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

My name is...

The creature spoke again, but its voice became increasingly muffled and hoarse, and the content of its words became unrecognizable.

The player who had questioned the strange creature didn't say anything more, but his breathing became noticeably heavy, and his heartbeat gradually became erratic. It seemed that the player's abilities had reached their limit, and he was about to be unable to continue.

Should we step in and protect it?

Seeing this situation, Gao Hai pondered in his heart.

hum-

However, before he could actually make a move, another player who had climbed over the wall took a step forward and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Tell us your name? Why are you looking for homes for these children?"

The player used the same type of power as the previous player.

Gao Hai quickly made a judgment.

The player, whose body was already trembling and on the verge of collapse, finally breathed a sigh of relief and repeated:

"Tell us your name and your purpose."

The two players activated their powers simultaneously, and the strange creature, whose voice had become indistinct, gave a clear answer once again.

This time, Gao Hai heard the strange creature whisper its words.

My name is Ge Yuan.

[I must find a space where these unborn, unreincarnated infants, who have remained here indefinitely, can live.]

That place is called "Nightingale Village," as far as I know and have heard. It is said that once you reach that place, everyone will find peace, and all the children will no longer have to suffer.

The eerie voice sounded much older at this moment, like that of an old man on his deathbed, yet within its aging body lay a kind of indescribable, vibrant life.

"..."

Gao Hai's eyes widened.

Ge Yuan.

He recognized the name; he had received intelligence information related to it.

The old Taoist priest Ge Yuan, despite his advanced age, led several disciples through the ancient primeval forest filled with miasma and poisonous insects, traveling eighty kilometers to reach the village here.

He seems to have arrived in this village before the ghost-suppressing Jiang, and also discovered the existence of the ghost. He even managed to contain it to some extent with his own abilities, which makes him quite a formidable and capable person.

Unfortunately, if Gao Hai remembered correctly, the old Taoist priest not only failed in the end, but the young Taoist priest he brought with him was also hunted down and framed by the villagers. Furthermore, if Gao Hai remembered correctly, he found information about this old man in that desolate village, a coincidence that was quite intriguing.

Should we continue asking? Is it even possible to keep asking?

Gao Hai, who was eager to learn more about how to quickly crack the dungeon, had a slight idea: he hoped that the two players could ask a few more questions.

"Giggle giggle—!!!"

A loud rooster crowed suddenly at that moment.

【Yingti Village...Yingti Village...】

Amidst the muttering, the eerie presence vanished without a trace the moment the sun rose. The once pitch-black village was now bathed in light, bright colors filtering through the paper windows and even the village trees appeared as if filtered through a special lens.

The two players from the Face-to-Face Literature Institute, who had been fearless just moments before, immediately fled and disappeared, their whereabouts unknown.

Tsk, we finally got a clue and they just ran away.

{Haijun, did you see that?}

Maki's voice rang out in the mental link.

{I saw it; it's a good thing it didn't last 24 hours.}

While responding to Maki, Gao Hai shifted his focus from the land deed to the outer window of the room he was in, looking at the sunlight streaming in through the paper window.

I'm back during the day.

Chapter 55: The Next Action Objectives and the Hidden Consensus Among the Players

Finally, after a full fourteen hours, the night in [Li Family Village] came to an end, and the daylight of the next day arrived.

In other words, this day in [Lijia Village] lasted approximately eighteen hours in total.

squeak-

Gao Hai pushed open the main door of the first-floor main house, looked up at the sky, and saw a gray, lifeless scene.

Under the gloomy, rain-like clouds, the primeval forests covering the mountains and plains seemed somewhat listless, with the trees and shrubs showing signs of slight shrinkage.

Compared to the sunny, vibrant scene of the first day, the current instance space truly resembles the underworld befitting a sacrificial game instance. Gao Hai believes this change speaks volumes. The abstract rituals of the welcoming ceremony likely hold profound significance. This also means that choosing the initial strategy of clearing out all villagers to create a safe zone inevitably leads to a rapid deterioration of the instance environment.

