Movie World Domination System: Chapter 1—Do You Want to Live a Different Life?

Your script sucks. These words haunted Julio's mind.

On the other end of the phone his mother was rambling about something, but he couldn't absorb a single word. While absently responding to her, he kept refreshing various social media platforms and headlines like "New Unknown Virus Has Emerged," "Warring Sides Exchange Fire Day After Signing Peace Agreement," and "Company Announces 80% of 1,000-Workforce Will Be Replaced by AI" flashed before his eyes.

The world hadn't known true peace since Julio's earliest memories. While the media loved to exaggerate threats to humanity, for a species that'd dominated this planet for tens of thousands of years, humans remained their own greatest threat. People always worry about distant problems while ignoring the troubles right in front of them.

Julio often felt his generation was born to solve the previous generation's problems, yet his phone was filled with evidence that he couldn't solve on his own: a statistics grade that missed passing by 0.1 points, seemingly endless student loans, an empty bank account, an eviction message from his landlord, and that notification showing his crush had unfollowed him on social media. Any of these could drive someone his age to smoke weed, but Julio refused—he had a dream to change the world through film, and people with dreams shouldn't resort to self-deception to solve their problems.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The violent knocking echoed from outside the door.

"Julio! Pack up your stuff and get lost!" a muffled voice shouted.

"Did you hear me, Julio? I'm calling the police! Under the leadership of the current president, Mexicans are not welcome here, especially international students like you."

Julio wanted to argue that he wasn't Mexican. Some illiterate idiots always lumped Spanish speakers together as Mexican, unaware of how many Spanish-speaking countries existed. But he realized this landlord, who saw the world only in terms of who could and couldn't pay rent, wouldn't care about such distinctions.

"It's nothing, Mom. It's just my neighbor asking for help again. Take care. Love you." Julio hung up, tossed his phone aside, and collapsed spread-eagled onto his bed. Guilt washed over him. His mother had been sharing stories of what had happened at home, and she seemed troubled. Usually, he'd have shown concern, but right now he just wanted to spare her from additional worries. When his entire family opposed his decision to study film in the United States, his mother was the only one who supported him. She told him that while life was full of unexpected and uncontrollable circumstances, three things remained within his control: what dreams to pursue, who to marry, and whether he'd have children. At his age, she hadn't known her own dreams, but after experiencing marriage and motherhood, she promised herself she'd support Julio in living a complete life.

Your script sucks. The words echoed in Julio's mind again. His growing guilt acted like fuel, making those words burn even fiercer. Though criticism didn't frighten him, reality demanded his attention. He wouldn't graduate on time because he failed that mandatory math class; he couldn't afford another semester's tuition, and he couldn't stay in this city any longer. Worse of all, not a single company wanted the script he'd poured his soul into. His final hope had been his classmate from the directing program whom, just before his mom's call, had failed to find a gentle rejection and simply shouted: "Your script sucks!" While his classmate's opinion meant little to him, having no one willing to film his script meant he had no reason to remain in the US.

This also meant the end of his pursuit for his dream, and a life without dreams meant true mediocrity.

"I'm not done yet!" Julio shouted at the ceiling. He pulled out a jet-black business card from his drawer, which bore a single line of striking white text: "Life Movie Company". Printed on the back was a QR code—nothing else.

A month ago, when Julio still felt optimistic about his future, a mysterious person slipped a card into his pocket. Standing outside a movie theater, Julio had been explaining to his friend Max why he didn't want to watch Final Destination: Bloodlines. He animatedly listed all the disappointing aspects of the previous installments, trying to convince Max that the movie wasn't worth the ticket price—rather than admit he couldn't afford one. Though Max would likely help him through this rough patch, Julio didn't want to risk their friendship. Despite knowing each other for only two semesters, both felt as if they should have been friends since elementary school.

While Max was in the washroom, a mysterious figure approached Julio silently.

"How would you write it?" the mysterious person asked. He wore a pitch-black suit, and his eyes held genuine sincerity, as if he truly wanted to know the answer. His gentle features made him seem impossible to refuse.

The question didn't faze Julio. His screenwriting professor had taught him that making it in Hollywood meant being able to pitch a story in under five minutes. Since then, he'd been practicing consistently, playing word games with strangers—they'd give him two words, and he'd craft a story from them. Several plot ideas immediately surfaced in his mind, but a nagging doubt held them back: Who'd approach a stranger in such an odd way?

