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

Kaguya didn't approach rashly, but took two steps back and cautiously asked Takami.

Kaguya stood up from her chair and looked at Takami with curiosity, asking a question.

"We have obtained some clues. It seems that the researchers at Zaoli Elementary School are using some kind of anesthetic drug on students on a large scale. I suspect that they may be using drugs in combination with some kind of weird power to achieve mental manipulation and control of the students."

The investigation is progressing well and going quite smoothly. Speaking of which, I also found a diary, probably someone's that was originally kept in the observation room. Would you like to hear it? It might contain some clues we need.

Gao Hai stood still and spoke calmly to Kaguya, who was not far away.

Takahashi strode forward, smiling as he explained to the curious Kaguya.

"Anesthetic drugs... So we know a little about them now. However, if we were to use these drugs on a large scale in daily life, injection would be unlikely. Mixing them into food... I feel that would be easy to spot. Maybe it's some kind of inhaled gas? Also, did you find the diary? It's probably best not to read it lightly. After all, once the written information in this place involves a certain person, it will definitely carry a strange power."

"I see. It's good that everything goes smoothly. After all, even places only teachers are allowed in have different rules regarding which teacher is allowed. If an unqualified teacher is caught, they might be punished. As for the diary, reading someone else's diary feels a bit impolite, but I'm genuinely curious. Gao-jun, you can read it here and see if you can find any clues."

Kaguya frowned, carefully analyzing the clues Takahashi had found. At the same time, she frowned again, feeling a faint overlap in the voices she had just heard; she thought she heard Takahashi mention finding some kind of diary, so she gave him a reminder.

Kaguya smiled and walked up to Takami, waiting for him to say what he was about to say.

"Inhaled gas? I don't know much about that. I only know about the Russian rescue operation where they used anesthetic gas and killed a bunch of hostages. Hmm, I won't read that diary. By the way, why do you want me to read that diary? Wait, you said I shouldn't read the diary? Why do I hear you saying two completely different things at the same time?!"

"Okay, let's read it together. We can look at the contents together and maybe find some clues."

Gao Hai nodded slightly as he spoke, then he noticed something was amiss and immediately became alert, looking around.

Gao Hai nodded slightly, took out the diary, and turned to the first page.

Kaguya, standing beside him, was ready to listen, so Takami opened his mouth and began to read.

[My name is Ueki. I am a researcher. Today is my first day reporting to the Hayate Research Institute, following instructions from the military...]

Chapter Twenty-Three: I'm your friend, do you remember me?

My name is Ueki, full name is Ueki Atsuko. Yes, that's right, I'm the thirteenth child in the Ueki family this generation. It's a very ordinary name, basically nothing special. Of course, I'm used to it and don't think there's anything wrong with it.

However, although my name is quite ordinary, I'm still much smarter than the other dozen or so children in my family. So I can learn what they can't, and I can understand what they can't comprehend. As a result, I became the only college student in the family, then received further education, and finally became a researcher at a national research institution. Originally, the Ueki family was just a small family in a remote area, but now, because of my descendant, the entire family's reputation in the area has grown significantly, and some people even say I'm the family's lucky star.

[Heh, there are even people saying I'd be better off as a boy. Humph, women aren't necessarily inferior to you.]

"Well... that's true, I've only been at the national research institution for a short time, and my achievements so far have mostly been assisting established professors. I'm still far from being able to work independently. Therefore, I must firmly grasp this 'Early Elementary School' project. This is a major project specially assigned by the military, and it's said to be of great significance to the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere."

That's what I was thinking, but it turns out this project is just about studying a bunch of elementary school students? I completely don't understand what the military is thinking. Have I been tricked by someone?

Regardless, I will still keep a daily research log. Even if the project is questionable, I must maintain the right attitude.

【——Day 1】

For a whole week, the researchers and I observed these children, watching how they attended classes, what they secretly talked about, and their every move in daily life.

Am I really here to do research? Or have I been abandoned by those above and deliberately dumped here? Am I going to become a nanny/mother?

