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

"Cough...cough..."

The continuous impacts put a considerable strain on Gao Hai's body. He had deep wounds on his hands and feet that were almost bitten off. Even with the healing effect of the rescue team badge, he couldn't get up from the ground immediately and could only remain lying on the ground, barely supporting his body with one hand.

It was truly a sorry state of affairs, but at least I survived, at least I'm still alive.

Now that Alice has run off to snatch the dolls, as long as I don't encounter Principal Elephant and that pink-faced smiling mountain of corpses, I should be in no danger, thanks to the sheep's head mask.

Next, barring any unforeseen circumstances, perhaps I can…

Ding-dong-

Before Gao Hai could finish his thoughts, the elevator doors behind him suddenly made a crisp sound.

He turned around and saw the elevator door, which he had bumped and dented, struggling to open. Then, Miko Yotsuya walked out, her golden eyes staring straight at him.

Chapter 31: Three-Line Operation and the Abnormal Girl

"Mr. Gao? Mr. Gao, what's wrong?"

Somewhat flustered, Yotsuya Miko rushed forward and helped Takami, who was in a terrible state, to her feet.

"Miss Yotsuya..."

Gao Hai stared intently at the girl for quite a while before he had to confirm that she was indeed a living person.

What's going on? Did Alice, who possessed Jianzi, run away?

Could it be that because Miko didn't complete the "Alice Game," she couldn't leave the school building, and that's why "Alice" had to abandon her possessed object?

Even so, there was no need for Alice to leave Jianzi alive, was there?

Or is it that this thing can possess the child again at any time after succeeding once, and is deliberately planting a trap for him to deal with later...?

Do you remember how you got into the elevator?

While thinking, Gao Hai stared at Jianzi and asked her a question.

"Huh? An elevator? Huh? When did I get here...? Weren't we just behind that glass wall? Where are the others, Ichino-san?"

Completely unaware of the problem, Kenko only realized something was wrong after Takami said those words, and she was as bewildered as if she had just woken up from a dream.

Gao Hai didn't say anything, but observed Jianzi more carefully.

At least for now, based on the perception of the blessing, the person in front of him is indeed 100% human, and has goodwill towards him, not some Alice with a perverted personality.

However, he estimated that this situation wouldn't last long. Although he didn't know why the group of "Alices" were fighting over the doll he had thrown out, he figured it would only delay them for a few minutes at most. Therefore, he needed to hurry and explore the school building as thoroughly as possible before it returned.

Therefore, the best direction for exploration now is the underground area of ​​this teaching building.

As Gao Hai pondered this, he suddenly realized he had regained control of the rescue team members on the 7th floor. The [Alice] figure, who had been trapped and unable to move by the rescue team members, had disappeared. Clearly, those things prioritized the doll's attention above all else. Or perhaps… for [Alice], friends were the most important thing? More important than anything else?

In any case, now that we have the freedom to move around, let's get moving!

Without the slightest hesitation, Gao Hai ordered the rescue team member to go to the location of the principal's office to investigate.

Immediately afterwards, Gao Hai summoned the first rescue team member, the one who had been transformed from Lao Guo, and asked him to investigate the floor and find a map to confirm the specific situation of the floor.

He then pulled Jianzi back into the elevator. Gao Hai noticed that the elevator only had buttons for floors 1 to 7, with no underground floors. He took out his access card and pressed it on a card reader next to the elevator buttons. The elevator doors immediately closed, and the screen displayed floor number -1.

If it weren't for this access card, I probably would have had to rely on brute force to destroy the elevator and jump down.

As he pondered this, Gao Hai turned to look at Jianzi beside him, and after thinking for a moment, he began to fabricate a scenario.

“You were possessed by something before, and then you just left the group and ran away. I sent Ichino and the others back. Without you, they're just a burden, so I stopped taking them with me. If you feel anything is wrong, try your best to tell me as soon as possible, understand? Don't think that it might be your imagination. Tell me so I can find a way to help you.”

While it's not impossible to tell the truth directly, given Miko's personality, she would inevitably feel guilty and remorseful, which might have some negative consequences. Moreover, it would require him to explain for even longer, which would be a waste of time.

"Is...is there such a thing? I've been possessed..."

The girl could not hide the fear on her face. After realizing that something had been controlling her body, her face turned deathly pale, and her body trembled several times. She was clearly terrified.

She did not suspect that there was any deception in Gao Hai's words.

When Gao Hai saw her reaction, he simply patted the girl's shoulder, and then felt a chill quickly fill the elevator.

Ding-dong-

We've arrived at the basement level.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, Gao Hai was greeted by a bare concrete corridor. There were no tiles or paint on the walls; the cold light from the ceiling made the entire corridor seem even colder.

"time to go."

Gao Hai stepped out of the elevator first, followed cautiously by Jian Zi.

At the same time, the rescue team on the 7th floor, under Gao Hai's command, had entered the chemistry classroom. The bloody scene inside was best left undescribed; Gao Hai had honestly become somewhat numb to it after seeing so much of it. Like the other classrooms, there were also candles here. However, since more than an hour had passed since the start of the second playthrough, most of the candles were already burned and wouldn't go out for long.

Because of their own supernatural nature, the rescue team members did not trigger the candles to burn faster. Under Gao Hai's command, the rescue team sped forward and quickly found the entrance to the corridor behind the chemistry classroom, the one leading to the [Principal's Office].