Tsk, I guess I was right? At this level of dungeon, there are no longer any truly safe zones. Even if players manage to create a safe area to some extent, there will inevitably be a price to pay.

This kind of pressure is really hard to get used to no matter what.

Gao Hai sighed silently in his heart, then steadied himself and focused his attention on the next action.

First and foremost, it's highly likely that this daylight period will be shorter than four hours. After all, the dungeon environment is already deteriorating, so the relatively "safe" daylight phase will inevitably shorten further. Gao Hai predicts that the daylight will last at most about two hours, after which it will plunge into a much longer period of darkness. Even... it's possible that the next time it gets dark, it will be a permanent night, with no dawn ever breaking again.

We must race against time!

{Gao Jun, do you have any ideas or plans?}

Kaguya's voice came from beside him. Takahashi turned to look at her, and the black-haired, red-eyed girl also looked up at him intently.

The other girls had also walked to Gao Hai's side. They all remained quiet, waiting for Gao Hai to speak. Now, Gao Hai was very clear about what he needed to bear, so he stopped lamenting and pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

{If we're talking about basic ideas, I'd say we have some. First, we need to determine an action plan and specific objectives. Let me think about it. The key issues we need to focus on right now are: one, the well in the Li family compound whose connection to other places hasn't been detected yet; two, the bottom of the [Water Ghost Lake], marked as significant by the power of the black watch; and three, the Liu Family Village under the cover of night, which we also need to investigate further, since it's currently the only place where we can definitively find the [Fox Queen]. In other words, we now have three directions that require further exploration.}

While pondering, Gao Hai spoke calmly through the mental link.

The well passage inside the Li family compound is the only passage located within the village. In other words, even at night, exploring this passage remains the most convenient option. Although no one knows where it leads, and the threat posed by the corpse in the well is completely unknown, at least the exploration point itself is safe, and with certain measures in place, normal exploration should be possible.

The investigation of [Water Ghost Lake] is currently the most urgent task, as it is located within the current spatial area. Based on current intelligence, the next period of darkness is approaching soon, and for safety reasons, a team must be organized and dispatched to [Water Ghost Lake] as quickly as possible. However, the mission at [Water Ghost Lake] is also the simplest and most straightforward. Gao Hai only needs to find the object at the bottom of the lake; once found, he doesn't need to concern himself with that place anymore, at least not outwardly.

As for Liu Family Village in the darkness, it's currently the only place where you can contact the Fox Queen. If Gao Hai wants to obtain the Fox Queen's mark as Jianzi relayed the information, he must visit this place. Compared to the previous two objectives, the difficulty of this mission lies in the player needing to leave the village and actively search for the paper dolls. Only after triggering the paper dolls' rules can the player be teleported to that village. Currently, triggering the paper dolls seems to be tied to the special notice board in Li Family Village. Now that Gao Hai has destroyed the notice board with his pistol, whether he can still encounter the paper dolls outside is completely unknown.

Various thoughts raced through Gao Hai's mind, and he relayed them to everyone present via mental link.

{These three tasks are difficult to perform simultaneously; doing them one by one would be too time-consuming. Haijun, we need to find a way to mobilize the other players. Those powerful Red Moon-level players can be our help, and as for the Dark Night-level players, we must at least ensure they don't cause trouble.}

Maki, who had been listening intently to Gao Hai, immediately chimed in with her analysis.

The task of retrieving something from the [Water Ghost Lake] must absolutely not be entrusted to anyone else. This involves the black watch, making it difficult to explain. To other players, it would seem like we're inexplicably heading into a dangerous area. Furthermore, if we actually retrieve something, it could easily cause trouble if others have any ideas. Since we've determined that the item we need to retrieve is extremely important and will play a significant role in solving the dungeon, we must ensure that we control it from beginning to end, leaving no trace that might arouse suspicion. Ideally, we should keep our activities completely secret.

Kaguya, on the other hand, focused on the salvage mission at the Water Ghost Lake, which she considered the most important of the three missions summarized by Takahashi.

