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

Hayasaka, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity.

Snapped!

Hayasaka took out a small toy, threw it out of the cage into the passageway outside, and moved so fast that his arm left afterimages.

Patrick, let's go jellyfish hunting!

Next, a SpongeBob SquarePants toy, about 5 centimeters tall, stood up, holding a net bag, laughing loudly as it ran off.

Ah, it's this toy.

Although she had confirmed that the toy was the perfect size to throw out of the cage when she grabbed it, Hayasaka, who had no childhood experience, couldn't be sure what kind of toy she had actually picked up. However, the toy was suitable; after all, all she needed was something to attract her attention, nothing more.

I'm ready! I'm ready!

The little toy shouted loudly as it sped off toward one side of the road.

The soldiers quickly spotted the small object, raised their guns, aimed, and fired without hesitation.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

Amidst a series of gunshots, the little toy was instantly shattered into countless flying plastic fragments.

Like other toys taken out of the toy box, these strange, movable little toys are completely devoid of any combat ability. In terms of materials science, they are toys in the truest sense, unable to cause any harm to the ghosts or resist the power of the legends.

But this brief moment of distraction was enough for Yotsuya Miko, who had temporarily taken over Hayasaka's body, to pull out a pistol, hide it under her body, and fire a shot.

The gunshot was very faint, completely masked by the gunfire of the monster soldiers, and went unnoticed by those things.

The bullet (not a suppression bullet) had followed the memory of the protagonist's second time around and hit the power distribution room in Zone 1 directly.

hum-

The light vanished in an instant, and darkness enveloped everything.

In the absolute darkness, where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, Hayasaka and Miko heard even more unrestrained laughter, and the sound of something beginning to move.

The alarm began to sound, and something malevolent started to emerge from the quiet cage.

hum-

But then, the light came back on.

The power outage lasted less than a few seconds, and everything returned to normal.

This was not surprising; it was something the two had anticipated, a choice made after Miko and Hayasaka exchanged information about the second time around. The girl merely used the lock-on function of her pistol to destroy the main power circulation path, without activating the emergency backup power system.

The soldier stepped forward, crouched down, and picked up a small piece of the broken SpongeBob SquarePants toy. He picked up the toy's arm, which was still barely intact. This arm was still clutching a small net and waving it around as if it were actually catching a jellyfish.

Hayasaka, who was in the cage, had already disappeared without a trace.

Haha...hahahahaha...

Only the figure locked on the other side of the cage, wearing dirty striped pajamas, continued to emit hoarse laughter.

tread--

The sound of gentle footsteps gradually rose.

The soldiers seemed completely oblivious to Hayasaka's disappearance, continuing their mechanical mission and endless patrols.

tread--

Ahead of the dark passage, a faint light appeared, but it was very indistinct.

Gao Hai could already see what was appearing in the light.

A person covered in wounds.

The atmosphere was oppressive, like deathly silence.

The silent man kept smoking one cigarette after another, filling the room with the smell of smoke.

The boy with scars on his face just kept his head down and ate his very simple breakfast in small bites.

It's just that, a very ordinary scene in life.

But the intense feeling of suffocation had already begun to resonate deeply with Takami and Kaguya, who were watching from the sidelines.

Can't go wrong.

Gao Hai is now 100% certain.

That boy, who didn't look very old, was pretending to be okay despite being depressed—that was none other than Koji Morihara himself.

Chapter 101: A Somber Stage and a Deeper "Abandoned" Base

The sky was overcast, filled with a gloomy gray that seemed to never dissipate.

The filthy rented room was piled high with garbage, while the unkempt man continued to silently smoke, one cigarette after another, letting the wisps of smoke drift into the sky, mingling with the dim colors above.

The boy lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with the man.

His face still bore bruises that hadn't faded, and dark red wounds were faintly visible on his arms. He was extremely thin, and his pale complexion clearly showed signs of malnutrition.

The lights inside flickered slightly.

Faintly, I could still hear the noise outside the window; it seemed like children were running and laughing in the street. The sounds of car horns and the buzzing of airplanes overhead also mingled with the noise.

The dirty calendar on the wall showed Sunday, a time when children should be playing everywhere. But the boy with the wound on his face just sat there silently, while the man just smoked his cigarette silently. The two maintained this almost suffocating silence.

Below this image is a small card with the word "home" written on it.

