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

The scent became more familiar.

There's no mistake, at this point, Xiao Hua certainly couldn't possibly not recognize the origin of this trophy.

This thing was clearly the one she had pulled from the monster in the darkness—the trophy she had thrown away, which had driven the monster mad and caused it to abandon her in pursuit.

So its original name was Aoyama Nanami?

"Vice Captain, something's up!"

Wang Gui's extremely serious shout suddenly came at this moment.

Along with his voice came an extremely cold and chilling atmosphere that instantly spread throughout the entire block.

Chapter 40: The Squad Marching Towards the Factory and the Shadows Appearing Again

There is something.

Even if you don't see anything at all, you'll still subconsciously feel that something is there.

It crawled silently from the darkness where nothing could be seen.

Breathing became difficult, and I began to feel a suffocating, heavy pressure.

Dongdong——dongdong——

They couldn't even tell whether it was their own heart pounding wildly or some sound coming from the unknown darkness.

Only the heavy sense of oppression grew stronger and more terrifying, spreading out of the darkness with unparalleled power and enveloping everyone present.

"...Everyone, take cover wherever you are."

Then, Li Ling gave the order and, after observing the surroundings, immediately turned her gaze to the half-collapsed gas station.

Without further instructions, the three players immediately began moving towards the gas station. Although Xiao Hua wasn't quite there to react immediately, Li Ling grabbed her hand and dragged her into the shadows of the ruins. The four of them hid in the darkness, concealing the faint light from the fragments of the Crimson Domain, and waited motionless.

Dongdong——dongdong——

The heavy noise occurred again, mixed with an eerie sound like a child humming a song softly.

The streetlights began to flicker, and the originally bright white light gradually turned into a dim yellow color. You could even vaguely see blurry shadows appearing from time to time on the street that should have been empty, and then suddenly disappearing without a trace.

What exactly is coming?

Xiao Hua looked at the darkness from which the tremor was coming, her little hands clenching involuntarily, trembling slightly.

Unlike the other players, she couldn't remain calm in this situation filled with uncertainty and terror. The girl's heart was pounding wildly, and her hands and feet were trembling unconsciously; she was terrified.

Don't panic, absolutely do not panic.

The girl repeatedly told herself this in her heart.

I'm not alone here; there are three players even stronger than me beside me. Even if we encounter some monsters, they'll definitely have a way to deal with them. Besides, I'm not as hungry as I was before; I've eaten about half a meal. If danger arises, I can definitely unleash that same power again. So… so there's really no need to overthink things. Yes, absolutely no need to overthink things…

Xiao Hua, who was muttering to herself, slowly looked around and then her gaze settled on the edge of the streetlight, on a hand that had somehow emerged from the darkness and was supporting itself on the ground.

It was charred black, its skin as black as charcoal, covered with hard scabs of all sizes, with no fingernails visible, and the fingers showing obvious signs of amputation.

It appears to be the appearance of a survivor of severe burns from a fire, after receiving treatment.

Why would such a hand suddenly appear?

The question had just surfaced in Xiaohua's mind when she saw a second hand emerge from the darkness.

This hand had no skin; flesh and fat were exposed, constantly oozing foul blood. The arm itself was trembling incessantly, as if enduring pain, and every finger was deformed and twisted.

Ouch, that hurts...

It's as if I heard someone's voice echoing in my heart.

Sobbing, desperate, bewildered cries echoing from the darkness.

Doctor... Doctor... Please help me... Please save me...

It hurts so much...it really hurts...I don't want to be in this pain anymore...I really don't want to be in this pain anymore...

Please, doctor... doctor... please... take my pain away...

More hands reached out from the darkness.

Those hands, some covered in sores, some teeming with tumors, and some simply deformed, reached out from the darkness and slid across the dim light of the streetlamp.

Just like products that have been selected and deliberately cultivated, works that have been deliberately shaped into this form, they are carefully screened and polished by the maker with great patience, and then placed as a collectible or a tool for use.

Xiao Hua felt a strong wave of dizziness.

She felt the cries from the darkness drawing closer, as if she had fallen into a bottomless abyss. And in that boundless darkness, countless people, trapped within, unable to break free or escape, continued to cry out, their wails almost shattering the girl's eardrums.

dong dong——

Once again, I heard the heavy pounding of my heart.

