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

Although it can be confirmed that she is currently in good health, if she continues to be out of contact, can she really escape alive?

The worry in her heart grew stronger, and Jianzi couldn't help but purse her lips, and the hand that wasn't holding her mother's hand slowly clenched into a fist.

While she couldn't see, Xiaohua was chewing.

"Hmm, it tastes pretty good."

As Xiaohua said this, she ate another chocolate bar.

Upon entering the toy room, Xiaohua initially planned to use the red light to touch each toy to check if there were any objects she was obsessed with. However, during her action, she discovered that the room contained not only toys but also snacks such as hard candies, chocolates, and small cakes, as well as plenty of drinks like hot milk, yogurt, and soda. Without hesitation, she devoured dozens of candies and cakes of all sizes, and drank all the beverages, completely disregarding the sugar content.

As for why he dared to do this, Xiaohua himself wasn't really sure.

While eating in the food room earlier, she had a vague feeling, which was what Gao Hai had told her, that she had not yet been able to activate her own unique extraordinary power talent, and that she might need to eat as much as possible and store up more energy in order to unleash it.

Although it was just an unfounded, subconscious reaction, Xiaohua felt she should trust her intuition, so she ate all the snacks in the room and even licked the cream off the plate of cake.

"I don't feel full at all. So all the food I ate went somewhere else?"

The girl licked her lips, speaking with a look of lingering enjoyment on her face.

Click--click--

At that moment, the door to the toy room made a strange sound.

Xiao Hua turned her head in confusion and saw that the doll-like thing had its entire face pressed against the iron bars of the door, its eyes wide open as if it were glaring fiercely at Xiao Hua.

Something feels off. Could it be that eating too many snacks would make it angry?

If you really dislike children eating too many snacks and playing with too many toys, then don't decorate this room like this.

Feeling she hadn't had enough to eat, Xiaohua retreated, still thinking. During the meal, she had confirmed there were no obsessive objects in the room, so she needed to move on to other rooms. And as far as she knew, the passageway in this room…

[Buzzing... It's starting to become unstable... We need to move quickly... Go through that cave... Hurry...]

Seeing Zi's voice coming from the phone, or rather, from some direction around them, reminded Xiao Hua.

"Are we going to have to drill another hole?"

The girl, who had retreated to the hole in the wall, looked at the small opening and, recalling her recent experience of crawling through a hole, couldn't help but show a hint of unease on her face.

Chapter Seventeen: Yurikawa Hana's Time for Exploration and Reflection

"woo woo woo woo……"

The girl's body trembled slightly, and suppressed cries of sorrow escaped her lips, like weeping sobs that never ceased.

"Waaah... Waaah... Waaah..."

Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her breathing was rapid, and a bead of sweat had seeped from her forehead, slowly sliding down her fair cheek.

"Waaaaah... I hate it... Waaaaah..."

The girl, who had bitten her lip, let out another mournful cry, her face filled with grievance.

Then, she suddenly sat up straight, her legs fully extended, and her whole body tensed up.

The next moment, Xiaohua finally crawled out of the hole that had trapped her buttocks and, panting, climbed into the new room connected by the tunnel.

"Phew... I'm so tired. This should be the last time I climb the cave, right? There probably won't be a third time, will there?"

As Xiao Hua was complaining, she sat down on the ground, touched the sweat on her head, and took a while to catch her breath before she regained some strength.

I really don't understand why there are such holes in the room, and more than one at that. This so-called "dungeon world" thing is truly incomprehensible.

Thinking this, Xiaohua turned her head and looked at the hole she had crawled through in the corner of the toy room, and then she was slightly stunned. Because through the crack in the wall, she could clearly see a pair of feet standing behind the wall, feet as stiff as puppets.

Did that thing go straight into the room after she crawled over?

If I were any slower, would this monster grab me?

No, that's not right, I shouldn't think that way. Although the records mentioned that this thing would enter the room, there was no other information besides a rule that one shouldn't stay in the toy room for long. And I only stayed in the toy room for a short time, so there shouldn't be any necessary connection. Perhaps it was because I entered another room that the monster followed me into the toy room and went directly to the passage in the toy room that leads to another room.

Maybe it's watching me right now, since the walls probably won't do much to this monster.

Forget it, no need to think about it too much. The red light protection is still active, so no matter what this thing's intentions are, it can't harm me. I should focus on locating the object of my obsession as soon as possible and banishing this monster.

Well, coming to think of it again, it's really unbelievable that I can think so calmly.

Although it wasn't the first time she'd suddenly calmed down and started thinking about a problem, Xiaohua still felt a little smug at realizing what she was thinking. She felt a sense of triumph, as if her mind had become completely clear, allowing her to answer every question on the final exam paper correctly in one go. Of course, she knew this was thanks to the mental fragment Gao Hai had left in her consciousness; she didn't actually possess this kind of thinking ability. But that didn't stop her from using this method to calm herself down and avoid becoming too nervous.

Stand up.

Xiao Hua cautiously looked around and immediately noticed that her current location was blocked by many objects wrapped in white cloth, preventing her from seeing the entire room.

These odds and ends, which look like various pieces of furniture stacked together, formed a semicircle around the entrance to the room, almost touching the ceiling. So, anyone who had just entered the room could not see anything other than the clutter. Conversely, if there were anything in the room, it probably wouldn't be able to see the person crawling out of the hole either.

Why would something like this exist here?

Feeling somewhat puzzled, Xiao Hua approached the pile of junk and then noticed a note stuck on it.

This is a note left by a survivor.

Xiao Hua immediately recognized the handwriting on the note and understood what was going on.

