Why is my anime art style so weird?

Almost the moment Xu Ming saw this strangely shaped building, he knew that this was the Ogawa Apartment he was looking for, Araya Sōren's lair!

Aside from these sorcerers who come up with such bizarre designs to fit the ritual, ordinary architects wouldn't do such a shady thing.

Xu Ming immediately picked up his phone and sent a message to Kato Megumi, requesting information about Ogawa's apartment.

A short while later, Xu Ming received the document sent by Kato Megumi.

After opening the document and examining it for a while, Xu Ming's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Surprisingly, there was no abnormal information on it.

That's really strange.

Given the background of the Exorcist Association, not to mention overseas, at least within Japan, it's almost impossible for them not to find information.

However, the message sent by Megumi Kato showed that the apartment building was originally built by a company as employee dormitory, but the company shrank and the entire apartment building was eventually sold to the public.

Moreover, the apartment's quality is not good; it has begun to show serious water seepage problems, and the elevator is frequently broken.

So far, only half of the rooms have been occupied.

Based on this information alone, this is just a low-cost apartment building built by a company and later put up for sale to recoup losses; otherwise, it's unremarkable.

Apart from that, there was nothing unusual.

However, Kato Megumi is a very intelligent girl.

It was she who suggested that Xu Ming deal with Asagami Fujino first, and eliminate Araya Sōren's helpers.

Xu Ming had just asked her to send someone to the Asagami family to clean up the mess, and now he was immediately looking for information on an ordinary apartment building. It was hard not to connect the dots.

Ding Dong!

Xu Ming was searching online for information about Xiao Chuan Apartment like looking for a needle in a haystack when his phone, which was lying to the side, suddenly rang with a message notification.

Just as Xu Ming reached out to pick up his phone, a slender, fair hand suddenly reached out from behind him and snatched the phone before he could.

"Ugh! My little brother is flirting with that wild woman again. I'm so heartbroken! Waaah!"

Xu Ming turned around and looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was obviously faking her tears, with a helpless expression.

"Sister, Hui and I are discussing work-related matters."

"Hui~? That's so intimate~ My little brother has never called me that before..."

Xu Ming soon noticed that a black aura was spreading behind his sister.

Xu Ming immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

He actually really wanted to complain.

Dear sister, aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?

However, seeing his older sister's aura suddenly rise, Xu Ming dared not speak or ask.

To Xu Ming's surprise, Kasumigaoka Utaha held his phone, seemingly lost in thought. She didn't even open it to look at it; she just played with it for a while before casually handing it back to him.

Just as Xu Ming was feeling somewhat surprised, Kasumigaoka Utaha extended a finger and gently flicked Xu Ming's forehead.

Xu Ming looked up in confusion, only to find Kasumigaoka Utaha looking at him with a half-smile.

Xu Ming understood perfectly well.

His older sister had already noticed that he was talking about work; she was deliberately teasing him.

"Hee hee~"

Kasumigaoka Utaha disappeared from the spot with a delighted smile on her face.

"..."

Xu Ming was left sitting in front of the computer, speechless.

Xu Ming opened his phone and immediately saw a message from Kato Megumi:

—Akira, have you already tracked down Araya Sōren's whereabouts?

Xu Ming hesitated for a moment before replying.

- Well, if I'm not mistaken, Araya Sōren has turned Ogawa's apartment into his headquarters.

Kato Megumi also fell silent. The information Xu Ming had given her was incredibly shocking, and she was clearly also considering the implications.

A while later, Kato Megumi sent another message.

—I just had someone check, and it turns out that Ogawa's apartment has been sold to a Roman merchant named Cornelius Aruba.

—However, I also found out that Aruba and Araya Sōren are alumni, and both of them studied at the Clock Tower.

Before Xu Ming could reply, Kato Megumi sent another message.

—Ming, if your guess is correct, then Ogawa Apartment has most likely been transformed into a workshop by Araya Souren according to a special ritual, and may even have been converted into another world.

This is a dereliction of duty by the association.

Although Kato Megumi said that, Xu Ming knew that it was not that the association's investigators were neglecting their duties, but rather that Araya Sōren's methods were too clever.

Most of the association's investigators are just ordinary people who are 'invisible,' so it's perfectly normal that they didn't find anything unusual, since they can't possibly search every corner of Japan.

