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

In any case, this playthrough is destined to fail; there's no possibility of completing it, or rather, even if he could, Gao Hai wouldn't do it this way. Therefore, he no longer needs to adopt a conservative strategy. Since his own survival is no longer a prerequisite for his actions, he can naturally take more risky steps.

To put it bluntly, since the end result is just sending it, I might as well just do whatever I want.

"Take a ten-minute break and have something to eat."

He took out compressed biscuits and drinking water from his backpack and tossed them to Hayasaka. The blonde maid caught them and quickly finished them. Then, like Takami, she sat down on the floor. The two of them remained silent, with only Kaguya's knocking on the door as a constant accompaniment.

Thump thump thump— Thump thump thump—

Like a machine that never tires, it maintains a consistent regularity, like a knocking sound that will never change until the end of the world.

Hayasaka Ai did not turn her head.

She knew that if she turned her gaze even slightly, she could see the window in the door and Kaguya's face through it.

That's why she couldn't turn around and face the young lady she no longer knew.

Stop, stop.

Don't worry about it, don't think about it.

Mr. Gao said he could save the young lady, and he said he had a "final plan." Now, all I can do is trust him. The only thing I can do now is to trust this man who came into this place with the young lady to save her life.

I must... believe in him...

Hayasaka curled up slightly, feeling a profound sense of helplessness and confusion. Everything she had learned over the years, all the knowledge and skills she had acquired, all the trials and tribulations she had endured, were utterly useless in this chaotic and bizarre school.

When real danger comes, she can only be knocked unconscious and taken away as an object, and can only be pushed into the safe house to hide first. Even though she tried very hard to play her part, she was just like a child who refused to admit defeat. No matter how hard she tried, she could not stand shoulder to shoulder with the adults.

Even now, he can't even protect the young lady.

Hayasaka had already recalled the soft sigh that Takami let out when he and Kaguya reunited.

It's likely that our young lady has become one of those things at least a few hours ago. She was already in that state when she was trembling and hiding in the cafeteria, when Gao Hai found her and she fled with him.

In this "sacrifice game," it seems like I can't do anything.

The girl, who was feeling depressed, was on the verge of tears.

In the end, however, she just sat quietly on the ground, at most her shoulders trembling slightly.

While resting and recovering his strength, Gao Hai naturally noticed the girl's various behaviors and could guess what was going on.

If I remember correctly, in the original work, Hayasaka Ai, while outwardly a versatile and perfect maid who can freely transform into various forms and is quite skilled in everything from costumes to performances, is actually just a crybaby at heart. This true nature is usually suppressed by Hayasaka Ai herself, so apart from Kaguya, who grew up with her, and her mother, practically no one knows it. After Hayasaka Ai grows into an all-around capable maid, her vulnerable side rarely shows anymore. Thinking about it this way, I've witnessed a very rare scene.

Hmm... wait, there was something like that in the original work, if I remember correctly. In the original Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, there was a ridiculous scene where Hayasaka had to seduce the student council president, and after failing, Hayasaka cried in frustration. But seriously, what kind of thought process would lead someone to let their best friend and servant seduce the person they like? Do Japanese people really like this kind of plot?

Despite the current situation not being good, Gao Hai's mindset remained as stable as ever, and he even had time to let his mind wander and make sarcastic comments.

It seems like we've reached that point; it's time to move on.

Nearly twenty hours have passed since he entered this place. Including the time spent outside the instance, Gao Hai estimates that the suppressor rounds in his pistol will be fully replenished in about one or two hours, and then he can use ten more bullets capable of sealing the monsters.

And that sealed butcher should be unsealed by now, able to roam freely within the dungeon. I wonder how he'll appear now that the entire dungeon map is in complete chaos?

"Alright, it's about time to get started."

As he said this, Gao Hai stood up and walked straight toward the windows on one side of the classroom that were sealed off with wooden strips.

Hayasaka, whose mood had been gradually sinking, hurriedly stood up upon hearing this and carefully followed behind Takami.

Gao Hai, who had already reached the window, did not hesitate and reached out to grab a small protrusion on the wooden strip.

click-

With a soft click, Gao Hai pulled a nail out of the wooden board.

"Ok?"

