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

But it was pointless, because Akira Toyama caught up and then two rows of chainsaws came crashing down on him.

Among the out-of-control obsessions surrounding this man, one is likely related to distance. That obsession's power has locked onto me, so no matter where I run, he can catch up; no matter what I try, he won't lose me and can even catch up faster than me.

In the blink of an eye, Gao Hai finally understood why the other party was so swift.

boom!

Gunshots rang out.

Gao Hai moved once again.

A complete rescue team uniform was already on his body, and his severed hands and feet were growing back at a rapid pace.

The blood was still spreading rapidly from the other side of the corridor.

Meanwhile, Akira Toyama's chainsaw swept towards him once again.

"Damn it, you like to play games, but you can't afford to play them, huh? You really have no shame, you fifth-rate dog shit writer KP."

Amidst the angry shouts, Gao Hai did not choose to back down this time.

bang——

The heavy thud indicated that the chainsaw's attack had been stopped.

The butcher's corpse, which Gao Hai had been holding and wielding as a weapon, was blocked.

Bang——Bang——

The crazed chainsaw man was continuously swinging the chainsaw, which dripped blood.

Wielding the stiff butcher's corpse, Gao Hai followed suit, swinging his weapon relentlessly to block every attack from the creature.

The corridor was completely covered in blood red.

But this blood-red scene was different from the twisted mess created by the chainsaw; it was filled with fragmented corpses and children's bloody graffiti.

The butcher's corpse, as a memento, transforms the surrounding environment into the deeper world of Hayate Elementary School, bringing forth a scene filled with the filth of corpses and blood. Such a memento is essentially a purely negative entity. Unless one possesses willpower beyond limits like Gao Hai, even a Red Moon-level player wielding this memento without using it would likely go insane in no time. This memento is completely out of control; there is no effective way to control it. It operates automatically whenever the watch is taken out, making it one of the most unacceptable types of mementos for players.

But at this moment, with the eerie power of the slaughterhouse instance constantly eroding it, the power of this object of obsession came in handy, holding back the surging blood and pale infants, preventing them from spreading rapidly. Furthermore, because it was an object of obsession, the butcher's corpse was incredibly sturdy and could not be cut by the chainsaw; therefore, it could be used as a giant hammer, even with far greater attack power.

"Come and take this blow from my Shining Stone Magic!"

With a loud shout, Gao Hai swung the butcher's corpse, slamming the butcher's head hard into Yuanshan Ming's chest. However, the butcher didn't budge, while Gao Hai's hand hurt from the impact.

buzz-

The blood-red chainsaw fell again, and Gao Hai had to use the butcher's corpse as a shield to block it. Then he was crushed by the chainsaw and slammed into the wall. With a roar, he smashed through the wall. He then hurriedly got up, grabbed the corpse's feet and swung them to block the second attack that Yuanshan Ming was about to launch.

when!

With a heavy thud, Gao Hai's hands were torn apart at the base of his thumbs, but were then repaired by the power of the fully activated rescue team badge.

The scene before them was rather strange: two men, one wielding a corpse and the other a chainsaw, were fighting each other amidst surging blood, infant corpses, and flying human remains. Although Gao Hai was actually being attacked unilaterally, the two sides had indeed temporarily reached a stalemate in this manner.

A police officer with a pistol was silently released by Gao Hai and then moved away from the area of ​​combat.

Gao Hai swung the butcher's corpse up and delivered a powerful blow, striking Toyama Akira's massive body as if Abby were swinging a golf club. At the same time, a large number of bullets surged forth under Gao Hai's will, finally breaking the monster's balance and knocking it to the ground into the surging tide of blood.

"Huh...huh..."

Without even a moment to catch his breath, Gao Hai grabbed the butcher's foot, turned, and ran in the opposite direction from where the police officer had left.

The second floor of the orphanage had once again become an endless corridor area. Based on the experience of the previous playthrough, this meant that Chiyo Hachiya was likely nearby. However, Takami, who was busy escaping, had to put this matter aside for the time being. After all, Akira Toyama, who had been knocked to the ground, had gotten up again and was chasing after Takami in the direction he had fled, carrying a chainsaw.

