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

1 hour, 5 hours, 24 hours...

Trapped in the absolute darkness of the cave, Gao Hai had no way of knowing the current time.

For him, those 24 hours felt like an entire year. In this immobile cave and tormented by intense pain, his mind was being severely ravaged and worn down every moment.

36 hours, 48 ​​hours, 72 hours...

Hunger and thirst began to cause intense discomfort.

Gao Hai felt his throat was extremely dry. The blood that had flowed from his broken tongue had long since dried, and the blood in his throat was also mostly dry, thus relieving the pain of suffocation. But in its place was a burning pain, as if his entire throat was on fire.

Gao Hai began to feel his body temperature gradually rising, and a strong feeling of heat spread throughout his body. Every inch of his skin and every cell seemed to be screaming and causing him severe pain.

My heart is racing.

The dizziness intensified, but he found that he could no longer pass out.

My stomach and intestines seem to be constantly contracting, experiencing intense spasms due to the inability to obtain food.

"Uh... ah..."

Unable to move.

I am still unable to move.

In a pitch-black world, unable to move, they felt these intense pains.

tick-

Another drop of viscous liquid landed on Gao Hai's head.

This was the only sound he could hear here, besides his own.

But Gao Hai, who is currently in intense pain, is no longer able to pay attention to these sounds.

Day 10, Day 12, Day 15...

Gao Hai, who was in a daze, was unable to determine how long he had been there.

His thinking began to slow down, and he gradually became unable to think normally as usual.

Time and again, he continued to try to break free from his current predicament, to attempt suicide, and to escape this endless darkness.

But nothing has changed.

He is still trapped here, still imprisoned in this darkness.

"Uh……"

tick-

The sounds of dripping water and labored breathing mingled together.

What else can I do?

With his mind becoming increasingly confused and disoriented, Gao Hai struggled to lift his head and look up at what was above him.

I looked at the silent, motionless corpse.

He didn't know what the point of doing this would be, but with his lucid moments becoming increasingly rare, Gao Hai had no other choice but to try everything he could.

Reach out.

He grabbed the face of the thing above his head, then pulled on its hair.

After taking a deep breath, he tried to drag the other person down with all his might, and surprisingly, he actually managed to drag it a short distance, but only a few centimeters. Then the corpse could no longer move and got stuck, just like Gao Hai.

He touched the other person's hand.

It looked like it was reaching forward, but the hand, stuck on the other side of the rock wall, was probably moved because of his dragging.

With a haphazard touch, Gao Hai found something on the other person's hand and yanked it off with a little force.

It looks like... a ring.

Something seemed to surface in Gao Hai's mind during his hazy state of consciousness.

Andres.

That's right, the man's name is Andres.

He was a young and cheerful man who had just gotten married. His wife, Hedar, had just found out she was pregnant. After the family celebrated happily, Andres thought of the Red Nut Grotto, a well-known tourist attraction.

Andres is an amateur explorer with an exploration license. In addition, the Red Nut Grotto is a low-difficulty cave that is very suitable for beginners. Its interior has been explored, so there is nothing to worry about.

Of course, his pregnant wife, Hedar, couldn't possibly go on the adventure with him, so Andres found two friends, and the three of them entered the Red Nut Grotto together, looking out for each other. After submitting their exploration permits and having their equipment checked by the staff, who reminded them of the precautions, the three of them went through the giant slide and began to move deeper into the cave.

A unique pulley elevator leads down to the bottom of the cliff.

Next, we will face the narrowest and most blocked "blood vessel" area of ​​the Red Nut Gray Hole.

This is a narrow cave with an average height and width of less than 45 centimeters. Explorers can only crawl through it to move forward and traverse this long, narrow passage. This is nothing for professional explorers, but it is undoubtedly a great challenge for amateurs, and the sense of accomplishment upon success is immense.

The only problem is that there's a fork in the path within the "blood vessels," leading to a place known as the "dead end." Before reaching it, explorers pass through a relatively open area, after which the path narrows considerably and enters a near-vertical downward zone. It's so narrow that even a child couldn't venture further; therefore, it's an absolute dead end, and one must not take the wrong turn.

Andres doesn't see this as a problem.

Although the area where the dead end is located is deep in the cave, explorers have still reached it and left warning signs. Even if you climb the wrong way, you can know this by looking at the warning signs and just turn back.

Around 2 PM, he and his two friends entered the Red Nut Gray Hole, and then around 4 PM, they arrived at the entrance to the [Vessel].

Legend has it that the Red Nut Grotto is the body of a god in Native American beliefs. Newly adult members of the tribe must pass through the "blood vessels," enter the "arteries," and finally reach the "heart" to complete their coming-of-age ceremony and prove themselves as warriors of the tribe. Andres and his group, now deep within the cave, aim to reach the "heart" and become "warriors"—a goal they've agreed upon throughout their journey.

The operation went smoothly at first.

