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

Now that Gao Hai has lost his hood, these things naturally no longer obey his commands. Of course, Gao Hai no longer needs to command them. He takes out his machete and cuts a path through them, heading straight to the stairwell and proceeding downstairs step by step.

He was heading to the second floor of the teaching building, though the first floor would also be fine. His goal was to find the passageway connecting the teaching building and the dormitory. With the key object on this side of the teaching building already splattered with blood, Gao Hai had no reason to linger there; moving on to the next area was the most important thing right now.

Two of the four areas of Fujika Middle School have already been sealed off, and the third will be sealed off at the start of the next playthrough. That leaves only the last area, the dormitory area. Once we successfully obtain the key artifact in the underground area of ​​the dormitory building, the "surface" of Fujika Middle School will be completely rendered inoperable.

To be honest, Gao Hai is still quite curious about what the school will be like by then.

Of course, before that, I need to live as long as possible.

Gao Hai moved downstairs step by step, his movements quite swift.

4th floor, 3rd floor, then 2nd floor.

The second floor of this teaching building isn't a classroom, but a cafeteria. It's divided into four different levels of dining areas: high-end, mid-range, low-end, and a designated "garbage area." Only students meeting the corresponding level are allowed to dine in those areas. The high-end and mid-range cafeterias share a kitchen, as do the low-end and garbage areas. The map is simple and clear, and while the terrain is somewhat distorted, it's nothing compared to the fifth to seventh floors—they're on a completely different level.

"The garbage area...they eat directly from the swill of ordinary restaurants. This school is truly inhumane in every way."

After seeing the so-called food displayed in the garbage-strewn restaurant, Gao Hai couldn't help but grimac and feel slightly nauseous.

He quickly crossed the corridor, intending to leave the place as soon as possible.

But as if something had already sensed his target, just as Gao Hai could see the passageway leading to the dormitory building, the lights in the corridor where he was standing suddenly switched on with a soft "click," abruptly illuminating the darkness.

Chapter 36: The Naturally Twisted One and the Punishment Room of Fujika Middle School

Under the bright light, the once dilapidated corridor was restored to a clean and intact state.

All signs of damage have disappeared.

At that moment, an extremely strong feeling of being watched by something suddenly became apparent.

Are you coming?

Gao Hai already knew what had locked onto him at this moment.

"Principal Elephant," a figure she hadn't directly confronted since entering Fujika Junior High. Yotsuya Miko harbored a deep fear of this creature, so Takami had decided to be cautious and avoid him as much as possible, but she still couldn't escape it.

I turned my head and looked at the end of the corridor.

Gao Hai saw Alice standing there watching him, and the hand she had placed on the light switch.

If I had a handgun, this distance would be easy... No, now is not the time to dwell on such things. I must evade immediately and disappear from that thing's sight as quickly as possible!

Without Jianzi's help in visual perception, Gao Hai couldn't even confirm the direction of the object. No, he could still confirm it, because at this moment, in the principal's office on the 7th floor of the teaching building, three screens were lit up, and Gao Hai himself could be clearly seen on them.

Not letting the second rescue team member evacuate the principal's office was the right decision, so now I must—

[Discipline Office reports: Gao Hai, student from Class 015, Grade 8, please come to the disciplinary room immediately!]

A clear broadcast rang out at that moment.

All of Gao Hai's actions were forced to stop at this moment.

Like a manipulated puppet, she turned stiffly and walked step by step back the way she came, heading towards the stairs.

I have lost control of my body.

His breathing became as regular as a pre-programmed sequence, completely unaffected by Gao Hai's own thoughts.

Even their thinking has become sluggish, as if they have no way to think about anything other than [executing commands].

Take one step, one step, two steps, each step is exactly the same distance.

In the chaos, out of the corner of my eye, I could see a figure following behind me.

"How pitiful, teacher! Do you know what will happen to you next?"

I heard the other person's laughter, which was full of undisguised malice.

[The teacher already knows that it's Principal Fujii, right? After all, you seem to be able to establish some kind of mental link with those two things. Are they your puppets? Your slaves? Or something else? A teacher who can control these things is actually a champion of justice? How annoying! Is the teacher someone who says one thing and does another?]

[No, no, of those two things, the weaker one was originally a complete villain, so being driven by it doesn't seem like an evil act. As for the stronger one, it seems to be a genuinely good person, and it was willingly driven by the teacher, wasn't it? Ugh, ugh, it's even more annoying now. For the sake of so-called justice, it wouldn't give up even if it died and became that kind of thing, even if it allowed its self-awareness to dissipate, leaving only an empty shell, it still wouldn't stop. Honestly, doesn't the teacher find this boring?]

I heard the other person's somewhat emotional voice.

Alice hates Howard.

After Gao Hai exposed her true nature and discovered her true self, Alice no longer concealed her malice.

She loathed people like Howard so much—people who were willing to give their lives to save others, people who channeled their deepest obsessions into resentment against evil and sin, people who would rather be shattered to pieces than not seek revenge and destroy the darkness.

Why does she harbor such intense resentment towards such a person?

Gao Hai suddenly remembered the person he had seen dead next to the platform underground.

The deceased appears to be a fan of Alice during her idol days.

Based on what she saw, Alice during her idol days regarded all her fans as her friends. One can imagine what kind of behavior she might have towards those fans who worshipped her behind the scenes, beneath her outward friendliness.

