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

Ultimately, any substantial change to the past will inevitably lead to changes in the corresponding future. In other words, it could potentially alter the present that Takami is familiar with. This is unacceptable to Takami, who has already built bonds with Maki and the other girls, so he needs to ensure that the past remains fundamentally unchanged.

But since he's already here, isn't his purpose to change the past? If he wants to change the tragedy that has already happened, but can't actually change what has already occurred, then how can he change it?

When Takami explained the stakes clearly, Goto Ichiri was filled with despair. However, he wasn't there specifically to hurt Goto Ichiri, so after pointing out the key conflict, he began to share his own thoughts.

"Ultimately, what we need to do is to give those who ultimately met with tragedy a normal life again. We cannot change the fact that they are already dead, because if they hadn't died, they couldn't have become the obsessive creatures, and the basis for our power to go back to the past would no longer exist. Well, according to the parallel world theory, this would create a new parallel world, but that's not important. What's important is that we need to make subtle adjustments to what has already happened, changing some seemingly insignificant and unimportant aspects."

As Gao Hai spoke, his expression became somewhat inscrutable.

"Then, what should we do?"

Although Goto Ichiri couldn't understand a word Takami was saying, it was precisely because she couldn't understand that she thought it was amazing, so she immediately asked Takami with bright eyes.

"It's simple, we're going to steal the corpse."

His next words left the girl stunned.

"To change the past... you have to steal corpses?"

The girl was completely baffled by this chain of logic.

"To be precise, at the moment the soul leaves the body and forms an obsession, we must steal the body that is compatible with the obsession. And we must ensure that this body and the obsession continue to be compatible, so that even after decades, the body can still be compatible with the soul that has returned to a normal state after the obsession has been eliminated."

However, this time Gao Hai did not continue with the riddle, but calmly explained his own thoughts.

"I want all the victims of that time, all those who suffered and could not be freed, to be able to live again and have a normal, complete life."

"No longer controlled by anyone, no longer killed by superiors for the purpose of so-called tragedy or comedy, but a normal life of growing up and aging."

"And, if possible, I want to free everyone this shitty dungeon has harmed. After all, I do have that opportunity now, and if I don't try, I'll definitely regret it later. Of course, I have to pick people I like; I can't let those who deserve to die live. But in a way, this is a kind of remedy, ah, you don't need to worry about that."

By the end, Gao Hai had grinned from ear to ear.

It was only at this point that Goto Ichiri finally began to understand Takami's thoughts.

He intends to use this power to act from the very beginning of the tragedy, preserving the bodies of all the innocent victims who died as a result, and placing them in a time when they would no longer significantly alter the present. He will then use these bodies to receive the souls of the victims who have broken free from the constraints of the copies. In other words, he is essentially resurrecting all the victims.

Furthermore, because the activity time of these core obsessions after death overlaps with the activity time of the players—for example, the activity range of [Void] possessing Kita Ikuyo actually covers all three academies and will visit other dungeon areas, while Asamoto Eriko's core obsession is closely connected to the Baytos Research Institute—and because of the distorted spatial structure within the dungeon, the 1,000-meter distance limit is ineffective during this time period. Therefore, Gao Hai could completely save all the players killed by the distorted dungeon created by [Writer] since the dungeon opened.

Well… unless it's someone like Kita Ikuyo who was possessed after death, where the body has already been destroyed and the soul corrupted in the timeline, then there's really nothing that can be done. Fortunately, since the instance started running, only Kita has suffered this treatment, and Takami has already rescued her. Right now, she's sleeping inside his head, so the situation isn't too bad, and there's not much of a problem.

Of course, Gao Hai wasn't a pushover; if it weren't for the fact that he could actually save quite a few people, he definitely wouldn't have bothered with the effort.

Well, the top priority is to save all the members of the [Slacking Off Gang] and [Red Society] who were actually killed, not turned into dolls. It's about repaying kindness. As for Miko's classmates, while they were truly a drag and useless, it's not their fault. There's no such thing as ordinary people being blamed for doing high-difficulty dungeons. Besides, Miko felt guilty after their deaths, so saving them is secondary. The rest… well, let's see if their actions in the dungeon are human-like, if they're normal. If they are, then give them a free kill; if they're just annoying, let them die. As for those fanatical players… can we just throw them into the watch?

"That's the general plan. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea whether it will succeed. In the end, the 'deceiving time' trick is just wishful thinking on my part. But anyway, you're taking this risk with me now, so I'll ask you one more time: are you willing to accept this plan? Even if it's actually a plan with no precedent, no reference points, and a completely unknown success rate, are you still willing to accept it?"

