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

She suddenly realized this.

The place where she woke up now, the place where she is now, is definitely not the Nightfall Mountain Middle School that she, her senior, and others have been exploring and investigating for a long time.

call……

The dizziness gradually intensified, and the feeling that my consciousness was being pulled away by something became more and more obvious.

It was as if the connection between her body and her mind could no longer be maintained, and as her consciousness gradually cleared, increasingly obvious disorder began to appear.

This body, like a specimen, fixed to something, with its breathing, eating, and excretion all controlled by machines... Ah, I see. This isn't herself. What she's experiencing is merely a phantom shaped by someone's past experiences, simply experiencing history that has already happened.

Baydos...

Yotsuya Miko finally regained full consciousness and realized that her current state of mind was in a place called "Baidos".

Just as the seniors said, this place seems to be truly accessible only after entering a dream, and regardless of when or how one enters Bydos, the player is inevitably unable to move freely. They are either imprisoned in a cage or locked in a hospital bed; there is absolutely no possibility of free exploration. Moreover, almost immediately after entering, the player is either killed or their consciousness is forcibly ejected from this place, as if Bydos itself is rejecting any outsider's intrusion.

Players in this situation are completely unable to conduct any investigations. They can only enter with a blank expression, glance around, and then be ejected, or directly enter a hellish place with an execution process. It's practically impossible to break through the core obsession. Putting aside everything else, just finding and contacting the core obsession in this situation is a huge problem.

Furthermore, if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. Throughout the entire first playthrough, only Gao Hai remembered the process of entering [Baydos] twice, while Jian Zi had absolutely no recollection of it. This means that Baydos possesses a cognitive blocking mechanism even more sophisticated than that of Nightfall Mountain Middle School. Nightfall Mountain Middle School at least forcibly separated players who had gathered information from their teammates, while in Baydos, once you entered, you forgot everything upon leaving. It's possible that this wretched place has no records at all because players who had the chance to enter or leave this area failed to retain their memories.

Gao Hai commented that this was definitely another terrible stunt by the writers, but even he couldn't think of any way to counter it in the short term. In fact, since the second playthrough, Gao Hai himself had never successfully entered Baidos. Until a stable way to enter and exit, and a method for exploration, players could only temporarily abandon their investigation of this place and focus their attention on Nightfall Mountain Middle School.

But now I see that Zi has successfully entered after falling asleep.

No, it should be "I've come back in." This is definitely not my first time entering Baidos. I fell asleep once during my first playthrough, so I was definitely already here then. It's just that I couldn't retain the memory of entering this place at that time, so I have no recollection of it.

The cold, cement-gray color was spreading.

Within the slightly rusty chains and cages, layers of restraints and pipes are interconnected.

wink.

Jianzi suddenly realized that she could see things.

Her consciousness had been completely detached from that locked body, transforming into a camera-like, ethereal perspective, allowing her to see her surroundings and her location.

In the dim light, Jianzi finally confirmed the situation of the body to which her consciousness had just been attached.

It was a humanoid object whose body was completely covered by something like leather or some kind of gelatinous substance, with only tubes connecting the various parts of the body.

There were no pre-existing spaces for the hands and feet, suggesting they were surgically removed beforehand. Furthermore, the body's size appears somewhat abnormal, perhaps indicating that ribs and other organs less vital for survival were also removed.

This could no longer be called a human being; perhaps "living flesh" would be a more accurate description. Aside from utter horror, Yotsuya Miko couldn't think of any other word to describe her current feelings, especially after realizing that this was a real remnant of something from the past, and that someone had truly been subjected to such cruel torture. She felt an urge to vomit.

The surrounding scenery blurred rapidly in the next moment.

Faintly, Jianzi felt as if something had patted her forehead, and she seemed to hear someone calling her name.

Are we going to be ejected from here and go back to Nightfall Mountain Middle School?

Subconsciously, seeing the child, I closed my eyes and woke up following the force pulling me.

No, no...

But the next moment, the girl opened her eyes wide again.

She began to try to resist that force, to fight against this awakening instinct.

Before entering this place in her dream, Miko had already forcibly obtained information about Bydos through her senses. She knew that this was an underground research institute, that it had conducted experiments as cruel and terrifying as those in the other three campuses, and that she also knew what the person who created Bydos desired.

The images originated from the memories of a very old man. According to Miko's deduction, he first founded the Bydos Research Institute, and after its destruction, he went to Bydos University, founded by a friend named Jonathan, and transformed the academy into an even more insane and ruthless large-scale testing ground. Ultimately, Bydos University, as the testing ground, also met its destruction, and this time no one managed to escape. Everything sank into the world of ghost stories with the end of death.

Although it's just speculation, Miko thinks that the man who created all the tragedies, the one who was the original source, was probably over 110 years old when the Bydos Academy was destroyed.

