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

Worth a try.

Gao Hai thought to himself inwardly.

Although this would inevitably result in sacrifices and require others to die, Gao Hai really didn't want to experience those twisted and painful ways of dying. Given the chance to clear the game normally, he still wanted to try and see if he could succeed. Even if he couldn't succeed himself, at least he could send Zhenfei out of this instance.

"Gao Jun had such a strong presence just now, I didn't dare to say a word, and those voices just now..."

Only when she was completely away from the four people and reached a larger space did Fujiwara Chika breathe a sigh of relief, then whispered with lingering fear. She had been very careful not to look back at the others while fleeing, but she had still been startled by those eerie sounds.

"If they choose to take on a novice who knows nothing and has a bad temper, they should be prepared to be taken advantage of."

Gao Hai shook his head and said casually.

"Hey, does Gao Jun think I'm the kind of newbie who would screw you over?"

Fujiwara Chika paused for a moment, then asked in a low voice with some concern.

"At least for now, you're still a reliable person, so you need to perform well from now on."

Takahashi was taken aback when Chika asked such a question, then he put on a serious expression and said it earnestly.

"Okay, then novice explorer Chika reports for duty. I will work hard and not hold anyone back!"

Upon hearing this, Fujiwara Chika immediately became serious, straightened up, and bowed to Takami.

Chapter Thirty-Two: On the Differences Between Girls and the Changes in the Cave

It travels through arteries, reaches the heart, and then returns to the larger space.

Along the way, the corpses lying overhead seemed to enthusiastically greet Gao Hai, each wanting to have a close chat with him. Each time they passed through a narrow area where he couldn't turn around, the voices of Chika, the four players, and even Maki and Kaguya would occasionally rang out behind him. It was quite lively, giving Gao Hai a sense of warmth and familiarity, as if there were "people" everywhere, making him completely forget about the gloomy and cramped atmosphere of the narrow cave.

These things are just too affectionate. If possible, he would prefer them to be a little more subtle, at least not to keep tugging at his clothes, his pants, or touching his face.

Thinking this, Gao Hai wiped the blood off his face, patted his head to shake off the maggots that had landed on him, stretched his body, and let out a long breath.

Unlike the first time, the things Gao Hai saw in the [Artery] this time were no longer hallucinations. They had begun to touch him and even left various marks on his body.

What is certain is that as he learns more, the influence of these strange entities on him will inevitably grow stronger. However, to clear the dungeon, he has to explore even more information, repeatedly putting himself in danger, a situation that leaves Gao Hai feeling utterly helpless.

However, compared to ordinary players who only have one life and are gone forever once they die, he was quite lucky. Although the black watch was full of suspicious points and increasingly showed a strange side, he had to admit that without the power of this watch, he would have been dead long ago.

The distracting thoughts in his heart barely stirred up any ripples before Gao Hai actively suppressed them.

He roughly estimated that he and Fujiwara Chika arrived at the large space very quickly this time. It had been about fifteen to seventeen minutes since they set off.

It's not time for the inspection mentioned in the Category II guidelines yet, but it's better to check the situation in advance.

Thinking this, Gao Hai checked his clothes. There was no sticking to his skin yet, but he could feel some discomfort when he tried to pull up the collar.

The examination of Fujiwara Chika encountered a slight difficulty. When Takami first proposed to examine her, the girl thought he was planning to do something terrible, and subconsciously crossed her arms and took a step back. After Takami explained the reason, she stepped forward somewhat awkwardly.

Then, by the seaside, they discovered that the girl's adventure suit was starting to stick together. Although it hadn't yet fused with her skin, the situation was clearly not good.

"Change clothes quickly."

Gao Hai, who had picked up two adventure suits along the way, threw one of them in front of Chika and said to her earnestly.

Upon receiving the clothes, Chika instinctively wanted to find a sheltered place to change, but thinking of the terrifying things she had encountered before, she finally took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and took off her adventure clothes in front of Gao Hai, putting on the slightly dirty adventure clothes she had picked up on the road.

