Why is my anime art style so weird?

Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Xu Ming will be able to buy a private car like her.

First, he is currently a minor and cannot obtain a driver's license; second, if he were to hire a private car driver, the monthly salary would be quite high, so it would be better to take a taxi every day.

After much deliberation, Xu Ming finally decided to focus his attention on the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons".

If we can sign a contract with the 'weird' that comes with its own vehicle, all problems will be solved.

The 'weiqi' driver doesn't need a parking space, doesn't need fuel, doesn't need a salary, and doesn't need rest; he's simply the best of the best among drivers!

After thinking about the problem, Xu Ming didn't even look at the reward settlement for completing the task. He just lay down on the bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning.

Xu Ming, still dreaming, was awakened by a ringing telephone.

Xu Ming groggily picked up his phone and saw that it was only 7 a.m.

Who called him so early?

Xu Ming was taken aback when he saw the nickname displayed on the screen.

"How could it be her?!"

The phone ringing seemed to grow increasingly urgent.

Xu Ming hesitated for a moment before pressing the call button.

"Why did it take you so long to answer the phone!?"

The person opposite immediately launched into a tirade of criticism.

Xu Ming's reaction, however, was quite indifferent.

"Excuse me, Ms. Sawamura, we don't seem to know each other very well, and I was sleeping just now."

The person on the other end of the phone was taken aback, remained silent for a moment, and then their tone softened considerably.

"No, I'm sorry, Xu Ming. I was too impatient. I've encountered some issues recently, so... Anyway, I'm sorry!"

Xu Ming seemed to see a picture in his mind of a girl with slightly flushed face bowing to her phone.

"I accept your apology, Sawamura-kun. Now you can tell me, what brings you here so early?"

Unexpectedly, the voice on the other end of the phone became hesitant, as if there were some concerns.

"Xu Ming, have anything strange happened around you lately?"

Xu Ming's eyes flashed, and he immediately realized that things were not so simple.

However, when it comes to the strange things that happened around him...

Rather, what about the things that have happened around him recently? Is anything not surprising?

However, these things cannot be known to outsiders.

"No, I've been working outside these past few days and have rarely been home."

Xu Ming answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Really? Well... I'm sorry for disturbing your rest."

The voice on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat lost and helpless.

She hung up the phone quickly.

Xu Ming reached out and touched his smooth chin.

Strictly speaking, Sawamura Spencer Eriri and Eriri are not friends.

Xu Ming met her through his older sister, Shi Yu. The two of them would only exchange three sentences when they met, mostly just polite pleasantries.

However, her older sister, Shiho, would occasionally show some admiration for Eriri in private, but she would often complain about her behind her back.

In Xu Ming's view, the two were probably destined to be enemies for life, with mutual respect yet also a deep-seated resentment towards each other.

Eriri's strange phone call sparked a lot of imagination in Xu Ming.

Did something happen to her?

Xu Ming subconsciously opened the system panel.

The above only shows the task settlement from last night, and no new task events have appeared.

'That's strange, is it because there's not enough information?'

Xu Ming was somewhat puzzled.

Ultimately, I decided to put this matter aside for the time being.

If Eriri trusts him, she might call him again in the future, and then he can take the opportunity to find out what's going on.

However, given Eriri's family background, she probably doesn't need the help of an unknown nobody like him.

Xu Ming casually clicked on the task settlement.

—Congratulations, host, for solving the event 'Tokyo University School of Medicine Morgue - Ju-on Chain (2 stars)'. Quest settlement in progress...

—Settlement complete, event completion rate: 60%!

—Gained 50 Strange Points (100%)!

'The completion rate of this event is a bit low...'

Xu Ming stroked his chin.

His hidden rating was probably lowered because of his teaming up with Kato Megumi.

Although most of the hidden details behind this incident have been revealed, it is all thanks to the excellent intelligence work done by Megumi Kato and the Exorcist Association.

In a sense, Xu Ming was carried to victory by his female classmate this time, with Kato Megumi basically carrying the team the entire time.

Half of the victory was achieved by simply lying down, or... well, it's like... winning by sitting back?

While it's easy to latch onto someone's coattails, the completion rate is too low, resulting in only weird points as rewards and no access to the hidden rewards for high completion rates.

It seems that we should try to avoid teaming up in the future; solo play is the way to go.

