Fight magic with magic...

We must fight magic with magic...

Dragging his weary body, Taniguchi Shiya, a usually talkative middle-aged man and news anchor for Tokyo Metropolitan Television, slumped into the lounge.

Three or four days had passed since his daughter and her group of friends went missing. The longer the time dragged on, the more unbearable the fear in his heart became.

For Mr. Taniguchi, whose family is harmonious but who has only one daughter with his wife, this only daughter is undoubtedly the apple of their eye. The current "disappearance" of his child is no less than a needle pricking his heart.

Even though he kept it a secret for more than a day, his wife was devastated when she heard the news not long ago, and had already fainted twice.

As we approach the new millennium, electronic devices are rapidly becoming integrated into society and people's lives, but this does not preclude the fact that social surveillance and video recording cameras have not yet become widespread.

Based on inquiries from classmates at school, all we knew was that my daughter and a few classmates from the same interest group went out to play after school. The police and the local community service department couldn't provide many useful clues either. Even with the reward money, after all the investigation, we could only barely pinpoint the area where my daughter went missing to a large neighborhood.

What's the difference between this and not finding it at all?

The only good news now is probably that we haven't received any news of his death yet.

Therefore, in the past few days, this senior member of the station has seemed restless and worried. After learning a little about the situation, everyone was very understanding and did not say much.

But strangely, not all the staff at the TV station were at their posts as the lunch break approached.

Rather, even sitting on a high-rise building, people can hear the sirens of sirens and ambulances rushing by on the streets below, interspersed with the cries and wails of people.

Perhaps some "big event" has occurred again.

The news team members who haven't arrived yet are probably rushing off to investigate the situation.

At this moment Taniguchi Shiya found it difficult to rationally allocate his thoughts to these matters. Sitting on the sofa, he simply pressed his forehead, looking like a puppet whose power had been drained.

This situation continued until an old colleague placed an unfamiliar box in front of him.

"Taniguchi, your stuff."

"Um?"

A hissed sound came from his nose. The middle-aged man sat up straight, puzzled, and looked at the box in front of him. It was a common fruit gift box, with a pretty bow tied on it.

"It was transferred from the reception desk in the lobby; they specifically requested that it be handed over to you."

"Hey, hey, is it some kind of dangerous item?"

That being said, journalists often face risks that are generally higher than those of ordinary people.

In his dejected state, not wanting to think about it too much, Taniguchi Shiya casually opened the small box and saw the black videotape sealed inside.

And a note tucked inside.

It's like meeting you in person, Mr. Taniguchi. Please call this number promptly. Taniguchi Shoko is waiting for your message.

This was followed by a string of communication numbers.

Very well, the poor father practically jumped up from his seat on the spot!

Ignoring the strange looks from others, and with his hands even trembling slightly, Taniguchi Shiya and, almost like someone having an epileptic seizure, quickly entered the number!

He hesitated, wavered, and pleaded—until a strange man's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hello, is anyone there?"

"This is Taniguchi Shiya. Someone delivered a note telling me to call this number."

The old father's heart was trembling; he could vaguely hear a familiar voice coming from the communication—it was indeed his father.

"Xu Zi! Is that you!?! Where are you?"

When the middle-aged man shouted unrestrainedly, the person on the other end of the communication line simply paused.

"Mr. Taniguchi, your daughter, Taniguchi Shoko, is now in our hands. You don't want to never see her again, do you?"

The other party immediately handed the phone to someone else.

"----Old man?"

The woman's voice, thin and almost a sob, drifted from deep within the receiver, trembling and accompanied by the hissing static of electricity. "----Save me----They----They want you----Ah!"

A scream rang out, as if the person on the other end of the phone was beating the girl.

"Ooko!"

Taniguchi's eyes widened in anger as he gripped the receiver tightly. "Where are you? Tell Dad where you are!"

Unfortunately, after the identity was verified, the phone was immediately returned to the original speaker.

"Mr. Taniguchi, please insert the contents of the videotape that came with the note into the television program as soon as possible."

