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

Bang! ! !

A golden-red shield covered Kaguya's body in the next moment.

Having confirmed with Takahiro that using the same method repeatedly would lead to its erosion and increased consumption by the Surgeon's power, Kaguya naturally wouldn't prepare a single method to face such a formidable enemy. Despite the terrifying aura of the indistinct figure within the blood mist, the composed Kaguya remained calm and didn't panic. Instead, she continuously alternated between using her own blessed power and the golden-red light from Takahiro, fighting and retreating, gradually leading the Surgeon away from the various shelters.

Boom——

A street was shattered by the power of the blood-red mist.

Rumble, rumble——

Several buildings were torn apart on the spot by the wind and waves stirred up by Kaguya and the "surgeon" as they passed by.

Boom, boom, boom! ! !

Vast swathes of city streets were utterly destroyed by inhuman force. The crimson figure would often merely pass through an area, the ensuing violent surge of energy instantly obliterating it. Explosions and collapses continued relentlessly, and Kaguya's figure was like a small flower in a raging torrent, seemingly powerless against the fierce currents. Yet, in this relentless struggle, she successfully dodged every torrent, managing to escape the raging storm.

[Kill you! Save you! Killing you is saving you! Saving you, saving you, saving you!!!]

The monster roared from within the blood mist.

Compared to the psychiatrists and internists, who possess numerous extremely mysterious and dangerous creatures that could cause serious injury simply by witnessing or approaching them, the surgeon's attack method can be described as extremely simple and brutal. He uses continuous physical attacks with the intensity to easily tear the earth apart and destroy buildings, unleashing super-fast continuous attacks to crush all enemies in front of him in this extremely simple and unadorned way.

As torrential rain swept through the city, the collapsed areas expanded rapidly.

Kaguya Shinomiya, caught in the storm, knew all too well that if even one of its attacks landed on her, she would suffer a severe injury, possibly even losing her mobility. However, thanks to the teleportation power of [Disturbing Words] and the domain power supported by Takami, she managed to hold on, avoiding being killed on the spot. Instead, she continued to guide the monster towards the edge of the city, gradually moving it away from the various shelters.

"Phew...this is really..."

However, although she was able to dodge the direct hit, the force of the monster's attack was enough to slice through the girl's flesh, even if it was just a gust of wind.

Therefore, after about five minutes of guiding the attack, Kaguya's side was cleaved open with a wound nearly 10 centimeters deep, three fingers on her left hand were severed, and her right foot was cut off. Countless smaller wounds of varying sizes followed. However, because her defense was relatively adequate, these wounds were concentrated on Kaguya's limbs, and thanks to Takami's protection, there were no strange incidents like her clothes being torn and her body exposed.

"Huh...huh..."

The pain in my body was getting worse.

Kaguya frowned. The Surgeon's attack would disable the victim's wounds, and even if Takami's power could counteract this effect, it would still slow down the healing process. Only by completely removing the contaminated wound could normal healing be restored. However, the enemy's offensive was relentless, and Kaguya had no time to focus on healing her injuries. She was forced to continue fighting the enemy while constantly being wounded, and the situation was gradually deteriorating.

I'm starting to feel it, this feeling of my body not obeying my commands.

It's as if the cells in your body have developed their own ideas and are trying to rebel against you, attempting to enter a state of self-destruction. As a result, every action provokes strong resistance from the body, like a puppet resisting the strings binding it, placing a tremendous burden on its movements.

If this continues, I don't know how much longer it can be delayed.

As Kaguya pondered, she cautiously used her powers to continue maneuvering against the crazed "surgeon," trying to lure him away from the city area.

Meanwhile, from a higher vantage point, Gao Hai could clearly see that after the surgeon was lured away, the hospital had been trying to encircle Kaguya, attempting to lure more monsters to surround her and finish her off.

Takami, naturally, wouldn't let the enemy succeed. Therefore, he secretly guided Kaguya's advance, ensuring she never truly entered the encirclement. Meanwhile, Goto Ichiri and Kita Ikuyo, who had arrived to provide support, were clearing out the enemies along the way to prevent the [Hospital] from accumulating too much power. However, this delayed the girls' reunion, forcing Kaguya to temporarily maintain her solo battle against the [Surgeon].

Is the parsing still not complete? With the addition of KP components, has decrypting that thing become so difficult?

Beside her, Miko Yotsuya sat on the ground, in a state akin to deep sleep. She was using this method to completely immerse herself in her subconscious, attempting to unravel the overly complex and obscure, elusive, and mysterious power emanating from the "Surgeon." Even now that the "Surgeon" had escaped and she had "seen" the monster, Miko Yotsuya could continue her work, but how long it would take remained a mystery.

