Why is my anime art style so weird?

This bell can guide you to Starfall Island.

Xu Ming took the bell and examined it carefully in his hand.

The bell felt cool to the touch, and its entire body was translucent and golden, as if coated with a layer of gold powder.

However, if you hold the bell up to the sunlight outside the courtyard, you will find that there is a faint trace of blood red flowing on the surface of the bell, as if blood is flowing underneath.

Ding!

—At midnight, head to the Yellow Springs Wharf, carrying the Flamefall Bell and the Flame Mountain Scroll, and board the 'Ark of the Other Shore'.

—Attention! The 'Ark of the Other Shore' is a vessel that travels between the real world and the underworld. It is extremely averse to any other kind of aura except that of the living. Do not summon any shikigami before the 'Ark of the Other Shore' arrives at Starfall Island.

After accepting the commission from the Yukinoshita family, Xu Ming declined their offer and returned home to begin final preparations.

Judging from the system prompts, this mission is extraordinary.

What's more troublesome is that he couldn't summon any shikigami to help him before he arrived at Starfall Island.

This was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

Fortunately, Xu Ming is no longer the weakling he was a few months ago.

Even without the help of shikigami, he has considerable self-protection capabilities based solely on his equipment.

Xu Ming began to carefully examine the system in order to improve his abilities.

Last time I helped Misaka Mikoto solve a problem, I received a total of 5000 Weird Points and the hidden reward 'Thunder Crystal'.

The 'Crystal of Lightning' has been given to Erina for her to absorb.

Adding the remaining strange points, Xu Ming has a total of 5525 points.

His purpose in keeping these points was to ensure that the next mission would be targeted and effective.

Since the system indicates that shikigami cannot be summoned before arriving at Starfall Island.

Therefore, Xu Ming's focus should be on improving his own equipment.

A little over 5000 points isn't a lot, but it's not a small amount either.

This amount of points is far from enough to upgrade the Physics Holy Sword to level 6, but it's enough to significantly increase the phone's power.

After a moment's thought, Xu Ming chose the following upgrade plan:

Upgrading the 'Purification' ability from level four to level five consumes 2000 points.

Upgrading 'Energy Recovery' from level 5 to level 6 costs 1600 points.

Upgraded 'energy storage' from level two to level three, consuming 800 points.

Finally, Xu Ming chose an additional, particularly targeted ability—Ghost Suppression, 1000 points.

This ability targets only vengeful spirits and deals double damage to vengeful spirit enemies.

Considering the Starfall Island we visited this time, where a large number of islanders died overnight, it is estimated that there will be many vengeful spirits haunting the island.

With the added weakening ability of the level 5 'purification', the phone's power against vengeful spirits is greatly increased.

Furthermore, the phone now only needs four minutes to recharge and can store enough energy for four photo sessions simultaneously. Both its power and battery life have been greatly enhanced.

Then Xu Ming put all kinds of emergency supplies into his backpack.

After making all the preparations, Xu Ming subconsciously rubbed the wedding ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

A dark light flashed from the wedding ring, and a gentle coolness came from the fingertip.

Xu Ming suddenly felt relieved, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out of the house...

"So the Yukinoshita family had such a past."

Kato Megumi's voice, tinged with emotion, came from the other end of the phone.

Xu Ming asked with some surprise:

"Don't you know about these small favors?"

"The association has conducted an investigation and learned that the Yukinoshita family are immigrants from an isolated island overseas, and also knows that some dangerous sacrificial rituals were once performed on the island."

However, due to the involvement of the Yukinoshita family's secrets, the specific details were not investigated in depth.

"I see."

Xu Ming seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that the Yukinoshita family is more powerful than he imagined, and can even influence large organizations in the underworld like the Exorcist Association.

"but……"

Kato Megumi's voice came from the other end of the phone again, but this time, her voice was hesitant, as if she was worried about something.

After a while, Kato Megumi slowly spoke.

