Chapter 72: Cyber Psychosis

Chapter 72: Cyber Psychosis

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Zhou Wenwei gritted his teeth, holding back tears, and shouted wildly.

"Why? Why did not only Big Brother die, but Sister-in-law too? Why!"

"Ahahahaha! I'm going crazy!"

"Those damn lunatics! Are they trying to drive me insane too?!"

Zhou Wenwei continued his frantic outburst, waving his arms and flailing like someone who had lost all control.

Fortunately, he was at home.

Otherwise, if he were outside, someone would have definitely called the police, thinking he was mad.

But after his sudden fit, Zhou Wenwei suddenly slumped into his computer chair, as if his power had been cut like a robot.

"Hah... I'm done for..."

Tears streamed down his face, and his expression was a mix of despair and sorrow, as though he were on the verge of breaking down.

Mann, as the team leader and a strong elder brother, had always been the seasoned mercenary looking out for the others, including the protagonist David.

He also showed a rare sense of humanity in the bleak world of Night City.

Dorio, though mostly appearing as the elder brother's woman, was always gentle and caring. When Mann began showing signs of cyber psychosis, she even stepped up to take over as the team's leader.

In the despairing world of Cyberpunk, these two were so good-hearted.

Yet, these two warm and kind people had died?

Especially in the final moments of their deaths, one died for love, while the other showed a last act of kindness in protecting David.

Mann, in particular, during that scene with his distorted face, still shouted, "Now... Run!"

The impact of this moment felt more real than any other emotion, marking the end of his journey and the beginning of David's new life through his own death.

In this chapter, Mann showed a level of charisma far beyond that of the protagonist, David, up until now.

But this highly charismatic character died just like that...

Anyone who saw this would be upset for a long time.

Especially Mann's distorted face, which left a profound impact on the viewer's soul.

Lin Qingshan put a lot of effort into drawing this face. Although he had the original work in mind,

recreating it through drawing required a significant amount of dedication.

The most crucial aspect was infusing his emotions into it.

As Lin Qingshan worked on this powerful image, he recalled the deeply sorrowful emotions from his past life.

So, he poured his feelings into it.

Now, looking at it, this drawing indeed recreated the impact of the original.

Not only Zhou Wenwei, but other loyal fans of *Edgerunners* also felt emotionally drained.

[Translator: sauron]

...

In another major city of the Republic, Lin'an.

"Hey! Son..."

Mother Fan gently knocked on the door.

But there was no response from the room.

"What's wrong with Siwei?"

Mother Fan looked at Father Fan with some unease in her eyes. "Did you scold him again?"

"No... Why would I scold him? There's nothing to be upset about, why would I?"

Father Fan replied innocently.

"Then could something have happened at school?"

He speculated worriedly, "Was he bullied? Did he get bad grades? Early love breakup?"

"How could it be something at school, it's still summer vacation."

Mother Fan rolled her eyes at him.

"So, it's a breakup?"

As they discussed, faint sobbing sounds came from Fan Siwei's room.

"Hey! Son! If something's wrong, you can talk to us, don't cry by yourself in there."

Mother Fan panicked.

She knew her son well, he was always so strong.

Since elementary school, he prided himself on being a man and never shed tears.

When he did cry, it meant something really serious had happened.

"Where's the key?"

Mother Fan was alarmed, intending to go in and talk to him directly.

"The key!"

Father Fan immediately fetched the room key and opened Fan Siwei's door.

Upon entering, they found Fan Siwei slumped at the bedside, tears streaming down his lifeless eyes.

Beside him lay a colorful comic magazine.

...

Almost all *Edgerunners* fans were like this; after reading Chapter 23, they silently wept.

And after finishing the entire chapter, they were overwhelmed with sadness.

All of them seemed to have caught some kind of madness, suddenly shouting or crying uncontrollably.

For example, some girls found their boyfriends or husbands suddenly shouting "No—!" while showering, then breaking down in tears in the bathroom.

Others included girlfriends, wives, sons, or daughters.

These people then took to social media to ask why their loved ones suddenly acted this way.

The answer they got was—

"It's cyber psychosis! Absolutely cyber psychosis!"

"Remember, if your loved ones are reading the *Edgerunners* manga, be very wary of them catching cyber psychosis."

"Teacher Qingshan! Damn you! After reading that Chapter 23 plot, I feel like I'm breaking down!"

"Teacher? No, thief! Qingshan the madman must be a lunatic himself, who else could create such a plot and scenes?"

"Yeah... That face of Mann's when he told David to run, it really shook me..."

"Are you serious? Which asylum let this lunatic out to draw manga and spread his madness to others? (sarcastic)"

"Hard to imagine Qingshan's mental state, not to mention the perspective of Mann in the desert, which is different from that of a sane person."

"Good, well done, you really did capture the insane perspective of a lunatic in a lunatic's world!"

"Mental state seems fine! Discharged!"

"Discharged? You should go back in!"

"Unbelievable!"

"The real cyber lunatic is Qingshan the madman! Call the anti-terrorism squad! Quick, call the anti-terrorism squad!"

...

Online, because of the shocking plot in Chapter 23, *Edgerunners* quickly gained more popularity.

In fact, due to the buzz around the term "cyber lunatic," it seemed to be spreading beyond its usual audience.

At the same time, in this week's popularity poll for *Edgerunners*, Mann and Dorio quickly topped the charts with an overwhelming lead.

Mann even shot up to second place in the overall character popularity rankings.

He was only behind the protagonist of the currently most popular ongoing manga.

However, despite the heartbreaking plot twist by Lin Qingshan, readers did not take their anger out on *Edgerunners.*

Instead of dropping in rank, *Edgerunners* actually gained another rank, surpassing a famous third-place manga artist!

(End of Chapter)