I Am an Emperor in a World of Mixed Anime

Not long after, the reply came from the other side.

It was clear that Xiangzi was very excited, and she said that she had also experienced some of Yukino Yukinoshita's experiences.

The strange thing they both encountered was that in the tourist area, they met deer that roamed freely, were not kept in captivity, and even begged for food from tourists.

Akira Higashino took out the tourist guide, flipped to the back page, and laid it out on the table.

It clearly states above: Visitor Notice

1. All animals in the park are kept in their enclosures and fences. No animals roam freely outside. If you encounter an animal, please move away from it as soon as possible and contact nearby staff.

2: Only captive animals can purchase food from staff and be fed it, and only designated food can be fed to them.

3: There are no pet exhibits for cats and dogs in the park, so there will be no small domestic pets.

4. The park's operating hours are from 9:00 AM to 17:00 PM. Please plan your time accordingly and leave half an hour in advance. Do not stay beyond the designated time, otherwise there will be no staff in the park.

5. If you feel dizzy, drowsy, or have other strange feelings during your visit, please immediately find the nearest authorized kiosk and buy a special hot drink. Hot drinks can effectively help you stay awake.

There's a lot more content after that, but it all seems to be just some normal precautions and solutions for unexpected situations.

However, some descriptions in the content, coupled with the experiences of Yukino and Shoko, have a strangely unsettling feel to them.

This art style...is it some kind of bizarre rule?

Akira Higashino raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Yukino Yukinoshita.

Then I picked up my phone and dialed a number.

"Let's change direction and investigate all the staff and owners of that zoo throughout its history."

"As ordered!"

After doing all this, Akira Higashino turned off his phone screen, gently tapped the side of the phone with his right index finger, and fell into deep thought.

If it's truly a bizarre rule, then things will be much more difficult to handle.

Unlike evil spirits, which ultimately have a physical source and will die if hit, this is different.

The most troublesome thing about rule-based supernatural tales is the rules themselves. They are invisible and intangible, and you can easily fall into their trap without even realizing it. There are no clues, no numerical values, just mechanisms.

After thinking for a moment, Higashino Akira dialed Kongming's number again. Since acquiring the large tract of land in Itomori, Higashino Akira's land area was approaching the 10 square kilometer mark, and his daily income bonus had reached nearly 1 billion yen. The source of the funds was put into corporate profits, and then used to continuously acquire assets, buy and sell land, hire employees and so on, most of which were consumed.

The snowball has already started rolling, and the funds will only increase in the future. As a result, more and more people will live off the Yunmeng Group under Higashino Akira's name. One day, it is not impossible for them to buy the entire island nation and naturalize all its citizens as employees of their own group.

It's fair to say that Higashino Akira has no shortage of money. Even if he needs to mobilize a large amount of funds, he usually just pauses the recruitment process for a few days, or he can simply go to the bank and ask them to release gold coins based on the huge cash flow generated by the Yunmeng Group and the large number of low-level employees who rely on the group for their livelihood.

Once a company reaches a certain size and isn't using bad properties as collateral, but rather has genuinely well-run and high-quality businesses, banks become much more accommodating. Even if you don't need the money, they'll still come knocking on your door, begging you to lend it to them.

When the call connected, Kongming took the initiative to inquire about the situation.

"My lord, why the sudden contact? What are your orders?"

Upon hearing this, Higashino Akira said, "Kongming, go and contact the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Provide the necessary funds and resources to buy that zoo, just in case. Also, create a separate company and put it under that company name."

"clear."

"That's fine."

Higashino Akira nodded and hung up the phone.

Having opened up to Xiangzi for so long and talked things out, now that I've taken her in, I should try my best to help her out.

Akira Higashino didn't believe that in this world dominated by materialism and technology, there could really be such a powerful set of pure rules that just happened to be rooted on Earth.

At worst, we can try tearing down that zoo first.

Even the zoo is gone; let's see if its strange rules still hold true.

If there's really no other way, then let's just say he's awesome.

Accumulate good fortune honestly, and when you have enough good fortune in the future, you can use the unique property of good fortune that makes you impervious to all evil to directly overcome all laws with your own strength.

Coming to his senses, Higashino Akira looked at Yukino Yukinoshita, who was squatting on the coffee table, staring intently at the tour guide, racking her brains to find a way out of the rules on it. After thinking for a moment, he asked her.

"Now that the situation is clear, should I contact your sister to pick you up and let her know how you are?"

Yukino Yukinoshita pondered for a moment and then nodded.

No matter what, her sudden disappearance must have worried her family terribly. Since nothing happened, she should have told them, even if she didn't tell her parents about these unscientific forces, it would have been good to put their minds at ease.

Moreover, we cannot only listen to this person's side of the story.

He may not be able to do anything, and Yukinoshita may not be unable to do anything either.

If ghosts and gods truly exist, then there must be corresponding monks and Onmyoji (masters of Yin and Yang) to them; otherwise, humanity could not have survived so safely to this day and entered the technological age.

Given the size of the Yukinoshita family, hiring professionals would not be difficult if such people were available.

Higashino Akira had no idea that Yukino Yukinoshita was thinking so much in such a short time. Seeing that she hadn't refused, he dialed Yukino Yukinoshita's number.

