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

Shizuko Ogiyama bowed her head in apology, then looked at Haruka Hondo, who was squatting on the ground, with a somewhat disgusted expression.

“I understand, children this age sometimes do have these kinds of problems. But we're in a very dangerous place right now, so there's probably no room for gentle discipline for the time being. How about we just leave her inside this time, to avoid her going out and causing trouble if she gets disobedient?”

Hoshika glanced at Hondou Haruka, who, though not currently acting out, had an extremely unpleasant expression, and then looked at Ryo and Ogiyama Shizuko and asked.

"She'll probably lock the door after we leave and then use a stool to block it so we can't come in. She did something similar when I had a fight with my roommate before. She forced us to bring a ladder to enter the dorm through the window, and she almost pushed us out the window. So it's better to bring it with you."

Shizuko Ogiyama lowered her head again, her voice tinged with helplessness.

Clearly, Hongxia, who hadn't had much contact with such eccentric people, once again showed a shocked expression. Ryo, on the other hand, nodded seriously and gave a comment like, "That's very rock and roll. Next time, let Boqi write a song about the store manager beating up a hot JK ​​girl."

After a brief interlude, Ryo once again used his soul perception to separate his consciousness from his body and pass through the door into the corridor.

This time, the person from before did not appear again. The gloomy, dimly lit corridor was empty, with only old, peeling wallpaper and rows of metal doors in Liang's sight.

I can't feel that chilling aura anymore, so it shouldn't be there, right?

Liang tried to project her consciousness to a slightly farther location, but when the distance reached about five meters, she began to feel a sense of weightlessness, as if her consciousness had become a kite with a broken string and was about to fly away. She immediately stopped trying to go any further and quickly brought her consciousness back to her body.

It seems the maximum distance is about five meters; any further and I probably won't be able to get back.

With that thought in mind, Liang tried to sense the surroundings again, looking left and right, and only returned to his body after confirming that there was no trace of any strange creature.

"This time there are no problems, you can go out now."

Liang looked at the people beside him and said seriously.

"You can see what's outside? You can see through things?"

Shizuko Ogiyama remained quiet and did not disturb Ryo until she spoke, at which point she asked in great surprise.

"Ah."

Liang nodded calmly, then noticed that Hondou Haruka had stood up at some point and was silently wiping the blood from his nose with a dark expression.

"Hey, when did you get superpowers?"

Hongxia was shocked and subconsciously thought Liang was talking nonsense, but seeing her friend's serious expression, she immediately realized that Liang was serious this time.

"X-ray vision? You're kidding me."

Before anyone else could say anything, Hondou Haruka sneered and spoke with a face full of hostility.

This guy definitely needs to be dealt with. Maybe we should find some ropes to tie him up? Otherwise, judging from his appearance, he's likely to cause a lot of trouble.

Although the girl didn't cause any more trouble after being hit, Ryo felt something was wrong just by looking at her defiant expression. However, the three of them and the three of Ogiyama Shizuko had only just met, and it was difficult for the girls to be as ruthless as Kaguya Takami when they encountered someone who didn't obey. Therefore, after thinking for a while, Ryo didn't give any overly radical advice, but instead turned her gaze to the girl with brightly colored hair.

"You're wearing a black bra and light blue underwear, and you recently had an abortion. Isn't that a bit too neglectful of yourself?"

After glancing at Hondou Haruka, Ryo gave this evaluation with a calm expression.

"You he……"

Hondou Haruka's expression changed almost immediately, and she was about to curse, but when she saw Hoshika raise her hand behind Ryo, she shut her mouth in a huff, though her gaze toward the three of them grew increasingly venomous.

If I can get a room key after registering, I must try my best to register as many names as possible later. Hondou Haruka, one of these three survivors, is far too unpredictable; staying with them might lead to something terrible.

Seeing that the woman made no attempt to conceal her emotions, Ryo, increasingly sensing something was amiss, glanced back at Nijika. Confirming that she shared similar thoughts, the two nodded to each other. Ryo then looked at Shizuko Ogiyama on the other side. By this time, the latter had already confirmed Ryo's power from Haruka Hondou's reaction; her expression grew increasingly surprised, and she immediately nodded before grabbing the doorknob.

Click——

Gently, Shizuko Ogiyama pushed open the door and was the first to step out of the house.

Ryo and Nijika followed and stood in the corridor, then Hoshika, then Torio Mami, and finally Hondou Haruka, who hesitated for a long time before finally coming out.

It's cold.

Just like when I walked through this corridor before, simply standing on this dark and narrow path, I felt a chill that hit me, making me extremely uncomfortable.

Of course, after experiencing the chill emanating from the eerie creature, this level of low temperature is nothing. After all, if those ghostly things were to get close, one would feel a genuine chill that shoots straight from the soles of the feet to the top of the head—a terrible experience one would never forget.

Room 109 was not far from the duty room, so the six of them did not spend too long before they approached the lobby on the first floor.

As she passed by, Ryo glanced at rooms 110, 111, and 112, a slight curiosity welling up inside her. She wondered if she should try projecting her consciousness behind the doors to see what was inside. Of course, Ryo only thought about it; she wasn't foolish enough to actually try it. If she saw some terrifying and grotesque creature, and it happened to be able to observe her in her soul form and chase after her, she would be asking for trouble.

Huh? Wait, what's with this smell?

