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

"It's so painful...my soul...my ego...is being torn apart..."

"Then...the doctor found me...the doctor started treating me...the doctor knew what to do...the doctor...saved me..."

Something seemed to gradually spread along with Ushimiya Eri's voice.

Gao Hai could vaguely sense the strangeness, but he couldn't pinpoint its source. The other person seemed to be here, yet not here, separated by an invisible membrane. As long as this barrier wasn't truly broken, neither could truly perceive, influence, or come into contact with the other's existence.

But now, this barrier is about to be broken.

Because of Kaguya's new abilities, her words, which disrupt reality and construct mystical rituals, can, to some extent, become sharp needles piercing through thin veils. Especially when this modified, abnormally functioning player is the other party in the ritual connection, Kaguya's abilities can exert a very powerful effect.

It's coming soon.

Listening to the cacophony of words uttered by this unfortunate player, Gao Hai could already faintly sense the power that was eagerly waiting to descend.

"The doctor...gave me a new life..."

The voices of the headless player grew calmer and more stable, and the interfering noises became less and less.

"The doctor took away all my cowardice... The doctor gave me a true heart of steel... The doctor saved me, and the doctor wants to save more people... This world needs to be saved... Only a doctor can fulfill this mission..."

As the blood flowed down, the player's body gradually stopped trembling, and his posture became more and more natural.

"Doctors understand our suffering. Doctors know how to truly save the world. Only doctors can do it. Only doctors can truly change everything. Therefore, we should submit to doctors. We should obey their commands and orders. Only doctors are right. Only doctors are right..."

Amidst the bewitching voices, the player's faceless head gradually turned, shifting from being aimed at Kaguya to being aimed at Takami.

What is she going to do?

The moment Gao Hai sensed something was wrong, he received a warning from Alice first.

The warning direction is to your side, indicating spatial disorder. Something else has been linked to this place, and a void will open up soon!

"careful!"

Gao Hai suddenly stood up, used his mental power to send Kaguya aside, and then turned to face the direction of the chaotic space.

The next second, a blinding light shone on Gao Hai.

What was coming towards us was... a freight train moving at full speed!

what?

Gao Hai, who hadn't expected to see such a thing, was stunned for a moment, and then the faceless player grabbed his ankle, causing him to miss his chance to dodge and be knocked over by the train.

Rumble—thump—thump-thump—

Amidst the heavy thud, Gao Hai, lying on the ground, slammed his head against the rails, only to be run over once by the train wheels, then a second, then a third…

Amidst flying sparks, the speeding train overturned and crashed to the ground. With a deafening roar, more than a dozen carriages collided together, and a steel coil weighing more than 20 tons rolled directly off the cargo box, smashing onto Gao Hai's body and burying him on the spot.

Dust billowed everywhere, and flames were already burning from the locomotive amidst the thick smoke.

The player, whose face was missing and who was still bleeding, stood in the wrecked carriage and slowly turned his head, looking at the brightly lit city through the twisted mechanical structure.

"Now, it is finally time for doctors to save the world and bring light to it."

The player, speaking like this, opened his arms and took a step forward as if to embrace the world.

Then he was hit by a steel coil that flew from afar and was immediately smashed into the rubble pile around the railway, disappearing from sight.

tread--

Amidst the clear sound of footsteps, Gao Hai, with a cut on his forehead, emerged from between the carriages. He wiped the blood from his head as he used his mental power to place the train driver, whom he had rescued earlier, onto the street not far away. Then, noticing some movement, he picked up another steel coil lying beside him with one hand and, just as the "player" struggled to crawl out of the rubble, swung it directly at him.

Interlude 4-28: Takahashi, who proclaims himself to be a god with a body of steel.

What does it feel like to have your head run over by a train wheel, and repeatedly?

If Gao Hai were to say it, it would still hurt a bit.

Especially when he was hit by the steel coil, the feeling was really intense, like someone was giving him a hard back massage, which gave him a big fright.

