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

Judging from the strength of the feedback, it probably won't be as sturdy as the previous wall; it's worth a try.

Having made up his mind, Liang suddenly started moving.

Boom——

A violent explosion was accompanied by streaks of flying gravel.

The blue-haired girl raised her head, having made a desperate forward thrust in that instant, smashing through the wall and arriving at the duty room on the other side.

It was easier than expected; this was indeed the strength my body should possess. As for that indestructible wall, I'll leave that for now and not worry about it.

"Cough...cough...cough..."

Amidst the swirling dust, Liang patted the dust off his clothes and coughed as he walked toward the door of the duty room.

Don't hesitate, act fast!

Gao Hai's warning was extremely serious.

The chill coming from behind was gradually solidifying.

They've probably caught up; they've already entered the room.

With no time to hesitate, Liang rushed out of the duty room, turned back to close the door, and continued down the corridor, intending to take another route to the top floor and continue searching for the path to the boss's office.

It seems this time it's hard to avoid...

But as soon as she took a step forward, she felt a strong chill approaching from the front.

Unlike the pursuers behind them, it was equally malevolent and far from being a friendly entity, emanating a chilling aura.

There aren't many choices left; whether you survive depends on fate.

Gao Hai's voice already showed some pessimism, while Liang himself set off again without the slightest hesitation, beginning to look for a path to avoid the enemy.

The only place here to hide from the enemy... is this another office area? There's no other way! Let's do it this way then.

Considering that although the headless monsters looked bizarre and terrifying, at least they wouldn't sense her presence and wouldn't attack her, Ryo decisively rushed towards the entrance of the office area. She reached out and opened the door, then stepped inside.

【Wait a moment--】

Gao Hai hadn't expected Liang to act so decisively, and he wanted to speak up to stop him, but it was too late.

Through the door, Liang could already see the scene inside the house.

Desks, divided into cubicles, spread outwards; liquid dripping down, reeking of decay, spread outwards; and human heads, hanging from the ceiling, spread outwards silently.

Why aren't the people working in this office area those headless people?

Realizing the subtle difference she had overlooked, and also realizing that the situation in the office area might not be as she had imagined, Liang stopped in her tracks and was about to turn around and leave, returning to the corridor.

It's too late now. From here on out, just remember this feeling.

Then, everyone turned their heads toward Liang.

Then, all the heads grinned and let out silent laughter.

They are watching.

I was right in their sight.

A strong chill gathered from all directions, and the best chance to escape had been lost.

It was as if I could hear the laughter of those severed heads, their loud, boisterous laughter seeming to mock someone.

It sounded from above my head, it sounded from all around me.

They are watching.

Where am I being taken?

I felt relieved.

I felt myself becoming lightheaded.

There's just something very heavy.

It fell because it was so heavy.

Because it was so heavy, my body fell down.

Falling...down...?

In the office area filled with human heads, Liang held his own head in his hands, and the headless body slowly slumped down and sat in a chair.

Dark red bloodstains slowly spread, and death, which had descended at some unknown time, had already covered the body.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the squirrel plush toy hanging on the girl's body; it was brand new and looked exactly the same as before.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Squad's Investigation Time and Exploration of the Industrial Zone Between Light and Darkness

I have a very bad feeling.

Although we have only just entered the instance and should not encounter anything too outrageous under normal circumstances, we have had an extremely bad feeling since we entered the building and stepped inside.

This inexplicable, almost instinctive sense of unease had saved Qin Shou's life many times in the past. But this time, despite having this feeling, he still had to move towards the danger, a feeling that was truly unpleasant.

"The lobby area is currently confirmed to be safe. From the entrance, this place seems to be relatively normal. However, we must not let our guard down, and everyone should be careful."

Yan Hui and Lin Sen, who were the first to enter the office building, stood still for a while before turning around and speaking to the other three teammates standing outside. Only then did the five of them officially enter the building that belonged to Dansu Company.