{Perhaps we could modify the village itself to some extent. Since staying under a roofed room is safe according to the rules, if we could create a roof that completely covers all the buildings in [Li Family Village], wouldn't that give Li Family Village the concept of a "roof"? Hmm, I think we could at least try this in the courtyard, since the well entrance will need to be explored later, possibly repeatedly. If it drags on until after dark, it will be very inconvenient for players to travel back and forth through the well, right?}

Chika blinked, and seeing that Kaguya and Maki had each shared their own understanding, she spoke up, pointing to the buried wellhead next to the banyan tree not far away.

{So, is the focus now on gathering the players? Should we also gather Chen Qiucai, whom the master finds suspicious and untrustworthy? If we need to mobilize the players for action later, how should we deal with that person? Should we find an opportunity to eliminate him beforehand?}

Hayasaka, however, focused more on the issue of "people." After learning from Gao Hai that Chen Qiu had taken out two of her teammates during the night, the maid's expression turned cold. In her view, it was best to eliminate potential threats from such individuals who were difficult to ascertain. After all, if the other party acted suspiciously, it was often too late to deal with the problem once it surfaced.

Are you dealing with players who seem to be having issues?

The topic raised by the little maid caused a moment of silence in the mental link. Everyone clearly understood what Hayasaka meant; none of the people present were unfamiliar with this kind of player-versus-player confrontation.

{Should we...kill him? Hmm, that guy is a Red Moon level player after all; he must have some kind of survival tool. And since he managed to find the Li family compound under information cover, it proves he likely possesses some kind of powerful reconnaissance method, making an ambush on him very difficult. Besides, we haven't even truly organized the player group yet. If we kill someone now, especially without any real conflict, not to mention the question of whether we can kill him on the spot, if other players see it, will we still be able to maintain our authority?}

Upon hearing this, Maki pondered for a while. She herself didn't like fighting and killing, and in her opinion, Hayasaka's idea was a bit too crude, so she voiced her objection.

{I don't think that's a problem. Players in general have some degree of mental health issues, so killing someone who seems unreliable and problematic is fine. If anyone objects, just kick them out of the village and let them fend for themselves. When their lives are threatened, I think most people will obey.}

Kaguya, however, strongly agreed with Hayasaka's idea and even seemed somewhat eager to try it out.

Gao Hai didn't comment immediately because he knew that if he said something biased at this time, the girls' opinions would also turn in his favor, which was not the result he wanted. He wanted to see what everyone thought first.

Therefore, after a brief moment of thought, Gao Hai turned his attention to Kita and Ichiri.

{Ichiri, Kita, what do you two think? What are your plans for the next move?}

Gao Hai asked very seriously in the mental link temporarily established by the object of his obsession.

{...Me? Uh, well, I...I have no objection. I'll do whatever you ask me to do. But I might not be very good at killing. I'm not sure if I can kill with one blow. Disposing of the body is no problem, though.}

This was the answer given by Iri, who was trembling like a small animal, although her answer did not give Gao Hai any sense of the innocence of a small animal.

{Hmm, so everyone's probably more worried about teammates backstabbing them, right? To be honest, I can't see anything wrong with that player named Chen Qiucai, but the fact that he could manipulate and kill other players proves that he doesn't consider them his own kind. This kind of person's thinking, worldview, and values ​​are completely different from normal people. I think it's very dangerous to expect to cooperate with someone like that, because you can't analyze or predict their behavior using normal human thinking. Therefore, I support Hayasaka's idea; we still need to find a way to disable Chen Qiucai's ability to resist and find an opportunity to secretly kill him. Even if now might not be the best time to act, we still need to monitor his behavior and not give him a chance to act recklessly.}

After a moment of silence, Kita Ikuyo shared her thoughts, and with her speech, the number of votes supporting the elimination of that player jumped to three, accounting for nearly half of the current team's votes.

To be honest, Takami was quite surprised when Ichiri and Kita were seriously discussing whether or not to kill that player.