I have to say, her figure is really quite good. This child's nutrition is probably twice that of Maki and Kaguya combined.

Gao Hai sighed inwardly, then quickly turned his head away, no longer paying attention to Qianhua's fair skin, beautiful body curves, rosy cheeks like apples, the volume below her collarbone, her slightly fleshy thighs and smooth calves and feet.

Speaking of which, why does it feel so much more awkward when a girl takes off her clothes on her own than when she does it herself? It's a really strange feeling.

Especially that adorable little face, almost crying with shyness, and the slightly trembling movements of her hands—it's just so incredibly cute! And especially when those tight-fitting tops are taken off, it's like two little monsters popping out with a "pop!"

Yes, Gao Hai didn't pay any attention to Fujiwara Chika changing her clothes at all, that's for sure.

{Auntie has already entered the cave. According to Haijun, the first exploration will end safely, but the player playing C3 will be killed for their excessive actions, is that right?}

Just then, Maki's voice rang in Gao Hai's mind.

{Yes, yes, that's right. So you'll have to pay close attention to that C3 from now on. Last time I explored the cave, this number was problematic.}

Gao Hai answered the girl quickly, but for some reason felt a little uneasy.

{Gao Jun, there seems to be something odd about your tone when you replied. What are you doing now? Have you returned from the [heart]?}

Even though they were just having a voice chat, Shijou Maki noticed the subtle change in Takami's tone and immediately asked him about it.

{Yeah, I'm back from the [heart] area. I have to say, it was quite an exciting trip.}

However, Gao Hai quickly adjusted his tone and calmly began to tell Zhenfei about his experiences along the way.

{Um... Anyway, be careful and pay attention to safety.}

Although she still found it somewhat suspicious, Princess Maki ultimately didn't dwell too much on the tone of her voice. After giving a few final words of advice, she fell silent.

With Maki's interference, by the time Takahashi looked at Fujiwara Chika again, she had already changed into her new adventure clothes. She took a deep breath and zipped up her top to her neck. In Takahashi's view, the girl's beautiful curves were tightly bound and suppressed by the clothes, yet they still outlined a youthful and beautiful scene.

Gao Hai couldn't help but think of Zhenfei's body, which didn't have many curves, and the feeling he had that night in the rain.

Hmm... the small and large ones should feel quite different...

No, what am I thinking? This isn't the time to be thinking about these kinds of questions.

Regaining his somewhat scattered attention, and confirming that Fujiwara Chika had changed her clothes, Takami took a step forward, leading the way into the depths of this area known as the Great Space.

The dark and gloomy cave was filled with dampness, and you could feel the temperature gradually dropping with each breath.

The noisy sounds seemed to never end. Gao Hai could hear voices like people chatting from all directions, but he couldn't find the source of the sounds.

The pink-haired girl beside him followed cautiously, not daring to make a loud noise, and moved forward step by step.

It's bigger than I expected.

Gao Hai walked among the dense stalagmites and stone pillars for five or six minutes, but still hadn't left the area.

He found many traces left by explorers, such as some damaged safety ropes hanging on the wall, several abandoned tents, and some wrapping paper and small boxes discarded on the ground, which looked like fast food packaging bags.

It was in this place that Takami and Fujiwara Chika encountered two people they had never seen before, a man and a woman dressed in adventure clothing.

The other party seemed quite experienced in cave exploration and had noticed Takami and Chika's arrival early on. Of course, through the power of the blessing, Takami had also detected their presence before even seeing them. Maintaining a certain distance, they cautiously sized each other up before the two explorers spoke first.

"Explorer Lixer, who is also a player."

"Explorer Susan, also a player, have you been to the [Heart]?"

Both the man and the woman answered very calmly.

"Gao Hai, the explorer, is also a player."

"Explorer Fujiwara Chika is also a player."

Gao Hai and Fujiwara Chika introduced themselves, and after confirming each other's identities and that they could communicate normally, both sides breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems quite a few players have entered this dungeon. How many players have we seen since the last playthrough? But before the difficulty was fixed, this dungeon was very easy, so it's normal for it to attract players, even though this place has now become a death trap.

