Why is my journey to the world of anime a strange tale of rules?

He passed through a rotten station, stepped into a carriage piled with countless decaying corpses, and slowly walked among maggots wriggling on the floor.

Stickers of various colors were pasted on the doors of the train carriage aisle—red, purple, blue… They looked like children's sticky notes, yet they exuded a faint eerie atmosphere, as if the colors themselves foreshadowed something.

The lawyer remembers this story.

This is a story that's more like a supernatural tale of rules. Someone dreams of finding themselves on a strange, dark train. There, they see notes left by other trapped passengers and learn that each carriage has a sticker of a different color. They must choose whether to move forward based on the color of the sticker and take appropriate actions within the corresponding carriage to ensure their safety.

In terms of horror, this story is quite good. After all, it never explains where the stickers came from or what the source of the danger is. The protagonist struggles in vain from beginning to end, ultimately meeting his demise. It is precisely this kind of story, where the threat remains unclear from start to finish, leaving the reader unsure how to fight back, that truly creates a sense of horror.

Of course, in the eyes of lawyers, this is still meaningless.

Push open the door and continue forward.

The mournful roars continued as always, and the twisted beings continued to attack as always.

Fresh blood is dripping.

The physical pain continued to assault my nerves.

The mental pain was transmitted to the depths of my soul again and again.

But the lawyer silently emerged from these carriages, skillfully maneuvering among these strange creatures using the power of his obsession, and continued to explore deeper into the world.

He could feel his body becoming sluggish; his stamina was greatly depleted, and his mental energy was far less than it had been at the start of the operation. The continuous fighting had already inflicted serious damage on him. Even though he could still force himself to continue operating despite his poor condition due to his "numbness," the lawyer knew that if he continued to fight those monsters, he would eventually lose his ability to move and die.

"...I am still getting closer to the target. I am certain that the target is located not far away. I am already close."

The lawyer, having clearly understood this, decided to continue moving forward.

[Lawyer...we...have discovered...deep inside...]

The sounds from Xiong Mi's side continued intermittently, clearly indicating that their team members had also ventured deeper into the instance area and begun searching for the core obsession. Because they were now in the same space, although Gao Hai's power was severely disrupted and unable to maintain its normal effect, at least the lawyer and Xiong Mi could know more or less about each other's situation, although it was difficult to exchange information.

bang-

Push open the next aisle door and step into the new carriage.

The stench of blood immediately filled the lawyer's nostrils, and the items hanging in the carriage that looked like students all turned toward where the lawyer was.

It seems that another fierce battle is inevitable.

Having clearly understood this, the lawyer continued walking with a blank expression, venturing into the territory of these strange creatures without the slightest hesitation.

"..."

More pain spread in the silence.

The lawyer was constantly tormented by both visible and invisible wounds, a pain so intense it could break even the most resolute person, yet it could not slow his steps even for a second.

Is this really meaningful?

Are you even alive now?

[If you cannot understand pain, cannot understand pleasure, and have no emotions whatsoever, why do you continue to suffer this meaningless torment?]

A voice sounded in my ear.

Some kind of force seemed to have touched me.

It wanted to subdue him; it tried to seize the gaps in his mind and memory, to find a reason that could defeat him.

"I don't need meaning, nor do I need understanding."

The lawyer then gave a response without any expression.

"I will continue the life of the lawyer, I will carry on the will of the lawyer, I exist for this purpose, and I need nothing else."

So he tore through those distorted and illusory phantoms and continued to stride forward.

You should know very well that continuing like this is no different from being dead.

After sacrificing your true name, your ego became unstable. Now you continue to use this dangerous object of obsession, unaware that your soul is constantly dissolving. If this continues, you will become less and less human, eventually becoming no different from a living corpse.

[I don't understand, is this really worth it? We're not some weak team; we could easily find a safer way for you to improve your strength. Why do you have to choose this path? You'll die if you continue like this, and do you really think we'd be happy working with a zombie that looks exactly like you?]

It's not too late now; you can stop. Don't go any further.

This isn't an order from me as a superior, and I know you wouldn't accept it. This is my request as a friend, okay?

Some past memories surfaced.

The lawyer was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected that he still had a lingering sense of surprise, let alone that he would actively recall the past.

He quickly remembered this past, a past that meant nothing to him and elicited no response from him.

That was before the lawyer completely lost his humanity. It was Cat, his teammate and friend, who took the initiative to talk to him, trying to persuade him to give up his memories of this path. At that time, his teammates in the "Slacking Off Gang" already understood what price he would pay if he continued down this path, and of course, he understood it himself. But it was precisely because he understood this that he chose to continue.

There must be someone who can always view problems objectively, who will never go crazy, who will never doubt themselves, and who will never hesitate.

So he also remembers the answer he gave back then.

From the moment I chose this path, I was prepared.

I will die here, and my personality and my feelings will vanish into nothingness.

But the one who remains will undoubtedly inherit everything from me, and will always think rationally, becoming a key member of our team.

I have no regrets about this; it was a decision I made willingly. Although I regret leaving, my friend, I have no regrets now.

In order to save more people, and to find a true chance to save us, I am willing to burn my soul and flesh, becoming someone who is no longer myself.

