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

This time, however, he discovered something different: a long crack in the square's ground that hadn't been there before.

He walked up to the crevice and looked down.

He saw flames burning fiercely, spreading throughout the city's underground.

And two twisted figures struggling in the flames, and a series of dissipated afterimages.

Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen are those beastly parents.

For some reason, the two people remained intact amidst the flames. They were relentlessly burned and subjected to extreme torture, yet no injuries could be seen on their bodies. They could only repeat this agony over and over again.

Apart from these two people, the porcelain dolls and the illusory human figures have basically disappeared, leaving only a few remnants.

The bizarre born from obsession, lacking any real foundation, will quickly burn out, becoming mere nourishment. But the bizarre, possessing self-awareness and directly transformed from a human being, will endlessly repeat its suffering, like a battery being continuously drained?

Gao Hai understood why Shirakawa Apartment had uttered the words "Give Immortality" at the moment of its collapse.

He truly granted these two people immortality, or rather, the power of the watch, the power of this city, granted them immortality.

As long as Gao Hai continues to possess this watch.

The city will continue to have these two people.

Or rather, these two people are no longer able to leave the city's supply. Once they lose the city's support, they will lose their foundation and collapse and disappear.

The reason these two exist is simple: their pain and despair, as a strange and persistent force, are continuously transformed into the power of the watch. Given enough time, this power can help the watch recover one reset point, giving it another chance to start over.

"I see."

Gao Hai had already figured it out.

At the moment the Shirakawa apartment was destroyed, the hands of his watch returned from 3 to 2. This was because the watch had absorbed the derivative anomalies such as porcelain dolls and invisible footsteps. These things had no foundation and were digested quickly, just like food eaten. Therefore, the watch immediately returned to one position.

These two individuals are of a higher status than those derivative anomalies without a foundation. Although they cannot compare to the core obsession, they can be reused and used as a long-term energy source.

The process of exploitation itself might be a little inhumane.

They did indeed gain immortality.

To eternally repeat the extreme punishment within the flames formed by this eerie power.

Unless Gao Hai, the owner of the watch, decides to grant them death, they could theoretically gain eternal life, although such immortality is probably something they could never accept.

"Speaking of which, a normal person's will would collapse in this environment in no time, so why are they still shouting so energetically? Are their memories being periodically erased?"

Gao Hai was still somewhat puzzled, but the watch didn't seem inclined to provide any answers.

In short, a stable method for restoring the number of rollbacks has now been presented to Gao Hai.

Incidentally, he also already knew the recovery speed of his rollback attempts after having these two obsessions as energy sources.

Currently... it will take another 893 days for this watch to recover one tick, giving it a new rollback opportunity.

It will take more than two years, that's way too long!

Gao Hai felt a little regretful. According to his vague guess, this watch would force him to play high-level games. These two scumbags were not enough to burn. It seemed that if he wanted to rekindle the flame, or rather, to form a virtuous cycle, he had to liberate more core obsessions, destroy more instances, and absorb more and more obsessions. Only in this way could he cope with the increasingly difficult situation ahead.

Although I'm struggling to even handle this current instance, it's hard to say whether I'll even have a future in it.

"Is the research base a death trap from which there is absolutely no way to leave?"

Having personally witnessed the female ghost's execution, Gao Hai understood that the research base was where her true form resided. Finding a safe way to resolve her obsession there would be extremely difficult, especially after being "watched." Whether Gao Hai could even return to the research base after his resurrection was now uncertain.

However, both Maki and Kaguya started their careers at the research base.

Gao Hai vaguely sensed that even if he stayed obediently in the research base, it wouldn't be long before they were all wiped out. Perhaps that timeframe was 15 days. After 15 days, which was the game's time limit, the female ghost would enter the research base and wreak havoc, killing everyone inside. Gao Hai, being "watched," had established a connection with that thing, and his entry caused this process to be prematurely reenacted, leading to the premature destruction.

It's like 304 keeps repeating the various things that happened over the past 7 days.

This research base is probably repeating the various things that happened in the past 15 days. Just like the nature of obsession itself, it always restores the past in a distorted and chaotic way, repeating the past countless times.

Just like Kaguya tearing off the calendar, Takahashi did something similar this time. He introduced the power of that core obsession into the research base ahead of time, which directly caused the plot to be skipped by a large margin, and then the whole thing ended badly and everyone died on the spot.

Damn it, does this mean I not only can't enter the research base, but I also have to watch out for other players changing clothes and sneaking into the research base? If a player who is being watched runs into the research base, Kaguya Maki will be doomed prematurely?

The various possibilities made Gao Hai increasingly depressed, and he couldn't help but sigh again.

when!

The first bell rang.

Gao Hai knew that he was about to start that instance in the Twisted Cave all over again.

At the same time, he had already sensed the connection between himself and Maki, knowing that he could use a rewind opportunity at any time to allow her to retain the memories of the first playthrough.

But he didn't do that.

Princess Zhenfei witnessed the true form of that thing; she saw the woman with her own eyes.

It's very likely that she has already established a connection with that thing and is now being watched.

Her starting location is within the research base. If she retains her memories, she is very likely to enter a dead end from the very beginning, so she cannot retain her memories.