The other party is one of the two core obsessions in the [Baydos] region, and the other core obsession has never been explored or investigated by players. The root of this obsession lies in creating a third kind of existence, in seeking a third kind of existence beyond the first kind of existence born from Earth's ecosystem (humans, plants, animals, etc.) and the second kind of existence (mysteries and supernatural beings, lacking self-awareness and endlessly cycling through another world). He seems to firmly believe that such an existence is real, and for some reason, he even believes that it is possible to create this unknown third kind of existence by relying on human power and by combining the first and second kinds of existence.

In a sense, this man is very similar to one of the two men who led the horrific experiments in Japan, as perceived by Takahashi. The second man besides Sato who escaped alive from the hotel, according to the information Takahashi sensed, also seemed to share the same obsession.

However, unlike others, this mysterious figure who also sought to create life seems to have left no trace in the instance. Perhaps he hid in Takamagahara with others, or perhaps he was too well hidden to be found. In any case, his whereabouts and ultimate fate remain uncertain. But it is certain that the old man from Baytos ultimately failed. He died without fulfilling his life's wish, which became his greatest regret and even sustained him as the core obsession of the Baytos Research Institute.

Come to think of it, this seems to be the core obsession that led the first "villain" to become?

Since the core obsession of a dungeon is often related to the origin of the dungeon and the deepest regrets and obsessions, the core obsessions in dungeons that players have discovered now are basically victims who have experienced painful torment. It is almost impossible for the perpetrators who caused the disaster to become the core obsessions.

However, the fact that Miko confirmed the owner of the Baydos Research Institute defied this common sense and became an unexpected situation for the players.

Thinking about it this way, the problems at the [Bydos Institute] are far greater than anywhere else.

If Fujika Middle School, Hayate Elementary School, and Yoroyama Middle School were traps designed to prevent players from completing the game normally through a series of malicious actions, then the Baydos Research Institute simply did not want any player to delve deeper or explore this place.

This is not normal.

If we follow the advice of our predecessors, and that "writer" is such an arrogant being who revels in tragic scripts and is dedicated to creating pain for players, then there is no reason for them to hide such a stage from everyone.

Unless, in its view, the Baydos Institute is not a stage.

I have to stay...

Miko Yotsuya couldn't come up with anything more. Reasoning wasn't her forte, and realizing the problem with Baidos from the information provided by Takami was already her limit. But even this level of information was enough for Miko to understand the urgency of exploring this place.

I have to stay here... I have to write down everything I see, hear, and feel; I have to figure out what's going on in this place... What should I do? What should I do...?

Consciousness is still being pulled further and further away.

Even though she had tried her best to resist the urge to awaken and the force pulling her away, Jianzi could still feel her consciousness drifting away from this place little by little, and her cognition was beginning to blur rapidly, showing a tendency to forget this place.

crunch - crunch -

Then, she heard the sound of wheels scraping against the ground.

Turning around, what came into view were four fully armed figures pushing an iron bunk bed across the road outside the cell.

There was a person tied to that bed.

A young girl with blonde hair, a dazed expression, who seemed to have lost her sense of self.

Hayasaka-san? Why would she...? Oh right, Kuma-mi-san said she died in the main teaching building, and based on my experience from the first playthrough, players who die at Nightfall Mountain Middle School will also die here in Baidos... Ugh, maybe, maybe I can...

The moment the thought of doing that occurred to her, Miko felt a connection being established.

The force pulling her was still there, but at this moment, she seemed to have grasped something and finally found a way to fight against it.

Then, she felt like a swimming little fish that had fallen from the dry land into the water.

His hazy consciousness returned to normal in an instant.

I felt the presence of my limbs and body again, and my breathing became real once more.

Hayasaka Ai, who had been lying motionless on the bed as if she were dead, suddenly tensed up and let out a hoarse gasp.

The four figures carrying the iron bunk bed suddenly stopped, retreated, and raised their guns, cautiously aiming them at the girl locked in the bunk bed, as if she were some terrifying monster.

However, Yotsuya Miko and Hayasaka Ai don't have time to deal with this for the time being.

While these two consciousnesses temporarily coexisted in the same body, when Yotsuya Miko, who controlled this body, sensed the still-living, not-truly-dead little maid's consciousness, she simply greeted her silently in her heart.

{Hello, Ms. Hayasaka. Um, do you know where we're going next, and where we'll be taken?}

Chapter 71: The Two Sides of the Connection and the Accelerating Loss of Control

To be honest, Gao Hai genuinely felt that Jian Zi's perceptive talent was simply too extraordinary.

Leaving aside the fact that he entered Baidos in his sleep, the fact that he actually possessed Hayasaka Ai's body in Baidos using his own senses... no, this can't even be described as just senses, right? This can be considered a kind of soul talent, right? At least Takahashi himself asked himself that even if his senses were stronger, he couldn't do something like forcibly taking over someone else's body.