Considering that the child's imagination and cognition form the basic framework of the entire instance, Gao Hai originally thought that he would not be able to pull out the nail so easily, but unexpectedly, the process was quite easy, and he could easily remove the nail with a simple pull.

Click——click——

Without feeling any resistance at all, Gao Hai casually pulled out several nails from the wooden board.

Is it because nailing windows shut doesn't actually do much to prevent strange creatures from intruding, it only blocks the view, so in children's minds this becomes something that is "easily destroyed"?

Gao Hai guessed at the possible reasons and increased the speed of his hands, soon removing a piece of wood.

Amidst the swirling dust, Gao Hai casually placed the wooden plank, which appeared to have been removed from a school desk, on the ground.

Through the dim light streaming in from the window, he could see several headless figures dressed in researchers' uniforms standing motionless outside.

These researchers outside the window always seemed to appear headless. They had almost completely lost their ability to observe, only able to vaguely sense whether someone was on the other side when looking through the window, and whether someone, whom Gao Hai had not yet verified, would react to physical contact.

Why do they appear in the form of headless people?

Gao Hai couldn't help but recall the hallucination he had experienced in his residence caused by Alice, where he saw many headless students standing on the second floor.

The headless students I saw back then were probably all high school students. Hmm... Hayate Elementary School, Fujika Junior High School, and Yoruyama Junior High School are closely connected. So, could the "headless" mechanism at Hayate Elementary School be related to Yoruyama Junior High School?

Speaking of which, Kaguya was also decapitated by something, resulting in her current state. However, she can still find her head, thus maintaining a state of "believing she's alive." These researchers, on the other hand, seem unable to find their heads, hence their stump-like state. Considering I've also encountered strange creatures that can change heads and bodies, perhaps these three different things can be seen as three different branches, or three different forms, of the same kind of eeriness?

While he was thinking, Gao Hai decisively climbed out the window.

Hayasaka Ai followed closely behind. She was a little confused as to why Takahashi didn't knock her unconscious this time, but since he didn't explain it, she obediently followed him.

"Be careful not to touch those things, and try to find a door to leave this place."

Gao Hai didn't turn around, but casually spoke after feeling Hayasaka's gaze behind him.

Just like last time I came, this place is still a vast, white space filled with all sorts of twisted and chaotic things.

However, only Takahashi remained conscious when he arrived here before, and he did not feel any strong sense of abnormality at that time. But now that Hayasaka has also entered with him in a conscious state, Takahashi immediately discovered an important feature of this white space.

【……call】

Difficult breathing sounds emanated from those severed heads.

One by one, the headless researchers slowly turned around and faced the direction where Gao Hai was.

Hayasaka Ai's gaze fell on Takami.

After Gao Hai was observed and discovered, those strange creatures that could not see or feel anything before began to lock onto him.

A strong sense of being watched came from every direction around me.

Even if Hayasaka looked away and stopped staring at Takami, those gazes wouldn't leave Takami.

"I see. The reaction to [foreign objects] here is quite strong."

Having already sensed something approaching, Takami turned to look at Hayasaka, who was still completely unaware, and reached out to pull her into his arms, lifting her up to his waist with one hand.

"We need to speed things up, but don't throw it up!"

The next moment, as Gao Hai finished speaking, he suddenly darted forward.

boom!

The incredibly powerful acceleration made Hayasaka feel as if he were sitting on an out-of-control drop tower, no, it was ten or even nine times more thrilling.

More than ten minutes later, as the door of a dilapidated room was suddenly opened, Gao Hai rushed into the room, turned around, pulled out the blood key, and then closed the door. He then put Hayasaka down, looked around at the surroundings, and glanced at Hayasaka, who was walking unsteadily and had to hold onto the wall to avoid falling.

"Are you okay?"

Gao Hai asked casually, and after confirming that Hayasaka probably wouldn't vomit, he began to investigate the room.

The room looked somewhat familiar, reminding Gao Hai of the small bedroom he woke up in when he first entered Hayate Elementary School. However, compared to that room, this one looked much more dilapidated and had clearly been renovated by later occupants.

