An unexpected "ghost call"

En no Ozunu, the founder of Shugendo in Japan, and the ancestor of Abe no Seimei, the legendary master of Kamo no Tadayuki (the Great Onmyōji) Abe no Seimei, is one of the most famous sorcerer figures in Japanese folklore. In legends, he possesses numerous magical powers and the ability to command spirits and deities, and in popular tales, he is often regarded as a sage-like being.

Wait a minute!

After briefly recalling the aftermath of the Ring, even though he didn't know much about it at the time, Tang Yuyang was slightly shocked and his expression became alert as he looked at the stone statue.

Although the probability is low, it is more likely that it is a later simple replica used as an offering. However, since it has appeared here, we cannot rule out the possibility that this is the original stone statue that Sadako's mother, Shizuko Yamamura, found at the time.

After his brief explanation, those around him immediately realized something was wrong.

He didn't rush forward to do anything strange, but simply took a few steps closer to observe carefully. Tao Guangsheng, standing to the side, even muttered some incantations and politely bowed twice.

A typical Chinese mentality. "Since it's free, I might as well believe it a little."

Frankly, in this world that seems to possess both superpowered individuals and ghosts, the appearance of an Yin-Yang Immortal doesn't seem like anything to be surprised about. In fact, there's a good chance that this En no Ozunu monk might be a figure whose reputation was embellished through hearsay, ultimately becoming known as an "immortal"—an ancient superpowered individual.

They were still pacing back and forth, carefully studying the stone statue.

Unexpectedly, the old-fashioned landline phone in the living room suddenly started beeping.

Seeing the homeowner instinctively about to get up to answer the phone, several people reacted almost identically, nearly jumping up and down, shouting, "No, no, no!"

Girl, sit down and ignore that thing!

In a world with a "The Ring" theme, such a seemingly random phone call carries a very special meaning.

Especially after glancing up and confirming that the incoming call was from an unregistered number, the chilling feeling became even stronger.

Although they knew that not answering the phone wouldn't affect the curse's effectiveness, at a time like this, obviously no one wanted to be associated with such bad luck.

The room fell silent instantly, but their instinctive reaction startled the young girl, causing her to flinch.

As a result of this reaction, for some reason, the phone call became noticeably louder.

With its incessant buzzing and vibration, the landline on the other end clearly showed no intention of hanging up, giving off a "I won't stop until you answer" vibe!

At this moment, almost everyone's attention was focused on this, but no one dared to act rashly.

But simply waiting it out is clearly not a solution.

After a brief moment of thought, Yong Qi also stood up. Without saying a word, the middle-aged man quickly helped the boy who had been sitting on his buttocks as a "stool," untied the rope from the boy's arm, and pointed to the vibrating landline phone next to him.

"Kid, go answer the phone and listen to what they're saying."

Looking at the middle-aged man with a forced smile, the young student probably didn't understand what it meant. But the man's words were half-commanding.

A kiss, especially with everyone's strange gazes fixed on them, clearly left him no room to refuse.

It has to be said that the boy, who had already sensed something was amiss from the atmosphere, was trembling with fear, but he had already instinctively followed the instructions and picked up the landline microphone.

Those around them also tightened their gazes, clearly ready to interrupt at any moment if things went wrong.

He just waited on the other end of the phone, "Moshi Moshi, this is Mountain Village House, may I ask who this is—" after asking several times.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, judging from the boy's anxious and confused expression and body language, there seemed to be no sound coming from the phone.

The boy, who had no choice but to answer the phone for no apparent reason, turned around and waved the microphone in his hand at the group of onlookers, presumably asking if they wanted to hang up.

Unexpectedly, as if due to some kind of delay or poor signal, the voice on the phone finally came late, accompanied by a lot of static, the unstable communication, sometimes loud and sometimes soft. "Sadako! Go stop them quickly—the TV station and—the house—there will be a second—"

Surprisingly, amidst the intermittent communication, what was most likely a "ghost call" actually came through a clear human voice!

Judging from the unusually urgent tone, the other party seemed to be making the call with a desperate, strained voice. The volume was so loud that even the listeners nearby could vaguely hear some of the conversation!

Even more unsettling was the seemingly unsettling "clucking" sound that could be heard mixed in with what appeared to be a one-sided emergency communication rather than a true exchange.

Oh no, something's wrong!

That's why they say old ginger is spicier. While others were still wondering, they sensed something was wrong in just a few breaths. Yong Qi immediately leaped up, dodging the microphone in the boy's hand, and even risked his life to listen carefully to what was inside!

"Hello! Hello!"

Unfortunately, even with his lightning-fast reaction, the previous communication seemed to have been just a fleeting moment!

