Although Edward felt that Zoroark's script was a little on the bizarre and macabre side, he still agreed to it. After all, Zoroark had been working as his secretary for a long time, and its capabilities should still be reliable to some extent. At the very least, the protagonist himself felt reassured enough.
However, that also brought along a few new problems that needed to be addressed. With that in mind, Edward glanced over at Zoroark.
When it came to shooting Pokémon films, Zoroark was basically a complete newbie—utterly inexperienced, with all sorts of issues here and there. But Edward wasn't particularly worried. Worst-case scenario, he could just assign Zoroark a few experienced assistant directors to guide it through the whole process. With proper direction, the filming should still turn out fine.
Immediately after that, Edward also began preparations for the shooting of The Grudge 3.
"This time's filming will serve as the final conclusion to the entire series," Edward told the actors in front of him, holding the script in his hand. When Takako heard this, her eyes turned a little red.
There was no helping it—among the entire The Grudge cast, the only character who had remained constant from the start was Kayako. As for Toshio, because of his age, combined with the fact that children grow quickly, sometimes a single year could cause his height to change significantly. Because of that, Toshio's actor had to be replaced almost every time they filmed a sequel.
As for the other supporting characters, most of them were dead or simply no longer needed for future installments. In other words, within the script, the only one who had the deepest feelings toward this film was Takako—the actress for Kayako.
Moreover, to Takako, the role of Kayako meant many things. It represented her rise to fame, her high income, and her high popularity. After all, The Grudge series was currently the most impressive work she could present.
"Alright, everyone—let's do our best," Edward clapped his hands and began the filming of The Grudge 3.
Because Edward added a lot of content, including plotlines from other The Grudge adaptations, the storyline for The Grudge 3 was packed and constantly shifting between different scenes. The first part he planned to shoot was the final sequence of the movie.
That was the scene where Kayako successfully reincarnates, pushes down her biological mother, and then walks into the bustling city.
He chose to film this segment first because the little girl who played young Kayako was present today—Edward wanted her to finish her scene so she could wrap up and go home.
"Oh, right—there's also the Fear Points from Tomie: Unlimited." Edward suddenly remembered something and checked the Fear Points while the crew was still setting up.
At this point, the Fear Points for Tomie: Unlimited had increased so slowly it was basically negligible. The box office was still growing bit by bit, though—many viewers thought the movie was interesting, grotesque in a fascinating way, and worth a second watch. As for why people were rewatching it, well, Tomie's breathtaking beauty was the main reason.
This left Edward both amused and helpless.
To think that the movie had already surpassed five hundred million in box office revenue… Even though the growth was slow and it probably wouldn't reach five hundred and twenty million, it was still an astounding number. Many films struggled even to break a single two hundred million.
"And the Fear Points… is only 340,000?" Edward frowned helplessly. This was the lowest Fear Points he had gotten after filming so many movies. Or rather, ever since he had acquired his Master-level Cinematography skill, he rarely encountered a situation this poor.
Three hundred forty thousand Fear Points… that meant only three lottery draws, not even enough to fuse into a directional lottery. Edward no longer had much hope for his luck.
Still, wanting to boost his chances a little, Edward called Zoroark over and petted its fur. Zoroark froze on the spot, completely stunned. For a moment, it almost thought Edward had awakened some… questionable fetish and was planning to make a move on it. Fortunately, Edward was definitely not a furry, so that misunderstanding was quickly cleared up.
[You have received a Blank Employment Contract.]
[You have received a Master-level Universal Skill Shard.]
[You have received a Script Auto-Optimization Voucher.]
Three items popped up. Edward stared at them, his eyes filled with surprise. He hadn't expected that petting Zoroark before the lottery would be so effective—his luck this time was absolutely explosive.
He immediately checked the effects of the rewards.
[Blank Employment Contract: A blank employment contract. When used, it will randomly hire an evil spirit as your employee.]
Edward nodded. Its effect was similar to the contract he used to hire Tomie, except this one was random. Random meant he couldn't choose the evil spirit he wanted, but regardless, getting a new employee was better than getting nothing. He set the item aside for later use.
[Master-level Universal Skill Shard: A universal shard that can be converted into any skill shard of your choice. Once converted, the shard becomes consumed.]
Edward knew exactly what this was for. It was essentially an all-purpose shard—if he ever needed just one more shard to complete a skill, this would let him create a Master-level skill instantly. And this should be the highest level a skill could reach.
[Script Auto-Optimization Voucher: Troubled because your script is terrible or filled with plot holes? Use this to automatically refine and improve your script, ensuring it becomes more polished (but not excessively perfect).]
"This one doesn't really help me… but maybe Zoroark could use it?" Edward muttered, thinking. Still, he didn't pay too much attention to it. He didn't personally need it, and it wasn't particularly useful to him.
Still, keeping it around might come in handy someday.
With that thought, he casually activated the Blank Employment Contract. He wanted to take advantage of his good luck to see what kind of evil spirit he could get to work for him.
