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

But the guy who assigned him this task knew very well that he would complete it, even if he didn't actually need to.

Even if it's creating trouble for himself, even if it makes his path to victory more difficult, that person knows that after witnessing all of this, after truly understanding what happened in the past, and after receiving that message, he will definitely complete this mission. Even if this mission didn't exist, he would still do it.

After all, even now, Gao Hai can still clearly hear the teacher's last words.

The students... are in your hands now...

They did everything in their power to preserve their memories in order to help the hackers.

Even though it was designed to harm Goto Ichiri and his group, and eventually possessed Kita Ikuyo, it still became a dangerous monster. However, by twisting its own rules in advance, it ensured that Kita Ikuyo survived and that its rules of killing were highly restrictive, preventing it from recklessly harming others.

By now, the teacher is long dead.

The "nothingness" that exists today is merely its corpse, the remnant of something that never truly existed, something that doesn't even qualify as humankind.

Furthermore, as Gao Hai deeply integrates with it, this residue is being rapidly replaced, and soon nothing will remain.

Therefore, Gao Hai cannot accept it.

Even though this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed something like this, nor the first time he'd received the gifts of a failed pioneer, it was precisely because of this that he couldn't accept it, and that his anger grew even more uncontrollably. Especially after learning that the entire "Campus Ghost Stories" storyline was deliberately guided by the "writer" towards the most cruel and devastating state—a result of that bastard's twisted sense of humor—he found it even more unacceptable that this had happened.

Even though you don't even know if the successors exist, and you have no way of knowing what will happen after you die, you still choose to leave these things behind and believe that such people exist.

In such a hell, as a phantom that isn't even human, you... haha, really, you're more humane than anyone else, more noble than anyone else, you incompetent "teacher".

If... I don't have the power to change things, if I really can only follow the predetermined path, I'll probably just sigh in the end and choose to accept reality.

But that's not the case now.

That's not how it is now.

"Ms. Goto, please, please help me."

So Gao Hai turned around and spoke earnestly to the girl behind him.

"I'm really fed up with this shitty tragedy, fed up with this kind of story."

"So please help me, please join me in changing all of this."

"Even if we don't succeed in the end, it doesn't matter. At least for now, please join me in completely changing this past."

He earnestly pleaded with her, his expression and words conveying a firm and resolute emotion.

After staring at him blankly for a while, the girl slowly and heavily nodded, giving her answer.

"Ah."

Chapter 146: The Moment of Initial Collapse and the Obsession of Leaving and Being Unable to Leave

hum-

Amidst the violent upheaval, the entire Yeluoshan Middle School was undergoing dramatic changes.

That would be a complete upheaval at its very foundation, a fundamental change to the very existence of the entire instance. And for the instance to undergo such a change, there is only one possibility: the core obsession that sustains the instance's existence must be broken.

That's right.

The core concept of this instance was broken before the first hour of the entire instance quest had even ended.

Moreover, judging from the drastic changes taking place within the instance, it seems that all the core obsessions that sustained the instance have been completely resolved and put to rest. In other words, the [Nightfall Mountain Middle School] instance area is about to face utter destruction.

"He really did it."

Inside the broadcasting room, Xiong Mi leaned against the wall and spoke with emotion.

Now she really didn't know how to describe this young player, Gao Hai. She even had a vague feeling that this man named Gao Hai was someone who could truly end the "Sacrifice Game" and bring true peace to all players, someone who could be called a savior.

Haha, even the savior thing is coming out of his head? Sigh, this guy is really outrageous, but he's definitely a good person. He has a certain amount of kindness, but not blind benevolence; he's ruthless enough to deal with enemies, and genuinely cares for his comrades. That's the kind of person who's capable and good, the kind of person who can truly achieve great things. So, before we actually clear the dungeon, we need to agree on a plan: we can't let his special abilities leak out. Otherwise, we'll have to wipe out all the players in the forest!

Xiong Mi's expression turned fierce. As a player, she naturally wouldn't hesitate in such a situation. Therefore, she immediately began to think carefully and decided to use the only exit that would inevitably form after the dungeon collapsed as an ambush point, ensuring that all fanatical players would be wiped out when they escaped, eliminating any future troubles and looting their corpses for all their items.

"Jianbing, find the exit. Leave no player who is not part of our faction alive. Also, the people from the [Red Society] and [Market] must agree on a secret code. The start and end times of the official mission are the same, so as long as we all keep the same story, no one will know when this dungeon was cracked."

As Xiong Mi spoke, he kicked the door of the broadcasting room, which shattered, and a fierce aura emanated from him.

Players capable of entering and exiting Red Moon-level dungeons are unlikely to be innocent victims of murder. Therefore, when they genuinely intend to take someone's life, the murderous aura emanating from them can truly terrify ordinary people.

"...I understand that such power will indeed attract many overconfident individuals and those with ulterior motives. I know these two from the Red Society, and I can guarantee they won't betray their teammates. I don't know much about the market, but that one (referring to Nanami) often acts as a transaction witness, and I think she is trustworthy."

Jianbing, who was standing next to Xiong Mi, was starting to lose his composure. Because he was also a player, he could better understand how shocking Gao Hai's actions were and what kind of frenzy such power would ignite among the player community.

We must protect him!

With such power, he is truly capable of leading players into unprecedented territories, and truly holds the hope of uncovering the secrets beyond the Crimson Moon. Before he grows to the point where he is truly fearless in the face of any risk, any potential threat to him or those he cares about must be completely eliminated!

Boom——

Cracks are spreading one after another.

