"How on earth did this mess flare up again? Weren't those two siblings already sent off to the psychiatric hospital?"
Edward sat in his director's chair, frowning in confusion as he scrolled through his phone. He honestly hadn't expected this troublesome incident to resurface after such a long time. He had long since stopped paying attention to those siblings. Even the cursed doll he had left with a single use remaining was tucked away at home, untouched.
"Boss, this whole thing blew up very suddenly. The PR department suspects someone paid to push it," Zoroark reported while standing by his side.
Edward narrowed his eyes slightly.
That explanation made sense.
The internet has a memory, yes—but generally, it's not a very reliable one. Ever since Ritchie and Rimi went mad and were committed to the asylum, netizens had spat once or twice in disdain, muttered "serves them right," and then quickly lost interest. Now, for the matter to suddenly surge back into the spotlight was indeed strange.
If someone hadn't bought traffic, Edward would never believe it.
"Then leave it to the PR department," Edward said calmly. Zoroark took note of it. In truth, it had only brought the matter up so Edward would be aware; whether he said anything or not, the case would end up in the hands of PR anyway. Ghost Films public relations team had grown increasingly professional; handling minor flare-ups like this was no problem at all.
"By the way, how's the arrangement for those siblings' father?" Edward suddenly recalled. He had ordered people to deal with Ritchie and Rimi—the so-called "filial children"—but at the same time, he had instructed that their father be taken care of.
Hearing this, Zoroark produced a file and handed it to him.
Flipping through it, Edward found that the arrangements were quite sound. The old man was living comfortably in a nursing home. At first, he had worried deeply after hearing his children had gone insane. But once he came to terms with it, he simply started playing chess with the other residents, his mind at ease.
Satisfied that everything was in order, Edward dismissed the matter from his thoughts. Filming preparations were already complete, the actors were in position, and he was ready to begin shooting The Truman Show.
"Boss, there's another matter," Zoroark leaned closer again.
Edward's mouth twitched. Running one Ghost Films already kept him scrambling; once he had to take over Devon Corporation as well, how would he manage? Right now, he was counting on Fortune to hurry up and finish his studies so he could return and help shoulder some of the burden.
But for now, Fortune was still buried in books—reading endlessly, relentlessly. He had pushed "cramming" to extremes, studying so intensely he had practically given up on sleep. His advisor had even urged him to rest, warning that too much studying was unhealthy.
The thought made Edward laugh. Other students were nagged to study harder, yet Fortune was the one being begged not to overdo it, to take breaks and sleep.
"What is it?" Edward asked irritably.
Zoroark quickly handed him another file.
Edward rubbed his temples in frustration.
"This woman… she's really that persistent?"
The documents showed that Jennie Cross was still investigating the case. She had even filed an official request with Ghost Films for assistance, questioned Takako, and come up empty-handed. More recently, she had gone to inspect the filming house for The Grudge, uncovering details eerily similar to what the two siblings had described.
"Enough. Don't bring this matter to me again," Edward waved it off. Clearly, Jennie Cross suspected something deeper. But in the Pokémon world, even though Ghost-types and spirits existed, none of them actually harmed humans. Evil spirits simply didn't exist here.
Since the siblings' descriptions matched Kayako from The Grudge perfectly, it was natural that Jennie Cross, with her dogged persistence, would not let it go.
Edward felt helpless, but he didn't intend to interfere. No matter what Jennie Cross did, it would be useless. This case was destined to remain an unsolvable mystery. At least Ritchie and Rimi wouldn't actually die at Kayako's hands.
"Yes, Boss." Zoroark wrote it down, though its expression was odd. Having collected the information itself, it couldn't shake the feeling that this wouldn't end so easily. After all, Jennie Cross was notorious for her persistence and had cracked plenty of cold cases before.
With that nuisance brushed aside, Edward turned back to directing The Truman Show. Jim Carrey had already finished makeup and costume and was readying himself.
"Alright then—filming for The Truman Show begins!"
…
"Hello everyone, I'm a new uploader on PoképokéTV. You can call me Detail Geek."
"This time, the movie we'll be analyzing is the world-renowned horror film The Grudge. I believe many found it chaotic, hard to follow, but that doesn't diminish the fact that The Grudge is a masterpiece. After watching it three times carefully, I've finally managed to straighten out the tangled timeline!"
Joseph leaned back on his sofa, setting his phone upright to watch the video while eating. Beside him, his secretary Kennedy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"President, you have other business this afternoon. Shouldn't you review the documents?" Kennedy urged.
Joseph immediately rolled his eyes. Kennedy didn't take offense. Their relationship was close enough that such casual gestures weren't considered rude.
