I created a foundation

It was his words that sounded so second-year and ridiculous at the time—

"If you encounter any trouble that cannot be explained by science..."

Could it be...could it be that what he said was true?

Do monsters like these, which science can't explain, really exist in this world? And can he really solve them?!

This thought was like a life-saving straw, grasped tightly by a drowning person. Kasumigaoka Utaha had no time to think about the logic behind it, nor did she care to consider how absurd it was.

The instinct for survival overrides everything.

She ran forward frantically, rummaging frantically in her school uniform pockets with her trembling hands.

found it!

The black business card that she had shoved into her pocket with disdain and was planning to throw away when she got home, now seemed like a priceless amulet, held tightly in her hand.

She didn't even dare to stop. While running violently, she took out her mobile phone, unlocked the screen with muscle memory, and then used her fingers, which were shaking with fear and running, to press the wrong numbers again and again with difficulty.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!" she shouted frantically in her heart.

The footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer, and she could even smell the disgusting stench.

Finally, after trying several times, she successfully entered the phone number on the business card into her mobile phone in full, and then pressed the dial button with all her strength.

The phone rang only once.

Just a sound.

The call was connected.

On the other end of the line came an extremely calm, even lazy male voice, which formed an extremely ironic contrast with her desperate escape for life and death.

"Hello, I'm Lin Qing from the Abnormal Phenomenon Consulting Office."

Hearing this voice, Kasumigaoka Utaha's nerves, which had been stretched to the extreme, finally broke.

She could no longer control herself, and using up the last bit of air in her chest, she let out a heart-wrenching cry into the phone, mixed with the sound of wind, gasping, and endless fear.

"Help... Help! There's a monster! There's a monster chasing me in the park! Help me!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.

These two seconds felt as long as a century to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Just when she thought the other party would think it was a prank and hang up the phone, and the last glimmer of hope in her heart was about to go out, that calm voice sounded again.

Chapter 0008: Want to survive? Bet million first!

Inside the office, the air was so quiet that it seemed frozen.

Lin Qing was leaning back in his executive chair, eyes closed, fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest. Beside him, Yotsuya Miko clutched a high school textbook, trying hard to focus on it. But out of the corner of her eye, she couldn't help but glance at the man who seemed to be cut off from the world, filled with awe and curiosity.

At this moment, Lin Qing's cell phone on the table rang suddenly and sharply.

The sudden ringing startled Yotsuya Miko, and she almost dropped the book in her hand.

Lin Qing slowly opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and glanced at the caller ID—an unfamiliar number. Instead of rejecting the call, he swiped the answer button and pressed the hands-free key.

The next second, a heart-wrenching female cry, accompanied by the sound of violent wind, heavy breathing, and endless fear, exploded in the quiet office like a bomb.

"Help... Help! There's a monster! There's a monster chasing me in the park! Help me!"

It's Kasumigaoka Utaha's voice!

Yotsuya Miko recognized it immediately. Though her voice was distorted by fear, that distinct voice was unmistakable. Her face paled instantly, and her heart leaped into her throat. A monster? Kasumigaoka-senpai had also encountered a monster?

She looked at Lin Qing nervously, expecting to see a hint of solemnity or anxiety on his face.

However, Lin Qing's expression did not change at all.

He didn't even change his sitting position, simply letting the heartbreaking cry for help from the other end of the phone echo in the office. He listened to the desperate cry as if he were listening to a symphony with a somewhat noisy melody, and his face didn't even have a trace of unnecessary ripples.

After a full two seconds, he seemed to have finally confirmed the other party's intention, and slowly spoke in a calm, almost cold tone, as if he was discussing the weather today.

"can."

Only one word.

On the other end of the line, Kasumigaoka Utaha, in the midst of her desperate escape, heard these words and instantly felt a surge of ecstasy at having survived. He agreed! He really could save me!

But Lin Qing's next words kicked her directly from heaven into an even more absurd and bizarre hell.

"The attendance fee is 1.6 million yen, after tax." Lin Qing's voice came through the speakerphone clearly, without any emotion. "No bargaining, no installment payments. In addition, you need to pay a deposit of 50%, or 800,000 yen, before we will attend."

