Jax Monroe had planned to start criticizing from the very first second.
He had already prepared his lines.
He would mock the visuals.
He would question the pacing.
He would attack the story structure.
But when the camera angle shifted from inside the washing machine drum to the city lights beyond—
He stopped.
The art style struck him instantly.
The colors were rich yet muted, saturated but restrained. Neon lights glowed through a thin layer of gloom. Every frame carried a feeling of loneliness and pressure.
It was stylish.
But not flashy.
It felt heavy.
Then came the shot of David Martinez walking through the narrow stairwell, hands in his pockets, shoulders loose, moving with casual confidence. The background music played softly—light, almost relaxed.
Jax leaned forward.
Art style was everything in animation.
It was like a face.
A strong art style could pull viewers in before the story even began.
And edgerunners looked nothing like the usual domestic 3D productions Jax had grown used to.
This was sharp.
Confident.
Different.
"Not bad," he muttered.
"But let's see about the story."
When David passed by a park and a man in a hoodie was casually playing with a Fiji cup, Jax laughed.
"So Northstar's imagination isn't that crazy after all."
But when David arrived at school, things shifted.
The Braindance (BD) device he used affected his classmates.
The bullying started.
The pressure increased.
Jax frowned slightly.
"The BD setting is interesting," he said to himself.
"But is this going to become one of those overused campus revenge stories?"
He imagined the cliché path.
The bullied protagonist gains a cheat ability.
He becomes unstoppable.
He crushes everyone.
"If this turns into that kind of story, I'm going to destroy it," Jax muttered.
"Sci-fi plus campus drama already feels strange. If it becomes a power fantasy, that's just lazy writing."
He had been impressed by the visuals.
He would give the art nine out of ten.
But the story?
At that moment—
He mentally rated it near zero.
Then—
David's mother appeared.
Gloria Martinez.
Her red hair glowed under the dim city lights.
Her expression was tired, but gentle.
Jax blinked.
"Wait… that's his mom?"
She was beautiful.
Strong.
Alive.
The next sequence hit like a truck.
Driving across a bridge.
Sudden gunfire.
Gangs pulling out rocket launchers in broad daylight.
Jax stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Isn't this a school story?! Why are there RPGs on the highway?!"
Explosion.
Impact.
Car flipping.
Smoke everywhere.
The emergency team arrived.
Gloria was taken away.
The hospital scene followed.
And something in Jax shifted.
Money.
Medical bills.
Cold systems.
Gloria discharged too early because they couldn't afford proper treatment.
David dragging her to the cheapest clinic.
The so-called doctor looked more like a butcher than a healer.
Jax actually laughed out loud—
But the laughter faded quickly.
The clinic's dirty lighting.
The metallic surgical tools.
The transactional tone.
It felt real.
Too real.
This wasn't a campus revenge story.
This was urban tragedy.
This was survival.
This was a world that chewed people up and spat them out.
When Gloria Martinez became nothing more than ashes in an urn—
David holding it with hollow eyes—
Jax felt something uncomfortable in his chest.
He wasn't heartbroken.
Gloria hadn't had enough screen time to fully bond with the audience.
But that was the point.
Life in this world ended without ceremony.
Without buildup.
Without emotional preparation.
It was sudden.
Cruel.
After the first episode ended, Jax didn't hesitate.
He clicked Episode 2 immediately.
"Why does this feel so good?" he muttered.
No waiting.
No weekly torture.
Just pure continuation.
Now he understood.
Releasing ten episodes at once wasn't random.
It was strategic.
The pacing demanded it.
In Episode 2, David stopped going to school.
That completely killed Jax's "campus anime" theory.
Then David found the Sandevistan cyberware hidden in his mother's jacket—the same one used by the cyberpsycho he saw earlier through BD.
And then—
She appeared.
Lucy.
In the crowded plaza, David noticed a streak of rainbow light.
Lucy's hair shimmered.
The way Mooncrest Studio animated her movement made Jax swallow unconsciously.
As a long-time anime fan, he had seen countless female leads.
But Lucy's entrance was magnetic.
Below the overpass, neon light reflected off her face.
She looked dangerous.
Confident.
Untouchable.
Their first meeting?
Lucy committing a crime.
David accidentally getting involved.
And instead of being rescued—
He was dragged along.
After David overused the Sandevistan and nearly collapsed, Jax thought Lucy would soften.
Maybe show kindness.
Maybe take him home gently.
Instead—
She tried to sell him.
"To the scavengers?!"
Jax almost jumped out of his chair.
"This woman is insane!"
Lucy was darker than he expected.
But that darkness made her fascinating.
Then came the highway scene.
Lucy straddling the hospital bed.
Kicking the car door open with one long leg.
Dragging the bed onto the highway.
Sparks flying as the metal frame scraped asphalt.
Traffic roaring around them.
Gunshots in the distance.
The hospital bed shaking violently.
The wheels screaming.
Jax's heart pounded.
At that moment—
It wasn't David lying on that bed.
It was him.
Looking up at Lucy.
Her expression twisted into a wild grin.
Eyeshadow sharp.
Smile almost unstable.
Beautiful.
Dangerous.
Alive.
"This… this is crazy," Jax whispered.
But the scene that truly destroyed him wasn't the highway madness.
It was the moon.
Lucy connected to BD with David.
They walked on the moon.
Silver light reflecting off solar panels.
Endless silence.
Lucy walking ahead, hands on her waist, smiling softly.
David awkwardly reaching out.
Then the music began.
Soft.
Dreamy.
Electronic.
Vaporwave.
The lyrics flowed gently.
The atmosphere became weightless.
Jax felt goosebumps across his arms.
Romantic.
Not loud romance.
Not dramatic confession.
But quiet, distant longing.
Under artificial moonlight in a digital world.
It was beautiful beyond reason.
He didn't even realize when his eyes softened.
"Episode three," he said hoarsely.
"I'm watching episode three right now."
Then he shouted toward his dark room—
"Northstar! Be gentle with my heart!"
And he clicked the next episode.
In Episode 3, David officially joined Lucy's crew.
The tall man with sunglasses from the poster appeared—calm, composed, leader-like.
Rebecca entered as well.
Wild.
Unhinged.
Her voice acting was explosive.
When she screamed, it was impossible to associate her with the actress who once voiced Luna Ash in another series.
Each episode moved fast.
Too fast.
After finishing one, Jax's only thought was—
I need the next one.
If earlier he doubted the ten-episode drop—
Now he understood.
This pacing demanded binge watching.
"Master Northstar," he muttered, shaking his head.
"What terrifying confidence."
---
Meanwhile—
On BiliZone, the numbers were exploding.
Each refresh showed rising views.
Comments flooding in.
Coins thrown into the series like a storm.
730,000 coins.
And it was only a little after 3 PM.
In the technology park office building of the platform's headquarters, a staff member ran into a meeting room shouting—
"It exploded! It exploded!"
"Team Leader Cheng Xin! It's a hit! One hour after release—170,000 people gave it a full 10.0 rating! And premium member growth from this single series wave—72,000!"
The room fell silent.
Then fists clenched.
Internal cheers erupted.
The licensing fee.
The risk.
The bold homepage placement.
It was worth it.
Northstar Games had delivered.
Back in his dark room, Jax Monroe sat motionless, staring at the screen as Episode 4 loaded.
Earlier that day, he had prepared to kneel and apologize as a joke.
Now—
He was no longer sure it was a joke.
And for the first time in years—
The Molotov cocktail felt like it might explode in his own hands.
--------------------------------
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