Two Realms Shuttle Gate: Don t Call Me a Demon!

Chapter 372: Chapter 264: Horror Movie (Three updates, 10,000 words, seeking monthly passes!)

When the medical ban in Beautiful Country had just been announced, on the other side of the ocean, Mande City was still in a state of peace and prosperity.

In a newly constructed film and television base in the suburbs of Mande City,

Kitagawa Ayaka, who had been ‘invited’ here by the Jieke Group, was shivering with fear.

Kitagawa Ayaka was a Japanese actress, the kind with little fame who sometimes had to work part-time jobs to cover living expenses that her acting career could not support. This clearly showed how obscure Kitagawa Ayaka really was.

A week ago, she had suddenly heard that a wealthy film crew was recruiting for a big-budget movie that required shooting overseas.

Struggling financially, she had not thought twice before signing up.

The selection process had gone smoothly, and she had even landed an important role as the leading lady, so excited that she could not sleep the entire night.

Initially, she had doubted whether this so-called big production team was a scam until she saw Xicun Ying, a director well-known for his horror films in Japan.

Moreover, part of her lead actress salary had already been deposited, amounting to much more than what she would have earned for a supporting role in any of her previous films.

All these factors completely dispelled her doubts, and she confidently followed the production team overseas, first flying to Hua Country and then taking a connecting flight to Mande City.

Upon disembarking, she was utterly bewildered because the people greeting them were all fully armed soldiers.

At that moment, the entire chartered plane’s team, from the director to the actors and crew, was dumbfounded.

At first, Kitagawa Ayaka thought that their big production team had been kidnapped, a common occurrence in foreign lands where local gangs extort film crews.

It wasn’t until she saw that the financiers of the big production team were all happily greeting and chatting with the soldiers that she finally realized, it was only they, the team members from Japan, who were kept in the dark.

Confused, Kitagawa Ayaka, along with the crew, was taken to a hotel in the city by the soldiers, who weren’t closely guarding them.

Initially, some crew members tried to escape, but what was despairing was that it seemed like everywhere in the city was under surveillance by those soldiers.

No matter where they ran, they would be immediately captured upon trying to leave the city.

Later, they learned that the place they had landed was called Mande City, which had an even more notorious reputation well-known to every Japanese, known as Jieke Group’s lair, referred to by the Japanese as the “demon’s den.”

When Kitagawa Ayaka learned that they had been kidnapped by the Jieke Group, she cried bitterly.

Because in the propaganda in Japan, the Jieke Group was always portrayed as evil, cold-blooded killers who persecuted innocent civilians.

In contrast, Japanese Soldiers who went to Chan Country were there to ensure the safety of the local civilians, on a humanitarian rescue mission, yet were shamefully ambushed and defeated by the unscrupulous Jieke Group, which many in Japan deeply resented.

Kitagawa Ayaka thought the same until she later took part in an escape attempt. During her escape in Mande City, she realized that the local civilians were not living in misery as the Japanese government had propagated, starving and dying of hunger.

Instead, the local people were living orderly lives, looking healthy and vibrant, and were extremely supportive of the Jieke Group.

Most of the time, the failures of Kitagawa Ayaka’s escape attempts were due to these civilians reporting them.

Kitagawa Ayaka finally delved deeper and realized that most people in Mande City work directly or indirectly for Jieke Group.

Wherever they went, there were employees of Jieke Group, just ordinary people, not professional agents or scouts, how could they escape?

Latter on, the entire crew became docile, prayed that Jieke Group wouldn’t kill them, and they were then assigned a task to prepare to shoot a horror film.

When they heard about this assignment, everyone was a bit stunned; so all this trouble to bring them to Mande City was indeed to have them shoot a movie!

This shock remained to this day; Kitagawa Ayaka could only enhance her acting skills by studying the script, to avoid being taken out for target practice by Jieke Group if she performed poorly.

“Is everyone here? Lighting, how is this reflector set up? Hurry up and adjust it, the camera track is not in the right position, move half a meter to the left, prop master…”

Director Xicun Ying, holding a megaphone, started preparing for the shooting.

“Ayaka, come over here, you understand all the scenes you are going to play, right?”

Xicun Ying beckoned to Kitagawa Ayaka.

“Director, I’ve read the script many times, but I have never acted in a horror film before, I’m afraid I can’t master the right expression of fear.”

Kitagawa Ayaka said timidly; she wasn’t a genius, and although she believed her acting was competent, not being recognized was not her fault, but she had indeed never acted in a horror film and feared she couldn’t display its essence.

“We are about to start shooting soon, if your acting isn’t good, I’ll guide you then.”

Xicun Ying, holding a walkie-talkie, continued arranging other shooting tasks.

Just as everything was wrapping up and he was about to take a drink, Kitagawa Ayaka handed him a cup of warm water in a paper cup.

“Thanks.”

Xicun Ying gulped it down in one go, wiped his mouth, and said with a smile, “I didn’t expect this, Ayaka, you are quite observant. You’ll make it big one day.”

Kitagawa Ayaka felt a bit bashful and, seeing Xicun Ying’s seriousness and passion for the shooting work, couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Director, aren’t you afraid?”

“Afraid of what?”

Xicun Ying looked puzzled.