If we do not detect any movement from you within two hours----"

The person on the other end of the phone chuckled enigmatically, followed by the daughter's screams and cries once more. "Don't hit me! It hurts—Daddy, help me—"

"I'll release it! I'll release it!"

After repeatedly replying, the father was so frightened that he almost choked up, pleading, "Don't hurt her! Please!"

The call has ended.

With the dial tone constantly ringing, and unable to let go of the microphone, Taniguchi Shiya nearly collapsed to the ground in a daze.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the phone, the person was completely unaware that their family had probably been misunderstood as being in a situation similar to that of the Yakuza, the "hostage family."

After stretching, Tang Yuyang fastened his belt back around his waist.

Heaven had mercy on him; just now, adhering to the principle of "if you're going to do an act, do it properly," he took off his belt and casually whipped the girl a few times to ensure she could play her part naturally.

In contrast, the other party had clearly misunderstood something; at this moment, they crossed their arms and looked at him with extreme fear in their eyes.

The daily life of someone whose reputation is damaged, sigh.

Leaving Li Anshan holding the stone statue aside, the group of people who had just finished making a "kidnapper call" to a poor old father returned to the house once again.

Now that things have come to this, not to mention the local students, even the users themselves dare not be careless at any time.

In the case of Ju-On, the appearance of vengeful spirits cannot be prevented during the day; everyone knows this.

Based on the current general operations and even some information collected through dial-up internet access, the closer the population is to the area centered on the now-destroyed "Saeki House," the higher the proportion of people who seem to have dreamed of that Ghost Shadow.

Similarly, the number of people who seemingly disappeared "out of thin air" also corresponds to this.

Even considering the speed of information transmission, the time it takes for events to develop, and the fact that Tokyo residents are not yet very sensitive to this or aware of the reasons behind it—this situation probably won't last much longer.

Panic is contagious.

Clearly, Kayako, now free, is on a killing spree!

But what truly worries everyone is the question: if this continues, to what extent will the Ju-On of relentlessly hunting down victims reach?

It's important to understand that Kayako is the central figure in Ju-On, this doesn't mean that Kayako is equivalent to Ju-On.

Just like the idiom "to act as an accomplice to a tyrant," it seems that all those who die at the hands of the Ju-On will ultimately become part of the Ju-On's power, unable to escape its clutches.

God knows how many lives that haunted house has silently taken before. But judging from the reflections in the fire scene not long ago... tsk...

Even now, based on vague statistical guesses, Kayako's indiscriminate killing rate continues to climb as the number of victims increases!

Under such circumstances, anyone would be drenched in sweat.

After discussion, everyone reached a consensus—we absolutely cannot let this guy snowball so easily!

We need to come up with some means of checks and balances to buy time!

Therefore, at this time, an "anonymous videotape" as a backup plan was quickly sent to a suitable person.

To this, Yong Qi had a very shrewd conclusion. "We need to use magic to defeat magic, and curses to fight curses!"

It's that simple.

It must be admitted that the loving father had indeed done his utmost, even at any cost.

Soon, on Tokyo TV news today, the contents of that special videotape were shown as expected, accompanied by a sudden flash of the screen!

--Looking at the ancient well rising faintly on the screen, and feeling the morbid resentment from back then, even though they were mentally prepared, everyone still gasped a little.

However, this also means that there is a high probability that one's own "Seven-Day Curse" will be transferred to another.

But they naturally kept many of these things from the local students, especially from that Sadako Yamamura.

Tokyo Metropolitan Television, as its name suggests, is a local channel primarily broadcasting in Tokyo. Even so, as a channel broadcasting from such a large city, who knows how many people actually witnessed this serious "broadcasting accident" today?

Of course—it's not actually that serious.

After all, after a morning of developments, many well-informed locals have probably realized something is wrong. Some are anxiously staying at home, while others have quietly started driving away from Tokyo!

Users reacted lukewarmly to this, instead focusing on another issue.

