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

I looked up and gazed at the street beside the square.

The traffic lights on the street twisted and shattered with a cracking sound, as if crushed into pieces by an invisible force.

Gao Hai did not use the power of blessings or any obsession.

In fact, in the Crimson City, he basically couldn't use these two powers. He could only barely use a small amount of blessing power. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to see Zi come to his house every day to help test the effects of the obsession objects.

He simply had an "idea" and tried to "execute" it.

Because I wanted to try patting the ground a couple of times and kick up some dust and debris, the ground actually cracked and underwent a slight change in gravity.

Because he wanted to test whether he could crush the traffic light, the traffic light was actually crushed. It was grabbed and kneaded into a pile of scrap by an invisible giant hand, and Gao Hai could clearly feel the process of it being crushed.

He was able to do this simply because Gao Hai "wanted" to.

After his spirit was shattered and his soul scattered by the power behind the crimson flower, experiencing his most painful death and resurrection to date, Gao Hai's long-dormant willpower underwent a long-awaited leap. This strengthened will seemed to resonate with something he had absorbed into his body, allowing him to finally break through to a completely new realm. From then on, his willpower would no longer be merely a barrier acting only on himself, but could directly influence and alter the laws of reality around him.

"Is this a blessing in disguise, or is it like pulling up seedlings to help them grow?"

Gao Hai didn't react much to the changes in himself. Compared to the problems he needed to face now, this progress didn't bring him any joy.

He lowered his head and looked at the black watch on his wrist.

Gao Hai could clearly see that the watch markings had reached position [3].

After dying from making dumplings in the first playthrough and from hugging in the second playthrough, the markings on this black watch should have been at position [2]. However, the only hand on this thing is now clearly pointing to position [3], which means that Gao Hai has used up an extra rollback opportunity.

I'm afraid this extra expenditure isn't because my soul was shattered and piecing it back together requires a lot of effort, but because the power behind that blood-red flower has had such a profound impact on my body that the black watch needs to use extra power to clear its influence.

This means that Gao Hai now likely needs to use two rollback attempts when facing certain superhuman beings of excessive power. Hmm… considering his miserable state this time, Gao Hai didn't know what to say. He could only silently remember this lesson and decide that next time he encountered such a heavyweight boss blocking his way, he would try to self-destruct as soon as possible.

In addition, it is confirmed that the black watch has a brand new function, and it is unknown whether this function was obtained by making a wish unconsciously.

Gao Hai thinks this function can be called "soul repair".

To activate this function, Gao Hai must completely lose his self-awareness, his soul shattered and annihilated, entering a state known as "soul scattered and spirit dispersed." This function is passive and will activate approximately one minute after Gao Hai's consciousness disappears. Once it is determined that Gao Hai cannot regain consciousness, this blessing will destroy Gao Hai's body, allowing him to enter the next cycle of reincarnation, and restore Gao Hai's soul, repairing the damage bit by bit until it is restored to a complete soul.

In a sense, this new feature is similar to the self-destruct/suicide feature, but the difference is that the self-destruct feature has no cost; it only requires paying for the rollback once. However, this feature requires paying for an extra rollback once after activation, which is quite troublesome.

It seems the extra cost from the black watch was used for this. That's a patch, but next time a similar situation arises... well, it doesn't seem much better. What on earth is that blood flower thing? It's completely unlike any of the strange creatures I've encountered before. Most importantly, it can parasitize and move autonomously like Alice; that alone is incredibly troublesome.

The memory must be modified.

All companions who could revert to the previous playthrough and retain some of their memories from the previous playthrough must have their memories from the second playthrough modified. The crimson flower now appears not only of unknown nature and extremely powerful origin, but it also possesses the ability to influence players across playthroughs, continuing to exert its influence even during reverts. Therefore, after each revert, Gao Hai must modify his companions' memories while simultaneously sealing his own; otherwise, this thing will likely haunt him immediately upon the start of a new playthrough. Given its unreasonable, group-wide instant-kill infection properties, even with the blessing of shared willpower, Gao Hai cannot save his teammates.

So what exactly is this thing?

Before this, he had never encountered anything that could truly shatter his willpower and destroy his soul. Even the Divine Blood Pool paled in comparison to the will behind that blood flower; such power was simply too exaggerated.