By this point, the rapidly fading sound had been replaced by a rustling sound, which had become the dominant element.

Despite the middle-aged man's persistent shouts of "Hey! Hey!" into the room, there was no further response.

On the contrary, the homeowner, Ms. Sadako Yamamura, who was next to her, seemed genuinely surprised, probably because she had clearly heard her own name on the phone.

Their feet instinctively moved closer, trying to hear something as well.

There was nothing we could do.

As soon as the fair-skinned young girl approached, the static on the phone disappeared, replaced by the beeping sound of a signal being disconnected.

The call has ended.

--But in this room, which was by no means very spacious, after writing down as many fragments of what everyone had heard as possible and piecing them together...

After that, almost all users started looking at each other with increasingly strange expressions.

What's particularly noteworthy is that the guy who answered the phone inadvertently let slip, "Sadako, that voice on the phone just now sounded like yours! Was it someone from your family?"

These words were like the unveiling of a mystery.

"----In one scenario, the phone call you received was simply a notification from a vengeful ghost that you will die in seven days, as evidence that you are entering a countdown phase. Within those seven days, as the supernatural signs intensify, the vengeful ghost will come to take your life at the very end."

"In another, more complex, or rather, more powerful version of Sadako, this phone call should be a message sent back by the cursed person seven days after their death, meaning that Fate is already predetermined, and death in seven days is inescapable."

"In comparison, the latter is like an upgraded version of the former, a more sophisticated mechanism"—or, to put it another way, perhaps these ghosts, through constant killing, have achieved self-renewal, eventually evolving into some kind of supernatural element on a temporal level, as the number of victims continues to increase, making them impossible to guard against."

"In other words, if this complex mechanism holds true, does it mean that—if there is the will and determination—a dying person could even send a message to their past self seven days later in their final moments?"

Huddled in the small cabin, the group remained vigilant while discussing some impressions and settings they could still recall.

Unfortunately, the information spoken in the previous phone call was too fragmented to be easily analyzed.

"Besides, I can understand if you say that others can't use this method. But what if it's related to the phone itself?"

"Don't forget, we still have someone here who might be the 'real deal'—"

Tang Yuyang raised an eyebrow at the black-haired girl who was unseen and protected nearby, his meaning clear.

The sight of everyone staring at the girl with the thick bangs made her shudder.

"And that gurgling sound from before—well, Ju-On really doesn't let anyone off the hook."

"Oh, and let's not forget, we might also be facing that rather famous child actor in film history, Toshio Saeki?"

As they chatted back and forth, everyone quickly assessed the current situation, their faces grave.

The threat of the Ring can be put on hold for now; theoretically, it won't fully erupt for at least seven days.

Moreover, the medium through which Sadako's curse spread was a cursed videotape. It is said that anyone who watches the videotape will be killed by a vengeful ghost on the seventh day.

However, in theory, the solution is to simply make a copy of the videotape and show it to another person who has not yet been cursed, thus transferring the curse away.

But on the Ju-On- on side— Kayako's pursuit has no theoretical solution whatsoever!!!

Theoretically speaking, blowing up the cursed house might affect the female ghost, who has some "earthbound spirit" characteristics.

But who knows whether this influence will simply vanish and "ascend to Buddhahood," or whether it will completely break free from the constraints of being forced to stay in one place, directly transforming into a free being?

No one dared to gamble on the odds, and they tacitly avoided this dangerous topic.

At this point, middle school student Sadako, along with several other students who were also being treated as "kidnapped," were still completely bewildered.

But from their unabashed discussion, and from the barely concealed armor hidden in their sleeves and other places even after changing their clothes, their uneasy mood revealed some clues.

These people meant that anyone who had entered the room where the test of courage took place, or watched the rented videotape, had been cursed by some vengeful ghost and would not survive seven days.

Even with just a few brief explanations, these guys, who are hardly good people, actually said things like, "It's for your own good, students. We didn't want you to die without knowing why, so we kidnapped you all." It sounds like they're trying to scare a child.

Absolutely absurd!

It should be said that among the group, only Sadako Yamamura herself, who was simply knocked unconscious and dragged in as a "follower," actually believed some of these outrageous claims. After all, unlike these ordinary students, the reason she was knocked unconscious was because she sensed an ominous feeling from the house that housed the Ju-On!

The qualities of a person with innate strong spiritual abilities are extremely rare and simply beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Therefore, even though this girl was not fully awakened in a true sense, she could still vaguely sense a lingering mental intention—this strange group that had kidnapped the students did not seem to harbor much malice.

Or rather, these men and women, who are clearly adults by age, are filled with underlying emotions of trying hard to please others, fear, and unease.

