David's mother sent him to Arasaka Academy, hoping that his future life would have some support. Unlike herself, working two jobs yet still unable to support both herself and her son.
But because they couldn't afford legitimate software, David had to use pirated programs for class, and he was bullied by the rich kids at school. Especially one guy named Katsuo Tanaka, who was particularly nasty.
This Academy was for the children of wealthy families. Someone like David shouldn't even be able to attend. But David's mother took on an illicit job just to pay the tuition.
Today, as usual, David was bullied by Katsuo Tanaka when he went to school.
Then the pirated software malfunctioned. Not only was the school system damaged, but the legitimate software of other students was also affected.
The principal demanded that David be expelled. David's mother earnestly apologized but refused to let him leave, promising to compensate the school and other students for their losses.
On the way home, David told his mother, "I can take a break from school and work to repay the damages. People like us will never be taken seriously no matter how much we study. I don't want to become like those corporate people."
After a brief pause, Julia Roberts, in the role of David's mother, tears flowing at the corners of her eyes, unleashed the full power of an Oscar-winning performance.
She said she worked hard to earn money and sent David to a academy that only the wealthy could afford, because graduating from this academy promised a good future, a chance to climb to the top of the Arasaka Tower.
Academy for the poor only produce cogs for sweatshops, with no path upward.
"David, you must become elite! You must live in a luxurious Westbrook residence, own a mansion in Greenfield, enjoy the best medical care, education, and lifestyle, living above everyone else.
Never, ever give up now!"
Just as the audience was immersed in Julia Roberts' masterful performance, chaos erupted.
A van on the left suddenly charged at a luxury car on the right. David and his mother's car was caught in the middle, becoming the focal point of the attack.
The BGM for this sequence was intense rock music, conveying frenzy and extreme unease.
Due to the heavy fire, David and his mother's car was hit and overturned.
When David woke up from unconsciousness, he saw his mother lying near the fire and called out helplessly.
This scene was heartbreaking for viewers. Immersed in David's perspective, they wished they could call doctors and ambulances immediately. But in Night City, only trauma response aircars arrived.
David thought he would be saved when the trauma team arrived. However, they only scanned David and his mother, and after confirming they weren't members, they left.
They even dropped a cold remark: "Leave them to the city government's corpse transport."
Seeing this, most viewers couldn't help clenching their fists. It reminded them of the real world, where without money for medical care, doctors wouldn't treat you—again, a mirror of reality.
In this cannibalistic Night City, if you don't buy expensive medical insurance, you aren't even worthy of rescue; you just lie dead on the street. And isn't the real world just the same?
Johnny and Paul watched David's desperate, furious cries for his mother, fists clenching tightly.
Zhao Jack and Irene held each other's hands; sensitive Irene had already begun to cry.
The first episode's story ended with David fainting again.
From initial curiosity and novelty to the heavy, oppressive ending, there is no doubt that Edgerunners tightly controls the audience's emotions, making them follow the story's ups and downs.
From the opening fight between Adam Samsher and Morgan Blackhand, to revealing a corner of Night City, to striking scenes reflecting reality, the impact is tremendous.
Finally, David and his mother being abandoned by the trauma team delivered a crushing blow to viewers.
Even though everyone knew the protagonist wouldn't die so easily, they still worried about David and his mother's fate. They were also curious about who launched the attack from the van and who was in the luxury car.
These mysteries drew viewers into discussions online, sparking huge debates after the first episode.
The TV channel didn't make viewers wait long; after various commercials, the second episode began. The rapid pace kept audiences hooked, fully immersed in the story.
At the beginning of episode two, David found himself sitting outside a dilapidated hospital. A doctor informed him that his mother's condition was stable but she hadn't woken yet and needed hospitalization for observation.
"Can I see my mother?" David asked.
"No," said the masked doctor. "The patient's plan is the cheapest Tier C. It does not include visitation."
"F*ck!" shouted Irene in front of the TV, furious. "What kind of medical plan charges extra just to visit a patient?"
Zhao Jack shrugged. "It's Night City's hospital, and I think this place is shady."
"How do you mean?" Erin asked, curious.
"Watch how the plot develops. It's just my guess," Zhao Jack said.
And he was right. In the game Cyberpunk 2077, this hospital happens to be a psychiatric facility but in reality, it's a black-market hospital.
On the surface, this hospital attracted patients with the lowest possible prices, but behind the scenes, it subjected them to all kinds of abuse and unethical experiments, even murder.
It's just that revealing it now wouldn't be fun. The secrets need to be uncovered bit by bit for the story to be perfect.
When the second episode aired, the ratings for the first episode had already come in.
Ivanka obtained the latest data and then woke Gilbert, who was still sleeping.
"How did the premiere do?"
"Not bad. HBO had 8.7 million viewers for the first episode. The Disney paid channel had 6.35 million viewers, totaling 15.05 million viewers for the premiere.
Congratulations, Gilbert, you've broken the premiere viewership record for North American pay-TV series."
Pay-TV ratings are calculated by the number of subscriptions. One subscription counts as one viewer, even if seven or eight people watch together on the same TV.
So in reality, the actual number of people who watched Edgerunners might be twenty or thirty million. The audience base is even larger.
"Shouldn't a record only count one platform?" Gilbert wasn't particularly concerned about this so-called record and asked instead, "How's the online reception?"
Ivanka was a little excited, looking at Gilbert with admiration. "The online reception exploded. Viewers are discussing this series very passionately.
The series has attracted a massive amount of attention. I think there aren't many viewers who are even discussing movies in theaters right now."
Previously, Ivanka had been somewhat upset by the media that criticized Gilbert.
Those media outlets claimed that Gilbert withdrew from this year's summer box office because his influence had waned during the summer season. But the airing of Edgerunners made Ivanka feel triumphant.
So what if he's not in the summer movie market? In the summer pay-TV series market, Gilbert is still the king.
He could even steal attention from the film market. For example, Fantastic Four 2, which premiered today, hardly received any attention at all.
Gilbert didn't care about this. He instructed, "Monitor the public opinion pace. Make sure our people clean up comments and control the narrative to prevent malicious smear campaigns."
Ivanka assured him, "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on it."
...
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