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

A voice sounded behind Gao Hai, carrying a hint of doubt.

In the now completely dark sky, in the faint moonlight cast into the woods, Gao Hai turned around and looked behind him.

Chapter 80: The Replicated Individual and Strategies for Coping with the Curse

{This place...}

Despite having suspected it beforehand, Yotsuya Miko's expression was still somewhat distorted when she actually saw these things in front of her.

Is it some kind of human cloning technology?

In contrast, Hayasaka Ai didn't react much. After all, in terms of gore and horror alone, the dog kennel at Hayate Elementary School wasn't much different from this place. Moreover, she had spent three days locked in a cage, constantly in danger of being taken out and slaughtered. Under such hardship, the girl was no longer affected by bloody and cruel scenes.

However, it is still something that people are concerned about.

Such a thing couldn't possibly be manufactured using normal scientific technology, could it? Did it utilize the properties of some kind of supernatural being, or the power of ghost stories? Or, as Yotsuya-kun mentioned before, is it related to "divine blood"?

As she pondered, Hayasaka's gaze swept over the cages once more.

Beside the gate not far away, the German and Italian words written in red paint, "Test Subject No. 1 Detention Area," seemed to shimmer faintly in the cold white light.

In front of the two, or rather, in front of Hayasaka Ai's body, on both sides of the room were rows and rows of cages of various sizes. As for what was locked in the cages, since the laboratory here was clearly marked with the name "Human Experimentation Area," those imprisoned here were naturally all humans.

As for why these two girls were concerned about this, it had nothing to do with humans being treated like animals and locked in cages. After all, they had experienced all sorts of things in the star-studded [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, so they wouldn't react abnormally just because they saw such a situation again.

What bothered them was the appearance of the people in the cages.

On one side of the road, you can see people from different places in cages. Although they are all wearing the same striped clothes now, you can clearly see the differences in their facial features, height, and body shape. You can imagine how these people came to this place.

But on the other side of the cage, the problem is a bit bigger.

{Please be quiet here.}

{Yes, I know, I won't say anything in front of these things.}

Within their mental link, the two girls were warily reminding each other.

And in their line of sight, within these cages reflected in their pupils, were one identical person after another, with no difference in height, build, or appearance.

Each of them was female, and judging from their appearance, they were all around the age of high school students, not much older than Hayasaka and Miko. Moreover, their facial features, eye color, hair color, and so on all had very Japanese characteristics. If you looked closely, you could even feel a strange sense of familiarity, as if you had just met them recently, or as if you were in an environment where you might encounter such people at any time.

What's going on here? Clones? No, that kind of technology couldn't have existed in that era, so it can only be the power of supernatural beings. The same goes for Hayate Elementary School, and this place too. Why are there always people so reckless as to try and use the power of ghost stories? Don't they ever consider the consequences of failure?

Hayasaka was thinking helplessly to herself, but on the surface she remained quiet and silent to avoid any possible mental pollution or direct physical attack from these things.

At the same time, Yotsuya Miko had already described what she had seen to Takami.

{Takahashi: Are you sure? They all look like high school girls, and in groups of them, they're all exactly the same?}

{Yotsuya Miko: Yes, I'm absolutely certain. Hayasaka-san and I are right in front of these things right now. If needed, I can describe what they look like to you immediately. Ah... but I'm not sure if I can describe them accurately. My Chinese grades aren't particularly good...}

{Gao Hai: If you can describe it, please do so. However, I already have a general idea of ​​who these girls might be. I found a relevant clue at Yelu Mountain Middle School.}

{Yotsuya Miko: Huh? Senpai knows who these girls are?}

{Gao Hai: Hmm, but don't worry about that for now. Continue your investigation while ensuring your own safety. It seems there aren't many dangers inside the Bydos Research Institute. It looks like that "writer" really didn't intend for any players to enter, otherwise, they wouldn't have made this arrangement.}

During the brief exchange, Gao Hai did not reveal the name he had guessed.

【Eriko Asamoto】

He was 100% confident that the identical women seen by Yotsuya Miko and Hayasaka Ai were all Asamoto Eriko herself.

Regarding why this girl could be continuously cloned and regenerated, why she could be repeatedly placed in Nightfall Mountain Middle School, and why she was continuously studied as a expendable resource at the Bydos Research Institute, Gao Hai, although he has not yet obtained key evidence, speculates that it must be inextricably linked to the [Blood Pool].

After all, based on the latest intelligence he had gathered, it was certain that Lord Urian of Baydos and Kenichi Egawa of Nightfall Mountain Middle School were collaborating. These two individuals from different countries and backgrounds unexpectedly shared a common goal in life. It was certain they had exchanged a great deal of information; Urian's methods likely played a role in the various mechanisms and operational principles of Nightfall Mountain Middle School. The fact that players were able to obtain the "Overseer" identity at Nightfall Mountain Middle School might very well be related to the collaboration between these two behind-the-scenes manipulators.

