Movie variety show soul travels between two worlds to become a rich man

Chapter 748 The Photo Studio: The Collapse of Order

After getting back into the car, the vehicle continued its journey along the highway towards downtown Seoul. The sky outside the window had darkened, as if shrouded in a layer of haze.

Gao Dongxu frowned slightly, took out two strings of five-emperor coins from his pocket, and gave them to Bai Qiangwei and Annie, who were full of curiosity and suspicion.

"Don't be alarmed if they get warm when you wear them on your wrist."

Hearing Gao Dongxu's words, the two women looked at the copper coin bracelet in their hands with curiosity, exchanged a glance, and obediently put it on their left wrists.

As soon as they put them on, the copper coins started to heat up, and the heat immediately spread from their wrists to their whole bodies. The two of them let out a comfortable groan, then widened their beautiful eyes, their red lips slightly parted in astonishment at this magical scene, staring at Gao Dongxu in disbelief.

At this moment, Gao Dongxu's attention was entirely focused on the scenery outside the car window. As the view gradually shifted, faint, transparent figures began to appear on both sides of the road.

At first, they were just faint outlines, like phantoms in the steam, but as the vehicle continued to move forward, the figures became clearer and more concrete, as if they were slowly seeping into reality from another dimension.

Gao Dongxu's brows furrowed deeper and deeper. What he saw were ghosts lingering in the human world, frozen in the moment of their death, like a cruel still image.

Some were clearly victims of falls—limbs twisted at inhuman angles, necks broken, heads tilted. Others were drowned, their skin swollen and pale, murky water constantly seeping from their mouths and noses, leaving wet trails with every step. Still others showed severe accidental injuries, with ripped abdomens, exposed internal organs, or missing limbs and heads, yet they still mechanically moved forward.

They were surrounded by a tangible black aura, like mist formed from condensed resentment, silently moving and lingering among the living.

Pedestrians and cars hurried past, ignoring them. Occasionally, someone would unconsciously shiver or inexplicably avoid an open space—that was the living's faint perception of things that shouldn't exist.

Gao Dongxu noticed that these ghosts were not entirely aimless. Most of them, though moving slowly and stiffly, were all moving in the same direction, as if summoned by some unseen force.

"Interesting..." he said in a low, suppressed voice, "Turn right at the next intersection—"

Wang Jianjun glanced at him in the rearview mirror, didn't ask any questions, and just gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"Keep going straight ahead..." Gao Dongxu instructed.

The car accelerated slightly and entered a road leading to the outskirts of the city. The atmosphere inside the car became increasingly tense.

Annie and Bai Qiangwei exchanged a glance, both seeing a clear unease in each other's eyes. They couldn't see the strange phenomena Gao Dongxu had witnessed; to them, the view outside the window was just an ordinary street scene, with cars and pedestrians. But it was precisely because of this that the unusual reactions of the other passengers in the car made them even more uneasy.

Gao Dongxu remained silent, staring out the window, his brow furrowed, his expression unusually grave. Wang Jianjun, driving, was completely focused, his sharp gaze scanning the street as if assessing an unseen threat. Although he couldn't see ghosts either, his experience of entering ghostly illusions made this chilling aura unforgettable.

"What... happened?" Annie couldn't help but ask again in a low voice, her voice almost drowned out by the engine noise.

Still, no one answered. Bai Qiangwei gently shook her head, signaling her not to ask anymore. They were newcomers who had been accidentally drawn into this team, and their understanding of Gao Dongxu and his group was still limited.

At this moment, the two could only observe silently, trying to piece together the truth from everyone's expressions—a threat that even made these ruthless people change their expressions.

The vehicle drove into an old neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. Most of the buildings here were quite old, the streets were narrow, the atmosphere was quiet, and even pedestrians were scarce. Finally, Gao Dongxu suddenly spoke up: "Stop the car."

Wang Jianjun slammed on the brakes. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Gao Dongxu had already gotten out, his gaze fixed on a seemingly ordinary-looking photo studio on the roadside.

Annie and White Rose peered out through the open car door—it was an old-fashioned photo studio. Several faded portraits were displayed in the window, and the name was written in both Korean and English on the sign. The door was locked; it seemed to be closed.

But in Gao Dongxu's eyes, the scene was completely different.

Dozens of ghosts had gathered at the entrance of the photo studio, almost blocking the entire entrance. They were all different in appearance and died tragically, but without exception, they all wanted to enter the photo studio.