"Did you discover something by contacting us at this time, Mr. Higashino?"

"I won't do anything that would be unfair to Saki."

This woman, whose voice clearly sounded very tired, was still forcing herself to maintain that social facade.

Higashino Akira didn't waste any words with her. "I've found your sister. Can you drive over and pick her up? I've sent you the address. Go take a look."

On the other end, Yukino Yukinoshita's voice immediately perked up, followed by a flurry of rummaging through things. She said she'd be right there before hanging up.

....................................

....................................

P.S.: The update is a little late, only 3,000 words, still 21.5 chapters short. A total of 8,000 words were updated today.

Chapter Sixty-Three Substitute

About half an hour later, Akira Higashino heard a knock on the door.

Seeing Yang Nai looking anxious outside the door, her hair disheveled, and her eyes constantly drifting into the room, Higashino Akira remained silent for a moment.

You arrived so quickly, were you speeding?

If you accidentally get into a car accident on the road, it will be a double tragedy.

"Please come in."

Higashino Akira stepped aside and led the way into the house.

Yang Nai paused for a moment, glanced at the shoe cabinet next to him, then ignored it and followed him inside.

It's good that you don't need to change your shoes. If something unexpected happens, it's inconvenient to run away or fight back while wearing slippers.

Sorry to bother you.

As she entered the living room, Yukino's gaze swept around, but she couldn't find her younger sister anywhere. Her initial excitement gradually subsided, and although she didn't explode, a sense of unease lingered around her.

"Excuse me, where is Yukino?"

She forced a smile, unwilling to give up on any possibility.

What if... Yukino wasn't in the living room, but instead encountered some accident and fell into a coma, so she was placed in another room, such as the bedroom?

Higashino Akira, sitting on the sofa, pointed to the cow-and-cow cat on the coffee table upon hearing this.

"There it is."

"Although you may find it hard to believe and even harder to understand, the fact is that she turned into a cat for some reason."

"When I was at the zoo, I saw this cat rubbing against my legs and meowing, trying to get my attention. I thought it was strange. If it were your cat, you wouldn't be completely unresponsive. But this cat was so clean, it didn't seem like a wild one."

"In addition, a friend of mine also encountered this situation, so I had some guesses and brought the cat back first."

"After I got home, I talked to her for a while, and after confirming her identity, I asked her if she needed to contact you to come and find out about this. You know what happened after that?"

As they were talking, Higashino Akira picked up the tea set, poured two cups of tea, handed one to the side, patted the spot next to him, and gestured for Haruno to sit down.

"sit."

"I'm just saying this, you might not believe me."

"But the cat is right here. You and your sister must have a lot of private experiences that no outsiders know about. You can bring them out and see if the content matches this cat."

Upon hearing this, Yukino's expression became somewhat complicated. She glanced at him, then at the little cat staring intently at her. Even though the idea sounded absurd, she didn't refuse.

At least in her memory, her old classmate was not the type to speak carelessly. His style of doing things was always rational, respecting the bottom line while pursuing the goal. Knowing the size of the Yukino family and the importance of such a major event as Yukino's disappearance to her, he had no reason to provoke her with such a thing at this time for no reason.

Yukino tried to communicate with the cat, asking questions that others, including her mother, didn't know, and that only she and her sister knew about the past. Yukino, upon hearing the questions, kept tapping the phone screen with the soft little paws of the cat to type her answers.

Gradually, more and more correct answers came out, and Yukinoshita Haruno's emotions became increasingly complicated.

She had to admit that this kitten might really be her sister Yukino, or at the very least, someone who possessed Yukino's memories.

But how could such a thing be possible? It's a bit surreal and unscientific.

She held the kitten that Yukino had transformed into in her arms and turned to look at Akira Higashino, who had been quietly waiting beside her from the beginning.

"Higashino-kun, you mentioned before that you had a friend who encountered a similar situation to Yukino?"

"Is it that zoo too?"

Higashino Akira nodded upon hearing this.

"That's why I went there. In fact, before that, I arranged for many people, including professionals in the field of paranormal phenomena, to investigate the zoo repeatedly, but they found nothing unusual."

"Today was supposed to be the last time I went to check it out myself to confirm whether the problem was caused by this zoo."

"The result is that I found nothing, but your sister has become like this due to some currently uncertain factors."

Yukinoshita Haruno questioned, "Is it possible that the kitten simply possessed Yukino and the others' memories, rather than Yukino and the others turning into cats?"

“I’ve seen my friend turn back to normal with my own eyes.” Higashino Akira met Haruno’s gaze without flinching. “Almost every day, but he can only turn back for a short time. At first, it was about half an hour, and recently he can barely turn back for almost an hour.”

Upon hearing this, Haruno became excited. Even Yukino Yukinoshita, who hadn't shown much emotion when her sister questioned whether she was the real Yukino or just a kitten with Yukino's memories, now fixed her gaze firmly on this man.

Is there a way to change it back?

"If you can turn into a cat, then of course you can turn back into a human."

"That Yukino, she..."

"She's not good enough for me, I don't have any feelings for her."

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita Haruno was momentarily speechless, but after a long while, she finally spoke slowly.

"What does it mean to feel nothing?"