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

Are you worried that our actions might actually expose us?

Without needing to speak, Gao Hai's long-standing, tacit understanding allowed him to grasp what Ichiri was trying to convey. As a player, it wasn't uncommon for cleverness to backfire; sometimes, actions taken to prevent a bad outcome could actually lead to an even worse situation. Gao Hai was familiar with this, so he understood Ichiri's concerns. Frankly, he shared those concerns himself.

"No problem, don't worry. In the end, if we don't take action, there's a good chance that some townspeople will appear in Tokyo or other surrounding cities. Just like Alice and Chiyo we met this afternoon, the orphanage transferred them to a primary school in Tokyo without our knowledge. Of course, there's nothing wrong with doing that, since children can definitely grow much better in big cities than in this semi-abandoned town. But we know very well what would happen if a disaster occurred while those two children were in Tokyo."

Gao Hai reached out and gently patted Yi Li's shoulder, then rubbed her head.

"If we don't take action, something terrible will almost certainly happen. Taking action might also lead to bad results, but at least there's a possibility of moving in a positive direction. If we think about it this way, doesn't it make things alright, darling?"

Finally, Gao Hai lowered his head, brought his cheek close to hers, and gently bit her ear.

So the girl, who had been listening very attentively, let out a mournful cry of "Eeeeeeeee!" under Gao Hai's sudden attack, and her whole face turned red with embarrassment.

It was already around 7 p.m., which should have been the time for him to part ways with Ichiri, for Takami to head to the next battlefield, and for his final date with Kita Ikuyo.

But after working so hard in this town for so long, Gao Hai felt it would be a pity to leave directly, so he pulled Yili toward the orphanage.

Soon, the two approached the area of ​​buildings that were nine-tenths similar to the orphanage in the [Hayate Elementary School] instance. From a distance, they could see Morihara Koji, who was now a high school student, squatting near the orphanage gate, gently stroking an adorable kitten.

"Little Meow, were you a good girl at home today?"

Because Takami and Ichiri concealed their presence, Morihara Koji couldn't see them. So, thinking he was alone, he happily reached out to pet the cat, speaking to it in a very gentle tone, just like many cat owners in videos.

"Meow-"

Unlike many kittens that are indifferent to their owners, this kitten, named Nyana by Koji Morihara, is quite talkative. Whenever its owner asks a question, it meows in response, as if it's truly conversing with Koji. According to Takami, this adorable kitten seems quite intelligent; it personally runs out to greet Koji Morihara every time he comes home from school, and it never runs around outside, doesn't attack birds or eat random things. It obediently goes home on its own and actively seeks out every member of the orphanage for cuddles, kisses, and hugs, bringing them warmth and comfort.

It can be said that it is not an ordinary cat, but a very intelligent cat that has made significant contributions to the development of the entire orphanage.

However, considering that this little cat, which had become a possessive entity, had once killed Takahashi, it seems quite normal for it to be so intelligent.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Because he was invisible, Gao Hai wasn't worried about being discovered at all, so he simply pulled Yi Li along and entered the orphanage together.

As soon as Gao Hai entered the room, he heard a commotion coming from the dining room on the first floor. Alice and Chiyo's voices were the most prominent, along with Eriko's somewhat helpless protest and Hachiya Keiko's sigh.

"It looks quite lively."

A voice popped out from behind Gao Hai and whispered.

"It seems they're talking about the performance we saw earlier. It seems that older generations really have a hard time accepting rock music."

Gao Hai listened to the argument and quickly understood the situation.

"Performance? Rock and roll? Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Ichiri was taken aback. It was then that Takahashi realized that despite being so close to the performance at the Starry Night show last night, Ichiri hadn't even noticed that the guitarist was Asamoto Eriko herself. Where did this guy's observational skills, typical of a Red Moon-level player, go?

Meanwhile, Ichiri herself belatedly realized what was happening. She was initially surprised that Eriko had gone to perform at Fanxing, and then she felt a sense of shared indignation.

"What's wrong with rock and roll? My parents have always been very supportive of me."

The girl waved her little fists as if cheering Eriko on, but Takahashi was certain that if Ichiri were to be pushed out to debate with Keiko Hachiya, the girl would definitely surrender in the first round.

"Ah, wait, it seems it's not because of rock music, but because Eriko wore a wig, strange clothes, and temporary tattoos during the performance. It seems the director really dislikes this style of art."

However, after listening for a while longer, and confirming that Keiko Hachiya was criticizing Eriko's unconventional outfit rather than the rock music itself, Ichiri immediately lost all intention of supporting Eriko and even nodded in agreement.

"That kind of outfit is really not good."

Despite playing rock music himself, Goto Ichiri, who is undoubtedly still considered a "good kid" rocker compared to the crazy crowd in the Western rock scene, gave this assessment of Eriko's outfit.

It was at this moment that Takami and Ichiri reached the entrance of the dining room. Under the light, they could clearly see the men and women sitting around a large table. Alice and Chiyo were eating heartily. The former butcher washed his hands and sat down next to Chiyo, adding a chicken leg to her food. Alice immediately waved her little hands in protest, so the butcher had to give her another chicken leg. Then, Chiyo's younger brother, Ryohei, started crying and making a fuss.