[And the person in charge of this research group, that guy named Sato, doesn't seem to have any official position at all, right? This guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere has become my boss...]

[Incomprehensible, utterly incomprehensible]

[And just to observe a group of elementary school students, they specifically divided the researchers into several groups and forbade us from communicating with each other. What on earth are they doing?]

[If my superiors hadn't said I had to stay here for at least three months, I would have left immediately. Tsk, a whole three months! I'm going to have to work under Sato for a full three months. I really don't know if I can endure it.]

[Speaking of which, the school rules are really strange; I completely don't understand what the point of these rules is. Parents have to have their faces checked when they come to pick up their children, and if they haven't left the nap room by the designated time, they have to stay all day... What is the point of this?]

[—Day Eight]

I've been in this experimental group for a full three weeks, which is more than half a month.

[For the past two weeks, I felt like I had really become a primary school teacher, constantly interacting with all sorts of children, occasionally teaching classes, but spending most of my time hiding in the observation room observing the students' every move.]

I still don't understand the purpose of this experimental group. I don't even know what I'm researching; there are no specific requirements or plans communicated to me.

[Unless I am not the responsible researcher, but rather a part of the experiment, one of the subjects, then I don't need to be told everything.]

Whatever. It seems these people are just trying to conduct some kind of social experiment. All I need to do is focus on my own job, and then leave after three months. The rest is none of my concern; I'll just muddle through for now.

[But speaking of which, aren't these kids a bit too enthusiastic about all sorts of ghost stories and supernatural tales? I didn't have so many thoughts when I was their age. Is there some other research group deliberately instilling this kind of thing in them?]

I'm increasingly feeling like this experiment is just a farce.

[—Day Twenty-Two]

A student has gone missing.

I don't know much about the missing student; I haven't had much contact with him, but I remember him as a very ordinary little boy, the kind you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

No parents inquired about the situation, and no one reported it to the police because his entire family had disappeared.

[I found out about this because he hadn't come to school for three days. I heard that his neighbors were worried something had happened and called the police. When the police came in, they found that the whole family had disappeared. I heard that all their shoes were neatly placed at the door, but there was no one in the house, and no trace of anyone coming in or leaving.]

I don't know what exactly happened, and I didn't want to care, but the children seemed to already know about it. They were saying that the boy and his family were taken away by something "dark," by a monster called "dark."

[This is utterly absurd. What's the story behind this rumor? And judging from the way these kids are so certain, did someone specifically tell them this?]

Could other research groups be working on this? And what about that child's disappearance...?

Forget it, it's none of my business. I just need to take care of myself.

[—Day Forty-One]

More and more kids are talking about "dark" things.

They seemed convinced that the monster would hide in any dark, narrow, or normally unnoticed place, such as under the bed, in the closet, or outside the window.

The children also said that when they saw "dark" people, they didn't immediately suffer any harm. Instead, they would forget about it until quite some time later when they realized that something seemed to be missing from their memories and experiences.

They say that those truly chosen by "Darkness" will find themselves with one or more secret friends, friends no one knows about. These friends are actually "Darkness" in disguise, and ultimately, the "Darkness" who becomes a friend will take those people away.

This is probably just a baseless ghost story.

However, more and more children are starting to believe this story, and even some adults, including parents, are beginning to think it's true.

Something's starting to feel off; I hope it won't affect me.

[—Day Sixty-Three]

I saw that thing.

[Something black, made up of messy lines]

It was lying under a bed in the nap room. I bent down and saw it, but I'm not sure if it was looking at me too. Anyway, in the blink of an eye, it was gone.

The research team held a small meeting tonight, and many people were very excited and cheering.

That highly unstable thing, which appeared for only a moment and then vanished, seems to be the target of the Hayate research group. Even though it's currently just an almost unformable, phantom-like illusion, its very existence speaks volumes.

Further research plans are about to begin.

Because I saw that thing, I can no longer easily leave this research group.

I have a bad feeling.

I asked Sato about the boy and his family, hoping they were alright, but Sato just said, "They dedicated themselves to the great empire." I began to realize that something even worse was about to happen.

