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

Originally, Lin Bujian was just thinking of teaming up with a group of big shots to get some points and maybe even get into a fight to help out. But after discovering that he had been isolated in another space, he couldn't help but cover his head and groan in pain.

"After all, it's a Red Moon-level dungeon. Teleporting people away without them noticing is perfectly normal. Hey, don't look so dejected. Some monsters might attack us soon. Cheer up and get ready for battle!"

Nanakawa Ren, on the other hand, remained relatively calm. However, seeing her companion's unsuccessful attempt to slack off, she couldn't help but kick Hayashi Kenta and mutter a few words in a tone of disappointment.

An eerie atmosphere drew closer in the next second.

The two players perked up, quickly noticing the approaching monster and immediately pinpointing its location, preparing to fight back.

"Ok?"

Kenta Hayashibe raised his eyebrows slightly, while Renya Nanakawa looked puzzled.

Although we were prepared to fight back, shouldn't it be like this?

At this moment, what appeared before the two players was a black monster crawling on the ground with difficulty, its limbs almost completely broken, as if it had just been beaten three times, so severely injured that it could not even stand up and had no way to rush over and attack the two players.

No, even ghosts have it tough these days. Are they really going to have to come out and make a living even when they're crippled like this?

As they watched the strange creature struggling to crawl towards them and attack, both Kenta Hayashibe and Ren Nanakawa's expressions became tense.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Two-Person Investigation of the Red Society and Gao Hai's New Commission.

Kenta Hayashibe has always been well aware that he is not actually a person with his own opinions or ideas.

Before becoming a player, he was just an ordinary, unremarkable couch potato at the bottom of the Japanese social hierarchy. Even after becoming a player, despite struggling to survive and unknowingly reaching the top level of Red Moon-level players, Lin Bu Kenta still didn't consider himself a top expert. Ultimately, all he wanted was to live a carefree life, simply enjoy his own existence.

Therefore, Kenta Hayashibe has always lacked the motivation to take initiative, always needing to be pushed forward and given orders before he would act. Sometimes, Hayashibe himself would wonder if it was strange that someone like him could become a Red Moon-level player and survive this long. After all, normally, those with more motivation and courage should be the ones who survive to the end, not someone like him who only thinks about giving up.

However, regardless of the circumstances, since he's already alive, he should still find a way to continue living well. After all, although he's naturally inclined to give up, dying is honestly quite painful. Hayashi Kenta doesn't want to die, especially not to be killed by strange creatures using bizarre methods. Therefore, unless he's truly faced with an insurmountable obstacle, Hayashi Kenta feels he should still try to fight back when danger arises.

Hmm... but then again, is this thing considered dangerous?

As Hayashi Kenta stared at the strange creature before him, he found himself unable to immediately get into a state of alert.

【■■■■……】

Twisted and eerie sounds could be heard all around, like someone whispering in one's ear, or like something lurking in the shadows.

The walls were rotting, the floor was rotting, the ceiling was rotting—everything in sight was twisted and decaying under the dim red light, exuding a suffocatingly eerie atmosphere. Just being in such an environment made one's body instinctively tense up, subconsciously wary of the direction from which an enemy might attack.

No, the direction is already very clear. After all, the enemy is right in front of him. This black, twisted monster is right in his sight, reaching out towards him, preparing to attack.

Although... no matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like it can launch an attack, right?

Kenta Hayashibe silently watched the strange creature ahead. After careful calculation, he was certain that the thing had struggled to crawl forward about 30 centimeters in the past minute.

This thing maintains a near-humanoid structure in appearance, except for deformed limbs and joints. If it could stand up normally, it would probably be quite intimidating. However, right now this thing is limp on the ground like a dead dog, its arms and legs broken, and its spine looks like it's been broken as well. It can only move forward with a snail's pace, waving its broken arms, which it can barely swing anymore, in an attempt to attack the two players a few meters away.

"Are they here to attack us or to ask us for help?"

Ren Nanakawa, standing next to Kenta Hayashibe, couldn't help but complain.

"...Judging from the aura, it must have been beaten up by the Lazy Fish Gang, right? How come it couldn't repair its damage quickly? I guess this monster isn't very strong. Maybe they just gave it a few light beatings?"

Kenta Hayashibe stared at the thing for a while, pondering and speculating, before he could roughly figure out what it was all about.

Therefore, there's no need to feel too much sympathy for something that only acts on instinct.

