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

As for the role the [Hospital] played in all of this, Gao Hai wasn't entirely sure. However, considering its nature, he suspected that the [Psychologist]'s entire process, from its birth to its godhood, was under the [Hospital's] control, and hadn't deviated from the mastermind's script. Furthermore, considering Angel's experience with the Sunflower Squad, Gao Hai suspected that the [Psychologist] had long ago transformed into a monster with the ability to walk among humans, and had been selecting prey, conducting one cruel game after another.

Since traces of a "psychologist" can be found here, further investigation will surely uncover more and more information involving "doctors."

Gao Hai recalled the failed product Shao Ye had discovered and the situation Cat Brother confirmed in that infinitely overlapping, bizarre space, and some ideas gradually formed in his mind. However, considering the current situation was not good, with Ichiri Chika and the others trapped in the instance, and Jian Zixi having gone in to rescue them, only Maki Kaguya was still outside constantly fighting against the power that the [Hospital] was projecting into the real world. Clearly, there was not much room for risk at this moment, and they still had to act cautiously.

Let's continue focusing on defining the core obsession for now. The power and clues we have now are not enough to completely change the current situation.

In just a second or two, Gao Hai engaged in a rapid thought process.

Before Akira Toyama's feet could even touch the ground after falling into this place, Gao Hai had already carefully checked the surroundings and found the third core obsession, which was also the deepest hidden core obsession in this instance area.

Tick-tick-tick-

Amidst the dripping sound that Gao Hai found utterly repulsive, the figure hidden deep within the cave was revealed.

That was the figure of Fumio Asakawa, whose appearance reflected what the man looked like when he was still alive.

He looked lost, standing bewildered in the dark cave, wandering aimlessly, searching for a way out of the chaotic cavern.

[The body is dead, but the soul has forgotten the fact of death, forever wandering in darkness, absorbing the remnants left behind, gradually becoming its core obsession?]

Unlike the information about [Takamatsu Masahiko], which had almost completely dissipated, the core obsession of Asakawa Fumio was right before his eyes. With just a slight activation of his senses, Takami could confirm a great deal of information through Toyama Akira's perspective. For example, Takami could determine with just a glance that Asakawa Fumio's time of death was the same day those followers stormed the resort and began their massacre. In other words, the core obsession that the other party represented was actually the last one to form within the instance.

Based on the information gathered, this man, unwilling to accept the failure of the development, had explored the underground area more than once, miraculously escaping unscathed each time. Until the resort fell into crisis, Fumio Asakawa, for reasons unknown, decided to lure the believers into the underground area, allowing them to touch the hidden darkness. This action shattered the original balance of the underground area, engulfing everyone in madness until the killings ended and everything descended into darkness.

The three-story building above is actually just a projection of He Fumio's own obsession; it's essentially the man's thoughts and memories that shaped those places. This reminds Gao Hai of the Shirakawa Apartments, since that three-story building in the original story was also formed from the memories of the little girl who was the core obsession. He wonders if this ability to materialize memories could have any positive impact on social development if it became widespread. Hmm, I'm getting a bit carried away; let's address the immediate problem first.

As he pondered, Gao Hai's gaze became completely fixed on the lingering phantom in front of him. He prepared to infuse Yuanshan Ming with more power to ensure that the other party had enough time to find the object of this last core obsession.

In the upper cave area, with the assistance of the police officers, Masaaki Ishido and Kobo have already located the objects of their two core obsessions; only this one remains.

Although there were many twists and turns along the way, overall, the situation on this side was resolved smoothly.

【…Huh?】

By the time you realize it, the sensory feedback has already become chaotic.

There were no warning signs, and no time to prepare.

When Gao Hai turned his gaze back to Yuan Shanming, to the [coordinates] where he had stepped into this place, he discovered that the other party had disappeared and was nowhere to be found.

With the disappearance of this key coordinate, Gao Hai immediately lost his view of the deeper areas of the dungeon and could no longer see what was happening there.

what's the situation?

How could he have suddenly disappeared?!

Gao Hai's attention instantly focused as he began to sense the mental link he had established with Toyama Akira. But he immediately discovered that the once-close mental link had become fragile and was on the verge of breaking completely.

