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

In the silence, Hongxia, unaware of what decision her sister had made, also silently watched the group of people in front of her.

Something doesn't seem right.

Hongxia's gaze swept over the survivors.

She didn't pay much attention to the now talkative and cheerful Shizuko Ogiyama; after all, her problems were written all over her face, and there was no point in dwelling on something everyone understood. What Nijika was concerned about at that moment was the reactions of the other survivors during the series of unusual events.

Hisaya Yuu is clearly in the know and is actively looking for a way to escape, so he should be alive and well, and there is no need to worry too much about him.

But Suikawa Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi are completely abnormal. They can teleport along with Ogiyama Shizuko several times. How is that possible? And why does everyone seem completely indifferent to this, including the older sister? Doesn't she think those two survivors are also strange? They're like two puppets. Are they even alive?

Hongxia frowned as she looked at the two women following beside Ogiyama Shizuko, nodding or agreeing from time to time. She felt more and more that they were not normal people.

Besides, Nijika also sensed something was off about Akeda Shinji and Kasakawa Asaka. Although they seemed lively and normal in their speech and actions, Nijika noticed that they showed absolutely no reaction to Ogiyama Shizuko and the other two's teleportation; they didn't seem to see anything wrong with it. Akeda Shinji even exhibited actions and reactions similar to Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi, giving the impression of… well, like he was sometimes a person and sometimes a puppet? It was a difficult feeling to describe.

As for Asaka Kasakawa, like Shinji Aketa, her reactions are sometimes very vivid, and at other times Nijika feels that she is also a puppet. After all, although she is dissatisfied with Shizuko Ogiyama's endless narration, she also has no reaction to the supernatural side that Shizuko Ogiyama displays, as if she cannot see anything at all.

Are these people still alive?

The more Hongxia thought about this problem, the more a chill ran down her spine.

"We're almost at the end of the corridor. I have a feeling the door to the next area should be here too. Hopefully, the next area will be a safe place."

Shizuko Ogiyama, standing in front, smiled and spoke.

"Hmm, it should be fine."

Midori nods earnestly.

"It's okay, it's okay."

Yoshimi Nakatani smiled in response.

"Yes, no problem. These places we've come to are all quite safe."

Shinji Akeda also spoke up with a smile.

"Where exactly is the way out..."

Kasagawa Asaka didn't echo the others, only muttering to herself. As she said this, Ogiyama Shizuko turned her head, glanced at her expressionlessly, then continued looking ahead and began to recount her past with a smile.

No matter how you look at it, they are a group of living, breathing people, aren't they?

But what if that's not the case?

If from the very beginning, these people ahead were all already ghosts, but they didn't know it and were just continuing to pretend to be alive... if that's really the case, then doesn't that mean there aren't any living people in this group at all? Did my sister and I stumble into a group of the dead?

Hongxia trembled slightly at the thought in her heart.

She desperately wanted her thoughts to be wrong, to be a complete fabrication of her ideas. But the more she tried to think that way, the more she couldn't ignore the troubling issues she had just encountered, and the more she couldn't stop pondering the reasons behind them.

We must find a way to get out of this area as soon as possible.

The girl thought to herself.

My sister might not realize the problem, but if the situation is truly as bad as I suspect, it's even possible that Ms. Kasagawa's hostility towards Ogiyama is just a performance, a trap to mislead us both. We can't continue following this group. If we continue like this, at some point we'll be forced to expose ourselves or obey rules that could jeopardize our lives or our mental stability. We must find a way to leave before that moment arrives!

At this moment, Hongxia and Xingge did not communicate with each other, and their thoughts were completely different. However, without exception, both of them were thinking about how to escape from this place with their younger sister (older sister), and neither of them had any intention of continuing to follow this group.

"Found it, the door to the next area."

Shizuko Ogiyama spoke with a tone of surprise.

At this moment, the girl with glasses opened the door at the end of the corridor, and behind that door, Hongxia and Xingge could clearly see that it was a convenience store, a convenience store with white lights on, which seemed to be still in operation.

A convenience store? Wait, didn't Mr. Hisaya mention convenience stores before?