A sound even stronger than before, echoing in a dull hum.

But did that sound really come from inside my own body?

This strange tremor was like...like...

Snapped!

The next moment, the girl felt everything go black before her eyes, and then she knew nothing more.

As for Li Ling, who had acted swiftly after discovering that Xiao Hua had been cognitively eroded, she had already withdrawn her hand and was supporting the unconscious girl with one hand, continuing to squat motionless in a dark ruin, silently watching the things that passed by.

Without a doubt, it was a creation made from living people and imbued with the power of ghost stories.

In terms of rules, they are all derivative monsters, less powerful than original monsters of the same level, and usually lack immortality, making them completely annihilable. However, these derivatives are relatively easier to control and modify. Li Ling was referring to the fact that original monsters and those beings more powerful than monsters should be easier to manipulate.

Of the things we just passed, the vast majority were probably quite old, not newly created. But there were a few whose flesh and blood were so fresh that you could tell at a glance they had only been dead for a few hours.

These things are heading towards that wall of flesh and blood; they're probably being sent there to do something.

The direction they came from, well, that's right, the direction Xiaohua pointed to earlier—the factory. So that factory is actually a place that mass-produces flesh and blood derivatives? [Hospital] Through that factory, can they continuously create their own soldiers using living people as materials?

It really is becoming more and more necessary to make a trip there. This little girl who accidentally wandered into the edge of space has really caught a super big fish for us.

The silence lasted for several minutes.

After everything in the darkness disappeared, the players waited for two or three minutes to make sure that nothing else would emerge before finally leaving the gas station ruins where they had been hiding and continuing forward.

Xiao Hua was jolted awake from unconsciousness by Li Ling's chop to the head. He stared at everyone with a bewildered expression, not knowing what had happened.

Before she could even ask anything, Angel, at Li Ling's prompting, stepped forward, pulled a test tube from his waist, and without a word, grabbed Xiao Hua's mouth and forced the purple liquid inside into the girl's mouth, causing Xiao Hua's expression to instantly contort.

It's so bitter...it tastes awful...and I can't even spit it out...

"Your consciousness has been eroded to some extent. This [Self-Medication] can temporarily stabilize your mind and resist the erosion to a certain extent. Don't dislike its taste too much."

Seeing the pained expression on Xiao Hua's face, Angel said something in a cold tone, then walked away and continued with Li Ling.

My mind was corrupted? Wait, so I was just corrupted?

Belatedly realizing what was happening, Xiao Hua followed behind Angel, turning her head a few times before she understood that Angel had just been helping her.

He always seemed cold and unapproachable before, but turns out he's actually a nice person? Hmm, I always thought people like that were hard to get along with.

"Um, thank you. Did I cause too much trouble for everyone just now?"

Thanks to Gao Hai's explanation, Xiao Hua, who was somewhat aware of the potential consequences of being mentally corrupted by ghost stories, cautiously asked the group.

"It's okay, don't overthink it. You're still quite mentally sound. Although this might not sound nice, you actually have a real talent for being a gamer, it's just that it might be more difficult to enter the game right now."

Seeing Xiao Hua's expression, Li Ling smiled, and her heart was somewhat reminded of how she was when she first encountered the [Sacrifice Game].

"At least it was much better than my initial performance. Without Mr. Gao's help, I would have definitely died in my first dungeon experience. I just stayed in the safe zone waiting to be rescued the whole time. Now that I think about it, it's quite embarrassing for a grown man in his forties to be arranged like that by a young guy. Ah, but Mr. Gao is indeed no ordinary person. Compared to him, I only humiliated myself."

Wang Gui scratched his head and smiled as he spoke, mentioning Gao Hai in his words. Xiao Hua was somewhat curious about the kind of contact this old gentleman had with Gao Hai, but because the timing wasn't right, she held back from asking.

"..."

Angel didn't say anything, but glanced at Xiao Hua before turning his gaze forward and continuing on his way.

This mysterious veteran player seemed genuinely quiet, and her aloof attitude left Xiaohua somewhat frustrated. Of course, this level of communication breakdown didn't really cause the girl any emotional problems; she quickly recovered and focused her attention on the road ahead.