Such development can no longer be described simply as "abnormal".

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out what methods the enemy used to launch such a swift attack, snatching away a player with whom he had already established a mental connection, and even preventing the player from noticing the problem beforehand.

Mr. Gao, I know... I know where the problem lies...

Indistinct voices also came from the mental link.

Toyama Akira was still conscious. Although the other party's mental state was quite bad, he still managed to respond with difficulty at this critical moment, transmitting his last message to him from an unknown area that even Takahashi could not determine.

The problem lies with me... In order to quickly regain my combat capabilities, I erased a portion of my own memories...

I never imagined... that among the erased memories would be something I couldn't let go of... something incredibly important... and that forgotten emotion has become my current prison...

【Nao Toyama… I don’t remember who this name belongs to… but my being captured by the enemy’s power and ending up in this situation must be related to this name… I can only ask Mr. Taka… please… you must…】

The unclear information gradually disappeared.

With all contact completely severed, Gao Hai is now utterly unable to ascertain the situation on Toyama Akira's side. The only thing he knows is that Akira hasn't been killed, but is likely in a dazed or confused state, and is probably not in immediate danger.

It was too late to do anything more. Even if he wanted to take remedial measures, the only way to salvage the situation was with Goto Ichiri. However, Ichiri was now trapped in a closed instance area, and Gao Hai had no way to contact her. Even if he did manage to contact her, Ichiri couldn't possibly send a clone to this Red Moon-level instance mixed area to rescue Toyama Akira in time. Not to mention, even if Ichiri could get there, Gao Hai couldn't possibly send Ichiri, whose primary objective was the [Hospital], to such a place; he couldn't afford the risk.

[Ishido Masaaki, Kobo, and Toyama Akira are in trouble. You two come here immediately and make sure to locate the last core object of obsession in this area.]

Since there's no way to change the current situation, the most important thing to do now is to mitigate the losses and ensure the stability of the overall strategy.

"Even Mr. Gao couldn't protect me... I understand. Let's go, don't waste any more time."

"Ow!"

There were no complaints or confrontational behaviors.

Although Masaaki Ishido and Kobo Osamu showed some shock and sadness, they quickly rallied and understood the meaning behind Takami's order. They acted swiftly, and with the support of Takami's power, they began searching the deeper areas of the cave.

They had clearly witnessed too many sacrifices by their teammates and were no longer letting their deaths or injuries interfere with their work.

However, Gao Hai was somewhat annoyed by this mature and composed reaction. He felt increasingly irritated and wanted to drag the people at the hospital out and beat them up.

[Nao Toyama is Akira Toyama's younger sister, with a 16-year age difference. Based on their ages, Nao should be of university age. However, after checking all the relevant information for high schools in Japan, I couldn't find any university enrollment records for Nao. I can only confirm that she attended a high school in Tokyo and graduated with average grades, making her an average student.]

Alice's voice reached Gao Hai's ears. He didn't know when she had started collecting information and had compiled a document, which she then sent to Gao Hai.

[A younger sister? Akira Toyama actually has a younger sister? So what's the deal with her? Could it be that he's a siscon, and his sister died, leaving him with psychological trauma, which the "hospital's" power found a way to exploit?]

Upon hearing the information provided by Alice, Gao Hai was taken aback. Several thoughts flashed through his mind, and he hurriedly asked Alice.

[No, according to the information, Nao Toyama is alive and well. She was definitely fine before Tokyo was locked down by the "hospital." As for now, we can't find any relevant information. Given the current chaotic situation, finding an ordinary person is quite difficult. Ah, wait, while Akira Toyama didn't provide information about his family's evacuation, his captain, Masaaki Ishido, provided information about Akira's family, including his father, Go Toyama, and sister, Nao Toyama. They are both safely in the shelter. It seems this captain knows a lot. Why don't you ask him, teacher?]

Although she couldn't find the answer directly, Alice quickly provided Gao Hai with some direction.

Without hesitation, Gao Hai immediately planned to ask Shi Tang Zhengzhao about related issues, but before he could even ask a question through the mental link, another new message came through.

[Retracting what I said earlier, teacher, the shelter where Akira Toyama's father and sister were located lost contact 10 seconds ago. Nearby players have confirmed the presence of at least multiple Red Moon-level monsters. We have likely lost the entire population of that shelter.]