When Liang arrived at the location of room 112 and the stairwell, a strange smell wafted from the direction of the lobby, causing her to subconsciously slow her pace.

"Hmm, what's this smell?"

Hongxia, who had also smelled the stench, frowned and covered her nose. The others present also showed signs of discomfort, clearly having all smelled the extremely strong, fishy odor emanating from behind the door.

The strong fishy smell was as if something had been killed and bled in the hall.

There wasn't this smell before. Has something unusual happened in the hall? Could it be that the strange creature that was standing at the door has come here and is waiting for us to come in? Or is there something unusual about the hall itself, but it's usually hard to notice?

"Don't go in yet, let me sense the situation inside first."

Liang quickly considered several possibilities, most of which were off-target. Without hesitation, she quickened her pace to the door, signaled to the people behind her to keep a safe distance, and then focused her mind, separating her consciousness from her body once again.

My mastery of this strange power seems to be accelerating little by little. Perhaps with more practice and experimentation, this ability could become even stronger?

While he was thinking, Liang's perspective had already penetrated the heavy protective door and reached the location of the hall.

The bright lights illuminated the room.

It also illuminated the room, revealing the excessively vibrant blood-red color.

The notice board, which I had just read, was now stained with splattered blood and several clear bloody handprints, rendering it unreadable.

The register and pen on the counter looked no different than before, if one could ignore the severed hand holding the pen also on the counter.

Inside the duty room, which had been opened at some point, a dark red light shone through and illuminated the floor.

Dark red, with flowing light.

"..."

In the silence, Ryo saw blood covering the entire lobby of the apartment building, and pieces of torn flesh scattered everywhere.

It seems that someone else mistakenly entered the apartment after them, but unlike the people who came in before, this unknown intruder seems to have made a bad choice, or rather, picked a very bad time.

As Ryo was thinking this, he heard a "gurgling" sound, like something rolling on the ground.

Then, she saw Shizuko Ogiyama's terrified head roll out of the duty room and into her line of sight, staring at her with vacant eyes.

Chapter 8: Distortions and Clues Behind the Darkness from an Alternate Perspective

What was that thing I just saw?

That face was undoubtedly that of Shizuko Ogiyama, the girl who had appeared not long ago, accepted them, and claimed to be a survivor who had also wandered into this place by mistake.

But now, she appeared before him in the form of a dead person, in the shape of a human head, and was even rolling in front of him.

Why is this happening?

Was I chatting with a dead person for the entire time just now?

So, does that mean that Shizuko Ogiyama, who's standing behind me now, waiting for me to provide the investigative information, is actually a ghost disguised as a dead person? Now that I'm aware she's dead, will she change right in front of me when I turn around? Or will she pretend nothing happened, only revealing her true form if I point it out?

What should I do?

What should I do now? Is Shizuko Ogiyama really dead? If she is, doesn't signing the autograph mean I'm doomed? But if I don't sign, won't I be finished according to the rules? Was my thinking wrong from the start? How can I survive? How can I help Nijika and the manager survive?

It must be admitted that Liang's mindset has become somewhat chaotic.

This completely unexpected situation left the already terrified girl at a loss. She froze on the spot, her consciousness forgetting to return to her body, and continued to stare at the blood-soaked hall where a massacre had just taken place, and the wide-eyed human head.

Gollum-

The heads continued to roll, moving closer and closer to the door where the girls were standing.

Has it realized it's being spied on? Or is it just scrolling unconsciously?

Liang didn't know the answer to this question, nor did she have time to think about it. At this moment, all she could feel was the intense emotion emanating from that gaze, an emotion so strong it made her feel nauseous.

A journey to death filled with pain and torment.

Even after death, a twisted will remains within flesh and blood, impossible to completely dissipate.

Yes, she was watching him.

The broken head is staring at itself, making eye contact with itself.

And his extraordinary senses had begun to perceive something belonging to this head, and he was beginning to realize something.

It was some kind of inhuman, alien object.

No one knows when it started appearing, or how it has engulfed so many people's lives, gradually causing increasingly severe damage.

Those affected by it began to change gradually, becoming worse and worse, and their appearance became increasingly frightening. But no one spoke of it, and even if someone wanted to speak up, they would eventually fall silent and stop talking.

The roads were blocked, and the reason for the blockade was unknown; suddenly, everyone was not allowed to leave the nearby neighborhood.

Work continues as usual, and the children in the neighborhood go to school as usual. Everything seems to be the same as usual, but it is clearly not like that. Something has clearly happened, and some problem has occurred in this neighborhood.

Why does it feel stranger and stranger? It feels stranger and stranger.

Is it evening yet? Is it already evening?

It's been dark for a while now, and I have a strange feeling. Is something starting to feel off?

The patrolmen are knocking on the door… When did they appear? When did they get there? Why weren't we noticing them before? And who are these extra people? It's so strange, it feels so weird. Why am I seeing these strange things? Where did they come from? What are they? What are they? Why am I seeing them?

Oh, you can see it too?

Can you see it?

can you see me?

……

Click!

Reach out.

Liang gently pushed open the security door between the corridor and the hall.

Outside the door was a hall that looked somewhat old under the lights, with no bloodstains, no mangled flesh, and no human heads.

"Huh...huh..."

The girl's breathing was heavy, and despite the low temperature, her forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and her fingers were trembling.

She ultimately chose to push the door open, not out of a suicidal act, but because she saw the things disappear and confirmed that the eerie scene had moved to another place.