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

From afar, Gao Hai heard the sounds of girls arguing and saw a figure being pinned to the ground at the end of the corridor, screaming and struggling.

A caregiver picked up a stun gun, turned it on, and pressed it directly onto the girl's body.

With a flash of electricity, the girl who had been yelling just moments before suddenly collapsed to the ground, her eyes rolling back in her head. A puddle of water then began to spread across the floor.

A caregiver was muttering curses under their breath, showing utter disgust towards the unconscious girl.

A female caregiver stepped forward, pulled the girl up, threw her back into the ward, and kicked her hard.

The other girls fell silent, too afraid to resist any longer. They could only obediently move forward under the watchful eyes of a group of nurses and caregivers who were taller than them and wielding electric batons, toward a door at the end of the corridor.

Gao Hai was taken to a different place than where the girls were, but the direction was roughly the same. He guessed he might be taken to a plaza where the areas for men and women were separated, but they might still be able to see each other.

As it turned out, Gao Hai's guess was correct, and he was soon led to an indoor activity area. In this area, which was about the size of a small square, there were about twenty or thirty people wearing hospital gowns walking around, while there were also about half the number of caregivers guarding in the corners.

A wall divided the enclosed activity area in two. The wall was made of concrete from the ground to a height of about one meter, and above that was a thick layer of transparent glass. The half where Gao Hai was located was entirely male, and the other half was female. Among them, Yotsuya Miko, wearing a hospital gown, carefully mingled among the patients. Her golden eyes were constantly looking around, searching for something. Then, when she saw Gao Hai, her eyes clearly lit up.

For some reason, Gao Hai felt that Jianzi had a bit of a puppy-like quality about her at that moment.

Beside Miko were Itono Rika and the others. Seeing their terrified and helpless state, Takami had no interest in continuing to pay attention to them. At that moment, for some reason, Yotsuya Miko suddenly avoided Takami's gaze, and a faint blush appeared on her face.

What's wrong with her?

Gao Hai, who had already quietly walked to the glass wall, noticed Jianzi's strange reaction and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

In fact, Yotsuya Miko herself couldn't explain what was wrong with her. After finally finding Takami, she subconsciously felt a sense of relief, as if she had finally found her pillar of support. But just as she was about to walk over, she had a sudden feeling that Takami had seen her naked body without her noticing. A strong sense of shame surged into her heart, leaving the girl completely flustered.

Of course, this feeling of helplessness only lasted for a very short time. The girl, who had already realized what time it was, walked quickly forward and soon ran to the glass wall, looked up and met Gao Hai's gaze.

Judging from the physical engine structure during her run, Gao Hai suspects that the area under the hospital gown is likely in its original, untouched state.

The girl opened her mouth, wanting to speak to Gao Hai.

However, the thick glass wall was so soundproof that her voice couldn't get through at all.

However, this was not a problem for Gao Hai, who possessed the unique ability to understand languages ​​and various forms of communication. Therefore, he could directly understand what Miko wanted to say by reading her lips.

"Mr. Gao, are you alright? Do you know where we are? Some of my classmates said these people are filming some kind of reality show, and it's very likely an underground, illegal reality show run by gangsters. But I remember we were dragged here by something really scary, right? Why did we end up here? And ever since this started, I've felt incredibly cold here, like something is watching me, but I can't find it anywhere..."

The girl talked a lot.

Even though Miko hadn't been this talkative during the previous three playthroughs, she was surprisingly chatty after meeting Takami this time, asking a barrage of questions like a curious child, talking almost nonstop.

Gao Hai could tell that the girl was actually using this method to alleviate her inner fear and helplessness.

However, I always felt that her attitude had become more intimate than in the previous three playthroughs.

The moment she saw me, she immediately felt relieved. I feel like this change is a little unsettling...

"It's alright, it's alright. As long as we're careful, there won't be any major problems."

Gao Hai tried to slow down his speech so that Jianzi could understand what he was saying through the changes in his lips.

