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

{...We need to find the core artifact. This abandoned village must be a crucial location; perhaps the core artifact is here.}

Kaguya, whose condition had recovered somewhat, also spoke in the temporary mental link and quickly began to think about how to proceed.

{You two aren't in much better shape, are you? This place is extremely polluted; I don't think I can hold out much longer. Are you two sure you can find anything here? I think it's better to leave as soon as possible and avoid causing trouble for others.}

Tangyuan, usually bold and adventurous, frowned this time and offered a different perspective. She wasn't the type to recklessly act without regard for danger. On the contrary, precisely because of her love of adventure, this veteran player had an extremely keen sense of danger. She could vaguely sense that Gao Hai and Chachai were currently facing what might be the final few challenges of this dungeon. The hidden dangers were far more complex than they appeared, and recklessly venturing in could very well result in a terrible death.

{Do you have any way to find Li Xiaoxiao? She disappeared shortly after entering this village. Given her connection to Zhangjia Village, I think her current location might be related to the core obsession.}

But Kaguya was clearly serious. She took a step forward, staring intently at Tangyuan, showing no intention of backing down.

These days, people who like to die are getting better and better with each generation, though I'm not much better myself.

Seeing that neither of the two girls intended to back down, Tangyuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and took out a bloodstained phone to make a call.

"Hey, Li, are you there?"

As the power of the ghost story spread, Tangyuan spoke slowly and deliberately, while heavy breathing came from the other end of the phone.

{Location found. Something's not right on the other side. Prepare for battle. I'm teleporting now.}

After leaving such a message in the mental link, Tangyuan snapped his fingers, and a black ring on his middle finger flashed. Then, Kaguya and Chika felt the surrounding space suddenly change, as if they were being pulled in a certain direction, or as if the surrounding space was actively writhing and sending them somewhere.

{After using this, the artifact will be temporarily unusable, so either we solve this problem and survive, or we'll have to find a way to get out on foot. Oh wait, I heard Mr. Gao mention that you two established a special teleportation blessing mechanism with him, so if something really happens, it seems like only I will die…}

During the teleportation, Tangyuan had a moment to casually make a few comments, while Kaguya and Chika could only barely stand in place and try their best to support their bodies because they could not adapt to the distortion and change of space.

I could feel the surrounding space constantly distorting and becoming alienated.

And this direction of movement seems somewhat familiar, somewhat similar to the place I just saw in my perception. Could it be...?

squeak-

A large door slowly opened.

What Kaguya saw at this moment was the shrine that she had previously perceived, where the mountain god of Little Black Mountain, the fox goddess, and a third deity coexisted.

The Zhang family, instigated by Mr. Du, established this organization originally intending to use it to murder the Li and Liu families. However, it ultimately backfired, ruining their own plans. The result was the annihilation of the Zhang family; their souls, unable to find peace, were transformed into monstrous creatures and torn into pieces. Their corpses were even used by the Li family as the "funeral" part of their controlled monstrous creatures. In retrospect, this plan was a complete self-inflicted wound, although considering the circumstances at the time, it's not entirely incomprehensible that the Zhang family would make such an extreme choice.

Li Xiaoxiao is in this ancestral hall.

In the brightly lit ancestral hall, illuminated by burning candlelight, Li Xiaoxiao herself, looking dazed, sat on the empty third altar.

Is this one plan really reliable? Are there any other options?

It seemed as if one could hear such sounds coming from the candlelight, and see human faces reflected in the flames.

Because of our worship of the mountain god and the fox goddess, we're now trapped here. Even if we try to leave the forest, we inexplicably return. We're cursed. If we don't do something, the Li and Liu families will get rid of us sooner or later. Mr. Du… Mr. Du is an outsider; frankly, we can't completely trust him. We need to think of another way.

It was as if several people had stood here once, plotting something together, discussing it with solemn expressions.

Regardless, at least for now, through small-scale sacrifices, the Mountain God and the Fox Goddess are responding to us to some extent. This power, though weak, might still be useful if used properly… Let me think… didn't some members of the Li family leave recently? Those people were forced to be placed on the Mountain God statue; they've probably been chosen as sacrifices. Let's think of a way to negotiate with them and see if we can utilize them.

That's certainly an idea, but the question is how do you plan to use it? Others aren't stupid; if you want them to do things for you, you need to offer something convincing, right?

[It's not impossible. We can destroy the statues they hold, diverting the mountain god's power from them to us. There are plenty of young people in the village anyway, so letting them suffer isn't a problem, as long as they don't know. With the Fox Goddess's secondary faith, it's difficult for the mountain god to directly sacrifice our people, maintaining a balance for a while. Then we can use this to lure those people; with a little manipulation, we might be able to possess their bodies and escape.]

