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

Interlude 3-17: The Girls' Time and the Subtle Undercurrents

Senior, have you returned safely?

Gazing at the faint light shining through the window, Yotsuya Miko pondered in her heart.

The girl couldn't sleep all night.

After learning that Gao Hai had re-entered the instance and died multiple times, even asking her to help relay information, Jianzi's heart was in her throat, and she couldn't calm down.

What kind of place did the senior go to? How is he doing now? Will he be able to successfully complete this instance?

One question after another troubled Jianzi, but she had no idea who to ask for answers. After all, she hadn't entered the instance with Gao Hai, and even if Gao Hai reverted to his previous state, her consciousness would be returned to the Crimson City, leaving her with no way to act or communicate independently. So, after Gao Hai stopped reverting, the anxious girl didn't sleep a wink all night, lying in bed until daylight.

There hasn't been a rollback for several hours.

The girl sat up in bed, closed her eyes, and pondered.

Given his senior's abilities, since he stopped rewinding, he must have successfully resolved the problem that required external assistance.

So, the predecessors have either already returned safely to the real world, or they may still be conducting a stable investigation in the instance.

Should we contact him?

Seeing that Zi was very hesitant.

If the other party is still in the instance, I probably won't be able to get through on the phone, right?

Regardless, it had been several hours since he returned to that blood-red city, and he hadn't rewatched the TV program he had watched so many times.

Hmm, never mind, I'll just ask first.

After much deliberation, the girl finally took a deep breath and decided to take action.

After all, nothing will happen if you do nothing; only by taking concrete action can you achieve the desired results—it's a very simple principle. Although, to be honest, even now, I don't fully understand my own true feelings.

"Beep-beep-"

The telephone rang slowly at that moment.

The girl, still in her pajamas, sat on the bed, gently swinging her toes as she couldn't help but start daydreaming again.

How is he doing now?

The senior had told her that it would be about half a month before she could officially enter the dungeon, so why did he enter the dungeon again so quickly?

Come to think of it, the last time my consciousness returned to the Crimson City, I seemed to vaguely hear my senior saying something, like calling out a name, something like "Hayasaka," was that a girl's name? Hmm, it feels a little unsettling...

Seeing that she couldn't explain why she felt uneasy.

Just like when she first entered Shuchiin Academy and met Shijou Maki and Fujiwara Chika who greeted her, she felt a similar sense of unease after hearing them talk about Takami and learning that they were her senior's teammates. Even now, she doesn't really understand why she has this strange feeling, or what she's struggling with.

"Beep-beep-"

Thirty seconds have passed, but the call is still ringing and hasn't been answered.

It seems the senior hasn't returned yet. Hmm, but I'm not in a hurry to hang up. I'll wait a bit.

As she was thinking this, Jianzi heard the buzzing sound of her phone answering, followed by Gao Hai's voice coming from the phone.

"Hey, hey, Miko? Were you looking for me? Oh, I got back last night. Sorry I was a bit tired so I didn't message you. I'm back safely from the dungeon, so don't worry. I was just doing something for a friend. There were some dangerous things that happened, but I managed to resolve them safely in the end. Also, thank you for your help. If you hadn't notified Maki, my troubles probably wouldn't have been so easy to resolve."

Gao Hai spoke rather quickly on the phone for some reason, as if he was in a hurry.

And I could vaguely hear other people's voices around me, I don't know if it was on the street or in some other place with a lot of traffic.

"It's good that you're back safe and sound, senior. I was so scared last night, I kept wondering what happened to you..."

Seeing that Gao Hai was in a very relaxed state, and that there were no longer any problems bothering him, Zi Neng's unease subsided. He subconsciously patted his chest and let out a long sigh.

"Well, the process is rather complicated if I were to explain it all. Anyway, I'll tell you slowly when I have time in a couple of days. Right now, I still have some follow-up matters to take care of, so we can talk again when I have more free time."

Gao Hai's tone remained relaxed.

I just don't know why he seemed a little eager to end the conversation, as if he really had something very important to do.

Jianzi didn't feel anything was abnormal. After confirming that Gao Hai had returned safely, her thinking ability went offline as she relaxed.

"Okay, I'll talk to you when you have time, senior. Please get some rest and don't overwork yourself."

Therefore, she calmly ended the call with Gao Hai, then yawned, looked at her phone and saw that it was already 10:30. She then decided to get out of bed and go wash up.

Well……

Forget it, I'll just go back to sleep.

Overwhelmed by drowsiness, the girl closed her eyes and collapsed onto the bed.

At the same time, Gao Hai put down his phone and looked in front of him at the brown-haired girl sitting on his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck, trying to regulate her somewhat disordered breathing.

Yes, it's obvious she's not in a good mood.

"You have so many girls who care about you, Haijun."

Consort Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly, her displeasure barely concealed.

"Ahem, that kind of thing isn't important. I'm here with you right now."

Gao Hai's expression remained unchanged, his face righteous and stern, as if he were truly a gentleman. This was despite the fact that he was currently sitting on the bed in a high-end hotel room, and that Zhen Fei herself was only wearing two pairs of thin black stockings. Incidentally, one of the stockings was torn, revealing a portion of her smooth calf.

"It was clearly Haijun, you pervert, who forcibly dragged me up here... You're sexually unsatisfied and have relationships with so many girls. You should really watch your time management. You're a womanizing scumbag who's going on a date with your great-aunt tomorrow."