Eriko was helplessly explaining to Keiko that she was just temporarily filling in for the band's guitarist who couldn't make it, and that she had only worn those outfits to maintain the band's style. But Keiko, already deeply suspicious that Eriko had gone astray, wouldn't accept her explanation and resolutely launched into a lecture. Eriko's expression grew increasingly helpless, and when she finally sighed, Keiko interpreted it as her not listening and began lecturing even louder.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about these things while we're eating."

Upon entering the dining room, Koji Morihara smiled helplessly upon seeing this scene and quickly urged Keiko Hachiya to calm down.

Then he opened his backpack and shared the toys he had brought from the big city with the children who had already finished dinner. Alice and Chiyo, who were just eating, immediately tried to drop their bowls and go over, but Keiko, who had sharp eyes, grabbed them by the head and dragged them back to the table. What followed was the third round of lecturing to the two children.

It's really lively.

Looking at the adults and children making a ruckus, Gao Hai couldn't help but think to himself.

Yili, who was holding Gao Hai's hand, just stood silently by. The two of them watched as this group of people with different surnames and bloodlines, who were always noisy but always laughing, lived each ordinary yet extraordinary day like a real family.

[So this is the original Alice? Hmph, she's completely different. Will the teacher like this Alice?]

The ethereal figure of Alice emerged from Gao Hai's shadow, silently watching the gluttonous and playful child Alice, before disappearing again after uttering just one sentence.

One could sense that Alice, who would inevitably follow him forever, seemed to be experiencing some emotional fluctuations.

To be honest, I've never really known the answer to the question of how this new Alice, whom I brought to life, perceives herself, the world, and how she views me and herself. After all, from the moment she was born, she was a completely new life. Yet, during this time, she never responded to me and always disappeared from the internet, leaving me with very little real communication with Alice.

Thinking about this, Gao Hai decided that he would still find an opportunity to talk to Alice alone later. However, then, because Gao Hai subconsciously looked in the direction of Alice's shadow, his gaze shifted downwards, and he noticed that the screen of his phone in his pocket had lit up at some point.

Is someone calling me? Come to think of it, I put my phone on silent last night when I was playing games with Yili so as not to be disturbed, so I really wouldn't know if someone was calling.

Realizing he might have missed some messages, Takahashi took out his phone and saw the name "Kita Ikuyo" in large letters on the call screen. At the same time, he saw six missed calls in the notification bar, all undoubtedly from Kita Ikuyo, along with several messages from her.

Oh no, this information... Did I forget something?

It wasn't until this moment that Gao Hai finally vaguely realized that he might have overlooked something very important.

Interlude 4-45: Kita Ikuyo's melancholy and the moment the box is opened

Kita Ikuyo was very angry.

She's been quite busy lately. Although she was initially concerned about Takami's situation, since Aoyama Nanami found some clues, Kita focused her energy on investigating Aoyama Nanami's whereabouts. Of course, she probably also noticed that Takami was unhappy after taking turns dating a group of girls, and then got angry when she was stood up today.

Well, of course, the latter isn't the main reason. After all, Kita is well aware that the relationship between her and Takami is actually quite awkward. It's not exactly far apart, considering they've lived together for over a month, spending 24/7 together. But it's not exactly close either, because although Kita and Takami have spent a long time together, nothing has actually happened between them. At most, Kita has witnessed Takami's three-army battle and five-army battle.

Ugh, why am I thinking about that again? It's so annoying. This guy was so handsome and reassuring in the dungeon, why is he such a lewd and wicked person in the real world? And why are so many girls interested in him, even Pochi-chan… no, if it's Pochi-chan, she'd actually be quite easy to win over. Both Nijika and Ryo think Pochi-chan is the kind of girl who'll be ruined for life if she meets a bad man, even Nanami thinks Pochi-chan is too naive.

Never mind, none of these things matter. The important thing is to find Nanami's whereabouts.

Kita Ikuyo has indeed obtained some clues about Aoyama Nanami's whereabouts. Although she can't say she can find her directly, it's at least better than being like a headless fly without any path. The source of this clue is naturally the divination she mentioned when she talked to Ichiri earlier, and the conclusion of that divination points to an object of obsession that Aoyama Nanami herself possesses.

[The Undying Blood]

The most crucial element in Aoyama Nanami's personal player system is the Crimson Moon-level Obsession, which essentially grants her unlimited resurrection abilities. To utilize this blood-based Obsession, Nanami directly replaced all her blood with it, transforming every drop of blood in her body into the Obsession itself. This granted Nanami the extraordinary power to slowly regenerate and revive, even if she were to be pulverized.

In Kita's memory, Nanami acquired this object of obsession through a trade. The trade partner was an anonymous player from Europe. Kita didn't know many of the specific details of the trade, only that Nanami paid a considerable price to obtain this object, but the rewards were certainly worthwhile. Thanks to this object, Nanami survived numerous crises; however, the object also severely eroded her, requiring her to find ways to counteract its corrosive effects on her body each time she returned to the real world.