“I mean, I mean… this is Jieke Group, the heartless Jieke Group; aren’t you afraid they might do something to you…”

Kitagawa Ayaka’s expression was exaggerated, gesticulating wildly.

Xicun Ying lit a cigarette and said blandly, “Don’t be fooled by the propaganda back home, Jieke Group isn’t as bad as you think. If it were as you said, wouldn’t all of you who tried to run away so many times have been shot by now?”

Kitagawa Ayaka was at a loss for words, not knowing how to counter.

“When I was shooting back home last time, because of being overly confident, I invested all my savings into my own movie, but that movie bombed and I ended up heavily in debt.

“I really didn’t know before coming here, but later the Jieke Group helped me deal with those involved in high-interest loans in Hua Country. Otherwise, I can’t imagine what would have happened to my family,” he said as he exhaled rings of smoke, his words tinged with melancholy and gratitude.

Kitagawa Ayaka opened her mouth hesitantly, “But, but they tricked us into coming here mysteriously and even restricted our personal freedom.”

“You’re not losing any money, and besides, this shoot is a huge production with top-level setup. I heard that they plan to make this movie into a series. By then, you probably won’t want to leave,” Xicun Ying replied with a chuckle.

Kitagawa Ayaka was startled and asked puzzledly, “What’s the reason?”

Xicun Ying prompted, “Think carefully. Didn’t you post online cursing the Jieke Group?”

“I haven’t… well, it seems I actually did, but that was ages ago,” she admitted, her voice growing weaker. She had followed the crowd and criticized Jieke Group as an evil force online, suggesting it should be banned.

“Hehe, everyone brought here, including me, has cursed the Jieke Group.”

With a final note, Xicun Ying did not add anything more.

Kitagawa Ayaka stood frozen, and after realizing, she felt a strong impulse to slap herself.

What was I thinking back then?

Who could have suspected that Jieke Group would seek revenge in such a manner?

…

Half an hour later, the first scene of the first act officially started.

The scene involved Kitagawa Ayaka, where she encounters the female ghost for the first time.

Filming was not done in chronological order but rather based on the setup, meaning later parts might be filmed first.

Kitagawa Ayaka lay in her bed, within the confines of her bedroom, which was only equipped with fixed multi-camera setups, and no other objects.

She was to act as a girl who had found a “death envelope” during the day, opened it out of curiosity, and was cursed. Tonight would be her first experience encountering the ghost due to the curse.

Peeking out from under her covers, Kitagawa Ayaka eyed the eerily quiet surroundings, wondering if the female ghost would truly be frightening.

What if the makeup was so bad that she burst out laughing? That would definitely earn her a scolding from the director.

Her mind was filled with wild thoughts when suddenly, a slight clicking sound came from the bedroom door.

Kitagawa Ayaka instinctively looked over, and just then, the bedroom lights began to flicker as if due to a poor connection.

A chill permeated the air through the door crack, and in the flickering light, Kitagawa Ayaka’s vision blurred for a moment. It seemed as if the door had been opened halfway and a ghostly figure stood outside, its face unclear, only its sinister, hollow eyes visible, as if staring at someone about to die.

Goosebumps covered Kitagawa Ayaka’s arms, and a chill spread throughout her body as she clung to the blanket, only her eyes peeking out, fearful as she glanced toward the door, continually reminding herself it was all just actors and mechanisms.

But even with such reassurances, the panic inside her surged like a tide, overwhelming her sanity.

Snap!

The lights flickered back on, and the shadow at the door seemed to vanish.

Kitagawa Ayaka hesitantly reached out with her left hand to press the bedside lamp.

As the lamp lit up, no one was outside the door; it was just a stretch of haunting silence.

But as soon as Kitagawa Ayaka turned off the lamp again, a slender figure clad in red reappeared at the door.

Kitagawa Ayaka shuddered and instinctively turned on the light, and the ghostly figure disappeared again.

Upon turning the lamp off.

The figure reappeared yet again.

Turning on the light made the ghostly figure at the door vanish once more.

Kitagawa Ayaka was utterly terrified, her face rigid with horror and sweat dripping down as she curled up under the covers, resembling a caterpillar.

Snap! The lamp was turned off once more.

Ah!

The next second, Kitagawa Ayaka let out an ear-piercing scream.

Because she saw the red-clothed ghostly figure, which had been at the door, suddenly appear right beside her bed, its red head covering obscuring its face, leaving only a silent terror that swept through her soul.

With a swift movement, Kitagawa Ayaka buried her head into the covers, her fear bringing her to tears.

Underneath the covers, the bed frame was concave, and a camera was positioned perfectly to capture Kitagawa Ayaka’s frightened expression, pushing her to the brink of collapse.

Just then, Kitagawa Ayaka felt as if something had touched her shoulder. She slightly turned her head and saw a pale hand resting on her shoulder, and through the covers, she could vaguely discern a terrifying presence staring at her with a deathly gaze.

This horrifying scene had made Kitagawa Ayaka’s eyes widen in terror, prompting her to throw off the covers and flee the bedroom without looking back.

“Cut, perfect, just perfect!” Xicun Ying exclaimed excitedly outside, “Are all young people so humble these days? Saying she couldn’t act out fear, yet her acting skills exploded! Not only does she stand out among her peers, but even if some of those veteran actors were here, few could display such a demeanor.”