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

Chapter 30: Guiding Path and Trustworthy Individuals for the Isolated

very quiet.

This was Gao Hai's first impression of the swimming pool.

Since entering this place, he had not heard any sound from any source other than the three players.

There seemed to be nothing here; there was no trace of any strange creatures. As a result, Gao Hai felt a sense of relief for a moment after arriving at this place.

Of course, Gao Hai was able to realize this illusion in an instant. After all, Jian Zi could still feel the gazes of those strange students, so he knew very well that this place could only be used as a temporary shelter, and he had to find a solution to the current situation as soon as possible.

Tsk, that's what they say, but he has absolutely no idea what to do...

Although Gao Hai was indoors and didn't see the students slowly approaching outside, he had already begun actively searching the quiet building.

It didn't take him long to find the swimming pool rules and a map of the swimming pool on one side of the lobby.

[Basic Rules for Using Swimming Pools]

1. Students must wear the school's standard swimwear when entering the pool area. Students who are unable to wear the standard swimwear due to special circumstances must inform the instructor in advance.

2. Keep the pool area clean and do not contaminate the pool water. Any violation will result in a warning and a written apology.

3. Changing clothes must be done in the designated changing rooms. Please keep your personal belongings safe. If the school finds any lost items, they will be placed in the lost and found. If the items are not claimed by the end of the month, they will be considered abandoned and will be disposed of at the discretion of the lost and found staff.

4. When swimming in the pool, please pay attention to safety. Do not dive, run, play around, pretend to drown, or engage in other dangerous behaviors in the pool area. Repeat offenders will have their score for that activity canceled and will be banned from entering the pool again.

5. Students who are temporarily unable to attend swimming lessons due to special reasons must request leave in advance. In case of emergencies, students must communicate with the instructor for a judgment. Students may not be absent from lessons without a valid reason.

6. The swimming pool is only open during class hours; students are not allowed to enter outside of class hours.

7. Take good care of the pool facilities and do not cause any damage. If damage is caused, the responsible party will be required to pay for the damage and will be subject to disciplinary action.

The rules were simple and looked like normal rules, exactly the same as the rules brought back by the players who investigated the swimming pool yesterday, without any markings from the Life Club or the Ghost Story Club.

The map of the swimming pool is right next to this set of rules. It looks very simple and doesn't have any complicated structure. It's the kind of structure that you can understand at a glance.

Gao Hai didn't leave the area immediately. He knew that these rules were likely not static; the wording might change in the blink of an eye. After all, the three of them were now trapped in the "deep zone" because they knew too much, and they had entered the swimming pool "outside of class time," meaning they had violated a school rule. Who knew when this place might change?

{Shijo Maki: ...Kai-kun? Hmm, Kai-kun, where are you now? This feeling... it's like there's something I can't remember no matter how hard I try, only a vague impression remains. Everyone else seems to have forgotten you, only Fujiwara is reacting strangely, what's going on...?}

Within the mental link, Maki's confused voice continued to echo. It seemed that once the emotional depth reached a certain point, the information-blocking effect of this instance would weaken. However, Gao Hai suspected that this might put Maki in danger. If she broke through the barrier of perception and truly remembered Gao Hai's words, those strange students might start paying attention to and targeting her. Hmm, according to her, Chika was the same way. Indeed, those two were always the closest to me; perhaps this was what they meant by sharing hardships.

{Gao Hai: Don't rush, don't rush to recall these memories. You should also remind Qianhua not to be too hasty. If she remembers them now, it might put you in danger. First, check on the situation of those strange students; are there any unusual behaviors on their part?}

While cautiously continuing to investigate the surrounding situation, Gao Hai continued to communicate with Zhenfei through a mental link.

{Shijo Maki: So far, nothing seems amiss... Hmm, wait a minute, I saw some students heading towards the swimming pool, but according to our investigation yesterday, the swimming pool is closed at this time. Those students... seem a bit odd; no one else seems to have noticed...}

On the other side, Shijou Maki had already alerted Xiongmi and the others that something was amiss, but the other players seemed not to hear her and continued their conversation, showing no intention of turning around to look at the strange students.