According to the divination, this object of obsession is closely related to Nanami's disappearance. Therefore, Kita has been investigating the original trading partner, but unfortunately, he hasn't been able to obtain any useful clues. The trader was anonymous, and their online account had long been inactive, making it impossible to determine whether they were alive or dead. Kita spent a great deal of effort investigating, only to find that the account seemed to have collaborated with several player accounts from America, having a temporary team-up experience. Kita also tried contacting those America accounts, but most of them were inactive, with only two still active.

One of the players contacted by Kita said that the impromptu team formation didn't happen, apparently due to some disagreement among the members, and the team ended up breaking up unhappily. Therefore, this player ended up joining another team. Another player confirmed knowing about the incident, saying that although the team initially broke up due to disagreements, several members later reunited to participate in the operation, and he was one of those members.

When Kita arrived, she was quite happy, thinking that she might have finally found a clue. However, just as Kita wanted to communicate further, the night before, when Takami and Ichiri went to the mountain town, the player inexplicably deleted their account, making it impossible for Kita to contact them again. The girl was immediately depressed, feeling that all her efforts had been in vain, and her negative emotions were difficult to dispel.

After so many days, it seems we still haven't found any clues.

Nanami-nee... how is she now?

The girl, who had been feeling down all day, became even angrier when she thought about how Gao Hai and Boqi had stood her up, even though she couldn't quite explain why she was angry.

Beep beep beep—beep beep beep—

It was at this moment, in the twilight as dusk fell, that Kita suddenly heard her cell phone ring and realized someone was calling her.

Could it be Mr. Gao?

With this thought popping into his head subconsciously, Kita took out his phone and then saw the contact name 【Ryou-senpai】 on the call screen.

Huh?

The unexpected contact caused Kita's eyes to widen in surprise.

Why would it be Ryou-senpai contacting me? Ah, speaking of which, although my presence will be erased, the information records should still remain. It's just that even if someone sees them, they won't notice. Ordinary people would instinctively ignore them as invalid information, or automatically generate a reasonable excuse in their minds to ignore them. In other words, whether it's Nijika-chan or Ryou-senpai, they still have my phone number, chat logs, photos, etc. on their phones. They just won't care. Even if they see them, they'll pretend they didn't see them and ignore them, or even delete them casually as spam.

From this perspective, it's possible that Senior Ryo inexplicably saw a stranger in his contacts and called out of curiosity.

No, no, no, that doesn't make sense either. After all, the information of the dead is obscured, so they can't possibly have the urge to contact you. Ah... but, speaking of which, I've come back to life. I'm resurrected now. Could it be that the mechanism isn't working properly because of that?

Kita reached out his hand, his fingers touching the edge of the answer button, his face full of hesitation.

After becoming a player, she gradually stopped being the energetic and outgoing girl she used to be.

Ultimately, how could someone living in a twisted and terrifying alternate world every month, struggling to survive, possibly remain carefree as before? To prevent his family and bandmates from noticing anything amiss, Kita diligently tries to maintain his former self. That is, until his resurrection, until his return to the real world, and the discovery that his information has been forgotten.

Her parents no longer remembered her existence; her room was covered in dust and hadn't been opened in a long time.

Hongxia and Liang also forgot about her. They heard that Ichiri-chan quit the band because of this. Thinking about it, with her sensitive personality, how could she possibly tolerate such a thing?

None of her former classmates and friends at school remembered her existence, and her seat remained empty, ignored by everyone in the class.

It may sound like a cruel thing, but Kita actually felt a sense of relief.

After being forever changed by this cruel and twisted "sacrifice game," Kita discovers that she no longer needs to play the role of someone she can never return to, and can sever all ties and longings to the past. This feeling is sad and painful, but also good, because it means she no longer needs to wear a mask; she can simply be herself.

At least for now, these words are enough to convince Kita himself.

For this reason, after returning to the real world, Kita didn't seek out her parents or contact her former friends. She was prepared to spend the rest of her life only interacting with other players who shared her plight, thus isolating herself from society.

But now, Liang, whom I once admired and respected, has taken the initiative to call me.

This isn't normal. She shouldn't care about my phone number. But now she's not only noticed me again, she's even contacted me. Does this mean that with my return, those who have lost their memories will also…?

beep--

While I was hesitating and thinking, the call that I couldn't answer had already timed out and automatically ended.

Kita stared blankly at the screen that had dimmed again, opened his mouth but couldn't say a word, and his finger hovered in front of the screen but couldn't press it.

Sigh, forget it, let's just ignore this kind of thing.

The girl sighed and finally decided to pretend she hadn't seen the phone call.

I got up from my chair and tidied up the messy documents on the table.

Feeling down, Kita looked at the sky, which was almost completely dark and the sun was no longer visible, sighed again, and stretched. Then, the girl turned to look at her hideout in a hotel—an extremely messy little room, clothes strewn haphazardly, takeout containers and garbage bags piled against the walls—a place the old Kita would never have tolerated. Reflecting on her current state, Kita stepped barefoot out, deciding to take a shower to calm down.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

Then she heard a knock on the door.

"I'm Ryo, is Kita inside?"

And a very familiar, cold voice came from outside the door.

"what?"