The girl reached out her finger and gently touched Gao Hai's lips.

Although she spoke words that seemed ruthless, her tone didn't carry much of a accusatory undertone, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, making one want to savor her.

In matters like these, Gao Hai has never been the type to suppress his impulses.

He lowered his head and kissed the girl's neck deeply.

Then, Gao Hai leaned forward slightly and fell onto the bed, pressing Zhen Fei's much smaller body underneath him.

Slender, fair fingers and thick, pale yellow fingers intertwined and clasped tightly.

"Waaah, slow, slow down..."

"Sorry, I might have been a little rough. I just couldn't help myself."

"So what... that maid brought you up... excited you, you perverted, idiotic bastard, Haijun..."

"Then, Consort Zhen, may you call me 'Master'?"

"No way, don't even think about it, waah, I told you... slow... waah..."

The laughter of the young couple echoed in the dimly lit room with the curtains drawn.

As for anything further, that's left unsaid.

Incidentally, the teacher's certificate that Gao Hai had asked Maki to obtain has now been revoked. Regardless, Gao Hai felt it was better not to hold onto such a status, since he wasn't exactly a teacher capable of educating and nurturing students, and besides, he had several high school girl girlfriends. Bearing that identity was simply inappropriate. Therefore, this morning Gao Hai had already asked Maki to invalidate the teacher's certificate, which was essentially a fake identity. Thus, Gao Hai has now returned to his job as a security guard, becoming once again the gigolo security guard in his colleagues' eyes, kept by a group of high school girls from wealthy and aristocratic families.

However, Gao Hai himself was quite willing to do this.

-

America, the land of Amelia.

Amidst the commotion, two dark-skinned men in white shirts were shouting and cursing, brandishing pistols and submachine guns, and exchanging blows with the convenience store owner, who was armed with a shotgun. Between the gunshots, three other dark-skinned men pushed supermarket carts, loading goods into the store before quickly making their escape.

Judging from the indifferent attitude of passersby, this kind of scenery has obviously become commonplace.

On a tall building not far away, a gaze was also directed in this direction, filled with disgust.

"Meaningless violence, ugly desires, filthy mutual destruction. Humanity has always been like this. Hmph, that's why players accept God's test, venturing into the hell called dungeons, to find the true path to human elevation, allowing us to cross the original sin in our souls and return to paradise."

As he murmured to himself, the man turned around and looked at the group of people gathered in the room.

"What happened?"

He looked at one of the people in the room and asked in a cold voice.

"We still can't find any clues, but according to the guidance of [Fate], perhaps we can pay attention to what major events will happen next. What we are looking for may actually be found in some form this time. By the way, we may also encounter the person we were investigating before in this [Fate]."

After a moment of silence, one of the people inside gave this answer in a low voice.

“Very well, the road to the Kingdom of God is destined to have no room for dissidents, and those madmen who may have glimpsed the path to godhood will not be let off the hook.”

With a cold voice, the man placed a bullet on the table.

A bullet that has lost all its supernatural powers, has become mortal, and is now flowing with black blood.

Interlude 3-18: The prelude to the fireworks festival and the little maid's conspiracy

Sometimes, Gao Hai couldn't help but reflect on whether his lifestyle had become too decadent.

Having just escaped a near-death experience in a dangerous dungeon, having finally obtained new and powerful blessings and several highly functional artifacts, and having truly learned a part of the secrets of his black watch—his cheat ability—through his contact with the Keeper of the Priest, he should be carefully planning his next steps and thinking about what he should do next. But…

In the morning, I was supposed to have a date with Chika Maki, but she had to leave halfway through, so it became a date between me and Chika. Then, we ended up going from a dessert shop to a hotel.

At noon, we ordered takeout from the hotel. Chika, who had just finished her business and returned, noticed the traces from the morning, so lunch turned into a strange situation where we ate together.

In the afternoon, we went for a stroll on the street for a date. While strolling, we wandered into a high-end private cinema that provided sofas and beds, and no one even remembered the name of the movie that was playing.

Looking back, it seems I spent the entire day in this state, completely immersed in a sweet, tingling feeling. Everything else seemed to have been completely forgotten, with only the sweet sensation constantly accompanying me.

This kind of thing, well, it really won't work. I need to get down to business; I can't let desire consume me.

Gao Hai's expression became extremely serious at this moment.

Come on, restrain my desires, restrain my impulses, and completely defeat the darkness within me!

Finished playing?

"You were clearly having a great time all day, and you were the one who dragged us along to do this and that several times. Now that you've vented your energy, have you turned into a great sage?"

Shijou Maki, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but complain.

Amid the hum of traffic, the girl, who had changed into white stockings because her stockings had been torn, walked with Gao Hai on the overpass on the highway. She quickly noticed Gao Hai muttering to himself, and after understanding what he was saying, she showed a contemptuous expression.

"Ahem, I was just reflecting on myself a little. Don't overthink it. After all, today was a rather decadent day. Especially compared to when I was in the dungeon, it felt like I was on the verge of collapse one minute and relaxed to the point of flying the next."

Gao Hai quickly shook his head and said, then became somewhat emotional as he spoke.

"...When you have a chance to relax, it's better not to push yourself too hard. Thinking too much all the time is exhausting."