Aside from Smiley, who rarely ever laughed, countless other video creators were furiously lashing out online, venting their anger at Ben Sox for what they called a shameless money-grabbing scheme. After all, this guy had truly disappointed everyone.
Not long ago, he had been riding Edward's popularity, happily clinging to his fame. Everyone assumed Ben Sox must actually have some level of skill. Yet, who could have imagined that this guy would crash and burn so completely? And to such an extent? With a quality that abysmal, he still had the nerve to piggyback off Edward's name? If that wasn't a scam, then what was?
When the first-day box office results came out, people were utterly devastated. That despicable Ben Sox actually took advantage of the hype he stirred up and raked in more than twenty million in box office opening revenue! Even though his profits were slashed after revenue splits, and his daily box office plummeted rapidly afterward, the man still made a profit.
Given the quality of the movie he produced, most people concluded that Ben Sox had struck gold. Judging from the production value, the cost of that film couldn't have exceeded five million — it might have been even lower. And as the controversy grew, more details began to surface.
Someone who claimed to be one of the animators hired by Ben Sox came forward, saying he was only paid ten thousand pokedollars to produce a twenty-minute segment of the film. Since the budget provided by the investor was pitifully small, he had no choice but to take the deal — completely unaware that his work would be used as part of a theatrical release.
Once that revelation went public, others started piecing things together and estimated that the total production cost of Ben Sox's film was no more than five hundred thousand pokedollars — and that was a generous estimate, considering there were still expenses like voice acting and sound design.
Even a theater manager later admitted that the film only made it to cinemas because of Ben Sox's parents' connections. Originally, there were almost no scheduled screenings — they just listed the title to fill space. But because audiences were curious about how bad Ben Sox's movie actually was, the number of showings unexpectedly increased.
Meanwhile, PokéMan's screenings were quickly cut down to almost nothing. Still, despite that, Ben Sox had already earned plenty of money. Then, out of nowhere, he posted on social media:
"I admit defeat. I lost because I lack the skill. I surrender. From today on, I'm withdrawing from the film industry."
After that, there was no further news.
"So, what do you think this guy was trying to do?" Edward asked, looking puzzled as he turned to Zoroark beside him.
Zoroark shook its head slightly — it wasn't too sure either. After all, Ben Sox had completely vanished. He no longer appeared online, and even his social media accounts showed up as deleted.
If it weren't for the fact that he had posted that final message and waited for others to reupload and archive it before deleting his account, people would've thought he'd simply rage-quit and run away.
"Don't tell me this guy's pulling some kind of stunt — sacrificing himself to make a point?" Edward muttered. After all, something similar had happened before.
He remembered a man who once pretended to be a rich heir online and tricked a struggling mother into kneeling in public, promising to pay for her child's medical bills if she did. But he never fulfilled the promise, causing a massive public uproar. Later, it turned out that he had done it intentionally — to draw public attention so that the mother would receive the donations her child desperately needed. It became a textbook example of manipulative social altruism.
But given Ben Sox's personality, Edward thought that possibility was pretty slim. If Ben Sox had really planned something noble like that, why would he cut off all contact with his parents?
Besides, the guy's family wasn't poor. If he truly wanted to help others, he could've done it with his own money not by trashing his reputation.
"Could it be that he owes someone something out there?" Edward wondered, but he didn't dwell on it for long. The situation wasn't worth his concern.
Over the next few days, Ben Sox seemed to have evaporated from the face of the earth. Everyone was curious where he'd gone. Even reporters tried visiting his home, only to find that he had completely severed contact with his family — his parents didn't even know his whereabouts. It was as if he had vanished from the world.
Some internet users even launched a "Find Ben Sox" campaign online, but no one ever found him. As time passed, people gradually forgot about the incident — after all, the internet moves fast, and new scandals pop up every day.
In contrast to Ben Sox's flop, Edward's Batman movie turned into a massive success.
Almost everyone went to see it. Many viewers became fans of Batman because of the film, while others were captivated by the Joker. The actors' popularity skyrocketed overnight — something Edward had anticipated. Both Batman and the Joker were distinct, deeply developed characters, destined to leave a strong impression.
Some fans even began asking when they could see the Joker appear in the comics. Edward had his own thoughts on that.
After all, the Joker's character design had evolved many times over the years before settling into his final form. But for this film, given how The Dark Knight had taken the world by storm, Edward had deliberately reimagined him — making the Joker a highly intelligent villain: more chaotic, more unpredictable, and a perfect counterbalance to Batman. He would become Batman's greatest and most fascinating nemesis.
