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

If the initial intelligence was correct, all the researchers at Nightfall Mountain Middle School were killed by this strange entity. Of the three core obsessions of Nightfall Mountain Middle School, only that one remains unbroken. Or rather, it's a theoretically unbreakable bug, devoid of any obsession, forever unable to find true peace. What obsession could something that doesn't even have a root, something that has never possessed even a moment's sense of self?

So, is this hospital trying to replicate the ultimate success of Nightfall Mountain Middle School? Is it creating Alice out of thin air?

This possibility made Xiong Mi frown.

It's impossible to succeed.

Nightfall Mountain Middle School actually continued operating into the post-war era, making it the longest-running of the three schools in Japan. Because it maintained a facade of "normality," the students there, at least in their own minds, were experiencing a normal school life. Furthermore, the researchers hiding behind the scenes used some tricks to avoid being purged and were able to continue their research. Then, several years later, everything completely collapsed, resulting in the extinction of the entire school, which vanished from the real world and entered a bizarre realm.

Even with the skills of the researchers at Yeluoshan Middle School, it would have taken a long time to complete the final steps, and in fact, they still failed. Furthermore, the resources available to this mental hospital are currently far less than the military support the three schools received initially. Combining this with the intelligence gathered from Gao Hai, Xiong Mi quickly formulated a possible direction in his mind.

The creation of the physical "Alice" as an idol and the establishment of this mental hospital were likely orchestrated by the same person. This person must have inherited Fujika Middle School's legacy and gained access to certain resources within the school, thus enabling them to accomplish this.

Could it be the seventh principal who left no record?

After all, according to the intelligence gathered by Gao Hai, it's very likely that the school was already destroyed during the sixth principal's term, which was when Fujii Goro was in charge. But according to records, that principal's term lasted until the 60s? In that case, the timeline doesn't seem to match up completely. Or perhaps the incorporeal Alice was actually maintaining the school's facade of normalcy after the massacre? If that's the case, then under what circumstances did the seventh principal enter the school?

If you keep thinking about it, there are just too many possibilities. Xiong Mi didn't dare to guess too far, so she stopped associating.

At this moment, Xiong Mi noticed a subtle glance that Gao Hai was giving her.

So she casually looked up and glanced at Yotsuya Miko on the other side.

Hmm, that look on his face—he seems to have something to say but is too afraid to say it. Has something gone wrong?

Although Miko's disguise was quite good, Gao Hai and Xiong Mi, with their keen senses, still managed to discover that Miko was hiding something she wanted to say.

She's not the type to deliberately hide things, so there must be some reason why she can't say it directly. For example, the strange creature is in the house, among them, but they can't detect or sense it. Some specific condition must be met, such as Jianzi revealing its existence.

Gao Hai appeared relaxed at this moment, but in reality, he was in a state of extreme vigilance.

After realizing that something was wrong with Jianzi, Xiong Mi immediately became alert and prepared to both escape and fight.

What could happen?

Could something be wrong at the hospital? But those caregivers whose clothes were changed were clearly treated as patients and taken into the wards instead of the caregivers.

Or is this room actually not safe? Is it hiding something very secretive but terrifying?

The two of them kept an eye on Miko's expressions and actions while carefully thinking to themselves.

As for Miko herself, while she was vaguely anxious about how to communicate information, she was also thinking about what was going on with the things in those mirrors.

Those things, those things that claim to be located in "Takamagahara". They seem to be able to observe the outside world through objects that reflect light, such as mirrors and glass.

At present, they seem to have no other ability besides "seeing", but is that really all that those things have shown?

They mentioned attempting an operation once while at Nightfall Mountain Middle School, which was thwarted, meaning they possess the ability to influence the real world. If my method of conveying the message to Mr. Gao and Ms. Xiongmi is too obvious, is it possible that even if it's not in a place with mirrors or glass, they would still be able to detect it, and even take immediate action after noticing it?

Miko Yotsuya is not good at reasoning, thinking, or strategizing. As an ordinary girl living an ordinary life, her greatest talent, apart from her superb perception, is probably her superb acting skills.

Well, describing it as acting skills isn't entirely accurate, since Jianzi can only play the kind of character who acts as if nothing's wrong and doesn't notice anything unusual. In the acting profession, she's clearly limited to one type of role. Of course, Jianzi doesn't need to worry about that now.

In any case, one should have self-awareness.