In the office, Yotsuya Miko's mouth slowly opened wide, and her expression completely froze, like a petrified statue.

On the other end of the phone, Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was running away frantically in the park, almost thought she was hallucinating because of excessive fear.

what?

One million six hundred thousand? And I still need to pay a deposit?!

Behind her was a terrifying monster speaking human language, ready to pounce and tear her to pieces at any moment. And on the phone, this person, her only and last resort, was actually talking to her about... money?!

A feeling of utter absurdity coursed through her like an electric current. She was trembling with rage, her chest heaving violently, and she almost wanted to yell into her phone.

You opportunistic bastard! Devil! Vampire!

But the roar of the human-faced dog behind her and the sharp sound of its claws cutting through the air cruelly brought her back to the reality of life and death.

"I...it's about to catch up with me!" She screamed in terror. The heel of her high heels accidentally stepped into the soft mud. She stumbled and fell to the ground in a mess.

The hard ground rubbed against her delicate skin, causing burning pain, but she didn't care at all. She turned around and saw the middle-aged man's malicious face, which was rapidly enlarging in her field of vision. The strong fishy smell almost suffocated her.

On the phone, Lin Qing's voice remained calm, even with a hint of urging.

"So, what's your decision, Senpai?"

His voice was eerily calm, as if he was not talking about a living life, but an ordinary business deal that could be canceled at any time.

"Will you choose to spend your money to avoid disaster, or become its dinner? Friendly reminder, my time is precious, I only give you three seconds to consider."

"three."

"two."

The cold countdown, like the scythe of the god of death, was placed on Kasumigaoka Utaha's neck.

Her rationality, which she was proud of, her pride in being a talented writer, her dignity as the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family... at this moment, they were all shattered by the most primitive and purest fear of death.

"I give!"

Before Lin Qing counted to "one", she used up the last bit of strength in her chest and screamed out in a voice filled with tears and endless humiliation.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it all to you!!"

"A wise choice." Lin Qing on the other end of the phone finally had a hint of satisfaction in his tone.

"My bank account number has been sent to your phone via text message. I will leave immediately after receiving the deposit."

Hearing this, Kasumigaoka Utaha was so angry she nearly gnashed her teeth. What time is it now?! Is this man a monster?! How can he be so complacent?!

However, Lin Qing's next words made her experience what true "professionalism" meant.

"Also, to ensure your safety, please don't hang up until I arrive at the scene. The cost of the call will be added to your final bill. After all, my voice can, to a certain extent, deter low-level anomalies, which is also part of the value-added service."

Value-added services?

Kasumigaoka Utaha could no longer think. She felt that her worldview had been completely crushed and reshaped by this man in an incredible way.

But she didn't dare hang up the phone.

She tightly grasped the cold cell phone, listening to the steady and even breathing sound coming from the other end of the phone, which seemed to come from another world, and regarded it as her only psychological comfort in this desperate situation.

And in the office.

Lin Qing slowly put down his phone and ended the speakerphone call. He gave Yotsuya Miko, who was stunned and had her worldview shaken, a kind smile.

Yotsuya Miko looked at him, opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but found that her throat was so dry that she couldn't utter a word.

Is this... how experts act?

When someone's life is hanging by a thread, you calmly bargain and even settle the phone bill?

This is too... too...

She couldn't find a suitable word to describe it.

"Let's go, Employee 001."

Lin Qing didn't give her time to think any further. He gracefully stood up from his boss chair, picked up the coat hanging on the hanger, and casually draped it over his shoulders.

"Business is coming." He walked towards the door, leaving Yotsuya Miko with a back full of confidence and control.

"Preparing for the first deployment."

Yotsuya Miko's face instantly revealed tension and confusion, mixed with a hint of morbid excitement that she herself was not even aware of.

The...first...attendance mission!

Chapter 0009: You call this “after-meal exercise”?

In the abandoned park, murderous intent is everywhere.

Kasumigaoka Utaha had retreated to a cold wall at the end of the park, with no way to retreat. Her back was pressed tightly against the rough wall, and the sharp edges of the gravel hurt her.