The internet was buzzing with talk of "Gus Harper's fall from grace."
Two types of people were eating it up. One group was just here for the drama, and the other? Also here for the drama.
Once upon a time, Gus didn't get why some folks loved watching stars crash and burn. Now, it was crystal clear—a classic tale of rooting for a hero's downfall.
Led by Komina, companies and rivals who genuinely thought Garden Warfare was WindyPeak's crown jewel were glued to the sales data more obsessively than Zoey Parker herself. They watched Garden Warfare's reviews hold steady at 69% Mixed, with sales sliding from 150,000 copies on day one to 120,000, then 100,000, and down to 80,000 daily.
They were over the moon, grinning ear to ear, practically throwing parties.
Some, like Komina, had a grudge against WindyPeak. Others just wanted to see the upstart studio eat dirt. A rising star's fall is way more entertaining than its shine, after all. When you're on top, plenty of folks are waiting for you to crash, feeding that dark corner of human nature that loves a good wreck.
Then there were the pure chaos fans, led by IndieVibe. These folks knew WindyPeak's real plan and that Gus was cooking up a groundbreaking blockbuster. They were few—only a handful knew about WindyPeak's ambush strategy—but their glee was unmatched. Some even egged Komina on, cheering "WindyPeak's done! Gus Harper's finished!" just to stir the pot and watch the fireworks.
Pure, unfiltered fun.
And Zoey Parker? She was the happiest of them all.
Bless you, Komina! she thought. Without their meddling, Garden Warfare would've easily hit a million copies in a week. Now, after their sabotage, that dream was toast.
Today was day seven. According to the latest data, Garden Warfare had sold 650,000 copies by 8 p.m. last night—six days in. With a $5.43 million production cost, they needed $6.8 million to break even, or about 731,000 copies. That left them 81,000 short.
And with sales growth slowing, they weren't hitting 80,000 copies a day anymore.
That meant, as long as nothing else interfered—like a surprise marketing push or Victor Lang pulling a no-fee stunt—Zoey could lock in a loss of about 10,000 copies.
It wasn't a huge number, just a fraction of weekly sales. But with a 15x rebate multiplier? A loss of a few hundred thousand dollars could balloon into millions.
This was a rare golden opportunity, and Zoey wasn't about to let it slip.
"…What's got you grinning over a boiled egg?" Gus Harper's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Zoey blinked, nodding enthusiastically, her face dead serious. "Oh, it's good. Today's egg is next-level. Try it."
She held out the half-eaten tea egg, teasing him.
But Gus, without missing a beat, leaned in and chomped the rest of it.
"Hmm…" He chewed, thoughtful. "Tastes pretty normal to me."
"Uh… I already ate half of it…" Zoey fidgeted, her cheeks flushing slightly, caught off guard and unsure what to say.
"Huh?" Gus, clueless, thought she was still hungry. "Not enough? I'll run downstairs and grab another."
Their eyes locked. Zoey's sparkled like a sly fox, barely holding back a laugh. Then she stood, grabbed his hand, and took a bite of his nearly gone pancake.
"There, I'm full!" she declared, cheeks puffed out.
"That's it?" Gus raised an eyebrow. "One bite did it?"
"Yup!" Zoey nodded, swallowing. "Just needed that one."
Gus shook his head, chuckling at her unpredictable appetite. He finished his pancake, wiped his hands with the wet wipe she handed him, and started cleaning up their breakfast trash.
Then his phone buzzed.
Buzz—buzz—
Gus dried his hands and checked it, letting out a small laugh. It was Victor Lang.
Before Garden Warfare launched, Gus had reached out to Victor to discuss partnering with Nebula Games again to expand Sekiro's market. WindyPeak didn't have an exclusive deal with IndieVibe, so they could've just gone rogue and launched wherever. Talking to IndieVibe was a courtesy, a nod to their good relationship—a discussion, not a request. Heck, it could've just been a heads-up.
But Gus didn't play hardball. Victor knew it, and IndieVibe appreciated the respect.
"…After our execs and board hashed it out," Victor's voice came through the phone, "we're fully on board with your proposal. We'll team up with Nebula Games again and join WindyPeak at the Tokyo International Game Festival."
Nice move! Gus exhaled, relieved.
He'd been worried IndieVibe might balk. If they did, would he force the Nebula partnership? That could've led to IndieVibe pulling WindyPeak's games from their platform, IndieVibe X2—a lose-lose scenario.
Gus didn't want that. The gaming market was just stabilizing, and he was pushing hard to break into global markets. The last thing he needed was trouble at home.
Thankfully, after some hesitation, IndieVibe chose peace, agreeing to team up with Nebula for a second round against Komina.
"On behalf of WindyPeak, I want to thank you and IndieVibe," Gus said sincerely.
"No need for thanks," Victor waved off. "What's Nebula saying?"