After explaining the general plan, Gao Hai looked at Goto Ichiri again and asked her seriously.

Although he already knew her answer—after all, this kind girl had clearly demonstrated her charm and awareness in the first three playthroughs, showing him what kind of person she was—and besides, she had already come to this place with him, so asking such a question now was pointless.

So why did he bother asking again under these circumstances? Gao Hai himself wasn't quite sure about this; perhaps he just wanted to see her answer?

"...Yes, I do."

The answer was familiar, tinged with a hint of timidity.

But at this moment, Gao Hai sensed a strong and powerful aura in the gaze of the girl who looked up and met his eyes.

"I don't really understand how to save those who have been hurt, but... Mr. Taka saved Kita, so I believe he can save others too. I'm willing to help Mr. Taka, although... although I don't know if I can be of any help..."

Ah, she shrank back halfway through her sentence because she couldn't bear to look Gao Hai in the eye.

She's really a fascinating girl.

However, no matter what, such an answer was enough for Gao Hai.

"Great, let's get started now."

Grinning, Gao Hai, who felt a long-lost surge of excitement, said with a pleasant smile.

"By the way, now that we're comrades-in-arms, let's stop calling each other 'sir' and it feels too formal."

"You can just call me 'Gao Hai' or 'Hai,' whatever you like. As for me, well, do you mind if I just call you 'Yi Li'?"

Chapter 152: The Miraculous End of the Nameless Man's Journey

A soft light enveloped our vision.

As their bodies and consciousness gradually rose, the two people's bodies instinctively drew closer together.

More memories flooded his mind; no, this feeling seemed to be that their memories resonated with something else.

It seems I can increasingly sense the presence of certain things.

Gao Hai closed his eyes, carefully sensing this peculiar connection that seemed to be constructed from memories.

The first things we saw were some memories captured during the breaks in the action.

"Come to think of it, staying here doesn't seem to make you feel hungry. Do you ever feel hungry?"

"I...I'm not hungry...I'm fine..."

At first, the two did not communicate very smoothly. Although Goto Ichiri showed considerable momentum when she started to act, she quickly reverted to being a socially awkward girl when it came to a proper conversation.

He would start stammering as he spoke, and would immediately become nervous if they made eye contact.

"Speaking of which, this space is really magical. The strange power is indeed incredible. I don't get hungry or thirsty, and there's no dust on my body. I don't have to worry about things like going to the toilet or taking a shower. But I still seem to get sleepy. Is it because my mental energy is still being consumed?"

"Uh huh huh?!"

"...Although I don't know why you made that expression again, I still have to state in advance that I don't have any bad intentions, I was just making a casual remark."

"Oh...oh...I see...wait, did I make some strange expression?"

Although in his memory, Goto Ichiri in "Lonely Rock" was indeed a girl with a very imaginative mind and a talent for wild imagination, Gao Hai always felt that the Goto Ichiri he knew had a somewhat erotic imagination, and he didn't know why.

"The old-fashioned neon gymnastics uniforms are really strange, especially the women's ones. Isn't that panties?"

"Hey, hey, hey?"

"The styles of school swimsuits vary greatly from era to era. I remember that the school swimsuits at Kaguya's school hardly showed off the body anymore. You can only see these typical old-fashioned school swimsuits in older schools. Hmm, it feels really good, really nice."

"Uh huh huh?"

"Speaking of which, are Japanese school uniforms really all skirts regardless of the season? And isn't this skirt a bit too short? Aren't they worried about showing too much skin? Oh well, it doesn't really concern me anyway."

"Ugh..."

Even though I was just making normal comments about the various school uniforms in Japan during the Showa era, every time I finished speaking, this guy would blush, make strange noises, and stare at me with an expression as if I were a criminal in training.

To be honest, I'm a very proper person, so why do you see me like this?

“Yili, I think you have a deep-seated prejudice against me. We need to have a serious talk.”

So, during a break in an operation, Takami stood in front of Goto Ichiri and spoke to her earnestly.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh (after a wildly developing brainstorm), um, um, I still just can't accept the idea of ​​multiple people!"

"what?"

Then, the girl completely baffled Gao Hai with just one sentence.