Despite the darkness and cramped environment inside the blood vessels, Andres and his two friends, having undergone training, managed to advance smoothly for quite a distance.

This smooth sailing continued until they encountered a fork in the road and had to decide which way to go.

Andres chose the wrong path here.

He didn't see any signs left by previous explorers and chose the dead end based on his memory of looking at the map.

Then, when he and his two companions reached the slightly larger area in the "dead end," Andres assumed that this was the "turning point," the area in the Indian legend that the park advertised where cowards who dared not go any further were forced to turn back. He became even more excited and began to explore further ahead.

The warning sign that should have been there was not found by anyone.

Thus, Andres entered the narrow area deep within the "dead end".

The further you go, the narrower it becomes.

In the dark passage where there was no way to turn around, Andres pressed on with renewed vigor, accelerating forward.

Then, he encountered a path that went vertically downwards.

By the time they realized something was wrong, it was too late.

Andres was moving too fast and ended up sliding down the cave, getting stuck headfirst inside and unable to move.

His two friends, who were following behind him, heard his struggles and cries for help and tried to rescue him. However, pulling a person lying vertically down in the extremely narrow and winding cave was an extremely difficult task. The two friends tried everything they could, but still could not lift Andres up.

Then, realizing the situation was dire, one of them turned back to seek help, while the other stayed with Andres to prevent him from being left alone in the dark cave and something bad might happen to him.

At this very moment, it was just around 4:30 PM.

Chapter 53: The Grief and Despair Buried Deep in the Earth

(This chapter, as a plot revelation, involves a large number of events that are based on the prototypes of the second volume. Readers who are familiar with the prototypes of the story in this volume may choose whether or not to read it.)

Andres... Andres...

Don't worry... I'm here... We'll definitely get you out of here...

Don't worry... you'll definitely leave here safely...

The sounds rang in Gao Hai's ears and then disappeared.

In the narrow, immobile cave, the man's anxious and uneasy voice could be heard from time to time.

He was Andres's friend, and given the dangerous situation, he naturally tried his best to comfort Andres. However, in this dark and gloomy environment, his own emotions were clearly not good either, and his voice unconsciously trembled slightly.

【It's fine】

Gao Hai heard Andres's voice.

"It's okay, don't worry, I'm fine, I'm okay. I've trained, this kind of handstand is no problem for me."

Although he was stuck in the cave, Andres was still trying to comfort his friend.

Just like always, Andres was a cheerful and kind person. He was well aware of the psychological pressure people endure when in such a dark and cramped environment, so he kept talking to his friend to reassure him.

However, in reality, his condition wasn't as good as he claimed. The prolonged inverted position had impaired blood circulation, and Andres felt as if his head was constantly swelling, causing him great discomfort. Moreover, if this inverted position continued, it would undoubtedly endanger his life. Although he could barely resist the current discomfort with willpower, Andres's condition would only worsen if it continued.

At the same time, the friend who had set out to call for help had already run up the pulley elevator of the giant slide. Exhausted, he desperately pleaded for help from the staff, the tour guide, the tourists, and everyone he could see, telling them that someone was trapped in the "blood vessels" and asking for their help.

The staff immediately evacuated the scene and called for help. The scenic area was temporarily closed. Then, around 7 p.m., the first rescuer arrived at Andres' side.

He is an explorer and also a volunteer who often gives speeches and participates in discussions at various fire stations.

Her name was Susan. Gao Hai recognized her voice immediately.

Hello, Mr. Andres, my name is Susan. How are you feeling?

In this lingering image of the past, Susan's voice sounded very calm, just like the Susan Gao Hai met in the game instance; she didn't seem to have changed much.

Hello, Miss Susan, thank you for coming. Please help me leave this place...

Andres, stuck upside down in the cave, answered, trying to make his tone sound as light as possible.

Inside the cave, Susan and her friend who stayed with Andres began their rescue attempt. She tried to cut open Andres' jeans, tie a safety rope to his feet, and then she and her friend worked together to pull Andres up, but they ultimately failed and could not get him out.

When it reached 9 p.m., Susan still hadn't been able to rescue Andres, and instead, she was exhausted.

With the current conditions no longer sufficient to support the rescue operation, Susan had to leave the cave.

By this time, a large number of rescuers had gathered outside the cave, and more professionals were discussing rescue plans. Some suggested applying oil to the rock walls, some suggested using explosives to blast open the cave, and some tried to bring some small chisels and drilling machines into Andres's location to try to create enough space. However, these plans were either simply unrealistic, too dangerous to be implemented, or completely ineffective, and all ultimately failed.

Gao Hai heard Andres crying.

It was past midnight, and Andres had spent a full ten hours stuck upside down in the cave.

He wept softly, his fingers gently stroking his wedding ring.

His wife, Hedar, had already arrived outside the cave, anxiously awaiting her husband's return.

After several failed attempts, the rescuers came up with a new idea: to build a pulley system inside the cave and tie ropes to Andres's legs to pull him out of the cave little by little.