Before long, reader attention began shifting toward the promotional material attached to the Edgerunners finale.
The greenlight for the anime adaptation wasn't too surprising.
With the boiling hype surrounding Edgerunners, an anime was a guarantee, regardless of whether it secured top marks in the New Creator Competition.
But the derivative game production... that was bound to capture immense curiosity.
An Edgerunners game? Carrying the prefix Cyberpunk 2077?
And it claimed to be... The Federation's first AAA masterpiece?
Since when did the Federation house a game studio capable of pulling that off?
Could this just be a marketing gimmick?
Once the emotional shockwave of the final chapter began to recede, increasingly more readers directed their focus toward this Cyberpunk 2077 game.
Shuu Fumiya also spent several days stabilizing his mind, barely recovering from the heavy aftermath of the ending.
Only then did he finally notice the game announcement.
"The Federation's first AAA masterpiece, with a 1:1 recreation of Night City scenes and combat?"
Filled with curiosity, Shuu Fumiya clicked the attached link, which redirected him to the official website of LightSpeed Interactive.
It featured a full gameplay demonstration.
The comment section below already housed several hundred reviews.
Shuu Fumiya hit play. The demonstration ran for nearly a full hour.
Starting from character creation,selecting gender, tweaking facial features, and setting background lifepaths,to the combat sequences during story guidance, the video flawlessly showcased an incredibly high level of completion.
Just watching the combat and narrative cutscenes triggered a rush of pure satisfaction from his core.
At least... that was the impression the video delivered.
And after moving past the prologue scenes, the final ten minutes of the demonstration revealed something else...
Adam Smasher, the culprit behind the deaths of David and Rebecca, and Arasaka Tower!
The trailer detailed branching storyline endings containing routes where players could beat down Adam Smasher and incinerate Arasaka Tower to the ground!
This made Shuu Fumiya's eyes light up with sudden fire.
He ground his teeth in pure anticipation.
"Adam Smasher... you deserve to burn in hell! When is this game dropping? I don't care about anything else; just for the chance to beat that bastard into the pavement, I am buying this game!"
And he wasn't alone.
In the comment section below, fans eager to claim vengeance for David and Rebecca on the game board were everywhere:
{ "Impatient, impatient! When does the game launch? Adam Smasher must die!" }
{ "Not just Adam Smasher. Don't forget the source of all evil: Arasaka Corporation. Adam Smasher is just their muscle. I'm burning that tower down myself!" }
{ "Leaving this quote here: I am buying this game the moment it drops, solely to avenge David and Rebecca." }
{ "To tell the truth, if the actual gameplay matches this demonstration, putting aside Edgerunners' influence, this game is a masterpiece." }
{ "Did I wake up on the wrong side of the bed...? Since when did the Federation produce a game studio capable of making a AAA title?" }
{ "Lightspeed Interactive? I looked them up. They used to make puzzle titles, gacha, and 2D stuff... They have one 3D action title, but how did they suddenly jump to building a AAA masterpiece?" }
{ "Regardless, the Federation finally has its own first AAA title, and the replayability looks insanely high." }
{ "The setting in Edgerunners translates perfectly into gameplay mechanics. Branching cybermod paths let you build completely distinct playstyles." }
{ "I can't wait to play a Netrunner build like Kiwi or Lucy. Paralyzing an enemy's nervous system in a single click sounds insanely cool~~~" }
{ "I just want to know what specs I need to run this on, and the price tag. I need to get my setup ready." }
{ "I don't need any other reason. I'm buying this strictly to beat up Adam Smasher." }
---
The comment section sat packed with both original manga fans and pure gamer crowds.
The majority of reader engagement leaned heavily into massive interest for Cyberpunk 2077.
With Edgerunners setting up a boiling background, combined with the "Federation's first AAA title" title, Cyberpunk 2077 secured a wave of hype and anticipation that easily rivaled equivalent benchmarks.
Several fans went as far as locating support desks in Lightspeed's other games, or dialing customer lines directly, demanding to know when Cyberpunk 2077 would go live.
This placed a heavy strain on the customer service team, forcing them to cry to Ryo Shien for support.
Ryo Shien looked up schedule metrics, questioning lead dev Keisuke Watanabe on exactly how much timeframe remained for final testing and optimization.
Keisuke ran quick estimation, pinning the target at roughly six months to a year.
Only after Lightspeed issued an official timetable announcement did the fan storm finally stabilize.
And following this minor wave, the Edgerunners hurricane birthed in the Federation quietly began sweeping across the Western hemisphere.
---
California, USA.
James placed down the American edition of the Manga World magazine, slowly standing up to fetch a glass of water downstairs.
He returned to the sofa, drinking silently, gulping one mouthful after another.
His hand holding the glass was shaking slightly.
Kiwi is dead, Rebecca is dead, and David is dead.
Before that monster named Adam Smasher, they were slaughtered without even a sliver of strength to fight back.
Only Lucy was alive... okay, and the driver Falco.
But what was the point?
A Lucy stripped of her lover and crew was likely no different from a walking corpse with zero soul inside.
Just like that final trip to the Moon.
She walked across the desolate lunar surface, her heart already as empty and barren as the grey dust beneath her boots.
Perhaps her only anchor holding her to this world was the promise she shared with David.
David wanted her to live.
He wanted her to go to the Moon and live her dream.
And that was because David told her... that was his dream now.
So... a Lucy who had long since lost the desire to see the Moon was still carrying David's dream on her shoulders when she finally stepped onto its face.
David spent his life living for the dreams of others, and in the end, Lucy lived for David's.
Just visualizing it brought a sharp, suffocating ache into his chest...
"This is all Adam... no, this is all Arasaka's fault! It's that Cyberpunk world's fault!"
James ground his teeth in anger.
"A cruel world like that shouldn't exist."
"Where are human rights? Where is freedom? Where is democracy?"
"Wait... damn it, is America heading toward a similar future right now!?"
"How can our future be this dark?!"
He had to ensure such a future, where elites and corporate capital dominated everything, never descended onto himself or his children!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]