Why is my anime art style so weird?

The gate was closed, and a blue police tape cordoned off the area. Two police officers were talking.

Upon seeing this, Xu Ming's face immediately broke into a smile.

Unexpectedly, I ran into an acquaintance again.

"Officer Takagi!"

Xu Ming waved his hand.

Takagi Wataru, who was talking to a beautiful policewoman, subconsciously turned around and looked over.

A look of confusion first appeared on his face, then he suddenly realized.

"Hello, Xu Mingjun."

The pretty policewoman next to him nudged Takagi Wataru's waist with her elbow and asked curiously:

"Takagi, who is he?"

"he is……"

Takagi scratched the back of his head, unsure how to explain, since they had met because of the murder case at the Totsuki Tea House.

"Hello, I'm Xu Ming, an ordinary high school student. And who is this officer?"

Xu Ming noticed Takagi Wataru's predicament and quickly took over the conversation.

Takagi Wataru secretly breathed a sigh of relief and pointed at the beautiful policewoman.

"This is my colleague, Officer Sato."

After exchanging greetings, Takagi Wataru looked at Xu Ming with some confusion.

"Xu Mingjun, what are you doing here? Wait! You didn't come here for this antique shop, did you!?"

Takagi Wataru's expression changed slightly, and he immediately became serious.

“Xu Ming, there was a case at this antique shop yesterday. It’s not a place for you to go on an adventure.”

Xu Ming smiled slightly, took out his Special Investigation Division badge from his pocket, and handed it to Takagi Wataru.

"Excuse me, Officer Takagi. I'm here to investigate the 'incident' that happened in this antique shop."

Takagi Wataru subconsciously took the document. As a public official, he could naturally tell at a glance whether the document was genuine or not, but he still had deep doubts in his heart.

"This... please wait a moment."

As he spoke, he pulled the bewildered Sato Miwako aside, and the two began to talk.

Without knowing what Sato Miwako said to him, Takagi Wataru nodded, took out his phone, and made a call.

After talking for a while, Takagi Wataru nodded, then hung up the phone and walked up to Xu Ming with a strange expression on his face.

"Inspector Megure has consulted with his superiors at the Metropolitan Police Department, and they have instructed us to fully cooperate with your investigation."

With that, he handed the documents back to Xu Ming with both hands.

His attitude also seemed much more respectful than before.

That makes sense. After all, Xu Ming is affiliated with a department directly under the Minister of Defense. In a sense, Xu Ming's official position is far higher than that of ordinary police officers like them, and he can even be on par with the bigwigs of the Metropolitan Police Department.

"and many more!"

Kazuko Sato, however, raised an objection.

"Officer Sato?!"

Takagi Wataru looked at his colleague with a face full of surprise.

“It’s dangerous here. We can’t let a high school student go in and take the risk, even if he has Ministry of Defense credentials.”

Kazuko Sato ignored Wataru Takagi and kept her eyes fixed on Xu Ming.

Xu Ming chuckled:

"So, what does Officer Sato mean?"

"We'll go in with you!"

Kazuko Sato said firmly.

"Officer Sato, this isn't quite right..."

Takagi Wataru scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Kazuko Sato glared at him.

"Takagi, don't forget the police uniform you're wearing!"

Takagi Wataru immediately looked sullen and fell silent.

Xu Ming watched the interaction between the two police officers with an amused expression. Sato Kazuko turned her head and looked directly into Xu Ming's eyes.

"Is that alright, Investigator Xu Ming?"

Xu Ming shrugged.

"casual."

So, at Sato and Yoshiko's insistence, the three of them put up a cordon and then went into the antique shop.

The antique shop was almost unchanged from when Xu Ming last visited, except that it had become quieter.

After walking a few steps inside, Xu Ming immediately saw the door leading to the basement.

The passage was pitch black, with gusts of wind blowing out from somewhere, making strange whistling sounds that sent chills down one's spine.

Xu Ming did not rush into the basement, but instead led the two police officers to the store manager's office on the second floor.

There is a computer in the office, and the store's cameras are connected to this computer.

Fortunately, this is an unusual and bizarre case, and the police have not yet taken the computer away.

Xu Ming immediately turned on his computer, found the footage captured by the webcam, and began to fast-forward through it.

The footage captured by the infrared camera showed that every corner of the antique shop was covered with an eerie green hue.

Xu Ming went straight to the camera facing the basement entrance and began to examine it carefully.

Rewinding to yesterday morning, Xu Ming quickly discovered clues in the video.

The footage shows that Manager Mota entered the basement at 8:04 a.m. and never came out again.

Two hours later, at 10:13, Ms. Hana Rin, a shop assistant, took an emergency light into the basement, and about 10 minutes later...

Miss Hana rushed out of the basement entrance in a panic, but it was as if an invisible hand in the air pulled her back in.

Upon seeing this, Xu Ming pressed the pause button and activated his 'Spiritual Vision' ability.

He soon saw that behind Miss Hualing on the screen was a large cloud of black fog, and within the fog were countless people who looked like mummies. They reached out and dragged Miss Hualing into the black fog.

Takagi Wataru and Sato Kazuko couldn't see the thick black fog in the scene, which only made it seem more eerie.

In their eyes, Miss Karin fled in a panic, only to be snatched back out of thin air.

It was like a scene from a horror movie playing out again.

"So? Do you two still want to come down with me?"

Xu Ming smiled with a playful expression.

Chapter 160 The Underground Floor, Bloodstains

Takagi Wataru looked hesitant, and Sato Kazuko also had a serious expression.

"I admire your sense of responsibility."

But as the saying goes, professionals should do professional work. The police's job is to arrest criminals, not to exorcise evil spirits. You know, vengeful spirits aren't afraid of bullets, so are you two still planning to come down with me?"

Xu Ming said meaningfully.

Takagi Wataru subconsciously glanced at Sato Kazuko.

"Officer Sato, look..."

Kazuko Sato pursed her lips tightly and let out a long sigh after a long while.

"I understand. We'll both stay at the entrance and wait for you to come out."

Takagi Wataru's face immediately showed a relieved expression.

He is ruthless when facing vicious criminals, but it's a different story if the opponent is an unseen vengeful spirit.

When faced with supernatural phenomena, ordinary people are always hesitant and timid, and even brave police officers and soldiers are no exception.

This is not surprising, just as most people fear death.

They were not afraid of death itself, but of the unknown that death brought.

Fear stems from the unknown.

Under their watchful eyes, Xu Ming followed the entrance and entered the darkness...

Upon arriving at the basement level, Xu Ming clearly felt waves of bone-chilling cold washing over him, as if they were steel needles trying to pierce his body.

A strong musty smell, accompanied by waves of putrid odor, kept entering his nostrils.

Xu Ming directly summoned the silver-haired Erina and the little piglet from the 'Hyakki Yagyōshō'.

"Erina, light a fire."

"Okay, Dad!"

Erina, with her silver hair, answered obediently.

The next second, a flame ignited in Erina's palm, and her long, beautiful hair instantly turned from silver-white to a golden yellow like the sun.

"Why did you bring me to this filthy, smelly place?!"

Erina, now blonde, immediately covered her nose and looked around with disgust.

"Please help me, my dear Erina-sama."

Xu Ming clasped his hands together and grinned shamelessly.

Xu Ming didn't feel inferior at all. Anyway, once Erina turned back, she would still call him "Dad" and cook delicious food for him every day.

What's a little pampering now? Consider it compensation!