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

As he was thinking this, Evalist saw a figure slowly emerging from the blood mist.

He immediately began using his existing artifacts, preparing to fight against the opposing player. Although his teammates had not yet arrived to provide support, Evalist was confident that with his powerful artifacts, no player, no matter what kind, could defeat him.

【Hello……】

Then he saw Kita Ikuyo emerge from the blood mist with a smile.

There seemed to be some unusual aura spreading out, yet it also carried a strange sense of familiarity.

This player's aura... wait a minute, she doesn't seem to be a player at all!?

Evalist's eyes widened; he clearly sensed the aura of a strange creature emanating from the girl. And then, to his even greater horror, he discovered that this aura had directly broken through the untargetable effect of his obsession item, locking onto his presence immediately.

Chapter 78: So-called deterrent tools and another life-or-death adventure

"Phew... this thing is really hard to control..."

Gao Hai took a breath, looked at his fingers that had only recently grown back, and then at the blood and handprints all around him, and shook his head.

The Headless Buddha not only requires a complicated ritual to use, but interrupting its effects is equally difficult. Even with the Black Watch, a cheat that can unconditionally suppress obsessive objects upon contact, Gao Hai still expended considerable effort to get the thing into the watch. Furthermore, this thing is essentially unusable from now on. If he wants to summon the monster again by sacrificing flesh and blood, it will demand the sacrifice of an entire living person, otherwise it will immediately go berserk and lose control.

"I almost thought this thing was going to eat us."

Fujiwara Chika, who was also fiddling with her newly grown fingers and looking somewhat curious, chimed in with a couple of sarcastic remarks after hearing Takami's words.

The rescue team badges ensured that limb injuries healed extremely quickly, leaving no scars, but the process of suppressing the [Headless Buddha] was far from smooth. While this object of obsession wouldn't prioritize attacking living people within a 10-meter radius of the summoned creature, recognizing them as the summoner, it would immediately become aggressive and attack its summoner along with the summoned entity if the player attempted to retrieve it.

Fortunately, Lao Guo's cooldown had been refreshed, so Gao Hai first summoned Lao Guo and let him get torn apart by several headless monsters. Then he summoned Howard and, with the help of a clone left behind by Goto Ichiri, they finally managed to retrieve the [Headless Buddha] and successfully suppress it.

Even so, during the suppression, Goto Ichiri's clone was torn apart on the spot, and those things performed a vivid performance of a beautiful young girl in front of Takahashi. As for Howard, he stubbornly held on and was not torn apart, although he was injured to some extent.

"I really don't understand. Such an extremely dangerous and easily out-of-control obsession item doesn't really have many applications, right? I have a black watch that can suppress any obsession item I come into contact with, but other players' spatial items all have side effects and limitations to some extent. Don't they feel uneasy carrying this thing around?"

After suppressing the thing, Gao Hai held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but complain.

"Of course I'm panicked. To be honest, I'm always uneasy every time I carry this time bomb. But as long as we carry this thing, even players who have a grudge against each other will have to smile when they see us in the dungeon. Once we have this thing, no player will dare to kill us in the dungeon. Even outside the dungeon in the real world, not many players will dare to act tough or fight in front of someone carrying this obsession item. That's its biggest function."

Xiong Mi's voice came from afar, while several clones created by Goto Ichiri had already run into the abandoned dormitory building in the ruins and dismantled several doors from inside.

"Like nuclear deterrence? If that's the case, it's not hard to understand. Well then, let's move on to the next step."

As Gao Hai said this, he picked up the blood key and inserted it into one of the doors.

squeak-

The door opened, revealing thirty or forty expressionless students inside.

Bang bang bang—smack!

At that moment, the police officers fired a series of shots, causing the strange creatures trying to approach the classroom door to stumble. Gao Hai then quickly closed the door and turned the key to open it again. This time, the door opened to reveal a dimly lit corridor where the laughter of students could be heard, but not a single person could be seen.

On one side of the corridor, Kita Ikuyo stood in front of a window, facing a figure reflected in the window's mirror. Both remained motionless, as if they had been fixed in place.

"call……"

Gao Hai took a deep breath.

He was well aware of the danger and uncontrollability of what he was about to do, but at the moment, he believed there was no better opportunity.

