Depressive Screenwriter

David, played by Su Yan, is completely different from his previous roles.

Having experienced and learned from several works, Su Yan's acting skills have also improved significantly.

He doesn't give viewers like Yue Kaicheng the feeling of seeing Kousei Arima, Kenshin Himura, or Shen Buyan again. Although it's still the same person, a change in performance style alters the audience's viewing experience.

A high school teenager in Night City.

From a single-parent family, financially struggling, with the electricity even cut off at home because his mother spent all her salary.

Yue Kaicheng's eyes twitched when he saw this.

Electricity cut off?

This is such a niche term.

The technological level of Xia Country is far from as advanced as in the drama, but it shouldn't be at the point of immediately cutting off electricity for non-payment, right?

The evil capitalists, don't they even allow a day's grace?

Moreover, because there's no original game to help viewers understand the world, Su Yan's version of David in 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' adds some relevant content.

The school David attends requires him to upgrade the software of his implanted chip, which costs a considerable sum.

But David doesn't want to burden his mother any further. His mother promises to help him raise the money, but he goes to the black market to find a ripperdoc, planning to upgrade the chip software to a pirated version.

Yue Kaicheng paid close attention while watching these scenes.

Having never been exposed to the cyberpunk genre, he was extremely curious about this kind of world.

The glamorous employees in high-rise buildings, the bottom-level beggars and vagrants in the back alleys, living in a drunken stupor with glazed expressions after taking drugs.

On clean and high-tech streets, you can often see people fighting or even drawing guns over a disagreement.

On the way to school, when David passed by a certain street, he saw the beautiful and graceful figure of a silver-haired girl on the second floor, with her back to him.

His expression was like love at first sight.

Although the girl's face wasn't shown, Yue Kaicheng immediately became excited.

"Gu Qingyuan? Absolutely, that must be Lucy, the female lead played by Gu Qingyuan!"

Having learned about the cast and crew information in advance on the official website, Yue Kaicheng's attention was now focused.

After spending several minutes allowing the audience to understand the scenery of Night City through David's perspective.

David arrived at school.

He looked like he didn't want to go in, but eventually had no choice but to enter the classroom.

There were rich second-generation classmates in the class who looked down on poor students like him.

Classes were even conducted by connecting everyone's consciousness through technology, simulating learning in a virtual space.

Then,

the turning point of the plot arrived.

Because the learning software wasn't paid for and was a pirated version, it eventually led to a virus invading the classroom system, forcing everyone to be unable to attend class and also burning down the school's expensive equipment.

David was forced to have his parents called, and then the already financially strained family became even more difficult.

Yue Kaicheng already felt oppressed when he saw this.

Isn't this drama supposed to be a爽剧 (shuǎng jù - satisfying/exhilarating drama)?

"I'm sorry," David said to his mother with a guilty expression.

"I told you to upgrade to the legitimate software. Because you wanted to save money, we now have to pay ten times the amount," his mother said angrily.

"Our family has money, it's just not the time to get paid yet, so"

"That, Mom, I'm considering something. I can drop out of school and find a job or something!" David said.

His mother, who was driving, fell silent, and David couldn't say the following words.

"Then what have I been working so hard for?"

David's mother said with a trembling voice, and the tears in the corners of her eyes made Yue Kaicheng's heart tremble.

"You're so smart and talented, so I work hard to earn money for you to study at Arasaka Academy. I hope you study hard and one day climb to the top of Arasaka Tower!"

The top of Arasaka Tower refers to the pinnacle of Night City, where the high-level executives of the city's ruler, the Arasaka Corporation, are located.

Here, Yue Kaicheng didn't realize yet what kind of foreshadowing his mother's wish to climb Arasaka Tower was!

The conversation between David and his mother in the car on the city road made Yue Kaicheng very uncomfortable.

There wasn't any pretentious or artificial plot, and both actors' performances were very natural.

David knew that his mother's salary couldn't support his studies, but his mother always forced herself to work hard.

Even if they couldn't afford the electricity bill, she still felt that her son had the talent.

It's just that she couldn't earn enough money to let her son study in peace.

The biggest characteristic of cyberpunk-themed works is that accidents happen at any time.

David and his mother were still worried about how to compensate the school for the damage to the equipment caused by the virus invasion.

On the street.

Two completely insane gang members, also known as "cyberpunk" people, one on the left and one on the right, drew guns and started shooting at each other across the car driven by David's mother.

Rockets, submachine guns, pistols, Molotov cocktails, and explosives were all used.

The scene was picturesque.

Yue Kaicheng's mouth widened.

Growing up in a country ruled by law like Xia Country, it was really hard for him to imagine why such an advanced city would have such gang fights in the street?

Are the police in this city so useless?

So this is the cyberpunk world.

The plot of the first episode, starting from here, is a huge turning point.

David and his mother's car overturned due to the shootout between the two gangs, David only suffered some minor injuries.

But his mother was seriously injured and on the verge of death.

At this time, the city's trauma team rushed over.

The so-called trauma team refers to doctors.

However, in Night City, doctors are a service industry, and since it's a service industry, you have to pay to get things done.

If you don't spend money in advance to buy a medical package

you just die!

The trauma team used a computer to scan David's mother's face.

"She's not a client! Ignore her, the municipal corpse transport vehicle will come later."

A cold sentence sentenced David's mother's fate.

Although they could save David's mother, the poor just die, there is no value in saving them.

David struggled out of the overturned car and used his injured body to desperately carry his mother to a black market hospital.

