Why is my anime art style so weird?

Hearing Kato Megumi's voice on the other end of the phone, Xu Ming couldn't help but scratch his head.

This all happened so suddenly.

Although he already knew that the world he was in was a fusion of various anime and manga worlds, he just didn't expect...

Xu Ming couldn't help but recall the scene from a few days ago.

Now that I think about it, wasn't that young man who came to the antique shop to buy a music box the male protagonist of "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War"?

He was preoccupied at the time, and although the other person looked somewhat familiar, he didn't think much of it, since there are differences in appearance between two-dimensional and three-dimensional characters.

And the whole thing started with that music box!?

Come to think of it, the music that music box played was indeed very eerie...

Xu Ming tried hard to recall the tune of the music box, but his memory was shrouded in a thick fog, and he couldn't remember it no matter what.

He simply thought the melody was beautiful, possessing a captivating magic...

"By the way, what's the deal with that music box?"

"The association has done its best to investigate, but has not been able to find out the origin of that music box."

Xu Ming said with some surprise:

"Huh? There are even 'strange' things that the Exorcist Association doesn't know about?"

"Of course, even for 'strange' incidents in Japan, the Exorcist Association only dares to guarantee that it has 50% of the clues. Moreover, the music box that caused this incident came from abroad, so it is normal that the association has no information."

Otherwise, what do you think the association spends nearly 10 billion US dollars on the investigation department every year for?

The association's investigation department is currently working diligently to trace the music box's origins, but this will take time.

"What, is this matter urgent?"

Xu Ming asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The Shinomiya family is one of Japan's four major conglomerates and also one of the association's sponsors. Now that the patriarch's eldest daughter has gone missing, and may even be... Don't you think this is urgent?"

Kato Megumi countered with a question.

So that's why they're a major client of the association...

Xu Ming thought to himself.

Xu Ming suddenly thought of something and frowned.

"Wait, you just seemed to be saying she might be dead. If that's the case, then why the rush..."

"The head of the Shinomiya-an clan said: 'I want to see her alive or dead. If you can rescue his daughter alive, I will give her 100 billion yen; if you can bring out her body, I will give her 20 billion yen.'"

"...

I have another question: Since you're the association's financial backer, why did you choose me? The association is full of hidden talents; surely there are many experts among them?

Kato Megumi hesitated for a moment on the other end of the phone before speaking vaguely:

"Because something more important happened recently, most of the association's staff have been reassigned to deal with that matter. Currently, there are only a few people in the association within the Tokyo area who have experience handling danger level 3 and 'strange' incidents..."

Does that include me?

"Yes."

Xu Ming began to think about it seriously.

If you save the person, you'll get 100 billion yen; if you get the body, you'll get 20 billion yen.

Of course, money is secondary; the main reason is that this quest is clearly a follow-up quest to the chain quest 'Shadowsong'.

Xu Mingke clearly remembered that completing a chain of tasks could yield a huge reward far exceeding that of ordinary tasks.

Both morally and logically, he should accept this commission.

"Alright, I'll take this commission."

"I'll send you the information right away!"

Xu Ming sensed that Kato Megumi breathed a sigh of relief immediately upon hearing that he had accepted the commission.

He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

What has Kato Megumi been busy with lately...?

After hanging up the phone and putting it back in her pocket, Kato Megumi sighed.

"These are truly turbulent times..."

In front of her was a colossal altar, shaped like the Colosseum in ancient Rome, with a high rim surrounding a low-lying area in the center.

The ground in the center of the altar was engraved with many strange-looking patterns, with a large number of mysterious runes embedded in the patterns, forming a huge graphic resembling a magic circle.

Every single 'line' of the entire magic circle was faintly emitting a blood-red light.

Directly above the magic circle, a pitch-black 'hole' stood suspended in mid-air, slowly oozing black 'mud'.

A group of people dressed as witches and priests surrounded the altar, constantly casting hand seals.

As the black 'mud' spread beyond the magic circle, countless golden runes appeared out of thin air, forming a golden 'wall'.

The black 'mud' made a piercing hissing sound as it touched the golden rune wall!

