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

"While the other groups begin to delve deeper into the core obsession, someone has to hold off the spies that the [Hospital] has planted in the instance."

"And for me, acting alone now is the best choice at the moment."

During the conversation, Cat Brother stared at the tightly closed door in front of him, as if his gaze could penetrate the door and see directly behind it.

He could sense the existence of that hole.

The hole located at the nurses' station on the second floor, which killed many people, was completely different from the other holes; it was a passageway directly connected to the hospital.

Cat Brother could vaguely sense that this hospital would eventually become abandoned, and everything would eventually spiral out of control. A significant part of the reason for this was probably due to the hole directly controlled by the hospital.

Of course, this isn't the most important thing right now. If it were a normal dungeon exploration, Cat Brother might pay close attention to these minor clues. But right now, they're here to cause trouble, and they already possess a method to forcibly release obsessions. Therefore, compared to finding clues, solving puzzles, and obtaining the truth, Cat Brother much prefers the lawyer's brute-force approach. It's also for this reason that he used Gao Hai's link to stop Xiong Mi's group from immediately entering the nurses' station; they had to wait for him to go in first.

Cat Brother's purpose in doing so was quite simple: he wanted to attract the attention of the remaining forces at the hospital by taking action on his side, ensuring that nothing would disturb them while others were investigating the core obsession clues.

The hospital's attention wasn't focused on this at the moment. Just as initially predicted, the hospital treated ordinary people and players with extreme arrogance; it was impossible for it to personally oversee every subtle change within the instance. However, out of caution, it had still left considerable power within the instance, setting up numerous guarding monsters. These monsters were directly created from the hospital's own power, so even though they were derivatives, their strength would certainly not be lower than a Red Moon-level core obsession; they might even all be at the Abyss Domain level.

If players ignore this thing, it will probably only activate when everyone starts to seriously engage with the core obsession. And when that time comes, after confirming the players' intentions, Cat Bro is certain that this thing will alert the main body, and obviously, if that happens, everything will be over.

Therefore, someone needs to step forward and draw the fire.

Since this thing is essentially a rather dim-witted alarm, the best approach is to stall it, preventing it from paying attention to what's happening elsewhere. This tactic is familiar to players; it's practically a classic maneuver. However, Cat Bro couldn't accurately assess the strength of the monster he was about to face, so he could only proceed cautiously, taking it one step at a time.

Once inside, we can no longer rely on Gao Hai's power.

Regardless, that thing is also an informant for the [Hospital]. Discovering a player and discovering Gao Hai's mental power are two completely different concepts. If Gao Hai were to actually make a move against this thing, the [Hospital] would immediately know that Gao Hai was orchestrating the player's actions behind the scenes. Therefore, to ensure the secrecy of the operation, Cat Brother must rely solely on his own strength to contend with a high-powered monster.

Can it be successful?

Cat Brother didn't think too much about the question; he simply took a step forward and decisively pushed open the door to the nurses' station.

A few minutes later, Cat Bro swiftly escaped from the nurses' station on the second floor, followed by a twisted shadow that came up from behind and bit Cat Bro tightly.

A strong chill enveloped his body, and even before he had actually made contact with the other party, this ominous aura had already begun to make Cat Brother's breathing heavy.

The opponent's speed was extremely fast, almost matching my own burst of speed. Avoiding being caught during the chase wouldn't be easy; I had to give it my all, or I'd be dead in no time.

Here is your hole... Here is everything about you... Accept it... Jump down... Jump down...

The gentle voice continued to echo behind me, unhurried and leisurely, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Strange creatures are always full of patience. They don't have the same amount of emotion as humans, so they never know how to give up. They always stick to the rules and follow established behavioral patterns without ever changing or adapting.

That's why this thing won't let Cat Brother off easily.

It won't give up until it catches its prey, which has already triggered the relevant rules but hasn't yet been captured by the power of those rules. Even though the [Hospital] has endowed this thing with a certain level of intelligence, its innate instinct to abide by the rules will make it relentlessly pursue Cat Brother. And once this thing starts chasing Cat Brother, it naturally won't be able to see what's happening elsewhere, greatly reducing the danger to Xiong Mi, the lawyer, and Shao Ye. There's no need to worry about this thing suddenly tipping off the [Hospital] and causing the operation to fail.

The cave... belongs only to you... your cave...

"Catch me first, then we'll talk. Talking big won't work on me!"

