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

[Transfer Authorization Letter]

[Captain Sora Schmidt is hereby transferred from the military to the Baydos Research Institute, effective immediately. This order is effective upon issuance.]

Please cooperate fully with Professor Urian and his experimental team in all their requests, protect the "Baydos" Research Institute, and ensure its safety. Do your best to meet Professor Urian's requests, even those that seem unreasonable. If you are unsure, you may submit the professor's specific requests to a higher-level department. From the date of your transfer, you will no longer be required to obey the orders of your direct superior.

The document itself didn't contain much content. Apart from some invalid information such as dates, specific locations, and departments, Hayasaka found only this much information that could be considered meaningful.

However, while flipping through the document, Hayasaka noticed a slightly blurry line of text on the back.

[Secret Order]

[Maintain constant surveillance of Professor Urian and report his whereabouts daily. We have ample reason to believe that Professor Urian is not as loyal to the Empire as he appears. According to our investigation, this professor is very likely trying to use the Empire's resources to achieve his own ambitions. We must meticulously record every word, every action, and every change in expression in his interactions with the Japanese military. We must ensure that we have complete control over Urian's actions.]

[Additionally, if you find any letters from "Baydos Academy", be sure to verify their contents before delivering them to Urian.]

Were two different orders given? In other words, is Captain Schmidt here to monitor Urian? It seems that the professor's ambitions aren't very well hidden, and at the end, "Baydos Academy" refers to the academy managed by Urian's friend Jonathan, right?

Previously, when players entered this instance, they would inevitably enter the Bydos Academy area within the Bydos region. Jonathan, the academy's principal, and Urian, the director of the research institute that transformed the academy, were the two core obsessions existing within this place. Originally, when these two core obsessions still existed, Bydos Academy would simultaneously present two different states: a "school" and a "research institute." The former was a place where players could safely and cautiously explore, while the latter was fraught with danger, and even top-tier players wouldn't survive for long.

Then, some incredibly clever group of players took action and removed Dean Jonathan's core artifact from the "Academy" area. As a result, the previously balanced Bydos area was completely transformed into a research institute, to the point that almost no players who entered the area could survive; it became a complete death trap.

If someone hadn't secretly made adjustments to this instance behind the scenes, Takami and his group probably wouldn't have been able to explore Baydos at all. Hayasaka would also never have been able to enter this office and casually browse through various documents.

{Those things still haven't come in?}

Hayasaka, turning back to look at the door behind him once more, asked in the mental link.

No, the light here seems to be preventing those things from getting close. Anyway, let's gather as much information as possible for now; it looks like there are quite a few files piled up here.

Miko's voice quickly responded, which put Hayasaka at ease. He then turned back to continue studying the various documents on his desk.

slam-la-

The light seemed to flicker slightly, accompanied by the sound of pages turning.

Lines of text were reflected in the girl's blue pupils.

The footsteps outside the door sometimes sounded and sometimes stopped, and there seemed to be someone whispering in the background.

pat- pat-

Broken fragments fell to the ground.

The lingering smoke of battle has gradually dissipated.

Gao Hai reached out and touched the bloodstains splattered on his face, let out a long breath, and slowly sat down in the room.

The walls beside me were riddled with bullet holes, and the ground was littered with empty bullet casings and concrete fragments. Looking ahead, I could see many soldiers in protective suits lying on the ground, their blood flowing everywhere.

Incredibly, Gao Hai had just engaged in a tense and exciting gunfight with a group of monsters who were actually already dead in an underground military base in the past ten minutes, and successfully got 22 kills.

Although these creatures were essentially "playing dead," if Gao Hai dared to approach and confirm their actual condition, they might suddenly spring up and transform into their second stage to deliver a few brutal blows. Therefore, seeing these creatures fall down shouting "Ah, I'm dead!" after being shot, Gao Hai tacitly agreed to treat them as dead. He continued fighting his way from near the maintenance pier all the way to the training room, defeating wave after wave of monsters, but also trapping himself inside the training room and unable to get out.

"call……"

The physical burden from using the Berserk Blessing for an extended period began to manifest. Gao Hai felt as if he had run ten laps around the entire city of Tokyo and then engaged in a head-on, epic battle with Maki, Chika, Hayasaka, and Miko. He was completely exhausted.