The attempt clearly failed. Behind the glass wall, Miko stared blankly at Takahashi for a long time, then anxiously began to say things like, "I can't hear you," and "What should I do?" She seemed to be getting impatient.

After thinking for a moment, Gao Hai leaned close to the glass wall, breathed on it, and then began to write on it.

I'm fine here. As long as I follow the caregivers' advice, there shouldn't be any problems for now. You can try to calm your classmates down first. If you can't calm them down, try to stay away from them to avoid getting involved in any danger.

Try your best to find a rule list with all the rules and regulations, or try to get information about prohibited activities from the caregivers. Be extremely careful; if you feel anything is wrong, don't act rashly. Your safety is paramount, understand? I'll try to get to you as soon as possible.

[And you won't need to write on the glass anymore, I can read lips and know what you're saying.]

It's only because Gao Hai's physique is now superhuman and his lung capacity is good enough; otherwise, it's hard to imagine how long it would take someone else to finish writing so many words. Moreover, in order to accommodate Miko's perspective, which is opposite to his own, Gao Hai has to write the words backwards, which is quite troublesome.

The girl read Gao Hai's words carefully, nodding repeatedly, and earnestly expressed that she would be careful.

At that moment, a caregiver noticed the two people's movements and immediately came over with a stun gun.

[Hey, what are you doing? Go back, go back, don't go near the barrier wall]

The caregiver impatiently waved the stun gun and yelled at Gao Hai, looking like he was about to hit him at the slightest provocation.

It's just like a living person.

If it weren't for his senses being able to determine the true identity of this thing, Gao Hai estimated that he wouldn't have been able to tell with the naked eye whether it was a human or a monster.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you. I just wanted to talk to my girlfriend. It's been hard to see her since I came here, so I've been missing her a lot. I'm really sorry."

Gao Hai, who had casually made up a lie, apologized earnestly, but the caregiver just scoffed and muttered, "Another delusional person," before ignoring Gao Hai.

Whether it's facial expressions, tone of voice, or the various small details of body movements, they all seem completely like living people.

Gao Hai stepped back a few paces from the glass wall area, turning to scan his surroundings. He saw two caregivers slacking off, huddled together discussing horse racing with newspapers. Another patient was trying to take off his clothes, only to be knocked to the ground by a caregiver who hit him on the head with a stick. Three patients were gathered together; one pointed at the girls across the glass wall, shouting that they all had mahjong tiles on their faces; another was raising his hands in praise of the sun; and the last was holding his head, mimicking a sun mushroom—each with their own unique characteristics.

Everyone was like a normal person.

Everyone here seemed alive, as if they were just ordinary patients and caregivers living in a mental hospital.

But that's not the case.

Just like the lost souls in the Red Nut Gray Hole, Gao Hai knew that this was merely the surface of the eerie phenomenon, a facade of normalcy. The reason these things acted like humans was simply because no one met the specific rules of death, preventing them from escaping this special state and keeping them in this unconscious state of "playing the part."

Gao Hai didn't pay much attention to these things. He just walked back and forth in the activity room, observing everything he could.

Although he himself didn't feel anything, since Jianzi said she felt "something watching her," it meant that something must be hiding beneath this seemingly normal hospital. What Gao Hai needed to do now was to find that hidden thing before it revealed itself and came after him.

He first walked to the window and looked out. Through the window, Gao Hai unexpectedly saw Fujika Middle School, which looked like it had been abandoned for a long time and lay silent in the sunlight. It was about one or two hundred meters away from the mental hospital, with only some low three- to five-story apartment buildings in between, so it could not hide Fujika Middle School itself.

The surrounding buildings looked desolate, and it was impossible to tell that anyone lived there.

As for judging the architectural style and era, Gao Hai couldn't do that, but he could more or less tell that these buildings were old-style apartment buildings built in the last century, the kind often found near factories or schools. Hmm, they probably weren't built in the 1940s, since you can already see all sorts of electrical appliances, and this mental hospital even has a television set hanging from the ceiling, so... could this be the time when [Idol Alice] was active?

