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

5. After lights out, you must not leave your dormitory room under any circumstances. Do not open the dormitory door, go to the corridor, or enter the washroom or toilet. If you must go to the toilet, make sure the curtains in the washroom are drawn and plug your ears. Finish using the toilet within 5 minutes and return to your bed. Don't forget to check under the bed when you come back.

6. If you hear a woman's scream accompanied by the sound of something falling to the ground, do not look out the window, do not open the dormitory door, and do not leave your dormitory. Stay inside for at least half an hour before you can leave safely. If you see something falling from above and landing on the ground outside the window, leave your dormitory immediately and go to another dormitory. Do not return to your dormitory that day. If any of your roommates can see this rule list, do not let them return to the dormitory that day either.

7. Never go to the rooftop of the dormitory building. Never go to the rooftop under any circumstances, for any reason.

8. Never lose your dorm key. Always make sure you have it with you; it's as important as your life. But if you have lost your key, never sleep in that bed again, and never go back to it under any circumstances.

9. Reduce your curiosity. You're now encountering things that most people can't. Things many consider just ghost stories are now real, tangible nightmares for you. Few are truly aware, but you're not alone. Find others like you, help more people learn how to avoid these things, and uncover the truth behind more ghost stories. This is essential for survival.

【——Life Club】

Dirty stains covered this rule sheet.

The text above is clearly handwritten, and the handwriting is not very neat, crooked and messy. It is possible that each piece of content was written by a different person, and there are even a few typos that have not been corrected.

Gao Hai silently read through the rule sheet carefully, making sure he had memorized its contents completely, before turning to look at the corridor in front of him.

Under the stark white light, spider webs had densely covered the corners where the light fixtures met the ceiling.

He could smell the pungent dust, the unpleasant odor of ruins abandoned for many years, but he couldn't find the source of the smell.

Is it the Life Club?

Gao Hai's gaze lingered for a moment on the comments at the end of the rules sheet.

crunch - crunch -

The dormitory doors were open or closed.

The students, their faces blurred, moved about silently, wearing their school uniforms and carrying their backpacks.

None of these non-human entities showed any sign of paying attention to Gao Hai in the corridor; they simply moved forward in silence.

Perhaps, it's just that at this stage, I can't hear their voices or see their appearance yet?

A strange thought suddenly arose in Gao Hai's mind.

{Shijou Maki: It's confirmed. The rule sheet I saw is the same as the one you saw at first, Kai-kun. Are you sure that rule sheet changed right in front of you, suddenly changing from "basic" rules to "survival" rules without any warning?}

Through the mental link, Maki's cautious voice came through.

{Gao Hai: I'm absolutely certain. About 30 seconds after I looked at the initial version, the content on this thing started changing. How should I put it... it seems to have changed as I observed it for a longer period. Don't stare at that rule table for too long, you never know when you might suddenly fall victim to it.}

As he spoke, Gao Hai carefully observed his surroundings and slowly made his way down the corridor.

{Shijo Maki: If there were problems arising from the extended observation period, I think everyone would have noticed them by now. But so far, none of the people I met up with have seen the "survival rules" chart you mentioned, Kai-kun. Kai-kun, I think there must be something different on your end. Did you see something before?}

{Gao Hai: Hmm... I saw a pervert hiding under the bed I got up from. That thing even glanced at me and then disappeared. Does that count?}

{Shijo Maki: So, does that mean, Kai-kun, you can't stay in your bed when you wake up for your afternoon nap or tonight's bedtime? You have to find somewhere else to stay?}

{Gao Hai: If that rule table is reliable, that's indeed the case.}

{Shijo Maki: In that case, Kai-kun, you'll inevitably be breaking the student code of conduct by sleeping in your own bed during the night. Things have become troublesome from the very beginning...}

During their mental link conversation, Gao Hai had already reached the stairwell and was looking at the somewhat gloomy, dimly lit stairwell area.

At this time, there was no one coming or going on the stairs; it was empty except for Gao Hai.

