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

It seems that the transformation cannot be done casually. It is estimated that with His power, He can only transform one person at most in a short period of time.

That puts me at ease a bit, but I still need to investigate thoroughly to make sure this thing doesn't suddenly reappear somewhere and cause trouble. After all, besides myself, probably no one can withstand its power.

"It's all over now, they're all fine."

As Gao Hai spoke to Xiao He Shu, he summoned the police officers back, and the strange creature that was still patrolling the ruins quickly returned to Gao Hai's presence.

[Hehe, that was a close call! The teacher is so strong, Alice didn't feel any danger at all.]

It was at this moment that Alice, who had been providing guidance to Gao Hai throughout the process, helped him mark the ordinary people around him to avoid accidental injury, and summoned Hayasaka Ai, suddenly appeared beside Gao Hai in the form of a phantom, covering her mouth and chuckling softly.

Why did it suddenly become visible in this way?

Gao Hai no longer felt any unease about this being, who was essentially a completely different entity from the Alice from Fujika Middle School. He nodded slightly to the girl's illusory form, preparing to say something like, "Thank you for your hard work, Alice." However, he was also somewhat puzzled, wondering why Alice, who usually only appeared through smart devices like televisions and mobile phones, would now willingly manifest as a ghostly figure.

Gao Hai got the answer to this question in the next second.

boom!

With a gunshot, it was the police officer, essentially just a remnant, who activated his automatic attack mode upon facing Alice, raising his hand to fire a shot. However, because Alice was merely a phantom of a soul, her true form residing within Gao Hai's soul, the shot missed its mark, but nearly headshot a player passing by behind.

[It actually fires a gun! Hehe, that's pretty fun!]

Judging from Alice's subsequent reaction, Gao Hai felt that she was probably doing it on purpose.

Interlude 4-30: Another Morning of Routine and the Prophecy of the Slacking-Off Gang

On the morning of the eighth day after the end of the [Infant Cry Village] instance, Tokyo experienced a bustling day.

High-rise buildings riddled with holes, sports fields destroyed, schools wrecked, railway tracks shattered and train carriages lying in disarray, and a building ruin in the suburbs that looked like it had been subjected to saturation bombing—these constituted today's Tokyo news.

Some claimed to have seen shells come from nowhere and destroy the stadium; others said they saw a military unit in the suburbs firing wildly, bullets flying everywhere; still others claimed to have witnessed a battle between gods and demons, with someone flying through the air and smashing buildings with a wave of their hand. However, in reality, all these claimants actually saw nothing at all. After all, those who actually saw something would forget everything and remember nothing.

Even so, this incident clearly caused a huge stir. Unlike the various incidents created by players in the past, the traces this time were too obvious and the scale too large to be concealed. Even after the cognitive shielding effect took effect and ordinary people could not trace any clues, the destruction of those places was too shocking and immediately began to cause a sensation worldwide.

However, despite causing quite a stir, Gao Hai himself didn't care about such things.

After finishing the battle and communicating with Kawaki and the others to explain various matters, he went back to meet with the other girls. He told them to be more careful and to send more people to investigate various clues and situations. Finally, he returned to Kaguya's mansion to rest as dawn approached.

As for why he didn't investigate further, well, to be honest, Gao Hai wanted to investigate, but after that thing was completely destroyed, it seemed to have erased all traces of itself. Even questioning Tang Yuan and the others who had just been rescued, or searching their memories, couldn't uncover any clues. This further proves that the thing hiding in that hospital instance is indeed a god-like being. As for how to defeat an enemy of this level, Gao Hai can't think of a way right now; he can only try to make as many preventative plans as possible.

"What we can be certain of now is that this item originated from a hospital-themed instance, specifically a hospital instance of the 'Root' level. Therefore, all items originating from hospital-type instances are potentially problematic. The fact that this item appeared at the historian's research base suggests it may have been created by using multiple hospital instance items from the 'Throne of Mind.' So, it's best for all players to be cautious with their hospital instance items and avoid storing them in concentrated areas. If possible, it's advisable to apply some form of sealing."

"Right now, that thing's power can't truly leak into the real world; it can only be achieved through me as a medium. So ordinary players don't need to be too afraid of being entangled by this thing. Just protect your mind with your obsession objects or blessing power, and then try to wait for rescue. In this situation, we can no longer fight alone. Everyone must unite as much as possible. If a single person encounters that thing, even a Red Moon-level player would probably die instantly."

"In addition, we must investigate the missing persons who are ill and those who suffer from serious chronic diseases. By the way, if we have any artifacts that can heal injuries or blessings, we can try to use them on those seriously ill patients. I suspect that thing can brainwash the sick by using the concept of 'disease.' It is still unclear when that thing will launch a large-scale offensive against the real world. If we can weaken its power in this way, I think it is worth a try."

