The first week of April ended.
The second week began.
At this point, the three major TV networks all started exerting their full strength.
Although 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was not a self-produced drama of Zhongxia TV, Zhongxia TV and Su Yan were now firmly on the same side.
The fact that 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' ranked first in ratings for Episode 1 instantly unified the previously divided opinions within Zhongxia TV's production department.
The station's promotional resources were limited.
If they were poured into 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', then Zhongxia's own in-house dramas would inevitably receive less.
Naturally, some internal factions and producers were unhappy.
[It's not even our own drama. Just give it the support we agreed on at the start. There's no way we should dump all our resources into it, right?]
But once the senior executives realized that 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' had a very real chance of taking the seasonal crown—and that this possibility was already evident from Episode 1—there was nothing left to debate.
Seasonal champion.
Annual champion.
These honors mattered more than anything else, as they directly affected advertising revenue.
Because of this, Su Yan spent his days filming 'The Garden of Words', and his nights cooperating with Zhongxia TV to shoot promotional ads for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'. Several promotional variety shows were already being planned for the coming weeks.
Zhongxia TV was this proactive, so naturally, Su Yan didn't refuse. He fully cooperated with every arrangement, which significantly changed Zhongxia TV staff's impression of him.
They had thought that someone who dared to openly clash with Akasaka Yoshitoki must be difficult to work with—a wild genius.
But instead, Su Yan was calm, punctual, never put on airs, never acted like a diva.
How incompetent did Akasaka Yoshitoki have to be to drive such a good-tempered genius into leaving Sakura TV and striking out on his own?
On the other side, with 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' achieving such strong premiere ratings, advertising placement contracts from companies across Xia Nation also began flooding in.
For a show like 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', ad placement was effortless.
Other dramas had to carefully consider how to integrate ads naturally without harming immersion.
But 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was filled with neon signs and holographic projections—placing ads on background displays felt completely natural.
And the ad categories weren't restrictive at all.
Su Yan couldn't touch the TV station's advertising revenue, but product placement inside the drama itself was beyond Zhongxia TV's control.
Meanwhile, the market was flooded daily with reviews and opinion pieces from critics and media outlets about the three S-tier dramas.
Amid this atmosphere, the second weekend of the spring season arrived.
'The Black Gate' aired its second episode.
Once the story entered its main arc, Episode 2's reception was even better than Episode 1.
The next day at noon, the ratings were released.
5.13%.
Saturday night, 'South Dreams' aired its second episode.
Its ratings were announced the following noon as well.
Slightly higher than 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' Episode 1—
5.10%.
Once the second episode results of these two dramas came out, the pressure returned to 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'.
Even industry insiders and media across Xia Nation could feel the tension shifting.
Normally, a single season might see a duel between two major hits.
But a three-way standoff like this—with ratings still so close even in the second week, and all three having a real chance to take the seasonal crown—was something rarely seen in years.
Fans had already started arguing intensely.
[What will 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' Episode 2 ratings look like tonight?]
[Higher? Or about the same?]
[Who knows? It depends entirely on tonight's plot!]
[Episode 1 was basically just introducing the cyberpunk worldview. Episode 2 should finally enter the main storyline.]
[What is the main storyline anyway? We only know Arasaka Corporation rules Night City—are they going to fight it?]
[No idea. With this kind of genre, how can you guess before the creator reveals it?]
[But one thing's certain—the romance element will be huge. The trailer focused most on Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan as the leads!]
[Don't lose! I've been a fan of Teacher Su Yan for over a year. If 'Edgerunners' wins the seasonal crown this time, his industry status will be unquestionable!]
[Exactly. Taking the crown as an S-tier drama while competing against S-tier shows from both Hudu TV and Sakura TV—that's massive prestige.]
[If it wins the seasonal crown, it'll basically lock in the annual crown. There's no way Sakura and Hudu can suddenly push out multiple S-tier dramas in the second half like last year, right?]
[A-tier dramas maybe, but S-tier? Impossible. This season's three S-tier premieres already heated the market—if they air solo later, ratings probably won't be as high.]
[Right. High ratings only happen under intense competition.]
[Edgerunners, tonight you'd better hold onto that first-place spot!]
Su Yan's fanbase was the most contradictory group in Xia Nation's drama circles.
When it came to criticizing Su Yan, they were the harshest.
But once his work showed a real chance of success, their unity and cohesion were unmatched.
Mocking Su Yan as a person and believing in his creative ability were not contradictory at all.
As 8 p.m. approached, Zhongxia TV's ratings surged sharply.
Countless fans turned on their TVs right on time, waiting for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' Episode 2.
Bian Xi, though working slightly late tonight, rushed home, eating the dinner she'd grabbed on the way, eagerly anticipating the episode.
