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

Interlude 4-40: Nijigasaki and Ryo's Talents and the Uninvited Guest

The story of Takami and Goto Ichiri's date at the Star Livehouse ends with the guitarist running away.

After Ichika Nijika said that Ichiri looked familiar, it only took about 0.3 seconds for Ichiri to run to the end of the street and disappear without a trace.

In a sense, this is quite a significant event for the band, as both guitarists who ended the band have now run away.

"Huh? Where did they go? How could they just disappear like that?"

Because she disappeared so quickly, Hongxia didn't even realize that Yili had escaped. She was stunned by his sudden disappearance and lost the ability to think.

So, was I specifically left behind to explain this issue?

Gao Hai, who had not fled and had used his mental power to counteract the air currents he had created while trying to escape, looked at Hong Xia's bewildered expression and couldn't help but think helplessly to himself.

So, has the power of the blessing truly begun to take effect? ​​The artifact that Ichiri wore to conceal her existence was probably Twilight-level; its strength wasn't particularly high, but an ordinary person without extraordinary power shouldn't be able to see through that disguise. No, not only that, but even if the power of the blessing did indeed grant Hongxia a certain degree of enhancement, it wouldn't be able to directly see through a player's disguise, unless… she was inherently gifted?

Realizing something was amiss, Takahashi looked at Nijika, and the petite girl turned to look at him as well.

From the bewildered look in Hongxia's crimson eyes, Gao Hai faintly sensed an almost imperceptible fluctuation. Undoubtedly, this was a fluctuation of spiritual power, so weak that it seemed meaningless to Gao Hai, yet such power did indeed indicate something.

Is it true that those who pursue art in the Clash of Clans universe are inevitably in some kind of danger? It seems that even before receiving the blessing of the Blood Flower, she already possessed a stronger sense of perception than the average person. However, compared to Miko's unreasonable talent, Nijika might only have some kind of inexplicable intuition. And it was only after this weak talent was strengthened by the blessing of the Blood Flower that she had the possibility of breaking through the blockade of a Twilight-level obsession and sensing something amiss.

It's really amazing. I wonder if this kind of intuitive talent is something that all artists have to some extent.

"Excuse me, sir, do you know the lady who was with you just now?"

While Gao Hai was pondering, Hong Xia hesitated for a moment before walking up to him with her small hand and asking.

She wasn't really sure what she was doing. After the woman who had been hiding her face vanished into thin air, Hongxia's first thought was that she might be hallucinating, otherwise she couldn't have witnessed such a bizarre scene. But for some reason, she also felt as if she had finally grasped the edge of something, finally approached the edge of something that was originally unreachable. Therefore, she decided to continue asking Gao Hai questions, trying to grasp this strange feeling.

"She is Goto Ichiri."

Then, Gao Hai gave an answer that made Hong Xia's eyes widen.

"Huh? It really is Pochi-chan?!"

Unexpectedly, her vague feeling actually came true, and Hongxia stood there stunned for a while before opening her mouth again, eager to ask Gao Hai for more information.

"I am Yili's boyfriend, my name is Gao Hai."

Then, her brain went blank again because of the next sentence Gao Hai said.

Boqi-chan, do you have a boyfriend?

So, did she come to the band performance with her boyfriend tonight?

Bochi-chan, who's always been so withdrawn and depressed, actually has a boyfriend! Is that why she gave up the band? This...this doesn't seem like something Bochi-chan would do. What's going on? A boyfriend? Wow, she actually has a boyfriend...

Hongxia felt her mind was a bit of a mess.

A few months ago, Goto Ichiri, who had gotten along quite well with everyone after forming the band "Ending," suddenly started missing activities. Later, she even announced her departure from the band via chat and then disappeared without a trace. Nijika couldn't find Ichiri, whether she went to her school or her house, as if Ichiri had made up her mind to cut ties with her and Ryo. Then today, when Ichiri finally showed up, it was with her boyfriend, which made Nijika extremely uneasy.

Surely... you're not lying?

Some of the disheartened girls took a step back, their expressions becoming complicated.

She remembered clearly that Ichiri and this man named Takami were always holding hands, whether they were entering or leaving the store. Men and women with ordinary relationships wouldn't do such a thing; even siblings or other relatives would only hold hands for extended periods when they were children.

But why?

Is the band's situation really over...?

