Chila—Chila—
The doctor crouched beside Jada Brook, carefully strapping her wrists and ankles to the wheelchair.
"Thanks for dropping by, kid. Gotta scrub up quick…"
He grabbed the DV camera, setting it on the sink, clearly planning to record the "surgery."
Jada was on the verge of tears.
"Can we not do this… Please…"
"I've got a real doctor's appointment next week… I can't deal with this…"
Hyperventilating, her head spun.
Nerves.
Terror.
Pure dread.
The doctor muttered to himself, dragging a forearm-long knife along her cheek, down to her stomach. Jada was about to lose it!
"I'm fine! I'm good! No, no, no—stop messing with me! I'm fine!"
"Stab me if you want! Just don't do that again! I'm freaking out!!"
Even in a game, she couldn't stomach that scene.
Especially in an IndieVibe X2 somatosensory cabin!
Thinking about what just happened?
Jada's whole body went cold!
And knowing Gus Harper's twisted mind, he'd totally go there!
The doctor spoke up:
"You know, I'm a bit worried…"
"You've been hanging around Father Martin too much… Hope he hasn't messed with your head."
"All that Bible-thumping, acting all high and mighty."
"No offense, but I think he's a little unhinged."
You're calling someone else crazy?!?
Jada couldn't believe it.
You're swapping scalpels for machetes, then bone saws…
Am I getting surgery or getting butchered?!
And you're questioning the priest's sanity?
But!
Like the saying goes, keep your head down when you're under their roof!
Jada nodded fast:
"Exactly! Totally, man! That guy's a nutcase!"
"I barely know him, swear!"
"He even cut the power on me earlier. That jerk's still kicking 'cause he's got some serious luck, like a cat with nine lives."
"He's all talk, no game."
"Today he's preaching, tomorrow he's probably running a scam."
"How 'bout we team up, take him down for Giant Mountain…"
"Oh—CRAP!!!"
"Why'd you grab those giant scissors?! I'm done!!!"
They were talking past each other.
Jada's words? Zero impact.
The doctor tested two "tools," neither cutting it.
Now? He picked up massive scissors!
Those things!
Looked like they were for trimming park hedges.
Click, click!
The scissors snapped twice in the doctor's hands.
Jada's blood ran cold!
"Haha…"
Chat exploded—
'Miracle Walker's still out here grinding! (Red Alert)'
'Jada's about to be red and warm too.'
'Doctor: Yo! Hahaha!'
'Security guard: We're brothers now, split the bill.'
'Those scissors! One snip, tetanus. Two snips, lights out.'
'IndieVibe X2 cabin, man… that cut… yikes.'
'Can't even think about it.'
'Worse than shanking the hospital director with a pipe.'
'Oh no, oh no! It's happening!'
'…'
With chat's gasps—
Click, click!
The doctor approached, lifted Jada's hand, and set her index finger between the blades!
Gus Harper had some mercy.
But not much.
Because!
Jada felt every detail cranked to eleven in this scene!
The WindyPeak team tweaked the somatosensory feedback to max out immersion here!
Plus, Jada's IndieVibe X2 had built-in sensory boost!
Right now!
The cold, sharp bite of the scissors on her finger was blaring!
This creep's gonna chop my finger off!
"NO—!!! I'M DONE—!!!"
Jada yanked her hand, desperate to pull free!
But the doctor gripped tight, squeezing the scissors!
Click—Squeak—
Snap!
A heavy, bloated ache hit Jada's gut!
The insane immersion made her scalp crawl, screaming uncontrollably!
Too real!
WindyPeak didn't go full sadist with actual pain simulation.
But everything else?
Sound, touch—dialed to perfection!
Fear clawed her heart like a monster's grip.
The pain was barely a one, but it felt like a five!
The all-encompassing sensory feedback triggered brutal phantom pain!
"STOP!!! AAAHHH—"
Her vision bled red!
Click!
Jada watched her right index finger hit the floor.
She thrashed like a wild animal!
"YOU MONSTER!!! I'M DONE!!! YOU'RE SICK! KILL ME! AAAHHH!!!"
Real terror.
The fat man's jump scare spooked her, the mystery patient freaked her out, the multi-angle chase stressed her.
But!
Nothing hit like watching her body get mutilated, her finger sliced off!
After the cut, Jada felt the absence of her index finger's sensation.
That soul-deep fear of losing a part of herself?
It was primal.
And it wasn't over!
As Jada's gut-wrenching screams echoed—
The doctor got pissed!
He backhanded her!
A roar exploded in the operating room!
[You listening?! Huh?! Focus… FOCUS!!!]
[You've got more to hear!!!]
He raised the scissors, setting them on Jada's left ring finger!
Insanity!
In the bloody haze, Jada felt her finger bones sting, her mental walls crumbling!
Every fear she'd felt before erupted here, full force!
The scissors snapped!
Jada's desperate screams shook the stream—
"AAAHHH MY HAND—MY HAND!!!"
"Somebody's gonna die! SOMEBODY'S GONNA DIE!!!"
"AAAHHH—"
[Stream terminated]
456,000 viewers.
Horrifying broadcast!
In Gus Harper's past life, this scene wasn't that bad.
Just cruel and bloody.