The pistol that could suppress the monsters is not currently in Gao Hai's possession.

At this very moment, standing in the underground research institute of Baydos, Miko Yotsuya is holding that pistol, which has been adjusted to the suppression mode with 4 bullets remaining.

Bydos's second core obsession is called "Lord Urian." His true name and appearance have been deciphered by Miko, who also knows parts of his past life. He was a villain who harmed the innocent, and even now, this thing is still targeting Miko, wanting to kill her. And… the Bydos Research Institute is the "key location" for this core obsession. It can be said that, apart from the rules related to this core obsession not yet being discovered, all other rules have been fulfilled, and the most crucial rule—"a villain in life"—which is very difficult for a core obsession to satisfy, has also been achieved.

Therefore, Gao Hai's plan was simple: he wanted to break the standoff between Kita Ikuyo and Lord Urian, and have Miko fire four bullets inside the Bydos Research Institute to suppress this core obsession. Then, he would use this opportunity to have Kita Ikuyo contact Evalist, one of the fanatical players, to confirm whether the old man had obtained the obsession artifact related to the illusory core obsession, and to ascertain Kita Ikuyo's specific state.

This plan has many uncertainties. Putting aside everything else, it's completely unknown how long the bullets can suppress that monster. After all, the opponent is a core obsession of the Red Moon level, and even though Jianzi's unreasonable spiritual vision has basically exposed its true nature, it doesn't change the fact that this thing is extremely dangerous.

But let's take the risk.

Their combat strength consisted of only Gao Hai himself, Goto Ichiri, and Kumami. Fujiwara Chika was practically useless in PvP, and Yotsuya Miko's physical condition would even become a burden requiring constant protection. Even if they managed to kill a lone player using a clever trick and then drag another player into a one-on-one brawl, Gao Hai's side would face danger again once the group regrouped and returned. Ultimately, their numerical and equipment disadvantages were difficult to overcome, and his Blood Domain couldn't last forever. Once they returned to a direct confrontation, they would undoubtedly be the ones at a disadvantage.

So there's nothing wrong with taking a gamble, after all, we've already seen the odds.

Before deciding to take action, Gao Hai had already rolled the twenty-sided die once, and the result was 17, a very auspicious number.

Gao Hai: Just do it. Just think about the target you want to hit; you don't need to see them. Follow the connection they have with you and strike them hard.

{Yotsuya Miko: Hmm, I understand.}

In the cold-lit corridor unseen by Takami, Yotsuya Miko raised her pistol and pulled the trigger.

boom!

A gunshot rang out, but no bullet was fired.

At the same time, in the glass mirror facing Kita Ikuyo, the old man's figure suddenly staggered and knelt on the ground.

boom--

After the second shot, the old man lay down on the ground.

Bang—bang—!!

The third and fourth shots followed closely, penetrating the old man's body.

It completely stopped moving, as if it were a living person who had been shot and killed, its movements frozen and no longer able to move.

All the suppressor ammunition was used up at this moment. Based on the time it took to shoot the kitten, Gao Hai will now have to wait about 23 hours to replenish his ammunition.

The sealing time is... 40 hours.

Feeling the feedback from the power of the blessing, Gao Hai finally confirmed the length of time that core obsession had been sealed.

Great, this duration has already exceeded the time needed to reload ammo. If we can survive until 23 hours and fire a few more shots, we can ensure that Jianzi won't be threatened by this thing for the entire dungeon event.

Thinking this, Takahashi smiled. Meanwhile, in the corridor inside the door, Kita Ikuyo, having lost her target, was slightly taken aback, then turned around unsteadily, seemingly intending to leave.

"Miss, don't rush off, you may have dropped something."

Then, while shouting, Gao Hai quickly pulled out the Blood Key and used it to open the second door, connecting it to the door held by another clone who was chasing Evalist.

【…】

An unusual aura could be sensed spreading.

After Gao Hai opened a spatial door and then used the key to open other doors without closing it, he immediately sensed that the spatial door, which had lost the blood key, was starting to malfunction and was showing signs of going out of control.

It seems this key can't be pulled out randomly; there might be problems with the door without the key in it.