"I can see you have something on your mind. Please rest assured, Ichiri has not really given up on music, much less on ending the band. She just had to temporarily step away because of some very important matters, and she couldn't explain it to you clearly, so she made that choice."

Gao Hai looked completely calm.

He didn't see anything wrong with telling the truth. After all, as companions in Ichiri's heart, both Nijika and Ryo had received the blessing of the Blood Flower and had transcended the limitations of ordinary humans. In other words, they could now be considered his own kind. Especially after being honest with Hayasaka Ai's parents and testing that ordinary people who had received the blessing were indeed no longer affected by the information obscuring effect, Takami felt even less that there was anything wrong with telling the truth.

Furthermore, the reason Goto Ichiri chose to run away was ultimately due to her excessive social anxiety and inability to communicate face-to-face with her former friends. If she had truly strongly opposed it, she probably would have rushed back the moment Takami uttered his first sentence. After all, every word Takami said and Nijika's reaction were being transmitted to Ichiri through their mental link, allowing her to know the situation at any time, rather than simply making decisions behind her back.

"Something very...important?"

Hongxia felt that she had been spacing out a lot tonight, but she really couldn't stay calm at this moment. Every word Gao Hai said made her head spin for a while.

"Kita Ikuyo, do you remember this person?"

The next moment, as his mental energy spread, Gao Hai's voice caused a slight throbbing pain in the girl's head.

Who is that?

Hongxia covered her head and lowered it in confusion.

I can't remember; my first reaction upon hearing this name was pure unfamiliarity.

But after regaining my senses, I had a strange feeling, as if I was actually very familiar with this name, as if I actually knew someone with this name.

Kita Ikuyo... Ugh, I can't remember who she is, but this feeling... it must be someone I know!

Can't remember right now?

Seeing Hongxia's pained expression, Gao Hai sighed and gave up on his plan to give her further advice.

In other words, once a player dies in a dungeon and their information is erased from the real world, even if that player is resurrected, it's very difficult for someone who has lost their memory to recover it. Judging from Hongxia's reaction, she probably only has some vague memories left, and it would likely require further and longer-term stimulation to truly restore her memories.

In that case, it's no wonder that Kita refused to go home to visit his parents after his resurrection. It's one thing to have like-minded friends, but if even his closest relatives have lost their memories, then the so-called "home" is nothing more than a stranger's residence.

This is quite a troublesome situation. It seems that after the date with Ichiri ends, I'll have to spend some time with Kita and try to help her family regain their memories.

Gao Hai couldn't accept the idea of ​​abandoning loving family members simply because of amnesia. To him, abandoning family was far too extravagant and wasteful.

Well, let's stop for now. It's one thing to tell the story, but if we really want to try to restore their memories, it's best to do it with Ichiri and Kita present. I can't do everything for them.

That's all for today. I'll probably come back to visit again tomorrow. Don't worry, everything will be back to normal.

As Gao Hai said this, he turned to leave, but then noticed another gaze.

She was a girl with short, shoulder-length blue hair and a cool expression. Unlike Hongxia, she didn't rush up to ask questions directly; instead, she stood silently to the side observing the situation until Gao Hai looked over and noticed her presence.

Yamada Ryo, how could I have ignored her?

Although this was partly due to his lack of attention to his surroundings and his focus on Hongxia, Gao Hai was still quite surprised that he had ignored a gaze directed at him.

Like Nijika, did Ryo also awaken a certain talent he already possessed due to the blessing?

No, it shouldn't be just that. Thinking back carefully, Nijika only discovered Ichiri after the music performance had ended, meaning she would have needed to be in the same room for at least an hour to notice Ichiri's inconsistency. As for Ryo, she seemed to have sensed something was wrong the moment Ichiri walked to the bar.

"Ikuyo Kita, is she the guitarist who ran away?"

Meeting Gao Hai's gaze, which was clearly filled with inquiry and curiosity, Liang spoke softly and asked Gao Hai a question.

The runaway guitarist?

Liang's first words made Gao Hai realize that after receiving the blessing of the Blood Flower, this girl had likely gradually recovered the part of her lost memories.

So, of the four girls who ended the band, Kita and Ichiri are already experts who have truly grown to the level of Red Moon players. Although Nijika and Ryo were not chosen by the [Sacrifice Game], they actually have quite high talent. As long as they can survive the dungeon, they have a chance to grow to a very strong level?

