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

Goto Ichiri stopped in his tracks, stunned.

She recognized the place.

For her, this abandoned school building was all too familiar.

In that mission, she entered this school building with her friend Kita Ikuyo and her senior Aoyama Nanami, and went deep into the underground area.

Then, she lost her friends here, and the once-solid quartet fell apart.

But this place... is quite different from the school building I remember.

The school building in Goto Ichiri's memory, though very similar to the one in front of her, was intact, or rather, basically intact.

The teaching building has three floors above ground and ten floors underground, which is an open school area. Below the tenth floor, there is a research institute that was abandoned for many years and has suffered serious collapse and damage.

The teaching building I saw back then was completely different in appearance from this abandoned building now.

Ok?

and many more……

In that sense, the intact five-story school building in the now-altered Nightfall Mountain Middle School campus that we escaped from seems to correspond to, to some extent, the abandoned school building in the original Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance. Hmm... it might not be a perfect match, but at least the abandoned building only had about two floors left, making it less than five stories high. The reason for its abandonment, I think, was an earthquake?

Goto Ichiri frowned and tried to think, but couldn't come up with anything for the time being.

Gao Hai took the lead and carefully walked to the front of the building.

Could the [Life Club]'s base be located here?

While thinking, Gao Hai looked around but couldn't find anything that could be considered a marker.

To enter or not to enter, this seems to be a question worth serious consideration.

Thinking this, Gao Hai first looked at Jianzi, who was beside him. After confirming with the girl that there was nothing to hide in this place to ambush the three of them, he turned his gaze to Xiao Boqi and saw that the pink-haired girl looked completely dazed.

What's wrong with her?

The girl's unusual reaction startled Takahashi, who subconsciously began to suspect that she might be possessed by a ghost or something similar. However, Takahashi quickly remembered Goto Ichiri's powerful abilities and knew that it was unlikely that she could be possessed or replaced silently. Then he realized a possibility and began to observe the building in front of him again.

There do seem to be some similarities.

Gao Hai recalled the school map and building pictures that players who had explored Nightfall Mountain Middle School had somehow brought out from the information he had read before entering the instance. He quickly matched the dilapidated building in front of him with a building in the information.

The building that was intact in the data has become ruins in this changed Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance? If that's the case, could the intact building now be the one that was abandoned in the data?

One thing is certain: Ichiri Goto's teammate, Ikuyo Kita, likely went missing in the basement of this building and was possessed by a strange creature.

So, does that mean I'm now close to the deepest, most hidden core obsession of Yeluoshan Middle School, that unsolvable, truly mysterious tale of something "created out of nothing"?

Upon realizing this, Gao Hai immediately lost the desire to enter the building in front of him.

Goto Ichiri, who was behind him, took a few steps forward and looked at the building in front of him with a somewhat hesitant expression.

She desperately wanted to rush into the building to rescue Kita Ikuyo, but after many missions, the girl understood that her current state wasn't suitable for taking such a big risk. What they should really be doing now was searching for traces of the "Life Club." Therefore, after a short silence, Pochi finally turned to look at Takami, meeting his gaze with a somewhat complicated expression.

...Then, because of her social anxiety, she quickly looked away and didn't dare to look Gao Hai in the eyes anymore.

Gao Hai:?

The child suddenly glanced at me and then immediately looked away. What's going on? Is she imagining something strange again?

"There, there seems to be something else over there."

At this moment, Miko whispered a reminder and pointed in a certain direction, diverting the attention of Takami and Goto Ichiri.

As the two looked toward the spot Jianzi pointed to, Gao Hai quickly noticed an abandoned building hidden not far away in the dense forest.

The building seemed to be in relatively better condition, but it was also covered with dense vines and weeds and full of cracks, making it look like it could collapse at any moment, clearly a dangerous building.

But on the fourth floor of this building, a strange, barely recognizable pattern had been painted on the wall next to a window. Also on the window were the three somewhat distorted characters for "Life Club".

It seemed as if a figure flashed past behind the window.

Having finally found the place, the three players paused briefly to confirm their location before continuing their journey toward the suspicious building.

Chapter Thirty-Four: What I Saw and Heard in the Abandoned School Building and a Voice from Someone

crunch - crunch -

The rotten door frame made a piercing noise when pushed forcefully.

A sliver of light shone into the dark corridor, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air.

The door number on the wooden door, covered with signs of decay, has been rusted so badly that it is no longer recognizable.

The wild grass swayed gently in the breeze that blew in after the door was opened, and the water droplets on the moss reflected a bit of light.

A small pink head cautiously peeked out from behind the door, looking around with a serious expression, holding binoculars. After confirming there were no visible threats, it strode inside, explored the entire first floor, and then returned to the door, giving a thumbs-up before running towards a staircase it had found to continue its exploration.

Then, Takami, Yotsuya Miko, and Goto Ichiri stepped inside. Takami casually removed the door and placed it next to the wall as a backup before continuing to venture deeper into the building.

"This place... looks a bit like an abandoned dormitory building?"

After carefully examining the dilapidated corridor overgrown with weeds and the doors on both sides, and comparing some structural and detail aspects, Gao Hai quickly determined that this place was the same abandoned school building of Yeluoshan Middle School mentioned in the previous investigation materials.

It's really strange. The abandoned school building in the information is now perfectly intact, while the original normal school building has become abandoned. The abandoned school buildings and normal school buildings are still the same as in the information. What's going on with this weird place?

