In Cyberpunk, There are Just Too Many Unbelievers

What is punk?

A world where technology like science and magic has advanced so much that human dignity becomes more worthless than a single banknote.

A world where intangible values like love, religion, and truth can’t even make a decent joke.

Stories of living in such a world are called the punk genre.

A dystopia with advanced steam engines is steampunk.
A dystopia with advanced diesel engines is dieselpunk.
A dystopia with advanced mechanical engineering is cyberpunk.

Just sprinkle some sci-fi seasoning on a dystopia and it’s punk.
I like this punk genre.

Because as money becomes increasingly important, and even emotions are calculated in monetary terms, seeing me barely surviving just to make money doesn’t seem too different from the stories of another world.
Of course, the world I live in hasn’t become that messed up yet, and technology hasn’t reached that singularity either, but

Seeing it change in that direction year after year, I think by the time I grow old and die, it will be either cyberpunk or biopunk.

As you can tell from the punkpunk sound, my favorite game series by far is .

A series that appeared 10 years ago, brought a new genre to the game market by showcasing a very high-quality open world.

Because of this series, game companies big and small jumped into the open world bandwagon, but none of them came close to its fame.

The saying “Punk City’s only rival is the past Punk City itself” wasn’t for nothing.

As you can tell from the title, the backdrop of this masterpiece is the punk world.

The base is sci-fi punk, but they claim it’s fusion punk by adding magic or genetic engineering.

I’m a diehard fan of this series and somewhat of a high-ranker in the lineup.

I could proudly claim that anywhere.

Not that the controls are outstanding, but through intricate design, it brings about outrageous strategies – that kind of high-ranker.

After getting a job, my playtime has decreased to about 1 hour a day, but before that, I played for over 9 hours a day, eventually reaching a total of 20,000 hours.

(Of course, the community is still casting Meteor Swarm on me as a newbie.)

But even I, who love the series this much, have one grievance toward it.

While playing through all the endings and concepts, repeating it so many times that I lost count of the playthroughs,

Getting sick of the 3rd one and revisiting the 1st and 2nd, surpassing 4,000 hours each,

Those bastards at the dev studio

Haven’t released the 4th one.

My initial reaction when the series, which used to release a new entry every 2-3 years or so, didn’t release anything even after 3 years, was understanding.

‘Games aren’t something with a set outcome, so it could take some time.’

Then came depression.

‘What if the company ran out of money? Or have they lost affection for the fans?’

Then bargaining.

‘I’ll pay more! If that’s not enough, release some DLC at least! Please give us the 4th oooonne!!!’

Anger.

‘You bastards! How could you do this! I loved you guys so much!’

And now it’s denial.

“Hehe. No way. The 4th one must have been released. I’m just too dumb to find it.”

The problem is that I’ve been in this denial stage for 2.5 years, and Punk City fans as a whole are in this state as well.

With no news 5 years after the 3rd release, the word ‘Punk City’ has already become a trigger for fans.

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I’m a tire punk man

The title is the content

Comments

What? Punk City? Punk City? Punk City? Punk City?
Punk? Punk? Punk City? Punk City?
The wait is over, let’s all hold hands and pray Punk City Punk City
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That was more or less the situation.

As I joined that crowd, desperately waiting for the 4th installment, my angel suddenly appeared.

As usual, I came home after work, showered, and turned on the computer.

And while Punk City 3 was loading, I alt-tabbed out of habit to check the community.

And as soon as I entered the community, there was one real-time top post.

[Punk City 4 Development Rumors Leaked]

As always, thinking it was just clickbait, I casually checked it out with a lukewarm attitude.

But the images and videos unfolding were too credible to be just clickbait.

By the time I had read almost the entire post, I had no choice but to believe these leaked development rumors, and I was about to let out a cheer of joy.

But what I saw as I scrolled down to the very end was:

[By the way, this is all fabricated.]

“…”

Only then could I understand why this post was a real-time popular one.

You bastards…

You couldn’t be the only ones tricked, huh.

Normally, I would have joined the crowd trying to trick people and clicked the ‘recommend’ button,

But I happened to have just come home after a night shift, so I wasn’t in the mood.

My blood pressure rose.

The back of my neck tensed up.

My chest felt stuffy.

And suddenly, I felt a headache.

Ah.

Something burst inside my head.

I collapsed right there without any resistance.

What a damn way to go.

Fortunately, God must have blessed me, as I was able to get up on my own the next morning.

It really was fortunate.

Living alone, if I had collapsed, no one would have been able to report it – this could be considered a stroke of luck.

I’ll have to take sick leave today and tomorrow and visit the emergency room.