As soon as he used it, the scroll ignited with black flames. Thankfully, Edward was alone in the room—otherwise, he would have needed an excuse for this spectacle.
[Congratulations. You have successfully signed Freddy Krueger.]
[Freddy Krueger]
[A deranged serial killer from Elm Street. After death, he acquired mysterious powers, allowing him to enter the dreams of sleeping victims, torturing and killing them within their dreams. All injuries in the dream reflect 100% in reality. Due to system adjustments, however, unless the host lifts restrictions, injuries cannot manifest physically in the real world.]
"…No way. Nightmare on Elm Street?" Edward immediately recognized the name. Freddy was considered one of the four great slasher icons in Western horror cinema. Like Jason, he had similar traits—both were basically impossible to kill by normal means. Even in movies where they appeared to die, they were merely sealed away temporarily.
Edward had complained about this before: as long as the studios wanted money, even if God Himself descended and erased Freddy, the next movie would find a convenient excuse to resurrect him. The so-called "immortality" of these ghosts wasn't even worth discussing. When the studio lost interest, Freddy would simply be sealed away forever.
Though if he got popular again, they might even make something like The Final Freddy to cash in once more.
Still, even though Nightmare on Elm Street had waned over the years, the last time Edward saw Freddy was in that crossover film where he fought Jason—kind of like Kayako vs. Sadako but Western. He hadn't heard much about him since, except for occasional game collaborations featuring Freddy. It was nostalgic and a bit amusing.
But now…
"Hehe~ boss. How may I serve you today~?"
Following Edward's intent, Freddy materialized before him. But he looked much weaker than expected—completely unlike the vibrant and confident Tomie who appeared when she was summoned.
"How's your world doing, Freddy?" Edward asked curiously. He had considered filming Nightmare on Elm Street before. After all, while East Asians were still panicking about Kayako breaking the blanket barrier and violating the "Human–Ghost Treaty," Freddy had already slaughtered countless unlucky souls who merely dared to take a nap.
The easiest way to deal with Freddy was simply not to sleep. There used to be a rule that if you didn't fear Freddy, he would weaken, but once he regained enough power through others' fear, that rule didn't matter anymore.
Freddy was troublesome. In Freddy vs. Jason, the residents of Elm Street dealt with him by heavy medication and trying to erase all memory of his existence. If no one remembered him, he couldn't enter people's dreams. Eventually, Freddy woke Jason up to reignite fear and revive himself.
Edward wondered how Freddy fared in the real world.
"Ahh, business has been terrible, boss." Freddy sighed and started complaining. Edward finally understood what Freddy had gone through.
Poor Freddy had initially enjoyed himself, but unfortunately, his world seemed to be a fusion universe that included American Horror Story. Competition was brutal. Witches, voodoo practitioners, and all sorts of supernatural beings were active, making Freddy's situation extremely difficult. After several attacks, the residents of Elm Street moved away, leaving only a few elderly people who still remembered him—but Freddy didn't dare kill them.
Because if they died, even fewer people would know his legend. If the number dropped too much, Freddy would lose his existence entirely. He was on the verge of existential crisis—until he received Edward's employment contract, which ensured his continued existence. He still couldn't kill for fun, but torturing people in their dreams was good enough for him.
Edward scratched his head, a little conflicted. Freddy was… special. Figuring out how to arrange work for him wouldn't be simple. But after thinking for a moment, Edward formed an idea.
"Tell me—can you control dreams?" Edward asked.
Freddy nodded confidently. Of course he could. He could shape the dream world however he liked.
"Then… can you make people have pleasant dreams?" Edward asked with genuine curiosity.
Freddy froze, completely stunned. Seeing his expression, Edward could only pat his shoulder helplessly. No wonder Freddy had ended up like this—he had never even considered changing his approach.
"Let me ask you something. Your world has killer clowns, Jason, witches… doesn't that mean the horror market there is already oversaturated?" Edward said.
Freddy nodded again. Absolutely. There were too many monsters, and many were extremely powerful. Some even split territories and enforced boundaries. If he wandered into the wrong area, they'd beat him up.
Edward became intrigued.
In Edward's view, Freddy's abilities were unimaginably powerful. If a person could fully control their dreams, they could theoretically experience anything. In a dream, anything was possible—becoming a general, becoming a king, living with unimaginable luxury or power. "Sleeping beside beauties and waking with dominion over the world" was easy in a dream.
And Freddy could keep people from waking up. If Freddy adjusted his thinking, countless people would want to know his story.
So, Edward explained his idea to him. Freddy was shocked at first but soon fell into deep thought. Using dreams to harvest not fear, but happiness—he realized this method might actually work. At the very least, it was far better than the dire state he was in now.
"So, what should I do next, boss?" Freddy asked excitedly.
Edward smiled.
Freddy still had a few elderly people who remembered him, didn't he?
Perfect.
It was time for those elders to become his first batch of voluntary marketing agents.
Once the word spread, Freddy would naturally grow stronger again.
(End of Chapter)