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

Yes, it's already lost. Even though we used pre-arranged methods to get the Japanese to take the most dangerous and easily out-of-control path for us, our relatively conservative approach hasn't yielded any truly effective results. So... let's execute all the remaining materials in the camp. Hmm, wait, no, never mind, let's break the seal on the "cellar." Let Bydos become what the "Abyss" should be; it's about time we left.

Should we open the "cellar"? It seems we're really at the end.

The two people's conversation gradually faded until it became inaudible.

Hans…Smit…those are the names of those two people. Are they researchers from [Baydos]? What information did Nightfall Mountain Middle School and Baydos exchange? The Japanese military planned to act behind the backs of its allies, but were the Baydos researchers who provided certain data actually secretly monitoring the experiments at the three academies under the military's control, coldly observing everything from beginning to end?

"call--"

Gao Hai was already kneeling on the ground.

He could feel his headache symptoms getting worse.

It was as if someone were opening his skull right now, cutting through his brain tissue with a knife, and stirring something inside his skull.

In that instant, he felt as if he saw something, as if distorted images and twisted sounds were floating and swirling within his senses.

However, compared to the understandable information from before, what is emerging now is completely distorted into a chaotic mess.

tread--

Gao Hai took another step forward.

He closed his eyes, blood slowly trickling from his nose, yet he continued forward as if completely unaware.

More sounds are coming from ahead.

It echoed again and again from that door, from the cage piled with dried corpses, from the bottomless darkness.

The voice seemed to come from a very, very far place, from a distant past that is no longer accessible in reality.

Now, Gao Hai has arrived at its entrance.

Once you step through this door...

Once he passes through this door, he will truly arrive there, in that world hidden in endless darkness, its destination unknown.

So he stretched out his hand.

Grab the doorknob, pull it back, and click! The door slams shut.

"call……"

All the sounds and images disappeared in the next moment.

Gao Hai opened his eyes, faced the tightly closed rooftop door, wiped his still-bleeding nose, and then turned to look at the stairs behind him.

Hmm, there's nothing strange waiting behind him. I'll use a surprise attack when he turns around. It seems things are alright.

The mysteriously appearing and disappearing posters from the Ghost Stories Club, and the traces of Baidos appearing directly in daylight, unlike in the first playthrough—these anomalies caused Gao Hai's brows to furrow even deeper. If the change in the attitudes of the strange students at Yelu Mountain Middle School towards him was due to the chain rules of information perception, then why did Baidos, who originally only appeared in his dreams, appear on the rooftop of the dormitory building?

Is it also because of cognition?

The first time, I only vaguely understood it in a dream; the second time, I briefly stayed in it after death; and the third time, it directly appeared in the world I was in, revealing a passage.

As my contact with [Baidos] becomes more frequent and deeper, could that place gradually invade my space and replace the world as I perceive it?

As Gao Hai guessed at some terrible possibility, his fingers trembled slightly involuntarily.

Chapter 48: What's Hidden Behind the Scenes and the Escape from the Dormitory Building

Yeluoshan Middle School.

And that place that doesn't look like an academy, and whose exact location is unknown, is called "Baidos".

After the significant changes to the current [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, what is the connection between these two places, and how exactly was it modified by that clown KP? This question initially did not attract Gao Hai's attention.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, he knew nothing about the drastically changed [Baidos] during his first playthrough. He had only experienced it twice, which probably didn't even last 10 minutes in total. Moreover, during both experiences, he was unable to move freely and explore or investigate within [Baidos] to gather information.

But at this moment, with the appearance of [Baidos] at Nightfall Mountain Middle School, Gao Hai began to realize a certain possibility.

Ultimately, the fact that the "School Ghost Stories" instance is divided into four parts—Fujihana Middle School, Hayate Elementary School, Yoruyama Middle School, and Baidos Academy—is itself a strange thing. Fujihana, Hayate, and Yoruyama are undeniably joint research projects established by the Japanese military, with intricate connections between them. These three schools share a common origin and can therefore be categorized as different areas of the same instance. But what about Baidos? Does Baidos have any connection to these three schools?

Aside from their shared research into the supernatural, Baytos and the three schools in Japan share almost nothing in common. Furthermore, Takamagahara, the mastermind behind the three academies, has no connection to Baytos whatsoever. As the fourth area of ​​this instance, Baytos feels like an extra, superfluous addition; there's absolutely no reason why it was thrown into the large-scale Red Moon-level instance, "School Ghost Stories."

Gao Hai now knows the answer to this question.

The Japanese military believed they had concealed their information well, thinking they hadn't leaked anything. But in reality, from the very beginning, everything they did was completely exposed to the Bydos's view. There's even a strong possibility that the destruction of these three academies was orchestrated by Bydos in secret.

In a sense, [Baydos] is actually equal to [Takamagahara], or even a step above it. However... just like the third-rate tragedies that writer loves, all the evils of Baydos eventually met their destruction, though it's hard to say exactly how many people suffered as a result.

"Huh...huh..."

Gao Hai's spirits have gradually recovered.

I really don't want to experience that feeling again. Even if I could obtain the information, this extreme pain would still be too unbearable. Although his willpower is indeed very strong, Gao Hai has never had any masochistic tendencies, so torment is still torment for him.

But putting that aside for now, there's another issue worth considering.

How did I manage to obtain this information?

Gao Hai reached out again and gently touched his hair.

His hair has now returned to normal and looks almost the same as usual.

But upon closer inspection, Gao Hai could feel that there was indeed a horizontal scar on his head that cut across the entire back of his head.