Tap—tap tap—

The floor trembled slightly with the heavy footsteps.

Dong-dong-dong——

Amidst the incessant knocking, a golden retriever jumped onto the old, moldy single bed, grabbed the curtains by the bedside, and pulled them open, revealing the figure outside the window who had been knocking incessantly.

"Wang Woo!"

The golden retriever barked at the husky following behind it, then bit the window lever and opened the window.

There was no one outside the window, only darkness and a gloomy mist within it.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

The husky barked nervously and jumped up anxiously, its eyes filled with obvious confusion and bewilderment.

But the golden retriever merely shook its head and then raised one of its front paws and shook it again. Then, seeing that the husky was still somewhat dazed, it opened its mouth and bit one of the husky's front paws. As the husky howled in pain, it pulled hard with its whole body, dragging the husky directly off the windowsill and into the darkness below.

Chapter 61: The Puppies' Progress and the Last Traces of the Survivors

slam-la-

The rain, seemingly never-ending, fell upon the distorted and chaotic buildings.

Two puppies, a golden retriever and a husky, who looked to be about six months old, were running one after the other across the playground under the rain.

Some blurry black figures wandering on the playground instinctively approached the two objects upon seeing them, but stopped after realizing that the target was not a human but a puppy, seemingly confused and stuck, unsure of what to do.

If Hayasaka still possessed her full human cognitive abilities at this point, she would inevitably notice this and realize that after undergoing the transformation from human to dog in appearance and identity, she was able to circumvent many of the killer rules of the supernatural creatures to a certain extent. This is quite natural, since the rules of ghost stories ultimately stem from the supernatural creature's past life experiences, from its cognition and emotions as a human. Therefore, ghost stories usually target humans, while animals and plants are generally not within their scope.

In addition, since the two were already affected by the Butcher's ghost story power, as a result, the two who were turned into dogs avoided a lot of the ghost story threats to a certain extent, and could pass through various areas more safely than the previous playthrough.

Click!

The golden retriever, which was already adept at opening doors with its mouth, pounced into the house first, followed by the little husky.

The golden retriever closed the door with its paws, shook off the water droplets, and the husky carefully looked around. After confirming that it seemed to be a school corridor, the two half-grown puppies quickly continued on their way.

We absolutely must find it...

Even though she couldn't maintain a completely human mindset, Hayasaka still held onto this idea firmly in her heart.

To find Mr. Gao, to find Gao Hai, we absolutely must find him...

He must be... he must be somewhere, and he's very likely in danger...

I have to find him... He saved me so many times, I have to find him, I absolutely have to find him...

The ghostly power that should have been dispelled in the previous cycle has not been successfully dispelled in this cycle for some reason. Logically speaking, a lot of time has passed since they escaped from the doghouse, so there is no reason why the two should still be in animal form. However, they still cannot change back, and both Hayasaka and Kaguya's thinking is constantly degenerating.

Just like the fundamental logic of the entire instance, its basic operating program has undergone a certain degree of change. It's as if someone has performed a series of operations outside the player's sight, causing the experience that could have been inherited from the previous playthrough to become invalid, causing things that should have happened not to happen, while things that shouldn't have happened to occur one after another.

Find Gao Hai... Find Gao Hai... Find Gao Hai...

Compared to Kaguya, who retains more of her human mind, Hayasaka, who returned to her long-term dog-like state after the rollback, is experiencing a significant decline in her thinking. She is beginning to forget what she wants to do and can only desperately repeat these words in her mind, trying her best to remember as much as possible.

"Woo——"

The husky opened its mouth and bit the golden retriever's tail, stopping the little yellow dog from charging forward.

At this moment, the two puppies are in a dark school building corridor with almost no light source.

All the classroom doors on both sides of the corridor were open, and inside, it was either dark or the lights would suddenly turn on, flicker a few times, and then quickly go out.

As the lights came on, the two puppies could see shadows flickering in the light, along with soft murmurs that seemed to be someone whispering something, echoing more and more clearly down the corridor.

And on one side of the corridor wall, in the dim light emanating from the classrooms, the two could already see the clear writing made with crayons.