Perhaps such an attempt will ultimately be futile, but since someone has to make a choice, rather than forcing an innocent victim, I'd rather make the decision myself.

Although he regretted it for a while afterward, the lawyer remembered that it was precisely because he took the initiative to make that decision that the Red Moon-level players were able to fully confirm the considerations of the soul and body in the capture targets of the [Sacrifice Game], and at the same time, helped a large number of people avoid going astray. And the price to pay was the lawyer himself.

The man he once was ultimately chose to accept everything.

The current him no longer considers whether something is worthwhile; he simply decides what he should do based on his former way of thinking and executes it without hesitation. As others describe him: a living corpse, a machine, something neither human nor inhuman. He never cares about these evaluations, just as he doesn't care about himself or his own survival. Everything is unimportant except for the goal he set before his personality completely disappears.

tread--

As they walked, another door opened ahead.

The battered lawyer stopped in his tracks, flipping through the book in his hands, his gaze fixed on the seemingly empty driver's cab ahead.

“I’ve found the core obsession.”

Chapter 103 Players venturing into the depths of the Dark Land.

If each story is a complete copy, then what exactly is this distorted world that interweaves these stories, that qualifies as the source of them all, and that deserves to be called the core obsession?

At first, the lawyer wondered if the core of each story might be the central obsession of that particular instance.

After all, every story has a protagonist, a special character. This is something that is hard to overcome for any story, especially in these highly homogenized horror short stories.

But he quickly dismissed the idea, because as he delved deeper into this alternate dimension, the lawyer discovered far more than four stories. Various stories, based on the subway station setting, branched out into countless subplots, becoming increasingly complex the deeper he explored. And if each story's central theme were considered an independent core obsession, the final result could easily amount to dozens of core obsessions.

However, considering that Gao Hai determined from the beginning that this instance consisted of four core obsessions, this situation is obviously contradictory and cannot stand.

The lawyer did not consider the possibility that Gao Hai might be mistaken.

After some collaborative effort, the lawyer concluded that this being, who could hardly be called human, was incapable of making a mistake. Given this being's level, if he had determined there were four core obsessions within the instance, there was no way a fifth could appear. Therefore, his initial deduction must be wrong, and his current line of thinking must be flawed. He had to change his approach and think in a different direction to find the correct answer.

Based on his own reasoning, the lawyer decided to directly ram the train, carving a bloody path through the carriages and advancing towards the locomotive.

If his idea is correct, then there should be a core obsession in the driver's seat of this car, or at least a special entity closely related to that core obsession. As for what obstacles or setbacks he might encounter along the way, those are not the lawyer's concerns. In his current view, everything except verifying the answer is unimportant and does not need to be specifically considered.

Now, he has the answer to his question.

An answer that aligns with his inner thoughts, confirms his current judgment, and is within his expectations.

“I’ve found the core obsession.”

The lawyer looked at the driver's seat ahead and said in a low voice.

Meanwhile, the strange creatures that had been constantly entangled with him surged forward at this moment, launching a relentless and terrifying attack on him.

tear-

Hot blood was spilled on the walls and the ground.

Even with the lawyer's physical abilities, which are stronger than those of ordinary Red Moon-level players and have been enhanced by Gao Hai, he is still struggling to cope with such a terrifying attack after suffering heavy losses. He is falling into a slump under the onslaught of one deformed monster after another.

If this continues, I might die here.

The lawyer, clearly aware of this, showed no fear or hesitation on his face and made a decision in an instant to continue the operation.

Boom! ! !

The crimson light raged and danced wildly.

Like a burning soul, the solitary lawyer marched towards the countless strange creatures ahead, towards the horde of monsters formed by these hideous and twisted figures, tearing through the darkness that seemed to engulf everything in the light of blood and fire, relentlessly charging forward.

No one witnessed this scene of overwhelming disparity in strength.

No one could hear the tremors of the flowing blood.

In this battlefield where there are no spectators, nor is it necessary for them to have spectators, the living are more resolute and more fearless than the dead. Even when they are in the deepest darkness where no light can be seen, they find light again by transforming into fireworks.

Boom——

The dull, loud noise continued to spread.

Rumbling--

Xiong Mi raised his head and gazed into the far distance of darkness, seemingly sensing something, yet he could never truly find the burning fragments.

"Boss, have you found anything?"

Beside Xiong Mi, Jianbing, holding a computer, manipulated it with one hand and asked questions as they walked.

"...I think I smelled a bit of blood. Maybe it's someone I know fighting desperately."

After hesitating for a moment, Xiong Mi spoke somewhat uncertainly, and soon a smile appeared on her face.

"Although we don't know exactly who it is, we can't fall behind others when it comes to working hard."

"If we've come this far and still fall behind, and others think we're not brave or fierce enough, that would be really pathetic."

"So, from now on, I'd like to ask you two to come with me and push forward a little further!"

As she spoke, Xiong Mi decisively stepped forward from the platform, venturing deeper into the darkness.

Upon hearing her words, Jianbing immediately smiled and followed Xiong Mi without hesitation. Shao Ye, cloaked in a cape, nodded silently, and flames reappeared on his body, causing the surrounding temperature to rise rapidly.

From the darkness, more and more things rapidly emerged, attempting to attack the trio who were actively asserting their presence.