Why is my anime art style so weird?

At this point, the old man's face showed a look of great fear.

What happened at the opera house?

Shirogane Miyuki quickly pressed for an answer.

Chapter 187 The Story Behind the Music Box

Urged repeatedly by Shirogane Miyuki, the old man seemed to slowly regain his senses and continued weakly:

"It is said that one night, an opera was being performed in the theater, and many high-society people came to watch, but unexpectedly, a terrible accident occurred..."

Someone replaced the decorative swords used in the performance with real swords, resulting in the female lead committing suicide by slitting her throat in front of everyone...

After that, the entire opera house seemed to be cursed, with various performance accidents occurring frequently, resulting in many deaths and injuries, including some ethnic Chinese.

The opera house's business declined steadily, and later, whether by accident or revenge, it was destroyed in a fire...

The matter had already passed, but unexpectedly, the music played that night was secretly recorded and engraved into a music box.

After that, anyone who opens that music box and plays its music will be cursed and devoured by a black shadow.

The old man spoke for a while, then rested for a while, and finally managed to explain the general outline of the matter in fits and starts.

Xu Ming and Bai Yinyu held their breath as they listened to his story.

I never imagined that there was such a complicated story behind that music box.

"That music box passed through several generations of owners, almost all of whom died tragically, some even losing their entire families. Finally, by chance, it ended up in my hands…and I even…even lost one of the most important people in my life because of it…"

Therefore, I swore that I would do everything in my power to destroy this music box and eliminate all monsters associated with it!

A complex look flashed across Mr. Yoshiya's eyes—anger, resentment, and hatred. It was hard to imagine such a look appearing in the eyes of an old man on his deathbed.

Mr. Yoshiya's hand trembled as he raised it.

Xu Ming quickly grabbed the hand that looked like a withered tree branch.

“I have been investigating that music box and the monster behind it for thirty years, and no one knows it better than me.”

"If you agree to destroy that music box for me and eliminate the monster controlling it, I'll tell you everything!"

Xu Ming nodded solemnly.

"I assure you. Also, I have good news for you. That music box has been destroyed."

As Xu Ming spoke, he took out a metal fragment inlaid with gemstones and a clockwork from his pocket.

Upon seeing the fragment, the old man's eyes lit up and his face flushed slightly, as if he were experiencing a final burst of energy before death.

Xu Ming's eyes twitched slightly, and he quickly put the fragments away.

Thankfully, the dramatic scenario of an elderly person dying from excessive excitement didn't occur.

Perhaps because his wish was not yet fulfilled, the old man Yoshiya closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly opened his eyes.

Meeting Xu Ming's worried gaze, the old man Yoshiya chuckled.

"Don't worry, I won't die until that monster is killed."

"Where is the monster you mentioned?"

Xu Ming asked cautiously.

Xu Ming guessed that the 'shadow' mentioned by the system was very likely the monster the old man spoke of, and it was this monster that was controlling Kaguya Shinomiya's body behind the scenes.

"It's in the 'Brittania' Opera House, but not the one that was burned to the ground, but the real 'Brittania' Opera House hidden in the shadows!"

To enter the opera house where the monster resides, you need to find two keys and perform a special ritual to open the path to the Shadow Opera House.

One of the keys is the music box's spring, and as for the other one…

Ding!

As the old man was speaking, Xu Ming suddenly heard a notification from the system.

Xu Ming immediately understood.

It seems this trip was the right one.

The information that the old man in Yoshiya possessed was indeed key to the 'Song of Shadows' mission.

Thinking of this, Xu Ming listened even more attentively.

"...Back then, I found Professor Kimura, who studied archaeology at the University of Tokyo."

Professor Kimura was very interested in that music box, so he studied it with me, but then... alas...

Some major changes occurred, and I later hid all my research materials and another key in the hidden archives of the National Library.