Only Fujiwara Chika, who also had a confused expression and seemed to vaguely recall something but couldn't remember the specifics, turned to look in the direction of the swimming pool after hearing Maki's words and immediately noticed the students behaving strangely.

Why don't other people react?

And then there's this person whose voice echoes in my mind—someone whose name I can barely recall, yet for no reason I feel a sense of trust and security. Why do I feel like he should be here, while everyone else looks like they don't recognize him?

There's a problem with this instance.

There must be some extremely dangerous factor at play.

Wait, Haijun told me to keep an eye on unusual student movements, and then I saw students heading to the swimming pool?

{Shijo Maki: You're over at the swimming pool, right? Can you see a few students heading in your direction?}

{Gao Hai: ...Yeah, that's true, but it wasn't just a few. I saw almost the entire campus of students walking towards me.}

As Gao Hai spoke, he stared with a grim expression at the rule sheet hanging on the wall, and at the eighth rule that was previously invisible.

[8. If you see this rule, it means you've come into contact with something and incurred the hostility of all the students. You're hiding here because usually no teachers or students are on duty here, so you can temporarily avoid others. But this is not a safe place. Things have gotten to this point and it's very dangerous. Please leave this building as soon as possible and head to the green woodland area behind the school. Our club's base is there. Only after you get there will you have any hope of survival.]

[I am Masaki Ebizaka from the "Living Club." If you have seen this rule, please leave as soon as possible. You cannot be accepted by the school in this state. There are only people who are hostile to you, people who ignore you, and perhaps people who are in the same situation as you. Every minute you stay will make your escape more difficult!]

At the same time he saw the contents of this rule, Goto Ichiri, who had been on guard by the gate, jogged over and brought him and Miko information that a large number of students were approaching.

The situation is indeed quite bad.

As Gao Hai walked to the gate and looked outside, he could see one expressionless student after another, moving lifelessly like puppets, slowly surrounding the swimming pool.

A somber atmosphere was spreading.

Gao Hai knew he had no other choice, so he didn't hesitate any longer. He first sent a message to Shijo Maki saying "Don't make any rash moves," then opened the door and, with Miko and Goto Ichiri, sped off towards the wooded area at the very back of the campus.

In the Nightfall Mountain Middle School, which had been explored by several player teams, the back of the campus is Nightfall Mountain, which is the name of the mountain on which the school is located.

The abandoned old school campus, power plant, and hidden military base all exist in that area. Its explorable area is more than ten times larger than the main campus of Nightfall Mountain Middle School. It is a vast area that would take a long time to explore even with just a rough survey, forcing Red Moon-level player teams to split up and move around many times.

However, in this Yelu Mountain Middle School that has undergone tremendous changes, the area that should have led to the Yelu Mountain region was found to be sealed off and no longer connected to another area.

Perhaps it wasn't that the connection was blocked, but rather that we "couldn't see" it at that time.

Only after delving deep into the instance and uncovering enough hidden information, and being isolated from other players who haven't seen it, can the location of the link be seen, allowing players to pass through the gap and enter the deeper, more hidden areas of the instance.

Whether that's true or not, we'll only know once we get there.

The problem is, it's hard to say whether we can arrive safely...

Gao Hai could already hear the dense sound of footsteps coming from behind.

The students' pursuit was far faster than he had imagined. Just as they started to run away, all the students began to accelerate wildly and rush towards the three of them.

These creatures, which looked like mass-produced NPCs with no distinguishing features, ran at a terrifying speed. Gao Hai and his companions only had time to run fifty or sixty meters before they caught up with them, and it seemed like they would catch up with them in less than ten seconds.

Even in a chase, the speed difference shouldn't be set so ridiculously high. These guys are chasing us from hundreds of meters away!

Look back.

What Gao Hai saw was a dense, surging crowd, comparable to the scene in the movie "World War Z".

Every student was expressionless and looked blank.

Each student was frantically chasing after them at an unimaginable speed, closing the distance between themselves and Gao Hai and his two companions with every step.