[Student Code of Conduct, Article 7]

When the "butcher" is inside the teaching building, the classrooms will be relatively safe. However, if all the corridor lights are turned off and all the classroom lights are turned on intermittently, make sure you are in a dark area and absolutely not exposed to any direct light.

what is this?

I have a feeling that I've seen something similar before?

Hayasaka looked up at the text written on it, tilting his head with a puzzled expression.

She vaguely remembered seeing something when she was working with Gao Hai. It seemed to be rules and regulations left behind by predecessors to warn those who came after, or for some other reason.

Ah, that's right, those are records left by survivors who once lived in Hayatei Elementary School. Those people lived in this place full of monsters for a while and summarized many patterns.

The text on this page cannot be ignored.

These records must be strictly followed, otherwise something bad will definitely happen.

I need to make sure I'm safe; I must at least get back to Mr. Gao alive. And Kaguya too, I need to bring her to Mr. Gao's place as well. We must reunite as soon as possible; we can't stay in this dangerous place for too long.

Wait, Mr. Gao... Mr. Gao is... Why am I meeting up with him...? I am...

The little golden retriever stopped and seemed a little confused.

My memory and thinking are becoming increasingly blurred, my consciousness is gradually dulling, and slowly, I can no longer remember who I am or what I have experienced.

My name is Hayasaka Ai, Hayasaka... Hayasaka... Yes, that's my name...

Mr. Gao... um... I can't forget him, my mind is a mess, I have to find a way to remember him... Mr. Gao... Mr. Gao... how can I remember him? I'm not a dog, I'm a human, I... I... I have to remember Mr. Gao so he can solve the problem, so... Mr. Gao... Master... Master?

The girl, who was in increasing pain, suddenly stopped trembling at this moment.

Master... Master... Yes, I am a little dog raised by my master. My master calls me Hayasaka, and my name is Hayasaka.

I need to go back to my master now. I need to find my master as soon as possible.

Although the girl was reluctant to succumb to her regressed thinking and subject herself to such shameful self-suggestion, the effect was quite remarkable. She immediately began to notice that the rate at which she was forgetting memories was slowing down, and her self-awareness, which was on the verge of collapse, was gradually stabilizing again.

If this perception persists for too long, even if one transforms back into a human, it may leave some long-term effects.

"Woooo..."

The little golden retriever barked softly and cautiously moved forward. When the lights in the classroom went out, it rushed over and ran to a dark spot in the corridor, then patiently waited for the flickering lights in the classroom further ahead to disappear.

Kaguya, now a miniature husky, kept a close eye on the golden retriever. Although her thinking was also deteriorating, it wasn't as severe as Hayasaka's. Therefore, she could still maintain a certain level of human cognitive abilities and guess that the golden retriever was likely Hayasaka Ai. Furthermore, considering that she still hadn't found Takami's location and Hayasaka Ai's clear familiarity with the route and her smooth leadership, Kaguya couldn't help but begin to wonder if this wasn't the first time around.

As an ordinary person, Hayasaka should have been captured and turned into a dog by the ghost story's mechanics long ago. She should have been trapped in that cage for several days, without any chance to explore the instance. But since she was found, except for this corridor with the lights on and off, she has clearly walked through every other place and knows where to go... Could it be that she retained the memories of the previous timeline? Like Maki and Fujiwara, does she possess the ability to rewind time with Taka-kun?!

Realizing this possibility, Kaguya felt a strange mix of emotions, like a newly bought puppy being treated better than herself... No, no, I'm not a dog, I'm not a dog. Ugh, how am I supposed to break this curse? In this state, even my blessing power has been weakened.

Knowing that her mind was also undergoing a transformation, Kaguya could only resist this transformation while continuing to move forward with Hayasaka, who had transformed into a little golden retriever.

The sound grew louder and louder in the cold corridor—the whispers of students, filled with suspicion, fear, and unease.

[That Chiyo Hachiya, it seems she's become friends with that dog-eating butcher?]

No, that can't be! That monster... wasn't it said that if you saw him in the school building outside of class hours, he'd turn you into a dog and kill you?

I heard that the Bee House was a shrine maiden, a shrine maiden of monsters, and maybe the dark place is related to her.