A basic rule, a survival rule, and this so-called "Life Club"—all of these were things that didn't exist in the previous intelligence about Yelu Mountain Middle School. The [Campus Ghost Stories] instance is now completely revamped. In other words, Gao Hai's current strategy missions are practically no different from exploring the instance without any prior intelligence.

Oh, no, there are still differences.

The normal progression of a Red Moon-level dungeon involves several small teams exploring it 3 to 5 times, gathering various survival items to assess the dungeon's layout and then devising ways to escape or relay information. Once sufficient data is collected, all main members then team up to dedicate themselves to clearing the dungeon and obtaining the necessary items. As for himself, his first attempt was a perfect clear; otherwise, he couldn't proceed and would be forced to repeat the cycle until he succeeded or ran out of attempts—a situation where victory was decided and survival was determined.

No matter how I think about it, it's hard to stay calm.

As Gao Hai was feeling sentimental, after confirming that the players on the 5th floor had gathered, he soon saw two male players, Hayashi Kenta and Kenmochi, walking out of one of their dormitory rooms in the corridor area on the 2nd floor of his dormitory building.

It seems that floors 1 to 3 of this dormitory building are male dormitories, while floors 4 to 6 are female dormitories. The dormitory building itself has two staircases at the ends of the corridors, and you have to go through a large door on the first floor to enter the dormitory building.

Judging from the building layout, female students have to pass through the male dormitory on the first floor to reach the female dormitory. Male students can only enter the female dormitory if they actively seek it out, so there's no chance of accidentally entering. Wow, this is practically co-ed dorms, isn't it? I remember seeing parents protesting against these co-ed dorms before, worried that some unpleasant incidents might occur.

While thinking, Gao Hai returned to the corridor, beckoned to the two players to come over, and then looked at the clock hanging in the corridor.

The time displayed above is 7:10.

There's still some time before the basic rule requires us to leave the dormitory building before 7:40, so there's no need to rush.

Thinking this, Gao Hai soon saw the two players walk up, and thus all the male players participating in this instance operation were reunited.

"Mr. Gao, how's the situation on your end? The situation in the dormitory I came out of is like this..."

The somewhat extroverted Hayashi Kenta smiled and first explained his situation. Then, the man with a stern expression, whose nickname "Kenmochi" was more like a nickname than a name, also spoke up and explained his situation.

These two people live in the same dormitory, which is similar to what Gao Hai found during his investigation of the dormitory. In addition, based on what Zhen Fei described to Gao Hai through the mental link, it can be confirmed that every room in this dormitory building is roughly the same and there is not much difference between them.

However, this is only the most basic level of the situation.

"You guys have seen that rule sheet, right?"

Gao Hai first carefully checked the students whose faces were blurry before looking at the two players and asking.

"I saw it. To be honest, these rules are a bit too normal. They're quite unsettling."

"Kenta Hayashibe said with emotion, while the man named Kenmochi was just keeping watch over the surroundings and took out a crystal ball-like object of obsession. It seemed that he was using the power of the object to shield Takami and Kenta Hayashibe from talking, to ensure that no information would be heard by those strange students and cause any abnormal situations.

"What does the rule table you see look like? How many rules are there in total? I want to confirm if there are any differences in perspective or anything like that."

Gao Hai's expression remained unchanged as he quickly recited the "Basic Rules" he had seen at the beginning.

“What I see is the same as what you see, Mr. Gao. There is no difference in content. It is all these 8 items.”

After listening attentively and carefully reviewing the rules on the wall, Kenta Hayashibe nodded solemnly in response. Kenpachi, standing nearby, also nodded, adding, "Me too," after Hayashibe finished speaking.

"Oh, I thought I misread it. I thought there were seven. I wonder if it's because my eyesight has been a bit off lately. Maybe I need to take some fish oil."

Gao Hai's expression remained unchanged; he simply shrugged, his tone carrying a hint of wistfulness.

However, his gaze remained firmly fixed on the faces of Hayashibe Kenta and Kenmochi, carefully discerning their reactions.

"That's impossible."

Kenta Hayashibe was the first to speak.

