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

What exactly are these things?

Gao Hai originally thought that contact with that thing might trigger some kind of power that would cause spatial teleportation or something similar, but now his clone has already taken several wreaths and destroyed all the circles that originally surrounded the village with the wreaths, but this situation has not occurred. He is increasingly confused.

Why don't we try destroying all the wreaths and smashing everything?

Gao Hai felt a stirring in his heart.

However, through the blessing power given by her teacher, Maki could still sense something faint and elusive. There must be something behind those wreaths, something related to them.

While destroying these ordinary wreaths would be incredibly easy, without any difficulty whatsoever, recklessly kicking the door without understanding its underlying mechanisms could have dire consequences. Gao Hai wasn't that reckless.

{Ah Hai, it's starting to get dark.}

Qianhua's voice suddenly rang out at this moment, and after hearing the words from the mental link, Gao Hai immediately looked up at the sky and found that the sky, which was originally just a little gloomy, was now covered with dark clouds, and it looked like the light source would soon disappear.

"Everyone, move into the indoor area. Do not stay in the area without a roof. It may get dark soon."

Without hesitation, Gao Hai immediately alerted the other players present. He then quickly went to Goto Ichiri's side, picked her up (who was currently controlling her clone to investigate the wreaths and track down the "Historian" who was arguing with the paper dolls, and carried her into a nearby house).

Then, in less than a minute, the sky turned completely dark, to the point where it was almost pitch black.

3 hours.

This is the duration of this round of daylight.

Gao Hai didn't know if there would be another day, he only knew that this night would be very long.

{The wreath has changed}

Yili's voice rang out again in the mental link.

{Those wreaths...faces and names appeared on them. Words and drawings appeared on every wreath, each bearing a name and a portrait drawn in calligraphy. Hmm...they're all surnamed Li! All the names on the wreaths are surnamed Li!}

Then, noticing even more details, Ichiri shouted very loudly in the mental link.

Last name Li?

Are these wreaths from [Li Family Village]? But wreaths are meant to be given by the living to the dead. Could it be that Li Family Village suffered some serious damage that resulted in a large number of casualties, and after the casualties, some outsider from outside Li Family Village came to offer condolences?

Gao Hai was unable to determine the answer immediately.

But the changes in the situation did not subside because of his confusion.

{Someone's coming from outside, no, something eerie is coming from all around.}

A voice echoed in the darkness. Because he couldn't see anything, Gao Hai couldn't immediately tell if she was speaking beside him or through their mental link. But he could feel the approaching presence, and sense those things that weren't initially in this space but had now manifested under the call of some force.

Dead body.

The corpse was covered in sword wounds and missing limbs.

The corpse was purple all over and covered in bruises, its body swollen and deformed.

The corpse was so thin it was skin and bones, and had completely lost its normal human form.

They are villagers from Lijia Village.

According to the rules, and the logical rules of this village, all these corpses possess the identity of "villagers." And the reason they are here seems to be solely driven by a single goal: to return to the village, to their homes—nothing more.

The power of the land deed... seems unable to interfere too deeply with these things. They are different from the residents of the previous Li Family Village; they are purely unreasonable and strange creatures. Moreover, this feeling... could it be that these things appeared before the era when Li Ziyong was in power? Although I can sense their presence through the land deed, this sense of antiquity is as if I am facing something from many, many years ago.

In short, let Yili try to search inside and see if he can find it...

{Huh, it disappeared?}

Within the mental link, Ichiri unconsciously uttered a voice of doubt.

At that moment, Gao Hai's eyes widened slightly. The aura of the corpses outside the village had completely disappeared, and he could no longer sense them.

No, they're not gone, their locations have changed.

Turn your head.

In the pitch-black house, Gao Hai reached out and grabbed a withered arm.

They are already here.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Revealing the Secret Origins of the Li Family Clan and the Call to Divine Power

With a chilling aura spreading in an instant, a desiccated corpse appeared in the room without warning.

Gao Hai almost instinctively wanted to activate his ethereal form and punch the thing, but then he realized the problem. He forcibly stopped his body, which was poised to attack, and immediately warned the others through the mental link.

Do not attack these corpses, and do not make any attempt to harm them!

Boom——

Almost the instant the sound faded, a bolt of lightning streaked across the night sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder and a torrential downpour.

The dried-out corpse was almost sticking to Gao Hai's body, and the body, which was originally nearly dehydrated, had at this moment faintly regained some color. In contrast, Gao Hai's skin showed obvious signs of dryness, as if it had become dry and parched from being exposed to the sun for a long time.

His body reacted this way simply from a subconscious feeling of hostility. If it weren't for Hirano Sosuke's blessing of danger perception subtly reminding Takami, he probably wouldn't have realized the problem until his arm was truly dehydrated.

Splash—splash—

The torrential rain pounded against the walls and rooftops, making a clear sound.

Gao Hai stood still, and the corpse did not move either, simply standing beside Gao Hai.