Lin Sen himself held a bizarre lantern that resembled a living human head. At this moment, the lantern's head displayed an extremely grotesque and monstrous expression, seemingly suffering some kind of pain. Undoubtedly, this was an object of obsession, and a rare, Dark Night-level reconnaissance object at that. One of its main effects was to detect the distance between the user and the strange object; the closer the object got, the more distorted the expression on the lantern's face would become, gradually revealing a terrifying smile, and it might even actually laugh.

It is precisely because of this function that the Light and Darkness Squad can accurately identify those sneaky monsters that approach, preventing them from being ambushed unexpectedly. Of course, since it is an artifact of obsession, it cannot only have positive functions. The second function of this headlamp artifact of obsession is to release a bright light, which can blind those monsters that actively attack, thus temporarily losing their ability to lock onto the player. However, when the monster gets close enough to the player, the monster lamp will begin to struggle, attempting to break free from the player and release a bright light at the player. It can be said that if not handled carefully, this thing can blind the player in return, and once released while active, it will immediately revive and summon monsters, making it a very dangerous kind of artifact of obsession.

Well, right now, this thing hasn't started laughing yet, so there's no need to worry for the time being.

Although that's what he said, Qin Shou could already picture the thing grinning gleefully, laughing incessantly like Tang Shi when they were attacked by terrifying monsters. To be honest, every time he thought about its laughter, Qin Shou really wanted to kick the headlamp away, but these kinds of detection-type obsession objects were quite precious, so he didn't dare to actually kick it.

"It looks like there aren't any front desk staff in the lobby. I have to give this a bad review."

Lin Sen, carrying a headlamp and walking at the front of the line, spoke very seriously.

"It looks quite luxurious, with a rest area set up in the lobby. Hmm, that should be the elevator lobby, let's go take a look."

Qin Shou followed, pointing towards the depths of the hall as he spoke, and the others moved their flashlights and other lighting equipment in the direction Qin Shou pointed.

The entire hall was completely dark, and the group had to use lighting equipment to see their way. They also needed lights to prepare for Captain Yan Hui's blessing power.

At this moment, Yan Hui herself was also holding a flashlight. She first carefully observed her surroundings, and after confirming that the lobby on the first floor clearly showed signs of having been abandoned for some time, she turned the light in the direction Qin Shou had pointed. She first saw the lobby reception desk, which was now half-collapsed, making it hard to imagine its original state. Next to the reception desk, she saw the entrance to the elevator lobby, and could already see the elevator doors in the distance.

"Lake?"

Yan Hui didn't make a decision immediately, but instead looked at Lake in the group. The veteran had already unslung his Springfield rifle from his back and was silently observing his surroundings.

No abnormalities have been found so far.

Seeing the captain looking over, the man spoke succinctly and nodded at her.

"Okay, let's go."

Without further hesitation, Yan Hui led the way, followed by Lin Sen, with Qin Shou walking beside him. The two moved forward alternately, then came Cui Qiushui, and finally the experienced Lake. The group of players, working in perfect harmony, quickly advanced and soon arrived at the elevator lobby.

A pungent smell of dust permeated the air, and after taking just a few steps, one could see the dust rising up in the beams of a flashlight.

Cui Qiushui approached an elevator door, gently blew on it, and as dust swirled, the elevator button appeared. After confirming with her teammates, Cui Qiushui gently pressed the button. However, this action elicited no response; the dimly lit building remained silent, and the elevator door showed no sign of opening.

"There's no power."

Lin Sen raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of electricity is there in the world of ghost stories? It seems like this office building we've entered might be different from the one in the intelligence. So, Captain, how about we try to pry the door open?"

Qin Shou then knocked on the elevator door, wiped the dust off his hands, and asked Yan Hui behind him.

"Can the stairwell door be opened?"

Yan Hui did not respond to Qin Shou's obviously joking suggestion, but instead looked directly at Lake, who was trying to open the stairwell door not far away.