"There's only that one set of rules on the wall, those eight basic rules. There are no other exceptions. How could you possibly miscount?"

Jianbing also spoke up, looking at Gao Hai with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"...That's why I said I was mistaken."

Gao Hai shook his head slightly, his expression revealing no flaw.

He has discovered one of the dungeon's mechanics, a mechanic that is thrown right in his face at the start of the game, and can be described as extremely unfriendly.

"Replenish fish oil" is a code word agreed upon by players before entering the dungeon. Saying this means that the player has discovered something unusual that cannot be clearly described. Therefore, this code word is used to indicate to others where the key to the problem lies.

However, neither Hayashibe Kenta nor Kenmochi uttered the corresponding code word, which was "eat some fish eyes".

Li Zhaodi's blessing confirmed with absolute certainty that the two of them were human, not some kind of monster in disguise.

But at this moment, the doubt on their faces was so real that it showed no sign of being fake.

In other words, after seeing that rule list and the basic rules of that dormitory building, they were... subjected to some kind of forced cognition, and therefore unable to understand the situation where "another dormitory building rule list exists"?

They cannot see what you are seeing, they cannot understand what you are seeing, and they will never believe or accept anything you say.

Gao Hai quickly recalled the first sentence of the survival guide he had seen.

This is really something, they actually put something like this up right from the start?

Having noticed this strange mechanism, Gao Hai began to feel uneasy. And then, he realized something ominous might be about to happen.

{Takami: Maki, are you sure Miko didn't see the rule chart I saw? Did she really not show any abnormalities?}

The mental communication was quickly established. Considering that this communication was established with the power of the black watch, it was understandable that he could discuss this matter with Maki without triggering the rules. However, the situation was much more complicated for the other girl with explosive perception.

{Shijo Maki: No, she didn't say anything. Everyone sees the same rule list. What's wrong? Did Kai-kun notice something wrong?}

Maki's reply was tinged with confusion, as if she didn't quite understand why Takahashi would ask such a question.

{Gao Hai: But what I see is a different rule table, isn't it?}

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Gao Hai continued to communicate through their mental link.

{Shijo Maki: Yes, that's right. Wasn't Kai-kun discussing this with me before? Has Kai-kun discovered something again? Is there something wrong on my end?}

Princess Zhenfei clearly realized something was wrong, and her voice carried a hint of nervousness.

{Gao Hai: I can see that Miko will most likely see the same rule list as well, and she should react accordingly.}

Gao Hai continued, listening carefully to the voice that Zhenfei was conveying.

{Shijou Maki: How is that possible? Everyone is seeing the same rule sheet. How could there be a second rule sheet?}

Then he heard Maki's calm voice, which seemed perfectly natural and completely unaware of anything unusual.

He then began to realize that this seemingly uneventful initial phase, with no dangerous, direct confrontations, was likely to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

Chapter 4: Brave Pochi's Wonderful Adventures and His Companions

Goto Ichiri is brushing his teeth.

Her movements were casual, her expression relaxed, and her demeanor incredibly natural.

Although beside her were students whose faces were obscured and whose figures were blurred, who were embodied in strange forms.

Although he was in a high-risk situation where he was in a completely different place from the Yeluoshan Middle School in his memory, it was hard to be sure whether he could refer to his past experience.

At this moment, Goto Ichiri remained incredibly relaxed, brushing her teeth very naturally, even humming a song softly. It was as if she were truly a student living in this dormitory, as if she had truly become a member of this school.

Gulu gulu——

Spit out the foam and mouthwash, then rinse your face with water.

Sunlight was already streaming in through the window.

As Ichiri Goto hummed a song, she walked out of the dormitory and glanced back at her room number.

604.

This appears to be the top floor of the dormitory building?

While thinking, the girl quickly found the dormitory rule sheet on this floor. Like Gao Hai, she first saw the "Basic Rules," which quickly changed into the stained "Survival Rules." This meant that, among the players who entered the instance, three had already encountered the second set of rules. Furthermore, only Yotsuya Miko hadn't seen the first set of rules at all, directly encountering the second set from the very beginning.