Harry Potter had finished its run in theaters. As for Edward, he didn't feel much about it anymore. After all, he had made so many movies by now that he'd grown numb to the idea of filming itself—he had almost no emotional reaction toward any of them.
What he cared about more these days were the box office numbers and, of course, the fear points. However, this Harry Potter movie was somewhat unique, so it didn't produce any fear points at all. That alone gave Edward quite the headache.
"But the total box office is pretty good, four hundred fifty million."
Looking at the movie's final earnings, Edward felt fairly satisfied. After all, this Harry Potter film was essentially just a test project he had thrown out to try the waters. In the beginning, he was hesitant and unsure of how a movie like this would perform. But now that he could see the results, he considered them quite good—at least good enough to pass his own standards.
This outcome pleased Edward greatly, because it meant he could continue filming the next Harry Potter movie. And as for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Edward had already finished writing it. He could probably release it soon. But he didn't plan on filming anything for a while—Ghost Films currently had plenty of ongoing projects, so Edward decided to finally give himself a long, overdue vacation.
"…Should I use it?"
Edward's gaze fell on the Movie World Travel Voucher he still had. Technically, he had another one of these, but what he found most interesting was the Random Movie World Experience Ticket. That one let you experience a world as the protagonist, and the last time he used it, he had enjoyed himself quite a bit. Its effects were also very amusing. Still, even this regular movie-world travel voucher wasn't bad at all.
It would be perfect for relaxation and a vacation.
The only problem was—which movie world should he go to?
This gave Edward a bit of a dilemma.
Originally, he wanted to visit the world of Harry Potter to see if he could learn magic. But after thinking about some of the rules in the Harry Potter universe, he hesitated and ultimately gave up on the idea—for now. If he went now, he would likely run into a young Harry Potter, and that would be… awkward.
After thinking carefully, Edward gave up on traveling to the Harry Potter world.
Instead, after a long struggle, he decided to visit the world of The RULE #1. He wanted to see what the evil spirits in that world were really like—and whether he could change the world itself. But Edward didn't hold high expectations. Back when he visited The Grudge, he learned just how troublesome it was to change the fate of a cursed world.
Especially when it came to evil spirits.
If the spirits didn't take the initiative to attack him, Edward couldn't attack them at all. So realistically, he could at most conduct investigations, patch up plot holes, and refine the storylines.
With that thought in mind, Edward used the travel voucher—and the next moment, he arrived inside the movie world of The RULE #1.
The moment he stepped inside, he found himself standing before an ordinary high-rise building. People walked back and forth around him, all busy and rushing about, too occupied to notice anyone else. Everyone was constantly hurrying, constantly moving—and the entire sky above the city was heavy and oppressive, filled with thick, unbroken layers of dark clouds. Not a single ray of sunlight could be seen.
Before long, Edward realized exactly where he should go.
If nothing went wrong, he should look for the main character of The RULE #1, Lee Kwok-keung. If he could find him, Edward might uncover some additional clues.
So, Edward headed to the police station.
But after asking around, his expression turned slightly odd.
"Huh? You mean Inspector Lee Kwok-keung? Do you have an appointment?"
The front desk girl looked at him with a polite smile.
Edward touched his face.
His looks were… decent, to say the least. Sometimes it was very convenient—at least for someone like Edward. And since even in this world his wealth had transferred over equivalently, he was effectively a golden bachelor here too.
"No appointment, sorry." Edward chuckled.
It seemed the timing of his arrival was different this time. He had entered the world after the story of The RULE #1 had already ended. He had no idea how much time had passed since then.
But judging from the situation, Lee Kwok-keung was doing pretty well.
…No—if interpreted according to the logic of The RULE #1, it might actually be Chan Fuk-loi who was doing well.
Just as Edward was about to leave, he saw Lee Kwok-keung entering the building. The man greeted the front desk casually, then looked toward Edward. His eyes lit up instantly, and the receptionist's introduction conveniently gave him an excuse to approach.
"Ah! Hello, hello, sir! What business do you have with me~?"
The moment Edward saw Lee Kwok-keung's expression, he knew it—
Yep. That's Chan Fuk-loi.
No question about it.
Which also meant that the version of this world he had entered…
was the one still infested with ghosts, not a ghost-free one.
Edward's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
If so, then Chan Fuk-loi's excitement made perfect sense—this guy was eyeing his body greedily.
In The RULE #1, ghosts could transfer bodies through physical contact.
Edward didn't mind. In fact, he was curious:
What would happen if Chan Fuk-loi touched him?
Even Edward himself didn't know the answer.
In the Grudge world, Kayako never attacked him, so he never got to test this.
But here?
Here, he could.
"Hello, Officer Lee Kwok-keung. I have a few things I'd like to ask you."
Edward smiled and extended his hand.
Chan Fuk-loi's eyes gleamed with greed.
Chan Fuk-loi hated being stuck in the body of his enemy, but transferring wasn't easy. All his ideal targets were already possessed by older ghosts, making it impossible to steal them. Worse yet, his superior oppressed him constantly. Chan Fuk-loi was extremely unhappy.
But now—
This wealthy young man before him?
The perfect host.
If he succeeded, he would enjoy the luxurious life of a rich second generation.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
So, Chan Fuk-loi immediately grabbed Edward's hand and activated his ability without hesitation.
For ghosts like him, body-transfer could be activated at will—but normally they didn't use it, or they would never be able to touch anyone.
But now?
Now Chan Fuk-loi wanted to possess him—so he activated it directly.
And then—
"…Interesting."
Edward smiled.
This time, the evil spirit had initiated the attack.
Which meant his defense mechanism activated automatically.
Edward saw Chan Fuk-loi's spirit but what caught Edward's attention even more was the HP bar floating above his head, along with the numbers.