"It could be simply driven by the instinct of a wild beast hunting its territory, or it could possess a certain degree of intelligence, but currently, it seems that Kayako is prioritizing hunting those who are trying to escape the city—"

Watching the news report on the outskirts of the city, I saw numerous vehicles involved in accidents scattered haphazardly along the roadside. Strangely, inside those mangled vehicles, there was often no sign of the driver; at most, only a few pieces of cloth and a pool of blood remained.

After noticing this "bizarre" situation, unlike the passersby and the photographer whose expressions were particularly confused and horrified in the scene, the house...

Users within the company are indeed experiencing a headache.

Undoubtedly, the Ju-On was so vicious that it spared no innocent person!

"It's deliberately imprisoning this city, and it probably won't be satisfied until it's completely turned into a dead zone."

"But it's only the fourth day. Even if we act this way, I'm not sure if we'll survive to the end—"

Amidst the murmurs, no one dared to readily respond to Yong Qi's words.

The situation is getting serious.

After confirming that she had successfully "hidden" herself within the vast population of Tokyo, she gave users a brief respite, and consequently, Sadako, who had been sustained by the drug for three or four days, also got a temporary rest.

Encouraged and educated by a half-baked First Tier "Psychic," this girl, who had been constantly trying to unlock her own mental power, now falls asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow!

Just to be on the safe side, the group, who had even installed an electric shock wake-up device on him, stayed by the homeowner's side without leaving for a moment, quietly waiting for the situation to change amidst unease and fear.

Even though no one could have predicted that this change would happen so quickly!

Just as night fell, the house, which had been kept dark for days, suddenly plunged into darkness with a snap!

"What happened? Did the light bulb explode?"

Startled, some people quickly got up to check the situation, but a student nearby, after tentatively reaching out, whispered an explanation, "No, sir, it's probably a power outage."

Sure enough, looking out the window, the streetlights were already off.

Humans are phototropic animals, and being immersed in this sudden darkness is enough to instinctively make people feel more uneasy.

By this time, the number of vehicles and police sirens on the street had decreased significantly.

This does not mean the situation has eased; on the contrary, it reflects the predicament that Tokyo's urban public management system is already in trouble!

Sure enough, by the next morning, even the water supply had been cut off!

Those who had already prepared food and water were not too surprised.

But the disappearance of those people, which is also accelerating, is a danger that cannot be easily concealed!

At this point, no one can control the situation!

During the brief trip outside while carrying the stone statue, I saw the incomprehensibly broken and twisted corpses lying on the street, bloodstains everywhere, and screams and wails coming from inside the houses from time to time.

The main road, now blocked by the car accident, was occupied by a half-dead body lying in the driver's seat, its eyes wide open in death. Flames and black smoke billowed everywhere in sight.

Even worse, some of these are "Spirit Entity" that have already barely revealed their forms. In broad daylight, these bluish-white deformed figures appear and disappear, wandering around, enough to drive many normal people crazy.

The facts are clear: the power of Ju-On is growing stronger, and it is no longer limited to attacks by a single individual!

As Spirit Entity gathered around, before Tang Yuyang could react, the stone statue in his arms suddenly warmed up, as if it were in a state of poor signal. The Ghost Shadow then vanished as if caught in a "snowflake" effect.

However, at the same time, the energy inside the statue was being consumed at a significantly faster rate than before!

Not daring to delay any longer, the group quickly returned inside after checking and informed the others of the situation.

At the same time, some messages on the internet have also attracted everyone's attention.

----Oh my god, after watching that creepy well scene broadcast by Tokyo Metropolitan Television yesterday, I saw that same backwards crawling shadow again last night while I was sleeping. There's also another old well----]

Clearly, last night, many more people dreamed of that pale, spider-like ghostly Ghost Shadow crawling backwards, and some even dreamed of the shadow crawling out of an ancient well.

But judging from the whistleblower's horrified account, the two Ghost Shadow he saw simultaneously in his drowsy state seemed to be twisting and fighting each other for him?