Chapter 31: What a Lunatic

### Chapter 31: What a Lunatic

It seems that the popularity of *Edgewalker* is on the rise.

After all, it's a manga with groundbreaking sci-fi settings and deep meanings, coupled with Lin Qingshan's extraordinary artistic talent. It was bound to become popular.

With its exquisite artistry and highly eye-catching concepts, *Edgewalker* was destined to be a hit. The series has already proven itself in the market and is bolstered by the novel "cyberpunk" sci-fi setting.

However, until now, the manga had been read quietly without causing much of a stir. But the recent plot twist was so sudden and baffling that it sparked a massive controversy.

Moreover, some people began questioning Lin Qingshan, the creator of *Edgewalker*.

**Old Man Shu Dao Mountain**: "This plot twist is so out of nowhere. Is the author running out of ideas?"

**Close Combat Mage**: "I heard Qing Shan is a rookie manga artist. If that's the case, maybe they just didn't have any inspiration and came up with this bizarre plot?"

**Force King**: "Is it really that absurd? Just killing off characters because the author didn't know what to draw next?"

**Is Your Immortal**: "So, halfway through, they just introduce a vagabond who kills off a team member and then starts a battle?"

…

Seeing these doubts from the group, Zhou Wenwei frowned.

He was reluctant to believe that the artist who created *Edgewalker* would forcibly arrange a plot due to a lack of inspiration.

After all, the first half of Chapter 14 had no issues. It seemed like it could continue to explore David and Lucy's ambiguous feelings and interactions with other team members.

The team had several members besides Mann and Lucy, and David's bonds with them were not very deep.

Excluding Pira and Rebecca, who had a bit of solo plot development with David—this was not particularly deep, just a process of getting to know each other.

Additionally, there was room to deepen the relationships with other characters like the team's hacker Qi Wei and the older sister, Dollio.

Qi Wei had an interesting backstory with her hacking skills and appealing figure, making her a favorite among many fans. Even the driver Falco could be given more screen time.

These elements could have provided enough material for several chapters.

But Qing Shan didn't take this route, and clearly, he had his reasons.

Looking at it now, while *Edgewalker*'s plot was absurd, much of the absurdity had underlying reasons.

For example, Gloria's death highlighted the cruelty of Night City and logically led David to acquire the "Sian Weston" cybernetic. Her death motivated David to implant the powerful cybernetic and drove the plot to introduce Lucy and Mann, paving the way for David to join Mann's team.

…

The cruelty of Night City... and what was mentioned in the chat…

Zhou Wenwei suddenly understood.

He replied in the chat, "This isn't a case of Qing Shan running out of ideas. I get it now—this was intentional."

**Force King**: "Intentional? I can't see how it's intentional."

**Old Man Shu Dao Mountain**: "I can't see any signs of it being intentional. It's too sudden."

**Close Combat Mage**: "Don't overthink it. It's just that the rookie manga artist couldn't come up with something better and forced this plot."

**Engineering Boy**: "No, Pira's death is probably meant to show that Night City isn't as peaceful as it seemed in earlier chapters."

**Engineering Boy**: "Night City is always fraught with risks, and anyone can die at any moment."

**Engineering Boy**: "Just like this vagabond cyber-psycho, who appears out of nowhere and kills you with a single shot."

**Engineering Boy**: "And this is David's first time killing someone out of rage over losing a teammate. It's part of his growth."

The group members were silent for a while after reading his reply.

They found his explanation reasonable, but…

If it hadn't been for Zhou Wenwei's insights, they would have been unable to understand the bizarre plot!

**Force King**: "Impressive!"

**Black Hole Gravity**: "Impressive!"

**Old Man Shu Dao Mountain**: "Impressive!"

**Is Your Immortal**: "Impressive!"

**Rabbit Obediently**: "Impressive!"

**Galaxy Empire Second-Class Soldier**: "Impressive!"

…

After the group's repeated praise, the chat returned to normal.

**Online Dating Show Bird**: "You really grasped the author's intent, that's impressive."

**Engineering Boy**: "Just happened to think of it."

**Online Dating Show Bird**: "But I still think the author must be crazy."

Zhou Wenwei shared that sentiment. Even though he understood Qing Shan's approach, he still found the plot ridiculously absurd.

There was no setup or reason for Pira's death, and it happened just because a vagabond went insane. The vagabond had no connection or grudge with Pira or anyone in the team.

In other words, whether or not this vagabond existed, Pira would have died anyway.

This was absurd!

In typical manga, if a character is to die, it would usually be by the hand of a villain or an enemy with a grudge, and the death would serve to protect the protagonist.

There would usually be some personal vendetta involved.

But here, it was just a vagabond, a cyber-psycho who killed Pira without any prior conflict or reason.

But perhaps this was also a reminder to fans that in Night City, one must always be cautious.

Otherwise, one might be taken out by an unknown cyber-psycho at any moment.

But fortunately, they didn't live in such a dangerous place as Night City.

Still, Qing Shan was truly a lunatic!

Zhou Wenwei couldn't help but think to himself.

(End of Chapter)