The roar of the factory had become very clear.

The tall buildings on both sides of the road began to decrease, and some bungalows and empty wastelands began to increase. At the same time, more and more fleshy monsters patrolled around. These monsters also had flashlights and surveillance cameras sewn onto their bodies, clearly monitoring the area near the factory.

Because of his rather hardcore escape from the factory, Xiao Hua had no idea what the surrounding area was like. Only when he returned with his team did he realize how heavily guarded the factory was. The team barely managed to advance a short distance before finding it difficult to continue without being detected.

"It is indeed a big fish, but now it seems that we probably can't eat such a big fish on our own."

After realizing that the density of the patrolling monsters had exceeded the team's processing limit, and that there must be higher-level monsters guarding the checkpoints behind them, Li Ling wisely chose to stop and led the team to hide in an alley filled with black garbage bags.

"Unless we can reunite with higher-level players, our team has no chance of completing the mission to infiltrate the factory."

Angel spoke slowly, her face still expressionless, but she glanced at Xiao Hua again, seemingly somewhat displeased with the information he provided.

“Even if we can’t get in, we still need to observe the surroundings. Judging from the monsters’ actions, the [Hospital] seems to trust the factory quite a bit. Xiao Hua’s actions inside the factory didn’t seem to attract much attention, so we can use this opportunity to scout the area around the factory, and then find a way to upload this information to guide higher-level players to solve the factory’s problems. Alright, Angel, and Lao Wang, now’s not the time to think about other things, let’s think about how to scout.”

Li Ling spoke again, cutting off Angel's words before he could finish, and quickly steered the topic in another direction.

Xiaohua obviously couldn't get a word in edgewise on this topic, so she just stood quietly to the side and listened.

Since there was nothing to do for the time being, Xiao Hua listened to the three people beside her discussing while looking down at the trophy in her hand.

Li Ling knew a little about the player "Aoyama Nanami," but not much. Therefore, after asking around, Xiao Hua only learned that Aoyama Nanami was a Red Moon-level player, originally belonging to the Tokyo-based "Market" organization, and had disappeared over a month ago. That was all she knew.

As for the trophy, Li Ling lost interest after confirming it wasn't an object of obsession, but merely an ordinary little trinket tinged with a strange, fantastical aura. She left Xiao Hua with it, ignoring it. Of course, she did remind Xiao Hua not to throw it away, since if the modified monster resembling Aoyama Nanami came looking for them, this little item might be able to control it for a while, buying them time to escape.

Speaking of which, I wonder where that terrifying monster went. Could it be somewhere nearby?

As she thought about it, Xiaohua recalled the twisted and deformed arms she had just seen.

Sister Li said that the deformed blood had a power to erode the spirit, so if I looked at it for too long, I would experience hallucinations, and my consciousness would be affected, allowing me to see things I couldn't normally see. And the feeling I got from those things… how should I put it, that feeling was quite strange…

Xiao Hua felt that those physical deformities were not entirely caused by that terrible hospital.

Whether it's horrific burns covering the entire body, abscesses or tumors caused by disease, or twisted deformities of bones and muscles, these ailments that bring endless suffering are not entirely created by hospitals. Those poor souls, those who weep in despair, seem to have already endured torment and pain before even encountering a hospital.

The hospital that is now ravaging the entire city of Tokyo and is being fought against by Mr. Takami and other players probably appeared in front of the suffering victims in the first place under the guise of a savior, deceiving them into thinking that they had found a savior, and then inflicting even greater torment and despair on them in order to achieve its own goals.

It's incomprehensible how something so evil and disgusting could exist.

Mr. Gao Hai said that monsters have no self; they are essentially just remnants of people's painful emotions and desperate memories. Therefore, these monsters always act mechanically and rigidly according to certain rules, so as long as you find the right method, you can find a way to survive. But that "hospital" isn't like that, is it? Although we haven't come into contact with much yet, hasn't the "hospital" behind these monsters been actively acting according to its own will from the very beginning?

Like the doll mother in that rotting room, she had clearly decided to let go of her unattainable ideals and be a good mother. But the hospital had to come out and stir up her relinquished desires, deliberately leading her in a bad direction until her entire family was wiped out, and even after her death, they didn't let her go.