[Would you like to merge the draws into a Ten-Pull? The chance of obtaining rare items will greatly increase.]
Seeing this prompt, Edward paused for a moment. A ten-pull? Ten million for a single draw? That really was expensive. But when he looked at the description of "rare items," he couldn't help being tempted. After all, what this category represented was something that deeply mattered to him—at the very least, Edward cared about it intensely. And he also understood that the good things that appeared in this pool were indeed extremely valuable.
Thinking that far, Edward chose to merge the draws into a ten-pull. He wanted to see for himself what kind of treasures could be drawn from a ten-pull. With that thought, he straightened up a bit, looked at the screen before him, rubbed his hands together in excitement, took a deep breath, and chose Use Ten-Pull.
[You have obtained: Petal of Eternity – The Tear of Floette]
[This item is restricted to you and your partner only. It can be used once. Upon use, your lifespans will extend indefinitely, and you will remain youthful forever.]]
"Tch—this kind of thing? Looks pretty good, but it seems like there are still a few problems. Not sure how those issues are supposed to be handled. And it can only be used by me and my partner… then what about my old man and brother? Eternal life for just two people is, in some cases, a kind of torture. But I probably don't need to use it right now anyway."
Edward stayed surprisingly calm. Although he had grown older, he was still essentially a young man at heart. Because Ash had begun his journey, time was flowing normally, yet people didn't seem to age. Edward felt that Ash was truly ridiculous, this kind of ability wasn't something ordinary people could have.
Still, he liked the item quite a lot.
[You have obtained: Grandmaster-Level Filmmaking Skill ×7]
[Your films are considered second lives. People praise them as masterpieces because of you. You are the world's top cinematic master.]
This one was more standard, but it made up for all of Edward's weaknesses. Now, when filming a movie, he could truly achieve the best possible effect. Thinking of that, he felt satisfied. He now had eight items already. What would the last two be? He was genuinely curious, and these rewards mattered to him, so he continued scrolling through them.
[You have obtained: Universal Travel Door to Any Movie World]
[Open this door to enter any movie world you wish, gaining certain special privileges. However, you cannot bring anything from those worlds back to this world.]
[You have obtained: Aura of Fear]
[Anyone, human or Pokémon, who sees you will feel overwhelming fear and tremble beneath your presence.]
"These two rewards are… decent, I guess. But I honestly don't need anything else. With my current status, anything money can buy isn't a problem anymore. Only things money can't buy are the ones that give me headaches." Edward stroked his chin.
These two items looked good, and he had some ideas about how to use them. Given his current identity and position, nothing material was really out of reach. What he needed were the things beyond purchase, intangibles.
With that in mind, he stored the rewards away and planned to deal with everything slowly.
Just as he was about to leave, Edward received a phone call. It was from an enthusiastic movie fan. The fan believed that RULE #1 should have an additional script and decided to send it to Edward. Edward agreed to take a look.
He turned on his computer, checked his email, and saw the fan's message, along with the script for what the fan thought should be the sequel to RULE #1.
…
In the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong, beneath the shadows of narrow alleys, fear spread like invisible tendrils.
Detective Lee Kwok-Keung had temporarily repelled the evil spirit possessing the young girl, but the true battle was far from over. Now, the spirit's power had grown even stronger—not only could it manipulate human fear, it was attempting to break the ancient taboo of the "First Commandment," the one that declared "Thou shalt not take the name of God in vain."
In this final confrontation concerning the fate of humankind, Lee Kwok-Keung would have to confront the darkness within his own heart if he hoped to completely eliminate the evil spirit and protect the world of the living.
Months had passed since the previous incident, but Hong Kong's streets still carried an unshakable sense of unease. Although Detective Lee appeared to have returned to normal life on the surface, whenever he closed his eyes he still saw the little girl's pale face and the eerie chants from her mouth. He knew the spirit had not truly disappeared—it was merely waiting, gathering strength, preparing to descend upon the world once more.
One night, Lee's phone suddenly rang. His colleague's panicked voice came through the receiver:
"Sir Lee, something's wrong! A psychiatric hospital in Sai Wan had a bizarre incident—several patients suddenly went mad, chanting strange scriptures, and some even harmed themselves!"
Lee's heart tightened instantly. The spirit had returned.
When he arrived at the psychiatric hospital, the scene before him was horrifying. Patients stared blankly with twisted bodies, as if controlled by an unseen force. A trembling nurse told him, "They… they're not people. They're ghosts! They're looking for new hosts!"
Lee tightened his grip on his gun. This opponent was stronger than anything he had ever faced.
Through further investigation, Lee discovered the spirit's plan was not simply to incite fear, it intended to break RULE #1, the First Commandment. According to ancient texts, First Commandment maintained the balance between the human world and the spiritual realm. If broken, the evil spirit would gain immeasurable power, even the authority to control human souls, plunging the entire city into eternal darkness.
