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

The door was pushed open once again.

Xiong Mi, with a cigarette dangling from her mouth, simply pushed open the door and entered, followed by a man in a military overcoat with a cold expression.

"Sorry for being late, but being late is a tradition of the [Slacking Off Gang], so I hope you won't mind too much."

Bear-mi grinned as he took the cigarette butt off and casually stubbed it out on the wall. Then he turned to look at Takami and Shijo Maki. After noticing that the girl who was clearly very close to Takami wasn't Yotsuya Miko, her expression clearly took on a critical tone, which quickly turned into the knowing smile of a seasoned driver.

"So you guys actually got involved?"

Gao Hai did not hide his surprise.

"Because you made a huge fuss, did things in such an incredible and unbelievable way, you gave a lot of people hope."

Xiong Mi casually pulled out a chair and sat down, crossing his legs and lighting a cigarette, his voice filled with sighs.

"Hopefully, this thing will be like an addictive drug for players, something they can't break free from once they discover it."

"So whether you like it or not, you have already become the savior in the hearts of many people, even if most of them don't even know who you are."

Interlude 3-23: The Decision to Joint Operation and the Imminent Dating

To be honest, Gao Hai had originally considered whether Xiao He Shu would ask him to do something, or post some kind of commission to wipe the slate clean.

After all, regardless of any legitimate reasons, he had undeniably breached the contract. On a larger scale, this incident disrupted the order of the "market" itself and constituted a serious provocation against this player's faction. Therefore, regardless of Xiaoheshu's own feelings about Gao Hai's breach of contract, he had to do something to make Gao Hai compensate him in order to truly put the matter behind him; only then would it be in everyone's best interest.

However, this guy directly joined forces with the players' organizations, the Red Society and the Fishing Gang, to form an investigation team for the Red Moon-level dungeon, which was completely unexpected by Gao Hai.

Was it because they anticipated that I wouldn't make things difficult for their market, so they deliberately expanded this commission into a collaboration among multiple organizations to seek greater benefits?

Or is it that the market merely played a passive role in this matter, and Xiaoheshu and his group were not the ones who organized this operation?

"In short, that's the situation right now. We, the [Slacking Off Gang], have lost a few people in that instance. Not to mention the Red Society, for them, this instance is the beginning of their misfortune. So for this operation, we will each send two people to form a total of four-person investigation team. The [Market] will also send two players, making a total of six people. As for Xiao Gao, it's up to you how you arrange things, since you are the one in charge of the key strategy mission."

Xiong Mi explained the situation in a calm tone, with his legs crossed and a toothpick in his mouth, looking completely unperturbed.

Perhaps because of her strong nicotine addiction, Xiong Mi quickly put out her cigarette after entering the meeting room, but she first ate several snacks, then pulled out a lollipop from somewhere, and finally took out a toothpick and put it in her mouth. In any case, her mouth was never idle, whether she was talking or not.

The follower she brought hadn't said much, just stood behind her with a cold face, looking like a cool, aloof bodyguard from a movie. Hmm... if you ignored his flip-flops and pink bunny slippers, he was actually quite cool. Seriously, is this some kind of trendy way to dress? Wearing different slippers on each foot... it has a kind of postmodern cool vibe.

"I will try my best... to recover before the mission begins..."

Akira Toyama spoke very seriously, even though his complexion was still very bad and he looked like he was about to die in his hospital bed.

"That's pretty much the gist of the situation. Now, just tell me what you think. Don't worry about saving face for anyone; just say what you want to say."

Finally, Xiong Mi yawned and spat out the toothpick, seemingly still nonchalant, but her gaze towards Gao Hai became noticeably more serious. Clearly, if Gao Hai intended to refuse this joint operation, she would change her stance and help him persuade both the Market and the Red Society to abandon their plans to use Gao Hai to rescue people.

This leader is truly admirable and reassuring; no wonder she's a vice-captain whom other Red Moon-level players trust.

However, he had already made up his mind about how to choose after hearing about it.

"I can accept this mission, but I need to bring my companions with me. Also, I have some requests that I hope you can fulfill as much as possible."

Gao Hai answered without the slightest hesitation.

[Campus Ghost Stories] In fact, half of this instance has already been destroyed by himself. Although the remaining half is no longer subject to interference from the "writer" and the rules will not be modified or invalidated, those areas still exist. The instance has not yet been completely destroyed. Therefore, it is not yet time for everything to end. He needs to enter the remaining areas and make a final, decisive decision.

