The ending theme slowly faded in.
Only then did the viewers snap out of it, as if waking from a dream.
This episode had moved them—on every possible level.
Both the protagonists and antagonists were portrayed with remarkable depth. Bertholdt and the Commander were each given only a few minutes to express their inner emotions, yet those few minutes alone were enough to leave a lasting impression.
"Bertholdt… he was so cool."
"You're praising that? He's nothing but an executioner."
"Then what? Do we really have to split everything into pure good and evil? It's obvious, Bertholdt and the others were just following orders."
"Following orders means killing people?"
"Sure, this is just a TV show, but don't idealize things too much. Situations like this exist everywhere in the real world."
"I actually think the Commander was incredibly cool."
"Though honestly, the guy's kind of messed up—at the critical moment, he's still obsessing over uncovering the truth of the world."
"Otherwise, what? Fight for those bloated, corrupt government officials inside the Walls?"
"This episode was peak classiness!"
"My blood was boiling. It's been years since a show made me feel this suffocated—I was holding my breath through the later scenes."
This episode finished setting up the prelude to the Battle to Reclaim Wall Maria, and the final cliffhanger was maxed out.
The average rating for the episode broke past 16%, and even after it ended, fan discussions continued nonstop until five or six in the morning.
That said, compared to the overall exhibition of 'Attack on Titans', the number of records it had broken was already overwhelming. Even though it continued to break historical rating ceilings in the Great Zhou TV industry, because it was already number one, the audience didn't always feel the incremental improvements that strongly.
At BlueStar Media & Film Company, Jing Yu's staff were naturally excited—but not overly so. A small celebration was inevitable, but that was all.
Both 'Attack on Titans' and 'Mobile Suit Gundam SEED' had essentially finished filming. Jing Yu gave both crews an extended holiday, and every crew member received a generous bonus in advance.
Meanwhile, on another front—despite only two or three weeks passing since project approval—three major productions under Jing Yu's company had already begun filming: 'My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected', 'Ef: A Tale of Memories', and 'Hyouka'.
'My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected' was easy enough. No special effects were required at all, and post-production posed little difficulty.
As for 'Hyouka', certain scenes required light fantasy effects, but very few. With the company now partnered with multiple VFX studios, that workload was trivial.
'Ef: A Tale of Memories', however, was different.
The original work was a galgame, fairly old, and its tone leaned heavily toward dark, tragic romance.
But one thing about the original was exceptional: for its era, its art style was absolutely top-tier.
And in Jing Yu's past life, the famous animation master Makoto Shinkai had actually worked on part of the original 'Ef' project.
Yes—that Makoto Shinkai. Before becoming an animation director, he had worked across many studios. The opening animation of the original 'Ef' game was created by him.
A large reason Jing Yu fell into the 'Ef' fandom in his past life was that he'd been drawn in by Shinkai's visually stunning theme PV.
Back in Great Zhou, 'Hyouka' and 'My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected' didn't require much of Jing Yu's attention. But for 'Ef: A Tale of Memories', he was far more serious.
After filming began, he practically lived in the music department—recreating the original game's outstanding soundtrack.
He also personally took on an important supporting role: Yuu Himura.
At the same time, his longtime friend Xia Yining, who had spent years in semi-retirement, was called in to play another key supporting role: Yuuko Amamiya.
Jing Yu knew that, objectively speaking, acting for himself was no longer the most profitable use of his time. Writing a few more scripts would earn far more.
But he'd grown used to this life.
No longer a lead actor, taking on supporting roles was something he genuinely enjoyed.
As the boss's wife, Yu Youqing even personally cooked lunch and desserts one afternoon and brought them to the set.
"Come on, Sister Yu, you don't need to guard against me like I'm a thief," Xia Yining said, dressed in Yuuko Amamiya's costume—a black nun's dress and round hat—while popping a piece of cake into her mouth.
"Don't worry, I have dignity. Even if you didn't come, nothing would happen between Jing Yu and me."
Jing Yu's eyes flickered with a trace of awkwardness.
Yu Youqing, however, remained calm. She knew Xia Yining well—unless Jing Yu himself crossed a line, Xia Yining would always keep her distance.
"I woke up early and cooked all this myself. You eat it, then say something like that? That really hurts, you know," Yu Youqing replied with a smile.
"You'd get hurt?" Xia Yining narrowed her eyes, glanced at Jing Yu pretending nothing was wrong, and chuckled.
"Forget it," Xia Yining sighed softly.
"Time really flies. It's been almost ten years since we met in the Great Zhou film industry."
"Eight or nine, not ten," Jing Yu quickly corrected.
"I know, saying ten just sounds better," she shot back.
"Honestly, it feels surreal. The three of us went from complete nobodies to top-tier actors in Great Zhou."
"Spending the most precious years of life acting… that's how we got here."
She glanced unhappily at Jing Yu and Yu Youqing.
"Looking back, it turns out I was the only simple one."
"Haha, let's not reminisce," Jing Yu said, rubbing his temples. "That's never a good idea."
At his level, most things didn't bother him anymore—but these friends he'd made after coming to this world were still precious to him.
