"Dad! Why did you die?!"
Not long after, in another cinema hall, a shrill and grief-stricken wail suddenly rang out, interrupting the ongoing screening. After all, nobody dared to make jokes when it came to life and death. Such a joke could very easily cost them their own lives. The movie was quickly halted, and a group of Nurse Joys rushed inside.
The middle-aged man was putting on a performance, his face contorted with utter grief and despair. Yet deep inside, he was actually rejoicing. He had just confirmed it—his burdensome old father had finally died. He checked carefully: no breath, a stiffened body, no heartbeat. Everything was certain.
And so, the man began crying out loudly, demanding justice.
"Quick, make way! Give the patient a clear breathing space!" the Nurse Joys rushed over, dispersing the crowd and preparing to start resuscitation. For patients who had lost breath, even if the heart had stopped, there was still a window of time to save them—it was the golden period for resuscitation!
The man and the woman sobbed loudly as they stepped aside, wiping at their eyes, faces full of supposed worry. Yet just as the Nurse Joys prepared to administer CPR, the old man suddenly opened his eyes, looked around in confusion, and sat up.
The Joys' faces darkened. One of them glared coldly at the pair. Still, for safety, they carried out a proper check.
"The old gentleman is fine, just some age-related chronic conditions," the Nurse Joy concluded after putting away her instruments.
The man and woman were stunned. They had checked with their own hands just moments ago—the old man's heartbeat had stopped. And that was considered "fine"?!
But faced with the sight of the old man standing on his own two feet, they fell silent.
"Really fine? But I just checked—my dad had no breath, no heartbeat, I—" the woman tried to protest anxiously, but Nurse Joy shook her head firmly. At once, the two panicked.
To avoid being held accountable by the cinema, the pair hurriedly dragged their father away in a rush, muttering to each other that they would try another theater.
"Son, daughter… I really can't keep watching. Please, let me go home and rest," the old man pleaded wearily. Watching Edward's films once was fine, but being forced to sit through so many times in a row was nothing short of torment. What's more, elderly people had weaker mental stamina; naturally, he couldn't endure it.
"No way, Dad. I don't have that much free time to accompany you to the movies later," the woman replied impatiently. This stubborn old man! Back when he was young, at least he could work part-time and give them some household money. But now that he was old, even security jobs wouldn't take him, and instead they had to spend money to keep him. She had long been fed up. Now that she had finally thought of a way to dump this burden and get rich in the process, how could she let him leave?
The old man looked to his son for help, but the son ignored him completely. All he could do was sigh in despair as the two unfilial children dragged him toward yet another cinema—to watch Edward's The Grudge.
"Isn't this already the third screening today?" one of the theater staff remarked, watching the strange trio with open disdain. His eyes lingered with contempt on the younger pair.
"Yeah. The boss said they already bought tickets at two other cinemas before, and both times they caused a scene," another staffer sneered.
Cinemas had communication networks too, just like every industry had its own chat groups. Usually, the chatter was light—sharing work updates, mutual praise, or complaining. But today, the messages were unusually unified:
[Here's a middle-aged man and woman taking an old man to watch The Grudge. After the movie, they claim he's dead.]
The message spread quickly.
At first, people thought the cinema was just unlucky. Aside from funeral parlors and hospitals, nobody wanted someone dying at their premises—it brought endless trouble and ruined reputation.
But when the second cinema reported the exact same situation—that the trio came to watch The Grudge and then declared the old man dead—everyone grew wary.
They weren't fools. Once might be coincidence, misfortune. But twice in a row, under the exact same circumstances? People began to figure it out.
"Pitiful old man. Those two unfilial brats… they must be trying to use his life to blackmail money," one staffer sighed while making popcorn. The others glared furiously at the pair dragging the weary elder upstairs like animals.
But what could they do? Reporting to Officer Jenny would be useless. After all, there was no law forbidding taking an elderly person to watch a movie. In fact, seniors even enjoyed ticket discounts.
So, the staff could do little.
This time, the man and woman stared intently as their father stopped breathing again. They stayed quiet until the movie ended, by which time livor mortis spots had begun to appear on his skin. Only then did they cry out dramatically. Nurse Joys rushed inside again.
Yet to everyone's shock, the corpse-like spots vanished instantly. The supposed "burden" came back to life yet again—this time even looking more spirited than before. The man and woman were so furious they nearly lost their minds.
"Impossible! I saw corpse spots on my dad's body with my own eyes!" the man howled wildly. The onlookers gave him strange looks—what on earth was he saying?
The old man's body only had age spots, not corpse spots.
The old man himself stayed silent. When he had seen that jawless girl on the screen, a wave of terror pierced his heart, followed by sharp chest pain and loss of consciousness. Yet somehow, he woke up again.
He was old, yes, and a bit slow to react. But he wasn't stupid. After being dragged to three different cinemas to watch the exact same horror film, he finally realized what his children intended to do.
Nothing is more tragic than a dead heart. The old man sighed heavily, his eyes filled with exhaustion.
A young man nearby quietly raised his phone and began recording. No one noticed.