"Although we don't know the details, the association has sent people to investigate Starfall Island, and has even sent teams to search for it multiple times..."

Most search teams didn't even find the exact location of Starfall Island.

Only two teams found Starfall Island, but one of the search teams lost contact just after discovering the island's location.

The search team was later discovered at sea, and all members had fallen into a strange slumber.

The association invited a professional Onmyoji (a type of Japanese sorcerer) to conduct a diagnosis, and they discovered that their souls had been extracted.

Another team successfully landed on Starfall Island. The team included a master skilled in Yin-Yang arts, but they never returned… The association deduced that they may have perished on the island.

Kato Megumi paused for a moment, then said very seriously:

"In terms of danger, Starfall Island is no less dangerous than Konoha Village and Monster Mountain, so... Akira, you must be careful."

After listening to Kato Megumi's advice, Xu Ming replied solemnly:

"I will."

On the other end of the phone, Megumi Kato suddenly sighed.

"It's a pity that I can't get away for the time being because I'm preparing for the sealing and reinforcement ceremony of the Nine-Tailed Fox, otherwise I would have gone to Starfall Island with you."

That island is also a major concern for the association.

"Just relax and prepare for the ceremony in two months."

Leave everything else to me.

Xu Ming suddenly thought of something else.

"By the way, Xiao Hui, do you know where the Yellow Springs Wharf is?"

"How could you... be going to Starfall Island?"

"Yes."

Kato Megumi was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts.

After a while, he spoke again.

"The Wharf of the Underworld was not originally called this, and the name did not even appear on the official map."

This pier was originally called Harumi, just an ordinary pier in Tokyo Bay.

However, one year a typhoon suddenly struck, and the people on the dock did not have time to evacuate.

Houses and factories near the dock were destroyed by the typhoon, and many people lost their lives in the disaster.

Because many people died there, the dock was regarded as an ominous symbol, and people privately called it 'Yellow Springs'.

The dock was subsequently severely damaged and completely abandoned. Furthermore, each time a group took over and attempted to renovate it, various problems arose, preventing construction from starting. Over time, Qinghai Dock became utterly deserted…”

Chapter 374 Ruined Ruins

Xu Ming's mind raced with a thousand thoughts.

"Since Xiaohui has said so, is it because there are a lot of strange things lurking around that dock?"

"yes.

I don't know if it's due to the unique geographical environment there. Every year, the souls of those who died in typhoons near Tokyo Bay gather there, and now that pier has become a forbidden place for the living.

The association has to send people to clean it up regularly every year.

"I see."

Xu Ming immediately became more vigilant.

That dock turned out to be a natural dead zone.

Due to special circumstances, he was unable to summon his shikigami before arriving at Starfall Island, so traveling alone to the Underworld Wharf was still somewhat dangerous.

May you have great success in your military endeavors!

Xu Ming hung up the phone amidst Kato Megumi's sincere blessings.

squeak!

The faint sound of brakes carried far into the night sky.

A Cadillac was parked outside a dilapidated dock wall.

The car door opened, and Xu Ming got out.

At that moment, the other car door opened, and an elderly butler with white hair stepped out and bowed deeply to Xu Ming.

"Mr. Xu Ming, I'm entrusting the second young lady to you!"

Xu Ming waved his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm paid to do what I'm supposed to do, I still have that much professional ethics."

That's right, the Yukinoshita family is exceptionally generous.

Before setting off, he directly transferred 100 billion yen to Xu Ming and promised to give Xu Ming 1% of the group's shares and a luxury mansion after successfully rescuing Yukino Yukinoshita.

Putting aside the system's mission, just for such a large sum of money, Xu Ming would do everything in his power to rescue Yukino Yukinoshita.

After learning about the Yomi Wharf from Kato Megumi, he planned to set off immediately.

To his utter surprise, the exact location of Qinghai Wharf, also known as Huangquan Wharf, could not be found on the map.

Just when he was at his wit's end, Yukinoshita Haruno suddenly appeared in front of him.