In the dimly lit corridor, Cat Brother's figure flashed past, leaving only a fleeting afterimage, as he turned back to utter a few more sarcastic remarks. Then, a twisted shadow followed behind at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, releasing an unusual aura that gradually spread to different rooms on the second floor of the hospital.

Cat Bro didn't take the elevator downstairs; instead, he stayed on the second floor of the hospital. He was worried that if he went down to the first floor, the strange creature that didn't belong to the current instance would follow him down and discover the presence of others. Therefore, in just a few seconds, he and the thing behind him circled the corridor on the second floor of the hospital several times, crashing through several walls along the way.

If it were just a chase, Cat Bro estimated he could keep this thing at bay for days. But as time went on, he could gradually sense some kind of anomaly accumulating within the building itself. This floor seemed to be slowly being transformed by the power of that strange creature, gradually changing in a more dangerous direction.

Is it a mysterious creature of the Abyss Domain level that possesses spatial domain-like powers?

It seems like my luck isn't very good.

After realizing the extent of the power possessed by the thing chasing him, Cat's expression became subtle.

Tread-

Footsteps approached rapidly from beside me.

It wasn't a pursuer from behind; the strange creature had no physical form and wouldn't make any footsteps.

Cat Brother turned his head and saw the door of the ward on one side of the corridor suddenly open. Then a faceless nurse rushed out and pounced on him.

Bang!

The next second, Cat Brother slid in to dodge the thing's pounce, and then it crashed directly into the wall, creating a clear crack.

Tap tap tap tap tap—

Before they could even take another look at each other, more and more dense footsteps began to echo from all directions.

Stay... stay... stay...

Here's your hole... Jump in... Come with us...

Don't leave... This is your home... You will be happy here forever...

Countless murmurs intertwined at that moment, appearing along with the distorted figures of doctors and nurses, filling the entire corridor.

Faced with this chaotic scene of demons dancing wildly, even though Cat Brother was a Red Moon level player who had seen a lot, he could only say "Holy crap!" and then, under the pressure of the monsters chasing him from behind, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and charge towards the monsters in front of him.

The situation on this side is clearly going to be lively for quite some time to come.

While Cat Brother was doing his best to distract the observers at the hospital, elsewhere, in a quiet corridor with windows sealed with iron bars and heavy iron doors and railings locked everywhere, Xiong Mi, Jian Bing, the lawyer, and the rescue team members who were following him had now reunited.

For the sake of the Lord of Humanity, we will continue our journey!

Before Xiong Mi could even say hello, the first person to speak was the rescue team member who looked the most serious.

"Is this thing really okay?"

Xiong Mi looked at the rescue team member with a suspicious expression.

"Although it does say some strange things, it doesn't interfere with my actions in general. It obediently follows orders and doesn't question my decisions. I think it's quite good as a follower. The only problem is that it tends to attack when encountering monsters. However, after absorbing more than a dozen survivors into its body, it has given up charging at the enemy to protect their safety. Therefore, I think it has no problem now."

The lawyer, with a calm expression, quickly gave his answer. As always, no matter what the question was, he would always give a very serious and earnest answer.

One day of slackness, a lifetime of heresy!

As if responding to a lawyer's words, the rescue team members immediately stood up straight and answered loudly.

"I suddenly think you two are quite a good match, but... ah, never mind, let's not worry about that. Now that we have the 'keys,' let's try to open the 'door' we want. My number is D-2003, and you chose 0-0001, right?"

Seeing the two standing together, Xiong Mi's lips twitched, but in the end she didn't say anything more and instead focused on the next task.

Three wards, three severed human heads.

Xiong Mi initially thought they were going to use surgical tools to deal with these bizarre human heads, but what she found instead was something related to the test subject's daughter. She wasn't sure if this would work, or how; everything would have to wait until they actually tried it out.

Of course, there are some things that Xiong Mi can confirm, namely that D-2003 should be a core obsession.

In addition, the 0-0001, which is handled by lawyers, should also be a core obsession.

These three extremely special patients are essentially individuals chosen by the [Hospital], born with certain special talents. The hospital and research institute's study of these three test subjects may ultimately have laid some crucial foundations for the [Hospital]. Therefore, all three patients are special individuals with core positions. Coupled with the extreme emotional and mental guidance brought about by the strange power of the [Void], it can be confirmed that the obsessions of the three patients have been highly developed under distortion. Therefore, the core obsession of this instance area is not just one of these three, but all three.