"This is……"

Kaguya cautiously observed the scene before her—or was it a stage play? She struggled to describe what she saw. The two figures sitting at the table not far away seemed to be nothing more than two sculpted mannequins. They were motionless, devoid of any life, and the entire room was merely a simple set, like a movie or television drama filming location. Yet, standing there, Kaguya could clearly hear the various sounds emanating from the stage backdrop, and deeply feel the indescribable, suffocating weight emanating from the two figures.

"is that OK?"

Gao Hai turned to look at Kaguya and asked.

"Hmm... I'm fine. How could something like this be in this place?"

After letting out a soft sigh, Kaguya shook her head and answered Takahashi, then looked around with some confusion.

This was indeed a hidden air-raid shelter base in the mountains, a concealed base set up by the fanatical Japanese military to counter their imagined landing force. But this theoretically abandoned base, unknown to anyone, had undergone a dramatic change. The various firearms, ammunition, and supplies that appeared in the player's exploration log were nowhere to be found by Takami and Kaguya. Instead, they found stage sets scattered throughout the base, frozen scenes of stage life, and tiny figures within them.

On the stage at the very beginning, the boy looked to be only five or six years old.

The stage backdrop was lit up, outlining the general shapes of a man and a woman, while the sounds of a heated argument continued to emanate from it.

Amidst the litter scattered everywhere and the overturned furniture and debris, the boy gently waved his toy, covering the teddy bear lying on the bed with a blanket, as if coaxing it to sleep.

The card posted under the stage was titled "Children".

Meow~ Meow meow~

Despite having a limp, the little cat named Nyannai is still incredibly fast, leaping between stages in the dark and cold underground base.

The second stage that followed featured an enlarged doll, depicted being grabbed and torn apart by men and women.

The doll itself had been torn apart, and the cotton stuffing inside had leaked out, making it look like it was about to be ripped to shreds on the spot.

Even so, the man and woman showed no intention of letting go; instead, they tightened their grip, as if they were desperately tearing at each other in a contest.

rip - rip-

The sound of a doll disintegrating can be heard in the background.

Gao Hai looked at the card posted under the stage, which read "Father's Love and Mother's Love".

The kitten's meows were already guiding the two deeper into the area.

More stages are being showcased.

The mother who eventually left the boy, and the man who raised him but treated him violently and brutally every day.

A suffocating and cold atmosphere filled the room, piles of garbage were dumped one after another, the stench kept accumulating, and the boy's eyes were as gray as if he were dead.

Even though neither Takami nor Kaguya are particularly empathetic, they couldn't help but feel a sense of oppression as they walked through these stages. These stages seemed to deliberately showcase the life of a tormented boy, skillfully selecting various shots, like a wildlife photographer capturing the precise and elegant details of his beloved animal.

Is this place a display of the memories of Koji Morihara, who was once a living person?

These things don't seem to be records he left voluntarily. Could it be... records left by a [writer]?

Did he choose Koji Morihara as the actor in his script a long time ago and have been recording it all along? If so, why am I seeing these recorded scenes in this base, instead of encountering various strange creatures lurking within the base like players who entered this place in previous records?

Meow~ Meow meow meow~

The kitten leading the way continued to meow, urging the two to follow.

Gao Hai was the first to react, and stopped paying attention to the stage, instead pulling Kaguya along to catch up with the little cat running ahead.

Kaguya herself seemed somewhat moved, her expression becoming complicated. Perhaps she could empathize with this kind of repressive and distorted family environment. However, she didn't dwell on it, immediately speeding up after Takahashi, chasing after the kitten ahead.

Soon, at the end of the road, a heavy gate formed a barrier.

The scruffy kitten stopped at the door, gently wagging its tail. After Takami and Kaguya arrived, it pointed at the door with its tail, happily saying, "Master is inside!" Then it sat obediently waiting for Takami and Kaguya to open the door.

"Can you open it?"

Kaguya noticed that the door had no keyhole, which made her somewhat worried.

"should be no problem."

Gao Hai casually took out the identity card he had obtained from Teng Hua Middle School, which had not disappeared to this day, from his pocket and pressed it against the sensor area of ​​the door.

hum-

After a slightly jarring sound, the door slowly opened, revealing a darker, more secluded corridor behind it.

There were no lights or stage sets in this corridor, and the slope was quite steep, leading downwards and deeper into the area.

"Looks like we have no choice but to slide down."

Gao Hai squatted down and reached out to touch the floor of the passageway. He felt that it was smooth and he was certain that it would be impossible to stand on it.

"Hmm, let's hurry up and follow. I have a feeling... there might be something waiting for us ahead."