However, Gao Hai can only continue to speculate on the specifics at this time, as he has no way to verify them for the time being.

As for why, well, he's currently in Alice's Cottage, temporarily cut off from communication with the outside world, with only the mental link from the black watch still functioning.

The body of the old man named Evalist could not be recovered. Under the direct attack of the monster possessing Kita Ikuyo, the old man's body gradually became more and more transparent, and finally disappeared on the spot. Apart from the teacher's certificate that Takami found and took on the spot, he didn't get a single loot in the end.

Of course, this was not a big deal. After the [unselectable] characteristic disappeared, Gao Hai used blood mist to give the old man a thorough bath from head to toe. Unless this old bastard could pull out some obsession item from his body or another dimension, even if this thing was holding some kind of spatial item, it would still belong to Gao Hai after the rollback.

In a sense, these cult players greatly improved the situation for Gao Hai's team, which lacked sufficient items and whose overall strength was so weak that he had to carry the team alone. Originally, Maki Chika and the others lacked spatial items to carry their items, and the limited quantity and quality of the items, along with some that were difficult to share, created a significant gap in Gao Hai's team's strength. However, if he could completely absorb all of this player team's items, Gao Hai was confident he could arm each of his wives. After all, even without spatial items, he could compensate with the special functions granted by his black watch.

Unfortunately, after obtaining the blank certificate, darkness fell completely, and the situation in the forest immediately became extremely critical. Left with no other choice, Gao Hai could only gather his teammates and enter Alice's safe house to hide and escape, daring not to cause further trouble for the other fanatics.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it, since Eriko Asamoto herself was already standing behind him.

Yes, that's right. When Gao Hai heard someone call "teacher" behind him, he turned around and saw Eriko Asamoto, who was incomplete in body and wearing a dirty sailor uniform, smiling at him.

And it wasn't just one; one Eriko after another emerged from the forest floor, just like the zombies that crawl out of graves in zombie movies. They were as ugly and smelly as could be, as if it were a carnival of rotting corpses.

Although Gao Hai had pondered many times what terrifying things might exist in the dense forest area outside Yeluoshan Middle School, making it a forbidden zone at night, it turned out that this wretched place was being used as a corpse disposal area. The reason for the high density of eerie creatures was because a bunch of corpses had been dumped there. This fact made Gao Hai feel really uneasy.

As difficult as it was, they were truly outmatched. Just as the number of student monsters in the main teaching building could easily overwhelm a Red Moon-level player, the number of expired JK corpses left here far exceeded the players' capacity to handle. Coupled with the ever-closer paper figures and the ever-present threat of curses, Gao Hai, despite his reluctance, had no choice but to open the safe house and move his teammates and the loot they had already acquired inside.

Then, the next crucial question is how to lift the curse.

"Are you ready?"

Xiong Mi looked at Gao Hai, Fujiwara Chika, and Goto Ichiri with a serious expression.

Because Miko's consciousness has already separated from her body, and the resurrection ability within her blessing hasn't been used yet, there's no need to worry about the curse for the time being. However, Takami has already used up his resurrection blessing, and Fujiwara Chika herself doesn't have a way to do that. Goto Ichiri does have a tethered object that can save herself, but if there are other options that can preserve her fighting ability, she wouldn't refuse.

"What to do next?"

Gao Hai looked at Xiong Mi with a serious expression and asked.

"Once a curse is placed, it's extremely difficult to remove, especially since this one is a curse from a Red Moon-level core object of obsession. The only way to remove it would be to find an object of obsession of the same rank, which is obviously impossible. However, thinking in reverse, curses have a purpose; the power they exert on a person will ultimately transform that person's state into a specific form. Therefore, as long as we ensure that the cursed person is transformed before the transformation occurs, or that the cursed person is rendered untransformable, the curse's operating logic cannot continue, this is the method I will use next."

As Xiong Mi spoke, she took something out of her spatial artifact.

It was a complete arm, extending from the shoulder to the fingers.

The pale, slender arm looked like it belonged to a young woman.

"Grasp this hand and let its nails pierce your skin, and you will enter a state of suspended animation. This state can last for about three hours. Judging from the activation time of this thing you mentioned, it should be possible to avoid it. However, there is a problem with this thing. If we all suspend animation, we cannot retrieve this obsession object. If no one is watching and this thing goes out of control, we will become truly dead."

Xiong Mi gave a brief explanation of the function of this obsession object and the difficulties that must be faced in order to use it.

"Is this a Dark Night-level or a Crimson Moon-level object of obsession?"

Gao Hai asked directly.

"Dark Night level, how could an obsession item with such effects be Red Moon level?"

Xiong Mi answered immediately.