Maintenance of the debris pile must be performed daily; please do not forget.

These piles of debris were built after the sacrifice of three members; they must be held at all costs, as this is the only way to ensure the safety of this room.

[Names of the victims: ■■■; ■■■■■; ■■·■■■■·■■■]

[Keep quiet as much as possible within the pile of debris. It is not yet confirmed whether sound will trigger the rules if we are not directly visible.]

The inspection of the debris pile must be thorough. Any possible viewing holes must be blocked immediately. We have already paid a heavy price for this; let's not waste the sacrifices of those who came before us, nor should we let our guard down because of the comfort we have now. Let's not forget that we are fighting to survive in order to escape from here.

[If one day we are no longer here, and someone finds themselves in a similar situation, after you see this note, please check your surroundings as soon as possible to ensure there are no peepholes in areas below "normal human height." Believe me, if such a peephole exists, you will be watched by the dolls outside, observing your every move, and these gazes will ultimately bring you a terrible price.]

The note contained little text, but just by reading it, Xiaohua could imagine the people who had fallen into this place banding together to save themselves.

These piles of debris were all built by the survivors themselves.

I recall the logbook mentioning that the doll room was extremely dangerous because any action a living person took in front of these dolls could be considered "impolite." The monster roaming the area would then become hostile towards those who violated the rules, potentially harming or even killing survivors. Clearly, actively building obstacles to avoid the dolls' line of sight was inherently "impolite," so the person who initially decided to do so was a pioneer willingly sacrificing themselves to ensure the survival of others.

Xiao Hua suddenly felt a sense of heaviness.

Although she knew from the moment she received the record sheet that the survivors who had once lived here could not possibly have survived, it wasn't until she arrived at this pile of debris that she truly felt the weight of this sacrifice.

We must find that object of our obsession as soon as possible.

The girl took a deep breath, then gently patted her chest again to encourage herself.

There is no way to save those who have already sacrificed their lives.

Therefore, to prevent further casualties, the only thing I can do now is destroy this place. Only by ending it all can I truly honor those who went before us!

Having made up her mind, the girl took a step forward, preparing to walk out through a fork in the road that had been deliberately left out of the pile of debris.

Then she was startled by a small doll that had appeared beside her at some point, standing against the wall with its eyes covered, and almost jumped up on the spot.

Why is this thing here again?

Xiao Hua was starting to have a bit of a problem with this doll.

Could it be deliberately stalking her?

Speaking of which, this doll doesn't trigger any red light resistance, so it shouldn't be a ghost. However, it has a graffiti map on its body, and it seems to be accurate so far. This suggests it might be a creation of a survivor. On the other hand, the fact that this thing repeatedly appears beside me, only to stand there without doing anything, is very puzzling. What's the underlying logic behind its behavior? It can't possibly be a follower sprite, can it?

"Hello? Hello, can you hear me?"

Xiao Hua reached out and waved her hand a few times in front of the doll that was covering its eyes.

no respond.

"Why are you following me? Is there something you want me to do? Can you give me a clearer hint instead of suddenly popping out from the corner and scaring me?"

Xiao Hua mustered her courage, grabbed the doll's shoulders and shook it gently, then offered her suggestion in a very sincere tone.

Still no response.

This thing seemed to be deliberately playing dead in front of Xiaohua. No matter what she said or did, it didn't react at all and just stayed in the same spot without moving.

"Hmm... so what exactly is going on here?"

Xiao Hua frowned, feeling extremely distressed.

If it were up to her, she might not have thought about it so much. But because of the amplification of the mental fragments, the girl vaguely realized that something might be wrong with this doll, and that she might need to pay closer attention to its existence.

But what exactly is it about it that I need to pay attention to?

What clues could there be about this doll that always covers its eyes and suddenly appears beside me that I haven't noticed but should have?

and many more……

The girl's eyes suddenly widened.

The survivor's log never mentioned such a special doll. Instead, the "doll room" was emphasized, and the key point was that the danger lay in the fact that the doll could see one's actions.

The doll that appeared in front of him was covering its eyes.

Regardless of how it appeared, the only thing it had in common was that it always covered its eyes and never looked at Xiaohua herself.

Perhaps it is one of the dolls in this room?

Originally, it stayed in this room and didn't cover its eyes, but observed living people like the other dolls. But for some unknown reason, it began to move freely and could appear anywhere in this space at will, while always keeping its eyes covered to ensure that it would not harm any survivors.

If that's the case, then what exactly is this thing? Is its action a mechanical repetition determined by some unknown rule, or is it driven by genuine thought?

The more the girl thought about it, the more she realized the problems with the doll.

But she had no idea how to proceed. After all, it seemed the doll had no intention of communicating with her, and she dared not make any overly aggressive attempts to test it.

Never mind, nothing will change if we stay here any longer anyway, let's just rush out and take action!

In the end, Yurikawa Hana decided to take a gamble. So she took another deep breath, patted her chest again, and then strode towards the gap.

Before crossing the gap, Xiaohua glanced back at the doll but didn't notice any changes. After passing through the gap, she discovered a table buried under a pile of clutter. Looking through the space under the table, she could see exquisitely beautiful colored floor tiles and several pairs of high-end leather shoes.

At this moment, the tips of all those leather shoes were pointing towards Xiaohua.

She immediately realized that the noise she had made in the pile of clutter must have been heard by something outside. As a result, the dolls that were moving around in the room changed direction and all turned to face her.

Above the table, which was clearly left as a passageway, Xiaohua also saw a second note, with the same familiar handwriting.

Don't go outside when there are things facing you. If they are watching you, crawling out at that moment will inevitably lead to malicious judgment.