Rumbling--

Amidst the terrifying roar and explosion, Kaguya had lured the "Surgeon" to the outskirts of Tokyo. This area was nearing the edge of the barrier, making further approach impossible. The "Surgeon," having arrived here, was now moving more and more slowly, clearly realizing that the monster had discovered the near absence of any living beings and that Kaguya had led it to a deserted area.

So, what will the other party do after they have realized the trap?

"What, are you giving up on saving me?"

Kaguya noticed that the [Surgeon] had stopped what he was doing and was quickly cleaning up the contaminated wounds on his body to speed up the healing process. At the same time, he spoke again to the figure in the blood mist.

[I'll save you!!!]

The next second, the figure of the [Surgeon] loomed large in front of Kaguya. The monster continued to roar madly, and attacks came one after another, its offensive even more ferocious than before.

Just as Gao Hai confirmed after their initial contact, the "Surgeon" has very weak cognitive abilities. Once it identifies a target, it will relentlessly pursue and attack that target, determined to eliminate it completely. Therefore, as an enemy, this thing is extremely troublesome and dangerous, but it is also relatively easy to guide its actions. With a little control, its activity range can be restricted to a certain area, so there's no need to worry about it running around aimlessly.

【■■■■■！】

Gao Hai could see that the hospital was continuously sending some kind of message to the surgeon, trying to order him to do something else.

However, the Surgeon, completely absorbed in the thrill of battle, ignored the Hospital's messages and focused solely on hunting down Kaguya. Meanwhile, Takami, observing from the sidelines, watched as the Hospital bombarded the Surgeon with messages but received no response, and all the monsters sent from the surrounding area were intercepted without a single one successfully joining up.

Although it's unknown how long this can last, at least for now, the surgeon is no longer a threat. However, Kaguya can't maintain this state for long; in ten minutes at most, someone else will have to take her place.

Gao Hai silently watched the battle, which was now completely dominated by the power of the Super Types, before quickly turning his gaze to the other enemies.

To date, 6 people have been successfully evacuated to the Golden Domain. Inside this conceptual-level defensive space constructed with Gao Hai's power, the [Hospital] cannot infiltrate it by any means, and even the previous curse has been successfully broken by Gao Hai. It can be said that there is truly no longer any danger to worry about here; it is truly and completely safe.

Besides these, there are a total of 50 survivors' souls under my protection. I don't have time to revive them yet; I can only use the power of my domain to temporarily protect them and ensure their consciousness doesn't dissipate. If I can end this battle within 13 hours and completely drive the [Hospital] back into the instance space, then I can find a way to revive these people. But if the battle cannot be ended within that time, their souls will dissolve on their own due to prolonged contact with my power, even with Alice helping to construct a spatial barrier to contain these souls.

The entire population of Tokyo is around 1400 million. To ensure that the ritual in Tokyo doesn't spread to other parts of the planet, Gao Hai needs to protect at least 5% of the population, or at least 70 people. Currently, including those still alive and those whose souls can be resurrected, they are still about 24 short of their target. Rescue teams in various regions must intensify their efforts; it's far from time to relax.

We're almost there, let's hold on a little longer, just a little longer.

Gao Hai silently told himself that he had been fighting for more than 48 hours since the fifth playthrough. In this seemingly endless torrential rain and night, Gao Hai had lost count of how many times he had witnessed death, saved countless lives, and helplessly watched people die without being able to do anything.

The battle has dragged on until now, and even with Gao Hai's strong willpower, he is beginning to tire.

He wondered if the manipulator behind the [hospital] would get tired or feel exhausted. Gao Hai still hoped that the other party would get tired, but not because he wanted the other party to make mistakes due to exhaustion. Rather, if the other party felt tired, they would most likely feel pain, and he hoped that the other party would feel pain because the pain he wanted to inflict on the other party was increasing as the war continued.

【This is……】

It seems some bad things have been discovered.

Gao Hai shifted his attention and noticed some flesh-and-blood monsters that were roaming freely in the city, unattended.

After Goto Ichiri and Kita Ikuyo left the front line, it still brought some negative effects. Although most of the Red Moon-level players who had returned to the real world tried their best to block the monsters' path, a small number of monsters still broke through the defense line and began to move around inside the city.

The number isn't large; several Night-level squads working together should have a chance to take them down.

But the direction these monsters are moving in... Oh no, they've run into an evacuation convoy, and the survivors in that convoy... it really is them! Did the hospital orchestrate this, leading those monsters to target someone connected to me?

Gao Hai frowned, realizing the situation had become troublesome, and let out a long sigh.

At this point, it was too late to send more people to provide assistance.