Perhaps those KPs hidden outside the world are also waiting for him to wrap up this story, waiting for him to completely settle the matter left behind by the "writer".

Since that's the case, he has no reason to avoid it; he should face the difficulties head-on.

“Gao Jun…”

Princess Zhenfei looked at Gao Hai with great concern.

"It's okay, don't worry."

Gao Hai, noticing Zhenfei's worried expression, simply smiled slightly, his expression remaining calm.

"It was indeed as smooth as expected. Now, the next issue is personnel arrangements and operations. There are still about two weeks before the dungeon opens, so there's no rush to come up with a plan immediately. We can take our time to plan and arrange things."

Xiong Mi nodded, and seeing that Gao Hai was sure he wanted to participate, she moved on to the next stage of the discussion.

After that, there's nothing particularly noteworthy. In summary, teams of players will first enter the [Nightfall Mountain Middle School] instance area for exploration. Goto Ichiri, who carries one of the core obsession items for that area, will then enter together to ensure that most of the instance area can be explored normally, provided that two of the three cores are activated.

However, the player teams belonging to the other core artifacts taken from the Nightfall Mountain Middle School area, and the team to which one of the core artifacts was taken from Baydos Academy, are not close to the Lazy Gang or the Red Knot Society, and they have no intention of using their hard-won Red Moon-level core artifacts for the adventure. Therefore, in this mission, Baydos Academy remains a dead zone that all players must avoid at all costs; that place is a terrifying forbidden zone where no player can possibly survive.

"【Takamagahara】? Using something from mythology as a name, it really has a chuunibyou feel to it. But if a bunch of bastards from that time were alive today, we definitely can't let them get away with it."

After some deliberation, Gao Hai provided some information related to Takamagahara during the discussion. The market and the Red Society members remained relatively silent regarding these remnants of the past, offering little comment. However, the two on Xiong Mi's side seemed noticeably more alert, appearing to have gained greater motivation to act.

Finally, Gao Hai and Zhen Fei took their leave first, leaving the market and returning to the street. Zhen Fei, who had been holding back for a long time, turned around and was about to speak.

Then Gao Hai reached out and pressed his hand against her lips, silencing her as she tried to say something.

"You and Qianhua absolutely must participate this time, and of course, it would be best if everyone participated. With so many Red Moon level players helping you, this is the best opportunity for you to obtain Red Moon level blessings and improve yourselves. You absolutely cannot miss it."

Gao Hai spoke solemnly.

"...Well, I understand."

There's no need to say anything more.

Having discerned Gao Hai's attitude from his words and expression, Zhenfei knew that the only thing she should do now was to support Gao Hai, assist him, seize this opportunity to gain greater strength, and ensure that the entire team could move towards a stronger future.

But why does it seem that Haijun has become much more anxious?

It was as if he had truly confirmed the pressure that was behind him, something that had been pushing him forward, something that he could only guess or estimate before. Therefore, he abandoned all wishful thinking in his actions and turned to a more radical direction.

It seems Gao Hai has no intention of explaining this matter.

After a brief hesitation, Maki decided not to pry into Gao Hai's situation. If he truly had some difficulties he couldn't express, she shouldn't continue to embarrass him. Following in his footsteps and helping him move forward was enough. For those who face various pressures but cannot back down, this was what they needed most.

"Well then, this matter is pretty much over for now. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, Maki. Since I was able to come out of the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance twice, I will definitely be able to lead all of you out a third time. Now, get some rest. We can study the rules of the ghost stories later when we have time. There's no need to rush now."

Before saying goodbye at the street corner, Gao Hai spoke to Zhen Fei with a relaxed expression before turning and leaving.

The girl stood at the intersection until Gao Hai's figure disappeared across the street before letting out a soft sigh and turning to walk home.

"You're the one who's under pressure, you idiot, Kaijun."

Amidst her muttering, Maki first sent a message to Chika, informing her of the general content of the morning meeting and Gao Hai's thoughts. Then, she decided to find all the relevant intelligence information about the two instance areas, [Nightfall Mountain Middle School] and [Baydos Academy], and study it carefully.

As for Gao Hai himself, after parting ways with Zhen Fei, he first checked the time and, after confirming that it was almost noon, found a restaurant and ate something quick to tide him over. Then he headed directly towards the city amusement park.

While still halfway there, Takahashi received a message from Kaguya Shinomiya and chatted briefly about what happened that morning. Then, when Takahashi arrived at the entrance of the amusement park, he immediately saw Kaguya Shinomiya, who had been waiting there for some time and was wearing new clothes.