"Ugh... Ha..."

Goto Ichiri plucked the strings continuously, creating several clones, but each clone was overwhelmed by the crowd in less than a second and then lost all contact.

With so many items, it's difficult to guarantee effectiveness regardless of the type of object used.

However, using Alice's room would buy us five hours. If we were surrounded after leaving the room, we could use Chiyo's barrier to resist the attack, and then Pochi could create clones to provide offerings for the barrier. This should be enough to hold out for a while and allow us to reach the woodland area.

In the blink of an eye, Gao Hai had already come up with a contingency plan to resolve the current situation.

The safe house is one of Gao Hai's trump cards, but once used, it enters a ten-day cooldown period, essentially making it a one-time use item within the dungeon. Therefore, unless it's a truly life-or-death situation, Gao Hai is reluctant to use this item.

However, it seems that now is about the right time.

Ding-ling-ling-ling——

A crisp bell rang out suddenly.

The students, who had been running with blank expressions, suddenly stopped.

Gao Hai was stunned for a moment, and he stopped using the blessing he was about to use.

Then he saw the students turn around one by one and walk back the way they came, even speeding up and heading towards the main teaching building.

Ding-ling-ling-ling——

The school bell was still ringing.

But it shouldn't be time for class yet, it's probably not even 7:30 yet, why are these students...?

{Shijo Maki: Kai-kun, how's the situation over there? Fujiwara and I sneaked into the broadcasting room of the annex building and played the school bell ahead of time. Those students who suddenly sped up were chasing you, right? Are they gone now? Are you safe over there?}

The familiar voice that rang out from the mental link quickly answered Gao Hai's question.

I was saved again.

I told her not to act rashly, but my girlfriend's strong initiative is really troublesome.

{Gao Hai: Thanks for getting us out of that mess. You two need to get out of there quickly. The time doesn't match the class schedule, and it could cause serious problems. If you notice any students starting to pay attention to you, head towards the woods behind the school. Remember, you can only do this after those strange students you and Chika encountered have started acting abnormally; otherwise, getting here won't likely change anything.}

While relaying the message, Gao Hai took another step and ran towards the woods.

"Was someone helping us just now?"

Jianzi, who was being carried on Gao Hai's back and had also been startled, breathed a sigh of relief and then realized something and asked.

"Yes, that's right. She's a reliable helper at all times. Ms. Goto, let's hurry, those things could return at any moment."

Gao Hai nodded slightly and said with a touch of emotion.

Are they Shijou-kun and Fujiwara-kun?

Seeing that Zi Yin had a vague idea of ​​who Gao Hai was talking about, after all, only those two people could make Gao Hai show such a reassured expression.

How awesome.

Even though the two sides were unable to see each other and their cognition and memory were affected, they were able to rescue the three of them from the crisis at a critical moment through only a little communication through the mental link.

I seem to be feeling a little...envious.

Seeing Zi let out a soft breath, not paying too much attention to the slight unease in her heart, she continued to observe her surroundings vigilantly, trying her best to use her perception to help Gao Hai.

"...?"

As for Goto Ichiri, she had no idea about Takami's interpersonal relationships. Therefore, after hearing what he just said, she felt that Takami had become like a riddle, and his words were completely incomprehensible.

Next, the three arrived at the green forest area at the very edge of the Yeluoshan Middle School campus, stepping into a place that almost no students would visit.

Chapter 31: The Infiltrator of the Dense Forest and the Broadcast Time of the Ghost Stories Society

The light is gradually dimming.

As the three stepped into the woods, the surrounding trees grew denser, and the sunlight began to be blocked, gradually dimming.

Because Maki and Chika had rang the bell earlier than expected, the students were all heading back towards the school building, and therefore had temporarily stopped chasing the three fleeing students. However, how much time this would buy them was completely unknown, so Takami, carrying Miko on his back, and Goto Ichiri were speeding up as much as possible, intending to cross the area as quickly as possible.

Despite saying that, none of the three of them knew what awaited them at that moment.