"If it were possible, it wouldn't be impossible, but can you be sure this method would actually work? And how did you even master such a technique? The Li and Liu families wouldn't have revealed this skill to you, would they?"

"They may not be up to par, but Mr. Du doesn't share their mindset. I learned these things from secret manuals I stole from Mr. Du's house. Didn't Mr. Du say everything was up to him? I suppose he wouldn't mind us secretly learning some of his skills, right? Hahaha—"

[Seriously? Was that guy surnamed Du really that stupid? He didn't even notice such a secret technique. Looks like God is protecting the Zhang family, haha. By the way, what kind of secret techniques are they? Can I take a look?]

No problem, no problem, everyone can watch it. To be honest, there are quite a few words in it that I don't understand yet. It's good for everyone to watch it together.

Amidst the light laughter, the group, having reached a consensus during their discussion, turned and left.

Amidst the snickering, someone who had been watching all this from the darkness revealed a mocking expression, then shook their head slightly and walked away.

[A bunch of pathetic fools, did they really think there was such a good thing? Hah, human greed truly is the greatest sin. Ugly and pathetic Zhang family, I really have to thank you for helping me finish these troublesome matters. From now on, the disaster will belong to you, and these bodies tainted by God will belong to me.]

As I sighed, the figure had already disappeared into the darkness.

Kaguya's consciousness returned to reality in that instant.

Is this what it turned out to be like?

In the instant that each candle went out, she understood what had happened here.

From beginning to end, the Zhang family was merely a tool to be used, exploiting their survival instincts and greed to complete someone's scheme.

Miss Li didn't return to fulfill a promise made between her ancestors and the Zhang family; she was actually summoned back as a vessel for Mr. Du. The Zhang family was merely a superficial facade, simply an object to be manipulated. Mr. Du may have already prepared some kind of backup plan, intending to use someone like Miss Li for something.

Kaguya spoke earnestly in the temporary mental link, but her expression couldn't help but become confused.

{If that's truly the case, then it shouldn't have taken at least several hundred years, until Xiao Li's generation, to return. Xiao Li's return was due to a specific supernatural power activating a bloodline curse within him. The probability of that happening is incredibly low. It's impossible for Mr. Du to have planned for hundreds of years into the future, right? Besides, it's now confirmed that Mr. Du himself is one of the core obsessions, isn't it? Once someone becomes a monster, they can't turn back into a human. Even if the individual's obsession is released, they can only find peace. So what use is this vessel then?}

Before Kaguya could figure out the problem herself, Tangyuan had already voiced it in the temporary mental link.

Mr. Du is dead.

Those who become ghost stories or monsters have no future. Even someone like Folneng from the Red Nut Gray Hole, who pretends to be alive, is destined to be trapped in the cycle shaped by the rules of their own ghost stories. As for beings like Alice and the "Teacher," they were not human from birth and cannot be confused with monsters transformed from humans. In other words, from the moment Mr. Du became a monster, he could never come back to life as a human.

That's why the three players present could all sense that Li Xiaoxiao sitting on the altar was still herself, and no one had taken over her body.

Mr. Du, who was supposed to take over her body, is dead.

This guy, who's practically the mastermind, shouldn't be in this state if he really had a plan. In other words, before Mr. Du's plan could be realized, some unexpected variable eliminated him?

While they were pondering, the three of them had already stepped into the ancestral hall.

At that moment, all the candles in the ancestral hall went out, followed by a strong chill that spread throughout the house.

A highly decomposed corpse, with only one pale hand remaining intact, appeared out of nowhere in the dark shrine. Under the player's lighting equipment, the rotting flesh writhed as if it were alive.

Kaguya's gaze, however, locked onto the object's neck the moment it appeared, specifically the 38-sided pendant hanging around its neck.

The core obsession has emerged.

Together with Mr. Du, who had already become a strange creature, they appeared in the ancestral hall and stood before the three of them.

whoosh-

The teacher, who had been silently following along, stepped forward and instantly grabbed the rotting corpse. The two figures crashed into the side of the house together.

Chika, who had also noticed the pendant, wanted to rush forward, but Kaguya and Yuen reached out to stop her and took a step back.

pat!

The blood-red dice fell to the ground, and faint bloodstains appeared where the three had just stood, before disappearing again because they couldn't reach their target.

There are other people in this cabin!

Chapter 135: The Players' Battle and the First Appearance of the [Wangsheng Hotel]

This blood-red die... is it the [Treasure Hunter]?!

