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

"be careful."

Although her gaze towards Takami still held a hint of resentment, Maki finally explained to him earnestly the various intelligence she and Kaguya had gathered. This included topics discussed by the researchers on the third floor, such as "the base still hasn't found a stable production method this year," "the number of exploration personnel recruited from prison is insufficient again," and "an unlucky soldier disappeared yesterday because he didn't follow the rules," as well as information collected from various sources.

Even the maps for the first and second floors of the base were included; Maki gave Takami a rough hand-drawn map. As for the entertainment area on the third floor, since she and Kaguya hadn't fully explored that area, there wasn't an accurate map available yet.

Gao Hai didn't hesitate and used this time to hand over the information he and Qianhua had collected to the other party. This surprised Zhenfei. She never expected that the different identities of [Explorer], [Rescue Team], and [Security Guard] would lead to being directly teleported to different time points, and that there were all sorts of strange phenomena hidden deep in the Red Nut Gray Hole. Therefore, she fell into deep thought and was troubled about how to integrate this information and find a reasonable direction for action.

Besides the clothes that Maki and Kaguya were already wearing, there was also a set of Maki's researcher uniform and the clothing she had stolen from the other soldier she had been embracing at the time, which they could use to change. Originally, Maki and Kaguya planned to use this opportunity to contact Takami and Chika to change their clothes, thus protecting them from the potentially dangerous exploration mission. However, after consideration, Takami refused, deciding instead to enter the Red Nut Gray Hole at this point in time to thoroughly investigate the situation inside.

As for Fujiwara Chika, although Maki had developed great dissatisfaction with this voluptuous girl, she was not so much so as to disregard the girl's life or death because of a little emotion in her heart. Therefore, after Takami decided not to change her clothes, she signaled the girl to change her clothes and change her identity.

Unexpectedly, she was rejected again this time.

“Gao Jun saved me several times during previous investigations, and we've cooperated many times, so I'll be working with him again this time. That way, if we encounter any unexpected situations, I believe we can coordinate with each other.”

As Fujiwara Chika spoke, her blush hadn't faded, but her attitude remained firm, showing no intention of changing her mind.

Therefore, Princess Zhenfei clenched her fists even tighter.

Well, these two have become so close that they can trust each other and work together.

While you two were painstakingly investigating this research base, what exactly were you doing?

Furthermore, she even called Hai Jun "Gao Jun" or something similar, which sounded quite intimate.

Shijo Maki's gaze towards Takami was like a burning fire. She held back for a while, but in the end, she managed to suppress it and not let her emotions affect her current actions. In the end, she just gave Takami's leg a light kick and then walked away angrily.

To be honest, Gao Hai felt quite guilty seeing the other party's behavior.

But the problem is, when I think about it carefully, I really didn't do anything with Fujiwara Chika, did I? Whether it was tearing off her clothes, taking a bath together, or sleeping in the same bed and hugging each other at night... Well, although the motivations were mostly accompanied by various helplessness, these things did have some negative aspects.

But for now, ah, never mind, let's not think about that for now, let's think about how to survive first.

Forcing himself to ignore Maki's gaze as she stood in the corridor leading to the quarantine area, deliberately choosing a spot far away from him, Gao Hai continued forward, stepping into the spacious quarantine hall behind the main gate, into a place called the "Preparation Room."

He could see more than ten machine guns and automatic cannons aimed at him with just his eyes, and he could also sense more than one twisted hostility in the shadows.

However, judging from the angles they were facing, these artillery pieces did not seem to be intended for Gao Hai, who had just entered, but rather for something emerging from the direction of the cave.

Not far away was a glass wall. When he entered, Gao Hai could see his own mismatched appearance in the yellow and white striped clothes reflected in the glass. At this moment, behind that glass wall, Kaguya stood in that room, watching a group of researchers observing various data in front of her.

[Explorers are in position. Number of personnel: 3... 2? Number of personnel... 2. A total of two explorers. Please notify command to commence operations.]

In a chilling voice, a researcher whose face was completely mangled turned around and gave an order to Kaguya.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Oddities That Are Begin to Emerge

The exploration team consists of 2 people?!

