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

Gao Hai said impatiently, then took out a bandage from his backpack. He first tried to pull it, and after confirming that the bandage was quite resilient, he looked up at the girl not far away who was awkwardly unzipping her adventure suit and taking it off, and who was clutching her chest.

"The mask is off too."

Gao Hai said mercilessly.

"Hey, do you want this too?"

The startled girl almost instinctively took a step back, then looked at the bandage in Gao Hai's hand and roughly realized what he wanted to do.

"If you don't want to die here, you'd better behave yourself. Now is not the time for you to act cute."

Gao Hai, who had taken a step closer, spoke calmly.

"I, I know..."

Fujiwara Chika, her cheeks completely flushed crimson, turned around trembling, her back to Takami, and then reached out to untie the last restraints binding her.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed not to see the two big white rabbits directly, but now was not the time to get lewd, so Gao Hai just tore off a piece of the bandage, quickly came to Qian Hua, and said to her, "Inhale, straighten your chest and lift your head," before wrapping the bandage around her.

"Woo..."

Chika let out a mournful cry almost immediately.

Gao Hai had already wrapped more bandages around her chest and tied them in a tight knot at her back, firmly binding the girl's proud curves.

"Can you still breathe? Try inhaling and exhaling."

After wrapping the bandages, Gao Hai looked at the girl who looked uncomfortable and asked her a question.

"It's...okay, but I feel a little uncomfortable..."

After taking a long, difficult breath, Fujiwara Chika raised her hand, made a peace sign at Takami, and then smiled.

"That's good. Take a good rest for a while, then we'll set off. Here, have something to eat to replenish your nutrition."

After handing a chocolate energy bar to Chika, Gao Hai, maintaining a slight bow, turned around and sat on one side of the cave, turning his back slightly.

"Yes, thank you, Gao Jun. Without you, I don't think I would have been able to get here."

Although the process of having her chest bound was quite embarrassing and her heart was pounding, and she was still feeling very uncomfortable and had difficulty breathing, Fujiwara Chika was very sincere in her gratitude, knowing that it was for her own good and to help her survive.

"Well, anyway, get some rest..."

Gao Hai's reply remained calm, as if devoid of any emotion.

However, what Fujiwara Chika couldn't see was that his hands were trembling slightly.

Just now, while I was bandaging it, I did touch it a little. That indescribable softness, tsk, if only there were more…

"Haijun, my aunt and I got hold of a cassette tape. It's a record of the base's early cave surveys. In it, a six-person team passed through a 'gentle slope' without being attacked by anything strange. It seems they encountered something while reaching the 'great cliff' and heading deeper. My aunt and I both think they got stuck in an extremely narrow cave area and then encountered something. The team members' records also mentioned... Haijun? Why haven't you said anything?"

{...I'm waiting for you to finish.}

Maki's communication came at just the right moment, leaving Takahashi momentarily speechless about what to say in response.

However, Gao Hai quickly adjusted his state and had a serious conversation with the other party, while Qian Hua had also rested and recovered her strength by this time, and was ready to continue exploring the next area.

"If I stay in a place like this for too long, I feel like I'll develop claustrophobia sooner or later. You know, the last dungeon already made me a little afraid of the sound of knocking on the door. I feel like my mental state will have problems sooner or later after going through dungeons like this."

Gao Hai, who was sighing softly, once again took the lead in lying down and looking at the deep and narrow passage ahead.

The actual location of the blood vessel should be just ahead of the turning point.

Having traveled from the heart to here, I encountered many strange occurrences along the way, but none of them were of a strength that the core obsession could achieve.

If the Red Nut Gray Hole instance does indeed have two core obsessions, then the next [blood vessels] are very likely where the second core obsession resides. In other words, this will probably be one of the most dangerous areas I will have to face.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Hai took out a rag doll and let it walk in front of him to help him explore the way before slowly climbing into the cave.

In the dim light, a drop of water seeping from the rock wall fell in Gao Hai's sight.

tick-

Chapter 42: Claustrophobia

"call……"

The airflow from breathing blows up dust, which then falls into the nasal cavity.

The rock face is getting narrower and narrower.

I couldn't lift my head.

There was no way to turn around.

Each breath became increasingly difficult to take.

It felt as if I wasn't moving through a cave made of rock, but rather enveloped by layers of rock walls, my body completely bound and unable to move.

"call……"

The road ahead was getting narrower and narrower.

At first, Gao Hai simply crawled forward on the ground, moving slowly through the low cave.

