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

Therefore, considering the possible actions Mr. Du might take, Gao Hai discussed countermeasures with Qian Hua before setting off.

"Impossible... impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible... This is impossible, ahhhhhh..."

Amidst his pitiful screams, Mr. Du collapsed to his knees, vomiting more and more blood.

In the way he planned his own death, after discovering that his entire village had been transformed into part of the mountain god and could no longer escape Xiaoheishan, Li Ziyong poisoned Mr. Du's food out of revenge, causing him to collapse on the ground, vomit blood, and die.

This way of dying was very inelegant and extremely pathetic, but that's precisely why Li Ziyong believed he was truly dead. In reality, what he vomited was just pre-prepared fake blood; his real self had already left his body before that.

However, this manner of death was being reenacted on Mr. Du once again. And unlike the previous time, this time, forced to merge again with the part of him that was the object of his obsession, Mr. Du truly felt the intense pain of the poison corroding his body and his organs gradually dissolving.

There's no reason at all, there's no reason why this would happen.

Its gaze fell upon the hidden altar, a trap it had prepared long ago. The meticulously crafted, intense mental pollution was enough to destroy the minds of any intruder. Those players who wanted to use the altar to target it should have died immediately.

As Mr. Du was thinking this, he saw several dazed figures standing around the altar, and a box of candy lying on the ground.

The [Animal Candy Box] is a Dark Night-level item with a strong random effect, which penalizes the user with a decrease in intelligence if too many candies are taken out in a short period of time. In theory, this level of item is not very useful in this dungeon, but if the effect of the item is only directed at the user, then it can still provide some unexpected characteristics.

Therefore, after successfully finding the altar, Chika and the others realized that this place had a very terrible mental pollution effect. They used the side effect of this prop to temporarily turn all the team members into mentally challenged people, making them completely unable to understand the power of mental pollution. They then used the mental imprints planted in their minds to complete the actions they had discussed in advance.

That is to sacrifice the thirty-eight-sided cube, which is the core of his obsession, to the altar, returning this thing that represents Mr. Du's obsession and faith to this chaotic believer who thought he could control everything in the dark.

As a crucial core artifact in the [Sacrifice Game] dungeon system, this thirty-eight-sided object was not taken by the god. Even if the act of sacrifice did trigger the god's power, just as Gao Hai had guessed, the other party was, in a sense, very "rule-abiding," thus making it impossible to break the dungeon by not taking this core artifact. As for the possibility that the other party might actually break the rules and take the artifact after making such a risky move, Gao Hai couldn't be sure at the time, but he was certain that if the other party did do so, it would confirm that the other party wanted the main body to intervene, and then he naturally wouldn't need to consider how to break the dungeon.

"Ahhh...why...why?"

The creature, which had not yet lost its ability to think, was still wailing and asking questions in confusion.

I can no longer feel God's love for me.

Finally, all that could be heard was laughter, as if someone had finally gotten what they were looking forward to.

No, this shouldn't be the case. After making so much effort and giving so much love, why is this the only response he gets?

Struggling, the strange creature reached out its hand towards Cat Brother, who was not far away.

Please help me, please help me! I can no longer feel the love of the gods. Something must be blinding me, hindering my connection with them. Come with me to follow the chaos, come with me to seek love. Please, I don't want to disappear like this, please give me another chance to receive love...

Cat Brother responded by taking a step back and casually tossing a piece of paper money folded into a dagger, instantly piercing the head of this nonsensical creature.

You can feel this enclosed space gradually dissipating.

Although we don't know exactly what they did, they managed to take down this "mastermind" who appeared out of nowhere.

Cat Brother has to admit that this Mr. Du, who seems to be the mastermind, is rather cheap and even somewhat inexplicable in his eyes. But just to deal with such a madman, Chachai and Xiao Guo lost their lives, and Li Nianyou, who had already lost her life senses, was also wiped out. This wave directly wiped out three Red Moon level players, and Cat Brother himself suffered quite serious injuries, practically crippled. This fact still made Cat Brother's heart sink a little.

Is this the power of the [Form of Origin]? I don't know what it is, but it's so powerful that it's hard to laugh.

As he pondered, Cat Brother looked at Mr. Du, who had completely decomposed into a highly decaying corpse and reverted to his monster form. He could sense that something invisible had separated from Mr. Du and returned to some other part of the instance. Along with that thing's departure, he even heard a faint sound of a clapperboard.

{Hey Cat Bro, how's things going on your end? We've got everything sorted out here, and we're about to come join you guys.}

The voice of Tangyuan, the last member of the [Historian] group, rang out through the temporary mental link. This veteran player, due to some special means, was the first to escape her mentally challenged state. She then helped Kaguya and the others break free of the curse before contacting Cat Brother.

Cat Brother did not respond to Tangyuan's words immediately.

