Avenging Sadako

Liu Lang and Liu Zhengyu hid in the dilapidated attic where they had first arrived in this world. The old building lacked any electrical appliances, let alone a television, and they hoped Sadako had no portal to reach them here.

Liu Zhengyu returned from outside, having stolen a large amount of food. "Those three have killed many people and are now wanted criminals. Their photographs are posted all over the streets, and the news is filled with stories about them."

Thinking back to the scene where those individuals had submitted to Sadako, yet Sadako had spared their lives, Liu Lang swallowed a mouthful of bread. "Their main quest is likely aligned with Sadako's faction. The killings must be part of completing their main quest. What kind of people have they been targeting?"

"Old men and old women. The police have released the identities of the victims, and all of them used to work at the same theater company when they were young. The motive for the murders remains unclear."

"A theater company? Their mission really is connected to Sadako."

Since Liu Zhengyu had not watched the Sadako film series, Liu Lang gave him a brief rundown of the story.

In the film, the male and female protagonists fall under Sadako's curse and are destined to die within seven days. In order to save themselves, they investigate Sadako's background.

Her mother was shunned as an outcast due to her psychic abilities, and a professor used her as an experimental subject, publicizing her to gain fame. Later, that professor fathered Sadako, and Sadako's mother subsequently died.

Discovering that Sadako possessed immense psychic power alongside a malicious personality, her father subjected her to experimental procedures to split her into two entities: a good Sadako and an evil one. The good Sadako lived a normal life, while the evil Sadako—whether sealed away or hidden—was something Liu Lang could no longer recall.

While working at the theater company, the good Sadako fell in love with a handsome young man. Later, when she was bullied, the evil Sadako intervened and killed people to defend her. The good Sadako fell under suspicion and was eventually driven to her death.

After she was forced to her death, the evil Sadako returned to the body and took control, indiscriminately killing those people, including even the handsome young man. The evil Sadako was so overwhelmingly powerful that she actually resurrected the good Sadako and returned control of the body to her.

Filled with profound regret, her father pushed Sadako down into a well and sealed the opening with heavy stones. Because her psychic powers prevented her from dying easily, Sadako endured a long and agonizing period in the well before finally perishing, ultimately transforming into an evil spirit.

"Good grief, Sadako was a tragic figure after all. Did the protagonists in the movie manage to lift the curse?" Liu Zhengyu was more concerned with the curse itself, especially since both of them were afflicted by it.

Liu Lang sighed and continued with the subsequent plot.

The protagonists located the well, retrieved Sadako's skeletal remains, and unraveled the past events, believing that they had appeased Sadako's resentment and resting easy as they departed. However, as soon as the seven-day limit expired, Sadako crawled out of a television screen and murdered them anyway.

"Why?!" Liu Zhengyu demanded. "Every debt has its debtor, and every grievance its master—why resort to indiscriminate slaughter?"

Liu Lang gave him a blank look. "How should I know? But there is a particularly heartbreaking scene in the film."

Liu Zhengyu widened his eyes, gesturing for Liu Lang to hurry up and tell him.

When the female protagonist accidentally fell into the well, the male protagonist threw down a rope to rescue her. As she struggled to climb up, Sadako's corpse came back to life like a zombie, rapidly scaling the well wall until she reached the female protagonist. With a face full of rotting flesh, she asked, "Why can you be saved?" before falling back into the well water and disappearing.

"She's trying to take revenge on everyone; this resentment is simply too heavy!" Liu Zhengyu sighed. "By the way, this is your novice quest too, isn't it? Surely your mission isn't to trim her toenails as well."

Liu Lang took a deep breath. "This is not my novice quest. I've already entered the Spirit Realm once before. My mission is to completely eradicate her."

Liu Zhengyu was utterly astonished. "Isn't she unkillable? Doesn't that mission amount to forcing someone to their death?"

There were several films in the Sadako series, and Liu Lang was unsure at what point in the continuity this world's storyline currently stood. Although he had watched them all, he could no longer remember the exact details. In his memory, at the beginning of the second film, Sadako's remains were salvaged from the well and sent to the police station, where the police even reconstructed her appearance and had an uncle identify her.

Yet he also had a vague recollection that Sadako's corpse was thrown into the ocean by her uncle. If that turned out to be true, then Liu Zhengyu's task of trimming those toenails would be utterly impossible.

Still, for a novice quest, surely it wouldn't be this difficult? Could something have gone wrong somewhere?

"Let's head to the police station first. Sadako's remains might be stored there, and you can trim her toenails to complete your mission."

Because Li Shuwen and his companions had killed so many people, everyone was now living in fear, and police presence had sharply increased.

Seeing a police checkpoint ahead blocking people and checking identifications, the two of them found themselves in a difficult spot, as they were definitely undocumented.

They decided to retreat and reconsider their strategy, but just as the two of them turned to leave, they bumped directly into a police officer.

It turned out that there were too many people waiting in line for inspection, prompting the police to open an additional checkpoint.

"You two, come over here for inspection." It was a female police officer—a textbook beauty in uniform, complete with black stockings.

Liu Zhengyu swallowed hard, clearly tempted.

Liu Lang tugged at his sleeve. "Something's not right. Let's fall back." He had recognized this female officer because she looked identical to Sadako in life!

Sadako was a beauty—youthful, innocent, and lovely. Naturally, that was before her death.

"I know, look at the name on her chest badge. Doesn't it have the characters for 'Yamamura'?" Liu Zhengyu's gaze burned with intensity. "If I go trim her toenails, will the mission be completed?"

With that, he walked straight toward her.

Liu Lang figured he might be mistaken for a pervert; this tactical king was far too direct.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Yamamura?" Liu Zhengyu asked politely, his eyes involuntarily drifting toward her feet.

Yamamura's cold gaze locked onto him. "You want to lick my feet too? You pervert!"

This pretty police officer must have suffered immensely from the harassment of perverts; otherwise, she wouldn't have pulled out a can of pepper spray and blasted him point-blank without even letting Liu Zhengyu finish his sentence.

True to his status as a tactical king, Liu Zhengyu's reflexes were beyond reproach, and not a single speck of pepper spray touched him.

Seeing this, the other officers rushed over to help.

"Rat-tat-tat!" The crisp sound of machine-gun fire rang out, and people on the street fell like harvested wheat, including several police officers.

Three masked gunmen, laden with heavy firepower, began indiscriminately mowing down pedestrians!

The police officers quickly scrambled for cover and drew their firearms to return fire.

Officer Yamamura had clearly never witnessed such a scene before; terrified, she covered her ears and crouched down, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Watch out!" Liu Zhengyu shielded her, a flower of blood blossoming on his shoulder. "We can't stay here!"

Using his elite combat training, he scooped Yamamura up with one arm and dashed behind a parked sedan.

Liu Lang instantly recognized the three gunmen as those same individuals. "Where did they get those weapons? What on earth are they trying to achieve?"

"Rotten society, be destroyed!"

"Revolution! We want a revolution!"

"Lord Sadako, we are destroying this cannibalistic society for you!"

They shouted slogans while their machine guns ruthlessly spat out bullets.

Inside a street-facing apartment somewhere, a young girl who had just finished watching the cursed videotape was staring in terror as Sadako crawled out of the television set. The commotion on the street had caught Sadako's attention.

When the declaration, "Lord Sadako, we are destroying this cannibalistic society for you!" echoed through the air, Sadako visibly froze.