Alice's voice, unusually, lost its usual deliberately playful tone and became serious and earnest.

Upon hearing this sudden bad news, Gao Hai, understanding the possible connection, took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.

Who is the closest high-level player to that location? Approximately how far away are they?

The damage has already occurred, so there's no point in Hong Wen smashing the table or anything like that; the most important thing is to respond promptly.

【She's your first wife, Ms. Maki~】

The next moment, with Alice's response, a virtual city map appeared in Gao Hai's senses, marking the location of the shelter and the positions of active players within a kilometer radius. Maki stood out prominently among them, easily spotted at a glance.

Chapter Sixty: The Second Team-Up of Shin-Hime and Kaguya and the Achievements of the Red Moon-Level Players.

"Phew... With that, there's no problem around here for now."

Shijo Maki let out a long sigh, her face showing signs of fatigue.

[Hospital] In order to counter Takahashi's domain, a frenzied sacrificial ceremony was held near the domain, and a large number of low- to mid-level monsters were dispatched to establish a counter-domain, forcing Maki and Kaguya to clear them one by one, which consumed a lot of time and energy. Even though Takahashi sent down an avatar to greatly speed up the clearing process, Maki was still very disgusted and annoyed by the repetitive clearing activities. Now that the operation had finally come to an end, she was able to relax a bit and sat down against the wall on the side of the street to rest and recover her strength.

Not far away, buildings were gradually collapsing amidst a sea of ​​fire and torrential rain.

After bidding farewell to Maki, the players and rescue team members who were responsible for providing support quickly left the area with the last group of survivors and headed to the nearest shelter.

After resting for a while, Princess Zhenfei stood up again, wiped her rain-soaked hair, and turned her gaze to the distant city under the downpour.

It should be noted that although the girls, including Kaguya Maki, inevitably got soaked in the torrential rain, their clothing was thin and wouldn't become transparent, so there was no need to worry about them being exposed. Furthermore, the girls wore loose-fitting clothes for ease of movement, so even when wet and clinging to their bodies, they didn't reveal much about their figures. This meant that the rescuers and survivors they encountered along the way wouldn't perceive anything like "wet clothes clinging to their bodies, revealing their curves."

Grandma, how are things going over there?

While asking questions in the mental link, Zhenfei easily jumped more than ten meters on the spot, landing on the roof of a low building to observe the surrounding situation.

[The evacuation is basically complete. My area is safe; I've confirmed there are no more survivors remaining. At least for the next half hour, the area's safety is assured. How about yours? Has the evacuation been completed?]

Kaguya's reply came quickly, indicating that she was also resting at the moment.

[Let's rest for a bit, then go back to the domain. Hayasaka isn't in good shape right now, and I'm worried that if she supports the domain alone for too long, something might go wrong.]

Before Maki could say anything more, Kaguya, worried about her maid, sent another telepathic message.

Okay, no problem, then let's go back...

Zhenfei replied casually, then moved her slightly sore body a few more times.

However, before Maki could finish speaking, a new message forced the girl to stop what she was doing.

This time, the information came from Gao Hai, who revealed without reservation the details of the Red Knot Society's operation, the disappearance of Toyama Akira, and the intelligence provided by Alice. After summarizing this information, especially after confirming that yet another shelter had lost contact, Maki's expression turned serious, and her two slender hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

[Go with Kaguya and go check it out. Ai and I are in the area, so we can hold on for now. This situation is very strange, and we must investigate carefully. I suspect that the [Hospital] may have mastered some kind of ability activated through "emotions" and "memories." If that's the case, Maki might encounter danger when you get close to the past. I will protect you the whole time, but at crucial moments, you'll have to assess the situation and act on your own.]

The voice of Gao Hai that echoed in Zhenfei's mind at this moment clearly revealed a hint of hesitation.

She knew Gao Hai was worried that this might be another trap set by the hospital, and that if she went there, she might fall into the enemy's trap instead. However, the Red Moon level players were currently tied up with the mission to locate the core artifact and couldn't spare any manpower. And a situation where a veteran Red Moon level player like Touyama Akira could disappear silently in front of Gao Hai, followed by a chain reaction of attacks on the entire shelter, was clearly a serious matter that lower-level players couldn't afford to get involved in.