As Gao Hai was thinking this, he took a few steps forward and glanced at the wall on one side.

Then, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.

Gao Hai saw a poster.

A brand-new promotional poster with a real photo was displayed in the activity room.

A poster for Alice.

Singing came from a television set not far away.

Although the television was of such poor quality that the singing was so muffled that it was difficult to understand what was being sung, it was enough for Gao Hai to recognize the voice and realize who it belonged to.

I looked up and gazed at the television.

Alice, dressed in an idol outfit and looking incredibly cute, smiled at Gao Hai on the TV.

Alice loves you all! You are all Alice's good friends, Alice's very best friends! So, Alice will now dedicate this song, "Best Friends," to you all—

The girl's singing voice was like heavenly music, and even the noisy sound of a cheap television could not mask its charm.

One by one, the patients gathered around, staring at the screen with dazed expressions.

Even the caregivers came forward, staring blankly at the girl singing and dancing on the screen, their gazes gradually becoming fervent.

Alice...

Someone was murmuring softly.

Alice Alice Alice—

More people began to repeat it, and their voices grew louder and louder.

[Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice ahh ...

All the caregivers and fans started roaring.

For a moment, it was as if demons were dancing wildly. The patients and caregivers became extremely excited, as if they were becoming puppets controlled by the sweet girl on the television. They seemed to have become her slaves, completely losing themselves in body and mind. They shouted wildly, worshipped her with infatuation, and yearned for her.

The same scene was unfolding in the women's activity area on the other side.

The high school girls were completely unprepared for this scene. Many stood frozen, unsure of what to do. Some of the more resolute girls seemed slightly dazed when they saw the girl on TV, appearing almost tempted to join the revelry. A few girls sneaked towards the door, hoping to escape the activity room while no one was watching.

In addition, several girls were very confused by the behavior of these fanatics. One of them couldn't help but mutter under her breath, saying something like, "They're like lunatics. Are those celebrities really that great?"

And so the revelry came to an abrupt end.

All the revelers turned their heads and turned their gazes toward the girl who had spoken.

A chilling atmosphere was spreading.

Yotsuya Miko shivered, a hint of fear in her expression.

Gao Hai had clearly sensed that the "normal" aspect of these strange creatures was gradually disappearing, and their true appearance was about to be revealed.

He was prepared to tear those things to shreds on the spot.

But unexpectedly, nothing happened in the end.

crunch - crunch -

The door to the activity room was opened again, and a figure, tightly bound, was pushed in by the caregivers.

The expressions of all the patients and caregivers changed.

Some caregivers turned off the TV, and some patients silently stood in front of the poster.

They looked at the figure bound on the iron bed, their intense hostility completely undisguised.

They seemed to be filled with fear of that figure. After it appeared, they all lowered their heads, not daring to look at it or show their admiration for Alice in front of it. They turned back into ordinary mental patients and caregivers.

Two girls who tried to escape from the activity room were thrown back in a minute later. Each of them was hit hard and was lying on the ground convulsing with tears streaming down their faces.

Gao Hai stood silently in the corner, watching everything unfold. He watched as the caregivers pushed the bound man to the center of the room, then turned and left, quickly exiting the room and closing the door behind them.

The caregivers who remained in the activity room all looked uncomfortable, as if they were forced to coexist with something terrible.

Meanwhile, Gao Hai had already secretly slipped over to the poster and looked at it again.

Welcome, Miss Alice, to our institution for your performance!

His gaze was fixed on this line of text on the poster.

When does this performance start?

Gao Hai looked at the patient standing in front of the poster and asked him in a low voice.

Tomorrow... hehehe, tomorrow I'll get to see the lovely Miss Alice, hehehehe, tomorrow... tomorrow...

The patient, who didn't seem to be in good spirits, said while laughing and drooling.

Upon receiving this news, Gao Hai couldn't help but look again at the figure who was firmly restrained and placed in the activity room, and he probably already had some guesses in his heart.