However, this wasn't a major problem. As long as he had the rescue team badge, his physical strength would gradually recover. The key issue was that several soldiers were lying dead next to the two access doors in the training room, and a bunch of soldiers were also lying in the corridor outside the training room. These things were lying on the ground pretending to be dead, and Gao Hai couldn't approach them at all to avoid agitating them. Meanwhile, the two rescue team members couldn't come to help because they were suppressing the ghostly hand in the room, so he was temporarily trapped here.

Perhaps we could try using brute force to break through the wall and get outside? But there are also many soldiers lying in the corridor outside the training room. If we get close to those corpses and cause abnormal changes, there might still be problems.

Gao Hai frowned, and after regaining some strength, he stood up. He first carefully examined the "corpses" lying at the doorway a few more times, but because he looked at them a few more times, one of the soldiers' heads slowly turned to look at him. Gao Hai had to quickly look away to avoid any problems arising from eye contact.

How are we supposed to get out of here now?

Gao Hai had to admit that he was in a predicament.

[Sizzle…]

It sounds like something is being heard.

Gao Hai suddenly turned his head and looked toward the source of the sound.

That was a communicator placed on a flat table at a shooting practice position on one side of this empty training room.

This thing looks the same as the standard communicator used by Hayasaka Miko and the other person, which is the same as the standard communicator used by soldiers. It's just that someone took it off their protective suit and put it here.

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

The cacophony of noise continued unabated.

Sensing a possible possibility, Gao Hai stepped forward, walked to the communicator, hesitated for a moment, reached out and took the earpiece, put it on, and looked at the frequency band displayed on the communicator.

[Frequency Band 4: Repeated announcement, Zone 3 has been confirmed to have fallen. There are no survivors here, not a single one.]

Amidst the cacophony, a cold, somewhat familiar voice rang out.

[Frequency 4: The number of converted individuals in Sector 2 has been confirmed to exceed 80%. They are unaware that they are no longer human and can still receive and execute commands to a certain extent. This buys time for the survivors to escape, but it won't last long. Soon, these entities will undergo further changes, at which point evacuation from Sector 2 will become impossible.]

[Segment 4: Survivors in Zone 1 have arrived at the outer camp... but the gate remains closed.]

[Frequency Band 4: So that's how it is. We were abandoned. The door was never going to open in the first place, and the order I received was just a fake order. Sending me with the remaining soldiers to storm into Sector 3 to find survivors was just to ensure that no one left alive, no one could bring out the truth.]

[Frequency Band 4: ...]

The voice stopped and fell silent.

Gao Hai frowned. He recognized the voice as that of Captain Schmidt, the one who had given the order to kill him during his first playthrough. However, compared to the cold, indifferent voice that clearly belonged to a monster back then, the voice on this frequency band was distinctly filled with strong emotion, a recording left behind when the other party was still alive.

Loyal soldiers who followed orders were abandoned in the base, while researchers brewing insane plans escaped? Ha, it's just dogs fighting, nothing surprising, after all, these guys are all the same.

As Gao Hai was thinking this, he suddenly heard a noisy sound coming from the communication frequency band again.

[Frequency Band 4: So, as expected, it ended up like this... Zzz... Just like always, no matter how many high-sounding reasons are given, in the end, these people's true colors are still exposed in the face of death... Zzz...]

[Frequency Band 4: But I don't think I'm qualified to discuss this kind of issue, after all, I... after all, we are all accomplices in these dirty deeds...]

[Frequency 4: There's another... sizzle... a secret passage dug out of the dormitory wall. I had someone dig it out secretly when they built the meat grinder in Zone 2. However, the elevator has been completely destroyed, and the survivors currently gathered in Zone 1... can't possibly get down...]

[Frequency 4: Buzz... No, aside from the survivors, there are others who can be saved. Sector 3 hasn't completely fallen yet. The experimental subject detention area, those ordinary people imprisoned here... Buzz... Is this atonement now... Oh well, no matter what, my fate is already sealed... Buzz...]

[Frequency 4: Well...buzz...this is the last frequency broadcast...emergency exit...buzz...in the dormitory area...lift the biggest Empire poster...buzz...you'll find a...buzz passage underneath...that leads outside...that's where you survived...hope...buzz...]

The increasingly loud noise eventually drowned out the man's voice.

Gao Hai listened with a frown to what seemed to be a record of his last words. When he turned to look around, he found that all the corpses lying on the ground had disappeared.

Gone?

Or have they returned to their previous state and gone somewhere else?

Turning around, I checked that the scattered bullet casings on the ground and the walls riddled with bullet holes had not been restored and remained as they were.