It's like water meeting a red-hot iron plate.

The golden rune wall and the black 'mud' repeatedly clashed at the edge of the magic circle.

"Your Highness, preparations for the ceremony are complete."

Kato Megumi nodded slightly and responded with a faint sound.

"Ah."

At this moment, Kato Megumi was wearing a unique shrine maiden outfit embroidered with a golden sun, a radiant golden crown on her head, and holding a rusty bronze mirror in her hands.

Surprisingly, despite its surface being covered in green patina, this bronze mirror radiates a golden glow.

Kato Megumi stood by the altar, holding a bronze mirror, and began to recite some kind of mysterious prayer.

As she spoke, the light on the bronze mirror grew brighter and brighter, becoming increasingly dazzling.

As the prayer drew to a close, the bronze mirror, resembling a miniature sun, was held in Kato Megumi's hands.

The group of shrine maidens around her looked at Kato Megumi, who was surrounded by them, with awe.

"May the Great Sun Goddess protect us! May the evil spirits be driven away by the fire of Amaterasu!"

As Kato Megumi finished reciting, she shouted loudly, raising the bronze mirror high in her hands and pointing the center of the mirror at the dark 'hole'.

Clang!

A dragon's roar, like a sword being drawn from its sheath, resounded throughout the altar.

Then a dazzling golden light shot out from the bronze mirror like a sharp sword, piercing straight into the 'hole' in the sky.

The 'hole' seemed to sense the danger and spewed out a large amount of 'mud'.

hum!

In an instant, gold and black engaged in a fierce battle in mid-air around the black 'hole'.

The surrounding space rippled with invisible waves, and the scenery near the 'hole' became as blurry as a mirage.

The priestesses and priests around the altar quickly began chanting prayers.

Their efforts seemed to have a positive effect, as the golden beams of light emanating from the bronze mirror began to grow larger and thicker.

Finally, the golden light pierced through the black 'hole', like a shooting star streaking across the sky.

The black 'mud' was immediately evaporated.

The priestesses and priests surrounding the altar immediately cheered.

Only Kato Megumi frowned slightly as she looked at the original location of the 'hole'.

She could see clearly that the 'hole' had not completely disappeared; it had only shrunk to the size of a fingertip and was no longer gushing out black 'mud'.

She had a premonition that all of this would come back again.

Chapter 170 Provocation

Looking at the documents in his hand, Xu Ming fell into deep thought.

The information we obtained this time was far less than what we had previously received from Megumi Kato, suggesting that the strange music box was indeed a mysterious imported item.

"Wow, they really think of her as Doraemon."

Xu Ming laughed self-deprecatingly.

When faced with the 'strange', the unknown means the risk increases exponentially.

Judging from the 'prologue' quest he completed, the 'shadow' that runs through the entire chain of quests seems to have no physical form.

Dealing with this invisible enemy is much more difficult than dealing with the likes of the demon father or the blackened squinty-eyed monster.

Without detailed information, Xu Ming had no idea what the opponent's true nature was, let alone how to find its weaknesses and eliminate it.

"Forget it, we have to take it one step at a time. Let's rescue the young lady first, hmm... if she's still alive."

Judging from the patterns of 'Shadow' that Xu Ming had encountered, that young lady was probably already dead...

He's only doing his best now.

Xu Ming greeted his sister, but she seemed still angry about the phone call Kato Megumi had made earlier and ignored him.

Xu Ming shook his head, took the little piglet and Erina, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and went out.

Xu Ming took a taxi and soon arrived at the Shinomiya Mansion in the port area.

As soon as I got off the car, I saw a large crowd gathered around the mansion.

Most of them were security personnel dressed in black suits, sunglasses, and headsets, but there were also a few people who stood out from the crowd.

A young man in a suit with a sinister face grabbed a young man in a black school uniform by the collar, lifted him up, and threatened him with a ferocious expression:

"You bastard! How dare you show your face here?! If anything happens to my sister, you can expect to be living in Tokyo Bay!"

"I'm so sorry!!"

The blond youth, who was being grabbed by the collar, shouted loudly.