Wait a minute, speaking of which, while Miko's perception is indeed outrageous, she didn't demonstrate this level of skill at all when she first entered Fujika Middle School. Could it be... that her talent has been gradually enhanced after entering the Sacrifice Game? After all, there's probably no place in the world more suitable for the growth of this kind of ability than the Ghost Story Dungeon.

If that's the case, then this guy is truly born to be the female lead. However, considering the cost of this power, Gao Hai himself has no interest in adding any more burden to himself.

{Yotsuya Miko: I'm being transported somewhere. These strange creatures in the research institute look like doctors from the Black Death, completely covered from head to toe...}

{Yotsuya Miko: I feel... they seem terrified of making contact with me. No, they're afraid of Hayasaka-san's body. In the eyes of these strange creatures, or rather, in the eyes of the researchers and soldiers who worked here before her death, an abandoned body like Hayasaka-san's is extremely terrifying to them.}

{Yotsuya Miko: By the way, Hayasaka is very lucid right now. Just like you mentioned about the first timeline, Hayasaka clearly remembers her death in the school building. Now, although she's conscious, she can't control her body. She's like a lingering thought on her body; although she can still perceive her surroundings, she can no longer move her body.}

{Yotsuya Miko: Alright, I've been pushed into a new corridor. The sides of this corridor are lined with thick metal plates, and the floor and ceiling are clearly reinforced. Hmm, there are some small holes—oh right, these seem to be called firing ports. I can see gun muzzles sticking out of them. This means the security in this corridor is much stronger than the previous places. Maybe the place I'll be taken to next will be even more special.}

Jianzi's voice was very calm as she described her surroundings, helping Gao Hai to paint a picture of the mysterious Baydos Research Institute.

This brave girl's daring actions brought Gao Hai information about Baidos that he had never been able to obtain before, and at this moment, Gao Hai naturally couldn't interrupt her. But the problem was, their situation didn't allow them to let Xiao Jianzi explore on her own.

A strange creature has left the main teaching building.

With two Red Moon-level players dead in the main building and numerous obsession objects out of control, the main building has now become a complete wasteland, impossible for anyone to enter. In fact, while the players trapped in the atrium appear unable to escape, if they were to successfully leave the atrium area and return to the main teaching building, the only outcome would be a gruesome death. In a sense, it's better to remain trapped in the atrium for now.

But in reality, this wasn't the worst-case scenario, because at least the out-of-control obsessive entities and the monsters summoned with them remained inside the teaching building, refraining from escaping and causing harm. However, this was merely a temporary stroke of luck. Xiong Mi knew that the wandering monsters would likely emerge from the teaching building soon, and that would be when the situation would deteriorate further.

She hadn't expected the process to be so quick.

Given his deputy Jianbing's style, he must have fulfilled his mission until his last breath, doing everything in his power to confine the strange creatures within the teaching building. Even in death, he would likely have made arrangements to ensure that his obsession would continue to function after his passing.

This is too fast. Even my deputy should have been able to hold out for at least a day. This situation... does that mean it was something unexpected? Heh, I guess this is just my bad luck.

"Fortunately, it wasn't my deputy Jianbing's out-of-control obsession that escaped."

While pondering, Xiong Mi turned to look at Gao Hai, who was carrying the "unconscious" Jian Zi, and said in a serious tone without asking any further questions.

"Although I'd love to ask how terrifying your deputy's obsession is, I think the current situation is troublesome enough. What exactly is this thing? Have you seen anything like it elsewhere before?"

Although Gao Hai really wanted to crack a few jokes in a lighthearted tone, his lips twitched slightly when he saw those things slowly swaying out of the teaching building.

Even from a considerable distance, Gao Hai could sense how formidable that thing was.

A malevolent and chilling aura spread, bringing a deadly sensation that chilled the entire body and made the hair on one's body stand on end.

White cloth? Linen? Or paper? The things were draped in dirty, grayish-white cloaks, with twisted, incantation-like characters etched on them. Dark colors seeped through the cracks in the cloaks, as if they were empty, carrying nothing.

The paper-like cloak trailed on the ground, obscuring the creature's feet, if they actually possessed any body structure such as legs or feet.

Dry fallen leaves and yellowish-black paper money.

Gao Hai felt as if he had arrived at some ancient, primitive ritual site, where those paper-cloaked figures were the leaders of the sacrifice, dancing, strolling, singing silent songs, searching for offerings, and presenting them to something.

If the strange objects and tales Gao Hai had encountered before made him feel more of a sense of eeriness and terror, then these things made him feel a bit of divinity, with a sense of sacredness that could not be profaned, while at the same time being filled with a strong evil that made people's hair stand on end.

No sound.

But one can almost imagine the sharp sound of the suona being played.

More and more paper money was flying everywhere, and the sky became increasingly gloomy, almost as if it had entered night.