At that moment, the captured Lucy placed a call.
"David, hurry and install the Cyber-Skeleton. If you want to survive…"
Jiang Jiayi's expression changed instantly.
How could Lucy possibly say something like that?
She clearly knew David was already teetering on the edge of cyberpsychosis.
If he installed the Cyber-Skeleton, wouldn't he go insane immediately?
Sure enough, the camera cut away and revealed the truth—
It was a fake voice message, sent by the fixer Faraday using Lucy's implanted chip.
The plot continued to push forward.
Using the last of her strength, Lucy broke free from Faraday's control long enough to warn David of the conspiracy. Shortly after, David and Faraday connected via video.
Seeing Lucy restrained in the enemy's hands—
David's fury erupted, and the symptoms of cyberpsychosis began to surface again.
The rage burning in David's mind resonated perfectly with the rage of the viewers sitting in front of their televisions across Xia Nation.
"I'm going to kill him!"
At the critical moment, it was Rebecca who injected David with immunosuppressants, forcibly stopping his emotional collapse.
At the same time, Kiwi's betrayal completely sealed off the team's retreat.
David took a deep breath and ignored Rebecca's desperate attempts to stop him.
He initiated the loading sequence.
A loading scene so cool it sent chills down Jiang Jiayi's spine unfolded on screen—
David, like a man donning a compact mech, stepped out of the transport vehicle.
And then—
Came the climax of the episode.
David, alone, wielding the combined power of the Sandevistan and the Cyber-Skeleton, massacred hundreds of armored vehicles, reducing the wasteland to ruins.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth. He was already on the brink of total cyberpsychosis.
But—
He still had his sanity.
Lucy hadn't been rescued yet.
He injected himself with another dose of immunosuppressants.
A wave of sorrow surged through Jiang Jiayi's chest.
David had truly put on this weapon for his friends—for Lucy.
Could he still survive after this?
Even if he managed to save Lucy, wouldn't he end up just like Maine, dying the same way?
The cyberpunks of Night City were like fireworks—
Burning their entire lives at their brightest moment, then vanishing into nothingness.
Maine was like that.
And David was no different.
In Su Yan's previous works, it was always the female lead who died.
But this time—
It was the character played by Su Yan himself, standing on the edge of death.
And the sense of despair was even stronger than before.
"We're going to settle this with Faraday. I'm going to save Lucy."
Under the setting sun, David, clad in the massive, domineering Cyber-Skeleton, spoke to the only two remaining teammates—Rebecca and the driver.
Bodies lay scattered all around them.
On David's face was an expression of absolute resolve.
This scene, portrayed by Su Yan, carved itself deeply into the hearts of every viewer that night.
Tragic.
Hot-blooded.
And tear-inducing.
This was David.
This was cyberpunk.
He could die—but he would never die the way Faraday or Arasaka wanted.
Even in death, he would die on the road of rebellion.
If they forced him to wear the Cyber-Skeleton, then he would use it to turn Night City upside down.
When the ending theme began to play, Jiang Jiayi remained frozen for several minutes.
Her body and mind were still trapped inside the story of Episode 9.
Then—
She opened Xia Nation's streaming platform and clicked into Su Yan's creator account comment section.
At that moment, the fans had already exploded.
["This episode—I'm blowing it up!"]
["First time I've cried watching a show and still felt this fired up!"]
["David is a real man!"]
["This is David's choice!"]
["I'm destroyed… Lucy used everything she had to tell David the truth and told him to run. But the moment David learned she was captured, he chose to risk his life and put on the Cyber-Skeleton to save her. This is real love!"]
["There isn't a single good person in Night City—but there are cyberpunks who would throw away their lives for someone else!"]
["I declare this episode officially god-tier!"]
["It's too hopeless… Can David really beat Arasaka?"]
["Whether he can or not doesn't matter anymore. David has to fight. Lucy is everything to him."]
["This is cyberpunk."]
["Lucy got captured trying to hide David's identity. David put on the Cyber-Skeleton to save her. If they'd never become cyberpunks, maybe things would've been better…"]
["But if they weren't cyberpunks, they'd never have been together."]
["Guys, do you think Episode 10 will have a miracle? I don't want David to die!"]
["Su Yan always kills the female lead—why is he killing the male lead this time?! Why?!"]
["He's not dead yet… Trust the old thief. This is a character he plays himself—he won't let David die."]
["Damn it, this cliffhanger is actually painful!"]
