Ryo Shien nearly spat out his bubble tea when he first saw the video of Aoyama "taking off."
It was official. This Aoyama-sensei definitely had a few screws loose.
But then again, the man was undeniably a genius.
Aoyama wasn't just a master mangaka; he was a revolutionary game designer. Over the last two months, the sheer breadth of his capabilities had forced every employee at LightSpeed Interactive to bow their heads in respect. From the logic engines to the 3D asset optimization, Aoyama had practical solutions for everything.
Watanabe Keisuke, the former lead of the development department, had become Aoyama's most devoted disciple. He now addressed the young man exclusively as "Aoyama-sensei." He'd even gone as far as to claim that there wasn't a single technical hurdle in the world that Sensei couldn't clear.
The title had spread through the office like a benevolent virus. Everyone at LightSpeed now worshipped at the altar of Aoyama's productivity.
So, yes. He was a genius. But as the video clearly showed... he was a genius with a very tenuous grasp on reality.
'Is this the price of true talent?' Ryo wondered, scratching his head. 'To reach those heights, do you have to leave your sanity on the ground?'
In the "Metropolitan Sci-Fi Enthusiasts" group, the members were equally baffled.
{ScienceGeek99: ForceKing, do you actually know Aoyama-sensei in person?}
{ForceKing: Uh, yeah. I know him. We... worked on a few things together.}
{GalacticEmpire_Private: Holy... ForceKing is a legend! Tell us, is that really him in the video? Is he actually that unhinged?}
Ryo hesitated. He didn't want to betray Aoyama's privacy, but the video was already public knowledge.
{ForceKing: Yeah. That's him. In the flesh.}
{ScienceGeek99: For real? Is he actually a psychiatric patient?}
{ForceKing: Well... let's just say he's "eccentric." But I prefer the term 'Genius.'}
---
"A genius, huh?"
Shuu Fumiya let out a soft chuckle as he looked down at the latest issue of Manga World. "Well, anyone who can create something like Edgerunners certainly qualifies."
He closed his browser, leaving the chaotic group chat behind. He wanted to immerse himself in the story. He flipped to the new chapter of the Edgerunners manga.
Chapter 22: "Conflict."
It was a standard-sounding title, lacking any obvious hook, but Shuu knew better than to underestimate Aoyama's pacing.
The story picked up immediately after the previous chapter's confrontation between Maine and David.
The scene shifted to Maine's private quarters. He sat alone on a worn leather sofa, bathed in the sickly, dim orange glow of the overhead lights. He looked exhausted. Diminished.
"I've come all this way..." Maine muttered, his expression a mask of grim, desperate resolution. "There's no way in hell I'm downgrading now."
His voice was a low growl, but it carried a note of profound sadness. "All that effort... all that blood... what was it all for?"
That single line hit Shuu like a physical blow. It was the sound of a man who had built his entire identity on a mountain of chrome, only to find the foundation was turning into ash. Many of the older readers felt a sharp pang of sympathy. Maine wasn't just a character; he was a reflection of every middle-aged man who had worked themselves to the bone, only to realize they were holding nothing but empty space.
The perspective then shifted back to David. He had returned to the room where Dorio and Lucy were waiting.
The atmosphere was electric with tension. Dorio and Lucy were in the middle of a heated argument.
"...Our window closes tomorrow morning. You know that as well as I do!" Dorio snapped.
The intelligence locked inside Tanaka's neural network had to be extracted before the Arasaka recovery teams arrived at sunrise. If they missed the deadline, the corporate giants would crush them like insects.
But Kiwi, the team's primary netrunner, was out of commission. Maine, in a fit of cyberpsychotic rage, had accidentally injured her during a training exercise, sending her to the ripperdoc for emergency repairs.
The only one left who could dive into Saito's brain was the backup hacker, Lucy.
But Lucy was refusing. Adamantly.
When Dorio mentioned "Arasaka," Lucy's hands began to shake uncontrollably.
"Don't you understand? He's Arasaka! He's one of them!"
Lucy was terrified. Shuu could see the raw, visceral fear in her eyes. It wasn't just fear of a corporate target,it was something deeper. Something traumatic.
David, still smarting from the slap Maine had given him earlier, felt a surge of protectiveness. "Let's just drop it, Dorio. Let's go home. Lucy, don't force yourself if you can't do it."
Dorio exploded. She and David began shouting at each other, their voices echoing through the cramped hideout.
Amidst the noise, Lucy stared at her trembling hands. Her eyes were fixed on the floor, her mind evidently racing through a thousand dark corridors.
"You can't run forever, David!" Dorio shouted, her voice cracked with desperation.
Suddenly, Lucy stood up. She grabbed David's arm and practically dragged him out onto the balcony, pinning him against the concrete wall.
The first words out of her mouth left David,and the readers,completely stunned.
"David... tell me. Tell me I can do it."
She stared into his eyes, her gaze pleading.
"Huh? I thought you just said..."
"TELL ME! Tell me I can do this!"
Lucy's voice was a frantic whisper, her beautiful eyes still clouded with a fear she couldn't hide. "You have no idea what Arasaka is like! You have no concept of the scale of their reach!"
"They are watching us! Every second of every day!"
The panels that followed were a series of blurred, monochrome flashbacks. Shards of memories: glass tubes, sterile laboratory lights, and the cold stare of corporate scientists. It was a fragmented glimpse into a past that Lucy had buried deep beneath her cool, detached exterior.
Shuu's breath hitched. 'So that's it,' he thought. 'Lucy is an escapee.'
"We can't give up! We have no other choice!" Lucy's voice was trembling now. "I know that better than anyone!"
"But... if you're the one who tells me... then maybe I can..."
She needed him. She needed David to be her anchor in the digital void.
David's expression softened. He looked down at his shoes, then back at her. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I..."
He took a deep breath. "I know you can do it. Go for it, Lucy! I'll be right here."
The confidence that surged into Lucy was palpable. She let out a long, shaky breath and straightened her back. When she walked back into the room with David, she calmly and quietly agreed to Dorio's demands.
Dorio looked at her in disbelief, stunned by the sudden change in attitude.
But Lucy had one non-negotiable condition: Maine could not be involved. His cyberpsychosis made him too much of a liability for a deep dive. Only David would be allowed to stay by her side during the extraction.
Dorio and Maine had no choice but to agree.
The operation was a go. Lucy changed into her form-fitting netrunning suit. With David watching over her, she reached behind her head and peeled back the protective synthetic skin, revealing the gleaming "neural interface" ports beneath.
She stepped into the ice-tub, the freezing water a necessary heat-sink for the massive processing load she was about to endure.
David watched, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Lucy... why do you hide your interface ports? I've never seen anyone do that before."
Lucy didn't answer. She looked away, her eyes tired and haunted.
"Initiating... dive..."
David didn't push her. He reached out and connected the deep-dive cables to the back of her neck.
But just as the connection stabilized, Lucy spoke one last time.
"David..."
"What is it?"
Lucy took a deep breath, looking as though she were on the verge of confessing a secret that had been eating her alive for years. But in the end, she bit it back.
"I'm going in."
She closed her eyes.
The perspective shifted into Tanaka's neural network. The microscopic world of firing neurons and electrical signals reappeared, the same labyrinth that had proven too dangerous for Kiwi.
But Lucy saw through the static instantly. "Where there's a trap, there's always a path."
As she pushed deeper, another fragmented memory surfaced: a young Lucy, small and fragile, running through a dark, industrial corridor with everything she had.
She hesitated for a split second, shaking her head to clear the ghosts of her past. Then, she raised her right hand, her digital avatar glowing with a blinding white light.
Breaking through!
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]