However, this is a minor matter and not what we need to focus on right now. After all, the wound on his forehead had healed within seconds, and his body was completely unharmed from the continuous impacts and crushing by the train. Well, I do feel a little sorry for the driver. Although I managed to save him beforehand, the fact that he got stuck in the train and caused it to derail seems like it could have created a lot of trouble. I hope he won't be fired because of it.

After all, the real destruction begins now.

"The ultimate goal of modifying this player's body and soul is to create a trap to lure me into contacting this player."

As Gao Hai spoke softly, he looked at the player in front of him who was slowly getting up, his body completely distorted.

No, that's not the same player anymore.

Although the exact function of the bizarre machine that replaced the brain structure remains uncertain, the player has been effectively twisted into something else, irreversibly altered from body to soul. However, this change is almost undetectable from the outside; even Gao Hai's mental assessment requires deep contact, not just a glance.

This is really troublesome. Such characteristics could not possibly have been formed naturally from supernatural phenomena. They must have been specially cultivated and created to achieve infiltration operations.

As he pondered, Gao Hai's gaze locked onto the distorted face that resembled a giant maggot, and the machine within it that was constantly running.

He had roughly figured out the situation and understood the key points.

The supernatural entities are always bound to the world of ghost stories by the rules. Even those from the Red Moon-level dungeon face numerous restrictions when trying to enter the real world, and must return when their time is up. The opponent lurking behind the scenes who altered this player, even if they have indeed thoroughly twisted the player's spirit and body, does not mean they can freely unleash that power into the real world. On the contrary, this deeply twisted player will be captured by the dungeon's power and will soon be dragged into the dungeon world.

Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to give this modified player, who has not yet shown too many bizarre characteristics, an anchor point. A sufficiently powerful being must observe them and use this observation to fix them on the side of the real world, thus preventing them from being dragged back to the instance world. Then, using this anchor point, the power of the supernatural canon can be further released into this world, so that the restrictions of the [Sacrifice Game] on the power of the supernatural canon canon can be truly weakened.

In other words, this trap was set from the very beginning to lure Gao Hai.

It's certain that this thing hiding in the hospital instance has been observing Gao Hai for a long time. After its attempt to lure Gao Hai with the help of KP was exposed, it was probably preparing this trap and plotting to use Gao Hai's power to take itself a step further into the real world.

Ultimately, I was just used.

Having confirmed this, Gao Hai was not angry, and his emotions did not fluctuate much. He even thought that this enemy he had never met was quite capable and interesting.

Then, he strode towards the "player" who was gradually repairing his body.

What you need to do next is very simple.

That is to eliminate the real-world anchor point that the other party has created by exploiting you.

"You... you want to stop the salvation of this world? As one of the chosen players, you want to stop true redemption?"

Using the possessed player's body, that thing accuses Gao Hai at this moment. Its righteous and indignant manner makes it seem as if it truly is a great hero who saves the world, while Gao Hai is a villain under the command of a so-called world-destroying demon king.

Some images and sounds flowed into Gao Hai's mind along with his words.

He saw the city engulfed in flames.

The shattered streets were littered with bones. People fled in panic. Mothers reached out to protect their children, and husbands desperately shielded their wives. Then, everyone was frozen in their final moments, facing death in endless agony, or rather, a fate worse than death.

He saw the entire Earth engulfed in flames, losing all life.

He even saw the dim, blood-red light envelop the entire galaxy, expanding endlessly and spreading throughout the universe until it swallowed everything.

I can change all of this! I can end this hopeless future!

A majestic, gender-neutral voice resounded in Gao Hai's heart.

All the suffering in the world can be healed in my hands!

The sacrifice game will bring destruction to this world, but I can stop it!

Only I can save this world, only I can become the god of all humanity, the god of this planet. My power can bring all life in this world to perfection, my power can correct everyone's flaws, and make everyone a great being!

asphyxia.

Even though nothing actually appeared around Gao Hai, he still felt an incredibly strong, suffocating sense of oppression that almost crushed him.