"Haven't talked to them yet," Gus laughed. "How could we jump the gun without your green light?"
"Truth is, we've been holding our breath for your reply," he added.
Zoey, listening nearby, rolled her eyes, rubbing her arms. Oh, please, Gus. He was leaning hard into his charm, half-negotiating, half-notifying IndieVibe, making them debate for a week before they grudgingly agreed to work with their rival, Nebula. And now he was playing the humble card, acting all "we wouldn't dare move without you."
Give me a break. Smooth talker, Zoey thought, smirking.
Victor, though, ate it up, laughing heartily. "Come on, Gus! You thought of us first, gave us a heads-up, and waited for our decision. We're the ones who're grateful!"
Oh no. Zoey's ears perked up at "grateful." She snapped her legs off the desk. Don't you dare, Victor!
If he got too grateful, he might mess up her perfectly poised loss. Today was Garden Warfare's seventh day—the final day for rebate settlements. By 8 p.m., she'd secure her millions. She wasn't letting anything ruin it.
"Hey, Victor, it's Zoey," she cut in, grabbing the phone.
"Oh, Zoey's there too!" Victor sounded surprised, recovering quickly. "What's up?"
"No big orders, just listening in since Gus is in my office," Zoey said, forcing a smile. "Look, you know how big Sekiro is. No need for me to spell it out. We've had some wins against Komina, but they're still the big dog. We're up against a giant. So, I'm thinking we focus hard on Sekiro—make a tight, detailed plan for the festival's promo push. That's our real priority."
Her words were measured, logical, and perfectly vague.
Zoey nodded to herself, pleased. She couldn't just threaten, "Hands off my Garden Warfare loss, or else!" So, she nudged Victor to keep his eyes on Sekiro.
Just one more day, don't mess this up!
Victor got serious. "You're right, Zoey. With the festival registration deadline looming, we've got to nail this fight. But…"
He hesitated. "That means we might not have the bandwidth to deal with Garden Warfare's bad reviews."
"No need!" Zoey practically shouted, snatching the phone from Gus. "Let Garden Warfare be. Don't tip our hand. We need Komina thinking we're scrambling, overwhelmed. It'll make Sekiro's reveal hit harder!"
Zoey was sharp—especially when rebates were on the line. Her brain was in overdrive.
Victor gasped. "Brilliant, Zoey!"
They chatted a bit more, then hung up.
Zoey was over the moon. Yes! Takeoff! Everything was falling into place. All she had to do was wait for the bank transfer notification tonight.
"Let's go!" She jumped up, grabbing Gus.
"Go where? For what?" Gus looked confused.
"It's chilly today. We're getting hot pot ingredients—nine-square style!" Zoey said, buzzing with excitement to celebrate.
Gus blinked. "It's 9 a.m. We just ate breakfast…"
"Morning markets have the freshest meat and veggies!" Zoey countered, buttoning up his coat. "Come on, come on!"
She dragged him out of the office, ready to goof off for the day.
Click.
The apartment door shut. Zoey's soft humming echoed in the entryway: "Today's a good day… everything's going my way…"
Gus, changing his shoes behind her, chuckled. "What's with you today? You're practically bouncing off the walls."
Zoey was acting weird. Sure, she was usually carefree—always giggling or grinning—but today was next-level. From skipping through the market picking out ingredients to chattering nonstop on the way home, she was pure energy.
Like she'd chugged a gallon of caffeine.
"Hot pot night! Can't I be excited?" Zoey slipped into slippers, hung her coat, and shook her head as she headed to her room to change into pajamas.
Gus washed his hands, sorting the ingredients for prep. As he started rinsing duck intestines, Zoey's voice piped up from behind.
"Hey, Gus!"
"Hm?" He turned, mid-rinse.
Zoey was cross-legged on the couch, waving him over. "Come here, I've got a surprise."
"What kind?" Gus wiped his hands and sat beside her, curious.
"Close your eyes," she said, flashing a mischievous grin. "Close 'em!"
"What's this about?" Gus raised an eyebrow but complied, shutting his eyes. "All mysterious."
But the next second, his voice caught in his throat.
He felt Zoey lift his sweater.
Gus tensed, abs tightening, thinking, She's getting bold lately. If she keeps this up, one day I might—
"Whoa!" His eyes flew open as a chilling sensation shot from his waist to his skull. Zoey had slipped her ice-cold feet under his sweater!
"Gotcha!" Her triumphant giggle mixed with his indignant shout in the living room.
"Zoey Parker, this is your surprise? Using me as a foot warmer?"
"Nice abs, buddy! This sweater's pretty toasty," she teased.
"That's me keeping warm, not the sweater! Get those feet out!"
"Just a sec, come on, please…" she whined.
"They're freezing! You're gonna give me a stomachache!"
"We've got health insurance…"
"Oh, come on!"