Jianzi was well aware that she had too many shortcomings in her abilities. If she were to find a way to test her observation skills and find the right time to communicate, Jianzi estimated that she would not be able to do it.

In that case, is the only option to try hinting at it to Mr. Gao and Ms. Xiong Mi? I wonder if they'll understand my hints.

Completely unaware that the two people beside her had been staring at her nervously for a long time, the girl sighed softly at this moment. Meanwhile, Gao Hai and Xiong Mi, who dared not disturb Jianzi, had each imagined terrible possibilities such as [Jianzi being possessed by a monster], [Jianzi watching the two of them sitting in a large group of monsters], [the two people in Jianzi's line of sight turning into two corpses], etc.

Wait, what's this girl up to?

Gao Hai frowned, and finally decided to try asking Jianzi.

However, something else happened before he could take action.

step-step-

Very clear, forceful footsteps rapidly approached.

"Um?!"

Gao Hai was suddenly stunned.

He felt the power of the blessing being unlocked, and he felt that a blessing that was previously unusable had been successfully unlocked and made usable at this moment.

That's Andres's blessing, the ability to teleport to each other's "loved ones" across space. It's a useless blessing for that single guy.

Why were they lifted from lockdown at this time? Could it be that those two...

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

There was a knock on the door.

Then the person outside pushed the door open and entered.

Gao Hai saw the long pink hair.

He instinctively thought it was Fujiwara Chika, so he stood up, and then he saw Goto Ichiri's slightly chubby face.

Pochi-chan?

Andres's blessing power was clearly reflected in the girl.

Moreover, both reactions were on her, as if Maki, Chika, and Goto Ichiri had combined into one, causing overlap on the minimap of Takami's teammates.

What's happening here?

By the way... is this Pochi-chan?

Feeling his mind getting a little confused, Gao Hai then noticed the arrogant smile on the girl's face, a smile that was definitely not something Boqi-chan could have.

"Goto?"

Upon recognizing the girl, Xiong Mi also spoke up in surprise.

Then, the three people in the room saw Pochi-chan, whose expression looked completely off, take out a pair of flashy glasses, put them on, put one hand on her hip, and used the other hand as a microphone in front of her mouth. Then, with a shake of her feet, she entered the room while dancing the samba, and started singing along:

"Yo, yo, yo, Mr. Gao, and Ms. Xiong, and someone else I don't know, they all look great. Hello everyone, rest assured, our support has arrived! It's me, Goto Number One, check check it out~"

Gao Hai:? ? ?

Xiong Mi: ? ? ?

Yotsuya Miko: ???

Chapter 70: The Girls Providing Off-Field Support and the Problem of the Mental Link

At this moment, everyone inside and outside the room fell silent.

Gao Hai remained silent. Seeing that Zi was at a loss, she subconsciously moved closer to Gao Hai and hid behind him. Xiong Mi's expression was distorted, and it was clear that she wanted to complain, but didn't know how.

And outside the door is Goto Ichiri… no, this is definitely not Goto Ichiri. Although Pochi-chan is indeed funny, it's definitely not this kind of humor. And at first glance, I didn't notice anything wrong, but now, upon closer inspection, this girl actually has very subtle differences in appearance from Pochi, giving her a… artificial, manufactured look?

Gao Hai didn't know how to describe that strange feeling, so he could only give a general description of his impressions.

However, that's not the main issue right now.

How did she get here?

Moreover, how could she possess the aura of blessings from Princess Zhenfei and Qianhua?

To be more precise, it should be the auras of three people, three auras superimposed together? Is this some kind of super fusion form? No, the aura emanating from this girl doesn't seem entirely human? This… could it be something created by an obsession?

Before Gao Hai could even figure out the details, he saw the girl's smug expression suddenly collapse, turning into a look of utter despair, as if she wanted to disappear into the ground. Then it transformed into a stunned expression, followed by a relieved look, and finally back to her initial smugness. For a moment, Gao Hai even felt as if he were seeing a pie chart on the girl's face.

Soon, after a highly deceptive entrance performance, the girl entered the room. At this moment, Gao Hai sensed that a mental link had been successfully established between himself and Maki, but the signal seemed weak. He could clearly feel that Maki's voice was carrying some static, as if it were coming from a very, very far distance.

[Shijo Maki: Kai-kun! Kai-kun, are you alright? We found Ms. Goto for help. She used her obsession object to create a shell that can interfere with dungeons. Now, Fujiwara, Ms. Goto, and I are remotely controlling it through this shell. How are things going on your end?]

