Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

Chapter 399: Night of Terror [1] There was another piece of explosive news that made the rounds across the entire island.

Breaking — [Foul play?

Nightmare Forge Studios, a company famously known for its latest game release ’Death Company’, has been recorded stating that they are trying to sabotage the career of another developer.

What is the truth to this statement?

] Breaking — ["There’s no real truth to the statement.

The recording comes from one of our rogue employees.

None of us was aware of his intentions, and we immediately fired him.

Our company does not need to rely on such cheap tricks.

"] Breaking — [Stock for Nightmare Forge Studio plunges after controversy.

Will they be able to get out of this predicament?

] One news article after another started to be released.

Clips of what had happened during the stream had also gone viral across the entire web, and the backlash the Studio was facing was quite severe.

"Have you contacted the journalists?

Tell them to run a segment on the misunderstanding!

Any publication is fine!

" A voice shouted within the confines of a certain office.

The CEO’s face was black, unable to hide the humiliation and anger across his face.

BANG!

Smashing the phone down, he cursed a couple more times.

"Fucking bullshit!

" He turned his head in the direction of where a man stood, his face lowered in silence.

The CEO’s face twisted.

"Do you understand what you’ve done?

" "...

Yes.

" Daniel didn’t shrink away from his responsibilities.

He had indeed made a mistake.

But...

"I wasn’t aware that he’d be so stupid to take the call in the middle of a stream.

I’ve already contacted the lawyers of our team to make him pay for the damages that his carelessness has caused.

" "No shit!

" The CEO slammed his hand against the table.

"That bastard...!

He needs to pay for his idiocy!

We pay him to help us, not to screw us over!!

" Veins pulsed at the side of his neck as he shouted at the top of his lungs.

It wasn’t so often that he’d be so enraged, but the damage that his company’s image had sustained from the incident was almost irreparable.

They had only just barely managed to come out of a bankruptcy, and yet...!

"Argh!

" The CEO let out another angry shout, ruffling his hair in annoyance.

He eventually managed to calm down as he turned his attention back to his assistant.

"How is the situation with the update going?

" "About that...

" Daniel stared at the CEO, lowering his head once more.

"We were in the process of finishing the testing phase.

As you know, we have several dozen people testing the update.

The programs all appear to be working in function, with no issues with them.

It’s just that...

we delayed it due to the situation that has currently taken plac—" "Release it.

" "Huh?

" Daniel stared at the CEO, whose eyes had turned bloodshot.

"You say that you’ve tested it and all the programs are in function, right?

Then what are you waiting for?

Release it!!

" The CEO slammed his hand down on the table again, making the poor assistant flinch.

Seeing the rage on the CEO’s face, Daniel could do nothing but lower his head and nod.

"Yes, I’ll get to it.

" Actually, it wasn’t so simple.

The testing was done, and the update was flowing smoothly.

Adding the programs to the game was extremely easy.

The one that they were truly interested in was the music piece.

Unlike the copy that they had, the effect of the original was much better.

Adding it to the update was extremely easy.

The main issue was that, given the current backlash, proceeding with the update would make things worse for them.

’Still, the CEO’s decisions are absolute.

’ Daniel’s eyes turned resolute as he walked towards the programming area.

The update for ’Death Company’ was released an hour after.

*** The entire day was a festive one.

The numbers for the game continued to climb, and by the time it was time for dinner, sales had increased by another 20,000.

This unprecedented release brought immense joy to the team.

"Cheers!

" "Let’s go!!!

" We all sat in a nice restaurant near the Guild.

For once, we decided to splurge a little.

I still had a bit of money to invite them over for dinner.

"This is the second night in a row...

that I’m drinking, but this feels so much...

different compared to...

hic...

yesterday!

" Noah muttered, his face nearly pressed against the table as he took a sip of his beer, only for it to spill all over the table instead of his mouth.

"Oy, watch it!

" "Careful, you bastard!

" "What?

What?

" Seeing the scene, I couldn’t help but smile a little.

This was the first time in a while that I felt a little bit happy.

Of course, I knew that things were going to become quite hectic yet again.

However, I planned on taking these few moments to relax.

Especially since I knew that the ’Fourth Order’ mission was finally coming up.

There was only a week left until I had to complete the ’cult’ mission, and the closer the deadline drew, the heavier my heart became.

I was still far from reaching the Fourth Order, and while I had been collecting some fragments here and there, it was still not enough.

’...

I might just ask the Guild Master at this point.

To hell if he asks what it is for.

’ I was sure that he wouldn’t mind giving them to me.

With that being said, I knew that it wouldn’t come for cheap.

’The game is going well, I’ve taken care of that annoying stream, Nightmare Forge Studios will soon be taken care of as well.

I’ve gotten the Guild Master on my side; I no longer need to worry about the rat...

’ For a moment, I felt like I was on top of the world.

Since when had things ever been going this smoothly for me?

Staring at the drink in my hand, I took a quiet sip, feeling the soft burn lingering at the back of my throat.

I was just about to say something to my employees when something tickled my ears.

Pausing, I took out my phone and checked Dock.

"It’s here.

" Nightmare Forge Studio’s latest update.

I stood up from my spot and reached for my coat that hung by the corner of the room.

"Huh?

Boss?

Are you going somewhere?

" "Boss?

" "Don’t leave, boss...!

" Everyone immediately noticed my actions and tried to stop me from leaving, but I just raised my hand to show them my phone.

"I’m just going out to take a phone call.

Don’t worry.

I’ll be back in several minutes.

" "..

Oh.

" "You should’ve said so.

" "Silly boss.

" Seeing how drunk they were, I shook my head before going out of the restaurant and walking into a more remote area with no one present.

Leaning back against the wall, I took out a cigarette and smoked it.

*Puff* It wasn’t often that I smoked, but in the times I did, it was to help me calm my nerves as a tall and stitched-up figure appeared before me.

Without looking in its direction, I mumbled, "Do it.

" *Puff* "...

Make them pay for stealing from you.

"