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

[Sousuke Hirano... He stole my love, he stole my whole world, he destroyed the hearts of everyone who loved Alice. I gave him over ten top-tier treatments, but he remained motionless like a dead man. And yes, how could such a scoundrel deserve Alice's love?]

Therefore, he could only become a sacrifice, offered up so that everyone would believe his death would bring Alice a new life, and that it would achieve a different result. Even if it still failed... at least I could ensure that the murderer of Alice received the punishment he deserved.

Oh, right, and those who sought his help—the list is almost complete; it's time to close the net. These wicked scoundrels who dared to refuse Alice, I will execute them all, one by one! All of them!

【The date is set for tomorrow, Alice, my Alice. Watch closely, I will make sure that whoever hurt you is punished. Justice and righteousness will be served to you by my own hands!】

Alice Alice Alice Alice Alice Love

The further the writer went, the more disorganized the text became, and it was clear that the writer's mental state was becoming very abnormal.

Gao Hai frowned as he finished reading it, feeling the intense corrosive effect of the words themselves, and couldn't help but feel nauseous, but he didn't vomit.

After setting down the record sheet, he continued investigating the small room. This time, Miko found a locked drawer. Takahashi opened it and found a concert ticket—a handwritten one, seemingly from Alice's earliest concert. This thing was a keepsake, apparently belonging to that Dean Fujii Hiroshi. Although he disliked this brainwashed, twisted sycophant, Takahashi decided to accept the keepsake anyway, figuring he could just toss it into his watch storage space.

At the same time, Xiong Mi, who was investigating where the stairs led, also responded via mental link, indicating that she had already discovered it.

We've found the exit; there are two exits.

One of the pathways leads to the side entrance of the hospital's staff cafeteria; going through here will lead you to a hidden door inside the cafeteria.

The other exit, well, this one leads directly outside the hospital; you can leave the hospital directly from here.

Chapter 81: The Land of Shattered Memories and the Judgment Within Illusions

The area outside the hospital is the third area in the [Fujihana Middle School] area instance so far.

On the surface, this area appears to be a dilapidated building complex, dotted with houses of all sizes and types. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the place is actually quite chaotic, with slum-like shantytowns, tall apartment buildings, and Japanese-style villas mixed together. The roads abruptly change from four lanes to six lanes, then back to single lanes or even dirt roads, and there is no connection between the different areas.

As Gao Hai walked through this twisted and chaotic place, he vaguely felt as if he were walking through different fragments of memory.

You could hear weeping and lamenting coming from every building.

On the walls, on the utility poles, and scattered on the ground were missing person notices, the images and words on them already blurred and illegible.

You can feel the suffocating despair, and the chill that permeates the entire world.

So Gao Hai found out what kind of place this was.

And he also began to vaguely understand why the core obsession of this instance, the man named Hirano Sosuke, could not rest in peace.

"Mr. Gao...this place..."

Miko Yotsuya's voice trembled slightly.

The girl following Gao Hai also felt the intense atmosphere of despair permeating the place.

She looked at the houses, as if she could see right through the walls and into the houses, into the figures huddled inside, into the people who had lost their parents, their children, their lovers, their friends, into the way they could never let go, into their wounded state.

"Let's keep going. Only when we reach the end of this place can we see clearly what happened back then."

Gao Hai's gaze was already fixed on the end of the road, on the place that this twisted land ultimately led to.

He originally thought this place would lead to Fujika Middle School, and to that place of origin.

But as he moved forward, he discovered that the dilapidated Fujika Middle School was just sitting quietly on a side street.

As for this main road, where countless roads intersect and merge, it leads to a large, magnificent building.

It is a courthouse.

"It sounds like it's quite lively inside?"

Xiong Mi, who was walking at the front of the group, slowly spoke up at this moment.

At this moment, only Gao Hai, Jian Zi, and Xiong Mi are on the road.

The "Goto Number One" was not in the group; she stayed behind the secret door in the hospital, responsible for opening the door when the group returned.

The [Hiromoto Mental Hospital] area seems to possess a certain [invisibility] characteristic to the surrounding areas. After leaving the hospital, Gao Hai and his group couldn't see the way out, and they couldn't find any trace of the mental hospital in the surrounding buildings. Only after "Goto No. 1" inside the hospital opened the door could they find their way back and see the location of the mental hospital again.

Perhaps it's because the existence of this mental hospital has never been revealed to the victims and their families who were harmed by the idol Alice back then. Therefore, it's impossible for them to reach the mental hospital on their own initiative, given the area formed by their obsessions. Unless the hospital opens its entrance, unless the hospital reveals itself, and at that time... that's probably when the hospital preys on its victims, when the director and his henchmen make their move.

Speaking of which, how exactly did Fujii Hiroshi obtain the research materials from Yoruyama Middle School? Gao Hai always felt that the record left in the small room before was actually something like, "I trusted the wrong person," but he just didn't finish writing it.

Could the people we trust be those inhuman and monstrous beings in "Takamagahara"? I have a feeling that it might not be that simple.

So... could it be KP?

Gao Hai couldn't help but think of what he had seen at the end of Shirakawa Apartment and Red Nut Gray Hole: those two things hidden in the process of the dungeon's formation and development, calling themselves KPs, who were guiding things from a bad state to an even worse state.

The Keeper in the Red Nut Gray Hole likely used Susan's body to communicate with himself, referring to himself as "the actor taking his final bow."