From the rescue team member's perspective, Gao Hai saw that the corridor door was a heavy metal door with fingerprint locks and combination locks, making it quite secure. However, the teaching building had now returned to darkness, so these locks had been completely destroyed, and a gap had been torn in the heavy iron door, large enough for a person about 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall to enter the corridor without bending over.

Could it have been done by some Alice from the past?

Gao Hai pondered the possible scenarios, while the rescue team he was controlling bent down and entered the corridor, heading towards the principal's office.

At the same time, the first rescue team member he had previously sent out had found a map in a lobby near the elevator, confirming that it was currently on the 6th floor, and that there was a door leading to the [Biology Classroom] not far from this lobby.

Gao Hai, of course, remembered the information Miko had given him about the biology teacher, "Turtle Teacher," and the "human model." Previously, because it wasn't on his way and he wasn't sure if the information was true, Gao Hai, worried that "Alice" was setting him up, naturally didn't bother to check. But now that he had the chance, he naturally had to go and see. Anyway, at worst, it would just be Lao Guo sending it there once; there was no need to worry too much.

After he gave orders to the two rescue team members, he and Miko had already walked through the cold, dark corridor and arrived at a fairly spacious area.

"The situation is alright, not bad."

Gao Hai casually remarked.

Inside one large glass container after another were either incomplete body parts or the figures of men and women who seemed to be asleep.

Various crudely designed instruments and a dense network of pipes intertwined, creating a bizarre scene that blended old-fashioned and ultra-modern styles. The operating table, stained with blood, was covered with various sharp knives. Strange devices of unclear purpose were connected to each other, and a dense network of wires crisscrossed. Dark red and pale green liquids flowed slowly through the transparent pipes.

At this moment, the place is completely empty; apart from these instruments, there isn't a single person in sight.

While the surface of the Fujika Middle School building is filled with thousands of strange creatures, the underground area seems to have been cleared out long ago, becoming a no-man's-land.

"Where... exactly is this place?"

Miko's expression grew increasingly bewildered as she realized she hadn't expected to see such a place.

"It's probably a hidden area in hell. Let's go, now's not the time to waste time here."

Having already witnessed the devastation of two dungeons, Gao Hai was not greatly affected. He simply stopped to survey the area before continuing onward.

While carrying out this operation, he was also ordering two other rescue team members to conduct explorations. It has to be said that operating three lines simultaneously was extremely difficult, giving him a strange feeling of almost having a mental breakdown. But with Alice potentially returning at any moment, Gao Hai had no choice but to act recklessly.

It seems that the sticky feeling of the sheep's head mask can no longer be felt.

This thing is probably completely fused to my head; the only way to get it off would be to cut my head off.

Speaking of which, aside from my own one, I threw one away, and now I still have one left. I wonder if I can find a way to turn the doll back into a human here.

Gao Hai walked rather quickly, and Jianzi beside him had to jog to keep up with him.

Why does Mr. Gao seem so anxious?

Yotsuya Miko was very puzzled.

She was still somewhat dazed and confused, unsure of the current situation. But Gao Hai's various reactions had given her a sense of urgency, as if he were racing against time with something.

and……

This feeling is so strange... What's going on...?

Jianzi rubbed her eyes, trying her best to calm her somewhat disordered breathing.

Her heart seemed to be racing, especially when she saw Gao Hai; this feeling was particularly pronounced then.

She had never felt this way before, but now she felt as if something had changed her way of thinking. Whenever she saw Gao Hai, her heart would race and she would involuntarily start to feel a strange flutter in her heart.

This feeling... is really wrong. Why am I suddenly having this feeling...?

Gao Hai's speed ahead is still increasing.

Meanwhile, Jianzi increasingly felt the abnormality within herself.

No...

I must tell Mr. Gao...

What's wrong with me right now...?

The girl felt her consciousness becoming increasingly blurred.

Everything around seemed to be getting darker and more terrifying.

Only the figure ahead can protect me; only by his side can I be safe.

Only him... only him... yes, only he can...

She suddenly sped up and ran towards Gao Hai, grabbing his wrist in one swift motion.

"Miss Yotsuya?"

Gao Hai turned his head and looked at Jianzi with a slightly wary expression.

The girl, however, had already rushed into his arms without a care, and with the physical contact, the inexplicable impulse that rose up, as if something had been implanted in her mind, became completely uncontrollable at this moment.

The blessing she senses confirms that she is still seeing a child, so why has she suddenly become so abnormal? Has she sensed something?

Takami, supporting Miko, kept his head down, cautiously observing the girl's condition, wary of the possibility that [Alice] might suddenly possess Miko.

Then he saw Miko, her face flushed, half-open and half-closed, looking up at him as if she hadn't woken up yet. She then gave him a silly smile, as if she had been given a brain-depressing aura, and then tiptoed closer.

The next moment, Jianzi, looking dazed, kissed Gao Hai directly.

Gao Hai:? ? ?

Chapter Thirty-Two: Clues Gradually Unraveling in This Dark Place

Gao Hai reached out and blocked Jianzi's little head from coming closer, preventing her from actually kissing him.

"What are you doing?"

He gazed at the other person's clearly abnormal, dazed expression and slowly asked.

"I...I'm fine...sob...Mr. Gao seems so far away...I want to get closer...just a little closer..."