Unlike the previous four players, these two players had no ill intentions towards Gao Hai and Fujiwara Chika. On the contrary, they could be sensed to some extent as well-being. Therefore, Gao Hai was willing to have a little conversation with them.

"Are you planning to go forward? Be careful, something's not right ahead. We've gone forward three times, but each time the path felt off. How should I put it? There are some things that shouldn't exist in this natural cave. We're really not sure what's going on. If you're planning to go in, please be very careful."

The player who called herself Susan spoke earnestly to Gao Hai and the other person.

"Thank you for reminding."

Gao Hai nodded and, seeing that the other party was willing to share some information, told them about the relevant rules for checking adventure clothing that he had seen in the second category of rules. He also told them about the dangerous people in Kawano's group and advised them to be careful. Then, he and Chika continued to walk towards the cave.

The caves we passed through were all spacious and relatively flat, large enough to accommodate many people. It was much more comfortable than the cramped environment in that "artery" we had been in before.

But soon, as the two passed through the large space and arrived at the stone pillar plaza with its towering pillars, and as they explored further into the plaza, Gao Hai began to understand why the two players had stopped and dared not move forward.

"What's happening here……"

The rugged rocky ground blends jarringly with the concrete floor.

A few white lights illuminated the dark cave.

The sign that read "Municipal Fire Department" was hung on the wall that was built into the cave, or rather, integrated into the cave, right next to the half-open door.

The road in front of the stone pillar square leads to a building?!

Chapter Thirty-Three: Scenes Emerging from Memory and the Delirious One

Return to the Stone Pillar Square, then go back to the path ahead.

It's still the same fire station gate.

Step back, then step back.

The scene before us remains unchanged.

After five such trips, the same door still appeared before Takami and Fujiwara Chika.

"It seems... there really is only this one way."

Gao Hai sighed, looking at the incredibly incongruous entrance to the fire station that seemed completely out of place in this cave, and felt a genuine sense of helplessness at the impending trouble.

So, shall we go in?

Fujiwara Chika, standing to the side, asked questions cautiously. She didn't seem afraid of the cave at all; in fact, she seemed eager to try it out.

Gao Hai knew very well that after Chika got through the initial terrifying phase, she started to immerse herself in the role of a COC investigator in order to reduce her fear. It was just that her excitement level had increased slightly, but it wasn't enough to make her try anything reckless.

However, given the current situation, it seems we really have to go in and investigate. After hesitating for a moment, Gao Hai turned back to find the two people resting in the stone pillar square and asked the two who called themselves Susan and Lixer. As expected, he received the same answer: the two had also seen the entrance to the fire station during their previous operations.

"It seems we really have no choice but to go in and find out."

After much deliberation, Gao Hai ultimately chose to move forward.

Although he now possessed a great deal of intelligence, there were still many gaps in the information available. This seemingly out-of-the-way fire station might hold some clues worth his serious investigation. However, obtaining those clues would undoubtedly involve taking risks, and in the worst-case scenario, it could even lead to serious trouble.

"I'll go ahead and go in to check the situation. You stay at the door and don't close it. If you notice anything unusual, squeeze this doll. That way, I'll know something might be wrong, understand?"

When he arrived at the fire station, Gao Hai thought for a moment, took out the blood-red rag doll from his watch, put it in Qianhua's hand, gave her some serious instructions, and then carefully approached the door, peered into the transparent glass door, and after confirming that there was nothing strange inside, gently pushed the door open.

"Yes, I will guard the gate well."

Fujiwara Chika nodded very seriously, then hugged the doll to her chest, letting the doll's back and buttocks press against her chest.

Gao Hai was about to say something like "Be careful not to break the doll" when he felt a strange, soft touch on his body. He was momentarily speechless, so after a brief silence, he simply nodded to Qian Hua and set off.

Meanwhile, Maki was still in the command room, observing Kaguya's actions, and therefore did not communicate with Takami again.