["This episode deserves infinite praise. Infinite praise for Su Yan. God-tier plot, god-tier effects. If Episode 10 keeps this quality, the ratings are definitely going even higher!"]
After Episode 9 aired, the reputation of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' completely exploded compared to the first eight episodes.
The show was about to end, and yet it still dared to go this hard?
All the elements planted earlier—Militech, Arasaka, cyberpsychosis—fully erupted in Episode 9.
David's final battle, his tragic destiny, was pushed to their absolute peak.
Compared to this—
What even were the Episode 9 plots of 'The Black Gate' and 'South Dreams'?
Early the next morning, Su Yan woke up.
He opened the backend of his Xia Nation account and casually skimmed through tens of thousands of private messages.
"Huh… seems like there aren't that many people cursing me this time," Su Yan said with a faint smile.
After all, it was his own character who was getting stabbed by fate this time.
Cursing Su Yan now felt the same as cursing David.
When Su Yan arrived at the company, most of the staff were visibly distracted.
Ever since 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' began dominating the ratings, everyone entered this state every Monday.
All eyes were fixed on the show's numbers.
Even Shinozaki Ikumi's heart rate was noticeably faster today.
Last week, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' reached 5.52%, tying the all-time single-episode peak of the S-tier drama 'Blazing Dawn' from five years ago.
If today's rating surpassed that—
There would be nothing left to say.
Just like Su Yan's previous world, TV ratings in Xia Nation had been declining year by year.
With streaming platforms rising, many viewers abandoned traditional TV viewing altogether.
In that environment, for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' to surpass 'Blazing Dawn''s record—
The value of that achievement was off the charts.
"Who would've thought that two years ago, I was still worried about getting fired by Sakura TV," Shinozaki Ikumi said softly when she saw Su Yan enter the office.
"And now I'm studying how your drama is about to break records."
"It's only a five-year record," Su Yan replied.
"That's already insane," Shinozaki Ikumi said.
"Look at the other two S-tier dramas this season—'The Black Gate' and 'South Dreams'. On the surface, they're close, but close isn't enough. If surpassing 5.52% were easy, that record wouldn't have stood for five years."
"I'm already looking forward to this afternoon's media coverage," she laughed.
"All those critics who trashed 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' earlier—I'm dragging every single one of them out."
"I'm more curious about the look on Akasaka Yoshitoki's face," Su Yan said calmly.
Both of them understood—
Judging by the word of mouth and hype from last night's Episode 9, the ratings had to rise.
The only question was by how much.
The entire Xia Nation TV industry waited for Zhongxia TV to release the numbers.
Some media outlets had already written their articles in advance—waiting to hit publish the moment the rating exceeded 5.52%.
Finally, noon arrived.
Su Yan received a call directly from Zhongxia TV.
This time, the attitude was extremely serious.
It was the Head of the Production Department herself calling.
"Hello, is this Su Yan? I'm Yu Miaoling, Head of Production at Zhongxia TV."
"Yes," Su Yan replied, straightening his posture.
He had never met her, but he certainly knew her name.
Shinozaki Ikumi watched nervously from the side as the call continued.
The conversation lasted nearly eight minutes before ending.
Yu Miaoling asked in detail about many aspects of Su Yan's work, sincerely expressing Zhongxia TV's goodwill and hinting at future cooperation.
"So?" Shinozaki Ikumi asked immediately.
"No problems, right? The rating went over, didn't it?"
"Of course," Su Yan smiled.
"If it weren't good news, Yu Miaoling wouldn't have personally called me."
"5.59%."
"Episode 9 of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' hit 5.59%."
The tension drained from Shinozaki Ikumi's face, replaced by an uncontrollable surge of excitement.
She told herself to stay calm—
But how could she?
If Su Yan weren't standing there, she'd already be doing military-style punches in celebration.
"It's on top—and the record is broken!"
"Yes," Su Yan smiled.
"The five-year record is officially broken."
"Overall, every goal we set for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' has already been achieved after Episode 9."
"Now we just wait and see how far Episode 10 can push that record."
The true soul of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' lies in Episode 10.
It's the most iconic imagery.
It's the most emotionally devastating scene.
Episode 10 elevated the entire story to its final thematic peak.
Shinozaki Ikumi knew that too.
Which meant—
The show wasn't done climbing yet.
Just thinking about it made her feel dizzy.
That afternoon, the 5.59% rating spread like wildfire across the Xia Nation TV industry and the internet.
Fans and media erupted in celebration.
It was settled.
Completely settled.
Su Yan, you really did manage to pull off that half-time champagne flex.