That evening, Gao Hai communicated with the market, the Red Knot Society, historians, and other player organizations, whether present or connected remotely. After demonstrating the miracles of smashing a building with a single slap, flying at supersonic speed, and achieving zero casualties after a wave of destruction using mental manipulation, all player organizations, regardless of whether they had heard of Gao Hai before, unanimously chose to accept his abilities, and not a single person jumped out to question him.

Perhaps this was also due to the covert cooperation of the "Slacking Off Gang." Before Gao Hai grew stronger, that group of players helped conceal a lot of information and secretly connected him with many people. It was quite a lot of effort and thought, which moved Gao Hai deeply.

However, considering the impending threat, Gao Hai was still somewhat uncertain. He was confident in his ability to fight back, but if the other party really found a way to descend into the real world, Gao Hai couldn't be sure how many people he could save.

Time is still too tight.

The Red Moon-level players in this world are actually only "pseudo-Red Moon-level players." Before him, no player had ever successfully cracked a Red Moon-level dungeon to obtain a blessing. Compared to the core Red Moon-level artifacts, blessings are the only thing that can truly and comprehensively enhance a player's strength without any side effects. Of course, Gao Hai knew that cracking a Red Moon-level dungeon was extremely difficult. With the [Sacrifice Game] having been running for less than three years, cultivating players capable of cracking Red Moon-level dungeons was simply a pipe dream. But right now, only Gao Hai had enough power to fight against beings above the Red Moon level; the remaining players were even weaker than his wives, which truly made Gao Hai a little uneasy.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, Gao Jun. No matter what, you can't put others in a higher position than yourself. Right now, Gao Jun's priority is not some evil god that threatens the safety of the world, but to keep your mood and state of mind in a good state."

Sensing his low spirits, Kaguya, after Takami explained his battle against the thing and shared his speculations, promptly offered him advice. So, after a superhuman battle, Takami returned to Kaguya's house and engaged in a low-intensity friendly match with the girl.

To be honest, Gao Hai was somewhat impressed with his own willpower to still be able to do this at a time like this. But as Kaguya said, instead of letting his mind wander, it's better to do something enjoyable, at least to keep himself in a good mood, which is the most important thing.

"Huh...huh..."

Warm breath brushed against my chest, bringing a slightly tingling sensation.

The daytime sunlight had already pierced through the gauze curtains and shone into the room, but the two people inside had not yet gotten out of bed. Kaguya was still half asleep, clinging to Takami like a koala.

So, what have I been doing these past few days?

Since Kaguya showed no signs of waking up, Takami lay in bed without doing anything and reflected on what he had done over the past few days.

Playing games with Miko, investigating clues with Miko, investigating clues with Maki, playing games with Maki, playing games with Chika, playing games with Chika and Kaguya, playing games with Kaguya, investigating clues with Kaguya, playing games with Kaguya...

It seems like I'm either playing games or investigating clues. And if it weren't for the enemies causing trouble, I probably wouldn't even bother investigating clues. Tsk, in the end, this is all the life I want. Even if my private life isn't exactly pure, I don't know why I'm getting so much trouble.

Is there any way to find that thing's lair and then give it a good beating beforehand?

If Blood Flower could be deployed as an external aid to help me fight the enemy at any time, then I wouldn't care about planetary gods; I could just crush them. Unfortunately, the problems brought about by the [Sacrifice Game] must be overcome by myself. Blood Flower cannot be deployed, otherwise something else would follow. For now, I still have to rely on myself and use the blessings and favors I already have to find a way to overcome the difficulties.

Ring ring—I am the approaching storm—ring ring—

A loud ringtone sounded from the bedside table, and Kaguya, who had been sleeping soundly, opened her eyes and looked up at the source of the sound with a somewhat dazed expression. Takahashi reached for the phone, picked it up, and answered it immediately after seeing the contact name "Kumi" written on it.

"Hey, did I disturb you, Superman Xiao Gao?"

Xiong Mi's slightly teasing voice rang out immediately.

"How did you become Superman? If I were Superman, I would have smashed this piece of shit [Sacrifice Game] to pieces with a single Mind-Body Fist. Why would I have to put up with this? What's wrong? Did you find any clues?"

Feeling somewhat helpless about being given the nickname "Superman," Takahashi casually replied, and slightly adjusted his position so that Kaguya, who was slowly waking up, could lie more steadily on top of him.

Although she didn't press speakerphone, it wasn't difficult for Kaguya, whose voice had been enhanced multiple times, to hear the voice on the other end of the phone clearly. So, after blinking, the girl nestled obediently against Takahashi's chest like a kitten, staying still under the covers with only her head and smooth shoulders showing, listening to Xiongmi's voice.