Hearing the girl's anxious and concerned voice once again, Gao Hai couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion, almost bringing tears to his eyes.

[Gao Hai: I'm fine, I'm okay here. How did you guys manage that?]

[Shijo Maki: It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. Ah, Fujiwara is also asking about you. Hasn't she established a mental link with you yet? Uh, she asked if you made a move against that black-haired, golden-eyed girl, that...]

[Gao Hai: No, no, at least not yet, please don't worry about that.]

[Shijo Maki: I still feel a little uneasy, but I'm so glad you're alright.]

During the brief communication, Gao Hai was certain that both Maki and Chika could communicate and interact with him through the strange girl's senses and observe the situation on his side.

Hmm? Speaking of which, Pochi-chan should be here too, right? Of course, I'm not familiar with her, so she probably doesn't have anything to say to me.

Upon learning that this assistance was something Maki and the others had managed to find, Takami had to admit he was incredibly excited. During his arduous journey to conquer Fujika Middle School, Maki Chika had actually managed to find a way to help him and continue fighting alongside him—something he hadn't expected at all.

Speaking of which, this fourth playthrough has been going on for about three hours now, meaning that Maki and the others found a way to support me in the Red Moon-level dungeon within three hours of my disappearance? But this is probably because Pochi-chan participated in the [School Ghost Stories] dungeon before, since I almost got killed by Ms. Gui Qu Lai Xi once in my third playthrough. This seems to confirm that the guitar Pochi is holding is indeed a Red Moon-level core artifact, and it must be one of the three core artifacts from Nightfall Mountain Middle School.

From this perspective, if I can last longer in the first three playthroughs, as long as I can survive for three and a half hours, Maki and the others' support will arrive... However, with Alice around, it seems pointless unless the supporter has some way to break the illusion or seal the obsession.

Thinking takes only a very short time, a few seconds.

"Don't be nervous, Yotsuya. They're one of our own, so don't worry. Let's move to another place. If we stay here, we might get discovered."

Considering Miko's unusual reaction earlier, Takami explained the situation of the girl who had appeared to Miko, and also took the opportunity to suggest that they change locations.

The group quickly slipped through the corridor and hid in a small room on the fourth floor of the building. This time, "Goto Number One" didn't put on the bizarre and outrageous act he had when he first appeared. Instead, he followed the three obediently, even with a hint of low spirits. Well, although it wasn't very polite, this was more like how Pochi-chan should act.

The upper floors of the hospital's outpatient building didn't seem to be used much. Several offices and small rooms on the third floor were already covered in dust, and by the fourth floor, the renovations weren't even fully completed, with dust and cobwebs everywhere. However, although it looked dirty, this also meant that no one would come into this area, making it actually safer.

"Is it a form created by obsession?"

Only then did Xiong Mi turn to look at "Goto No. 1" and ask thoughtfully.

"...Yes, that's me, I am... well, it's a form created out of obsession... it wasn't very successful..."

The girl's face alternated between arrogance and autism, making her appear as if she had a split personality.

Xiong Mi was not surprised by this, but sighed with great emotion.

"Looks like your group succeeded in the end. It's a completely different story on my end. This is really..."

As for Gao Hai, he had actually been using the mental link to chat the whole way, so he quickly figured out the general situation.

[Gao Hai: How exactly did you get into this instance?]

[Shijo Maki: Goto-san possesses a core artifact of Yoruyama Middle School's obsession. Using this artifact, she can create humanoid entities out of thin air and remotely control them. Fujiwara and I added our blood to this created entity, using it as a medium to share our senses, and only then were we able to follow her into the instance.]

[Shijo Maki: Goto-san's object of obsession is incredibly powerful. According to Aoyama-san, if activated at full power, it could even create a non-existent person in history and insert that person into the historical process of the real world. However, the cost of doing so is too high for any player to bear. Therefore, this time Goto-san used those who were involved in the instance with you, Kai-kun, to impersonate one of them, thus allowing them to enter the instance.]

The girl explained what Goto Ichiri had done very seriously. After understanding the actions of the autistic girl, Gao Hai could only say that the Red Moon-level core obsession was even more outrageous than he had expected.

They create a non-existent person out of thin air, then have this person steal the identity of someone else in the real world, thereby replacing that person in the instance and experiencing what that person originally experienced.

Such power is so immense that it is terrifying.