The special space itself is gradually disappearing; this place, which shouldn't have existed in the first place, is returning to its proper state. Cat Brother is certain that once this place completely disappears, their group will return to the space where the hidden village is located—the space they were in before entering this place.

But things have changed there.

Although it was not yet clear, Cat Brother already had a premonition and realized that the space had changed and had become an absolute dead zone.

And... the moment he realized this, he was sensed by the other party in the same way and marked with coordinates, making it impossible for him to leave.

{Teleport directly away from here. Don't try to sense anything. It doesn't matter where you are teleported to, but you must not go back to where we started.}

So the response Tangyuan received was this calm statement.

{...Has the situation gotten this bad? Where are Brother Chaichai and Xiao Guo? And the fake Taoist priest?}

Realizing there might be a problem, Tangyuan immediately used a spatial artifact to clear a path for Zhenfei and the others, while continuing to ask questions in the temporary mental link.

They went first, I'm next, so don't come with me.

After that sentence, Cat Bro lost contact, and there was no way to ascertain his situation anymore.

The members of the "Slacking Off" gang always seemed to be like this, never having any psychological burden when facing death. Tangyuan could only sigh slightly at this, then thought of the historians, whose spirit of courting death was no less than that of the "Slacking Off" gang, and couldn't help but smile.

Then, she suddenly sensed the presence of other players.

It clearly came from the Dark Night level players in the hidden village, but it seemed to have a strange aura mixed in with something else.

Chapter 148: The Overlooked Superfluous Person and the Changes in the Bloodstains

Gao Hai felt that he might have overlooked something.

From the fourth playthrough until now, in order to achieve the goal as quickly as possible and race against the Blood Flower, which inexplicably chose to lie dormant, Gao Hai has been operating at full capacity, constantly fighting across various locations without stopping. While this has indeed yielded good results—all four core obsession items are now in hand, allowing for the next phase of action—some problems that could have been discovered earlier have been overlooked in this fast-paced operation.

The first thing that was overlooked was failing to notice that the blood flowers were gradually eroding the foundation of the instance and attempting to take the entire [Infant Cry Village] with them.

However, this was something that couldn't be helped, and even if they discovered it, it wouldn't have mattered, since it was an enemy of the Blood Flower's caliber. Even if it openly devoured the instance in front of everyone, to be honest, Gao Hai still couldn't do anything about it. In fact, if they hadn't adopted a desperate strategy to save time, everyone would definitely be dead by now.

But besides that, there must be something else I've overlooked.

From the information transmitted through the mental link, Gao Hai learned of the deaths and sacrifices of Cat Brother and several other players, as well as that Kaguya and the others had successfully obtained the final core artifact and now needed to coordinate with him to reunite.

Gao Hai was too lazy to comment on Mr. Du, who held the Root Form but barely managed to show off. Although he seemed like a mastermind, considering the hotel owner standing behind him, this pathetic wretch was nothing more than a puppet without any self-will. An idiot who thought he had found his true faith and pursuit of a god, only to be a tool being used, was precisely the kind of person who collaborated with the villagers of Li Family Village, consumed by their own desires, to complete this instance. From this perspective, Gao Hai could somewhat understand the Doll's KP's thoughts and why he was so obsessed with breaking the tangible and intangible fate.

So, what exactly was he overlooking?

"Come over here. I've already set up the teleportation coordinates. Also, since there's a problem with the hidden village, don't try to observe that space anymore. Remember, not even a glance!"

As he pondered, Gao Hai spoke through the mental link, glancing at the monsters around him that were still trying to attack.

Whether it was the mutinous soldiers, the skinned opera troupe members, or other strange creatures summoned by Li Ziyong's desperate counterattack, they were all driven back by the police officers' fierce attack and could not get close to Gao Hai for the time being. Even those that did get close were repelled by Gao Hai using various means, and none of them could really hurt him.

At this point, the power of these Crimson Moon-level monsters was truly insufficient in front of Gao Hai. For one thing, none of the monsters brought by Li Ziyong's counterattack possessed Crimson Moon-level core obsessions, which significantly reduced the threat posed by the monster horde. He had initially thought he might have to expend some effort to deal with this guy's final attack, but in the end, this was the only result, making Gao Hai feel somewhat overwhelmed.

【Uh... Oh... Quack...】

Li Ziyong, torn to pieces beyond recognition, was still wailing and had not yet completely lost consciousness.

The person who turned him into his current state wasn't Gao Hai... well, at least not entirely Gao Hai, but rather the consciousness of [Alice], who was merged with him. This chaotic entity, shaped by Gao Hai's own memories and impressions and further integrated with his mind, used Gao Hai's body to subject Li Ziyong to inhumane torture, turning him directly into a Slaanesh-level work of art.

For Li Ziyong, perhaps losing consciousness would be better in this state. However, Gao Hai didn't care about that. He couldn't be bothered to pay more attention to the trash who had already been knocked to the ground. The key was to quickly remember what he had overlooked.