[A wild evil spirit has appeared!]
The next moment, Q appeared in front of Edward.
Chan Fuk-loi froze, stunned, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
"What a useless piece of trash."
Edward sneered.
Chan Fuk-loi was only level 5.
Q was level 100.
This was Edward's first time seeing such data displayed so clearly.
"Q, use Shadow Ball."
A massive Shadow Ball smashed into Chan Fuk-loi's face.
His scream echoed for a split second before he died.
More accurately—
his soul was utterly annihilated.
Edward returned to the real world of that plane.
Lee Kwok-keung stood before him, staring in complete disbelief.
Edward smiled and lifted a finger to his lips—
Shh.
…
Lee Kwok-keung sat at the edge of the police station rooftop, rolling Superintendent's Wong Yiu-fai old Zippo lighter between his fingers. Three years had passed since that stormy night. He never imagined he would one day escape from Chan Fuk-loi's control and regain his body.
"So… how exactly did you do that?"
Edward asked curiously.
He never knew someone possessed by a ghost could actually regain consciousness.
Everyone before this failed.
"He wanted to torture me. He trapped my soul inside my body, forcing me to watch him commit atrocities every single day."
Lee Kwok-keung's expression was blank, but when he spoke, his fists clenched tightly. He was boiling with suppressed rage.
For three years, his entire family had been slaughtered and brutally tormented by Chan Fuk-loi.
Lee Kwok-keung wanted to kill himself from despair—
but he couldn't even move.
Edward nodded.
"So that's how it is."
Just then—
"Serial self-mutilation case found at New Territories Pier."
A mechanical voice came through the earpiece. It was the encrypted anti-eavesdropping channel used by Unit Seven.
Edward raised an eyebrow.
Could it be… The RULE #1 2 was beginning?
There was no official sequel—
but Edward planned to film one.
"The victim hung himself upside-down from the cold storage pipes with iron hooks, and his internal organs were arranged in a swastika pattern."
When Edward and Lee Kwok-keung arrived at the scene, a man in a gray trench coat stood amid the white mist of coolant vapor.
"Cheng Ansheng. Nephew of Superintendent Wong Yiu-fai. After the Miscellaneous Division failed in duty three years ago, Unit Seven was assigned to clean up the mess you all left behind."
He raised a police badge engraved with Sanskrit patterns.
Cheng Ansheng stared strangely at Lee Kwok-keung.
He sensed something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"W-Who are you?"
Cheng Ansheng tensed up. Something was slipping out of his control.
Fortunately, Lee Kwok-keung explained the situation, and after running a few tests, Cheng Ansheng's expression shifted into shock. But when he looked at Edward, his astonishment grew even stronger.
Lee Kwok-keung had told him the truth—
It was all thanks to Edward.
Which made Cheng Ansheng regard him with even greater admiration.
"There are seventeen identical heat sources across Hong Kong. It's the ghosts cultivating new hosts."
He showed them satellite thermal imaging.
Cheng Ansheng then shined a UV light into Lee Kwok-keung's eyes and nodded.
"Looks like you are really freed from it. Incredible…"
He had never seen anything like this. It was utterly absurd.
Meanwhile, Edward simply smiled.
He was curious how these people planned to handle things.
After all, he was only here to provide a safety net.
And since Chan Fuk-loi had attacked him, Edward was no longer bound by the rule preventing him from harming ghosts in this world.
…
Cheng Ansheng led them into an abandoned underground hospital. All the corridor mirrors were painted black. He activated an EMP device, and the walls instantly turned transparent—
Five hundred corpses soaked in formalin opened their eyes at once, each with data cables connected into their temples.
"Welcome to the Memory Farm."
A woman in a white lab coat stepped out of the shadows, staring at them like they were delicious prey.
Cheng Ansheng pulled a bronze compass from his coat.
Its needle spun wildly, pointing at the woman's heart.
The woman cackled and tore off her face—
revealing Superintendent's Wong Yiu-fai rotting features beneath.
"What was the first thing I taught you back then? The best hiding place is—"
A deafening gunshot erupted.
Cheng Ansheng had already fired, a bullet laced with cinnabar piercing her forehead.
Edward blinked in mild surprise.
This guy was that decisive?
"Never let them get close. This is the RULE #1."
Cheng Ansheng said calmly.
Edward didn't comment. He simply hugged Q, watching the surrounding corpses begin to stir.
This world…
had truly become a realm ruled by malicious spirits.
But since these were essentially corpses soaking for unknown purposes, they didn't pose much threat and were quickly wiped out by Lee Kwok-keung and Cheng Ansheng.
Outside, however, a heavily armed special police unit arrived. Among them was Lee Kwok-keung's superior. Their equipment was military-grade—and all of them were ghosts.
Edward scratched his head.
He had hoped for a relaxing vacation, but apparently he had already drawn unwanted attention.
More likely, they noticed something odd about Lee Kwok-keung.
It made sense—half the police station was controlled by ghosts.
"I'll go deal with it."
Edward said, carrying Q.
Cheng Ansheng pursed his lips and followed closely beside him.
He wanted to see exactly how Edward did it.
Lee Kwok-keung was just as curious.
Edward dragged the evil spirits into the Duel World.
The strongest among them was level 25.
Edward smiled kindly.
There wasn't much to describe about the fight—
One Dazzling Gleam from Q and the entire group was annihilated.
When the bodies collapsed to the ground, lifeless, Cheng Ansheng muttered—
"Their souls were already eaten. People like you two… are extremely rare."
He glanced at Lee Kwok-keung.
The man's luck was truly extraordinary.
Then Cheng Ansheng looked at Edward—
and in his eyes burned a glimmer of mania.
After fighting these ghosts for so many years…
he had finally found a sliver of hope.
(End of chapter)