If he had more time, he might have been happy to have discovered two potentially gifted players. Unfortunately, there's no time left for them to grow. Even with their talents, Gao Hai can only treat these two girls as ordinary people who need refuge.

While Gao Hai was feeling sentimental, Liang was frowning as he pondered the vague memories that were flooding his mind.

About a week ago, Ryo began to feel that her body was becoming healthier than before. Even if she stayed up all night reading comics until 5 a.m., she wouldn't feel tired when she got to school the next day. Then, gradually, Ryo discovered that if she wanted, she could make the people around her ignore her to a certain extent. She could make her classmates who used to bother her from time to time "unseen" her, and even if they made eye contact, they wouldn't realize she was there.

This peculiar ability surprised Ryo for a while, and he even wondered if he might become invisible or something. But then, about two days ago, when Nijika unintentionally mentioned Ichiri's departure again, Ryo suddenly had the strange thought that "this isn't the first time a guitarist has run away," and gradually began to suspect that the now-disbanded End Band might have originally consisted of four people.

Now, after confirming the name "Kita Ikuyo" with Takami, Ryo finally began to clearly recall some things. Although they were still just blurry images, if she remembered correctly, in those images, she... she seemed to be offering incense to a cheerful girl with long red hair.

"Kita...is he dead?"

Liang, whose memory was still hazy, tried to confirm the truth with Gao Hai.

"How could you even know that?"

Gao Hai was even more surprised. Logically speaking, Ryo shouldn't have known about Kita's death. Could it be that she had awakened some kind of precognitive ability?

Clearly, after becoming a player, Gao Hai also developed some cognitive biases, to the point that he completely forgot the famous scene in the original Lonely Rock where Ryo offered incense to Kita, and instead imagined the facts in a completely different direction.

Ryo's expression darkened further after confirming the "truth" with Gao Hai, and she finally understood why Ichiri chose to leave the band.

I imagine everyone visited Kita's grave many times after she died, right? It's no wonder that Nijika and I inexplicably forgot about this important member; no wonder Pochi couldn't stand it and ran away. But does this mean some kind of supernatural force was at work? Otherwise, there's no reason for Nijika and me to suddenly forget something so important.

Both Gao Hai and Liang's thinking went astray at this moment, and without anyone honestly revealing it, it is foreseeable that this cognitive error will likely continue for some time.

"Kita, she..."

Liang, frowning, spoke again, trying to get more information from the mysterious Gao Hai.

But at that moment, she noticed that the other person's expression suddenly changed, and their eyes instantly became as sharp as knives.

Then, just like he had fled a mile earlier, he vanished from Liang's sight at an unimaginable speed. When he reappeared, he was already standing right in front of her, the distance between them no more than twenty centimeters.

Gao Hai reached out his hand, but Liang subconsciously turned his head to avoid it, only to find that the other person's target was not him, but behind him.

So she turned her head in confusion, and saw Gao Hai holding up two fingers, pinching a purplish-red severed arm that looked no bigger than a baby's between them. The severed hand was even struggling, trying to reach towards the cool air, as if trying to climb onto her.

"You pretended to be a KP to scam me once, and then you plotted against me in the abandoned hospital once. This is the third time, isn't it? Are you in such a hurry?"

With an icy tone, Gao Hai grabbed Liang's shoulder with his other hand and pushed the girl, who was still unaware of the current situation, toward Hong Xia. Then, he casually put the baby's severed hand into his black watch and looked into the darkness ahead, speaking coldly.

"Although I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Gao, I can assure you that this is just a small visit."

After a soft chuckle, a blue-eyed European man in a suit and tie with blond curly hair emerged from the darkness, his gaze toward Gao Hai filled with curiosity.

"I investigated for a long time before I was finally able to confirm that it was you, Mr. Gao, who destroyed the 'Female Face Gang' that I used for my experiments and took away the precious Alice's eyeball necklace that I had worked so hard to obtain at 'Wisteria Middle School.' In this respect, I think you owe me quite a lot."

As he spoke, auras emerged from all around. Gao Hai sensed them briefly and found that at least twenty players had gathered around him, and each of them carried a faint smell of disinfectant alcohol from a hospital.

Interlude 4-41: The Twisted, Terrifying Enemy and the Suppressors

The smell was so familiar, yet so nauseating.

There is no doubt that the power used by these players who are trying to besiege them comes from the [Hospital].