Chapter 21: Cyber-Philosophy

Sakura checked the questions on the answer sheet. There weren't many, just three.

After all, this wasn't a personal interview, but a page of questions from readers to mangakas, with two or three questions for the mangakas to answer.

But this is, in reality, a symbol of the mangakas' popularity. For example, the reason Ren Amamiya had the opportunity for a text interview in this issue was because "Edgerunners" ranked first in popularity among the four Newcomer Grand Prize works for the first time.

And the first question Sakura saw was:

"Excuse me, Amamiya-san, what exactly does cyberpunk mean?"

Sakura knew the answer because she had already asked Ren Amamiya.

But other readers didn't know it.

The word cyberpunk appeared in this world for the first time, and it wasn't a Japanese word, but a direct transliteration of the original English word.

Naturally, most readers were confused. "Cyberpunk 2077: Edgerunners", 2077, everyone can understand that the story takes place in the future, 2077, and everyone also understands the Japanese word "Edgerunners".

But cyberpunk...

no one truly understands its meaning, especially since this word is in the title of the work.

Sakura looked at the second question.

"Sensei Amamiya, what is the creative concept behind your work "Edgerunners"?"

She looked at Ren Amamiya and posed the question, as if asking him in person.

Ayumi listened and looked at her with great interest.

To be honest, although "Edgerunners" has sci-fi elements, it can be seen as an unusual work, and it even possesses a strong humanistic component.

In "Edgerunners", the enormous impact of the rapid development of future technology on human society, the huge gap between the lower and upper classes in capitalist society, and the massive changes and impacts of mechanization on the human body are subtly described.

This also made Ayumi feel uneasy. How can the work "Edgerunners" have a touch of... tragedy?

Especially after seeing the sudden death of Gloria, the protagonist David's mother, in the previous plot, this feeling becomes even more evident.

But she remembered what Ren Amamiya had said before: that this work is about the protagonist implanting a powerful prosthetic, joining the gang, meeting the female protagonist and his friends, and starting to reach the peak of his life.

She felt more relieved.

Ren Amamiya doesn't seem like someone with a severe case of chuunibyou, so he shouldn't write "Edgerunners" as a tragedy, right?

"Huh?"

Hearing Sakura's question, Ren Amamiya felt a little troubled.

In reality, he drew "Edgerunners" just to make money, and he was a plagiarist, so he had no creative ideas.

But he can still talk about his opinions on why he chose the "plagiarized" work.

"It's mainly because I've read current sci-fi works, which highlight the power of future technology and the benefits and advantages of interstellar exploration, but it seems no one has thought about what will happen to the lower class in an era of rapid technological advancement... right?" Ren Amamiya said. "So cyberpunk imagines the worst possible outcome against the backdrop of powerful future technology."

"Technology, wealth, and knowledge are entirely in the hands of the upper elites and large corporations. They dominated the subsequent third and fourth world wars and divided the power of the entire world."

"Lower-class people and individuals have become consumables and slaves. At the same time, the development of technology and material satisfaction have also led to a lack of spirituality and humanism."

Cyberpsychosis is not simply the result of excessive prosthetic modification, which prevents the nerves from withstanding the erosion of prosthetics. It is the result of the pressure from the entire social environment, the weakness of the spiritual world, and the excessive degree of prosthetic modification.

Ren Amamiya proudly expressed his views on cyberpunk and "Edgerunners", and then paused.

Then, he saw... Ayumi's eyes filled with surprise and admiration, and Sakura's bright eyes with appreciation.

"Ren-san... your work will undoubtedly become famous in the history of manga!" Sakura said firmly.

"Sensei Amamiya's work... I didn't expect it to contain such profound thoughts, like philosophy!"

Ayumi couldn't help but sigh.

"Hehe..." Ren Amamiya chuckled awkwardly. "No... it's nothing."

"Well, how about I complete this questionnaire after dinner?" he said hastily, picking up the lemon and mint leaves and entering the kitchen. "This time I prepared Thai curry crab, Thai cold clams, satay beef, and other delicious dishes! I assure you, you'll say they're delicious after eating them!"

"Talk here first, or have... Coca-Cola!"

"Okay."

Seeing this, Sakura and Ayumi also responded tactfully.

Ren Amamiya began to get interested, but for a while, Sakura and Ayumi came in to watch his cooking skills.

Aside from everything else, Ren Amamiya's cooking skills are truly good.

Even people like Sakura and Ayumi, who don't know how to cook, can appreciate his culinary mastery.

At least, when cooking seafood like shrimp, crabs, and clams, it's a piece of cake.

This is not a skill Ren Amamiya acquired from the system, but experience he accumulated from cooking in his previous life. Although he is not a professional chef, he is a food lover.

However, with eight or nine years of cooking experience, he is clearly very skilled.

Ren Amamiya isn't always in the kitchen. After thinking about it, he took out the Colonel Chicken Nuggets he had taken from the system from the refrigerator, fried them, and served them with satay sauce.

He let Sakura and Ayumi satisfy their cravings.

After another hour and a half, Sensei Ren Amamiya, who had been busy for a long time, brought out the prepared dishes.

After tasting them, Sakura and Ayumi were delighted.

"They're delicious!"

Ayumi displayed the exaggerated style of praise characteristic of the Japanese.

Most Japanese express their food this way, unless it's particularly unpleasant.

Otherwise, even if it were a tasteless chicken rib, they could savor it like a state banquet.

But, in fact, Ren Amamiya could see that Ayumi's praise was sincere.

Sakura also smiled and said, "Ren-san cooks wonderfully."

"Of course!" Ren Amamiya exclaimed proudly, patting his chest.

In this way, the three of them and the dog spent another happy weekend.