Furthermore, upon careful recollection, the voices I heard before my consciousness shattered seemed to mention the black watch. Could it be that what the blood flower represented was a higher-dimensional being, similar to a Keeper of the Priestess, capable of sensing and recognizing the black watch?

The more Gao Hai thought about it, the more headache he got.

He reached up and rubbed his head, let out a long sigh, and then looked at the figures lying on the ground not far away.

Sigh, no matter what, we have to find a way to face even the toughest situations. At least after I died, I was able to stay in this blood-red city until I fully recovered before leaving, so the situation isn't too bad. Come to think of it, I've been here for almost three months, and the rollback attempts haven't recovered at all. Isn't that a bit unintelligent? Couldn't they include the time I've spent here in the self-recovery time?

Thinking this, Takami's gaze swept over the four girls lying quietly: Shijou Maki, Shinomiya Kaguya, Goto Ichiri, and Kita Ikuyo. It seemed the four girls were in similar condition, especially Kita Ikuyo, who was staring intently at him and looked quite energetic.

"……Um?"

A sense of unease spread through Gao Hai's heart.

He looked at the girls again, examining each one of them once more.

No matter how many times he counts, there are only four girls currently in the Crimson City: Maki, Kaguya, Ichiri, and Kita.

I see that you are not here.

The only one who entered the Crimson City first, and who had helped Takami find external support during the Hayate Elementary School campaign and completed the Baydos campaign with Hayasaka during the Yoruyama Middle School campaign, is not here now.

"..."

Gao Hai's pupils contracted involuntarily at that moment.

Chapter 41: Uncontrollable Fear and Fragments Before Death

Why... is Jianzi not here...?

Gao Hai took a deep breath, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.

I couldn't calm down.

Upon realizing that Jianzi had disappeared and had not been taken in by the Crimson City, he immediately understood what this meant and was plunged into intense unease and confusion.

Seeing that the child is not here...

She was the only one parasitized and manipulated by the Blood Flower...

Possessing superhuman spiritual abilities, she was the only one parasitized by Alice. That's her talent. For these strange creatures, there is probably no one more suitable to parasitize than Miko. It's just that the strange creature she encountered this time was too high-level, so the power of Blood City couldn't pull her in...

No problem, no problem. She'll still be in the same place after the rollback. She just can't enter Blood City and can't retain her memories, that's all...

After all, the others are still inside Blood City, which proves that being killed by the Blood Flower alone wouldn't be a problem. The key issue is that her body is being controlled, meaning the parasitic connection is very deep, establishing some kind of unbreakable bond. In that case… no, it's okay. Jianzi won't just die like that; she must still be alive. We'll see her again after the timeline resets. It must be like that, it must be…

"Damn it... damn it..."

Gao Hai took several deep breaths and closed his eyes.

The intense dizziness persisted, and feelings of palpitations and anxiety came one after another.

I am afraid.

Gao Hai knew he was afraid.

When the black watch he had always relied on was no longer invincible, and when a real enemy appeared who could rival his cheat system and pose an unprecedented threat to him, he began to feel fear.

That's really... embarrassing...

Gao Hai took a deep breath, clenched his fists tightly, and tried to calm the chaotic emotions in his heart.

After leaving Shirakawa Apartment and experiencing the trials of the Red Nut Grotto and the campus ghost stories, Gao Hai thought he was no longer capable of feeling "fear".

After all, he had already endured all sorts of terrifying and bizarre things, and all sorts of cruel and horrific tortures. Even this time, having his soul torn apart and then pieced back together, requiring a long time to recover, did not make Gao Hai feel too difficult. In fact, his willpower was further enhanced.

That's right, it's only to this extent; it's just another dangerous and difficult situation.

Just like before, we search for answers and overcome difficulties through repeated deaths. It's just another round, and there's nothing to worry about.

what……

The only difference is... this time, this blood-soaked city is probably no longer a completely safe place...

Miko Yotsuya, possessed by the blood flower, has already been removed from here… In the next round, will there be a chance for the others to be removed? And what about Miko? What is her current condition? Is there any way to save her? Is her condition already irreversible? Is she completely…?

no, I can not.

It's impossible!

This is absolutely impossible!!!