Standing in front of Hongxia, Xingge vaguely sensed that something was wrong and turned to look in the direction of Hisaya Yuxiong, wanting to observe the old man's reaction.

"Oh, it's a convenience store? I remember this convenience store. I used to buy bread and bento boxes here on my way to and from school. That memory is quite vivid for me. Let's go in, everyone. Maybe we'll run into other people here."

But before that, Shizuko Ogiyama was already standing at the door, turning around and smiling at the people behind her, speaking softly in a calm and unhurried tone.

The chill in the air seemed to be increasing again.

Although nothing truly terrifying has appeared yet, Xingge feels increasingly aware of being watched by something extremely frightening, and goosebumps immediately rise all over his body.

It is watching itself.

Looking up, Xingge could see Shizuko Ogiyama staring intently at her from the doorway.

The gaze emanating from behind those glasses was somewhat blank, creating a stark contrast with the gentle smile at the corner of his mouth—like two mismatched doll faces forcibly fused together. His body was equally stiff and rigid, utterly devoid of any liveliness, standing motionless at the doorway like a statue, completely devoid of movement, not even the slightest breath.

The others had disappeared sometime earlier.

Whether it was Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi, who had been closely following Ogiyama Shizuko, or Aketa Shinji, who had been acting as a peacemaker, or Kasakawa Asaka, who had uttered a few complaints, all four of them had vanished without a trace, seemingly disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Grandpa Yuyu Nakuya was still there, but he had absolutely no intention of communicating with them at all. Without looking back, he stepped through the door and quickly went into the convenience store inside.

So now only the two sisters are left here.

So now only that thing remains standing at the doorway, frozen in place under the cold white light, watching the two people who have not yet entered.

Given the current situation, the chances of escaping are slim. We have no choice but to keep moving forward. Direct confrontation isn't a wise choice until we find a way out of this area. Let's play it safe for now; there shouldn't be too much danger for the time being.

Under that gaze, Xingge really wanted to run away immediately, but after looking around and seeing nowhere to go, she finally took Hongxia and slowly moved forward, gradually approaching the door.

"..."

There was no communication, not a single word was uttered proactively.

This thing, which had been disguised as [Shizuko Ogiyama] the whole way, just stood silently in place, continuing to watch the two sisters.

Xingge felt her heart beating faster. She couldn't be sure if this thing was simply standing still or if it had already sensed her and Hongxia's plans and was preparing to confront them or do something else terrible.

In the end, it did nothing, simply standing there, silently watching Xingge and Hongxia pass through the door and completely enter the convenience store.

Click——

The sound of the door closing was exceptionally clear at that moment.

"This convenience store is a very, very familiar place to me. In fact, I've worked here several times."

Shizuko Ogiyama's enthusiastic and lively voice rang out again from the front.

"Oh, that's it."

Midori Saeko's voice followed, but it lacked the liveliness of her previous voice, giving Hoshika a strange feeling, as if she were hearing an AI repeating her words.

"Oh, that's right."

The next voice to ring out, that of Yoshimi Nakatani, had the same feeling, completely devoid of any emotion.

A cold, damp air current was slowly blowing from ahead.

Without needing further reminders, Xingge understood that the current situation might be more dangerous than she had anticipated.

However, having come this far, I have no other choice but to take things one step at a time.

Thinking this, Xingge raised her head and turned her gaze toward the source of the chill.

Then, she saw Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani.

With their heads bowed and long hair hanging down to cover their faces, they stood stiffly behind rows of shelves, as if they had become paper dolls. It was as if something like rattan had pierced through their bodies, hanging behind the convenience store shelves, with only part of their bodies showing. These were Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani.

She couldn't see their faces, couldn't see what they looked like now.

All she saw were their stiff bodies, standing there like corpses, or as if they had been deliberately manipulated.

What are you looking at?

Shizuko Ogiyama's voice came silently from behind the two of them.

Chapter 71 Failed Actions and Mutual Calculations Between Journalists and Transformed Individuals

Now that things have come to this, Hoshigo no longer wants to comment on Shizuko Ogiyama's teleportation and face-to-face attack.