"The investigation has indeed uncovered quite a bit. The number of missing persons is higher than expected, but we haven't found many of the bodies stored at the drained sites. Those suspected of being brainwashed have all passed away, some even dying just hours before our people came knocking. Tsk, to be honest, I have a feeling that our actions have been observed by the other side. Regardless of what this 'god' you're talking about is, I'm certain that it has a way of monitoring the real world. Catching it in this situation is far too difficult; even the fake Taoist's prophetic abilities couldn't pinpoint its followers in advance."

Xiong Mi's voice carried an undisguised weariness, clearly indicating that the Moyu Gang and its affiliated Chinese player organizations had been extremely busy these past few days. They had indeed gathered quite a few clues, but unfortunately, their opponents seemed to be able to detect their movements, resulting in them obtaining nothing but a pile of corpses, ultimately failing at the last hurdle.

This situation wasn't entirely unexpected for Gao Hai, but confirming the news was still somewhat disheartening. A game that can't maintain a balance of power between enemies and allies—I really don't want to continue playing it.

"The fake Taoist priest... that Li Nianyou? Did he make any prophecies?"

However, after Xiong Mi mentioned Li Nianyou, Gao Hai quickly recalled what Cat Brother had said before: Li Nianyou had actually predicted that everyone would both die and live before the [Infant Cry Village] dungeon even started. Considering the several heavyweight characters in the dungeon, frankly, this prophetic ability was quite terrifying. Therefore, Gao Hai was genuinely curious whether this prophet would see anything unusual this time.

"This is the next piece of news I want to tell you."

Then, Xiong Mi's next words made Gao Hai realize that the other party was probably specifically mentioning Li Nianyou.

"After learning about your experience in the [Infant Cry Village] instance, we started to think about how that fake Taoist's prophetic abilities came about. To be able to predict the final outcome in advance in an instance of that level is extraordinary and probably cannot be explained by the power of a Red Moon-level curse. We suspect that the fake Taoist's prophetic abilities actually use the power of a Red Moon-level monster as a medium to establish a connection between him and something higher. Therefore, in this incident, we conducted a test on him."

Xiong Mi's voice was extremely serious.

"test?"

Gao Hai frowned, a bad feeling creeping over him.

“We managed to amplify his prophetic abilities, increasing their intensity by more than tenfold.”

"This almost burned out his brain. Even though he was restored using the power of a time-related artifact, his soul was still damaged and he needs to rest for a long time to fully recover."

"The fake Taoist priest is now practically crippled. His lower body is unresponsive, he's almost completely lost his sight, smell, and taste, his hands twitch from time to time, and he even occasionally experiences cardiac arrest. If it weren't for the ten nurses and two players monitoring his condition, he might already be dead. Of course, he's actually quite happy, because although he's in this miserable state, his prophetic abilities are temporarily unusable due to overexertion, so he asked us to try again after he recovers. Ah... sorry, I digress. What I wanted to talk about is this prophecy, the prophecy that was only successfully obtained after almost killing the fake Taoist priest."

"The prophecy is simple: Tokyo, where you are, will become the key to the survival of human civilization. At a certain imminent moment, in this place, you will decide the fate of this world."

"I think the reason this prophecy came to this conclusion is probably because of you. Because you chose to stay in this city, the doomsday crisis you mentioned will likely reach a crucial moment in this city that will determine everything."

Xiong Mi's voice remained calm throughout.

Upon hearing this, Gao Hai couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head slightly with a helpless expression.

Interlude 4-31: The people about to gather and the glimmer of light in the sports warehouse.

Because I stayed in Tokyo, did Tokyo become a crucial point for the survival of civilization?

After realizing this, Gao Hai couldn't think of any other appropriate reaction besides smiling.

Originally, the reason I stayed in this city was only because of Chika Maki and a few other girls. But it turns out that this place became the so-called key location precisely because I chose it?

If I were to choose to leave this city now… no, that's pointless. I've been active in this city for months, building up quite a few connections. Since that thing hiding in the instance can observe the situation outside, it will definitely be watching my actions. If I actually make the decision to leave Tokyo, it will surely realize my reluctance to involve innocent people, and perhaps then it will become even more unscrupulous.

Of course, because he's now accustomed to using mental energy to construct defenses, Gao Hai can ensure that the thing can't directly see what he's doing. The same applies to the girls he's established deep connections with, as they have blessed anchor points. Unless the thing uses its true form, Gao Hai, Chika Maki, and the others are unobservable voids to it. However, the problem is that being unobservable is itself a form of observation. As long as unobservable voids exist within Tokyo, it can use this to determine that Gao Hai and the others are still in the city and grasp their approximate location, which is quite troublesome.

So, in short, this city is about to become the crucial battlefield between me and that thing.

