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

call……

Gao Hai hadn't expected that just seeing these things from afar would make his breathing become unsteady.

We can't just watch them come all this way.

These things must have already locked onto the direction of the swimming pool, because they've been heading straight towards it since leaving the teaching building. Although there's still a considerable distance between them, judging by their speed, it'll probably only take a few minutes at most.

We need to do something as soon as possible.

"I've never seen anything like this before. They must be objects of obsession from Kenta Hayashibe, who is at the [Red Moon] level, and they were most likely found in that [village]. In short, these things are very troublesome, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to treat them as the highest level of threat. We can't fight them."

Xiong Mi also stared intently at the things moving slowly in the distance, and spoke in a low voice.

"Is there some kind of curse or power? For example, if we see these things and manage to run away, will some force kill us?"

Thinking back to his experience during his first playthrough, Gao Hai hesitated for a moment before finally asking a question.

"There are such things, but these shouldn't be them. If they were, I could sense it. Tsk, but the problem now is that the density of monsters in this instance isn't high enough. If they don't encounter and clash with the native monsters in the instance, it will probably take a long time before they are ejected from the instance and returned to their origin. Anyway, hey, use your guitar to find a way to make some offerings to lure them towards the attached teaching building. Everyone else, it's time to run, don't hesitate."

After a brief moment of thought, Xiong Mi reached out and patted Goto Ichiri on the shoulder, giving her a direct order.

The pink-haired girl was startled by Xiong Mi's somewhat carefree actions and let out a "whoop," but she quickly obeyed the order, played the guitar, created several clones, and ran towards the affiliated teaching building, preparing to try to lure these things away from their target.

Then everyone evacuated the swimming pool and began heading towards the woods behind the campus. Based on Gao Hai's experience from his first playthrough, after crossing the woods they would enter the vicinity of the ruins, where there was a high probability of encountering the cultists; in other words, this was not a safe or reliable route. However, after they started moving, something began to emerge from the main teaching building again, indicating that the situation here was only going to worsen, and they could no longer afford to stay on campus.

Takami carried Yotsuya Miko on his back. While checking on Miko's situation through the mental link, he also asked Nanakawa Ren through Maki about the characteristics and countermeasures against the "village's" obsession. Although Miko was still able to communicate and explain her findings, Maki became unresponsive and completely silent during the communication.

The other party's consciousness had not disappeared. Through the mental link, Gao Hai could sense that Zhen Fei was still awake. However, the other party did not give any response, as if she could not hear Gao Hai's voice and remained silent.

{Fujiwara Chika: Maki-san, and Kaguya-san, they wouldn't...}

Gao Hai: Don't overthink it, just focus on us. Don't worry, everything will be alright.

Gao Hai had already prepared himself for Zhen Fei's disappearance, so he didn't have any emotional fluctuations and even had time to warn Qian Hua not to lose her composure.

However, it seems that the changes at the main teaching building are probably greater than they expected.

Chapter 72: Increased Trust and What the Girl Saw in the Depths

huh... huh...

My breathing remained steady as I ran.

Goto Ichiri turned around and found that the blurry figures of those things were still following behind them, neither too close nor too far, continuing to follow the group of players.

The bait they had created earlier did lure away some of the paper dolls and monsters, but strangely, even though some of the paper dolls had separated from the group and moved away, Goto Ichiri tried to count the paper dolls that were still following them and found that their numbers had not decreased.

Why did the quantity remain unchanged?

Moreover, the distance between those things and their side doesn't seem to have changed.

Before, when they stood still, the paper figures were getting closer step by step. But now that they started moving and trying to get away from these things, the distance between them and the paper figures seemed to be fixed. No matter how they ran, they couldn't increase the distance.

“Those things…”

After hesitating for a long time, the girl turned to look at Gao Hai and spoke timidly.

Goto Ichiri is generally not talkative when the team is on missions, but the current situation is far too unusual. She realizes that simply running away won't shake off those things. Even though they were quite far apart before, from the moment these things locked onto them, some kind of rule-based force had been irresistibly taking effect. Therefore, in her anxiety, she decided to try to confirm the situation with her teammates.

"Don't panic."

But just as the girl opened her mouth, Xiong Mi and Gao Hai turned to her and said something.

"It's just some kind of distance-locking trick, don't panic."

"Although we can't get rid of these things, they won't get close immediately either. Maintaining the current state is just right. After all, there's a group of people waiting to cause trouble where we're going next. Keeping them at a distance might have a surprising effect."

