't think anyone expected that guest."
Kael shrugged.
"Neither did I."
Later that night, clips of the stream flooded social media.
The most popular one wasn't Barry screaming.
It wasn't Kael's clever gameplay.
It wasn't even Bruce Wayne appearing on camera.
It was Bruce Wayne, billionaire CEO, casually deducing the solution to a horror game puzzle in under ten seconds before quietly leaving with the same calm expression he wore at corporate press conferences.
The comments were filled with jokes:
"Bruce Wayne definitely plays detective games in his free time."
"How does a billionaire have better survival instincts than the streamers?"
"He analyzed a haunted house like it was a quarterly financial report."
Watching the clips from the Watchtower later that evening, Batman allowed himself the faintest smile.
"...I should have let him lose the puzzle."