As I thought this and tried to get up, I noticed something strange on the computer screen I hadn’t turned off after collapsing yesterday.

It was a trailer uploaded on the official Punk City YouTube channel.

“Huh?”

Forgetting about even going to the hospital, I instinctively tried to play that YouTube video, but my right hand wouldn’t move.

I had no sensation in it.

And it didn’t end there.

Not just my right hand, but my left hand, legs, even my face.

Gradually, the sensation disappeared from my entire body, and my vision went dark.

When I regained consciousness, I was still lying on the cold floor of my room, staring up at the fluorescent light on the ceiling.

The conclusion I reached after desperately turning my barely functioning head was…

‘What the hell. A bright ending even when dying.’

Anyway, it was clear that God hated me.

Couldn’t let me die in peace.

As I made that lament, the sensation gradually faded away.

This was really the end.

I opened my eyes again.

I could properly feel myself standing in a white space.

Just a few minutes of reality checks, in case it was another bright ending.

In conclusion, I did exist in this place, and this was neither a dream nor an illusion.

My fingers and toes moved well.

My nose caught my familiar scent.

I could hear sounds and voices well.

And last but not least, the well-endowed beauty right in front of me was clearly visible.

….Huh?

“Who are you?” she said.

“I am the goddess of the world you loved.”

To summarize my conversation with the goddess… or rather, the goddess’s explanation:

I had died, and she was the goddess of the Punk City world.

When I asked how our world ended up with a game based on it,

She said she got bored of not having anyone to brag about her lovely world to, so she kept showing this world bit by bit over the years in the dreams of game developers with decent ability and capital.

Then they subconsciously turned it into a game.

‘Sorry for calling you baldy.’

I had called the devs “baldies” for not releasing the game, but I felt sorry for them being gaslighted through dreams for decades.

Moment of silence here.

As for why I was brought here, she said she was moved that I loved her world so much that I searched for Punk City even in my dying moments, so she called me here to reincarnate me into that world.

She went on to say that she had no expectations of me.

She just wanted to see how I, who loved her world, would live in it.

It wasn’t an obligation.

If I didn’t want to go to that world, she would send me back to Earth.

She added that while she wouldn’t resurrect me there, I could go to rebirth or heaven or wherever.

The goddess gave me two choices.

I could either take the “To Earth Afterlife” portal behind me, or the “To Punk City Reincarnation” portal behind her – my choice was free.

My heart wanted to immediately dive into Punk City.

But my reason held my ankle.

Didn’t it not make sense?

The logic of reincarnating me just because I loved her world was puzzling.

What is this nonsense?

Or was she just bored?

Maybe her pride in her world was so excessive that the goddess had a childish brain?

No, wait. Considering recent reincarnation stories, maybe there was some sinister plot lurking…

As I reached the assumption that if she was a goddess, she might be able to read my thoughts, I hurriedly reined in my thoughts.

But she responded to my rude thoughts with a smile more benevolent than any I had ever seen.

“Does one need an explanation to show off their beloved world to someone who loves it just as much?”

Like a maniac showing kindness to a fellow maniac of the same genre.

Like an expert doting on a newbie.

It was simply an act of love without any expectation of reward.

The reason was just that, she said, embracing me with a gracious smile and acceptance.

Instead of scolding my disbelief and rudeness, she consoled me, saying I must have had a hard time living with such distrust.

And she told me:

“That world may be a bit different from how you loved it through the game. But I want to tell you this. No matter what series it was, just as you loved that world, you too deserve to be loved no matter who you are.”

I felt a touch.

A warm touch caressed my head, and my doubts melted away like snow with each stroke.

The goddess finally said to me:

“Have confidence. No matter what anyone says, you are the protagonist of your own life.”

A single tear rolled down my cheek.

For me, who had lived alone since birth without knowing love, such unconditional love was so warm,

Her kindness in returning love just because I loved her was so dazzling,

That I could only make a vow right then and there:

“I will definitely strive to live happily.”

My second life began on the day I was reborn as a child to my new mother.

After the reincarnated soul boarded the portal and disappeared, only one woman remained in the pure white space.

She sighed as she watched the direction the reincarnated soul had vanished through the portal.

“Or perhaps I’ve given him too heavy a burden…”

Just before he threw his body into the reincarnation portal, the goddess had peered into his heart, which was filled with a sense of responsibility.

Despite her words not intending it, his mind was riddled with the sense of duty to benefit the world as the protagonist.

‘Phew…’

Finally finished with the task, she let out a sigh of relief.

Satisfied with the completed reincarnated soul’s appearance, she looked back down at the lower realm.

Anticipating the new story the reincarnated soul thrown into that world would write.