The monsters were moving very fast, and the convoy would inevitably be attacked before the nearest player team arrived to provide support. As for what would happen to a group of ordinary people encountering something covered in that corrupted curse, it was a situation whose outcome was obvious without even needing to be imagined.

There's no other way. Let's notify the people in the convoy and the girls who were chosen as targets.

Knowing that the current situation was likely dire, Gao Hai did not hesitate and quickly activated his mental communication.

Splash—splash—

The torrential rain continues.

In the distance, amidst the burning ruins, booming sounds could still be heard from time to time, as if ancient gods were engaged in a great battle.

"...Haven't we arrived yet?"

Yamada Ryo looked out the car window at the golden barrier in the distance once again. After confirming that the car was still quite a distance away from the barrier, the short-haired girl with blue hair sighed softly, slowly suppressing her nervousness.

"No problem, we're almost there, we'll be there soon. We'll be fine, don't worry, Liang."

Sitting opposite Yamada Ryo, Ijichi Nijika smiled and spoke. This short girl with long blonde hair and a long ahoge (cowlick) on her head, though she was offering words of comfort, still carried a hint of unease on her face. Clearly, after her adventure in the dungeon world, Nijika hadn't yet escaped the shadow of that time, and was genuinely worried about encountering further danger.

"..."

Sitting next to Nijika was her older sister, Ijichi Seika, a 29-year-old adult who wasn't in a good mood either. However, unlike the two high school students beside her who were worried about the impending danger, Seika's bad mood stemmed from her recollection of her experience in the dungeon space.

Having escaped the dangerous environment and rested for a while, Hoshika, now mentally prepared to reflect on her previous actions, realized that she had nearly harmed her younger sister and Yamada Ryo on several occasions. Even if her intentions were not malicious, some of her actions undeniably increased the danger for everyone. And clearly, this fact was unacceptable to Hoshika, who genuinely loved her sister.

Did I unknowingly almost cause the deaths of Hongxia and Liang because of my stubbornness...?

Thinking about this, Xingge's mood grew increasingly heavy.

"……Um?"

Yamada Ryo suddenly paused, his expression slightly dazed, before quickly regaining his senses.

"Cool? What's wrong?"

Noticing the change in her expression, Hongxia asked in confusion.

This time, however, Ryo had no intention of replying to Hongxia. Instead, with a serious expression, he reached out and opened the car window, looking into the dark area behind the vehicle.

click-

A bolt of lightning streaked across the dim night sky, illuminating Liang's pale face and the things that were gradually approaching from behind, closing in from the darkness.

"Trouble is coming."

Liang took a deep breath, closed the car window, ignoring her wet hair, and spoke to Hong Xia and Xing Ge in a serious tone.

trouble?

Hongxia was stunned when she heard this, and a bad feeling suddenly became stronger in her heart.

bang——

Almost simultaneously, the bus carrying dozens of people suddenly began to shake. Amidst the gasps of the passengers, it made a sharp turn and braked, breaking away from the evacuation convoy and stopping on the side of the road.

"Oh no, the tires seem to be failing."

Then, the voice coming from the driver's seat caused everyone's expression to change.

Chapter 81 Yamada Ryo's Decision and the Girls Taking Action

When bad things happen, it's often not just one bad thing, but a series of bad things happening in turn.

Hongxia couldn't remember where she had heard this saying before, but it certainly suited her current situation perfectly.

Monsters were approaching from behind, and just then, the vehicle suffered a tire blowout and became immobile. These two misfortunes combined meant that something even worse was likely to happen next. No, it wasn't just foresight; the monsters behind were incredibly fast, and they would probably catch up in a few minutes. It was a matter of utmost urgency.

"How could a tire blow out at a time like this? Aren't you sure there won't be any problems?"

"Do you have a spare tire? I suppose changing a tire on a large vehicle like a bus must be very inconvenient, right? Won't it take too much time?"

"Do we have to change cars? If so, won't we have to get out of the car? What if we encounter those things as soon as we get out? I really don't want to see those horrible monsters again. Why does this have to happen in Tokyo? Can't other cities suffer like this?"

The people on the bus were talking about it.

Tension, anxiety, fear, and unease permeated the bus. The survivors had already been through too much fright during this long night, and at this moment, they really didn't have much energy or strength to face any more crises.

Unfortunately, disaster doesn't change based on human will. For those who have sensed the convoy and the presence of living beings, giving up is out of the question. As for the girls who already know the cause and effect from Gao Hai, they are now struggling to decide whether it's better to be spoiled and face the impending attack beforehand, or to be as ignorant as the others and face the monsters head-on.

"I will leave the caravan; that should draw away some of the monsters and allow more people to survive."

Yamada Ryo's calm voice reached Nijika's ears at that moment.

"Hey? Wait a minute, it's getting cold, if you do that..."