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

This is the newly built ticket hall for the Red Nut Grotto Scenic Area. Judging from the information board at the entrance, it was originally scheduled to open on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. This means the entrance to the new scenic area is a full 800 meters away from the cave entrance. For a cave, it's a huge area; it just goes to show how rich people can't find places to spend their money.

Gao Hai saw Lixer looking somewhat tired here.

"Phew, Mr. Gao, it's so good to see you're safe and sound."

Likely having just finished a strenuous workout, Lixer smiled at Gao Hai and said.

"Did you find anything? I only found some useless things."

Gao Hai first observed the area, and only after confirming that there was no strange creature lying anywhere did he approach a little closer and ask Lixer.

"Unfortunately, I didn't find anything either, and I was chased for quite a distance by a group of terrifying guys. But look, over there it seems like they're having a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Do you think we might find some clues there?"

Panting, Lixer wiped the sweat from his forehead and then pointed to the entrance of the ticket hall.

Gao Hai looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a meeting that looked like a press conference being held in an open-air square outside the transparent glass door. Many reporters were sitting in chairs, while a portly man in the stands was picking up a microphone, about to give a speech.

The color of the sky is changing rapidly.

Even indoors, Gao Hai could feel a growing chill spreading through him.

The torrential rain suddenly roared down.

In the instant the rain fell, Gao Hai saw something—some blurry figures appearing from behind the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

They seemed to be dressed as tourists, or perhaps as firefighters from a rescue team, wandering aimlessly and silently before bursting into the venue.

Whenever these things touch someone, that person will instantly disappear, along with the things.

The panicked people seemed unable to see these things, so they scattered and fled amidst terrified screams, only to come into contact with them even faster and then disappear without a trace.

After everyone disappeared, these wandering phantoms also vanished without a trace.

But the rain showed no signs of stopping; instead, it intensified, pouring down and covering the earth.

In the torrential rain, Gao Hai saw a figure.

It was blurry, but seemed to be a small, thin figure wearing a white dress.

The person reached out her hand, towards the dissipating phantoms, and towards the last one that had not yet vanished, seemingly staring back at her.

But the next moment, the phantom vanished without a trace, leaving only the small, thin figure standing alone in the same spot.

Gao Hai realized something and couldn't help but take a step forward.

The next moment, the woman's figure had vanished, and the roaring floodwaters swept towards the ticket hall, violently crashing against the glass doors. With just the first impact, cracks of all sizes began to spread.

"Something's wrong, we have to go!"

Lixer quickly stood up, shouted at Gao Hai, and then turned and ran.

Gao Hai took a step back.

In his line of sight, the thing that was almost completely pressed against the glass door was staring straight at him.

His face was deathly pale, his eyes were almost completely white with no eyeballs visible, and his eyes were filled with an intense, almost overflowing, resentment and hatred.

Damn it, it's you again.

Having already recognized the thing as the toothpaste-squeezing female ghost from the bottom of the great rift, Gao Hai didn't hesitate for a second before turning tail and running. He could clearly sense that the thing's attention was now locked on him. However, unlike at the research base, the ghostly thing that appeared in front of him now didn't seem to be its true form, but rather a vengeful spirit, something like an incarnation. Therefore, it couldn't immediately drag Gao Hai into the rift to execute him.

Even so, the deep resentment emanating from the other party is enough to explain a lot.

Was there any connection between what happened at the ribbon-cutting ceremony and Andres' wife?

After learning of her husband's death, she wondered if someone wanted to use the cave for something. Who told her this? And why did she possess the ability to channel strange forces to attack the ribbon-cutting ceremony venue at a crucial moment?

So perfectly timed.

As luck would have it, the mayor, the senator, and the park director, who were all involved in the matter, were all present.

It's as if someone orchestrated all of this from behind the scenes.

Like a perfectly timed dramatic ending, it suddenly draws almost everyone involved in the event into the mix.

This thought reminded Gao Hai of Xu Sheng's message at the Shirakawa Apartment, where he mentioned that something similar seemed to have happened there. And then there was the mysterious man claiming to be KP that he saw in his hallucination when everything was over.