The bloodstains on the ground hadn't disappeared, nor were there any drag marks or strange new traces. It seemed that only the "corpses" had vanished.

Cautiously, Gao Hai walked to the door and looked out into the corridor, only to find that the soldiers' "corpses" were also gone.

Is this a game mechanic where corpses are refreshed periodically to prevent excessive performance overhead?

[Frequency Band 4: Don't be curious when you shouldn't be. For example, if you hear a strange sound coming from a certain direction, it's best not to try to investigate. In this research institute, curiosity and survival chances are closely linked.]

The cold voice on the communication frequency and the sound of breathing behind my neck rang out at the same time.

A drop of dark red blood fell on the ground in front of Gao Hai.

The moment he realized it, Gao Hai lowered his head, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground, and slowly began to walk forward.

Tick-tock—tick-tock—

Then he saw more bloodstains on the ground, staining the corridor ahead red.

And the sound of something breathing slowly on the ceiling became even clearer.

Chapter 88: Gao Hai's Focus Techniques and the Difficulty of Distinguishing Truth from Falsehood

[Frequency 1: Hello... Is anyone still on this frequency?]

[Frequency 1: Keeping watch is so boring. This is an underground base, with layers of security above. There's no reason for this place to be problematic. Sigh, the broadcasts on Channel 3 have stopped too. I don't know what happened. They used to broadcast on Channel 3 every night from Zone 3.]

[Frequency 1: Hey bro, how's it going over there? Anything to do to kill time? It's so quiet here, and I've long since finished my cigarettes. I have no idea what I can do right now...]

The sound was still playing continuously in the headphones.

At some point, the communicator automatically switched to frequency 1, and then a voice that sounded very familiar began to ramble on and on.

Of course, Gao Hai did not intend to respond to the sound coming from the frequency band. He did not even think about the sound, and did not even have the slightest "thought" of responding. He simply heard the sound.

Having encountered a strange creature that could communicate directly with his "thoughts," Gao Hai had carefully considered how to deal with such things. At this moment, however, he was completely focused on the road ahead, ignoring the sounds around him as if they didn't exist. By "ignoring" them mentally, he avoided communication and thus made his way through unscathed.

We've arrived at the protective suit storage area.

Gao Hai slightly raised his head and looked at the markings on the door in front of him.

Based on Hayasaka Miko's previous investigation experience, he should be able to find a protective suit here. Although he has already been corrupted by some kind of force and cannot get rid of it whether he wears a protective suit or not, wearing a protective suit would at least prevent him from being attacked when those monster soldiers reappear. Therefore, Gao Hai felt it was still necessary to change his appearance.

Tick-tick-tick-

Dark red liquid fell from beside them, splashing across the ground.

"..."

Gao Hai didn't say a word, but simply reached out and grabbed the doorknob in front of him, slowly opened it, and looked inside.

His gaze remained fixed on the ground the entire time, only using the corner of his eye to observe his surroundings, making sure he never looked towards the ceiling. The reason for this was quite simple: he could still hear the sound from the ceiling, like something slowly wriggling.

Tick-tick-tick-

More drops of filthy blood fell to the ground.

Gao Hai frowned slightly.

He truly hated that sound, the sound of water dripping, drop by drop. It reminded him of the most agonizing torment he had ever endured, a painful experience he still couldn't laugh off or completely overcome.

However, this level of déjà vu wasn't enough to make Gao Hai lose control. Therefore, he suppressed his irritable emotions and, after confirming that there was nothing in the protective suit storage room, cautiously stepped inside.

He knew that the bodies of the missing soldiers were now on the ceiling.

Something dragged them up, and that thing seems to be doing something with the corpses right now.

The sound was like feeding, or like some kind of worm slowly wriggling; it was really hard to imagine what it looked like. As these sounds continued, Gao Hai could feel himself gradually developing a strong urge to look up.

Is it some kind of mental pollution or cognitive shift? I wonder why something like this would appear in this underground base. Considering that the people inside were unlikely to have survived long enough to complete the record of all the strange tales and supernatural objects after the base was sealed off, this thing is probably something new that's not on the rule list. Tsk, compared to the previous instances, this Bydos Research Institute is really quite crude in every sense. But that's understandable, since this is a [discarded case area]. The writer probably didn't expect that Ai Miko could force her way in using a bug with her two-person team.

The urge to look up is intensifying.