67-68

Chapter 67: New Script

"I fully support any decision made by the Writers Guild. In fact, everyone knows that this strike was inevitable."

The Writers Guild strike had a significant impact.

Major TV shows and talk shows were forced into a standstill.

As a now well-known horror screenwriter in Hollywood, Allen was also interviewed by the media about his opinion on the Writers Guild’s decision to strike.

During the interview, Allen expressed his support for the strike.

After all, the root cause of this Writers Guild strike was to fight for better compensation for screenwriters.

For years, Hollywood screenwriters have faced unequal profit sharing.

The Writers Guild began renegotiating contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) this past October.

The Guild demanded a larger share of the profits from digital video disc (DVD) sales and also sought a percentage of revenue from internet downloads and other digital platforms.

In the early days of home video, both the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild underestimated the profitability of this new market. They agreed to forgo 80% of the profits from video and later DVD sales, classifying it as part of production and distribution costs. The remaining 20% was divided, with writers receiving just 1.2%—a mere three cents for each $20 DVD sold.

Now, with the DVD market booming and becoming a major component of film revenue, even revitalizing poorly performing box office films, the Guild expressed dissatisfaction. They demanded a reevaluation of the profit-sharing model and also sought a share of the burgeoning internet market.

Having missed out on the profits of the video era, they were determined not to let this opportunity slip through their fingers again.

Unsurprisingly, the AMPTP rejected the Guild’s demands. Giving in would not only mean losing a significant portion of profits but also set a precedent for the Screen Actors Guild to demand similar terms.

For the Guild’s other requests, the AMPTP argued that it was too early to determine the profitability of internet, mobile, and other digital platforms.

This was the same argument they used to convince the Writers Guild back in the video era.

But this time, the Guild was resolute in confronting the producers.

By mid-month, all Guild-affiliated writers put down their pens.

Many talk shows were forced off-air, and primetime television was replaced by reruns.

Even Modern Family was affected by the strike. With its showrunners and writers participating, production halted after just four episodes were completed, leaving the crew in limbo awaiting further instructions.

Despite efforts by Hollywood studios to stockpile scripts in anticipation of the strike, many productions, including ongoing TV series and films, were inevitably disrupted.

On the first day of the strike, Allen, as a Guild member, joined the protests in New York, capturing photos to document his support.

Numerous Hollywood stars also showed up to express their solidarity.

At the strike site, Allen donned the Guild’s official red T-shirt and held up a picket sign in front of NBC’s headquarters at Rockefeller Plaza.

Protesters carried large signs reading "Strike!" and "Hollywood Runs on Unions!" to voice their opinions.

Reporters on-site noticed Allen and interviewed him about his views on the strike.

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“The last Writers Guild of America strike was in 1988, lasting 22 weeks and costing the entertainment industry $500 million. The mayor of Los Angeles stated in an interview that this strike could double the losses, reaching $1 billion, urging both sides to negotiate.”

“Analysts warn that if the strike drags on, it could have devastating effects on the entire Hollywood entertainment industry. Even if the writers win, it might not be worth the cost.”

That evening, major news outlets extensively covered the strike.

Staying at a Guild-arranged hotel, Allen watched the news coverage of the strike on TV.

But his attention wasn’t focused on the headlines.

The reason he chose to travel all the way to New York instead of joining the strike in Los Angeles was to use the commotion as a cover for his true purpose.

Although the Guild’s strike disrupted Hollywood productions, Allen’s system was unaffected.

In his hotel room, he organized his thoughts for a new script and activated the [Script Evolution] feature of his Broken System.

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Script 5: The Sleepless Town  

*Synopsis:*

Nancy is a young girl living on Elm Street in the town of Springwood.

One night, she dreams of a man with a scarred face and razor-sharp fingers. From then on, the nightmare haunts her every night. Strangely, all the children on Elm Street share the same dream, seeing a well in their nightmares, with the eerie sound of stones dropping into the water.

Determined to uncover the truth, Nancy and a group of teens plagued by the same nightmares investigate the origin of their dreams. In the police archives, they find records of a mysterious case from twenty years ago involving a man named Freddy.

Believing they’ve discovered the truth, they follow clues to Freddy’s secret, only to learn he died two decades earlier. When they visit Freddy’s former home, they find it burned to ruins.

With no leads, the nightmares intensify, and Freddy’s image becomes clearer in their dreams.

Eventually, one teen, overwhelmed by the terror, takes their own life, leaving behind cryptic online messages about the nightmares...

---

*Chapter 68: Video *

The television was no longer showing the news about the strike; instead, it had been replaced by a rerun of a talk show.

Canned laughter echoed through the room.

Allen was simultaneously working on the plot and inputting it into the system.

"...Underneath the dried-up well, accompanied by Freddy’s screams..."

As the talk show rerun neared its end, Allen finally completed the rough draft of his script. He added the final touches to the ending on the system.