Previously, Gao Hai had only speculated that the timeline of this instance might have regressed by about a year from when the core obsession was formed, but now it seems that it's not just that. Perhaps the entire timeline within Yelu Mountain Middle School has been significantly altered, and cannot be considered using a single approach.

It can only be said that the Joker KP really put a lot of effort into modifying this dungeon, although the disgusting mechanics in this dungeon are still quite numerous.

I don't know if keeping the dormitory buildings unchanged is good news or bad news...

"It looks like the interior of the building is severely damaged. Let's head towards the stairs and get to the fourth floor as soon as possible to check the situation."

After a brief investigation of the first floor, confirming that there was nothing special about the place and that the sealed doors could not be opened, Gao Hai's attention quickly turned to the stairs. At this time, the trailblazer created by Goto Ichiri had already explored the stairwell from the first to the second floor, confirmed that there was no danger, and returned to the stairwell, giving them a thumbs up.

Then, the three of them slowly made their way up the obviously damaged stairs, carefully guarding against any possible dangers, and it took them a little while to reach the second floor.

During this process, neither Gao Hai nor Jian Zi had any bad premonitions, nor did they see anything unusual.

Unlike the previous abandoned school building, this dilapidated abandoned school building seemed to be free of any strange creatures. It appeared safe and peaceful, with a tranquil atmosphere that made Yotsuya Miko feel as if she had stepped into a cemetery.

call--

A gentle breeze passed through the collapsed wall, causing the wild grass in the corner to sway gently, and also ruffling the hair of Miko and Goto Ichiri.

Gao Hai took a step into the corridor, looked up, and could see the collapsed ceiling and the wall of the third floor above.

Sunlight streamed in through the cracks in the exterior wall, illuminating the dark corridor.

Gao Hai noticed some graffiti on the damaged wall, some of which seemed to have been left by students who had once lived there. Most of the murals were strange and unusual; some looked like cartoon characters, while others seemed to be some kind of slogan or motto. Of course, Gao Hai couldn't recognize most of them, since he wasn't a Japanese from the last century and didn't know much about the popular culture of that time.

However, Gao Hai still vaguely sensed the difference in the atmosphere here.

The difference between this school and the one they had visited and investigated for a day and a night was indescribable.

"This place doesn't feel like a dungeon anymore."

"I can't speak," Miko whispered from the side.

She felt an even stronger sense of tranquility here, as if she had stepped into a cemetery.

It's the kind of cemetery where there are no strange creatures wandering around, just rows of memorial tombstones, giving people a sense of peace and solemnity.

Just like the dilapidated school building itself, it has a certain commemorative significance.

"Yes, I feel the same way. This place is indeed very different from the places I've been to before."

Gao Hai nodded in response, but his expression remained vigilant.

Although he could sense that the school building seemed safe, after experiencing many difficulties, Gao Hai knew that he couldn't always trust his own senses. Even in places that seemed safe, he should remain vigilant, otherwise he might inexplicably fall victim to something.

"???"

As for Goto Ichiri, she looked at the two of them with some confusion, not understanding what they were talking about. After all, she didn't sense anything wrong at the moment. Although the girl's perception was not weak, her ability to perceive this kind of intangible atmosphere wasn't particularly sensitive. In her eyes, the atmosphere around her didn't change much; if there were many living people, it was a heavy atmosphere, and if there were many dead people, it was a relaxed atmosphere. Other than that, she didn't feel anything else.

Well, now that there are two living people around, Goto Ichiri can only feel a very heavy and tense atmosphere.

"Let's keep going. Our target is the fourth floor. We need to be prepared."

Gao Hai said softly, and continued with the operation.

He found a broken door on the second floor that could be removed, so he carried it on his shoulder and went up to the third floor with it.

Goto Ichiri was slightly taken aback by the way he moved with the door, but Miko didn't seem to react to it.

The collapse on the third floor was significantly more severe than that on the second floor. The stairwell that Gao Hai and his companions were using was blocked by the rubble, forcing them to enter the corridor to find another way upstairs. Since most of the corridor on the third floor had collapsed, they could only slowly move forward along the edge of the broken ground, occasionally having to jump up or down.

Under these circumstances, all three of them were on high alert, but even after they found the other end of the stairs and started heading towards the fourth floor, they did not encounter anything unusual, and nothing jumped out to attack them.

It seems... there really are no strange creatures in this abandoned school building.

Could it be that all the ghosts are waiting for the three of us on the fourth floor?

Gao Hai couldn't help but have this thought in his heart.

But even after they reached the fourth floor, and even after they arrived at the door of the so-called "Life Club" room, they still didn't see anything moving jump out.

Standing at the door, I looked at the three characters "Life Club" written in chalk on the door.

Takahashi turned to look at Miko and Goto Ichiri beside him, nodded slightly, and only after receiving their response did he place his hand on the doorknob.

Click——

The door wasn't locked; with a gentle twist of the handle, it slowly opened.

The next thing Gao Hai saw was the sunlight streaming in from the window, dazzling his vision.

This feeling is...

I think I saw something.

Green trees and grass, warm sunshine, and a figure sitting on the rooftop.

No, more than that.

There was another person coming up the stairs, cautiously approaching.

【what are you doing here?】

Gao Hai seemed to hear the man ask a question.

I didn't do anything, I was just standing here in a daze.