"That's no problem."

Howard and Hirano Sosuke appeared behind Gao Hai, their two blurry faces staring at the hand Xiong Mi had taken out.

The aura of the strange creatures spread out, and it was clear that neither of the two summoned creatures was lower in level than this person, and both could suppress it.

"If this thing shows signs of getting out of control, let these two generals beat it until it's under control."

As Gao Hai spoke, he gave a thumbs up, and at the same time, he didn't forget to tell Jianzi through the mental link that he would be offline for a few hours later.

Chapter 81: The Two Men in Operation Baidos and the Unusual Voices

Will the senior temporarily log off in the mental link?

In other words, I have to investigate this place with Hayasaka-san without any guidance from my seniors. Even if something goes wrong, my seniors won't know what's going on and won't be able to offer any help?!

Upon learning of the situation from Gao Hai, Jian Zi had to admit that she immediately felt a little panicked.

Gao Hai himself was aware of the difficulties faced by Miko Hayasaka, but it was also true that Miko couldn't get help after he fell unconscious. Therefore, after a brief moment of thought, he sent the Blessed Pistol to her, and then gave her five Dark Night-level Obsession Items: the Twenty-Sided Dice, Emerging Blood, Bloodstained Measuring Tape, Blood Key, and Mysterious Toy Box, in order to improve their survival capabilities to some extent.

As for asking Kumami or Goto Ichiri to borrow a Crimson Moon-level artifact to send to Hayasaka Miko, well, firstly, these things are their means of survival, so it's not appropriate to ask. Secondly, given the mental and physical strain that Crimson Moon-level artifacts place on their users, giving them to these two newbies might actually cause problems. Especially with Miko being such a master of inspiration, she might have to use all her senses as soon as she takes out the artifact, and then a successful summoning of a vengeful spirit would turn into a Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah battle.

{Survival is the highest priority. If there's any danger, even if a clue is right in front of you, you must abandon it. There's no place here worth risking your lives for. You must relay this to Xiao Ai verbatim, and tell her it's the master's order.}

Before using that poisonous hand to enter a state of suspended animation, Gao Hai gave Jianzi one last warning.

{Yes, I will. Hayasaka and I will do everything in our power to survive!}

Despite her lingering unease, Jianzi gave a firm response, trying her best to reassure Gao Hai.

Soon, Takami's presence in the mental link disappeared. A short while later, Fujiwara Chika, the kind-hearted companion, also went offline from the mental link. Thus, only Yotsuya Miko herself remained in the link, along with Shijo Maki, who, although still online, no longer responded and remained silent.

After that, there really were no more helpers.

I'm ready.

After hearing Miko relay Takami's words, Hayasaka Ai didn't react, but Miko could sense through their mental link that the girl had become much more focused and was in a much better state than before.

Was it because her senior used phrases like "master's command" to describe her?

Ugh, speaking of which, Shijou-san… Fujiwara-san… and Hayasaka-san, plus myself, that makes a total of four people. Even though I know exactly what kind of person my senpai is by now—I even witnessed the infamous multi-person date at the fireworks festival—I still sometimes worry that she might get hacked to pieces…

Wait a minute, I seem to have forgotten to include Shinomiya-san, so it should be five people. Speaking of which, this number... it shouldn't increase any further, right? Hmm, among the teammates who are going on this mission, I remember Goto-san is also a high school girl. Senpai wouldn't have included her as a target too, would she?

It must be said that while the phrase "Master's command" instantly boosted Hayasaka's condition, it also brought some strange thoughts to Miko's mind.

But now was not the time to be distracted, so Jianzi only drifted off for a moment before quickly focusing and throwing away all those useless thoughts.

Okay, let's go then.

At this moment, Miko, who was not in control of her body, took a deep breath and quickly focused her mind.

There is no reason to back down now; we can only keep moving forward and keep struggling.

Just like what our predecessors always did, no matter how difficult or dangerous the situation, we never gave up struggling to survive and seeking the possibility of a perfect victory.

step-step-

Amidst the heavy footsteps, a squad of heavily armed men in protective suits passed by Hayasaka Miko, who was also wearing protective suits.

Because they were all dressed the same, these strange creatures completely ignored Hayasaka Ai, who was wandering around the corridor, and simply moved forward in silence.

Hayasaka was just thinking about finding a safe place to hide when her communicator suddenly went off.

[Frequency Band 4: Instruction issued to Team 0206: Proceed immediately to the "Sewage Treatment Room" to transport items awaiting processing. Repeat, instruction issued...]

A cold sound accompanied by a piercing electrical hum resounded.

Hayasaka lowered her head and looked at the number on the protective suit. She found that the number was 0206-14, which meant that the suit she was wearing belonged to the 14th member of Squad 0206. At this moment, she should obey orders and go to the corresponding area.