Tsk, speaking of which, there must be a mastermind behind the scenes causing trouble in the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, right?

What role will KP play this time? Will he be the researcher who guides Alice to break through the limits and destroy Fujika Middle School? Will he be some passerby who guides Fujii Hiroshi to conduct crazy experiments? Or some other role? Anyway, it's definitely not a good role.

Are the Keeper (KP) and the Sacrifice Game in a cooperative or subordinate relationship? It's incredibly difficult to find any trace of them; it's nearly impossible to locate them within the instance. However, the research data obtained by Fujii Hiroshi does offer a possibility. I wonder if there might be a KP secretly observing me from the shadows right now.

While they were thinking, the three of them had already arrived at the magnificent entrance of the courthouse.

You can hear a lot of noise coming from inside.

It seemed that many people were making a fuss, and many people were crying. Various emotions were churning behind the door, forming a twisted vortex.

Sensing something amiss, Miko turned around and was startled to find many figures following behind them. These figures, from the chaotic area of ​​buildings, were the afterimages of the victims' families and friends, all now trailing behind. Or rather, they had arrived at the same destination.

Gao Hai had already anticipated what he was about to see.

But he didn't hesitate and pushed the door open.

His perspective was suddenly split in the next moment.

He witnessed a trial.

They saw Hirano Sousuke, handcuffed and expressionless.

He saw countless hateful gazes, from the judge, to the surrounding police officers, to the lawyers, to the audience in the back. Except for the area where the families of the victims persecuted by Alice were located, everywhere else, everyone was casting almost frantic, angry stares at Hirano Sosuke.

【capital offense!】

There is no other possibility but to atone with death.

Such sinners must die!!!

The furious roars rose and fell, almost piercing Gao Hai's eardrums.

The fragmented scene also brought him a more intense mental stimulus.

There is another trial.

He also witnessed another trial at the same time.

It's nothing but slander.

This does not constitute a crime at all.

Such accusations are extremely immoral. How could they treat the deceased, especially such a pitiful young girl, in this way?

In this trial, the defendant's seat held Alice's body, which was covered with a white sheet, while the plaintiff's seat was filled with silent figures.

The gazes cast upon those figures were extremely hostile, and appeared increasingly distorted.

The two trials were conducted simultaneously.

The sounds and images from both trials simultaneously entered Gao Hai's sight and hearing.

[The criminal stormed into the concert venue with a handgun, killed two security guards, rushed onto the stage, and brutally and inhumanely shot and killed Miss Alice. Everyone present witnessed this scene. The evidence is conclusive, and there is no doubt that he is guilty.]

Miss Alice, having lost both parents at a young age, felt a strong maternal connection to this woman, which is why she reached out to touch her neck. The woman's death by suffocation had nothing to do with Miss Alice; it was undoubtedly the woman's own fault, and she was, without a doubt, innocent.

The perpetrator used the backstage and passageway areas of the concert to escape, repeatedly shooting and killing multiple fans. Multiple witnesses and injured individuals can attest to this, and the evidence collected at the scene is also conclusive. There is no doubt that he is guilty.

Miss Alice's entry into this gentleman's home was merely to meet with a fan; the time had nothing to do with whether it was the middle of the night. In fact, staying up late for idol activities is quite normal. As for the gentleman's disappearance after Alice left, and the subsequent discovery of his cut flesh in the sewer the next day, this was certainly not Alice's fault. The same applies to the abandoned, bloodstained knife; Miss Alice's fingerprints on it prove nothing. In comparison, the gentleman's wife and mother are far more suspicious. Undoubtedly, innocent.

The criminal prepared guns and ammunition in advance, carefully studied the concert venue layout, and carried out meticulous planning. He was fully prepared for his impending massacre, making it a premeditated and heinous crime. Without a doubt, he is guilty.

Although the notes and documents found on Miss Alice are in her own handwriting, they were definitely not written by her. That's right, they were not written by her. It was a frame-up. Miss Alice never made any plans to harm anyone. Without a doubt, she is innocent.

For someone with such a long list of crimes, there is no other option but the death penalty. Conclusion approved.

[Such a kind and wonderful Miss Alice, there is no other possibility but innocence; conclusion passed.]

Cheers erupted during both trials.

Everyone was celebrating the victory of justice, and they all wore fanatical expressions.

Gao Hai was not surprised by this.

The existence of [Alice] had already distorted everything, so this development was simply a natural consequence.

But... those silent figures remain silent to this day.

And Hirano Sousuke, who remained silent throughout, seemed to be looking at those who were silent.

tread--

Gao Hai took a step forward.

The courthouse was empty and covered in dust; all figures and sounds had vanished without a trace.

In the dim light, one could vaguely see the figure of Hiroshi Fujii flash by among the police officers escorting Sosuke Hirano, but when one looked again, there was nothing there.

Gao Hai continued walking forward.

He walked up to the defendant's dock.

Stepping into the defendant's dock, I slowly took my seat.

It seemed as if one could feel the gazes directed at them from all around.

It seemed as if I could hear those whispers and sense those distorted emotions.

And... the only thing that the person sitting in that position cared about from beginning to end.

"Is that so? Your obsession has nothing to do with Alice. What you want, what you can't let go of, is just this kind of thing."

Then he finally understood.

At this moment, Gao Hai finally realized what he had to accomplish.

To be honest, it seems to be much more difficult than he expected.

Chapter 82: The Lone Traveler's Regretful End and the Gradually Clarifying Path to Solve the Problem