Well, in that case, the situation over there probably won't change at all, right?

Without the ability to exchange information or meet each other, how can I pass on the various pieces of information I obtained in the first playthrough at the cost of my life, and how can I let her know about them?

when! !

The second bell rang.

Gao Hai's pupils narrowed slightly at that moment.

He sensed something different.

There was something different about the connection he had built with Shijou Maki.

It's like having an extra option; he can choose to let Zhenfei retain her memories and rewind time with her.

He could also establish a connection between himself and her, a connection through which he could proactively communicate with Maki and exchange information, regardless of distance. Maki could also tell him what she wanted to say at any time, achieving zero-delay communication regardless of the distance between them. Furthermore, this communication could be turned on and off at any time, and both parties would only let each other hear what they wanted to hear, preventing anything that shouldn't be heard from being transmitted.

"Did you give me this power because I want to achieve zero-distance communication?"

Gao Hai lowered his head and looked at the tattered, black watch.

He had realized that with each of his deaths and the ever-growing regrets and resentments from the bottom of his heart, the watch was selectively fulfilling his regrets and helping him accomplish things that he could not do on his own.

But why? And what is the cost?

Currently, the only person Takami can establish this kind of communication with is Shijo Maki.

Because only when someone truly believes in him, is willing to trust him unconditionally, and there is an exchange of bodily fluids between them, can Gao Hai establish contact with the other party.

In other words, I was able to establish contact with Princess Maki thanks to that French kiss on that rainy day...

Once a connection is established, it is permanent.

Establishing a connection requires consuming one rollback attempt.

when! ! !

After the third chime, everything began to melt away, and it was time for Gao Hai to return to the instance.

Without any hesitation, Gao Hai chose to make contact.

Even if it's a highly poisonous concoction, he has no choice but to hold on tight.

So, let's begin, round two!

Click——

The hands of the watch moved from 3 to 4.

An invisible connection linked Gao Hai with that proud girl.

I opened my eyes, and darkness spread as always.

And the faint, elusive aura of the girl, whose presence was unknown, was already spreading in his mind.

How did you sleep?

{Huh, Kaijun? Where are you? Why can I hear your voice but not see you?}

They spoke to the girl in a voice only they could hear, and then heard her somewhat flustered response.

Gao Hai took a step forward, heading towards the direction of the light in the cave.

The girl with long pink hair also appeared soon after, meeting Takahashi with the same panicked look as in the first playthrough.

drop--

In the darkness, water droplets fell from the stalactites, splashing onto the ground with a crisp sound!

Chapter 30: A New Cycle, New Abilities, New Intelligence

Inside the chaotic and twisted cave structure, Gao Hai was walking forward with his head down.

Fujiwara Chika followed carefully behind him, glancing around every now and then.

After explaining the basic situation to Chika and shooing away the guy with the hole in the back of his head, and waiting for him to put on his explorer's clothes, the two began their operation. This standard procedure went smoothly without any unexpected incidents, and it ended just like that, perfectly ordinary.

{Shijo Maki: So, if my aunt and I stay at this research base for 15 days, we'll still be killed even if we do nothing? And you yourself can't come here, otherwise this will happen sooner.}

{Takahashi: That's right. From this perspective, in this instance, the research base's intelligence can only be investigated and explored by you and Ms. Shinomiya.}

{Shijo Maki: And then you said that Fujiwara Chika, who went to the same school as me and my aunt, is right next to you now. Are the two of you acting together?}

{Gao Hai: Yeah, I didn't expect her to be a new player, and she just happens to start in a place very close to mine. She's a very smart girl, and she can help me out in some ways. You guys also need to be careful of other players whose starting locations are in the research base, okay?}

{Shijou Maki: Of course I'll be careful, um... Fujiwara Chika, I don't know her very well...}

As they progressed, Takami would occasionally exchange information with Maki, mainly sharing some information from the first playthrough. Of course, he was selective in sharing information; for example, he wouldn't be so cheeky as to tell Maki about things like bathing together and sharing a bed.

It's a really strange feeling, like we've set up a voice chat group. Gao Hai and Zhen Fei can send and receive messages anytime, anywhere. After a message is sent, they can choose to listen to it immediately or wait a while before listening. However, messages that have already been listened to once cannot be played again.

It's a very convenient and useful ability.

This watch seems to grant me more power the more times I die.

Perhaps after my next death, I could directly wish for something like knowing how to break the core obsession or be able to clear the game immediately? Hmm... that seems unlikely, or even if the watch really gave me that power, the price would probably be something I couldn't possibly afford.

Ultimately, whether it's adding more rollback participants or establishing mental links, the watch, while granting me these powers, requires consuming one of my rollback attempts to use them. In other words, the fulfillment of a wish isn't unconditional; there's always a corresponding sacrifice. And now, I only have 8 rollback attempts left. Furthermore, there's currently no way to replenish these rollback attempts within this instance.

However, by plundering the object of obsession through blood, the fulfillment of this wish does not require consuming rollback attempts.

If I can control the degree of my wish and keep a proper balance, perhaps I can obtain a wish that doesn't come at a very high price.