—Akira, if Araya Sōren has already completed the ritual, Ogawa Apartments will become extremely dangerous, so I suggest you give up for now and wait for the association to handle it.

Chapter 281 An Encounter

Xu Ming hesitated for a long time before typing the message on his phone screen.

How long will it take to process this through the association?

—Can the association really handle this?

This soul-searching question left Kato Megumi speechless, a rare occurrence.

The association's experts are currently preoccupied with other matters, so we won't go into details.

There are high-ranking members of the Buddhist Zen sect within the association. If they want to deal with Araya Sōren, the association will probably need to hold a meeting. At that time, everyone will be arguing and making things difficult, and nothing will be accomplished.

After all, Araya Sōren is currently keeping a low profile and hasn't made any big news. Xu Ming's speculation is only at the stage of doubt and cannot be used as a reason to attack Araya Sōren.

It's no wonder that large organizations, with their intertwined and complex interests, are slow to react.

Kato Megumi, who was in the temple, sighed and quickly tapped on her phone screen with one hand.

A message was sent quickly.

—Ming, do whatever you want. I will try my best to help you resolve the accusations against you by the Tiantai sect.

Kato Megumi's assurance warmed Xu Ming's heart slightly.

He only replied with one word.

--it is good!

Although Xu Ming is now fully equipped and has taken off like a rocket, he doesn't intend to feed the enemy mindlessly.

Prior reconnaissance is essential, and recruiting one or two able-bodied men is also highly recommended.

So Xu Ming started searching for the address of Xiao Chuan Apartment.

It would have been better if he hadn't investigated; once he did, Xu Ming was immediately shocked.

Ogawa's apartment is actually in the same area as his home!?

Xu Ming estimated the distance; it would only take about twenty or thirty minutes to walk there.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain. The fact that Huangye Zonglian's lair was so close to their home immediately gave Xu Ming a strong sense of crisis.

So the next day, Xu Ming got up as soon as it was light.

After saying hello to his sister, Xu Ming immediately went out, intending to head to Xiao Chuan's apartment.

Once on the street, Xu Ming began to proceed according to the instructions on the electronic map.

Thirty minutes later, Xu Ming looked up and saw the strangely shaped building not far ahead.

Among a group of rectangular buildings, this cylindrical building, resembling an egg roll, stands out like a crane among chickens.

The Ogawa Apartments occupy a considerable area, and the surrounding area is well-connected with several driveways.

The landscaping is also very well done, with low trees planted on both sides of the road, extending from the intersection all the way to the apartment entrance.

Behind the trees was a huge parking lot.

Judging from its appearance alone, Xiaochuan Apartment is a typical high-end apartment with very complete supporting facilities.

What's strange is that there wasn't a single car in the parking lot.

According to the data, the apartment building is not even half full, and that's probably an understatement.

Xu Ming had been there for half a day, but he hadn't seen a single resident. The entire building seemed deserted.

Knowing that this was the other party's stronghold, Xu Ming did not intend to approach the apartment, but instead carefully circled the perimeter of the apartment from a distance.

A strong sense of incongruity washed over me.

He walked around the entire building, but it seemed unchanged; it looked the same from every direction.

Unfortunately, he neither understood Shintoism nor Yin-Yang magic, so he couldn't figure out the mystery behind it.

Apart from the fact that the apartment building was sparsely populated, it seemed normal on the surface, unlike the Asagami residence he visited yesterday, which was obviously haunted.

That makes sense. If the problem with Xiaochuan Apartment was so obvious, the association couldn't have made a mistake.

After wandering around the area for a while without any leads, Xu Ming had no choice but to temporarily abandon the investigation.

On his way back, as he passed an intersection, Xu Ming was quite surprised to see a familiar figure.

That was the day he helped the blind girl cross the street.

The girl was holding a thick stack of flyers. She would smile, bow, and hand a flyer to each passerby.

"Please take a look at this, thank you!"

The girl couldn't see it, but Xu Ming could see it clearly.

Most pedestrians completely ignored her presence, and some even showed disdain and disgust on their faces.

Whenever a pedestrian accepted a flyer, the girl would smile even brighter and bow again in apology.

"Thank you so much!"