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

Chapter 83: The Moment Parasitic Alice Meets the Players

For a moment, Gao Hai almost jumped up from his chair.

After three cycles through Fujika Middle School, the psychological trauma Alice left on Gao Hai was immense, almost comparable to the month-long torment he endured in the Red Nut Gray Hole. Especially this time, even though he had sealed Alice away, the thing had somehow resurfaced, haunting him relentlessly and making it impossible for Gao Hai to remain calm.

But he soon realized that this time the situation was different from before.

There was no eerie atmosphere.

There was no strange aura about Alice.

wrong.

There was absolutely no breath or aura.

She seems to be just an image.

In reality, this thing doesn't exist at all; it doesn't exist anywhere in the world.

But Gao Hai still saw her, still saw her presence.

And this is because...

"Curse?"

Gao Hai let out a long sigh of relief. Through his own senses, he had roughly figured out the situation.

Understanding information about the core obsession has always been extremely dangerous, because the core obsession is deeply connected to the instance itself. Information related to this kind of thing is often extremely contaminated, or you will feel it as soon as you know it. Even in the next playthrough, you will still be immediately locked in, which is extremely troublesome.

Information related to Hirano Sosuke's core obsession is also dangerous. However, the danger lies not in Hirano Sosuke's own obsession causing any adverse effects on the player, but rather in the fact that as the player delves deeper into his life story, they will gradually encounter something similar to what happened to him.

"So, after the day he destroyed the idol Alice, Hirano Sosuke's mind was forever filled with Alice? That's really not something to laugh about."

Gao Hai has already seen through the true nature of this "Alice".

This thing is different from the Alice he encountered in the previous three playthroughs. It's not eerie; it's a part of Gao Hai, his own imagined version of "Alice," an Alice born from his memories of the previous three playthroughs. In other words, this thing is like a special curse, forcibly separating a part of his brain to construct the Alice personality. Moreover, as the curse deepens, it might gradually influence his cognition and actions.

The reason he encountered this was because he had learned too much about Hirano Sosuke's life. As he became more and more involved with this core obsession, he was inevitably influenced by the other party's power, and as a result, he encountered the curse that the other party had once suffered.

It's certain that the Alice who was destroyed back then truly hated Hirano Sosuke so much that she resorted to such methods to disgust him.

As for Gao Hai now, to be honest, he also found it quite disgusting. This thing, like Kira Yoshikage's third bomb, actually only existed in his perception, merely appearing on his retina; he had absolutely no way to deal with it.

[Hehehe, the teacher really dislikes me, even though Alice wants to be friends with her so much]

The blonde girl had already walked up to Gao Hai and was speaking to him with a light smile.

"..."

Gao Hai ignored the other party.

He simply turned around and looked in the direction of the gate.

Yotsuya Miko and Kumami were sitting in the audience seats at the back. The two of them had obviously seen something as well, and had only recently come to their senses. It was just unknown whether what they saw was the same as what Takahashi saw, or whether Alice had grown in their eyes at this moment.

[Gao Hai: What's the situation?]

He didn't speak rashly, but instead used the mental link to inquire first.

[Yotsuya Miko: I witnessed two trials...]

[Xiong Mi: I only saw one scene, where those people sentenced that man to death. But in the end, it probably wasn't carried out, right? That Fujii Hiroshi probably has some connection with people in higher positions. I'm wondering if someone followed up on the Fujika Middle School experiment after it failed.]

The two gave different answers. Miko seemed to have seen two different trial scenes involving the victims and Hirano Sosuke, while Kumako only saw Hirano Sosuke's side. However, Kumako was, after all, an experienced player. Therefore, she immediately deduced a lot of information, and it actually matched the things that Takami had seen in his memories.

However, this also means that neither of them saw as much as I did.

Miss Xiong Mi is one thing, but even though Jian Zi's perception is clearly much stronger than mine, she didn't get more information than me this time?

Why is that? Teacher, have you found the answer?

Alice's playful voice rang out behind him.

He did find the answer.

Or rather, he had guessed this answer before.

Identity.

Each time he enters a dungeon world, he seems to possess a hidden, special identity.

And this time, his identity is probably... that of the teacher who rescued Hirano Sousuke and chose to live in seclusion.

Hirano Sosuke, whose obsession had become deeply ingrained, probably didn't treat Takami with any special favors during operations because Takami didn't resemble his teacher enough, or because his behavior wasn't quite like it. However, this identity proved useful when investigating intelligence and gathering relevant information, allowing him to see things that others couldn't.

As for Alice's consistent use of the term "teacher" to him across several playthroughs, perhaps... it's because she was able to discover his hidden identity.

Teachers are truly blessed by fate.

Alice's figure stepped past Gao Hai, and her laughter made Gao Hai subconsciously clench his fist.

[No need to worry about her parents' retirement, she was born with a villa and a large sum of money, and she even got the cheat code of a black watch, granting her hidden benefits that others can't obtain every time she enters a dungeon. Isn't the teacher completely favored by fate? Even if she experiences far more hardship than others along the way, the happiness she's able to seize far exceeds that of the vast majority. Alice is even a little jealous of her.]

Since Alice is formed from Gao Hai's memories and consciousness, this strange thing obviously contains his own memories.

However, she doesn't seem to know my true nature as a [transmigrator], otherwise, given her personality, she wouldn't have refrained from mentioning it and mocking me. Well… never mind, I shouldn't think about that too much. Let's focus on the next issue first.

Gao Hai already had an idea in mind about what to do next.

Although he wasn't entirely confident about his chances of success, the current situation left him no room for further procrastination.

[Shijo Maki: I've already spoken with Auntie, and the Shinomiya family will begin gathering clues from various cases left over from decades ago. But even at the fastest pace, it will still take at least a month to publicly reopen the cases.]

