The final episode of the first season of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, didn't set a new all-time viewership record, but it still took the top spot in ratings.
"Boss, we've figured out the reason for the dip in viewership," Zoroark burst through the door in a hurry and saw Edward sitting on the couch, writing a script.
"Was it because it was too scary?" Edward had already expected something like this.
Zoroark quickly nodded. Edward wasn't surprised. The moment he saw that the fear points harvested from the third episode of Sherlock Holmes had exceeded seventy thousand, he knew his hunch had been correct.
It turned out that even if you're making a suspenseful detective drama, adding horror elements could still generate a considerable amount of fear points. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Edward had loaded it with horror components—sound effects, camera work, atmosphere—all carefully designed to maximize the fear factor.
As a result, despite airing for just one day, Edward had already earned over seventy thousand fear points from this episode alone. While it didn't unlock any new rewards, it was more than enough to be converted into Fear Candy.
"There's a buzz online right now—people are saying that you've stayed true to your roots," Zoroark said with a grin, sneaking a curious glance at Edward.
After Edward returned from an outing yesterday, he had established a new, specialized department in the company, tasked solely with special effects and post-production.
Oddly enough, the department didn't even have a director—just a single employee. And this employee's profile was incredibly vague, covering a wide range of responsibilities, which made Zoroark briefly suspect it was a position created for him.
"Stay true to your roots, and you'll go the distance," Edward said calmly. He had started out making horror films, so this wasn't exactly a departure from his core. Besides, The Hound of the Baskervilles, while seemingly supernatural, was ultimately explainable.
It was like those cliché low-budget Chinese horror films that wrap everything up with hallucinogenic drugs, leaving no trace of the supernatural. In this episode, the antagonist—the Malamar—had started to show his hand. Edward planned to promote him to be the main villain in season two and create intense conflict between him and Holmes.
He also wanted to introduce Moriarty in the upcoming season. Holmes wouldn't recognize Moriarty's identity at first, only realizing toward the end of the season that Malamar was merely a pawn, and there was an even more terrifying mastermind behind the scenes.
"Boss, what exactly is that... 'Everything Department' for?" Zoroark couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. The new department was shrouded in secrecy. Even though a new division had been added to the company, no one had seen the employee in person. No one had any idea who they were.
"Oh, that? That department handles most of the company's problems. You could say... they can do pretty much anything." Edward paused for a second, but still answered Zoroark's question.
The Everything Department—this was the position Edward had specially created for Mewtwo.
High pay, low workload.
Plus, Mewtwo didn't even need to come to the office. It worked from home, which was also a safety precaution. After all, Mewtwo's appearance was too distinctive—unlike any known Pokémon. If anyone saw it, it would cause an uproar.
So, working from home was the better option.
Edward had even arranged a residence for Mewtwo: an apartment in Rustboro with great privacy.
"A position where you can do everything?" Zoroark was stunned. Even it, a certified overachiever, wouldn't dare claim it could do everything.
It had earned a lot of professional certificates, sure—but there were still plenty of things it couldn't handle.
"More or less. You'll see for yourself what the new employee is capable of later," Edward said with a smile.
Mewtwo's strength was immense—truly off the charts.
Edward had seen it firsthand yesterday. By his estimate, Mewtwo's power already exceeded apex Pokémon, and might even go beyond that. Team Rocket had truly created a godlike Pokémon.
Its reality-warping psychic powers had even stunned Edward. And Mewtwo was still getting stronger. Frankly, even if Mewtwo didn't lift a finger, Edward would still be willing to support it.
Because with strength like that, Mewtwo could help with just about anything.
"Well, now I'm really looking forward to it," Zoroark said, eyes gleaming with determination. It was eager to see how strong this new employee—handpicked and heavily trusted by the boss—really was.
Edward looked at Zoroark's sudden burst of motivation and scratched his head without saying much.
Mewtwo hadn't taken any certification exams yet, but Edward was confident it wouldn't take Mewtwo long to master any skill. The only problem was... Mewtwo seemed kind of lazy.
"Oh right, Boss, the cast for A Wicked Ghost has passed the first round of auditions. Do you want to take a look?" Zoroark suddenly remembered another important company matter.
That was the next movie project Edward planned to shoot: A Wicked Ghost.
"Let's go check it out," Edward said, rubbing his temples. This was something he couldn't avoid—he needed to personally pick the most suitable actors.
A Wicked Ghost had elements of an ensemble film, but it wasn't a full-on ensemble piece. The early part of the movie focused mainly on Xiao Ming's perspective, with occasional scenes of Fa Mao. Together, they witnessed how everyone involved in the spirit-calling game died one by one.
Although Xiao Ming died partway through, his screen time was still significant, so he could be considered a co-lead alongside Fa Mao.
"Maybe... for the next project, I could consider that film?" Edward walked while thinking aloud.
When it came to Hong Kong horror films, another classic popped into his head. While perhaps not as famous as A Wicked Ghost, Troublesome Night, or Ghost Office, it was still a solid piece—one that managed to deliver maximum fear while sidestepping weird censorship issues.
Inner Senses.
A psychological horror film starring the legendary "Brother" [referring to Leslie Cheung]. It had two narrative threads and included scenes that still haunted Edward's nightmares. Though it was labeled a horror film, it was deeply psychological.
In the end, it could even be interpreted as a ghost-free movie—purely about mental illness. But the scares were no less impactful than those in A Wicked Ghost.
Honestly? The hallucination scenes at the end of Inner Senses were far scarier than anything in A Wicked Ghost. That film was scary mostly because people saw it when they were young. Rewatching it as an adult revealed it wasn't actually that frightening.
Still...
Yeah. Inner Senses might just be a good pick.
(End of Chapter)
Looks like where on the Chinese and Hong Kong Films arc.