CHAPTER 19 - LIVE WITH SILENT HILL PRODUCER

It was 8:00 p.m.

Natalie sat upright in front of her computer, setup noticeably different from her usual livestreams.

Today, she wore a formal suit, completely at odds with her pink, cutesy bedroom. But this wasn't something Tony asked her to do. It was her own choice.

After all, she was about to connect with the mysterious producer of Silent Hill, a person who, unknown to the audience, just happened to be her younger brother.

Since the audience didn't know, she had to look official.

She entered the backend of her Twitch livestream, and what she saw nearly made her jaw drop, her stream had already gathered 200,000 viewers, and she hadn't even gone live yet!

"Where's the guy?!"

"Why isn't it live yet?!"

"Hurry up! I've been waiting with flowers!"

"Natalie, stop stalling and do something!"

"Holy crap... the broadcast isn't even live and there's already this many people?" Natalie blinked in disbelief.

Of course, she knew very well, majority of these viewers weren't here for her. They were here because of 'Silent Hill PT', the current gaming phenomenon.

She didn't start the stream right away. Instead, she leaned toward the mic and tested the connection.

"Hey hey, Tony, how's the audio? Can you hear me clearly?"

"Yup, it's good. Clear and stable. Go ahead and start." A voice, slightly disguised through a subtle voice changer replied.

Although Tony was literally just next door, he had insisted on this small layer of secrecy.

"Alright," Natalie said, then disconnected from the test call and officially launched the livestream.

---BREAK---

The stream was live.

"IT'S LIVE!"

"FINALLY!"

"Where's the bastar- uh, I mean, the producer!"

"Still Natalie?! Move aside, we want the mysterious dev!"

The chat room exploded the moment the stream opened. people were practically chanting to see the elusive producer of 'Silent Hill PT'.

"Don't panic, don't panic!" Natalie said quickly, keeping her composure.

As a former League of Legends match commentator, she'd handled big crowds before. Even with this massive wave of viewers, she didn't flinch, she even cracked a joke.

"I swear, you guys are unbelievable! Who taught you to call a game producer a 'Bastard', huh?"

That part stung a little. After all, that 'Bastard' was her own little brother.

"You did, Natalie!"

"Yeah! You called him that when you first played Silent Hill! You totally flipped out!"

"We're just following your lead!"

Natalie froze. She thought about it for a second... and yeah. That did happen.

Back then, she had been scared out of her wits and cursed the developer without restraint. 'Bastard' was something she blurted out in terror.

Talk about awkward.

Still, that very reaction of hers had helped the game go viral. Her dramatic playthrough made the horrors of the game feel real.

Players had felt the malice and fear oozing from every frame, and naturally, they picked up her nickname for the dev.

Of course, no one really meant it as an insult. It became an affectionate jab at the genius behind the scares.

"Alright, alright..." Natalie sighed, half embarrassed, half resigned.

"Anyway, this interview wasn't easy to get, so y'all better tip me later!"

She shamelessly asked for gifts, and to her surprise, her fans delivered. The subs and bits started raining across the screen.

"W-Whoa, okay, okay, that's enough! You guys are really going all out!" she said, blushing a bit.

It felt a little like cheating people out of their money with her brother's help.

"All right, connecting now!"

She reconnected the voice channel. Tony answered almost instantly.

"Hello, hello!" Natalie greeted cheerfully.

"Hello, Natalie. And hello to all the viewers," came Tony's digitally altered voice.

The moment he spoke, the chat exploded.

"He's not showing his face?!"

"Even the voice is modified?!"

"So mysterious!"

"Looks like my chat's already roasting you," Natalie teased. "Not showing your face, hiding your voice..."

"Of course!" Tony chuckled. "If I don't keep my identity hidden, I'll probably get chased down by angry players on the street!"

"Hahaha!"

"Fair enough!"

"Design a game that terrifying, you're lucky we haven't come for you already!"

The audience quickly warmed up to the humorous, self-deprecating developer.

"Alright, let's get into it. Mr. Producer, may I ask your name?" Natalie asked, playing her part.

"Just call me Mr. Hill," Tony replied.

"Okay, Mr. Hill it is. First do we have any questions from the viewers for the legendary producer? Drop them in chat, and I'll pick a few!"

Natalie, who had discussed things with Tony beforehand, carefully filtered out any sensitive questions, especially ones fishing for internal info about [New World Studio], likely posted by corporate spies.

"First question!" she announced.

"Is the [New World Studio] team a indie studio?"

"Yes," Tony replied confidently. "We are an indie studio, and I'm proud to say that our team is absolutely top tier in the industry."

"Our only goal is to prove to the world that games can be as good as movies and tv shows too."

That answer hit home for a lot of viewers.

After all, the reputation in the global gaming industry wasn't exactly stellar—no good major AAA titles, few standout hits. Most games were either money traps or outright ugly.

Now, [New World Studio] had become a source of pride.

"Second question: Since 'Silent Hill PT' is a beta version, does it have a proper ending?" Natalie asked.

"Yes, it does." Tony answered clearly. "But sadly, despite tens of millions of downloads, not a single player has cleared the game. So no one has seen it yet."

"Wait, tens of millions of downloads?!"

"Still no one's has finished it?!"

"Bro, the game is terrifying! You made this bed, now lie in it!"

"The developer made it impossible on purpose!"

"Only a lunatic could beat it!"

The audience erupted again, amazed at the numbers, and more than a little mad about the difficulty.

Tony chuckled. It was time to add a little motivation.

"In that case, I'll make this announcement right now: The first 50 players who complete 'Silent Hill PT' with all achievements will get exclusive early access to our next game!"

That dropped like a bomb in chat.

"WHAT? A new game?!"

"Already?! Is Silent Hill done?"

"Please, make the next one NOT horror!"

"We need a wholesome game! Please!"

"Ahem... what about a new game?"

"Because Silent Hill turned out a bit too intense, it scared off a chunk of our audience. So for now, the project's on hold." Tony answered with a laugh.

"But our new game is nearly finished.It's not horror, it's a calm, open-world game. You'll love it."

He was already imagining players exploring Subnautica, a completely different vibe.

The livestream was in chaos again. Most of the audience were now begging for a glimpse of the open-world the dev teased.

"Alright, that's it for tonight's stream!" Tony said, cutting it off before he leaked too much.

"If you want early access to the next game... then finish Silent Hill! Come on, brave souls!"

And with that, he ended the call.

"HUH?! That's it?!"

"He ran away just like that?!"

"Why does this feel like Roger from One Piece, telling us to find his treasure!?"

"Whatever, I'm going back to Silent Hill. LET'S GO!"

Though his appearance was short, barely ten minutes, it was more than enough.

Once again, 'Silent Hill PT' ignited the passion of countless players.

The race to beat the unbeatable had just begun.

1246 Words.