Clearing up the misunderstanding took quite a while. In the end, Gao Hai learned from Goto Ichiri that he had been labeled a "JK Hunter" by some local Japanese players. To be honest, Gao Hai felt very wronged. He never imagined that he would one day be given such a nickname, even though he... seemed to have some ambiguous relationships with quite a few JK girls. This misunderstanding was really not easy to explain.

Damn it, he clearly only likes cute, obedient, and sensible girls, how did it turn out like this!

"Anyway, it's all a misunderstanding. Believe me, I'm not the kind of guy who gets all horny when he sees a girl. To be honest, we've been together in this little room for so long, and I've never done anything to you, right?"

"Uh, should I do it? I...I...I can't do it, can I? No, no, no..."

"That's why I said I wouldn't do it!"

"I can't be with Kita... no, no, no, not even that!"

"I wouldn't do it with Kita, and besides, she's still asleep inside my head, she doesn't even have a body, how could I do it!"

"Then...then...could it be Eriko's corpse...Takami, you actually...you actually have this kind of..."

"I would never lay a hand on a corpse! Wake up and get rid of these horrible thoughts!!!"

"Waaaaaahh ...

He meticulously investigated and selected the timelines of death for each victim, went to great lengths to move the bodies, and then used a guitar to create a similar-looking body to replace the body, thus achieving his goal of deceiving everyone. Yet, inexplicably, his reputation began to plummet.

Gao Hai felt melancholy, so melancholy that he wanted to play Chopin in the rainy night, but he didn't seem to know how to play the piano...

"It's okay. Although Gao Hai is strange, he's a good person."

Realizing that the conversation between the two had hurt Takami, Goto Ichiri did try to make amends, though not very well.

"It's strange enough, but are you going to give me a 'nice guy' card too... Oh well, let's just deliver this batch to that area anyway. I'm a bit tired, I'll rest for a while. You should rest after you finish delivering, there's still plenty of time, no need to rush."

Gao Hai, who had just casually mentioned it, lay down on the spot and fell asleep with his eyes closed. He didn't notice that the girl next to him was having trouble getting a good rest because there was a man sleeping in the cramped space after the repaired corpse was disposed of.

In fact, we encountered quite a few problems at the beginning. For example, we deliberated on the timing and location of the release several times. We needed to ensure that these resurrected people could integrate normally into the modern world and would not be bothered by any players or administrators. This required a lot of effort.

Goto Ichiri herself wasn't good at coming up with ideas for these kinds of things; at best, she could only act as an executor when it came to practical matters, and even then, she wasn't very adaptable when faced with different situations. Therefore, Takami had to manage everything from top to bottom, planning and executing simultaneously, getting a good taste of what it was like to be in charge of everything, big and small.

However, gradually, after about a month? Two months? In any case, since it was only the two of them who could communicate, Takami slowly figured out how to get along with Goto Ichiri. Although the girl herself couldn't change her social anxiety, after Takami, a member of the opposite sex, spent a long time in the same room with her, it was like a desensitization exercise. She slowly became less awkward around Takami and was able to have a relatively normal conversation with him.

To be honest, this feeling was strange. Gao Hai didn't feel any romantic feelings during the time he and Goto Ichiri had been traveling together. In fact, in his opinion, aside from Kobochi's advantages in figure and face, a girl with her personality was simply not the type suitable for romance. But as this journey across time continued, and as they gradually became familiar with each other and developed a tacit understanding, he actually felt, to some extent, a certain indescribable "sense of life" when this girl was by his side, as if this kind of life had become a habit.

It's a strange sense of harmony, but little Pochi is a strange girl to begin with, so being a little strange seems just right.

So, is it really a rollback?

"Yes, that's right. Without all of your previous efforts, I wouldn't have been able to start cracking the core obsession within the first hour of this operation."

"In that case... what contribution did I make before?"

"Yes, a very, very big, indispensable contribution. Without you, it would have been impossible to crack this dungeon."

"Hehehe, am I really that amazing?"

"Wow, our Yili baby is amazing!"

"Hehehe...wait? I, I'm not some baby, Mr. Hai, don't tease me!"

Gradually, she was able to make some lighthearted jokes without worrying about him making up wild ideas. However, she still insisted on calling him "Mr." It seemed that Yi Li firmly regarded Gao Hai as an elder, which left Gao Hai somewhat helpless.

"So Kita-chan dragged us up the mountain, but everyone else was exhausted after climbing about a third of the way, while Kita-chan still had so much energy... Ugh, it always felt like Kita-chan had inexhaustible energy. But now, I'm not afraid of climbing mountains anymore, but Kita-chan..."