"call……"

With each breath, Gao Hai could clearly feel the strange sensations emanating from his entire body, as if all his bodily fluids were being drawn away, and he was being dried out little by little.

These corpses, according to the rules, belong to the villagers of Lijia Village.

After a brief silence, Gao Hai spoke through the mental link.

Although they appear to be corpses, their existence seems to exist in an intermediate state between death and life, and they also possess a certain cursed quality.

{Now, because of the use of land deeds, we players are also classified as "Li Family Village villagers" according to the rules, which has triggered this curse. Therefore, our hostility will attract the power of these things, causing an exchange between our existence and theirs. They can obtain our life force in this way and transfer their corpses to us.}

As Gao Hai explained the situation through the mental link, he stared at the corpse standing in front of him.

The other person's withered face had not yet regained its color. But Gao Hai could vaguely see that the face... resembled his own.

At this moment, this face is quietly facing Gao Hai, observing him, or perhaps it is not looking at anything at all, but its eyes just happen to be in this direction.

"call……"

With his emotions under control, Gao Hai's abnormal changes ceased and did not worsen. The corpse simply stood silently in place, making no further move.

Hostility, or even direct attacks, will cause these things to change, making them more and more similar to the corresponding player. The player targeted by these players will gradually transform into the appearance of the corresponding corpse.

Conversely, if the player calms down, stays composed, and doesn't have any impulsive thoughts, this thing seems to remain in a corpse state. However, even in a corpse state, it seems to still follow the player, like a piece of chewing gum that can't be shaken off.

But completely calming these emotions is no easy task. Gao Hai knew his mental strength was exceptionally resilient, so he could do it. However, other players would find it much harder to complete the command while being followed by this thing. If a player possessed by the corpse couldn't maintain deep emotional control, they might completely swap identities with the corpse, with the corpse replacing the player and becoming a mole among them, causing the player to die as a corpse. And if the others didn't notice this and couldn't find the player replaced by the corpse in time…

{Everyone, assemble in the plaza area! These corpses are very troublesome; they might replace players' identities. We must confirm the safety of all players as soon as possible. If a corpse manages to infiltrate, something terrible could happen.}

Thus, Gao Hai, speaking through the mental link, began to move, quickly advancing in the darkness towards the village square, which had now been transformed into an indoor area by the players.

The desiccated corpse followed Gao Hai closely, silently, almost touching him, as if imitating his movements and learning his walking posture little by little.

slam-la-

The sound of rain seemed to grow even more torrential, as if water were being poured from the sky onto the ground.

The power of land deeds cannot erase the identity of these things.

When Gao Hai tried to solve the problem using that object of obsession, he immediately realized this.

The reason for this is that, in the identities displayed on the land deeds, the "village" identities of these items are all associated with the player.

Therefore, erasing the corpse's identity would also erase the corresponding player's identity, meaning that player would no longer be protected by the village rules. Gao Hai honestly didn't know what this would lead to, but he felt it was best not to do it lightly unless absolutely necessary. After all, the village situation in this space seemed to be deteriorating, and losing identity protection could lead to some rather terrible things.

But where did these things come from?

Gao Hai was certain that the appearance of these corpses was the result of someone manipulating things behind the scenes.

Based on the intelligence gathered so far, it's confirmed that Li Family Village has a unique set of rules for funeral arrangements. The specifics of these rules are currently unknown, but they don't seem to be related to any identity transformation. Furthermore, considering the ancestral precepts left by Li Ziyong regarding the loss of villager status for those who "disappear without following the rules" and the fact that "the dead" are not worth remembering, it seems the villagers of Li Family Village, while having some taboos about the dead, don't harbor any fear of them. For them, the dead might cause some trouble, but they shouldn't, or at least not very much, endanger their lives.

So what exactly are these corpses that possess villager identities and corresponding identities to all players? And how did they suddenly appear?

Listening to the replies from others in the mental link, Gao Hai quickly passed through the temporary passages and approached the square area in the center of the village.

slam-la-

The sound of rain grew louder.

The continuous flow of water hitting the building and the ground created a loud, almost chaotic sound, to the point that Gao Hai could barely distinguish any other sounds from it.

Regardless of the voices of everyone in the spiritual connection.

The voices of other players around them had become difficult to discern.

The desiccated corpse simply stood beside Gao Hai.

In this completely dark world, the thing that imitated Gao Hai simply followed him silently.

Keep going.

Continue moving forward.

We can already see the square ahead.

The small square was empty, filled with water and mud, and there was a stage in the square that was empty yet seemed to have something there.

A large crowd had already gathered in the small square; everyone had assembled there.

Splash—splash—

The torrential rain obscured the breath and heartbeat, while thunder rumbled and flashes of lightning illuminated the dark world.

I still can't hear the sound clearly.

It's like being submerged in water; all sounds are blocked out, becoming muffled and indistinct, making it impossible to clearly discern the content.

No.

There still seem to be some things that can be identified.

Hidden within those sounds are sounds from a very long time ago.

The voice was speaking, it was speaking...