The fact that the "Touch Fish Gang" chose to attack it means that this thing will definitely hurt people, so we can just treat it as a normal monster.

"I'll take control. You search and see if you can find anything useful."

Then, Hayashibe Kenta spoke to Nanakawa Ren and then stepped forward.

"it is good."

Since he was already an old partner with this person, Nanakawa Ren did not hesitate, nodded in agreement, and followed him forward.

The dark, eerie creature raised its broken arm, and seeing the players approaching, it tried to pounce and attack at close range.

Boom! ! !

Then, Hayashi Kenta kicked it, sending it flying and crashing into the wall, leaving a dent that rendered it immobile.

And clearly, this is just the beginning.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

Amidst the continuous explosions, it was Hayashibe Kenta beating the thing mercilessly, using the brass knuckles he wore as a symbol of his obsession to smash the black monster into a bloody pulp.

Nanakawa Ren wasn't idle either. He grabbed a large iron hammer and joined Hayashibe Kenta in attacking the thing. The two of them punched and hammered at it, causing the already damaged monster's limbs to break down one after another. It could no longer move and could only lie on the ground, twitching occasionally.

"It looks like it's almost done. I estimate it won't recover for at least a few hours. Next, we can search it to see if it's hiding anything valuable."

Only after the monster physically transformed into a black carpet spread out on the ground did Kenta Hayashi finally stop, flick his fingers, and smile at his companion beside him, indicating that she could come up and investigate the thing.

"Even if there really is some important clue, it's unlikely that they'll remain intact if this fight continues, right?"

Qi Chuanlian casually made a sarcastic remark, then took out a dagger she was obsessed with, squatted down, and began to make cuts on the monster's body.

As a bizarre creature, this black monster naturally possessed extremely strong immortality. Even though it had been literally turned into mincemeat, it was still writhing with difficulty. As Nanakawa Ren's dagger, which resembled Bear Grylls's survival dagger, sliced ​​through its body, its writhing frequency increased, as if it was trying to resist Nanakawa Ren's dissection.

Of course, such resistance is meaningless; it has no way to fight against the two players in front of it.

"Although its appearance is covered by a layer of black, blurry substance, the feel of cutting it suggests that it is quite similar to the skin of a burn victim. This strange creature may have been transformed from someone who was burned alive, which would explain why its appearance is so blurry. Severe burns are devastating to the surface tissues of the human body, and people who die in this way and become strange creatures often possess a certain degree of ability to blur their own appearance."

As she spoke, Qi Chuanlian continued cutting into the creature's body. Soon, noticing something, she reached out and plucked some scraps of cloth from the pile of mangled flesh.

"That's strange. They were clearly burned to death, but their clothes are still intact?"

Looking at the piece of cloth that was clearly not burned, Nanakawa Ren's expression became puzzled.

"Maybe he put it on after he died?"

Kenta Hayashibe, who had squatted down with him, stroked his chin and offered a guess.

"That means someone dressed this guy in these clothes. Hmm... it still feels strange. Who would go out of their way to dress a burned corpse? And the fabric... it doesn't feel like a shroud or anything like that. It's hard to understand."

Nanakawa Ren lowered her head and thought carefully, then looked somewhat troubled because she couldn't figure out the reason.

"Don't worry about that now. Let's first check if this thing is carrying anything of value. We can deal with the rest later."

Hayashibe Kenta, however, did not allow himself to get caught up in thought and urged Nanakawa Ren to continue slashing.

With a companion interrupting her, Nanakawa Ren, who originally wanted to think a little longer, had no choice but to stop and continue dissecting the thing, searching for anything that might be useful.

This time she actually found it: what appeared to be a bandage wrapped around the mutilated stomach, and a small key wrapped inside the bandage.

The small silver key, seemingly due to being wrapped in gauze and hidden inside the strange object for a long time, still shimmered with silver light when Nanakawa Ren took it out, appearing brand new. However, this key looked very small, not like a key used to open a door, but more like one used for some small lock.

"Was it swallowed while alive, or was it stuffed in after death?"

Looking at the key in Nanakawa Ren's hand, Hayashibe Kenta thought for a moment and then asked.

Which possibility do you think is more likely?

Qi Chuanlian frowned and asked in return.

"I do not know."

The next second, Kenta Hayashibe quickly gave a high-quality answer.

"Why are you asking if you don't know? Do you think I look that much smarter than you?"

