[Breaking News! Famous Film Critic Turns Himself in to Officer Jenny!]
A trending topic shot straight up the search rankings, even surpassing "PokéCart," drawing in massive traffic. Related tags like [What Exactly Does Shutter Depict?] and [Shutter Drives People to Confess!] began to spread like wildfire online.
Edward, who was eating at the time, stared blankly at the screen.
"Wait… what the hell is this?"
He clicked the trending post in confusion, only to see a familiar username, along with a man sitting slumped in a police interrogation chair. The man's eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was one of sheer despair.
As Edward read on, the situation slowly became clear. According to the report, the infamous film critic had just turned himself in to Officer Jenny, confessing to a crime he'd committed years ago, which was now under verification.
At first glance, it didn't seem like such a big deal. Incidents like this weren't uncommon these days. While this man was somewhat well-known, it wasn't to the extent that his surrender should cause such a massive stir online. The reason for the uproar was because of the critic's final review post.
Edward scrolled down to read it.
"Karma exists. I once did something similar to the protagonist in Shutter… and now, she's come for me."
That was the last tweet the critic had posted before surrendering himself to the police. Because it referenced Shutter, Edward's latest film, the case immediately went viral. Everyone wanted to know—what exactly had this man done?
As media outlets dug deeper, the unlucky critic identified as Michael was soon exposed completely. Old classmates came forward with stories.
"Michael was the campus playboy back in college, but he was most infamous for a girl who jumped off a building because of him. The old news link is still online."
"Michael? Oh, I know him. Total scumbag. He knew exactly how to manipulate women's emotions. Basically a PUA expert."
"The girl I liked in college was wooed by him in just a few days. Later, she even got pregnant with his child. After he dumped her, I tried to comfort her, but she told me I wasn't worthy of raising Michael's child."
There were all kinds of comments, but what caught Edward's attention most was the first one.
He clicked on the link, only to see a photo of a beautiful, smiling young woman. Her name was Joy, a radiant college girl in the prime of her life. But in the end, she had chosen to end her life.
The investigation back then had been inconclusive. Everything pointed to suicide, there was no note, and Officer Jenny's routine questioning had yielded no further leads. The case was closed in haste.
But now, Michael had confessed the truth.
Officer Jenny's department worked quickly. While Edward, like a gossip-hungry melon-eater, was still scrolling through the trending posts, an official police notice was already released:
"After verification: Male suspect M (31), former student of Kanto University, was in a relationship with female victim J (21) during his studies. Due to financial issues, M intoxicated J and brought her to the Lotus Hotel, then left the scene. An individual named H (42), known to be associated with local crime groups, entered the room and assaulted J for several hours. J later took her own life. M, stricken by guilt, surrendered himself to authorities."
"...This guy's really something else," Edward muttered, lips curling in disgust.
He hadn't expected Michael to actually turn himself in. Judging from that last review, it sounded like he'd done something inhuman and now the ghost of Joy had come for him.
But was that even possible?
Edward didn't know this "Joy" personally. When filming Shutter, he had originally planned for the female ghost to physically appear, but because Diantha's acting had been so perfect, he'd scrapped that idea.
And, in retrospect, that had been the right call. Even without a real ghost in the film, Diantha's performance had been hauntingly powerful.
So logically speaking, this so-called ghost haunting Michael couldn't have come from his movie set. The guy must have just had the bad luck of encountering an actual spirit. After all, Edward was aware that ghosts really did exist in this world—and that there truly was an afterlife.
Still, Edward didn't dwell too much on Michael's situation. The man wasn't anyone important to him. Sure, he'd often criticized Edward online, but that didn't warrant much attention now. The critic had confessed, so jail time was all but certain.
"But if what he said is true," Edward thought, "then he's not done suffering yet."
That final tweet had sounded like a genuine cry of terror. If Joy's ghost really had found him, who knew what would happen next?
Meanwhile, in Kanto inside a detention cell, Michael was curled up in a corner, trembling uncontrollably.
"Hey, bro, what'd you get locked up for?" asked a bald, muscular inmate nearby, trying to make conversation.
Michael didn't respond. He didn't even seem to hear him. His eyes were wide and unfocused—staring up at the ceiling, where he could see her.
Joy.
The foolish woman stood upside down on the ceiling, her twisted grin stretching impossibly wide as she stared at him. Always staring.
"Don't look at me! Don't look at me… I'm sorry… I was wrong…"
Michael's voice broke into sobs. His mind was slipping further into madness. The bald man shivered at the sight and quietly scooted away.
In prison, experience had taught him to stay clear of both lunatics and lifers. A madman couldn't be executed for murder; a lifer had nothing left to lose. Both were dangerous in their own ways.