In this situation, Gao Hai's only option was to send the two powerful women, Maki Kaguya and Maki Kaguya, to investigate. However, the hospital's target was precisely the two of them, creating a terrible situation where they were caught in the middle.

"I understand. Leave it to me and Auntie. I'll take good care of myself and won't take any risks."

Zhenfei could naturally hear the worry in Gao Hai's tone, so she gently comforted him through the mental link.

Next, she informed Kaguya of the relevant information, and for safety reasons, Maki did not go ahead but stayed where she was, waiting for Kaguya to arrive before the two of them went to the shelter together to investigate.

She didn't have to wait long. Kaguya, having learned of the situation, arrived quickly, crossing a city in less than a minute to reach Maki.

"How could something like this happen? The location has been determined, right? We need to get there as soon as possible."

Kaguya, who had come to Maki's side, wiped the rain off her face and spoke with a very serious expression.

"Yes, I know, let's go."

Zhenfei nodded slightly, and without further ado, the two immediately began to move quickly toward the location marked by Gao Hai.

Whizzing--

The howling wind roared along with the two girls' movement speed, which far exceeded human limits.

Meanwhile, Gao Hai, seated on his throne, was constantly trying to break through the blockade to contact Ichiri and the others who were currently in the instance space. He was also keeping a close eye on Kaguya Maki's situation, ready to descend at any moment. He would never give the [Hospital] another chance to truly harm his girl. The previous incident had made Gao Hai extremely vigilant. If he discovered that the shelter was actually a trap upon arrival, he would not hesitate to send Kaguya Maki and Ichiri away, and would never let them fall into it.

However, at least for now, the news isn't too bad. Until Maki and Kaguya arrived at the missing shelter, Takami hadn't received any new information about the shelter being out of contact. This proves that the unknown power of the [Hospital] cannot be used casually; there must be some unknown preconditions involved. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to have only managed to capture two shelters in such a long time.

In addition, the "Slacking Off Gang" brought good news: Xiong Mi and his team had successfully located all the core obsessions in one dungeon area, adding four more segments to the progress bar. Meanwhile, despite losing Toyama Akira, the Red Society's Ishido Masaaki and Kobo Osamu still managed to locate the third core obsession, adding three more segments to the dungeon's progress bar. All this adds up to 11/30 of the current progress bar. If we include the [Market] team, led by Koga Itsuki, who finally found a clue, it seems highly likely they can push the progress bar past the halfway point.

We have roughly pinpointed the location of the next core area of ​​the dungeon and expect to arrive within 5 minutes. Report complete.

Xiong Mi's voice rang out through the temporary mental link. Gao Hai could hear a hint of weariness in her voice, but also sense her still high spirits. Judging from the current situation, there shouldn't be anything to worry about here.

We've begun searching the next core area. With the assistance of the powerful [Police Officer], we're currently facing virtually no pressure in direct combat. However, manpower is a real problem. We need to recall the other two members of the Red Knot Society. We'd appreciate Mr. Gao's help in locating them.

Masaaki Ishido's side did need a little help, since they were now down to just the two of them. As for the police officer that Hirano Sosuke had transformed into, although he was extremely powerful in combat, he didn't have much autonomy. It was fine to send him charging into the horde of monsters, but it was a bit much to ask him to help investigate clues. Therefore, after a brief exchange with him, Takami quickly contacted Kenta Hayashibe's side to ensure that the two teams could reunite as soon as possible to continue their work on the obsessive objects.

[Dear Mr. Gao, the market team has successfully identified three core obsessions in the area. One core obsession remains undetermined. Of the three identified core obsessions, the locations of the objects associated with two of them are now being identified. We will report back to you with further results. We are extremely grateful for the support and guidance you provided during the mission and will certainly repay your trust with concrete actions.]

The situation with Xiaohe Tree seems to be going fairly well so far, but for some reason, this person's tone is overly respectful, making Gao Hai unsure how to communicate. If possible, he would prefer the other person to be more easygoing, maintaining a more normal attitude like when they first met after the Shirakawa Apartment dungeon mission.