{Gao Jun, are you worried?}

Kaguya's voice rang out from the depths of Takahashi's heart. He looked up and saw Kaguya, dressed in sportswear, standing beside him.

At this moment, Takami and Kaguya were on one of the playgrounds at Shuchiin Academy. Kaguya was there for her physical education class, while Takami, using the excuse that "yesterday's date was interrupted," continued to accompany her, using his mental invisibility to attend class with her. However, although he claimed to be accompanying her, Takami couldn't find anything else to do, so he sat down on the steps next to the playground to rest.

Of course, Gao Hai had already lost interest in continuing the date after receiving Xiong Mi's call that morning. But regardless of the effort the girls had put into arranging this date, he didn't want to waste their kindness, so he continued the date. However, it seems that although he tried his best to hide his emotions, some problems were still noticed.

I'm fine, I'm just feeling a bit tired because I'm thinking about the troubles ahead.

As Gao Hai casually answered in the mental link, he looked up at the azure sky, but his thoughts drifted to the gloomy sky of the dungeon world.

Will the sky in the real world become like that in the future?

{Don't worry, the [Market] has prepared a complete shelter, and the [Red Guild] and several other player groups operating in Tokyo have also made many preparations. Furthermore, after this encounter, a portion of that monster's power has been exposed to us, allowing us to counter it and make better arrangements. The Shinomiya family is now fully mobilized. Although my brothers aren't the brightest, they can at least sense that something big is about to happen, and they won't cause trouble at this time.}

As Kaguya spoke in the mental link, she reached out and gently covered Takami's hand.

{Yeah, I know. Once this place is confirmed to be key, player teams from other cities will probably arrive quickly. It feels like a gathering of heroes like the Avengers or the Justice League. Hopefully... or rather, it will have a good ending in the end.}

Gao Hai didn't say anything discouraging at this moment. Instead, he took Kaguya's small hand in his own and spoke earnestly through the mental link.

Following their morning call, the "Lazi Gang" began mobilizing, dispatching personnel to Tokyo while ensuring the security of major cities in China remained intact. Several other player teams from the China region were also preparing to send members. Incidentally, although the number of Red Moon-level Chinese player teams deciding to send members to Tokyo was relatively small—less than a tenth of their original teams—the number of Red Moon-level players already exceeded the total number of Red Moon-level players in Tokyo. It just goes to show that having more people definitely makes a difference.

Moreover, not only that, but Red Moon-level players from Europe and America are also sending people over, and even some ordinary people who are not players are making preparations. For example, there is an international rescue team that has been trained in advance in China, which will be dispatched if the situation worsens.

As for why Gao Hai knew this information, the reason is simple: there are players active in high-level positions in China, and similarly, there are players cooperating with high-level positions in Europe and America. This explains why, the afternoon after Gao Hai caused destruction in Tokyo, Japanese politicians announced that the buildings had experienced gas explosions, schools and stadiums had collapsed due to ground subsidence, and old buildings in the suburbs had collapsed. Several people even bowed and scraped at a press conference shouting "Private Marseille," a rather comical scene.

The power of more and more people is being gathered together.

With so many people working together, we're sure to achieve a good outcome.

Although he wanted to say that, Gao Hai knew very well that what was hiding in the instance would not be so easy to deal with. Its power was too great; if it were to manifest directly in the real world, probably no power could stand against it. Therefore, the final outcome of this battle would depend on how much power the opponent could utilize in the real world. Even so, Gao Hai was confident that a perfect ending would be achieved in the end, after all, he existed here for that perfect future.

The black watch's recovery speed has become increasingly faster. After absorbing more and more fuel, its self-recovery speed has been reduced to within three days. In other words, even if Gao Hai uses up a recovery attempt and the hands move, the watch can automatically recover one unit every three days. Coupled with the cores of the writer and the puppet that he has already acquired, Gao Hai, now possessing 18 recovery attempts, is far more powerful than before.

The problem is that while he's getting stronger, the strength of his enemies is also increasing, which is really hard to handle. But he's probably nearing his limit, considering he's already reached the Blood Flower, an ultimate boss with almost no upper limit. Gao Hai really can't imagine what even more advanced things will exist next.

Am I setting a flag here?

{Next, I definitely need to find something to do; I can't just sit here doing nothing.}

Thoughts flashed through Gao Hai's mind in a few seconds. As he spoke in the mental link, he turned to look at the cute girl with rosy cheeks beside him, who was wearing a white short-sleeved tracksuit and blue athletic shorts.

Now that she has shed her ice sculpture form, Kaguya's charm has clearly reached a new level. At least for Takahashi, the girl's soft moans with her head hidden under the pillow and her awkward and shy way of cooperating with him are truly a pleasure.