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

Damn it! I could forgive them for deliberately framing me before, but now that they've finally found a way to escape, they won't let me pass? These two women are shameless!

With gritted teeth, Hisaya Yuyu saw that he couldn't catch up with the two in front of him. Panting, he turned his head to look at the approximate location of the five people who were now hidden by the bookshelf and had disappeared. He then made a decision.

I can't leave, and neither can you!

"Hey, someone's fallen behind! Someone's fallen behind up ahead!"

Hisaya Yuyu shouted loudly, his eyes filled with malicious pleasure as he looked at the two people in front of him.

But no one came.

Despite his loud shouts, the five figures that had already walked away showed no sign of turning back.

Why is this happening?

This doesn't make sense! They always seemed to take action whenever we shouted that before.

Did those two do something? Impossible! Did they really find some trick to deal with those ghostly things?!

Click——

Xingge had already opened the door and quickly looked outside. After confirming that there was no danger, she and Hongxia stepped through the door together.

This...this...they actually got away? How could they? I couldn't escape, but they did! Damn it, if you hadn't framed me, I would have already escaped from the convenience store. It's all your fault! Hey, wait a minute!

"Don't close the door! Please don't close the door!"

Yuyu Hisaya ran breathlessly, trying to get closer to the only exit ahead.

However, he could already see the expression on Xingge's face as she stood by the door, and he could see her gripping the doorknob. He was certain that this utterly immoral woman was ready to close and lock the door.

"No, no, no, don't close the door! Don't close the door!"

Hisashi Yuyu shouted almost in agony, staggering as he desperately squeezed the last bit of air out of his lungs, trying to catch up with the door in front of him.

The door was not closed.

Although Hoshika clearly intended to close the door, after silently observing Hisaya Yuu, Nijika suddenly sighed and said something to Hoshika. Hoshika then released her grip on the doorknob, gave Hisaya Yuu a gloating look, sneered, and then turned and left with Nijika.

Hisaya Yuuo ignored the expression; he simply assumed they had softened at the last minute and didn't dare to actually kill him. He felt only disdain and decided that once he caught up with them outside, he would stab them to death. The reason was simple: they had tricked him in the convenience store area earlier, and that was enough for him to act. In the real world, Hisaya Yuuo estimated he might not have the guts to actually commit murder, but this wasn't the real world. Unless he was caught red-handed, who could prove what he had done?

Filled with intense malice, Yuuji Hisaya charged toward the open door ahead.

thump—

Then it crashed into a transparent barrier.

"What...what's going on?"

Yuyu Hisaya, who had not expected this to happen, shouted.

Reaching out, the old man touched the transparent barrier that should have been empty, a barrier that covered the entire door without leaving any gaps.

"This shouldn't be happening! Why? Why?"

Undeterred, Hisaya Yuyu roared and rammed into the barrier, but he couldn't break through it at all.

He yelled and tried to stab the barrier with the fruit knife he was carrying, but it was to no avail.

Does that mean only the exit I discover is passable, while others' discoveries are not?

Hisashi Yuuya, his pale hands pressed against the barrier, was lost in thought.

Wait, is that my hand?

When I noticed, I realized that these were hands that were as white as a dead person's, completely devoid of any warmth.

These hands are part of my body, on my arms, but I had never noticed them before, and I was completely unaware of this situation.

Found you! You're here. Time to rejoin the team.

Shizuko Ogiyama's voice came from behind.

Hisashi Yuu, who had already realized what was happening, began to tremble and slowly turned back to look at the scene with a face full of despair.

He saw Shizuko Ogiyama, Saeko Midori, Yoshimi Nakatani, Asaka Kasagawa, and Shinji Aketa, and saw these five people standing there watching him with identical smiles.

And reflected in their pupils was his own face, bearing the same smile.

It turns out I... had already...

A desperate cry rang out, only to be quickly interrupted.

Of the two who were already far from the area, Hongxia sighed softly after hearing the voice.

Just as Mr. Gao Hai said, if a ghost is unaware that it has died, it may forcibly maintain the state of a living person, continuing to maintain its rationality in the form of self-deception, until it wakes up when the undeniable facts are presented before it.

She had been thinking before that the increased dust and the unusual appearance of garbage bags indicated that even completing one cycle was extremely dangerous. How could a man nearing sixty survive under such circumstances, and possibly complete more than one cycle? Now it seemed that the old man hadn't actually survived; he was merely a walking corpse believing he was still alive.

He fought with me and my sister for ages before, but it turns out he couldn't escape at all; he was already sentenced to death from the very beginning. He still thought he had a chance, but in the end, Xingge left that door open, allowing him to realize the despairing truth.

However, that kind of thing has nothing to do with me anymore.

The slight regret in their hearts was quickly cast aside, and Hongxia and Xingge continued forward together, walking deeper into the corridor under the pale lights, not knowing what obstacles they would encounter ahead.

Chapter 73: The Sisters' Escape and Yamada Ryo's Reunion with the Intruder.

There is no way to determine our current location.

The infinitely overlapping, chaotic land is as absurd and illogical as a dream. No matter which direction you go, you can never reach the end. There will always be more paths appearing, along with more dangers and more twisted and bizarre creatures.

"Huh...huh..."

In an empty indoor plaza, Hongxia, who was already exhausted, sat on the ground. She felt her mouth was dry and her throat felt like it was on fire.