Despite the turmoil in his mind, Gao Hai showed no sign of stopping.

He quickly ran back to the corridor he had just been in. The end of the corridor was no longer the mayor's house, but a small town street that looked very Scandinavian.

The streets were deserted, giving off a somewhat desolate feel. Gao Hai, however, had no intention of appreciating the scenery. As he ran, he put on his rescue team badge, then quickly ran to a house, took out his blood key, inserted it into the lock, and opened the door, revealing Wilbur's office behind it—the relatively safe place Gao Hai had discovered during his second playthrough.

The thing behind him was still rapidly approaching, and Gao Hai could feel it getting closer. It seemed to be unaffected by walls or anything like that, always able to approach Gao Hai at a straight line. As a result, despite running for so long, Gao Hai hadn't managed to shake it off at all, and instead, the thing was quickly closing the distance.

Enter the house and close the door.

At this point, Gao Hai's adventure suit showed signs of partially transforming into a rescue suit, but this was then suppressed by Gao Hai's own will, and the transformation was not complete.

It seems that the presence of that thing has not been sensed for the time being.

Gao Hai breathed a slight sigh of relief, then, realizing something, he looked up.

He saw the thing's eyes.

He lay on the ceiling, tilting his head back, his eyes fixed on his manhood.

The next second, it disappeared in front of Gao Hai.

It wasn't because it let Gao Hai go.

Rather, it was because the rescue team member summoned by Gao Hai and landed on the street of the small town that shouted "I am human," successfully diverting the creature's attention.

This time, Gao Hai didn't let the creature destroy the rescue team. Instead, he deactivated the summon while it was distracted and approaching the team. They might encounter something else soon, and losing a summoned creature like this would be a bad trade-off.

However, this thing is really inflexible. As long as someone says something like "I am a person," it will definitely run over. If you make an audio file that automatically plays that sentence, I feel like you could completely outmaneuver this weird thing.

Thinking this, Gao Hai took off the rescue team badge and put it back in his watch space. He stood up, dusted himself off, and then looked at the place where he had been during his second playthrough.

It looks the same as last time, with no difference.

Speaking of which, why did that ticket hall attract that thing's resentment, and why did it seem like that thing had its sights set on me?

Gao Hai noticed the situation outside the door because of Lixer's reminder. Although he would have noticed the place and investigated it sooner even without Lixer's reminder, this coincidence was not a good thing.

Gao Hai decided to return to the ticket hall.

Gao Hai had yet to find a place to use the key to the power distribution area.

Logically, this thing should be somewhere near the entrance of the Red Nut Gray Hole on the ground, but Gao Hai has not been able to find it so far. He has also failed to lock onto the target with the Blood Key. Therefore, he guesses that he might find clues in the area where the ticket hall is located.

Insert the blood key into the door lock.

As the door opened, the fragmented objects in the hall turned their heads and looked at Gao Hai together.

"sorry for disturbance."

Close the door again, turn the key, and open it again.

An enthusiastic tour guide is leading a group of tourists toward the high sea.

"Sorry, we went the wrong way."

Close the door again and turn the key.

My luck shouldn't be that bad, right? I'm the kind of guy who can get three gold items in ten consecutive draws.

With this thought in mind, Gao Hai opened the door again and finally saw the ticket hall, which was covered in water and looked like a mess.

The eerie resentment of the white dress is no longer here; it seems to only be drawn back during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Otherwise, nothing seems to wander around, making it relatively safe.

Step out through the broken glass door.

Stepping into the scenic area shrouded in a gray, torrential rain.

A white mist filled the surroundings, obscuring many areas. Gao Hai could vaguely sense that if he stepped into these areas, he would directly enter the lingering remnants of others.

He couldn't find the entrance to the Red Nut Gray Hole in this area. Clearly, as an area presented as a fragment of memory, it was impossible to create an entrance to the Red Nut Gray Hole here, not even a fake one.

But he did find the location of the power distribution area, or rather, the power distribution room.

It was a low, one-story building under the rain, a small bungalow with a specially built rain shelter.