This thing didn't even bother to act. She had no doubt that if she actually brought it up and asked, it would immediately turn on her. So even though it was practically face-to-face with her and was speaking, Xingge could only try her best to hold back, force a smile, and say "It's nothing" to brush it off.

I really want to punch this thing.

Xingge, whose temper wasn't exactly gentle, couldn't help but think to herself.

From the moment Hongxia decided to leave the safe house, she was first frantically fleeing from the clutches of monsters, and then she ended up in this bizarre group. Knowing there was something wrong, she had no choice but to pretend nothing was amiss and follow along with a group whose human and monster populations were unknown. To be honest, Xingge had accumulated considerable pressure and felt extremely annoyed. Especially now that she had to suppress her feelings, she felt a fire burning within her.

No, calm down, I need to calm down.

Xingge kept repeating this to herself in her heart.

The situation is unclear, and we haven't found a way to escape yet. Turning against her rashly will only bring trouble to both myself and Hongxia. It's one thing for me, but if Hongxia gets hurt because of my actions, then I'll have truly failed as her older sister. This must never happen again, absolutely not. So, I must endure it; I absolutely must endure it now.

Pretending to be calm, Xingge led Hongxia forward and started walking through the convenience store.

Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi, who were standing in front of him with their heads down, seemed to be invisible to Hoshika, who calmly walked past them and continued forward.

"Where did you go? Why are you walking so slowly?"

Kasakawa Asaka's voice rang out from the front at that moment. Hoshika blinked and saw the person walk out from behind a shelf.

Perhaps because of her short stature, Xingge hadn't noticed anyone behind the shelf before. However, if she thought about it in the worst-case scenario, maybe there really wasn't anyone behind the shelf a while ago, but Xingge didn't want to think about it anymore; she was focused on staying calm.

"The space here seems a bit unusual. A normal convenience store shouldn't be this big. We'd better not spread out too much, or we'll easily get lost or separated from the group."

At that moment, Shinji Akeda also came out from behind another shelf, looking at Hoshika and Nijika with a worried expression.

"Don't worry too much, I recognize this place. Although there have been quite a few changes, I have a feeling I can find my way out. After all, I've spent a very long time in this convenience store, and no one knows this place better than me."

Finally, Shizuko Ogiyama's voice rang out from the front. She, along with Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani, emerged from behind a shelf a little further away. She smiled at the group and then walked forward on her own, recounting her past experiences with a look of reminiscence.

The process was similar to what they had experienced in the teaching and dormitory areas, except this time there were no rows of doors, but instead, shelves overflowing with all sorts of items. These shelves stretched endlessly in all directions, seemingly without end. This surreal architectural scene was clearly not of the real world, and Xingge felt as if she were in a dream, unconsciously slowing her pace to observe her surroundings every now and then. If Hongxia hadn't pinched her waist as a reminder, she estimated she would have fallen behind after a short while, prompting the thing disguised as Ogiyama Shizuko to teleport back and ask her why she wasn't keeping up with the group.

Tread - Tread -

Amidst the clear sound of footsteps, the survivors, and what appeared to be survivors, moved forward together.

Hongxia turned her head and looked at a pillar located between the shelves. Mirrors were pasted on all four sides of the pillar, so she could see her dirty little face, covered in dust from her run.

At the same time, she also saw Yuyu Hisaya's expressionless face slowly passing by in the distance.

Hongxia doesn't remember when this person appeared.

After entering the seemingly endless convenience store, Yuuji Hisaya didn't appear quickly like Asaka Kasagawa or Shinji Aketa. Instead, he appeared unnoticed as the team moved forward. Nijika couldn't even pinpoint the exact time of his appearance, feeling that he suddenly appeared while she was looking back to check the situation. Moreover, when he first appeared, Nijika noticed that his expression was rather unpleasant, as if he had been frightened or frustrated.

Perhaps he had tried to break away from the group before, but he was unsuccessful and was blocked by that thing with Shizuko Ogiyama's face.

As she pondered, the girl looked ahead again, towards Shizuko Ogiyama, who was still speaking.