You need to find the slides I left in the library back then, and play them in the correct order to open the door to the hidden archives.

As the old man Yoshiya spoke, he gestured with his lip toward the cabinet next to the hospital bed.

Shirogane Miyuki quickly pulled open the drawer, inside which was a rusty iron box.

At the old man's prompting, Shirogane Miyuki opened the box and found an old-fashioned copper key.

"Use this to open the safe I have in the basement of the library. Inside are the slides you're looking for."

Shirogane Miyuki took out the key, gripped it tightly, and then handed it to Xu Ming.

"Xu Ming, you should keep the key with you; it's safer that way."

Xu Ming nodded, gave him a meaningful look, then took the keys and put them in his pocket.

"Back when Professor Kimura and I were conducting our research, we were already being targeted by that monster. Professor Kimura was killed by its minions, and I lost my accomplice. I had no choice but to hide the data and keys in a hidden archive room using special methods."

So be careful when you go to the library! The monster's minions still linger deep within the library.

The old man solemnly warned him.

The two nodded quickly.

"I'm tired, that's enough for now. I wish you success."

As the old man Yoshiya spoke, he closed his eyes, looking exhausted.

"Xu Ming!?"

Shirogane Miyuki tugged at Xu Ming's clothes nervously and pointed at Yoshiya the old man.

Xu Ming quickly looked at the heart rate monitor next to him and found that the old man's heartbeat was very stable; he was just asleep.

It was a false alarm.

"let's go."

Xu Ming turned around and greeted him.

Shirogane Miyuki nodded, then bowed deeply to the sleeping Yoshiya elder.

After leaving the ward, Xu Ming greeted Sassa Maki and then walked towards the elevator with Shirogane Miyuki.

While waiting for the elevator, Shirogane Miyuki suddenly asked:

"Xu Ming, weren't you going to visit that friend?"

Xu Ming was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"Now that I know her hospital room, I'm not in a hurry to bother her. I'll visit her after this matter is resolved."

Xu Ming knew the severity of the situation and how to mitigate it.

Seeing Ryougi Shiki was merely to satisfy his own curiosity, but over there, Kaguya Shinomiya was waiting for the two of them to rescue her, and the situation over there was even more urgent, which goes without saying.

Anyway, Ryougi Shiki isn't going anywhere anytime soon, so it's not too late to visit her when we have time.

Ding!

With a soft click, the elevator doors opened.

Xu Ming took one last look at the VIP ward area in the distance, then stepped into the elevator…

Chapter 188 Fujiwara Chika is tailing...

Whoosh!

Raindrops fell from the sky, landing on the floor and splashing into several glistening droplets.

The continuous rain seemed to weave silver threads from the clouds, casting a semi-transparent veil across the sky.

"What bad luck."

Looking at the rain-covered, blurry car windows, Xu Ming muttered a complaint under his breath.

Shirogane Miyuki, standing to the side, gave a wry smile.

The two were sitting in a taxi on their way to the National Library when, for some reason, it suddenly started to rain.

Faced with this situation, Xu Ming could only accept his bad luck.

Fortunately, the taxi service was very considerate, driving all the way to the library's main entrance, where it was just a short walk to get inside without getting wet.

After the car came to a complete stop, the door near the gate opened automatically.

"Guest, please be careful."

The taxi driver kindly offered this reminder.

"Thank you."

Xu Ming nodded.

After paying the fare, the two hurried into the library.

The library’s full name, Japan National Diet Library, is displayed by the door.

Xu Ming glanced at it briefly, and just then the automatic door opened, so he immediately went inside.

Today is a weekday, and it happened to be raining heavily, so there weren't many people in the library.

The vast and empty library was deserted. The sound of their footsteps carried far and echoed.

Who should we contact next?

Shirogane Miyuki lowered his voice and asked.

Xu Ming thought for a moment, then led him directly to the front desk and showed him his ID amidst the somewhat surprised looks of the library staff.