"It's alright. Talented writers often need more than a sentence or two to express their ideas. Here's my card. I look forward to having a deep discussion with you." The mysterious man retrieved a jet-black business card from his suit jacket and presented it with both hands.

"Life Movie Company? I've never heard of it," Julio said. As he turned to leave, the mysterious man smoothly stepped into his path.

"We're new, but our resources are substantial," the mysterious man offered the card again. "We're seeking talented filmmakers, and after hearing your conversation, I believe you're exactly who we need." As he spoke, he extended his hands further, subtly exposing his watch. The timepiece alone was worth enough to clear Julio's loans and fund his first film.

Julio tilted his head slightly, but he couldn't hide his flash of surprise at seeing the watch—a detail the mysterious man didn't miss.

Just then, Max's voice cut through: "Hey! Julio!" He'd spotted the mysterious man from afar, and he knew his friend tended to struggle with refusing strangers.

The mysterious man seized his chance as Julio turned—in one fluid motion, he slipped the card into Julio's breast pocket and stepped back, hands raised in a gesture of innocence.

...

Julio snapped out of his memories. Perhaps this new opportunity could offer him a way out of his problems. He took out his phone and scanned the QR code. A dialog box appeared: "Do you want to live a different life?"

Two options appeared below: "Yes" and "No". The unexpected popup intrigued him, reminding him of the dialog box on the University of California's (UC) admissions homepage when he'd applied. That one had declared UC was a school that values adventure as well as risk-taking and asked if he was ready for the challenge. The message had fired him up so much that he applied to every UC campus, ignoring all other schools.

"At least my current life isn't what I want," Julio muttered, as he pressed "Yes".

"Are you willing to give up everything for this?" Another popup appeared.

The question was intimidating, but what did he have left to lose? When his father threatened to walk out on the family and never come back, Julio firmly vowed to dedicate his life to film. Now, with his life about to reach its end, he felt no regret. He wouldn't pass up a chance to turn things around, so he pressed "Yes" again.

The moment he did, his phone screen erupted in blinding light and unleashed a piercing noise. Though Julio managed to shield his eyes, he couldn't protect his ears in time. The noise invaded his brain, and he lost control of his body. Julio started to slowly drift into a state of semi-consciousness.

While he was in a hazy state, a monotonous mechanical voice repeated three directives:

1. Complete the mission, or your existence will be erased.
2. Changes to the movie's plot will be rewarded.
3. Death in the movie world means real death.

Then a second mechanical voice intoned:

[Initiating alternate space synchronization device...]

[Searching for target...]

[Target confirmed: Final Destination 3]

[Synchronizing observation of target...]

[Synchronization rate 30%...]

[Synchronization rate 50%...]

[Synchronization rate 99%...]

[Loading Movie World Domination System...]

[Loading successful]

[Synchronization complete]

After the mechanical voice ceased, Julio's awareness of the outside world vanished completely. His consciousness drifted in a void beyond time and space. After an indeterminate period of drifting, he perceived a bright light. As he followed it, he felt his heartbeat growing stronger, blood coursing through his veins, and his breathing steadying. Gradually, he regained sensation in his nerves and muscles. He'd inhabited a body that felt simultaneously familiar and foreign.

Opening his eyes, Julio found himself on a bench. Above, the sky was pitch black, but lights twinkled and sparkled all around him. People rushed past while laughter and screams echoed from afar. As he stood to survey his surroundings, he spotted carnival attractions—roller coasters, drop towers, and giant swings. Beside his bench, a massive metallic Grim Reaper doll was supported by a pole. The figure clutched a gleaming scythe, and despite its empty eye sockets, Julio sensed its gaze fixed upon him.

"What happened...? Excuse me, where am I?" Julio asked a passerby.

"Where do you think you are? Look around! Moron." The person walked away without a backward glance.

Ding! Ding! A sound emerged from Julio's pocket—it was his phone. When he checked it, he discovered no cell signal or Wi-Fi connection, yet a mysterious system notification appeared:

[Main Quest: Find Wendy.]

Next Chapter: Chapter 2—Is This World Allergic to Us?