Of course, there's no need to consider this issue right now, because Kita Ikuyo walked straight through the open door and onto another door, heading towards the old man who was still confused about the situation.

Please... try to escape from me...

As the other person passed by Takami, Takami heard Kita's own weak voice.

Then, the old man named Evalist let out a shrill howl. In an instant, he used at least 10 obsessions, but none of them were truly effective.

This is to be expected, after all, it is an illusory third core, a strange entity with no origin. Almost no obsessive power can be effective against such a core obsession, unless a core obsession of the same level is obtained to fight against it, otherwise, players will only have a miserable death in front of such a thing.

Bang!

The head of the clone summoned by Goto Ichiri, who was hugging the door, has been almost completely split open, and it has begun to transform from a guitar clone into a ghost story derivative of Kita Ikuyo.

Just like back in Fujika Junior High, this possessing monster needs someone to "open a door" for it before it can carry out the rules of killing. Once it successfully "opens a door" once, it can bypass the restriction of "opening a door" by turning the person who opened the door into a derivative of itself, and continuously increase its number through killing and transformation.

In the Japanese military's fantasy, this thing should turn all enemy armies into walking ghosts, into undead soldiers they can command. However, according to the investigation results of players who have explored this instance, this illusory third core has been completely out of control since its inception, and no one, including Sato, can control its behavior. Because it lacks the "root" in the traditional sense of ordinary monsters, its controllability is equivalent to zero.

This thing didn't kill Takami, who used the blood key to open the door, but only took down a clone summoned by Goto Ichiri. This was probably Kita Ikuyo's last desperate resistance. But as this thing starts creating derivatives, Kita Ikuyo's consciousness will inevitably dissipate rapidly, and the monster will certainly become even more brutal and terrifying.

So, there is only one chance.

Takami took a step forward and followed Kita Ikuyo into the portal, arriving behind her.

The crimson domain continued to expand, yet it failed to elicit any response from Kita Ikuyo and Evalist within it.

The old man's cheeks were cracked, as if a dull saw had been repeatedly cutting his face, sawing through flesh and bone bit by bit, penetrating deeper into his skull.

This torture, which was no different from being a form of torture, was clearly going to last for quite some time. The powerful vitality of the Red Moon-level player and the protection of various obsession objects greatly extended the old believer's lifespan, and also greatly prolonged his suffering. It was unknown what he himself thought about this.

Another clone summoned by Goto Ichiri followed up and pounced on the clone that had already been transformed, preventing it from disturbing Takami.

Gao Hai himself had caught up, holding a small, unremarkable pencil in his hand.

He wants to create art based on his core obsession.

He wanted to take advantage of the monster's attack on Evalist, and the instant that object of obsession belonging to the Third Core appeared, to draw it with this pen.

This attempt was highly likely to fail, given that this core obsession possessed a strong information isolation characteristic, blocking any external forces attempting to influence it. However, Gao Hai still felt it necessary to make such an attempt, not only because the mysterious obsession might be able to break down this barrier to some extent, but also because of his own powerful perception, second only to Jianzi's, and a sense of adventure in the face of crisis.

The next moment, he walked straight up to Kita Ikuyo and the old man, with a distance of no more than 1 meter between them.

Click!

Gao Hai's head was almost cut in two at that moment.

The blessing of immortality stubbornly protected Gao Hai's life force, allowing him to continue moving even with his brain split open.

He reached out and grabbed the shoulder of the old man who was screaming in pain.

He had already sensed the presence of that obsessive object, and the hand holding the pen had begun to draw on Gao Hai's own clothes.

Meanwhile, Gao Hai's other hand grabbed the object that shared the same aura as the strange creature on Kita Ikuyo's body, took it from the now uncontrollable old man, and held it in his own hand.

Then, he looked down at the thing.

This thing is actually...

Chapter 79: The True Essence and the Call of the Void: [Tales of Nothingness]

That was a teacher's qualification certificate.

The outer shell is old and covered with mottled marks.

When you open it, it's completely blank. There's no personal information on it, no photo, and no teacher qualification certificate with any fields left blank.

It's like waiting for someone to fill in the missing parts of this certificate.

It's as if from the very beginning, there was no intention to fill in anything on it, and it was simply meant to remain blank.