Even after this, the unfilial pair refused to give up. They tried to drag him to a fourth cinema, but this time the theater refused to sell them tickets. No matter what they said, the answer was no. Furious, the two could do nothing—the cinema wasn't breaking any rules. Buying and selling tickets required mutual consent. They couldn't force it.
The old man, meanwhile, said nothing. He moved like a puppet on strings. The young man kept recording, capturing both photos and video.
Soon, a video appeared online:
[Two 'Filial' Children Forcing Their Father to Watch The Grudge]
"These people are insane," Edward muttered when he came across the video. He often enjoyed surfing the web in his spare time.
Indeed, smartphones and the internet had changed how people spent their leisure. Many did nothing but lie in bed, scrolling endlessly, wasting entire days. Humanity had grown lazier.
But Edward wasn't worried about falling into that trap. Even if he scrolled sometimes, he still spent most of his day filming movies and managing his company.
"They're trying to get their father killed and then demand compensation from me, aren't they?" he shook his head. He even liked the top comment: [Don't bother quarreling with such white-eyed wolves. After all, they're just beasts.]
He had never expected something like this to happen. What was most frustrating was that there wasn't an easy legal solution. Watching movies didn't legally constitute elder abuse.
Rubbing his chin, Edward made a call, summoning his company's head of legal affairs.
Before long, a man with a buzz cut and glasses walked in. His aura screamed professionalism. This was Dave, the head of Edward's legal department, a highly experienced lawyer hired at a very high salary. Edward knew well that in this age, legal issues were no small matter. Legal departments had to be staffed with elite talent, and Dave had already proven himself capable of standing toe-to-toe with veterans like Shirai.
"Dave, have you seen this video?" Edward asked, handing him the phone.
"Not yet, boss. Please give me a moment." Dave apologized politely and studied the clip carefully while Edward sipped tea and played with Q.
Dave finished quickly but with meticulous attention.
"Boss, how do you wish to proceed?" he asked.
Edward thought for a while. What struck him most in the video was the old man's eyes—the initial bewilderment, the gradual shift into complexity, and finally the deadened hopelessness. That final sigh of despair could serve as a teaching material in any film academy.
Though the old man spoke no words, Edward could almost see his heart die.
"Legally, can we act on this?" Edward asked.
"It's hard to define precisely," Dave admitted, "but dragging an elderly man to watch repeated horror screenings—especially the same film—can indeed be interpreted as elder abuse. And judging by their behavior, I suspect they've mistreated him outside of this as well. If we dig, we should find more evidence."
Edward nodded. That aligned with his own thoughts.
"Then I'll leave it to you. Handle it strictly and severely. I want those two to spend time in prison reflecting."
Dave immediately noted it down.
"However, boss, if this old man's only direct relatives are those two, it may affect the judge's ruling," Dave warned.
Edward scratched his head. He understood.
In his past life, cases of elder abuse often ended with suspended sentences. Courts feared that jailing unfilial children would leave the old person without anyone to provide care. Thus, sentences rarely resulted in actual prison time.
"Find a solution," Edward waved his hand. This was Dave's responsibility now.
Dave nodded, relieved. If the boss had given the order, he could act freely.
Leaning back in his chair, Edward gazed at the scenery outside, rubbing his chin.
"Somehow, just throwing them in prison doesn't feel satisfying enough," he murmured. Their behavior was beyond forgiveness. And even if they failed this time, they would surely try again elsewhere until they succeeded in killing their father.
Such beastly conduct disgusted him. But hiring killers was illegal. Even though many tycoons had dirty secrets, Edward didn't want to poke the Alliance's hornet's nest.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue. "If only evil spirits weren't restricted from harming humans."
His thoughts turned to The Grudge's fear points.
[The Grudge: 101,230 (1 draw available)]
"Already over a hundred thousand?!" he was surprised. The movie had been out only two days. That meant fifty thousand fear points per day—an incredible pace. He was pleased. The higher the requirements for draws, the more he needed this kind of rapid accumulation.
Without hesitation, he chose to draw.
[You obtained: Cursed Doll (3/3)]
[Cursed Doll: A mystical item gained in response to the host's strong desire. Allows you to curse one target, forcing them to endure the suffering the host wishes upon them. Effect lasts for life.]
"Hiss… what a prize. Perfect." Edward's eyes lit up. Yes, it was contrived, but sometimes contrived was exactly what he needed.
He had already considered: even if Dave sent the pair to prison, would it really punish them enough? Probably not.
But he couldn't act outside the law either. This artifact, however, came at just the right time.
Pulling up the video, Edward retrieved the Cursed Doll.
The moment it appeared, Q leapt nervously, and even Void flew over, eyeing the doll warily.
"It's fine, it's fine," Edward soothed his Pokémon before raising the eerie cloth doll. He selected the two scum in the video as his targets. At once, the doll's available uses dropped from three to two.
"I want them to be haunted by Kayako, tormented endlessly," Edward wished "simply."
The doll's eyes glowed, then fell still. To outsiders, it looked like a cheap knockoff. But Edward knew—the curse had already been set. Very soon, those two disgusting creatures would meet the lovely Kayako in reality.
(End of Chapter)