Noon, inside Nebula Games.
Anna and Rachel were leaning back on massage chairs, scrolling on their phones.
"Looks like the players online are aiming their 'attacks' at you now, Lucas," Rachel said as she glanced over at Lucas, who had his eyes closed beside her.
"Yeah, yeah, the official social media account for Outlast used to get around a thousand comments, but now it's over twenty thousand and still going up," Anna said in agreement.
"Well, what do you expect? Lucas had to go and call himself a 'warrior of love' in that media interview. Outlast has nothing to do with love," Rachel replied.
At that moment, Lucas, who had been sitting with his eyes closed enjoying the massage chair, opened his eyes.
He casually pulled out his phone and glanced at it, totally calm. "Who says Outlast has nothing to do with love?"
"You guys are still too young. Watch this," Lucas said with a smirk, then started typing on his phone and posted on the official Weibo.
...…
While players online were still arguing, Lucas dropped a post—and suddenly everyone went quiet.
Especially those who had actually played Outlast—they were completely silent.
Looking at what Lucas wrote, all the players had the same weird feeling... but couldn't come up with any solid rebuttal.
Lucas's post said:
"I'm heartbroken to see so many players questioning my title as a 'warrior of love'!"
"Why can't Outlast be considered a game full of love?"
"Outside the game, this project is filled with my burning love for every one of our players."
"And as for the game's story? It's absolutely packed with love!"
"Let me explain a bit—no spoilers, don't worry—and you tell me if I'm wrong."
"First, look at the setting. The main character, Miles Upshur, drives alone to Mount Massive Asylum to uncover its dark secrets. And mind you, this asylum is backed by the multinational Murkoff Corporation."
"So what kind of mindset does an ordinary independent journalist have to be in to risk his life exposing the truth behind Mount Massive and go up against a massive evil corporation? It's simple—justice. And what is justice, if not love? A deep, selfless love!"
"Once inside the asylum, what does he find? A place that's falling apart, not even basic lights, and he even has to go flip the breakers himself. On top of that, hostile patients and doctors keep getting in the way."
"But what does our protagonist do? He repairs the basement power in that rundown asylum. Even when the patients and doctors attack him, he never strikes first—he's just trying to survive."
"Despite all those dangers, he keeps digging for the truth. And in the end, he exposes everything… even giving up his life in the process."
"What kind of spirit is that? Isn't that the spirit of a brave and fearless warrior?"
"And being a 'warrior of love' doesn't only mean romantic love—it's about a love big enough to help the whole world!"
"So without a doubt, Outlast is a work filled with love, inside and out!"
"Hope everyone can feel the burning love in Outlast! Thank you!"
Back at the Nebula Games office, Anna and Rachel were also reading the Weibo post from their massage chairs.
They both stared at Lucas with complicated looks.
Man… if they hadn't helped develop the game themselves, they might've actually believed that speech!
"Boss Lucas, seriously?" Rachel looked at him, clearly speechless.
Anna gave him the same look.
Up until now, they thought Lucas was going to say something sincere or at least give some PR talk.
After all, isn't this how most game companies and designers usually handle this kind of "doubt" from players?
But what they never expected was that, in response to these "doubts," Lucas would say something like that.
The crazy part is, somehow… what he said kind of made sense.
...
At first, all the players discussing this online never imagined Lucas would even respond.
And now, many of them are shocked to find that Lucas actually did respond.
And the content of that response? Left everyone speechless.
In an instant, all the players who'd been talking online just exploded.
Everyone was like, "You've got to be kidding me!"
"Lucas, what the hell are you even talking about?!"
"I'm losing it. What do you mean 'never hurt anyone from start to finish'? If I want to hurt someone, at least give me a weapon!"
"Miles: Where's my gun? Where's my damn gun? Aren't I supposed to be in a capitalist country? Guns aren't banned here, so why don't I have one?!"
"Sorry, you only get a DV camcorder. No gun."
"Even though we know Lucas is bullshitting… I hate to admit it, but part of me feels like he kinda has a point."
"By that logic, the patients in the psych ward are also super friendly!"
"Yeah, totally! How can anyone say those psych patients aren't friendly? They're really friendly!"
"When the main character is investigating the hospital, the patients and doctors warmly interact with him, invite him to indoor parkour sessions, play hide and seek to help him relive childhood memories, even arrange for bedtime stories. The nail doctor gives him a manicure too!"
"Security Captain Fat Uncle was so worried about the main character's safety that he followed him around everywhere, even into the sewers. He kept calling him 'Little Piggy' with affection and, in the end, even heroically sacrificed himself right in front of him!"
"Exactly! Fat Uncle was super thoughtful. In the sewers, he was worried I'd bump my head, so he kindly separated my head from my body!"
"And the nail care doctor—he was worried it was unsanitary for me to eat with my fingers, so he helpfully chopped them off!"
"Yeah, yeah! In the end, surrounded by everyone's love, the main character recorded every heartwarming moment with his DV camera. And to repay all the adorable patients, he bravely put out fires in the hospital and helped the nail doctor do some core workouts!"
"Outlast is just too touching. This is what love really looks like! True kindness still exists in the world. This is unconditional love! The only downside is, every time I feel that love from Outlast, I have to change my underwear."
"Suddenly I realized—I can't look at Outlast the same way anymore. And the worst part is, I can't even say exactly what's wrong with that logic!"
After Lucas posted on the official blog, tons of players were left speechless. How did you even manage to turn this into a story about love?!
We can't beat you at this game!
But soon, players who had actually played Outlast started running wild with Lucas's blog post, turning it into meme after meme.
Because honestly, when you describe the plot of Outlast the way he did… it actually does sound kind of sweet and full of love.
The whole game is just filled with love, inside and out.
After the official response, Lucas's blog post went viral, throwing gasoline on Outlast's popularity.
Players everywhere were having fun spinning new memes from it.
Meanwhile, game developers and designers were more focused on one thing: how much Outlast's rising popularity was affecting its sales.
(End of chapter)
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