That represented his player identity in [Baydos]. In that dark, damp, dungeon-like place, Gao Hai entered as a [test subject]. Not only him, but all the other players should have entered that instance area with the same identity. Previous Red Moon-level player teams exploring [Baydos] had never encountered such a gloomy dungeon, nor were there any records of brain surgeries. This was a completely new situation that arose during this player operation, and it was undoubtedly a change made by the KP dressed as a clown.

This symbol of identity did not completely disappear even in the Yelu Mountain Middle School area; it still subtly existed on Gao Hai.

He couldn't help but suspect that, in a sense, he was the "eyes" through which the researchers of [Baydos] observed Nightfall Mountain Middle School. Perhaps his identity itself made him a rather special test subject, which was why these anomalies were triggered; perhaps it was because his willpower was too strong, allowing him to see things that even Red Moon-level players couldn't detect. But whatever the reason, the changes [Baydos] exhibited across multiple playthroughs could only mean one thing: the form of this instance area changed according to his memories.

He remembered his previous two experiences entering Baidos, and this connection did not disappear with the rollback. Because he still remembered them, Baidos, which had not shown any abnormalities in the eyes of other players who had no memory of it, began to show increasingly serious abnormal changes in his eyes. It would produce abnormal items, overwrite the original layout of Nightfall Mountain Middle School, and there might even be further changes.

Just like the core obsessions he had encountered before, like Li Zhaodi and Chiyo Hachiya, as long as the relevant information is known, no matter how many times the game is rolled back, it will definitely trigger a reaction, and with each rollback, it will lead to an increasingly dangerous situation.

In essence, two core obsessions were identified in [Baydos]. One was the principal of [Baydos Academy], a purely good person according to past player investigations, who was ultimately executed. The second core obsession, while its existence was confirmed by players, remained unidentified. Furthermore, due to the absence of a core obsession in Baydos at the time, the area itself underwent a transformation, with the danger level continuously increasing, preventing players from ultimately uncovering that second core obsession.

But now, this mysterious dungeon research institute is displaying information tracking capabilities similar to those of a core obsession... Could it be...?

No, never mind... there's no point in thinking about that now. I have far too many problems to deal with right now, and solving them one by one step by step is what I should be doing. So, let's refocus our attention on the rooftop issue.

Gao Hai closed his eyes, trying to gather his scattered thoughts.

He checked his mental state again to make sure that his thinking was still clear and normal, and that he had not been affected by anything.

After completing the self-check, Gao Hai opened his eyes, looked at the rooftop door in front of him, and reached out to grab the doorknob.

There was still silence all around.

I can't hear any sound other than my own breathing and heartbeat.

I can't sense anything other than myself lingering around here.

The strange feeling that appeared in [Baidos] has now completely subsided, and it is certain that if this door is opened, the place from before will not be seen again.

There's no time to hesitate any longer.

squeak-

Gao Hai gently opened the door.

Warm sunlight streamed in from outside the door.

The rooftop was empty; there was nothing particularly strange about it. It was just a rooftop that rarely saw anyone.

It seems normal.

It's completely impossible to see any connection between this rooftop and the "absolutely forbidden" place in the rules. It feels like you could lie here and sunbathe without any problem.

"..."

After a brief hesitation, Gao Hai summoned the police officers from his badge.

A man holding a pistol, wearing a police uniform, and with a blurred face appeared out of thin air next to Gao Hai, then took a step and stood at the entrance to the rooftop area.

Gao Hai did not communicate with the police officers verbally; he simply issued orders through his mental power via his badge, then turned and quickly left, walking down the stairs.

We've now reached the testing phase for the most dangerous rule in the rulebook, so for safety's sake, Gao Hai decides to leave the dormitory building first, then have the police officers enter the rooftop, and then remotely monitor and confirm the situation on the rooftop.

Normally, Lao Guo would be more useful in this situation, but he has already been used once and will have to wait a while before he can be summoned again. In addition, the rooftop area may harbor an extremely deadly threat. After thinking it over, Gao Hai decided to use the strongest person he could currently summon to test the waters.

step-step-

Step by step, Gao Hai descended the stairs and arrived at the sixth floor.

Turning his head, Gao Hai looked at the corridor area, which was still empty, and the rows of locked doors. He considered whether to use the Blood Key to open a door that connected to the door that had been prepared in advance outside. After hesitating for a long time, he decided that it would be better to go down the stairs for the time being.

Although the rules inside the dormitory building don't mention this, the surface rules do emphasize that you can't break into an empty dormitory. If the Blood Key accidentally goes out of control and connects to places it shouldn't, the situation could get very complicated.

step-step-

According to the link on the rescue team's badge, the police officers are not currently under any threat or harm. Although the rooftop door is open, it seems that simply standing at the door will not cause any unusual phenomena.

Gao Hai had reached the stairwell on the fifth floor and continued towards the fourth floor.

He still didn't sense anything unusual. Apart from the shadow of [Baidos] he had seen at the sixth-floor stairwell, the building hadn't shown any strange phenomena so far, remaining as quiet as if the entire building were asleep.

Next is the stairwell on the fourth floor.

The third floor, the second floor, and just one more flight of stairs will take you to the exit.

Have we reached the exit...?

Gao Hai stopped in his tracks.

His gaze drifted down the stairs, towards the end of the staircase that should have led to the first floor.

But all he saw was darkness.

For some reason, all light sources disappeared below the stairs, plunging the area into endless darkness, making it impossible to see anything underneath.

No, it seems that it is not completely invisible.

It was vaguely visible, as if something was moving in the darkness, slowly emerging from the complete darkness and approaching.

call……

Gao Hai could feel his breath getting colder rapidly.

A strong sense of crisis surged up at that moment, and he couldn't help but take a step back. Then he looked up at the stairs leading up to the other side, only to find that the space above the stairs had also darkened, so dark that he couldn't see anything.