Soon enough, fans of Superman began voicing their demands too, they wanted to see a Superman movie. Edward didn't reject the idea outright. After all, Superman was one of the most important figures in the DC Universe, the absolute pinnacle of power among heroes. Naturally, such a crucial character had to be handled with extreme care.
But the problem was — which story should he adapt?
There were countless Superman movies and storylines already. Deciding where to begin became Edward's biggest dilemma.
After some thought, he decided that the logical starting point should be Man of Steel, introducing Superman from the ground up. Casting would be the most crucial part, of course. Unlike Batman, Superman rarely wears a mask, so the actor's looks and physique would be absolutely essential.
Even though Edward had begun planning Superman's introduction, he wasn't rushing into production yet. Casting, scriptwriting, and set design all required meticulous preparation. Still, Edward was confident that after Batman's overwhelming success, his next superhero film would easily attract investors. That would significantly lower his production costs.
"Boss," Zoroark said, "we've received quite a few emails from people asking if they can buy the Batmobile."
Edward's mouth tCarrieed slightly. He looked at Zoroark and almost laughed — he hadn't expected people to be that obsessed with the Batmobile.
In the movie, the Batmobile's appearance had indeed been spectacular, a perfect symbol of Batman's arsenal. Its design alone was outrageously expensive, and Edward had even included a behind-the-scenes breakdown of the Batmobile's production costs in the bonus footage. That only made fans want it more. Some wealthy collectors even offered ten times its price to buy it outright!
That did make Edward hesitate for a moment — ten times the price was no small amount. The Batmobile itself already cost a fortune to build, and ten times that would be astronomical. But still, he had no intention of selling it.
"No matter who asks," Edward said, waving his hand, "just turn them down. I'm not selling that car."
He genuinely found it amusing. How could anyone expect him to sell the Batmobile? It wasn't just any prop — it was the first official, fully functional Batmobile in the world, and more importantly, he was the one who officially owned the IP rights.
Its value would only keep rising as the Batman franchise grew more popular. But Edward never planned to sell it — he preferred to keep it for himself.
Zoroark nodded and made a note of it before leaving.
Afterward, Edward smiled and picked up Little Q to play some games together.
Recently, Q had become obsessed with a kind of board-jumping game. Edward didn't mind, they played together for a while before he went to check on Void.
But Void was the same as always: detached and blank, staring vacantly into space as if lost in another world.
Edward wasn't surprised — he understood Void's personality by now. He also knew the best way to get Void interested in something: through games. For some reason, Void was utterly addicted to a new title called Pokémon Brawl Royale.
Sure enough, as soon as Edward opened the game on his phone, Void instantly perked up, eyes gleaming with excitement as he stared at the screen. Edward could only sigh helplessly — the kid was basically a gaming addict, and his favorite character was always Pikachu.
Because of Void, Edward's own account had reached VIP Level 10 — since Void had bought every available skin.
Not that Edward minded. It was his own game, after all. Even if he poured more money into it, it would just circle back to him.
Pokémon Brawl Royale had been incredibly profitable recently. Its development and maintenance costs were relatively low, yet it generated impressive income and maintained a healthy, stable player base. Though not the largest on the market, it performed far above average and had inspired several imitators.
Within months, four or five competing games had appeared, but only one or two managed to survive — and even those were no match for Pokémon Brawl Royale. Edward's game only needed to focus on balancing characters and releasing appealing skins to keep the profits rolling in. Other companies had far more to worry about.
"Hm… maybe I should add Void as a character in the game," Edward mused. "That would be…"
Just as he was thinking about it, his phone suddenly buzzed. He glanced at it — a strange text message.
The content was odd and cryptic, ending with something like "Reply T to decline." Edward gave it one look before tossing it into the spam folder. He never replied to messages like that — they usually only brought more spam once you interacted with them.
After deleting the message, he turned his attention to the Carrie movie trailer.
Following The Dark Knight, it was now time for The Carrie to hit theaters according to his planned schedule.
However, because of its darker and more mature themes, The Carrie didn't receive an all-ages rating, it was classified strictly for adults. Edward didn't mind. The story itself danced precariously along moral and emotional red lines.
If this weren't the Pokémon world, and if Edward didn't possess his League's Medal of Valor, Carrie would likely have faced far stricter censorship.
After all, the movie was heavy, somber, and at times brutally direct — especially in the ending, where the Carrie's revenge was violent, bloody, and deeply satisfying, but potentially troubling for younger audiences.
Considering the real-world incidents that had occurred in some of the regions where it was to be released, it wasn't hard to understand why the censors had been cautious.
(End of Chapter)