When I contacted her just now, she said she had just left home, but she was already waiting for me when I arrived after lunch. Could it be that Kaguya had actually arrived this morning?

Gao Hai was secretly surprised to realize this, and soon spotted Hayasaka Ai hiding in the crowd.

Without further hesitation, he swaggered toward Kaguya, waving as he did so when her gaze fell upon him.

Interlude 3-24: The Romance Guide of Kaguya-sama: Love Story of a Minor Character

Dating.

This means that the two people have arranged to meet.

It refers to a social activity in which two people agree on a time and place to meet in advance. Of course, this is only the strict definition of the word. In practical application, the term "dating" is usually used in only one context: a joint activity between a boy and a girl to get to know each other and cultivate feelings. It is a selection activity between single people for the purpose of finding a mate.

Well, that means that men who already have girlfriends generally shouldn't date other women, and vice versa. If it were the former Kaguya Shinomiya, she would probably be very particular about this issue. In fact, she still feels uneasy about this issue now, but having a deep understanding of the current situation, she knows she can't dwell on it anymore, so she suppresses it.

If I could have Gao Jun all to myself... no, that's still very unlikely, it's really a pity.

Kaguya, standing at the entrance of the amusement park, sighed softly, feeling helpless about the unrealistic idea that had popped into her mind.

zizi——

The earphones worn in the cochlea then emitted sound.

【Kaguya-sama, Master... Mr. Takashi has arrived. He should have seen you by now.】

Hayasaka Ai's cool, clear voice rang in Kaguya's ears, reminding her of the current situation.

By the way, Hayasaka, you're calling Takamuni-sama again, aren't you?

You never showed any emotion when you called me "Miss," just as cold and indifferent as an employee to their employer. How come you call me "Lord Gao" with such sincerity now? Just hearing your voice makes me imagine your eyes sparkling with love!

Kaguya is furious that her little maid is about to be kidnapped.

Even if in many feudal traditional families maids do marry the man along with the mistress, there's no reason for a maid to go ahead first, right? No, I have to keep an eye on this traitor and not let her have the opportunity to do anything bad!

At this moment, Kaguya's will was firm, and she silently made up her mind.

Takami, who had only glanced at Hayasaka disguised in the crowd and subconsciously relived the service he had received the previous night and the small compensation he had given back, had already composed himself and waved to Kaguya not far away.

After receiving Hayasaka's text message and learning some things from Hayasaka last night, Takami knew very well what his goal was in coming here today.

It's really strange. With Maki... it feels more like things just happened naturally, with almost no specific development points. Chika, on the other hand, was the one who got confessed to, and I was the passive one. With Miko, it's still just a little ambiguous, although I don't know why I keep dreaming about doing *that* with her. Hayasaka is also in a passive situation, you could even say it was all thanks to that "writer's" haphazard actions that things came about; it feels like I was forced into a relationship.

In other words, this seems to be the first time he's seriously and actively pursuing a girl and going on a date with her.

Realizing this, Gao Hai couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

As for Kaguya, her thoughts were simple. Just as she and Hayasaka had concluded the previous night, in today's operation, there was only one thing she needed to do:

[Show off your charm and get Gao Hai to confess his feelings to you]

Incidentally, this is Kaguya's own summary, which is completely different from what Hayasaka proposed.

"Gao Jun, is everything settled at the market? Did you encounter any problems? If there are any issues, please let me know. After all, I can utilize the resources of the Shinomiya family, which should be able to help you a lot."

Kaguya stepped forward with a gentle smile, and the first thing she did was to offer her very natural greetings and inquiries.

For women, expressing care for men and wanting to increase their affection is a very effective way. Especially the kind of care that flows naturally; it's said that it can even remind boys of their mothers, thus creating a more instinctive feeling of closeness towards the woman.

"Yes, no problem, no problem at all. The new clothes look great on you, they suit you very well. Okay, let's go, you don't mind holding hands, do you?"

With a smile, Gao Hai reached out and directly grasped Kaguya's slender fingers.

Hey hey hey hey?!

Kaguya Shinomiya's brain quickly began to overload.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, isn't this process a bit off?

Normally, shouldn't it be that after a boy and a girl have played a few rides at an amusement park, or while riding a roller coaster or drop tower, they unconsciously hold hands, then realize what's happening and blush with shyness, but just continue holding hands? Or perhaps they've played various rides together, enjoyed themselves immensely, and laughed together, and then naturally, without realizing it, they found themselves holding hands?

Shouldn't it be like this?