They stared at the message.
At midnight, during the Strider battle outside the White Forest base, Leo’s PC stuttered. The audio looped. The screen froze for a solid ten seconds. Half Life 2 Synergy No Steam
Then Sam picked up his rocket launcher. “I hate that it’s creepy,” he said. “But I also love that it’s ours.” They stared at the message
His brother, Sam, sat beside him, rolling a wired mouse across a stained mousepad. “You sure this works?” Sam asked. “We tried last Christmas and the NPCs just T-posed on the bridge.” sat beside him
Leo smiled and grabbed the next rocket. “That’s the point,” he said. “The mod doesn’t need Steam. It just needs a second player who’s in the same room.”
But in Leo’s basement, two monitors glowed.