"Take action."

After saying this last sentence, the lawyer, dressed in a doctor's uniform, dragged the strange object into the ward of patient 0-0001.

"Then let's set off. Let's go, Jianbing. We can't waste the time that others have worked so hard to earn for us."

Knowing that Cat Brother was currently dealing with a dangerous enemy, and that Shao Ye was leading two Red Society players deep into the research institute, Xiong Mi didn't waste any words. While talking to Jianbing beside him, he casually took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and pushed open the door to patient D-2003's room.

Tick-tick-tick-

The sound of blood dripping was exceptionally clear at that moment.

Xiong Mi frowned and looked ahead at the ward where the severed heads had once been, but now only a huge, bottomless pit remained. She vaguely felt she could smell something strange coming from the hole.

I looked up at the blood-covered ceiling and the blurry handprints left on it.

After standing still for several seconds, Xiong Mi finally laughed, threw the cigarette he hadn't finished smoking into the deep pit in front of him, and turned to look at Jianbing beside him.

The next second, Xiong Mi, who had taken the first step forward, jumped into the bottomless pit and was swallowed by darkness in the blink of an eye.

Chapter Thirty: The objects in the caves on both sides and the core obsession are revealed.

It is said that when a person stands at a very high place and looks down, they will involuntarily have the idea of ​​jumping down.

Or rather, when a person is at a height, they will instinctively imagine what it would feel like to jump down, to feel as if they are falling, being pulled towards the ground by gravity.

Xiong Mi felt she couldn't really speak for everyone who had ever looked down from a great height, but she certainly understood what it felt like to fall. After all, she was falling right now, plummeting downwards into a pitch-black void.

call--

The cold wind felt icy cold on my face.

In the pure darkness, apart from the feeling of falling out of control, Xiong Mi could feel nothing else.

Then, light suddenly appeared from below.

Next, what appears before Xiong Mi is a picture of a silly-looking little boy carrying a toy, slowly walking across the grass.

She watched the boy grow from a naive child into a man, and saw his once carefree face become tinged with sorrow and thought.

Everything that had left a deep impression on him, whether good or bad, private or secretive, was revealed at this moment, continuously showing itself to Xiong Mi as she delved deeper into the abyss.

It feels really bad.

If I were to become a monster, would I also one day have someone, or groups of people, see all the beautiful and shameful moments of my life? However, judging from this person's experiences, he seemed to be just an ordinary person in his previous life; there was nothing particularly special about him. In other words, like Yotsuya Miko, was he born with this talent, but unfortunately, it was discovered by a vicious entity like the "hospital," leading to this tragic end?

Regardless, what I need to do will not change.

Xiong Mi slowly focused his mind, projecting his consciousness into the depths of the distorted light and shadow.

She wouldn't forget why she came here just because she looked at a few PowerPoint presentations. She could feel these distorted memories slowly materializing, gradually forming different areas that she could step into and explore. And that core obsession, that thing that maintained the existence of this place, was also awakening with her arrival and gradually showing hostility.

To be honest, even though Xiong Mi is now much stronger than before, she still feels a chill run down her spine when facing an enemy of this level. After all, Xiong Mi understands very well that with her own strength—no, even if the entire Moyu Gang were combined—it would be difficult to gain the upper hand against a true Red Moon-level core. In fact, according to her usual style, if she encountered an opponent of this level, running away would be her first choice.

However, I do have reasons to move forward now.

"Ready, biscuits?"

Xiong Mi took a deep breath and asked the question to the person beside her.

"Be ready, let's go."

Jianbing's answer was as resolute as a soldier's.

To protect this world that I still love, to refuse to surrender to those who harm humanity, and for a better tomorrow, even if it's a formidable enemy I can't currently handle, I must continue moving forward; there's no possibility of retreating.

And also...

[Communications are about to be cut off. If I reveal myself directly to the core obsession, I'll be too easily detected. Therefore, according to the plan, I will infuse my power into your bodies. For the next ten minutes, you have nothing to fear from the core obsession's attacks or curses; they are powerless against you now!]

Gao Hai's voice rang in the players' ears.

Golden light flowed beneath the skin, briefly granting power to all players who stepped into the core of obsession, increasing their physical strength and resistance to contamination to a degree that even these Red Moon-level players found somewhat unbelievable.