The windows had been completely sealed off, with the curtains and wooden boards nailed together to completely shut out the outside, ensuring that no one inside could see out. The single bed had been overturned and stood upright, forming a partition, with the bedding placed behind it, and an old-fashioned hunting rifle beside it.

The large bookcase had been moved to one side of the bed and placed horizontally on the floor. Beside the door Gao Hai had entered through—the only entrance to the room—he saw several aluminum cans lying on the floor, their strips still attached. Judging from the position of the cans, these items had originally been placed by the door, likely as a warning device.

In addition, Gao Hai did not find the computer he had seen on the surface, nor could he even see the wiring. He had no idea why this was happening.

Is this yet another stronghold left behind by a survivor?

The room itself appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Gao Hai walked around the room without encountering any danger.

Considering that his thought when he used the blood key to open the door was to "enter a safe area where he could hide," there shouldn't be any danger in this room. Well, although he only entered this place on the third time he opened the door. The first two times, something tried to jump out and attack him as soon as he opened the door. If Gao Hai hadn't been quick enough, he probably would have already reopened the door by now.

Snapped--

After casually tossing down the 20-sided die and glancing at the number it displayed, Gao Hai breathed a sigh of relief and was completely at ease. After gesturing to Hayasaka, who was still a little dizzy, to sit down and rest, he walked to the bed behind the partition and picked up the hunting rifle.

"It's actually an object of obsession."

Gao Hai pulled back the bolt, ejected a bright yellow bullet, and watched it disappear from his hand. Then he sensed that the gun itself must be an object of obsession.

This gun seems to be able to repel the physical monsters active in this instance to some extent. That is, those decapitated monsters that think they are still alive will briefly think they are dead after being shot by this gun, thus temporarily ceasing their activity for a period of time.

The side effects are currently unclear, but Gao Hai suspects that the gun may become unusable after firing a certain number of times, and that continuing to fire after running out of bullets will have adverse consequences.

It would be good to let Hayasaka try it out; it would also increase her combat power.

As Gao Hai pondered this, he noticed a small notebook next to the gun. He crouched down, picked it up, and opened it, finding it contained records left by the survivor who had once hidden there. The contents were few, but enough to piece together some information.

Chapter 42: Things Unaware of Themselves and Things That Pursue Relentlessly

[Diary entry by Sergeant Morigami]

Hmm... why isn't it Corporal Morishita?

After turning to the first page, Gao Hai couldn't help but mentally complain.

He looked around but didn't see any "friends." It seemed that as he spent more and more time in this instance, and with his own strong willpower, the cognitive blocking mechanism was becoming less and less effective against him.

But that's not important; let's see what comes next.

With this in mind, Gao Hai began to slowly flip through the notebook.

[This record begins on the third day I was trapped at Hayate Elementary School. If I am not able to leave this place alive, I hope that future generations will deliver this record to the military so that people will know that I am a glorious warrior who sacrificed for the Great Prosperity Sphere, and not some deserter or missing person.]

During the capture operation three days ago, my squad and I encountered a completely black monster while advancing. With guns and bayonets proving ineffective, the monster scattered our group. I was injured and had to find a place to hide. I then accidentally wandered into this room and converted it into a temporary shelter.

[From day one I have been trying to find the other soldiers, but for some reason I have been unable to leave this school, nor have I been able to find any living person other than myself.]

The timeline in the notes is quite clear, but couldn't he find anyone else? Did the military camp not immediately integrate into the school after being massacred?

This school is said to have been established to cultivate secret weapons capable of winning wars. I don't know the specifics of its methods, but the school's internal structure constantly changes; the layout of each room and corridor seems to undergo bizarre alterations—truly astonishing. Moreover, I've encountered all sorts of inexplicable things here: from those pitch-black monsters that are impossible to destroy, to the strange man leading a dog who makes you want to run away at the mere sight of him, to those things with blood-red smiling faces that seem to wear masks… Sometimes I even think I've arrived at the gates of the underworld, which explains all the strange creatures I've encountered.

Regardless, I have survived here for three days. Those creatures become extremely active at night, so I have to hide indoors. Their numbers decrease somewhat during the day, but it's still fraught with danger. I've decided to record everything I've seen. My memory seems to fluctuate in this place; I hope this will help me persevere.

1. A blurry, black humanoid figure.