The school is collapsing, the instance is collapsing, and the whole world is gradually collapsing.

Those monster students who had been passively repeating their actions from their previous lives suddenly let out shrill howls and went into an uncontrollable frenzy.

The invisible atmosphere that had always existed at Nightfall Mountain Middle School began to collapse with the destruction of the dungeon. The strange creatures that originally possessed various rules and characteristics also began to degenerate into simple monsters, gradually losing their extraordinary powers with the destruction of the dungeon.

"Holy crap... Holy crap... He actually did it?! This is a Red Moon-level dungeon! This is a Red Moon-level dungeon! Holy crap, is he some kind of god descended to earth? This is terrifying! My God, I actually have the chance to team up with someone like this... Holy crap, I'm so... Holy crap..."

"Stop howling, you...you calm down, phew, calm down, calm down, um, anyway, don't get agitated, don't get agitated..."

Kenta Hayashibe and Ren Nanakawa were like newbies witnessing a master's incredible skill for the first time, completely unable to calm down for a moment.

"..."

Aoyama Nanami didn't say anything; her legs just gave way and she sat down on the ground, her brain completely shutting down.

"The escape point has been confirmed. It's in the blood pool area of ​​the underground base. Once you get there, you can leave the instance!"

Maki had received Takami's communication. Although she didn't know why Takami's voice sounded very tired and had a strange feeling that she hadn't seen her for a long time, she knew that this was not the time to think about such things, so she immediately focused her attention on escaping.

Take out the blood key and open the door.

The main campus and the underground base will be connected.

Xiong Mi and Jian Bing from the broadcasting room arrived at this time and completed the rendezvous. Everyone began to move towards the underground area.

"Wait, what about the two of them? Their consciousness is still with Bydos, right?"

At this moment, Aoyama Nanami, who was in charge of looking after Miko and Hayasaka, suddenly realized what was happening and quickly asked.

"Let's take them all with us first; we can't stay on campus any longer, no matter what."

Fujiwara Chika immediately spoke up, while Kaguya had already carried the unconscious Hayasaka on her back and passed through the portal to the underground area.

Rumbling--

Amidst an even more violent collapse, a huge crack appeared in the middle of the entire Nightfall Mountain Middle School. Then, like a loaf of bread being torn apart, the entire instance area began to crumble and collapse to both sides, revealing the hidden underground base area in the middle.

Gao Hai lowered his head, looked at the gradually drying blood pool, and let out a long sigh.

Standing beside him, Goto Ichiri subconsciously grabbed his sleeve and stared blankly at everything, her expression showing a hint of daze.

"Did we... really succeed?"

The girl, who still seemed somewhat incredulous, finally couldn't help but ask Gao Hai.

"Yes, it will definitely succeed."

Gao Hai nodded slightly, but his expression became somewhat dazed, and he quickly focused his attention.

This feeling is really unsettling.

To others, he and Ichiri probably only left for less than a few seconds.

But in Gao Hai's eyes, he had been gone for months, no, maybe years? In short, it was a period of time he wasn't sure how long. After all, even if he and Yili could use their guitars to skip over those less important points in time, they had indeed traversed decades, walking from the past all the way back here. The time spent in this process had been so long that Gao Hai was starting to wonder if he was dreaming or had really returned.

However, in his opinion, it was all worth it.

To shatter this absurd tragedy and to change the so-called predetermined future that has already occurred, such an effort is entirely worthwhile.

But did he actually succeed?

To be honest, although he could sense that the core obsession had been resolved, Gao Hai was still somewhat uncertain about the matter. He couldn't be truly sure whether he had truly changed the past or truly altered what was already irreversible.

After all, to truly confirm the results of the changes, we'll probably have to wait until we leave this instance and return to the real world. Keep in mind, he didn't just do something simple and direct to alter the past; he used a method similar to *Steins;Gate*—deceiving time. Considering that the mastermind behind this instance is the higher-dimensional being, the "Writer," he expended a tremendous amount of effort to avoid causing temporal distortions and problems.

In conclusion, regardless of the final outcome, he has done all he could.

So now, it's time to wrap up this story.

{Gao Hai: Jianzi, how's things going on your end? Have you confirmed that Urian's obsession has been resolved?}

{Gao Hai: See you? See you? Are you still there? Tell me what's happening on your end.}

{Yotsuya Miko: I'm still here. This place is collapsing. It seems like my consciousness and Hayasaka's can't return directly. We're currently searching for an exit. Huh? Um, I think I've confirmed some unusual circumstances.}

Through the mental link, Gao Hai could hear Jianzi's voice change from panic to momentary bewilderment.

At this moment, Gao Hai did not notice that the black watch he was wearing had silently developed a crack.

However, Miko Yotsuya, who was in the underground research institute that was violently shaking and collapsing, could see very clearly through Ai Hayasaka's eyes that Urian, who seemed to be finally free and about to rest, was in mid-air, and that the dark lines wrapped around Urian were dragging him away somewhere.

Even after being freed from the core obsession, is there still a situation where one cannot leave the instance?

The unprecedented scene left Miko momentarily stunned.

Hayasaka, whose perception is not very high and who cannot see this scene, is paying attention to other things.

Something is getting closer.

Something that wasn't human, something that gave you the creeps, yet seemed... harmless and benevolent, approached.

Children, come this way.

Then, both Miko and Hayasaka heard a kind old man's voice and saw a white-haired figure standing not far away.

Chapter 147: Echoes of the Past Reaching the End and Blood Debts Yet to Be Settled

Rumble, rumble——

The gloomy and dark underground base has entered an irreversible stage of collapse.