But in an IndieVibe X2 somatosensory cabin?
With a jacked-up sensory system?
The finger-cutting scene broke players worldwide!
Especially!
Watching your own fingers get sliced!
This fear? Unprecedented in horror games, let alone gaming history!
Over 80% of streamers got kicked from their cabins here!
"Damn it! My hand! Is my hand okay?! Yo!!!"
Pew bailed after the first finger, checking his real hand was intact.
"Man, I'm pissed! This is too much! FREAKING INSANE!!!"
ShuBro paused, clutching her hands, screaming.
"This is too much! I can't deal with this feeling. I'm sweating buckets, guys."
Yin grimaced, shaking his hands, forehead slick with sweat.
"My hand hurts! Like I got smashed by a hammer or something!"
Ethan "Piggie" Vance, amped to eleven, spun in circles, too rattled to sit.
This wasn't just for show!
Players everywhere felt the same gut-punch!
…
"No, no, I'm done… your turn…"
In the Tate's Gaming Scoop conference room!
Once bustling, now just Emma Lin and Max Wheeler remained.
They'd finished their review for the editor-in-chief.
The verdict?
Outlast, thumbs up. Other horror games, thumbs down.
Sure, some horror games were polished, with top-tier production value—solid "guns, cars, and explosions" titles, better than Komina's past work.
But!
Against Outlast?
Their concepts and level design didn't stand a chance.
Tonight!
To crank out an Outlast review ASAP—
Emma and Max planned to blitz through it.
One night.
Per WindyPeak's stated game length, it should be doable.
So, they tag-teamed.
Shared save files synced their progress.
Shared screens synced their view.
Only difference? One played, the other rested.
Basically, taking turns being the punching bag.
And now?
Emma got the short straw—her turn, and her fingers got cut.
Even her usual grit couldn't handle this.
She broke.
"…Alright, I'm up."
Max's voice crackled through:
"Whew—my turn—WHOA, what the hell?! Why'd you bail right after starting?!?"
After the doctor cut two of Miles' fingers, he heard a noise and left.
Max seized the chance, broke free, and pushed out of the operating room, hands bloody.
But then!
The stabbed security guard sprang back to life!
Or maybe he never died—just passed out from pain.
Now conscious, he was cursing like a maniac!
His racket?
Brought the doctor running!
Max froze!
Totally unprepared, he panicked, no clue where to bolt!
Lucky for him—
Emma was still sharing her screen!
"Around the pillar."
"Huh?"
"Circle the pillar, then out the door the doctor came through."
"Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Damn, damn… run, run, RUN!!!"
Max was stubborn but had killer follow-through.
Emma? Quick thinker, with more horror game experience than Max.
Together, Max dodged the doctor's attack, weaving around the pillar like a pro, and slipped out right under the doctor's nose!
You could feel it!
After the 'Giant Mountain Battle Royale,' the game's pace kicked into overdrive!
Like a symphony's climax.
As they grabbed more files, Giant Mountain Psych Hospital's secrets came into focus.
Yup.
The Murkoff Corporation played the "charity" card, running this hospital "for free."
But really? They were experimenting on patients.
Transformations, gender swaps, near-death trials, brain destruction, mind control…
Among them, the star was "Project Walrider," experiment #179.
Per the files, it was "cutting-edge tech."
But something went wrong.
Right as Miles rolled up to Giant Mountain, 'Walrider' went haywire. It trashed the hospital's containment, freed dangerous patients, and wiped out the security team sent to stop it.
And its kills? Brutal.
From earlier security footage, soldiers were ripped apart by an invisible force—heads twisted off, throats torn, or just pop—exploded.
Like… a ghost did it.
Now?
They were close to the truth.
But first!
They had to dodge this rabid doctor!
To escape the third floor's death trap, they needed the elevator key!
"We've circled twice already…" Max gulped.
"Where's the key?"
Then—
Snap!!!
Giant scissors shot out from the duty room door on Max's right, the tip inches from his head!
"WHAT THE—!!!"
Max flinched, shoving open the left ward door and bolting in!
Looking back—
The doctor charged out, scissors gleaming!
But then!
Max and Emma yelled: "KEY!!!"
Right there! In the duty room behind the doctor, a rusty key hung on the wall!
"Loop around! Hit the duty room, grab the key!"
Emma mapped it out in her head!
Max, Emma's trusty wingman, didn't hesitate. He backtracked to the ward's far end, under insane pressure, waving at the doctor:
"You… you jerk! Come get me!!!"
Buzz—!!!
The doctor rushed, scissors raised!
Max wasn't fazed, pulling the pillar trick again, dodging nimbly, swapping spots, and sprinting for the duty room!
He slammed the ward door shut!
Dashed into the room!
But as he went to lock it, Emma shouted:
"Don't lock it! Grab the key!"
"Oh! Got it!"
No clue why Emma said that, but Max trusted her.
He bolted to the room's back, snagging the key.
Turning around—
The doctor was in the corridor!
Their eyes locked.
Half a second of silence.
Then, the doctor roared, picking the shortest path—climbing the duty room's windowsill to jump in and gut Max!
Emma's voice hit at the same time!
"Out the door!"
"Now!"
"RUN!!!"