However, the Exorcist Association's powerful intelligence capabilities can save him a lot of effort, which he should make good use of.

Overall, Xu Ming benefited greatly from Kato Megumi's on-site exorcism tutorial and even gained 50 free Weird Points.

Ding Dong!

Xu Ming's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that he had received two text messages: one was a transfer record, and the other was a message from Kato Megumi.

The transfer record clearly showed that Xu Ming's deposit had increased by 2000 million yen!

This brings his total savings to 3500 million yen!

He's taken another small step towards his goal of 100 billion yen!

Although being an exorcist is dangerous, it's a profession reserved for a very small number of people, and it's much more lucrative than writing online novels, drawing comics, or trading stocks.

Xu Ming opened Kato Megumi's text message with a happy mood.

Kato Megumi first sincerely apologized in the text message for leaving Xu Ming near the University of Tokyo last night. Then she reminded Xu Ming that the commission fee for yesterday had been received and asked him to check it. Finally, Kato Megumi also mentioned that the Exorcist Association would be holding an exhibition and auction in a few days and invited Xu Ming to participate.

After reading Kato Megumi's text message, Xu Ming's slight resentment from paying an extra fare last night vanished instantly, and he became somewhat curious about the so-called exhibition and auction.

Chapter Seventy-Four: A Changed Fate

—Accept the side quest 'Animal Expo Park (1 star)'? (Yes/No)

Yes!

—Background: After the Totsuki Tea House closed down, the animal park lost its source of income, and the animals, unable to afford food, grew increasingly hungry... Finally, on the night of the blood moon, they attacked the people who had once cared for them...

—Mission Objective: Head to the rocky area in the center of the Expo Park and find the 'disappeared cave'.

—Mission prompt: The Expo Park is teeming with hungry 'beasts'. Please be prepared to guard against wild 'animals'.

—Quest hint: The 'Vanished Cave' will only reappear when the blood moon rises.

Looking at the long string of information on the system panel, Xu Ming did not feel happy at all; instead, his expression became extremely solemn.

The system is so kind as to provide so much information for one reason only: this task has extraordinary difficulties in other aspects.

Xu Ming quickly focused his attention on the word 'Beast' on the panel. Clearly, the difficulty of this mission was not in finding the answer, but in how to escape from a group of hungry 'beasts'!

Xu Ming picked up his phone, thought for a moment, and sent a message to Kato Megumi via Line.

Ding Dong!

Kato Megumi replied quickly, sending him a large number of maps, pictures, and text descriptions.

All of this information about the 'World Expo Park' was obtained by Xu Ming from Kato Megumi.

After failing to find many useful clues online in the past few times, and learning from Kato Megumi that the Exorcist Association and the Japanese government had implemented very strict controls on information related to 'strange' things online, Xu Ming gave up the idea of ​​searching for information online.

For professional matters, consult professionals.

After Xu Ming sent his questions to Kato Megumi, she immediately sent him the detailed information he wanted.

After examining these clues, Xu Ming frowned.

Things were more dangerous than he had imagined.

What happened at the 'Animal Expo Park' was not just a simple incident of animals running rampant due to extreme hunger.

These animals appear to have undergone some kind of terrifying mutation.

Three years ago, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department even dispatched the SAT (Special Assault Team) to try to wipe out the animals at the expo park, but the SAT failed miserably, with 2 killed and 5 seriously injured.

After that, the huge zoo was immediately closed off.

Xu Ming pondered for a moment, then began searching online for preparations for wilderness survival, and made a list of items he needed to buy.

Waterproof jacket, folding knife, flint and steel, waterproof flashlight, first aid kit, insect and snake repellent, incendiary sticks...

Fortunately, he wouldn't be staying at the zoo for too long, so he didn't need to prepare any living supplies like a tent; he just needed to focus on protecting himself from wild animals.

The only problem is that contraband items like firearms and crossbows, which are most effective against wild animals, are unavailable.

After some thought, Xu Ming also gave up on asking Kato Megumi for help.

He remembered that Kato Megumi had mentioned that people in the underworld generally disliked the use of modern firearms.

The two major organizations, led by the Clock Tower and the Church of the Holy See, even made a decree because of a certain infamous incident that people from the Underworld are not allowed to use modern weapons against people from the Underworld, otherwise they will be jointly wanted by the two organizations.