Insert the key I got from Wilbur's office into the lock and turn it gently.

click-

After a crisp sound, Kaguya Shinomiya carefully stepped into the power zone, her crimson eyes quickly scanning her surroundings. After confirming that there was nothing unusual, she quickly slipped inside and closed the door.

Great, you've successfully sneaked in.

It seems there's no one on guard here, which is highly suspicious. As a research base studying strange entities, shouldn't the power zone be the most important security area? After all, if the power goes out, aside from anything else, the security measures in the isolation zone would likely easily fail. And if that area fails, aren't the people here afraid that something might rush out and slaughter the base?

As Kaguya pondered this, she gazed at the extremely complex electrical system inside the room. She carefully walked around the fairly large room, making sure nothing was hidden in the shadows. Then, she quickly noticed a document posted near the door.

Chapter 64: The Disappeared Man's Message and Kaguya's Imprisonment

To those who come after:

[Whoever you are, the fact that you found this place means you must be trapped here for some reason, searching for a way out, and that you know something you shouldn't know, making your situation more dangerous than others.]

[To escape, the method is simple: find a security guard uniform and put it on. You'll then find yourself in a guard booth. Whatever you see next, don't panic. Make sure the person is wearing a security guard uniform, and tell them you came to relieve them but found you were too early. This way, you can leave safely. Don't be afraid; if your behavior is too unusual, you might be detained.]

In short, after doing this, you will be able to reach the cave exit from the Stone Forest Road and successfully leave. Don't go down the gentle slope; there should be a sign at the entrance, so pay close attention. Never leave via the gentle slope. Doing this should allow you to leave successfully. But wait, don't rush. You must first confirm your initial identity upon entering this place and then use that identity to complete certain role-playing tasks.

[If you're an explorer, you absolutely must go to the "heart"; if you're a rescue team member, you must at least go through one rescue procedure before you can change your identity; if you're a tourist, security guard, or staff member... no, people with these three identities can't survive and won't be able to see this message board, so I'm not going to worry about that. In short, you need to do something beforehand for your first identity; changing your identity directly might cause problems. How to put it... it's like an "unprofessional actor"—you might be more easily exposed.]

[Besides that, there's another very serious problem: something seems to have appeared in the world where the security guard's uniform is... no, it should be said that recently, something has appeared everywhere in this cave. Something is watching everything here; it's angry and terrifying. I don't know what it wants to do, but its presence cannot be ignored. So, if you want to avoid it and successfully escape this place, you need to complete the operation here.]

[You might be wondering why performing a certain action here could end all of this, and I can't explain it in detail. I've been here for many years, since the Red Nut Grotto was sealed off, since those damn bastards killed my only friend, I've managed to get back here, and then spent a very, very long time in this nightmarish place, so long that I've almost forgotten how long.]

Those who caused countless tragedies thought they could destroy me by throwing me into this hell, but they were wrong. I've been here for a long time, and I know how to survive. So I pretended to cooperate, entered this place, and then gradually figured out what I could do. The end result was that I connected this place's electrical system to those guys' power grid.

That terrifying thing has been lingering around this area, but its ultimate destination is where those bastards are hiding. So if you pull the switch, they'll lose power, and that thing will shift its target. That's your chance to survive and escape.

Before you act, be fully prepared. You only have one chance. If you can't escape within 15 days of entering, you'll never leave. So think carefully before you act; once you pull the switch, there's no turning back.

I can't leave here anymore. I know I'm becoming one of them. I missed the 15-day deadline. For me now, even death is a luxury, but I won't regret it, because it's what I deserve. I couldn't stop the sins when they happened; I even colluded with them for a time. This is the price I must pay. Stranger, if you can leave here, please live well. It's the only thing we ordinary people can do.

And the last thing I can do after leaving this shelter is to confirm the true nature of that thing. If I return to consciousness, I will record what I know; if not, I will not attempt to contact it.

[—Wilbo]

This was a dirty, messy little house that smelled slightly bad.

A large number of cans and water bottles were scattered on the ground. The clothing of explorers, firefighters, staff, security guards and other people was messily thrown on a small table on one side of the room, and there were also many extinguished cigarette butts scattered around.