For some unknown reason, these ghosts could not pass through the door, but they lingered there as if waiting for something.

Gao Dongxu frowned, turned to look at Bai Qiangwei who was curiously peering into the car, and asked, "What's the name of this photo studio?"

Bai Qiangwei paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Night Limit Photo Studio. A very strange name."

Nighttime Photo Studio. Gao Dongxu repeated the name in his mind. He knew about the "Lighting Shop," a transit station connecting the realms of the living and the dead, guiding the spirits of the deceased, but the "Nighttime Photo Studio"... this was the first time he had ever seen it.

Judging from the actions of these ghosts, this place clearly holds a strong attraction for them, perhaps something they desperately crave... An answer to their obsession? An unfulfilled wish? Or a chance to look back at the human world?

His thoughts raced. It was extremely unusual that so many spirits remained in the mortal realm throughout Seoul, unwilling or unable to enter the realm between the living and the dead.

Has the "lighting shop" in Seoul lost its function? Or has the city absorbed too many bizarre forces from movies and TV shows, causing its Yin-Yang balance to collapse?
He recalled some Korean ghost and supernatural dramas he had watched... Perhaps it was because of the various storylines intertwining in this place that Seoul had become a ghost town.

What's even more noteworthy is that these ghosts seem to be completely confined to Seoul. It's as if some powerful force has set up a barrier, imprisoning them here.

“I need to go find the lighting store and see what’s going on,” Gao Dongxu muttered to himself. “But I also need to figure out the secret of this photo studio.”

He took a few steps closer and observed carefully. The ghosts seemed to completely ignore his presence; their attention was entirely drawn to the photo studio.

Gao Dongxu closed his eyes and released his divine sense, which was just enough to cover the entire photo studio.

"what?"

When Gao Dongxu's divine sense swept over a very old camera, he felt the energy fluctuations emanating from it—a power that was neither purely yang nor yin, a mixture of warmth and cold, like the light and shadow at dusk, blurry and ambiguous.

“Interesting—” Gao Dongxu withdrew his divine sense, his eyes sharply fixed on the photo studio, a meaningful smile on his face.

A mysterious camera!
It seems that what is presented here are not just simple photographs, but photographs that have a fatal attraction for lost souls.

Go Dong-wook took a deep breath. Seoul's balance of yin and yang had clearly long since spiraled out of control, and mysterious and magical places like the "Nighttime Photo Studio" were probably no longer uncommon.

It seems this trip to Seoul is going to be quite interesting.

After getting back into the car, Gao Dongxu said to Wang Jianjun, "Mark this spot on the navigation system."

"Yes--"

"Is there something wrong with this photo studio?" Ah Ning asked, frowning as she looked out the car window at the photo studio.

"Hmm, there's a camera here that can attract ghosts. I don't know exactly what it's for, but it should be a special kind of magical artifact." Gao Dongxu smiled at A Ning, not trying to be cryptic behind Bai Qiangwei and Annie's backs.

"what?!"

However, upon hearing Gao Dongxu's words, Annie and Bai Qiangwei's expressions changed drastically. Their faces turned ashen, they hugged themselves tightly, looked around in utter terror, and exclaimed in trembling voices, "Ghosts?! You, you, you mean, there are ghosts?!"

"Hehe, is it strange that there are ghosts?" Gao Dongxu looked at Annie, who was clinging tightly to his arm and trying to squeeze herself into his body, and opened his arms to pull her into his embrace. He gently stroked her back and smiled at Bai Qiangwei, who was still a little reserved and did not choose to seek a sense of security in his arms: "You have been in Japan for so many years, haven't you ever encountered or heard of any paranormal events?"

Bai Qiangwei's face turned even paler, and her beautiful eyes trembled with panic and fear as she said in a trembling voice, "I thought it was all a lie... Are there really ghosts?!"

"Want to see?" Gao Dongxu raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Can I see it?" White Rose's heart pounded, filled with fear, horror, and curiosity at the same time.

"I can let you see it, just don't regret it." Gao Dongxu smiled and extended his right sword finger. Under Bai Qiangwei's astonished gaze, he used his spiritual energy to dab across her closed eyes, then laughed, "Alright—"

"what--"

When Bai Qiangwei slowly opened her eyes, suppressing her fear and excitement, and saw outside the car window, she immediately let out a terrified scream, covered her eyes with her hands, and buried herself in Gao Dongxu's arms, trembling all over.

(End of this chapter)