Unlike Maki and the others, Takami, while aware of Ichiri and Kita from the anime *Lonely Rock* and having a general understanding of its content, and thus also viewed them through the lens of anime aesthetics, felt a connection to them. Maki and the others had worked alongside Takami, sharing a deep understanding of their backgrounds. Ichiri and Kita, however, had already become players before Takami met them, possessing a past completely different from the anime and manga—a past Takami was unaware of. In other words, they had undergone profound changes in this world, distinct from their original lives, changes Takami hadn't fully grasped before.

After all, both Goto Ichiri and Kita Ikuyo displayed personalities very similar to those in the original work in front of Takami, with virtually no difference. Therefore, Takami had never deeply considered whether these cute girls had undergone any internal changes after experiencing the bloody and cruel bizarre events. After all, judging solely from their outward appearances, weren't they exactly the same as their characters in the original manga? Completely identical. It was only because Ichiri and Takami spent a considerable amount of time together during the time travel that Takami vaguely noticed something amiss, but because they were focused on saving people at that time, it wasn't very obvious.

Only now, when the topic of discussion turned to murder, did he truly realize the changes in the two girls.

Neither Ichiri nor Kita felt any guilt about killing a player they had no grudge against; they simply felt their abilities weren't suited for such a task and therefore preferred to handle the aftermath. The other, after analyzing the pros and cons, simply expelled the other player and decided to kill them, showing no regard for the other player whatsoever.

This is probably the psychological distortion they developed after experiencing multiple instances. However, I am actually the same in this regard. My current mindset is completely different from when I first entered Shirakawa Apartment. This is an unavoidable situation.

{Maki objects, Ichiri abstains, Ai, Kaguya, and Kita agree, Chika, are you going to vote?}

While silently pondering in his heart, Gao Hai turned to look at Qian Hua. After a brief silence, the latter said that she didn't care at all who the other person was, nor did she care much about whether or not to kill the other person. She only said that if she was going to do it, she would have to find a way to do it to the extreme.

{Red Moon level players aren't so easy to kill, because they usually have more than one survival item they're fixated on. So, unless Ah Hai is absolutely certain, it's best not to act rashly; after all, once you start something like this, there's no turning back. Hmm, in Chinese parlance, what's that saying again? "If you're going to kill, kill their whole family?"}

Chika pondered for a moment before giving her answer.

{I understand. I'll gather all the players in the courtyard in a bit, and I'll contact the "Slacking Off Gang" beforehand to get there first. Once everything is ready, I'll probe Chen Qiucai with the rescue team. If there's an opportunity, we'll kill him immediately and dump him in that abandoned village space. If we're unsure of his strength, I'll keep an eye on him and try to get him to another space. With the power of the land deed, I should be able to prevent him from returning to this space after the transfer.}

After a moment of contemplation, Gao Hai made his final decision and began to use the power of the land deed to summon the players who were currently in the village.

Although the team and the visiting player had only met once and there was no mutual grudge, even the most mild-mannered among them, Maki, simply disliked killing, not out of pity or any other reason, and opposed the decision. Everyone was prepared to kill the player, solely because he had shown an unreliable side—nothing more.

"Is it finally time to take action?"

Inside the cabin, Cat Brother saw the figure of [Teacher] appear beside him, convey a few messages, and then disappear again. After feeling a summons coming from a certain direction, he stood up first, signaling the other two to get up and act as well.

"Get ready for battle. According to Mr. Gao, that [Chen Qiucai] seems to be able to use other players to create items, so he might be a shady character. After we all gather together, we'll test him out. If he seems unreliable, then get ready to attack."

Cat Bro spoke quite naturally, unlike Gao Hai and the others who were still somewhat hesitant. As a veteran Red Moon-level player, he didn't see anything wrong with doing this. In fact, this approach was quite normal within Red Moon-level player teams. After all, at this level, if a player were to be backstabbed during a dangerous dungeon exploration, the resulting chain reaction would be difficult for everyone to bear. Therefore, if someone displayed a threat to other players and an unpredictable, inhuman, or even anti-player, nature, the likelihood of the other players teaming up to kill that dangerous player was very high.