It was as if every nerve was trembling and every blood vessel was about to burst, forcing his body to collapse.

Kneel down before me!

The voice solemnly declared to Gao Hai.

【Blessed infant god, only by kneeling at my feet can you receive true salvation!】

I am the truly chosen one, the one who can save everything; I am the true God! Only I can give you the right guidance and lead you to the right path!

Kneel before me, offer me your soul, your consciousness, your everything! I will heal you, I will cure you, I will mold you into perfection! You will be the first follower of my divine power!!!

At the end of the sound, Gao Hai could no longer see the city, the overturned train, or the lights on the surrounding roads.

A magnificent golden light enveloped everything, and the colossal, faceless statue, at least several hundred meters tall, stood tall. As if taking pity on Gao Hai, it bent down and slowly covered him with its giant hand.

It must be admitted that such power is indeed terrifying.

Even though there was still a considerable distance between them, and the spatial barrier between them could only be considered a tiny crack, the power transmitted into their consciousness at this moment was already far greater than that of the Black Mountain God and the Fox Queen they had encountered in [Infant Cry Village].

It… no, this kind of thing is enough to be described as “He”.

His existence was firmly sealed within the instance, a seal stronger than any instance he had encountered before. It's likely that the instance he resided in was never open to players from beginning to end, remaining sealed in the first place. This is why the opponent had to painstakingly utilize a god-level being like Gao Hai to create an opportunity for his power to leak out. In other words, his power was deemed by the Keeper of the Game (KP) to be beyond the reach of players long ago, and therefore was abandoned from the start.

Gao Hai was certain of this; he could clearly sense it. The aura of the space that bound Him was incredibly ancient. At least several hundred years ago, He had probably already reached the level of the planetary spirits and had remained sealed ever since.

Even while sealed, He was still able to gradually infiltrate His power into the real world. Just like the previous "Psychotherapist," these things, which were likely some kind of derivative monsters, were released into the real world by Him, secretly plotting for decades or even centuries, carrying out some kind of plan in the undercurrents unknown to everyone.

Now, clearly sensing something, it began to speed up its pace. The first to suffer was the KP who managed its instance. Then, it directly targeted Gao Hai, intending to enslave him and then completely control and transform all the humans on the planet.

I initially thought that a writer creating something like "Alice" was already quite a feat for a KP (King Producer). The puppets were just background elements, a battle between gods that was beyond their control. But this KP with the TV-like headline has actually created a god—something that, at present, might surpass even native deities like the Mountain God and the Fox Mother, something capable of destroying the world if unleashed. And now, my next challenge in the game will most likely be dealing with this very thing.

No, it might be more than that. Thinking about the mountain god in the first playthrough of [Infant Cry Village] and the blood flower that suddenly appeared in the second, Gao Hai felt it was best not to treat anything that appeared at the beginning as the final boss. After all, there's an obvious problem: since this thing has been sealed away and unable to act in its true form for at least a hundred years, why is it now able to find an opportunity to release its true power? Doesn't this mean that something is secretly intervening?

Haha, this is really complicated. Is there never a time when it can be simpler? It would be so satisfying to play a beginner match and crush some newbies.

Thinking this to himself, Gao Hai shook his head and sighed, then took a step forward.

Now that you have seen the true God, why not worship Him?

The voice spoke to Gao Hai with an air of self-righteousness.

Gao Hai's response to this was a clenched fist.

hum-

The spiritual power, which was far beyond the reach of humans, condensed in the next moment into a fist that was more than a kilometer long and wide, even larger than the statue.

How dare you disrespect God!

The overwhelming rage was like a mountain collapsing, and the earth splitting apart.

The golden light emanating from the creature did not flinch at Gao Hai's actions; instead, it became enraged, as if it had seen an ant attempting to defy it.

"Are you trying to act all high and mighty?"

Then, Gao Hai unleashed a torrent of profanities and threw a punch.