Xiong Mi calmly explained why the group couldn't shake off those things, while Gao Hai went a step further and gave the reason why they didn't change the current situation.

Seeing that the two remained calm and did not react much to the current situation, Goto Ichiri felt a little relieved and stopped talking, simply holding his guitar and continuing to move forward with the group.

Chika glanced at Pochi more than usual. Although she had noticed from the beginning that this girl, who looked quite similar to her, was the opposite of her in personality, she now felt more deeply that this player, who was theoretically a veteran, actually had such a style.

However, wasn't Goto's first reaction to check with Akai?

Although I'd had a vague feeling about this before, it's becoming increasingly clear now; her trust in Ahai has increased quite a bit. Hmm, did something happen while I was asleep? Could it be some kind of life-sharing conversation? Has Ahai managed to raise another girl's affection level to over 61 in such a short time? Hmm, never mind, now's not the time to worry about that. It's good to have a sufficiently powerful fighter leaning towards Ahai's side.

Although she noticed some minor details, Chika herself didn't say much, and simply followed Gao Hai forward silently.

The group quickly entered the wooded area and began heading out of the campus.

The sky was growing increasingly dark, and night was drawing ever closer. If they continued advancing like this, Gao Hai predicted that it wouldn't be long after they reached the ruins area that nighttime would officially begin within this instance, and based on their current intelligence, the ruins area would likely be in a rather terrifying state by then.

Sigh, no matter when, it's always a life-or-death struggle.

Gao Hai couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and then turned to look at Yotsuya Miko, who was still fast asleep on his back.

It's been a while since Jianzi has reported anything through the mental link.

Although he was certain that her consciousness hadn't left her and that she was still conscious, Gao Hai was actually quite uneasy about the sudden disappearance of Zhenfei. He had a vague feeling that he was not far from reaching the end of his second playthrough of this dungeon exploration.

As for Miko, she is currently awake, and the reason she hasn't sent a message to Takahashi is that the current situation doesn't allow her to be distracted in the slightest.

hum-

Amid the ear-piercing roar of the machine, the girl looked up and saw a blank-faced figure being thrown into a rapidly spinning machine. Within a second or two, the figure was reduced to a pulp and gushed out of the machine's exit.

Another monitor has lost consciousness.

Someone was speaking in a low voice in the darkness.

The situation at Fujika Middle School is now completely out of control. That thing called "Alice" has destroyed the entire school. Its growth rate is faster than we anticipated; it didn't even have a chance to withdraw its monitors. It may already be aware of our existence. From this moment forward, all surveillance of Fujika Middle School must cease, and all monitors operating this project must be executed within one day.

Someone was issuing orders in the darkness, their voice resolute and their tone leaving no room for doubt.

[Was this a bit of an overreaction? It seems the "Alice" project has indeed gone the furthest, but it ultimately adheres to its own internal rules and retains its aspect as a supernatural tale. As long as we're careful enough, there shouldn't be too many problems, right? Besides, hasn't Lord Urian been keeping an eye on Fujihana Middle School? He said that "Alice" might be the answer we've been searching for.]

Someone hesitated in the darkness before speaking, seemingly still having many doubts about the order that had been issued.

Yes, it was once thought to be the answer we were seeking, but now it seems it isn't. While this thing does combine the characteristics of both humanity and ghost stories, it is essentially a monster that only knows how to kill and destroy. If it must be called an answer, then it is a flawed answer combining the worst aspects of both. As a creation that combines the animalistic flaws of humanity with the mechanical nature of ghost stories, this thing cannot be what we are looking for. Destroy it; this path is clearly blocked.

An aged voice rang out in the darkness, carrying a deep weariness, yet also a sense of relief.

Lord Urian...

Yotsuya Miko closed her eyes and extracted the most crucial information from the distorted and frantic sounds that were mixed together.

She obtained the name of the core obsession of the [Baidos Research Institute], which is one of the most crucial pieces of information about the strange creature: its [true name].

Although knowing the real name does not mean breaking free from obsession, and often poses a fatal threat to the player, in this case, obtaining such important information is entirely worth the risk in Miko's opinion.

hum-

The machine continued to hum.

Lying on the iron bunk bed, Miko Yotsuya, or rather Ai Hayasaka herself, had already traversed this road filled with various machines, escorted by more than a dozen fully armed figures.