Despite her harsh tone, Nanakawa Ren, who was already used to her companion's style of doing things, stood up. After thinking for a moment, she took out a small glass jar from her spatial backpack. Soon, as Nanakawa Ren opened the lid of the jar and used her dagger to cut off a small piece of the monster's body tissue and threw it into the jar, the jar itself generated a strange suction force, sucking in the still struggling monster, filling it completely in less than three seconds.

"You should also bring this thing with you."

Kenta Hayashibe looked at the wriggling black object in the jar, his expression showing a hint of disgust.

"After all, it was the first strange creature to come after the space was switched and sealed off, and it also has many suspicious points. If we take it with us, we can take it out and test it if anything happens later. Who knows, we might be able to find some key clues."

Unlike Kenta Hayashibe, who is always being pushed around and lacks his own opinions, Ren Nanakawa, also a player in the Crimson Guild, has always been a very proactive person, with a somewhat opportunistic style. She often takes the initiative to try various things to seek greater benefits. Only during the period when the Crimson Guild was almost completely wiped out did Ren Nanakawa become somewhat depressed, thus reducing such behavior. But now that the Crimson Guild has been revived and she herself has become much stronger, Ren Nanakawa has somewhat reverted to her former style of behavior.

It seems things are going quite well here.

Gao Hai's voice suddenly reached their ears at that moment.

Both Hayashibe Kenta and Nanakawa Ren became alert at this moment, quickly looking around, but they were unable to find the source of the sound.

[What are you thinking? My voice is transmitted directly through mental power, how could it possibly find a physical form? I've already contacted all three groups from the Slacking Off Gang, but we're still unsure about the situation with this temporary team that joined us, which is why I came to you to check on things.]

Soon, Gao Hai's voice rang in the ears of the two players again. Along with the voice came a warm feeling that flowed through their bodies, replenishing their physical and mental energy, which they hadn't actually expended much of.

"Mr.... um, Lord Gao... no, Boss Gao? Or Brother Gao?"

When Lin Bujian opened his mouth, the first thing he thought of after confirming Gao Hai's identity was the stark difference in their social status and power. He then began to struggle with the question of how to address him.

[Don't call me Boss or Big Brother, just call me Gao Hai. No need for all that fancy stuff. I need you two to do something. The Slacking Off Gang has already started a thorough investigation of the first and second floors, but that elevator should still lead to other places. I need two of you to investigate and see if there are any other clues there.]

Before Hayashibe Kenta could decide on a form of address, Takami interrupted him without hesitation and relayed the message he wanted to convey.

Compared to the three groups from the "Slacking Off" gang, Gao Hai paused to observe the Red Knot Society's actions before speaking. It was for this reason that Gao Hai noticed the small key as soon as it was taken out and immediately realized where it would be used, thus deciding to assign the investigation of the new area to them.

"I see, so this key is for opening this place."

A few minutes later, in the elevator lobby, at the floor buttons.

Like the other three groups, an elevator was already waiting for Kenta Hayashibe and Ren Nanakawa with its doors wide open, and only the second floor was lit up. However, unlike the previous three groups, Kenta Hayashibe was holding a small key in his hand, a key that matched the small keyhole reserved in the elevator's button area, but he didn't know what would happen after turning the key.

Communication is currently disrupted... It will be a while before I can re-establish contact. In the meantime, I'll leave the investigation to you...

At this moment, Gao Hai's voice had become indistinct. After a short while, both Lin Bujian and Nanakawa Ren felt their vision disappear, and knew that their communication with Gao Hai had been completely cut off. They didn't know when they would be able to resume contact again.

"Shall I begin?"

As he spoke, Hayashibe Kenta yawned, his fingers gripping the key, ready to turn it at any moment.

"Okay, let's begin and see where this elevator can take us."

Renya Nanakawa nodded seriously, indicating that Kenta Hayashibe could begin.

So the player twisted the small key in his hand.

The next moment, under the intense tearing force, both Nanakawa Ren and Hayashibe Kenta nearly fell to the ground and began to spin erratically at high speed.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Kenta Hayashibe's Beliefs and the Eerie Winds Within the Dark Circle.

Rumble, rumble, rumble——

Amidst the deafening roar, Kenta Hayashibe and Ren Nanakawa felt as if they were riding an out-of-control roller coaster, hurtling rapidly across the tracks.

"What on earth is this thing?!"