Kaguya's eyes widened.

Looking through the glass of the observation room, there were clearly three people standing on the field: Takami, Fujiwara Chika, and the third explorer who was actually acting strangely. There were three people clearly in front of them, so why would anyone say there were only two explorers?

Was it because the strange character played wasn't included in the assessment?

No, it's impossible.

In yesterday's first round of exploration, Kaguya was with two other explorers. There were three members going in and three coming out. According to Maki, the number of people counted in the command room and observation room has remained at three without any change.

But why are there two people today?

Kaguya suddenly recalled the first mission, where Gao Hai's identity was different from the other players; he was assigned the "corpse" identity in room 204 right from the start. Although he didn't gain much benefit from this identity, this anomaly was indeed there from the beginning.

Is it because of that watch?

Thinking about how this mission had been inexplicably and suddenly fixed, and the current unusual situation, Kaguya couldn't help but start to think about this problem.

Speaking of which, both Gao-kun and Fujiwara-san have the same number, c3. The fact that they share the same number might be the reason they are considered to be the same person.

But considering the first game, perhaps... Gao Jun himself plays another role besides these outward identities? A special identity that he himself may not even know about, one that has not yet been revealed?

If that's the case... wait, yesterday Maki dragged her out of the personnel rest room, and that weirdo playing the explorer appeared as before, but where is the other player playing the explorer? The player who originally held the C3 number was shot dead by the soldiers, but Kaguya saw them a few times afterward, discovering that this player had become the weirdo and continued playing the explorer. But today, when they went to act again, the player was gone. Could it be that Takagi and Fujiwara took over its number and disappeared?

Moreover, why didn't Princess Zhenfei notice this? She was clearly playing the role of the soldier responsible for leading people out, so she should have noticed this problem immediately.

Was it because she was playing a soldier that she didn't notice? No, then again, why didn't I notice that beforehand? This kind of oversight shouldn't have happened...

Realizing that this research base, which seemed safe as long as she played her role properly, was gradually revealing its terrifying nature, Kaguya's heart skipped a beat.

She desperately wanted to do something, but the eerie gaze fixed on her was already emanating an extremely ominous aura. If she made any inappropriate moves at this moment, she would likely end up like those players who had only been heard yesterday, vanishing without a trace and not even knowing where they had died.

Even so, she cannot remain inactive now.

"Exploration teams should operate in groups of three. Is it against the rules that there are fewer than three people in the team?"

With that thought in mind, Kaguya resisted the eerie gaze of the researcher sitting in front of the transparent glass of the observation room and cautiously voiced her ideas.

Article 3 of the Explorers' Code of Conduct states that exploration teams should consist of three people; if the number of team members decreases, the exploration activity must be stopped immediately. The observer has now confirmed that there are only two explorers outside, which constitutes a violation of the code of conduct.

[Please notify command center to begin operations]

But the researcher, whose entire face was shattered, spoke again, and in his emotionless voice, the temperature in the observation room began to drop even further.

All the researchers in the observation room turned around and stared at her without moving. Some researchers who were standing with their backs to her even twisted their necks to turn 180 degrees and look at her directly.

All eyes turned to her at that moment.

Unable to communicate.

Since this is a researcher in the observation room, not a commander in the command room, is it impossible for them to offer opinions based on the rules?

Speaking of which, yesterday Maki, who played the researcher, stayed in the command room, but today I was assigned to the observation room—that's quite a change. There must be a reason for this change in assignment; could there be something she hasn't discovered yet hidden here?

Kaguya's brain started working at high speed after the abnormality began to appear.

Of course, she did not hesitate at all in her actions. She walked to the doorway with a blank expression, opened the door, entered the command room, and came to the command personnel.

"The observation room indicates that we can begin the operation, but there are currently only two explorers, which violates the rules. May we proceed?"

Kaguya carefully considered her approach and asked the pale-faced commander.

[Start the operation]

What followed was something Kaguya didn't want to see, but it was completely unsurprising.

Is it because the rules state that the orders from the command center supersede the rules?