He couldn't afford the medical expenses of a regular hospital, so he could only come to a black market hospital to try his luck.

Yue Kaicheng already felt a little cold when he saw this.

What kind of world is this?

Do people in this world have no sympathy at all?

Do doctors face patients they can save, but just watch them die because they didn't order a medical package in advance?

In the original animation, the doctor in the hospital where David sent his mother for treatment was actually wearing the uniform of a black gang organization that specializes in harvesting organs in the game.

It wasn't explicitly stated in the animation, but game players probably understood.

In the Xia Country drama version, Su Yan didn't hide this information.

All the viewers who watched along the way knew.

This black market doctor pretended to be treating David's mother.

In fact, he was taking out David's mother's heart and lungs.

Then he also issued a notice to David outside the operating room to raise money.

Deceiving David that his mother's injury could be cured, but he had to raise money as soon as possible.

Yue Kaicheng clenched his fists.

His eyes were bloodshot when he saw this.

What kind of world is this?

Are people in this city all like this?

Destroy it!

This kind of city!

This kind of world!

Seeing this, Yue Kaicheng finally understood why cyberpunk world works are niche.

People who can accept this kind of worldview really need to have strong psychological resilience!

David went home as quickly as possible, preparing to see if he could find any money at home to save his mother's life.

But the house was in arrears, owed rent, had the electricity cut off, and even didn't have the authority to enter the electronic door.

Yue Kaicheng took a deep breath.

If he were David, he would probably be driven crazy by this world.

The male lead hasn't become hysterical yet, he's already considered emotionally stable.

David illegally and violently broke into his own home.

In his mother's room, he found a cyberware.

A cyberware that his mother secretly took and hid from a dead cyberpsycho using her job authority, the cyberware left behind after that person died.

So this is why David's mother could afford to send him to a prestigious school?

Yue Kaicheng immediately understood what David's mother meant by raising money in the previous plot.

The plot continued to advance, David took this cyberware and looked for people everywhere in the city to sell it to raise money for surgery.

But because it was military cyberware, no one dared to accept it, or the price given was too low.

In this process, he met a classmate, the rich second-generation son of the school's director.

Because David's pirated software destroyed the classroom, and because he looked down on poor people like David.

They came to his door, used the kung fu chip they bought and implanted in their necks to beat David up, and also insulted David's mother, saying that she must be a prostitute to be able to afford to send him to Arasaka Academy. Afterwards, they also threatened him to drop out of school, so as not to lower the level of Arasaka Academy students and make the school lose face. Otherwise, they would keep beating him up in the future.

Yue Kaicheng already felt a little stomach ache when he saw this.

Can this male lead be any more miserable?

Even if he was unwilling and wanted to beat up the person who insulted his mother.

But they could use money to buy the kung fu martial arts chip implantation, even if it was fighting, he couldn't beat the other party.

Kung fu can be bought with money.

Artistic skills.

Talent, can it also be bought with money?

As long as you implant the relevant chip, everyone is a genius?

Yue Kaicheng generally understood this point.

In the plot, the most miserable part is still behind.

David, who had experienced everything, came to the black market hospital where his mother was being treated.

But he found that his mother was already dead.

His mother, who was still worrying about money with him in the morning, was now just less than three pounds of ashes in a jar.

What can David do?

He can't do anything.

He didn't raise the money, and his mother died.

David walked blankly on the street, his back matching the bgm music, piercing the hearts of countless Xia Country viewers.

On the way home holding his mother's ashes.

His mother's phone kept sending various text messages reminding him to pay the bills.

These contents and shots are full of irony!

Night City at night is brightly lit.

The people in the bar are indulging in pleasure and extravagance.

Various high-tech products benefit the rich.

And just today, a teenager damaged the school's equipment just because he wanted to save money, and then his mother was inexplicably affected by a gang fight in the car.

This teenager initially just wanted to reduce his mother's burden.

Now, his mother is just ashes in an urn.

Yue Kaicheng looked at the boy's lonely back walking on the street.

He couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

Identifying with David, he now had only one thought in his mind.

This world, destroy it!

At this time.

The rich second-generation classmate who beat David up during the day even called to mock him.

"Your mother died meaninglessly!"

David's blank expression changed.

He grabbed the military cyberware left by his mother.

Since it can't be sold, then it won't be sold.

He found the black market ripperdoc, pointed at it, and his tone became firm and heavy.

"Implant it into my body!"

An exciting and rhythmic music sounded.

The ending song of the first episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners sounded.

Yue Kaicheng and all the viewers in front of the TV at this moment had their inner anger provoked.

Yes, that's right.

How can his mother's revenge be forgotten like this?

That black-hearted hospital must be taken down.

And that rich second-generation classmate, someone just lost their mother, and you call to mock them like this?

Yue Kaicheng is usually a more refined person, but at this moment, after identifying with David in the drama, he had no other thoughts.

This world has no reason.

Since the world is crazy.

Then the protagonist will also go crazy.

The plot of the first episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is mainly about laying foreshadowing and shaping the protagonist.

Even the female lead Lucy didn't fully show up.

Its first episode is very frustrating and depressing to watch.

If there wasn't the turning point at the end when David chose to implant the military cyberware into his body at the ripperdoc's, then the first episode would be purely an extremely abusive protagonist.

And now, the vast majority of viewers who have watched the first episode of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners have a kind of expectation in their hearts at this moment.

They want to see the scene of the male lead going completely crazy in the second episode.