"Is this guy pretending to be insane to avoid sentencing?"
Officer Jenny and her team had also noticed something strange about Michael's behavior. Still, they suspected he was faking it after all, claiming insanity was a common trick to lessen punishment.
They'd seen it all: people eating filth, drinking urine, feigning insanity, you name it. But whether someone truly had a mental disorder was up to the judgment of Nurse Joy.
A short while later, Nurse Joy arrived, holding a medical file, her expression conflicted.
"He really is mentally ill," she said. "Severe hallucinations and auditory delusions."
"For real?" Officer Jenny frowned, feeling a hint of pity. If he was genuinely insane, the sentence would be lighter. Still, knowing he'd spend the rest of his life in a psychiatric hospital felt like justice enough.
"He keeps insisting he sees ghosts, the ghost of the girl who jumped," Joy added quietly. "His logic and speech are clear, but the things he describes… they're horrifying. It's like he truly sees her, just standing there, watching him."
Even Nurse Joy herself had felt a chill while treating him.
Perhaps, she thought, for a man like Michael, confinement was a blessing in disguise.
The court's decision came swiftly. While Michael's acts had been morally abhorrent, there wasn't much that could be legally prosecuted after so many years. Considering his confession and mental state, he was given a suspended sentence and transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
Yet even there, staff noticed how terrified he was of being alone. He constantly wept and screamed that ghosts were watching him. He could only sleep after heavy doses of sedatives.
Some Pokémon researchers even took interest in his case, suspecting there might be a Ghost Pokémon was involved but after investigation, they found nothing unusual around him. Whether he was merely delusional or truly haunted became a mystery no one bothered to solve.
…
"Boss, here's the list of actresses who came to audition for The Ring," Zoroark said, handing Edward a thick stack of files.
Edward flipped through them thoughtfully.
He had met Sadako before.
Though technically male, Sadako's appearance, mannerisms, and aura were entirely feminine. Even Sadako herself never thought of being a man after all, if she had been, she wouldn't have suffered that fateful assault from the smallpox patient.
So, naturally, the role of Sadako had to be cast as a woman and a beautiful one at that. Sadako possessed a certain shrine maiden kind of grace that few could emulate.
"Are all their acting skills up to standard?"
Zoroark nodded firmly.
Since Edward began directing films, every actor who worked under him had to meet extremely high performance standards. Being "in an Edward Stone film" had even become a mark of quality in the industry—a badge that guaranteed serious talent.
The actresses before him were all skilled, but difficult to choose between. Diantha wasn't participating this time as being a Champion kept her too busy.
He flipped through the photos again. Most of them were beautiful, as the role called for a young woman. Older actresses were automatically excluded, no matter how skilled, the innocence of youth simply couldn't be faked.
"That's one thing I can't stand," Edward muttered. "Middle-aged women trying to act like schoolgirls… painful to watch."
He firmly opposed such miscasting. Age had to match the role—no exceptions.
"This one," he finally said, pointing at a young actress. She was petite but had striking, expressive eyes. Edward could already picture it—those wide eyes staring down from above, perfectly recreating Sadako's iconic scene.
"Understood, boss," Zoroark said, jotting it down. Then he handed Edward another document—a report from the Prayer Wall and the NewHope Medical Hospital Project.
"Something wrong?" Edward asked, puzzled. It wasn't end-of-month yet, so Zoroark wouldn't normally bring reports now.
"Boss, some of the pharmaceutical companies supplying the hospital have raised their prices again. They claim…" Zoroark's tone was bitter.
Edward, however, remained calm. He had expected this. NewHope Medical Hospital threatened too many vested interests. Whether Devon Corp stood behind it or not, some people would always push back—unless the League itself intervened, there'd be no real restraint.
"How much to buy them out?" Edward asked.
Zoroark blinked, momentarily stunned. He hadn't even considered that option yet. After a quick investigation, he came back with a figure that made Edward pinch the bridge of his nose.
The cost was enormous.
There were many pharmaceutical companies involved, and acquiring them all would be a logistical nightmare. It wasn't impossible, but it would be messy—and expensive.
Moreover, Devon Corp's internal structure wasn't deeply invested in pharmaceuticals. Entering that field now would be a massive undertaking, involving patents, R&D, and licensing, all extremely capital-heavy sectors.
And the moment Devon made a move, rival companies would close ranks against them. After all, Devon had already dominated the e-commerce market; now stepping into medicine would cause an uproar.
"Troublesome," Edward sighed, scratching his head.
He quickly drafted a message to Kennedy, asking for his input on how to handle it. After all, the NewHope Medical Hospital project was a cornerstone of Devon's public welfare image, something he couldn't afford to let fail.
(End of Chapter)
TN: Sorry for forgetting guys.