[—Day 88]

Everyone's busy now, and I can't be as lazy as before, so my notes will have to be kept brief.

[Hayate Elementary School has expanded its enrollment. Originally, the main research subjects were only about thirty elementary school students, but now the number has increased to over one hundred, including the children's families. These one hundred-plus families are our experimental subjects.]

[—Day Ninety-Two]

The drug program has been approved. We will install pipes throughout the school to deliver drug gases to specific rooms at appropriate times, and some food will also be mixed with drugs. This is supposedly to better control the students and guide the direction of the experiments.

Many of those medications contain substances that can permanently damage a student's mental health, and some are addictive.

No, it has nothing to do with me. I just need to do my job well. Everyone is doing it anyway, so I don't need to make myself stand out.

[—Day 105]

[I chatted with researchers from another group during lunch. It seems Sato came alive from some very strange place, bringing with him something incredible. Apparently, Hayate's research group's project relies on that little thing. Besides that little thing, it's said that one of Sato's friends took another identical little thing to Yoruyama Junior High School, while Fujika Junior High School served as a control group without that so-called little thing.]

[The news is a mix of truth and falsehood, and I don't know what's really going on, but I have indeed seen those things several times. Those black things, like children's scribbles, are ridiculous and terrifying bastards.]

More than a dozen children have gone missing.

But I feel fortunate because one of the basic rules we added to this system is "cannot harm the teacher and will be driven away by the teacher," so only the students and their parents will disappear, never me.

I'm starting to feel like an idiot.

[—Day 168]

More than fifty students have already been lost, including their families.

The truth was starting to show, and the military was dissatisfied. They felt the device was too slow at killing, the rules were too complex, and it was easy to detect something was wrong. So we moved to another location to continue the experiment, and this time we tried to add new rules to make ordinary people able to ignore it. Ideally, everyone except the children who were the subjects of the experiment and us, the "teachers," would be able to ignore what that device was doing.

The surviving students have been transferred to other schools, that's what they say, but they've been transferred to our new research institute. The military won't give these people a chance to escape.

The military's ultimate goal seems to be to create a weapon that can be deployed behind enemy lines and destroy everything that cannot be stopped. Of course, this has nothing to do with a small-time researcher like me, but even if such a thing were developed, how would we control it? I have a feeling things won't go so smoothly.

[—Day 250]

I have been officially working at this research institution for over a year now.

If I had to say what I learned from this place, perhaps only ruthlessness could describe it.

But it doesn't matter anymore. I don't care about these things anymore. All I want to do now is get through this period. I don't want to worry about anything else.

[—Day 366]

I only remembered today, when I opened this notebook, that I've always had a habit of keeping a journal, but the last entry was six months ago. I never imagined I'd become this lazy. But what's there to record here anyway?

The research has stalled. We originally wanted to ensure that the thing was "formless," but children's imaginations are hard to control. The final result showed three relatively fixed forms, and as the rules we've developed for it have become increasingly sophisticated, it's now very difficult to make any changes. The thing has become a mechanized monster that can only move within Hayatei Elementary School and the students' residential areas, and only those who understand and believe in it can be harmed. It's practically useless in any real combat.

To change all this, we might have to start from scratch, but that's impossible. We've already invested too much; we can't start over now.

[—Day 476]

[Yeluoshan Middle School has achieved a remarkable result: reportedly, they have killed over a hundred Amerindian soldiers.]

The higher-ups started putting pressure on them, and Sato's solution was simple: expand enrollment, massively increase the number of children who are the main agents of cognition, and then use the cognitive instability during the expansion period to modify the rules of action of that thing that was almost defined.

[This is not a wise decision. The research institute is already understaffed, and we are responsible for monitoring the behavior of every student. If we expand the number of students, we may not be able to supervise them effectively. What if students develop an impression of "Darkness" that we failed to detect in time?]

I have to persuade them; if they mess with something so dangerous, it could very well kill us.

[—Day 708]

[Sato made the final decision on the enrollment number: 200 people]