So, what might be the things we've overlooked?

As he felt the spatial passage gradually opening beside him, Gao Hai closed his eyes and pondered silently.

First and foremost, it's certain that this overlooked crucial point is connected to the Blood Flower. As the greatest threat in the [Infant Cry Village] instance, only this thing can continuously threaten Gao Hai and his team's safety at all times. And only this thing is the terrifying enemy he has been unable to confront until now.

The Blood Blossoms have begun to devour the foundation of this instance, and this change may not be reversed by the Black Watch. In addition, the area where the Blood Blossoms first erupted is the Hidden Village, where most players gather.

Wait, why did it break out in a hidden village?

Gao Hai suddenly opened his eyes.

For a high-level being like Bloodflower, speculating about its mental activities is not very meaningful, but analyzing its actual actions can reveal patterns. Choosing to devour the foundation of the instance can be seen as a further improvement after the failures of the first two playthroughs, but the act of deliberately revealing its presence in the hidden village in advance is a bit puzzling.

After all, in His eyes, all the spaces in this instance should be pretty much the same.

Unless this thing has tentacles inside the hidden village...

antenna……?

Could it be... wait, does He have this ability? Why didn't He have it before...?

The moment Gao Hai realized the truth, he felt his body stiffen.

He mentally recalled the number of Dark Night-level players gathered in the fourth and third playthroughs, confirming that the number of Dark Night-level players in both playthroughs remained unchanged.

But that shouldn't be the case. At the very end of the third playthrough, Gao Hai clearly remembered that Hayasaka encountered trouble while leading the last group of Dark Night-level players to retreat. In other words, a group of players should have already been devoured by the Blood Flower, so the number of Dark Night-level players that could be gathered in the fourth playthrough should be different from that in the third playthrough.

Unless, those players were deliberately released by Bloodflower to serve as coordinates.

Gao Hai's breathing had become quite erratic.

He realized the timing of the Blood Flower's eruption coincided with the period when most players, except for himself, remained inside the village, while he had gone out alone to search for Li Ziyong. It was at that moment that the Blood Flower silently emerged from the village, but Kaguya Maki and the others managed to escape by moving to the enclosed space where Mr. Du was located.

Did they really escape unscathed?

Those players who should have disappeared but returned, and the blood that suddenly erupted in the village after a long period of dormancy, just as I was leaving—all of this… what exactly…?

{Haijun, we're here!}

Maki's voice rang out clearly from the mental link.

Through the blessing, Gao Hai also saw the process of her arriving beside him through spatial teleportation.

The first thing to appear before her was Maki, who had just escaped the mentally challenged curse of the animal candy and was still not in good spirits.

Next, Kaguya and Chika appeared one after the other. The former was observing her surroundings warily, while the latter was thinking silently, perhaps having come up with something.

Next, Goto Ichiri came out. This socially awkward pink-haired girl with a guitar wasn't in good shape either. She probably needs to rest for a while to truly heal the mental trauma she suffered while exploring the mass grave space.

Apart from the two who had already been captured by Xuehua, the remaining team members who were close to Gao Hai were all here.

There were no signs of blood seeping in.

If so, Gao Hai was certain he would notice immediately. After all, he had established a deep connection with the girls, and if anyone had problems due to the blood flower parasitism, Gao Hai would definitely be able to detect it within a short period of time.

But there is one more person.

After hearing Maki and the others' explanation, Gao Hai realized that besides the girls, there was another player involved. The girls' rapid return to Gao Hai's side, and their quick removal of the curse after the animal candy's side effects were all thanks to this player. It was safe to say that without this player's assistance, Maki and the others probably wouldn't have survived the hidden cave.

【■■■……】

I heard distorted and disordered noise.

Such a familiar, chilling love.

However, it was clearly far less powerful than the power I had felt before, lacking that terrifying corrosive and infectious force.

A hand wrapped in blood-red vines appeared in Gao Hai's line of sight.

None of the girls present were aware of the hand's existence, nor did any of them notice its writhing, blood-red color. Even though it was right in everyone's sight, even though it so openly displayed its tentacles, apart from Gao Hai, who had already formed a deep connection with the mountain god and whose perspective had changed, none of the others were able to perceive its presence, nor realize that it had already come to their side.

His control over power became more refined.

After killing everyone except Miko at the beginning of the second playthrough, and causing Takami's soul to be scattered in the last hug, and being able to quickly devour Hayasaka's existence without harming her life in the third playthrough, and forcibly resisting the power of the black watch and almost taking Takami's life, Bloodflower in the fourth playthrough can now control its power very meticulously, without revealing its existence to pollute Maki and others, until it finally reveals itself when it appears in front of Takami.

[Finally escaped... Whoa, what's going on here? Have the two Great Dao cultivators fought to the edge of the universe?]