Even worse, the spirit had already found the perfect host: Father Lam Chi-Ming, who had once been a devout Christian. But after witnessing too much human ugliness, his faith began to crumble. The evil spirit seized the moment of vulnerability, possessing him and using his position to spread fear and manipulate the congregation.
Lee realized he had to find Father Lam quickly before the spirit's plan became irreversible. But Lam was no longer the gentle priest he once was. His eyes were filled with madness and darkness.
As the spirit's influence grew, Lee began to doubt whether he could truly defeat it. He remembered watching his partner be possessed and eventually die horribly before his eyes. His heart was weighed with fear and guilt. He even questioned whether he was worthy of being the guardian of the first commandment.
In one confrontation, the possessed Lam sneered at him:
"You think you can save everyone? You can't even conquer your own fear!"
The words pierced straight into Lee's heart. He realized that the true enemy wasn't the spirit—but the cowardice inside himself.
To destroy the spirit once and for all, Lee placed everything on the line. He sought out a reclusive exorcist named Master Cheung. The exorcist told him that the spirit's power stemmed from human fear and despair. Only unwavering faith and courage could banish it completely.
On a stormy night, Lee and Master Cheung infiltrated the church. Lam stood before the altar, chanting an ancient incantation, surrounded by zombie-like worshippers kneeling in the gloom. The spirit's power had reached its peak, and the church was wrapped in an eerie black mist.
Lee took a deep breath, raised his cross, and shouted,
"In the name of God, I command you, leave this world!"
The spirit shrieked, resisting, but Lee's resolve was unshakable. He closed his eyes and remembered why he became a police officer—to protect the innocent and uphold justice.
In that moment, a blinding light burst from the cross. The evil spirit screamed and dissolved into smoke. Lam collapsed, his eyes clearing. The worshippers slowly awakened, their fear replaced by hope.
Standing at the church doors, gazing at the dawn, Lee finally felt at peace. He understood now: the First Commandment wasn't merely a religious taboo. It represented humanity's resistance against fear and darkness. As long as people held onto justice, no force could destroy the light.
Hong Kong returned to its usual bustling life, though Lee knew the spirits might not have vanished entirely. They were simply lurking in the shadows, waiting for another chance.
But he no longer feared them—because he now understood that true strength came from human courage and faith.
…
"This script is decent, but still has some issues. The fan didn't really understand what I meant." Edward sighed. The fan did have ideas, but not many.
What RULE #1 wanted to express was far more than this. It was a film meant for deep analysis, filled with nuances and special meanings. But the fan's interpretation was shallow. That was something Edward knew he would have to correct.
With that thought, he formed some ideas. He planned to slowly sort through these things and figure out how he wanted to make his next script.
This time, Edward wanted to shoot a very simple film, a standard horror story. But the twist was that the protagonists were merely actors, forming a film-within-a-film. At the end of the movie, after the actors returned home to sleep, the screen would abruptly cut to black.
Then, the sound of machinery would play, someone would remove a VR helmet, and the person would comment on how amazing today's "Life Simulation Game" session was—though it was always annoying that entering the simulation erased their memories each time.
The final scene would reveal a massive world filled with endless maintenance technicians. All those "people" were actually just individuals lying in nutrient pods.
A film-within-a-film… and a "brain in a vat" within another "brain in a vat." Whether it conveyed his intended message or not, Edward felt there'd be no problem. These ideas carried their own unique meaning, and given his new grandmaster-level skills, creating such a film would be trivial.
"At that point, I can treat it as my final work. Everything after… can wait. For now, let's focus on filming this movie."
Edward shook his head. His thoughts were simple. These elements had their own unique charm, and he wanted to combine them, adding psychological horror elements that would make audiences question the reality of their own existence. That way, he could achieve the effect he desired. Once that was done, he could retire. He very much wanted to retire.
With that thought, he began filming for the day. The entire filming process commenced. Edward demanded absolute perfection. He didn't use any jump scares. Instead, he incorporated vast amounts of stream-of-consciousness and subconscious imagery, all to achieve the effect he wanted.
He aimed to introduce new forms of horror into the world—subtle, slow-burn, deeply unsettling horror that lingered in the mind long after the movie ended. That was the main goal of this project.
In his view, he had already pushed horror films to a certain height, and any further breakthrough would be extremely difficult. But now, he wanted to make the difficult achievable. And so, new ideas continued to form in his mind.
"This time, I'll add more psychological cues and terrifying imagery, something quietly unsettling. I'll guide the audience into forming new interpretations." Edward decided to revise the film further, adding more elements that suited his style.
He yawned, eyes gleaming with faint amusement. These things were interesting—but whether he could fully realize them was still a troublesome matter.
"Troublesome, yes… but manageable." he muttered as he continued improving the script while simultaneously filming the final movie of his career.
Once this project was finished, he would finally retire—and enjoy a new life, while maybe watching a few films here and there. That sounded nice, too.
(End of Chapter)