"No, the door is completely fixed. There's probably nothing behind it, Captain. We can't get up here. If the intelligence is correct, I guess this building might be 'layered'. The layer we're on might be different from the upper floors of the office building, and there's no way to reach the upper floors from here."

Lake tried again and found that he really couldn't open the door. After pressing his head against the door to feel it carefully, he shook his head with some regret and looked at Yan Hui.

Since entering, the players had obtained considerable intelligence through the smart devices storing fragments of the Crimson Domain. They knew the layout of the upper floors of the office building, the eye-ball-covered monsters that would track players in the corridors, and the headless, legless creatures that filled the office area. Clearly, these records were left by one or more players who had entered the instance earlier, and judging from the update speed, they were probably still alive. Therefore, Yan Hui harbored some intention to regroup. However, given the current situation, this seemed unlikely to be feasible.

It's a pity. Hopefully, the investigators on the other side will survive. Only a skilled player could gather so much information. Hopefully, I can have a drink with them after this incident.

"Since joining forces isn't working, let's investigate further."

A slight regret in her heart did not affect Yan Hui's decision. She quickly changed her mind, and her teammates cooperated perfectly. The five of them changed their route and began to head deeper into the building. It was at this moment that Lake, who had been observing carefully, discovered the building's structural diagram in the elevator shaft, which confirmed the structure of the first floor and the underground area where they were located.

"The upper floors are offices, the first floor is a freight area, and the basement is a chemical plant. What kind of insane structure is this? Even if dungeons do have all sorts of bizarre and illogical building structures, this one is just too strange! How can the office area still be used once the factory is running?"

Qin Shou, who has a background in civil engineering, has never been able to stand the various unrealistic buildings in the dungeon world. When he saw the overly abstract design of the office building, he just wanted to tear the map to shreds.

"It seems there's been a fusion between the factory and the office building. This building should exist as a concept for [Dansu Company], not just a simple office building or factory. That's good, if it exists as a fusion concept, it proves that everything related to Dansu Company should be in this building. Let's move on, we're not here to play around."

Yan Hui took the initiative to act, and the rest of the team quickly followed. The group first went to investigate the office area marked on the map, but only found dilapidated and empty desks, without seeing the headless monster mentioned in the records. They then investigated the restrooms, even going into the men's and women's rooms, but still didn't encounter the kind of monster that would follow people.

The entire first-floor office area seemed to have been completely abandoned; there wasn't even a trace of any eerie creatures to be found, and the headlamp remained unchanged throughout.

As for the other side of the office area on the map, which theoretically leads directly to the boss's office, the door to that area was also locked. This time, because the location was quite important, Yan Hui gave permission to break down the door after some consideration. However, after Lake and Qin Shou forced the door open, they found that there was a wall behind it. After trying to remove the wall, they found that there was still a wall behind it, and there was no second hall at all.

If that's the case, then perhaps anything related to the concept of an "office area" won't be found here?

"Go towards the industrial zone."

After a moment's thought, Yan Hui led her team toward another area on the first floor.

The first place they tried to enter was the area marked as the lounge on the map. As soon as they opened the door in the hallway, they immediately saw light shining from inside. Unlike the rest of the building, which was completely abandoned and covered in dust, this so-called "lounge" was brightly lit and furnished with various entertainment facilities, such as a pool table, arcade game machines, and several high-end televisions popular decades ago. The whole room had a very cozy atmosphere.

The headlamp's lips were slightly upturned.

There were no traces of any strange creatures in the lounge. Like the other rooms we had investigated before, it was, in a sense, "empty."

But everyone who entered could sense that this area was different. Even before they had actually confronted it, the group was certain that this brightly lit, seemingly safe place must be hiding one or more extremely dangerous monsters. Therefore, from this moment on, they had to be prepared for battle at any time, and no one could afford to make the slightest mistake.

Tap—tap tap—

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed through the road.

The group didn't touch anything in the lounge. After observing it briefly, they left and headed towards the control room.