Almost the instant she saw the dice appear, Kaguya realized who was there.

After all, due to her two deep fusions with Takami, Kaguya no longer needs Takami to use the power of the Black Watch to retain some of her memories from the previous timeline. Furthermore, Takami had carefully analyzed and explained the information and potential situations of the abnormal player organization, the "Treasure Hunters," to everyone. Therefore, from the moment she left the hidden village, Kaguya had been on guard against encountering these people, which is why she used her hearing blessing to investigate behind her in the forest.

However, it's a bit too absurd that it only appeared here.

This is supposed to be a very secluded area, so how did this guy get here? Logically, as long as Li Xiaoxiao hasn't returned, this abandoned village should be in a chaotic and distorted state, making it unsafe to enter, right? Could he have followed us in?

Kaguya was filled with questions; she simply couldn't believe that any other player could have gotten this far without Li Xiaoxiao's help. The current situation didn't allow her much time to think, as the rotting, corpse-like monster had already flung "Teacher" away. A distorted wave emanated from it, and a crimson hue began to appear around them.

hum-

This time, Tangyuan managed to block the attack from the core obsession, but directly facing the attack of the Crimson Moon-level monster undoubtedly placed a heavy burden on her, and her entire face turned deathly pale in an instant. It was clear that she would be instantly crushed by the next attack.

boom!boom!

The next moment, two suppression rounds appeared out of thin air in the ancestral hall and struck the strange creature.

The person hit was immediately slowed down and unable to launch another attack. Meanwhile, Gao Hai, who had confirmed the core obsession's true form through Kaguya's perception, continued to hold the line on the front lines after providing two suppression rounds from a distance.

The most important threat has been eliminated by Gao Jun, so what's next...?

Before Kaguya could even catch her breath, she sensed the presence of another aura. This time, it wasn't a strange creature; it seemed to be human, but something else had mixed in, giving it a distorted appearance.

"Oh... help me..."

The gasping sounds were intermittent, filled with unbearable pain.

"Help me...please...oh...save me..."

The player who appeared before the three players at this moment was named Chen Qiucai, who claimed to like gambling.

His face emerged from the wall, and his body followed, emerging from the wall as if from mud, with a strong viscous feel and a strange chill.

His face was covered in blood, his skin torn and bleeding, and you could see some kind of black dust and debris mixed in with the flesh.

Kaguya remembers this person.

Furthermore, she had a rather deep impression of this person, even though she hadn't met him much and had only heard descriptions of him from Takami and Hayasaka during the last playthrough.

The reason she remembered the other person was simple: in the third playthrough, that person attacked and dismembered Hayasaka, nearly killing her little maid. So even though she hadn't seen that person much, Kaguya remembered the name and the person's appearance, and secretly hoped that the person hadn't been captured and abducted by "that thing" as Takami had guessed, and that she would still have the chance to find the person and kill them herself.

It seems this opportunity is still available, which is pretty good.

"It is you."

From the pitch-black walls, more things were gradually emerging.

Elbows, knees, ankles, wrists, and torso gradually take on the form of a complete human being.

However, on this person's body, it was clear that the flesh around his joints had been cut open and stuffed with dark yellow paper. As the person walked out of the wall and bent over slightly, a portion of his spine, which had been removed, could even be seen on his back, along with the yellow paper used to replace the stuffing.

At this moment, Chen Qiucai looked as if he had just been pulled from a pool of blood. His clothes were soaked in blood, and his exposed flesh was covered in bloody wounds and dense black debris scattered among the blood and flesh, making him look extremely miserable. His body was also trembling constantly, as if some force was controlling him, making him unable to move on his own, like a puppet being manipulated.

To be fair, Gao Jun did mention that the [Treasure Hunters] might have some kind of cooperation with Li Family Village, and their exploration of the dungeon might be deeper than other players from the start. In other words, were these players who thought they could cooperate with the dungeon's inhabitants actually just being used as tools, becoming disposable once the situation changed?

It really suits this trashy look quite well.

"Please... help me... I'm a player too... I know... information about this place..."

Completely devoid of the carefree ease he displayed in previous playthroughs, Chen Qiu barely managed to open his mouth, continuing to plead for help from the players present, while his hand already gripped another red die.

Judging from the expression on his face, he really didn't expect to become like this. The confusion in his expression was just like that of every player who had once been an enemy of Gao Hai. As the game progressed, he became more and more confused about where he was and what had happened. It was so funny to see.

Don't hold back, take him out immediately! He's one of the members of the "Treasure Hunters"!

During the temporary mental link, Kaguya quickly spoke up to remind Yuen and Chika beside her.