The stench of death filled the nostrils, and the mournful wails and indifferent voices echoed one after another, overlapping and masking each other, creating a chaotic and disorderly sound in the gray-black underground space.

She watched as one expressionless person after another had their skull precisely sliced ​​open by a blade, exposing the internal brain structure. Then, something fell into their skulls and burrowed into their brains. Some blood-stained machines, their purpose unclear, followed, piercing through the skulls. Then some kind of liquid was injected, causing the brains to change color, as if parasitized, and even begin to wriggle on their own.

Next, their skulls were stitched back together and fixed in place, restoring them to their original state. Their wounds healed at an incredible speed, leaving no scars. If Jianzi hadn't witnessed the entire bizarre surgery firsthand, she felt she would have found it hard to believe that something had been stuffed into these people's heads.

Is it like the roles we players play in this instance?

The girl couldn't help but recall the marks she had touched on her head earlier.

Every player who enters the instance normally receives a corresponding identity granted by the [Sacrifice Game]. This identity allows players to better integrate into the instance environment and use their identity to investigate and solve puzzles. Of course, every advantage has its drawbacks; while the identity brings benefits, it also brings hidden dangers. For example, this instance identity resulted in all players entering the instance having a scar on their head from brain surgery. However, unless someone has exceptionally strong perception like Jianzi, most players would probably find it difficult to notice the scar.

crunch - crunch -

As the bunk bed continued to move forward, propelled by those silent figures, Yotsuya Miko finally passed through the area, no longer hearing those twisted and frenzied sounds.

As her consciousness relaxed slightly, Jianzi quickly felt a strong wave of dizziness. This was unavoidable; she had forced herself to actively pursue those voices, trying to extract the information she wanted from those distorted and frenzied sounds. This act itself was extremely dangerous, bordering on suicidal. At this moment, more than half of the mental fragments Gao Hai had placed in her consciousness had disappeared, leaving only four fragments remaining to continue protecting her consciousness. This offset the effects, preventing Jianzi from going insane or suffering brain death on the spot.

But where to go next?

The girl could not hide her fear, but she managed to keep her expression unchanged and looked ahead at the road.

Then, as the heavy, closed doors slowly opened, Jianzi saw a sign located on one side of the gate.

[Level 5 Confinement Zone - Blood Pool Extraction Zone]

Chapter 73: The Origin of the Divine Blood and the First Four Survivors

In the woods, Gao Hai and his companions continued their journey.

The paper figures followed at a distance, moving slowly as if floating, and continued to advance with the players in front.

Before reaching the ruins and encountering the fanatical players, both sides clearly had a little more time to go.

Gao Hai felt no fear of the strange creatures chasing after him.

Of course, he didn't deny that those things were the strangest, most bizarre, and most elusive things he had ever seen. Intuition told Gao Hai that these seemingly slow-moving and unremarkable things might be the most terrifying enemies he had ever faced, but before truly witnessing their power, Gao Hai couldn't yet mentally treat these paper figures as any major foe.

In contrast, what concerned him most was the situation on Yotsuya Miko's side.

Not long ago, Yotsuya Miko lost contact with Takami, who had managed to stay there by possessing Hayasaka Ai's body in the Baytos Research Institute and no longer responded to Takami's mental link.

After a while, Takami heard Yotsuya Miko's communication again, but this time, he was unable to decipher the content of the communication.

{Yitani Mizi:%ou? h￥y*xf#ed)c#f…%e,. }

One harsh and noisy sound after another rang out, so loud that it was almost impossible to tell if it was Miko herself speaking. It had reached the point where even Gao Hai's special linguistic talent could not discern any valuable content.

That seemed to be nothing more than meaningless, frantic howling.

It's meaningless; it's the kind of sound only a completely irrational madman would utter.

When Gao Hai received such a reply from Jianzi, he thought she had gone mad or something. But through their mental link, he could confirm that the girl was still conscious. Although she had indeed suffered severe external stimulation, she had not yet fallen into an abnormal state.

So she didn't go crazy.

Was she simply forced to convey a certain message in this way?

Thinking this, Gao Hai tried to understand those chaotic and strange sounds again, but he still couldn't identify them.

What exactly is the situation over there right now?

Gao Hai felt a vague anxiety, but he had no solution. So he could only use his blessing-sharing ability to help Jianzi strengthen her mental strength as much as possible, trying to prevent Jianzi's mental state from getting worse.