I will definitely win. I will not let anyone be missing when the game ends.

Even if this blood-red city is no longer 100% safe, so what if those blood-red flowers can steal my teammates? I will definitely defeat it, I will definitely crack this dungeon completely, completely destroy this place, and then bring everyone home!

"call……"

Gao Hai's breathing gradually became steady.

His gaze sharpened and hardened.

Undeniably, he did feel fear for a moment. After realizing that his backer, the black watch that had always given him so many benefits, was not absolutely invincible, he did panic for a while.

However, the enemy you face will not show mercy just because you are flustered.

The many secrets and core obsessions hidden within [Infant Cry Village] will not be less difficult due to changes in one's mindset.

Regardless, from the moment I entered this place, from the moment I obtained this black watch, and from the moment I arrived here, I had no way out. Therefore, what reason is there to face what lies ahead with a broken mentality?

"You're really useless. You can't even keep an eye on one person. I think it won't be long before you revert to a closed version, right?"

Gao Hai looked down at the worn-out watch on his wrist and said in a disdainful tone.

Of course, while he said that, he immediately tried making a wish, hoping to use the black watch to forcibly protect his teammates from being taken away by the strange bloodstains. But as soon as the idea formed, Gao Hai realized it was impossible; he could never pay the price for such a wish.

If I absolutely had to make such a wish, I'm afraid... well, it would require 18 rollback slots to make a teammate immune to the effects of the Blood Flower's power across playthroughs? As expected, this wish is impossible; I can't afford the cost of having the Black Watch directly confront the Blood Flower.

Well, never mind, we've already reached 11 wish slots, and there's only one slot left that's not filled. We can't make any more wishes randomly unless absolutely necessary.

However, it's not that there's nothing that can be done.

"After two rounds of exploration, we have now identified four areas: Li Family Village, Nightfall Liu Family Village, Blood Flower Liu Family Village, and Dead Village. Moreover, we are certain that there are definitely more than just these four areas in this instance; there must be many more areas that have not yet been discovered."

Gao Hai closed his eyes and tried to recall what he saw and heard before he died.

When the monster manipulating Miko's corpse was brought up, Takahiro immediately lost consciousness. But now, through his enhanced willpower, he finds himself recalling things he theoretically hadn't perceived. It seems that because his willpower has become too strong, things that previously entered his senses but weren't consciously perceived—things akin to subconscious awareness—are now something Takahiro can "read."

So that's how it is. My eyes and ears actually perceived the scene inside the [Ghost Cry Cave]. Through the link in the rescue team badge and the [Teacher's] perspective, I also saw and sensed the exploration of the [Bottomless Lake] by the Fishing Gang. However, because my consciousness had been captured by the power of the Blood Flower, I wasn't aware of what I was feeling. One is conscious perception, and the other is subconscious perception; they were originally unconnected. But now I've transformed to a completely new level, and therefore, I can recall these things that were previously imperceptible.

In a sense, Gao Hai is now similar to a hyperthymesia patient, possessing the ability to remember all his senses. Even after falling asleep, he can recall everything he heard and perceived while asleep upon waking. However, unlike others, his memory is an active skill. As long as he doesn't use it, it won't interfere with his normal life. And when he wants to, his extraordinary consciousness helps him instantly retrieve the memory fragments he needs, making it a change that is entirely beneficial.

"Well……"

With his eyes closed, Gao Hai first tried to sense the information related to the [Ghost Cry Cave].

It was a dark cave.

It was pitch black, covered with twisted, strange rocks.

A chill emanated from the cave.

Faintly, there seemed to be some subtle movement echoing from the depths of the cave.

The sound was so faint that even though Gao Hai had amplified his hearing as much as possible, he still couldn't recognize what it was.

No, this feeling... is not that the sound is too weak, but that the sound has been completely distorted.

Within that cave, there seemed to be some strange power that caused the sounds of those who entered to echo continuously, over and over again, for an extremely long time without fading away. In fact, the sounds would even mix with those of those who came later, creating a chaotic sound that reverberated endlessly within the cave.

Therefore, it is pointless to try to identify the sound.

Because over such a long period of time, these echoing sounds have become mixed with too much information, too... um?

Gao Hai successfully identified a small portion of the information from it.