Exhaling deeply, Allen looked at the densely packed text under [Script Evolution]. His earlier excitement gradually gave way to calm.

"Maybe the ending could..."

Scanning through the script on the system, Allen double-checked for errors and made a few corrections.

However, when his eyes landed on the ending, he couldn’t shake a sense of discomfort.

A poetic justice ending might work as a clean resolution for a script, but it didn’t align with the eerie atmosphere Allen envisioned.

After some contemplation, he decided to revise the ending of Sleepless Town.  

"This feels much better."

Allen nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed the new ending displayed on the system panel.

Then he turned around to prepare the appropriate [Materials] for the plot evolution.

- *[Material 1]: A burned hat – 10,000 [Plot Points]*

- *[Material 2]: Scissors – 5,000 [Plot Points]*

- *[Material 3]: A Bible – 10,000 [Plot Points]*

And finally...

The last *[Material 4]* was added to the script.

Once he confirmed that no error prompts appeared as before, Allen proceeded to the next step of the script evolution process.

"Select evolution location – Pennsylvania’s abandoned mining town!"

Allen had begun preparations for the location back when he was working with the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 crew.

For this purpose, he even made a trip to Pennsylvania, ostensibly to watch a basketball game in Philadelphia. In reality, it was an excuse to record the location into the system for this evolution.

After all, if he truly cared about basketball, the underdog Philadelphia team wasn’t much of a draw.

The system’s location recording feature was something Allen had only recently discovered amidst its heap of useless functionalities.

By recording locations in advance, he could gather potential evolution sites for scripts, choosing to activate them when needed.

This approach was somewhat like location scouting for real-world film productions.

Though he still had to confirm the evolution location, this method greatly improved safety. It eliminated the previous system requirement where Allen, the creator, had to physically be near the evolution site.

But if this feature was so useful, why hadn’t he found it sooner?

Staring at the system’s battered and dysfunctional interface, Allen could only sigh in silence.

Given its condition, what more could he say?

“Ding! Location confirmed. This script evolution requires a total of 70,000 [Plot Points]. Proceed with evolution?”

Looking at the data panel showing the 70,000-point cost, Allen, despite expecting it, couldn’t help but twitch at the eye-watering number.

"Figures. Evolving an entire town script costs even more than I imagined."

He muttered to himself but didn’t hesitate. He quickly issued the confirmation command.

*[Evolution Started]*

However, watching his [Plot Points] shrink by more than half in an instant still caused Allen a pang of heartache.

---

As 70,000 [Plot Points] vanished, Pennsylvania’s abandoned mining town transformed.

A sign now proclaimed the town’s name: Springwood.

State government records updated with new details about Springwood’s history.

In the town’s streets, Elm Street appeared, and various figures populated the once-desolate town, bringing it back to life.

At one corner of the town stood an old church, its structure blending into the newly created scenery.

Simultaneously, a piece of news began circulating online—a child’s suicide, tied to potential supernatural events, appeared in the intelligence gathered by the BSI.

---

*Knock, knock.*

At the Washington headquarters of the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (BSI):

"Come in; the door’s open."

Hearing the knock, Amanda quickly tucked the necklace around her neck out of sight.

"We’ve got a situation!"

Agent Zhou entered the room, his gaze landing on Amanda. He wasted no time.

“A child in Springwood, Pennsylvania, committed suicide. Before his death, he left a video online, which we suspect is linked to supernatural phenomena.”

“I’ve uploaded the video to your computer. The BSI’s cyber team has already restricted its online circulation to prevent widespread exposure.”

Hearing this, Amanda immediately opened the video on her computer.

"...I can’t take it anymore..."

In the video, a boy with a youthful face appeared, speaking haltingly, his voice tinged with despair.

"Every night, every night, it appears in my nightmares... I can hear laughter coming from the dried-up well... feel it creeping closer and closer... mocking me. Whenever I close my eyes, the scenes from the nightmare come alive before me..."

"...We tried to uncover the truth, but..."

The boy in the video grabbed his hair, pulling at it as if to vent his fear.

"No one believes me. No one..."

“They all think it’s a joke, but I can feel it. It’s here. It’s out of the well. It’s..."

His expression suddenly froze mid-sentence, and he shut his eyes.

After a few seconds, the boy reopened them, his face now consumed by terror.

"It’s found me. It’s already found me. Fre—It’s right behind me..."

The boy’s panic escalated. His eyes darted around the room before locking onto the scissors near his computer.

"You won’t take me. Never..."

Grabbing the scissors, the boy positioned the sharp blades against his neck.

"I won’t let you have me. Ever..."

As the boy spoke his final words, Amanda’s heart clenched.

Then, on-screen, the boy slashed his neck with the scissors. Blood spurted from his arteries, staining the laptop screen.

"Oh no!"

“Call an ambulance... now!”

The video ended with the chaotic sounds of his parents’ screams and hurried footsteps in the background.

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