In any case—from a purely intuitive perspective—he doesn't seem like a bad person.

That's what the timid and hesitant Miss Sadako thought.

Even so, when faced with all these gazes coming from all directions, she still couldn't help but want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

An orphan, an outcast among children, an invisible figure in her class, a monster in the eyes of others, a reclusive girl who has been able to vaguely sense the good and evil intentions of others since childhood, which has in turn attracted malice and persecution to her inferiority complex. She probably never imagined that so many "enthusiastic" guests would come to this little house where she can stay.

This leads to a very obvious question: food.

Accommodation is manageable in places like the living room, where people are packed together. There aren't many other problems, except for the issue of missing students. Considering the social surveillance conditions and police response in island nations at the end of the 20th century, as long as we keep a low profile, it shouldn't be too much of a hassle within a few days.

But such a small house clearly didn't have enough food to feed a dozen or so people!

Everyone understood the current predicament.

Earlier on the street, a group of users, after realizing the situation, hurriedly led the kidnapped students away from the ominous "Saeki House," not daring to delay too much, and without time to replenish supplies.

Although most of them carried some emergency supplies in their backpacks, including hemostatic agents, bandages, and compressed food, the amount was limited.

Considering that the Main God requires survival for seven days, additional food supplies will inevitably be needed during this period.

Moreover, this Mission World happens to be a modern society, which undoubtedly greatly reduces the difficulty of replenishing supplies on-site.

The problem is that large-scale operations, especially with several "burdens" (supplies), are obviously extremely inconvenient and prone to accidents.

Weakening the alert effect could also bring additional trouble.

However, if the girl Sadako, who seems to be of some help in the current predicament, were to leave the group and go out, the risk factor for those going out would undoubtedly increase significantly.

Left with no other choice, the group discussed the matter briefly and ultimately decided that Tang Yuyang and Yong Qi, two experienced Third Tier fighters, would temporarily venture out to find a nearby opportunity to bring back some supplies.

Following a simple map drawn by Ms. Sadako, who for some reason seemed reasonably easy to talk to, the two of them took advantage of the afternoon sunlight and quickly rushed out of the house, landing in the streets.

Somewhat surprisingly, even though the location wasn't particularly bustling, there were still quite a few people walking around on the street.

Once they merged into the crowd, the presence of other people around them at least gave them a sense of relief.

It was not too far from evening, and it was right in the middle of the rush hour, so the streets were completely different from the deserted scene when I passed by earlier.

Looking around, on the streets of Tokyo in the 1990s, suits and briefcases were still the standard uniform for men, but they could no longer provide much dignity. On almost every face in a suit and tie, numbness and weariness were written all over it.

The far-reaching effects of the bursting of the bubble economy continue to drag the entire society, which was shattered, down a downward spiral without looking back.

It wasn't even dark yet, and those overworked office workers, already dead drunk in izakayas, weren't going home. They just lay sprawled out on the roadside like a pile of bowling pins.

Carefully avoiding the vomit of the drunkards, the two paid no attention to anything else, but alertly and quickly passed by the street. When they found a suitable shop nearby, they immediately sent Fukuzawa Yukichi to clear the way, and let the old man who ran the shop bring out the convenient fast food.

Thanks to the Main God's ability to communicate, their interactions with the inhabitants of Benjamin Button were not significantly different.

Although the value of the yen at that time had already inflated to a level not much different from that of twenty or thirty years later, it must be admitted that the portrait on the 10,000 yen banknote was indeed very attractive.

Seeing the generous customer, the shop owner, who had been somewhat dejected, immediately perked up. He then asked the old lady next to him to watch the shop while he went to the back to move goods.

In contrast, the two acquaintances, who remained vigilant at all times, were like a two-person comedy duo. While chatting with the shopkeeper, they constantly adjusted their posture and angles, each keeping an eye on the other's blind spots, wary of any dark figure suddenly appearing from behind.

After the old man huffed and puffed as he placed the boxes and piles of food containers in front of the counter, Tang Yuyang reached out and took the boxes, weighed them in his hand, and simply said, "No need for change."

Just at that very moment, as he turned to leave with the item, Yong Qi nodded slightly and stepped forward to retrieve it—

A chilling sensation, penetrating to the bone, suddenly rose up from the back of my spine!

A chill ran down one's spine, and one almost froze on the spot!

But the other people in the store didn't seem to notice anything amiss.

Without prior arrangement, and even their postures seemed to mirror each other, the two people standing facing each other suddenly turned their heads to look in a certain direction of the house. Their postures were so stiff that you could even hear the sound of their joints grinding together!

Something's coming!

Right here, at this moment when the sun hasn't even completely set!