"What's there to review? I'm watching creators. And besides, this is my son's movie. Why shouldn't I watch it?" Joseph said self-righteously.
Kennedy's mouth twitched, but he went back to his work.
Grinning smugly, Joseph focused on his phone.
He had long known about Edward's movies—after all, Edward was his son—so of course he paid attention. But The Grudge had been far too terrifying for him. He had bolted as soon as the jawless girl turned her head. The regret was that he had never finished the film. Now, watching this analysis was the perfect substitute.
"Let's begin from the very start."
"When Kayako Kawamata was young, she was subjected to abuse from her mother. Later, in college, she fell in love with her classmate Shunsuke Kobayashi but never confessed. After Kobayashi got a girlfriend, Kayako started stalking him, even hiding under his bed to eavesdrop."
"After graduation, Kayako moved on and married Takeo Saeki, with whom she had a son, Toshio. But she named Toshio after Shunsuke, which later led to tragedy."
"Honestly, Shunsuke Kobayashi is the unluckiest character in the whole film. None of this had much to do with him, yet he lost his wife, his daughter, and eventually his life at Kayako's hands."
Joseph stuffed his mouth with rice, fascinated. This uploader really had talent. They noticed countless details and explained them logically, helping him finally understand the movie.
"People said my son's film was confusing nonsense. Clearly, they just didn't get it," Joseph said proudly.
Kennedy remained silent, focusing on his paperwork. He had seen The Grudge and thought it excellent—terrifying, yes, but that was the essence of horror. While Takeo's death felt like karmic retribution, Kobayashi and the later victims were pitifully innocent. Kayako's killings were utterly unreasonable.
Yet the fractured, nonlinear storytelling gave the film a unique appeal. Despite his fear, Kennedy had watched to the end, and the sense of release afterwards was strangely addictive.
"Takeo Saeki discovered he was infertile and suspected Toshio wasn't his son. Had he just done a paternity test, none of this would have happened."
"Afterwards, Takeo killed Kayako. Toshio vanished. Teacher Kobayashi, concerned that Toshio hadn't attended school for a long time, made a home visit. Meanwhile, Takeo tracked Kobayashi down through Kayako's diary, murdering his wife brutally."
"Kobayashi himself later died under the Grudge's curse, followed by the misfortunes of the Tokunaga family…"
"In summary, Director Edward did tell a complete story. It was fragmented in editing, yes, but in my view, that made it even more compelling. Kayako's mystery remained intact, and her stair-crawling scene became one of the most iconic moments in the history of Pokémon horror cinema!"
"Director Edward is truly a rising star in the horror genre. Personally, I think his work alone is enough to crown him as one of the great masters of horror!"
Joseph chuckled gleefully. This uploader was excellent. Without hesitation, he dropped two coins in support. He even considered sending money, but the uploader wasn't livestreaming. Otherwise, the delighted Joseph wouldn't have minded throwing them a generous tip.
The poor uploader had no idea what they had just missed.
"President, you have a business meeting this afternoon. Do you want to nap first?" Kennedy asked softly.
Joseph nodded. His meal finished, he shut his eyes to rest while telling Kennedy to quietly boost the video's popularity. He wanted more people to see it and understand how amazing his son was.
Edward, of course, had no idea his father was secretly investing in his reputation. Even if he did, he wouldn't care. He was busy filming The Truman Show.
With seasoned actors on set, shooting progressed smoothly. The only headache was the crowds of over-enthusiastic bystanders. Their sheer numbers gave Edward a splitting headache, making on-location filming troublesome.
Fortunately, the staff worked diligently, so filming continued. They were now at the scene where Truman notices a stage light fall from the sky and looks around in confusion.
"Jim, you really want the light dropped from that height? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" Edward frowned.
Jim, fully immersed, had insisted on realism. His dedication made Edward's scalp tingle.
"But wouldn't fake props affect the authenticity of the shot?" Jim asked, perfectionist as ever.
Edward quickly reassured him. With modern prop craftsmanship, creating highly realistic effects was straightforward—costly, yes, but easily achievable.
Hearing this, Jim finally relaxed and prepared for filming.
"Boss, isn't Mr. Carrey being too serious?" Zoroark muttered. Now serving as assistant director, it was learning filmmaking directly under Edward's guidance.
"No, he's just excited," Edward replied. He could tell that Jim's intensity came from sheer exhilaration.
Scratching his head, Edward couldn't help but sigh. He hadn't expected Jim Carrey to be this thrilled about the project—but in the end, such passion only strengthened the performance.
(End of Chapter)