"Aoyama-sensei..."
Aoyama turned to see Watanabe Keisuke. "Something wrong?"
He'd just come from the Manjie office and had stopped by LightSpeed to "clock in." Cyberpunk 2077 was deep in development. The engine was stable, the assets were being built, and the city was starting to take shape.
Because Aoyama had provided the entire plot, mission structure, and dialogue from day one, they were moving at a pace that would have made a traditional studio scream. They didn't need a decade of R&D. They just needed manpower.
He only stepped in for the hard stuff (the game-breaking bugs or the moments where the physics engine gave up).
"We have a problem," Watanabe Keisuke said, his face pale. "A bug in the prologue we just can't kill."
"Show me."
They walked into the dev department. The room was tense.
"Sensei!"
"Aoyama-sensei is here!"
The team looked at him as if he were a visiting deity.
Watanabe pointing at a monitor. "Look at this. In the scene where Dex shoots V, the optical sensors are supposed to reboot. But the screen just stays black."
The task markers show up, the mini-map works, you can even see the subtitles for the mission, 'Black Dream,' but there's no image.
Aoyama's eyes lit up. He let out a loud laugh. "Don't fix it!"
"W-What?" Watanabe Keisuke stammered. "We can't ship a game with a black screen. The players will riot!"
And look at the mission name, 'Black Dream.' It's perfect!"
Aoyama waved his hand dismissively. "Leave it in. Trust me, the players will call it a stroke of 'artistic genius.' If they complain after launch, we'll patch it. But for now, it's a feature, not a bug."
Watanabe Keisuke hesitated, but Aoyama's confidence was infectious. "Well... alright. If you say so."
"Also, the final chapter of 'Edgerunners' is coming. I want LightSpeed to release a gameplay trailer to coincide with the release. You ready?"
"Absolutely. The prologue is polished. We can pull a three-minute demo that'll melt their brains," Watanabe said with a grin.
---
Meanwhile, at Metropolis Institute of Technology.
A luxury sedan pulled up to the gates, drawing stares from the passing students.
Masao Hayashi stepped out of the car, followed by his assistant and his son, Yusuke Hayashi. He looked up at the campus with a mixture of nostalgia and buried pain.
"Dad, I really think you're overreacting..."
Yusuke Hayashi looked at his father with a mix of fear and exasperation. His father was a man of action, and when he'd heard that "Kento" was alive and living in the city, he hadn't wasted a second.
"Shut up," Masao Hayashi snapped. "He's your cousin. He's my brother's only son. Blood is thicker than water!" His voice softened, just for a moment. "You said on the phone that he doesn't remember anything?"
"Yeah... but Akane says he's happy. She thinks it's better this way. We shouldn't drag him back into the past."
"He's my brother's blood!"
Masao Hayashi's eyes burned with a fierce, protective light. "I don't care if he remembers. I'm his uncle. I have a duty to look after him! I won't let my brother and his wife down again!"
He strode toward the main building. "Now, lead me to this girl. Or you can say goodbye to your allowance for the next year. And don't think your mother will help you. I'm the head of this house!"
Yusuke Hayashi wilted under the pressure. 'Sorry, Big Brother Kento. I tried.'
He led the way.
---
Akane was just leaving her lecture with her three roommates. As they stepped out into the quad, they found their path blocked by Yusuke Hayashi and a middle-aged man who looked remarkably like him.
Yusuke Hayashi looked like he wanted to disappear. "Akane... I'm sorry. My dad demanded to meet you."
"You must be Gu Akane?"
Masao Hayashi looked her over. She was beautiful, and she had a sharp, intelligent look about her. He nodded inwardly. His nephew had good taste. Never mind her background - after everything that had happened, those things were irrelevant. If he was happy, that was all that mattered.
"I'm here about Kento. Can we find a private place to talk?"
Akane bit her lip, her heart racing. She'd known this day would come, but she wasn't ready. Still, seeing the man's face, she saw the same kind of stubborn pride she saw in Aoyama.
"Okay," she said softly.
She turned to her friends. "Hana, Emi, Aki, you guys head back. I have some business with this... gentleman."
They followed him to a high-end restaurant near the campus. Masao Hayashi booked a private room, ensuring they wouldn't be disturbed.
As soon as the door closed, Masao Hayashi did something that shocked Akane to her core.
The powerful, wealthy businessman stood up and bowed deeply, a full ninety-degree bow.
"Gu Akane... I beg you."
"Please. Let me see my nephew."
"Wh-What?! Sir! Please, stand up!" Akane cried, jumping to her feet in a panic.
"Kento is the only thing left of my brother's family," Masao Hayashi said, his voice cracking with emotion. "If something happens to him, I'll never be able to face my brother in the afterlife."
His eyes were red, his dignity cast aside for the sake of his family.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]