But gradually, he began to find himself having to keep his hands outstretched as the cave became increasingly narrow, less than 50 centimeters wide. In such a narrow space, Gao Hai could no longer retract his hands and could only extend them forward to avoid getting stuck.

"call……"

But the cave ahead was getting narrower and narrower.

Little by little, Gao Hai's body crawled forward in the dark cave.

He could hear the sound of his exploration suit rubbing against the rock wall.

The sounds were muffled, one after another, like the sound of something being slowly torn apart.

tick-

A drop of water landed on the side of his face, making a clear splashing sound.

Gao Hai's breathing became even lower.

Every time he inhales or exhales, his chest is pressed against the rock wall, making it impossible for him to fully relax.

The ear-piercing scraping sound continued to ring out.

Clearly, Gao Hai's helmet was gradually becoming inadequate for the height of the cave.

I can't hear Chika Fujiwara's voice.

He could not hear anyone's voice except his own.

Only this seemingly endless, pitch-black cave continued to stretch on, and he was the only prisoner who wanted to escape.

Click!

After a crisp sound, Gao Hai had to stop moving forward.

His helmet was completely jammed, making it impossible for him to move forward any further.

Gao Hai guessed that the tunnel was now less than forty centimeters high, making it almost impossible for him to keep his head up, and the helmet he was wearing was a huge obstacle. If he wanted to continue, he would have to take off his helmet.

Tsk...this is really troublesome...

Removing the helmet was quite difficult. Gao Hai had to struggle back a little, otherwise his head would have been stuck in place and unable to move. Then, in a very awkward position, with his upper arm outstretched, he had to barely pull his forearm back, grab the helmet buckle and unfasten it, and then turn his head to the side to remove the helmet little by little.

Unable to retract his arm caused more trouble than expected; Gao Hai could barely even wipe the dust off his face. Panting, he slowly moved the helmet forward, holding it as a flashlight.

Gao Hai also placed his backpack in front of him. Whenever Gao Hai moved forward a certain distance, he would push the backpack forward a bit, and then slowly move it back, repeating this cycle little by little.

The blood-red doll that could share senses was currently at the edge of the light source. Gao Hai dared not let the doll go outside the light source, because although it could share senses, it did not have night vision. Once it went into a completely dark area, it would not be able to provide Gao Hai with any vision. If he encountered any danger, this thing would not only fail to help Gao Hai with early warning, but might also become a target, putting him in danger.

"call……"

With each slow exhale, Gao Hai began to feel dizzy.

A faint, piercing buzzing sound came from my ears.

His strength seemed to be waning.

Gao Hai knew this was a sign of oxygen deficiency.

He had been in this overly confined and cramped area for far too long and needed to leave as soon as possible. If this continued, he might faint in this awful place, and when he opened his eyes again, it might be the start of the third playthrough.

"call……"

He could only continue crawling forward.

At this point, the body was almost completely unable to exert any strength.

The rock walls were closing in from all directions, and he could only move his body little by little by gripping the protruding parts of the rock walls with his hands.

His legs were also almost unable to exert any force, because Gao Hai was no longer able to bend his legs.

This experience was so terrible that it's hard to describe.

But Gao Hai soon realized that when bad things happen, they often don't manifest in a single form.

zizi——

The lights embedded in the helmet suddenly began to flash.

Hey, really? I'm using a new battery, there's no reason it should stop working so quickly, right?

Realizing something was wrong, Gao Hai struggled to check the helmet, but just as he took action, the helmet went completely dark.

dark.

The boundless, absolute darkness, devoid of any light, completely enveloped Gao Hai's vision.

At this moment, he could not see anything and could only continue crawling through the cave in absolute darkness.

claustrophobia.

Gao Hai suddenly remembered this term again.

Before the Red Nut Grotto enters its fixed phase, the "Tourist Rules," compiled by players, contain things that players playing as tourists absolutely cannot utter, or even think about. In a sense, these rules already hint at what happened in this cave.

However, Gao Hai is not thinking about the tragedy that happened in the cave, but about the word itself.

According to medical explanations, claustrophobia is a fear of enclosed or crowded areas, a fear of what might happen in such an environment, and a fear of the unknown. Therefore, environments such as elevators, train carriages, and airplane cabins can trigger claustrophobia. Conversely, places like caves and grottoes are rarely mentioned, perhaps because claustrophobic individuals simply avoid such areas.

Gao Hai had always believed that he did not have claustrophobia. He always felt that this kind of mental illness was very far removed from him, so far removed that it was impossible for it to happen to him, until today when he had to cross this narrow hole.

Can you imagine this scene?