That was why, whenever 'Ef: A Tale of Memories' had suitable roles, he brought Xia Yining in. On the surface, it was work, but in reality, it was also a way to keep their friendship alive.
Otherwise, given the awkward history between the three of them, Jing Yu really wouldn't know how to casually suggest meeting for a meal.
"Anyway," Xia Yining continued, "you two have been together for years now. Any plans to get married?"
"Cough—cough—" Yu Youqing panicked instantly.
"Why are you coughing?" Xia Yining rolled her eyes.
Jing Yu, surprisingly, remained calm.
"Why are you so concerned about this?" Yu Youqing asked irritably.
Because it's annoying to look at, Xia Yining thought. You're together but not married, we still meet every month at shareholder meetings—if you're married already, I could finally give up completely.
Of course, she didn't say that out loud.
"Soon," Jing Yu said quietly.
That single word told Xia Yining everything she needed to know.
She fell silent for two seconds, then smiled.
"The roles you had me play in your past works… they really were tailor-made, huh."
"What do you mean?" Jing Yu asked.
"What else? Out of ten roles I played in your works, nine were failed lovers," she said lightly.
Both Jing Yu and Yu Youqing looked at her.
"Alright, enough," Xia Yining waved it off. "Let's drop it. Keep going, and you two will die of awkwardness. Since you started dating, this is the first time we've talked so openly like this. Filming really does make people open up."
She stood, scooped up all the desserts with a spoon, and headed out.
"Afternoon shoot's about to start. Time to touch up makeup."
After she left, Jing Yu and Yu Youqing exchanged glances. Yu Youqing sighed.
Jing Yu held her hand.
"Don't overthink it. She's not as fragile as you imagine—at least she can still bring it up herself."
Yu Youqing smiled faintly and let the topic go.
With films and TV dramas combined, five or six crews were filming simultaneously. Since many sets were close together, joint activities were common, and the atmosphere was actually quite lively.
But that week, Jing Yu's game division also released news that thrilled fans.
First of all, the projects Jing Yu personally focused on were 'Pokémon', 'Yu-Gi-Oh!', 'Mobile Suit Gundam', and 'Rurouni Kenshin' games.
Because 'Pokémon' and 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' involved entirely new worldbuilding—and massive IP value—he demanded perfection, so progress was slower.
But 'Mobile Suit Gundam SEED' and 'Rurouni Kenshin' were different.
The 'Mobile Suit Gundam SEED' game had begun development alongside the TV project, with over a year already invested. It had entered final testing and was scheduled to launch the same week the first season finished airing.
That launch window had been locked in long ago.
So the game division went all-in on promotion, heavily tying Jing Yu himself to the marketing push.
After all, less than two months remained.
As for 'Rurouni Kenshin', development was also moving quickly.
It was a role-playing game, primarily adapting the main storyline.
But Jing Yu hesitated when scripting the plot.
In the original work, Kaoru Kamiya was the female lead, while Yukishiro Tomoe only appeared in later side stories—and had already been dead for over a decade in the timeline.
Tomoe was beautifully written, but she couldn't shake Kaoru's position as the main heroine.
However, in the Great Zhou, things were different.
Because 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' had replaced the background setting, the main-game storyline naturally had to adjust as well.
Most importantly—
To Great Zhou audiences, Yukishiro Tomoe was the true heroine, while Kaoru was someone who entered Himura Kenshin's life later.
Would audiences accept her?
Jing Yu wasn't sure.
But abandoning such an excellent work halfway felt like a waste.
So after much thought, he decided to proceed according to the original structure.
Then, on Thursday, when the 'Rurouni Kenshin' game trailer was released simultaneously on Yunteng TV's online platform and Qingyun Video—
The backlash he feared never came.
"Ten years later… Kenshin is like this?"
"He abandoned the killing blade and took up the reverse-blade sword… I'm tearing up."
"He kept his promise to Tomoe—not to kill again."
"A reverse-blade sword? Sharp toward himself, dull toward enemies? Kenshin's transformation shocked me."
"Maybe Tomoe sacrificed herself so Kenshin could grow into someone who could smile and cry like a normal person."
"The old thief… this performance was incredible."
"Wait, is this Jing Yu acting? I thought this was just a game, CG?"
"Don't you know? Jing Yu starred in 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'. The game models are built from Jing Yu and Xia Yining's faces. The trailer CG used motion capture—they acted it out in real life."
"Then why not just shoot a live-action trailer?"
"Because it's a game!"
"Honestly, I'm satisfied. The new heroine Kaoru is hard to accept, but if Kenshin stayed single forever after Tomoe's death… that wouldn't be what Tomoe wanted."
"Exactly. If Kenshin clung to the past forever, Tomoe's sacrifice would be meaningless."
"Just write Kenshin and Kaoru well. When the game launches, I'm buying it day one!"
From the audience's perspective, since Tomoe wasn't being revived, Kenshin moving forward was the only reasonable path.
Being trapped in the past would be the real narrative failure.
And most importantly, as an action RPG, the game didn't rely solely on story.
With Kenshin's long-standing popularity, the trailer alone ignited massive discussion across the gaming industry.