But that fan was shot and killed.

The gun barrel entered the body from behind.

Two shots to the head, one to the chest; this could be a Mozambican shooting method.

An armed man broke into the abandoned Fujika Middle School's underground base and shot and killed a fan of "Alice"?

who's that person?

Could the person Alice hates be that mysterious gunman?

Gao Hai tried hard to think.

But his thinking became increasingly sluggish and he was unable to continue; it seemed that only the instinct to obey orders remained in his mind.

This cannot go on.

I must... break free from this control...

I can still stay clear-headed; I haven't reached the end of my rope yet. I must act immediately...

Alice reached out and removed the rescue team badge from Gao Hai's chest, opened the window, and threw it out as if she were throwing away trash.

After losing the strange power enhancement from the rescue team badge, Gao Hai immediately felt his thinking become more sluggish, and his body felt as if it no longer belonged to him. He even began to vaguely feel his own body, as if his spirit and flesh were drifting apart.

Is he about to die?

Gao Hai could only barely make out that he was going downstairs and was walking down the stairs.

Alice, who had possessed Miko Yotsuya, followed beside him, humming a song softly and skipping lightly.

Gao Hai was very familiar with the songs she sang; he had heard them many times before.

I stepped on a cat!

I stepped on a cat!

I stepped on the kitten that was taking a nap!

Listening to those sounds, it's as if you can really see those scenes.

It was as if I really saw Alice with long golden hair and a perfect appearance that no human could possibly have, happily dancing and singing in a pool of blood while crushing the kitten's head and body with her shoe.

I saw the unparalleled pleasure on her face as she took her life.

This is completely different from the villains Gao Hai has encountered so far.

At this moment, Gao Hai actually sensed a certain "purity" from Alice.

Pure enjoyment leads to the process of death.

To simply enjoy the pain and despair of others.

Purely... without any other desires, unrelated to greed for money and wealth, unrelated to material enjoyment or other realities, and without any excitement or other spiritual desires, simply... doing this makes me feel happy, simply pure pleasure.

In my hazy consciousness, I saw something deeper.

I saw Alice walk through countless mutilated corpses.

I saw Alice silently observing the killings one after another.

I saw Alice from the beginning to the end of this school, I saw her spend her entire childhood from birth to adulthood in this hellish, twisted and insane place, and I saw the final form of this thing shaped by countless cruel and ruthless souls.

[The teacher saw it, right? Although not as clearly as Omiko or me, the teacher must have seen it very clearly, right? If it were the teacher, they could definitely see those scenes now, see what Alice went through, right?]

The girl beside him was still chuckling softly.

[Alice is just like that, everyone's favorite idol, Alice who wants to be friends with everyone.]

It's such a shame I couldn't become friends with my teacher. Why did she have to be such an uninteresting person? Most people wouldn't choose that path, right?

She laughed as she circled around Gao Hai, continuing to chatter and giggle.

[They pretend not to see others in trouble, then scold others for causing trouble if it affects them, but when they cause trouble for others, they feel they are not wrong and that the world is wrong. One person is jealous of another for having something they don't have; another person hates the neighbor because their child got into a better school. When they need to say something, they always have a thousand or ten thousand reasons, even if the person in danger is right next to them, they can still criticize the firefighters for disturbing the peace in the middle of the night, saying they don't consider their feelings and can't empathize.]

Ultimately, everyone is acting in their own self-interest. To give to people who are unrelated to you, without any personal gain, is clearly wrong. Such people are the odd ones out, different from everyone else. And those who are different cannot make friends with others; they can only live alone, and even survival itself becomes difficult.

[A person like that is clearly not interesting at all. And you weren't originally like that, teacher, were you? You clearly have strong desires, like young and beautiful girls, and have a considerable need for control; you'd be ruthless towards anyone who threatens your safety or interests. You should be one of the majority, so why did you say those things to Alice, why did you choose to become that kind of uninteresting person?]

Could it be that the teacher deliberately said those things to upset Alice just so she wouldn't become Alice's friend? If so, Alice can forgive the teacher, after all, it's not a big deal.

As Gao Hai listened to her voice, he could vaguely see the girl gently stroking his cheek. Her voice was full of tenderness, as if she were forgiving his willfulness.

What floor are we on now?

Gao Hai could no longer see his exact location, but after carefully recalling his previous pace, he guessed that he had probably reached the first floor and was now probably going underground.

Click——

The girl next to him seemed to press something on the wall.

Gao Hai's body stiffened as he continued forward into the deeper, darker place.

I originally thought the only way to get to the underground floor was by elevator, but it turns out there's a hidden door in the staircase too? Tsk, I can't see what she activated, but it seems there's definitely an extra section of stairs leading underground now.

This can't go on any longer... We must resist... We must find a way to resist...

The power of blessings cannot be activated.

Gao Hai is no longer able to control his body.

Just being able to stay conscious is already the result of an all-out struggle.

The power of the "Elephant Principal" is truly terrifying. Gao Hai estimates that even with his sheep's head mask still intact, he still wouldn't survive. The "Principal" of Fujika Middle School is likely second only to Alice in priority; any identity acquired in this instance is unsafe in the face of that thing.

Step by step, Gao Hai walked into the underground floor.