She unlocked her phone.
Her wallpaper was still a scene from 'Rurouni Kenshin'—Kenshin accidentally injuring Tomoe during a sword swing.
She had used this wallpaper for over a year without changing it.
She had also been a fan of Su Yan for over a year.
She had never once cursed him online.
She was a diehard Su Yan fan—and the ultimate Su Yan × Gu Qingyuan CP fan.
"Gu Qingyuan, you have to appear in Episode 2 tonight. Let me see how you debut in this drama."
That night, across provinces and cities in Xia Nation, old fans, haters, and ironic fans alike gathered in front of their televisions.
They watched as a genius screenwriter, who had debuted less than two years ago, bared his fangs at television giants who had dominated the industry for over a decade—
And was still leading under this level of market competition.
At exactly 8:00 p.m., the theme song of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' slowly began to play.
The rhythmic music filled the room.
Bian Xi subconsciously nodded along. She actually found the cyberpunk aesthetic incredibly cool.
Episode 2 opened with the scene viewers had waited a full week for—
David's surgery.
No anesthesia.
The new cyberware was implanted directly into his spine.
Blood everywhere. Enhanced by mechanical effects, the scene made Bian Xi squint and avert her gaze.
David implanted the military-grade cyberware left behind by his mother. Without even bandaging the wound, he pulled on his bright yellow jacket and walked out of the ripperdoc clinic with unwavering eyes.
Step by step.
Toward the school.
The background music turned fiery, explosive.
At that moment, Bian Xi was completely absorbed.
David was going to settle accounts with that rich classmate.
He didn't care about being beaten.
He didn't care about the mockery.
But calling to sneer at his mother's death—right after she died—
That crossed the line.
As expected, with the music and plot pushing forward, when the audience's emotions peaked—
David arrived at Arasaka Academy and found that beast.
Here, Bian Xi saw everything she wanted.
David, played by Su Yan, didn't use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.
Instead, with speed too fast to react to, fluid movements like art, and enhanced effects—
He delivered a cyberpunk-style fight scene.
So cool.
Bian Xi's eyes widened.
For a moment, David's silhouette overlapped with Himura Kenshin.
Different characters—
But those movements…
They were unmistakable.
"Ha…"
As a diehard 'Rurouni Kenshin' fan, Bian Xi was thrilled beyond words.
Then, the main plot emerged.
The video of David beating up a classmate was delivered to the boy's father, a high-ranking executive at Arasaka Academy.
As an elite of Night City, he didn't care about his son being beaten.
But he recognized the cyberware David used—
And more importantly, that David showed no adverse reactions when using Sandevistan.
This was the same cyberware used by the cyberpsycho in Episode 1—the one David's mother had removed from the corpse.
From here, David's extraordinary resistance to cyberware side effects was revealed.
Military users couldn't handle it and went insane.
But David—
He used Sandevistan repeatedly, like it was nothing.
The executive immediately realized David's value and planned to buy him off with money, asking him to cooperate in cyberware development.
The following scenes showed Arasaka's attempt to recruit David—his refusal—
And then—
David's encounter with Lucy on the subway.
Lucy was a chip thief, using lightning-fast hands to steal neck implants.
But the instant she tried to target David, he grabbed her wrist.
Bian Xi's breath caught.
Silver-haired, mature Gu Qingyuan.
David, fresh from beating the man who insulted his mother.
Their eyes met.
Not hostility—conversation.
After exchanging information, Lucy learned David had dropped out and desperately needed money.
She proposed that David use Sandevistan's speed to help her steal on the subway.
Bian Xi froze.
Huh?
Tomoe Yukishiro and Himura Kenshin stealing on a modern train?
"This show's values are bold," she muttered, taking a deep breath.
But then again, no true good people had appeared in Night City so far.
Their choices felt… understandable.
Using cyberware required suppressants to counter side effects.
Lucy even paid out of her own pocket to buy them for David, helping mitigate the damage from his repeated overuse of Sandevistan.
At night—
Lucy brought David to her apartment.
Clean. Tidy.
His first cigarette was one she handed him.
His first drink was poured by her.
They even shared the same favorite movies.
Then Episode 2 revealed its core theme.
David noticed a poster in Lucy's room—
A poster advertising "Going to the Moon."
In this world, traveling to the moon was real.
The cyberpunk world had already begun lunar development.
As long as you had money, you could go.
Bian Xi's expression tightened.
She didn't fully understand the meaning yet—
But instinctively, she felt that this meeting, this talk about the moon—
It was a massive piece of foreshadowing.
"To develop the moon, who knows how many people were sacrificed? The moon just looks bright on the outside—in reality, it's more like a sunless hell." David said gravely.
"You seem to know a lot." Lucy replied coldly.