Kaguya's expression grew increasingly solemn, but at this moment she could only stand there; she could not leave this place until the operation was over.

Furthermore, because of these eerie presences around her, she cannot change her clothes to alter her identity. Changing clothes would immediately draw attention to her inaccurate portrayal of her true identity, plunging her into a grave crisis.

Besides, she didn't bring any clothes to change her identity into the command room... Was she still unprepared? She didn't expect this to happen the next day; she wasn't careful enough.

Knowing there was nothing she could do, Kaguya could only helplessly stay where she was, watching the actions of Takami and the others on the field.

While Kaguya was worrying, Takami, having received the order, began donning his equipment, preparing for the actual operation.

He knew, of course, that something was wrong and that there was a problem.

But at this moment, as an explorer, he also had no way to break the deadlock, knowing that several machine guns were aimed at him. Gao Hai was certain that if he made any wrong move, these weapons would instantly turn him into a sieve.

Being killed by the bizarre and supernatural forces is one thing, but being shot by a machine gun is another! What's going on with this dungeon? How did something supernatural get combined with modern weapons?

Gao Hai, who really wanted to complain loudly, had already put on his equipment and, under the command of the command center, stepped into the dark cave.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Maki, who was playing the role of a soldier, had already arrived on the second floor and was carefully observing the situation around her.

When Maki took Gao Hai and the others out, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but for some reason, the strange feeling quickly disappeared, and the girl herself was unable to convey what she felt was wrong to the others.

As for what she was here to do, it was quite simple: she was to cooperate with someone who had infiltrated Professor Fulnen's office with a doll.

A few minutes ago, Professor Furnen had left his office and entered the research area on the first floor.

Therefore, at this moment, the doll controlled by Gao Hai's consciousness in his office had shakily crawled out from under the table, peeked around, and then quickly ran to the door.

He jumped up and reached for the doorknob, but missed.

After a moment of contemplation, he turned and climbed onto the bookshelf next to him, then leaped into the air and jumped onto the doorknob.

It was too light and too weak to pull, and the doll ended up falling to the ground.

Gao Hai, who was going down the stairs, stumbled slightly and was almost knocked over by the force from the doll. He barely managed to keep his balance thanks to his superhuman physical abilities.

He climbed back onto the bookshelf, this time reaching the very top, and then leaped out, landing on the doorknob.

Click——

With the help of the power, the door was finally opened.

After the doll fell to the ground, Gao Hai had small cuts on his legs and arms, as if he himself had fallen from a great height.

The feedback from this obsessive-compulsive doll is truly unbearable...

Through the doll's gaze, Gao Hai saw Zhen Fei tiptoeing into the office. She glared at him after seeing the doll, clearly still seething with anger.

Meanwhile, he had already arrived at the entrance to the Red Nut Grotto, officially stepping into the cave and seeing...

I saw one tourist after another walking through the cave, and their curious gazes as they looked at me.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Scenes and Perspectives Existing at a Certain Moment

[C1, Report Status]

We have entered the entrance area of ​​the Red Nut Grotto; the situation here is no different from yesterday.

After the C1 leader, originally played by Kaguya Shinomiya, disappeared after changing his identity, the explorer played by the mysterious figure became the new C1 and the leader of this team of explorers.

There is no C2, only C3 for Takami and Fujiwara Chika. Incidentally, Takami thinks it's a bit of a pity that there is no C4.

Through the voices in the command room that he heard over the communicator, Gao Hai knew that the current team was judged to consist of two people, which was an abnormal situation that did not conform to the rules. However, under the orders from the command room and the threat of machine guns, Gao Hai had no choice but to step into the cave.

I wonder if Kaguya has tried to do anything.

Exchanging intelligence and figuring out each other's situation in this instance is really troublesome.

How wonderful it would be if there were such a device that would allow him to communicate with Kaguya Maki and the others no matter how far apart they were, and to know about their situations.

This unrealistic wish flashed through Gao Hai's mind for a moment, but was quickly put aside.

Now is not the time to think about such things.

The most important thing right now is to figure out how to deal with what we are facing right now.

Laughter echoed all around.