[Shijo Maki: Can you tell me what your thoughts are, Kai-kun?]

[Gao Hai: We don't need to hold a public overturning process; we just need to hold a trial to define the nature of this matter, and that will be enough.]

[Gao Hai: Of course, the final outcome will definitely be a public reversal of the verdict, but that can be postponed. We only need to complete the crucial one. The real key is how to ensure that the live broadcast of this trial can be shown in the Fujika Middle School scenario without any interference.]

[Xiong Mi: Are you going to put on a courtroom reality show just for Hirano Sosuke?]

[Shijo Maki: This... will this even work?]

[Gao Hai: We can hire a proper judge, assemble a professional jury, lawyers, and an audience, and perfectly recreate the proceedings. This isn't difficult. The key is that after the trial, with our resources, we can make this a fact and bring it to light. We can do it, we will do it; we've demonstrated to him how we would do it. This will definitely be effective. Because this is what he desires. If all else fails, we can kill a few more Japanese politicians to spice things up for him.]

[Shijo Maki: Kai-kun, Fujiwara-san isn't very happy.]

[Gao Hai: Cough, except for the Fujiwara faction, how could I possibly lay a hand on my father-in-law?]

[Xiong Mi: I think I understand what you mean. So, Ms. Goto, please bring Ms. Aoyama into the mental link. I never expected that I could still maintain normal communication with the outside world while I'm still in the instance. Anyway, you need people, right? And the people who come should ideally be of decent quality. Well, in terms of connections, I think I can be of some use.]

Gao Hai was still a little confused about what Xiong Mi wanted to do.

But soon, as Aoyama Nanami's voice rang out in the mental link, and after she communicated with Xiong Mi, Xiong Mi gave Aoyama Nanami a number to connect. What happened next shocked Gao Hai.

Ring ring—ring ring—beep—

"What?! Sister Xiong Mi is still alive?!"

"Acting? I know, oh, I see. They'll be there tomorrow. All seven members of the 'Slacking Off Gang' can make it. Haha, that's all we have left. Oh well, but the 'Lawyer' is still here, he'll definitely be able to give a convincing performance!"

Ring ring—beep—

"Miss Xiong Mi is still alive? I understand. We Red Moon level players are one, and my team members and I will step forward."

Jingle Bell--

"Ha, to attempt to crack the core of the Red Moon-level dungeon by role-playing in the real world, what a bold attempt. I know that to achieve this, my obsession object that can manifest in the mind is essential. Of course, I will definitely go. No player has ever obtained the Red Moon-level blessing before, this is going to be a historic moment."

More and more people are taking action.

As veteran Red Moon level players, even though Xiong Mi had disappeared from the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance for several months, after proving that they were still alive, the players took steps and set off towards the neon lights.

These people may have different goals and their positions may not be entirely aligned. But without a doubt, with their entry, the situation ahead is gradually becoming clearer.

"Hmph, looks like I still have some face after all."

After contacting everyone he could reach, Xiong Mi stepped down from the audience, chuckled, and began to speak.

"To be honest, it is indeed more powerful than I ever imagined."

Gao Hai, who never expected to attract a group of Red Moon-level players to act as actors, was at a loss for words.

Chapter 84: The Rising Waves in the Real World and the People with Free Time

The players are mobilizing.

One by one, those in high positions who were already at the forefront of the player ranks mobilized at this moment.

Some people use powerful objects of obsession or blessings to simply push open a door or fiddle with a small object, and then disappear from the spot, arriving directly at their destination.

Of course, there are also players who don't have that kind of means. They can only honestly buy a plane ticket. Those with spatial items can set off empty-handed, while those without can only leave with big bags and small packages.

In addition, there is a third type of player who has no other means of transportation and, for various reasons, cannot or does not have time to use public transportation. So they use even more primitive methods: walking, running, or swimming.

For ordinary people outside the players' world, they naturally have no idea what's happening; at most, they might see amazing videos of swimmers crossing the ocean. But for players all over the world, whether they've reached the highest levels or are stuck in the middle or lower ranks, they all feel the gathering of an invisible storm at this moment.

"Have you heard? The entire Moyu Gang has been mobilized. Someone went to check their camp, and there wasn't a single person left."

"Doesn't that mean we can try to steal something from there, just in case they left behind any treasure..."

"Are you out of your mind? Stealing from a Red Moon-level player? Let's not even talk about whether you can succeed. Do you really think those superhumans can't find you?"

"I was just saying..."

In a small forum privately run by a player, people are chatting idly.

"Both Red Moon-level player teams in the northern region have been mobilized; it seems they only left a few low-level players to guard the stronghold."

"It's incomprehensible. What on earth happened? Why did they all have to be mobilized..."

"It seems to have been summoned by Miss Xiong Mi. Something big must have happened. Perhaps something unusual has occurred in the Red Moon-level dungeon."

"Hopefully it's something good, and not something bad."

In a bar in a small town where snow was falling, several players were discussing something in hushed tones.

"The entire upper echelon of the Texas-based player organization [Freedom Covenant] has been mobilized. The last time they mobilized in full force was for the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, right? What could it be this time? It's not that instance again, is it?"

"It's hard to say. The insider means that Xiong Mi, a Red Moon-level player who was originally thought to have died in the dungeon, has been proven to be alive and has even launched a recruitment drive. But according to our records, Xiong Mi died in the dungeon three months ago. How could she still be alive now?"

"Looks like something big has really happened... Hmph, let's find out where they went and figure out what happened."

On a high-rise building somewhere, people in suits and ties communicated amidst doubt and speculation.

In the shadows, someone was silently watching all of this.