She couldn't determine how much time had passed, but she was certain she had been in this bizarre and chaotic space for at least an hour. During this time, Hongxia and Xingge passed through various normal and abnormal spatial areas and encountered at least a dozen humanoid beings whose identities—whether survivors or monsters—were uncertain. For their own safety, Xingge ultimately decided against making any close contact with any of them.

After all, they truly lacked the ability to distinguish between monsters and humans, especially since the humanoid creatures appearing in this space were far too deceptive in appearance. Like their previous encounter with Yuuji Hisaya, that guy didn't look like a monster at all; he seemed like a living, breathing person. He could even pull off stunts and schemes like a human, plotting against them from behind. In the end, when they finally managed to escape, they discovered that the old man was actually already dead, though he himself was unaware of it.

Such an incident, having happened once, was enough to serve as a warning. Therefore, even though Hongxia sometimes felt reluctant, Xingge remained resolute in maintaining her decision not to team up with anyone and continued to explore this strange place in a two-person team.

"Phew...Are you rested enough?"

Xingge, who was also parched from exhaustion and lack of water, leaned against a pillar at the edge of the square and took a few breaths before looking at Hongxia and asking.

"Okay, no problem. But if this continues, we'll have to find a way to replenish our fluids. If we get chased a few more times and sweat a lot more, we might get dehydrated."

Hongxia swallowed a barely perceptible amount of saliva, looking at Xingge with a somewhat helpless expression.

"There's no other way, let's just hang in there a little longer, maybe the rescue will arrive soon."

Xingge understood the logic behind her younger sister's words perfectly, but could only offer weak words of comfort.

There was no other way. Knowing that the water in this place was problematic, no matter how thirsty the two of them were, they couldn't actually drink it. Even if they came across seemingly normal, drinkable water, they could only hold their breath and continue walking, since no one could be sure whether drinking it would cause them to become infected.

How much longer will it take before we find rescue and an exit?

Neither of them knew the answer.

[Sizzle…]

The overhead lights flickered at that moment, and a musty smell had somehow filled the air.

Looking back at the edge of the square, I noticed that large and small garbage bags had piled up in the shadows, and the floor near the shadows was cracked, as if time had unknowingly corroded them.

"time to go."

Seeing this, Xingge said in a low voice.

"Ah."

Hongxia nodded gently and immediately got up from the ground to get to work.

Those things lurking in the shadows have caught up.

Although they couldn't see what they looked like, the lingering dust and the increasing number of garbage bags were all signs that those things were approaching.

squeak-

Pushing open a door, one finds a dilapidated, empty corridor behind it. The interior is dimly lit, with most of the area shrouded in darkness.

You can't go this way.

Xingge opened the door without hesitation, immediately closed it, and ran to the other door.

Those dimly lit areas are the areas closer to them.

You must stay in a bright place to stay away from them.

crunch--

Opening another door revealed a small classroom that looked like it was used by elementary school students. The room was well-lit and looked clean, which seemed like a good option.

Xingge only glanced at the room briefly before quickly closing the door.

Although the room was indeed well-lit and clean, and clearly located away from those areas, the classroom only had two entrances: a front door and a back door. Once one door was used, the other became the only exit. If the other door led to a dark area, they would be in a dangerous predicament again.

They'd learned this lesson the hard way several times before. If it weren't for the protection of the Crimson Domain fragments, Xingge was certain that he and Hongxia would be dead long ago. Therefore, Xingge now tries to choose areas with plenty of doors or various passageways, so that in case of unexpected situations, they have more options and the probability of encountering dangerous areas is greatly reduced.

"Sister, over here!"

Hongxia had already opened a nearby door, and Xingge quickly followed. She found that the door led to an office building corridor with many doors on both sides. The room itself was brightly lit and looked very clean, making it an excellent choice.

"Okay, here it is."

Xingge, who made a quick decision, went through the door first. After confirming that there was no danger, she pulled Hongxia in, closed the door, and quickly began to search the newly appeared area for the door leading to the next safe area.

Once they catch up, simply escaping to the next area won't help. They need to be at least three areas apart before they can rest a bit, otherwise those things might catch up in the blink of an eye.

In fact, even being separated by three layers of space didn't make much difference. Just now, she and Hongxia only rested for a short while before those things appeared without them noticing. They didn't know how they could arrive so quickly, giving the two of them no time to react.

"Sister, hurry up, this time seems a little different."

Hongxia's voice carried a hint of tension. She seemed to sense something, and looked at the door behind Xingge that had just closed with a very serious expression.

Her younger sister's senses were undergoing some kind of change; she was able to perceive dangerous things better than she was. Sometimes, before they even got really close, she could vaguely sense something and alert her to take action first.

According to Hongxia herself, this unknown power seems to be an ability she was born with, and it is also the most common sensory supernatural power among players. This has been confirmed by Gao Hai himself. However, Hongxia's talent is not outstanding, and even when stimulated by external forces, it is difficult for her to evolve quickly. Therefore, she cannot directly awaken any particularly powerful supernatural power. At present, she only has the ability to sense strange creatures more effectively than ordinary people.

However, for the two sisters who were in imminent danger, even this little bit of strength was of great significance.

What did you feel?

As Xingge moved forward quickly, inspecting each of the surrounding doors, she asked Hongxia a question.

“Something, something I’m not sure what it is, has broken free from them and is speeding toward us.”