Chapter 77: American Version Kayako and the Source of the Curse (First Chapter

「…Yes.」

Hearing this, Zhu Wen hesitated slightly, then used her strange gray-white eyes to scan the surroundings once more, finally fixing on the desolate shrine atop the stairs, before nodding.

「Ever since we left the Cursed House, I’ve been able to see many things resembling death energy flowing through the air around us, and along this path, all of that death energy seems to have converged here.」

「Is that so?」

Chu Xuan murmured to himself, looking up at the desolate shrine before him, as if long neglected, his eyes briefly flickering with thought.

In the original work, Chu Xuan once told Zheng Zha and others that he was not skilled at analyzing supernatural films.

Though this was an excuse, it contained some truth.

As a researcher, he was accustomed to observing and analyzing all supernatural phenomena through a scientific lens, seeking ways to unravel them.

For example, The Grudge was a purely supernatural horror film, with many versions and spin-offs on the Main God’s system, all of which Chu Xuan had watched before arriving.

This time, the Zhongzhou Team entered the version of The Grudge that was the most classic first film.

The plot of this film was not complex.

Simply put, a man named Saeki Takeshi believed his wife had been unfaithful, and in rage tortured and murdered her—the film’s female lead, Kayako.

Kayako, wrongfully killed, developed an overwhelming resentment that transformed her into an onryō who killed Saeki Takeshi and her childhood crush, Kobayashi Shunji.

After completing these acts, Kayako returned to her home, enslaving the soul of Saeki Takeshi and her son, Saeki Shunji, who had been suffocated in the closet, becoming a type of earth-bound spirit and cursing everyone who entered the house…

Up to this point, the story followed traditional horror tropes, nothing remarkable; ordinary viewers would find it terrifying but unoriginal.

But Chu Xuan was different; as a rigorous researcher, after watching this film in reality, he developed a question.

Why was Kayako so powerful?

In the film alone, Kayako possessed immortality, instant teleportation, invisibility, illusion creation, time manipulation—numerous unbelievable, incomprehensible supernatural abilities.

In the Infinite Terror version, she gained additional traits: clones, attacks targeting internal organs, and body enlargement—essentially, she slaughtered indiscriminately, utterly invincible!

But here’s the problem: was this reasonable?

How could an ordinary housewife, after becoming a ghost, gain such terrifying power?

Because she was falsely accused of adultery? Because her death was gruesome? Or simply because she was a woman?

If that were true, countless women worldwide had suffered far worse deaths—ten thousand or more—if all of them became as powerful as Kayako, the world would be doomed.

Chu Xuan never understood this question before entering the Main God’s space.

Only when he saw the American version of The Grudge, the unreleased sequel on the Main God’s system, did he form a rough hypothesis.

In this version of The Grudge, Kayako’s mother was not an ordinary person.

In her family’s lineage, every female generation possessed a certain spiritual aptitude, and Kayako herself was exceptionally gifted—she could rightly be called a born miko.

After Kayako’s father died, her mother, losing her income, returned to her former trade: exorcising spirits tormenting others.

But Kayako’s mother was only half-trained; her only exorcism method was to draw out the malevolent spirit and feed it to Kayako, who would seal and suppress it using her unique physiology…

Thus, over time, the number of sealed spirits within Kayako accumulated, like a powder keg filled with flammable material.

Should Kayako die unnaturally due to accident, the evil spirits within her would consume her spiritual energy and grow even stronger.

An accident inevitably occurred.

Kayako was murdered by her husband on false accusations; her intense hatred fully awakened the vast number of sealed spirits within her.

Kayako’s innate powerful miko soul merged with the power of hundreds of evil spirits and onryō, ultimately birthing an immensely potent force…

Wu Xian, who had discussed The Grudge’s plot with Chu Xuan at the time, once joked that the screenwriter of this version had almost certainly watched Inuyasha.

Otherwise, how could they conceive such an absurd premise? If this plot led to the emergence of a Shikon no Tama, he wouldn’t be surprised.

Thinking of this, Chu Xuan looked again at the task displayed on his wristwatch—eliminate the Source of the Curse, not specifically Kayako.

Excluding the possibility of a Main God system error, the meaning of this “Source of the Curse” was deeply intriguing.

To verify his hypothesis, Chu Xuan originally planned to explore gradually using the film’s plot, which might take considerable time.

But coincidentally, among the new recruits sent by the Main God this time, one possessed the direct ability to see death energy.

After a simple test, Chu Xuan discovered that Zhu Wen could indeed discern patterns in the flow of surrounding death energy, realizing that though scattered across the city, they all seemed to originate from the same source: the shrine before them.

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and was about to retrieve a drone from his space bag to conduct preliminary reconnaissance of the shrine.

But at that moment, the hazy night around them darkened abruptly, becoming pitch black—so dark not even a hand could be seen.

Instantly, apart from Wang Xia, the special forces soldier, Qi Tengyi and Zhu Wen both tensed like startled birds.

Fortunately, the Yutian Ring in Chu Xuan’s hand still emitted a warm glow, giving the two a faint sense of security.

Yet the next second, light reappeared ahead—a pale face, eyes filled with blood, suddenly materialized before them.

That was… Kayako!!

…

「Done! Call it a day!」

With a burst of white mist, two mud-like black shadows were tossed out, sliding ten meters along the ground before stopping—clearly the crippled Reinhardt and the barely-alive Julian.

Wu Xian’s figure emerged from the mist, looking at the fallen figures nearby, nodding in satisfaction.

「Captain! Mission accomplished!」

Zheng Zha slung his battle axe over his shoulder, his uncontainable joy evident.

Clearly, the reward for Shiva Gan Tian’s head had been credited; recalling the plan Wu Xian and Chu Xuan had discussed before entering The Grudge world, Zheng Zha’s heart burned again.

「You all did well. Now, it’s time to share the spoils.」

Hearing this, Wu Xian smiled slightly and extended his right hand—a silver-white metal box materialized out of thin air.

Inside, over twenty dark blue double-helix test tubes lay neatly arranged.

T-Virus Original Fluid—Black Water Modified Version!

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(End of Chapter)