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

buzz-

The dirty bus continued to run.

The Sunflower Squad, along with two temporary passengers, who have no idea what the building debris represents, are still navigating through the ruins.

"Is there something over there? No, that's a person, and it should be alive. In a place like this? Never mind, Captain, let's bring her up first!"

Li Ling noticed some movement not far away. After observing carefully, she saw Ichiji Nijika running out in a disheveled state. Li Ling quickly confirmed that it was a living person and signaled Yu Qingshan, who was driving the vehicle, to come closer.

As soon as Hongxia escaped from the subway station, she turned around and saw the dilapidated bus coming towards her, along with the players inside.

Chapter Ninety-Four: The Question of the Player's Special Tea and the Price of Curiosity.

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

The sound of wheels rolling over something echoed intermittently. Outside the window were burning city ruins and collapsed streets, accompanied by the still-unrelenting torrential rain, creating a spectacular scene of water and fire amidst the ruins.

Hongxia sat silently in the car, observing her surroundings. Her gaze swept over the broken streets and the occasional flashes of light in the distance, and she would occasionally drift into a daze.

Opposite her, Yurikawa Hana was observing the petite girl, who looked no older than a middle school student, with some curiosity. She could sense a power similar to her own emanating from Nijika's body. Although the feeling was vague, Hana was certain that the aura emanating from Nijika belonged to Takami. In other words, Nijika, like herself, was someone chosen by Takami's power, possessing extraordinary abilities.

Hmm, it just feels like the other person's power is much weaker than mine. Is her body not suitable for bearing too much of Mr. Gao's power?

Xiaohua was very curious and wanted to ask if the other girl had ever been in contact with Gao Hai, and how they had met. She wanted to know if there were any interesting stories between Gao Hai and this girl, Hongxia, and whether the other girl knew more about Gao Hai than she did. If so, could she tell her something she didn't know about Gao Hai? Xiaohua was actually quite annoyed about this. She had previously asked her best friend, Jianzi, about Gao Hai, but her usually open and honest friend had chosen to be evasive and refused to tell her any details, leaving Xiaohua itching to know more. Now that she finally had another chance to talk about it, she really wanted to have a good chat with Hongxia to see if she could learn anything unusual.

However, from the moment she boarded the bus, Ichiji Nijika remained silent, her head down and a look of low spirits on her face. Xiao Hua could clearly see that she didn't want to talk to anyone, so after Nijika finished talking to Yu Qingshan and Li Ling, the two captains and vice-captains of the Sunflower Squad, Xiao Hua hesitated for a long time but ultimately didn't go up to speak to her, and just sat quietly to the side.

Perhaps it was someone very close to them who sacrificed their life?

Being caught in such a dangerous area and losing loved ones must be incredibly painful. Hmm... I don't know what to say to comfort you. Am I just supposed to watch from the sidelines?

Xiao Hua was pondering with some hesitation, while Hong Xia was completely oblivious to her surroundings and thus failed to notice the unusual nature of the girl beside her. At that moment, all she could think about was Liang and Xing Ge's safety, and how to get the information she had to Gao Hai as quickly as possible.

It's worth noting that although both Xingge and Liang are currently missing and their fates unknown, Hongxia isn't particularly worried about Liang's safety. This might seem strange, but Hongxia instinctively feels that Liang should be able to survive, given that she received the most of Gao Hai's power among the three, and even a large part of her body was created and reconstructed by Gao Hai. This experience and ability make Hongxia believe that her friend will definitely escape danger. In contrast, her older sister is extremely unsuited to things like ghosts and supernatural rules, and has received the least amount of enhancement, which makes Hongxia extremely worried about whether Xingge can escape safely.

Please... please don't let anything happen to you...

The more Hongxia thought about it, the more serious her worries became, to the point that the girl couldn't help but sigh softly.

Why was it me who escaped in the end? Ryo was clearly the most suitable one, and so was my sister. There was clearly a chance for the two of them to escape together. Forget it, what's the point of thinking about this now? I absolutely have to get this information to Mr. Gao; I can't let all the intelligence Ryo worked so hard to gather go to waste.

Hongxia made a silent vow in her heart, clenched her little fists, and her eyes became resolute.

Xiao Hua, watching Hong Xia's changing expressions, was puzzled as to what she was doing. Just then, Li Ling walked up with an old-fashioned thermos, called out to Hong Xia, and tossed it to her.

"Hey, you short blond guy over there, catch this."

Li Ling, who addressed Hongxia with such an impolite title, threw the thermos cup. Upon hearing this, Hongxia subconsciously looked up and saw a thermos cup looming large in her field of vision. She quickly reached out and caught it, almost getting hit directly on the head.

"What do you mean by 'blonde dwarf'? That's so rude. My name is Ijichi Nijika."

As a petite girl who is less than 155cm tall, Hongxia is quite concerned about her height. Hearing the term "blonde dwarf," even she, with her usual good temper, became dissatisfied, and her brows almost furrowed together.

"Oh, sorry, I'm not very good at recognizing Japanese names. Anyway, have some strong tea. For people who aren't physically strong, fatigue from prolonged high-intensity activity is hard to avoid. This is my specially made strong tea. A few sips will keep you energized for the next thirty or forty hours. Of course, the side effects are severe, but it's definitely better to be alive, right?"

Despite Hongxia's dissatisfaction, Li Ling seemed indifferent. She merely glanced at Hongxia's obviously tired expression, casually explained the contents of the thermos, then opened her own thermos, took a few sips, waved, and turned to leave.

"……Thanks."

Hongxia paused for a moment, looked at the thermos in her hand, thought for a moment and thanked Li Ling's back, then opened it, and a wisp of steam came out of the thermos.

The tea smells very fragrant, with a distinct aroma of Chinese herbs.

Although Hongxia doesn't usually drink tea or know much about tea, the refreshing aroma of the tea made her feel a little better.

"Hey, it smells delicious! Is this tea any good?"

Before she could even finish her tea, an orange head popped up beside her.

Yurikawa Hana, who had been trying to find a topic of conversation since earlier, was now completely focused on the brand-new, unused thermos in Nijika's hand. If before she had struggled to find something to talk about, not knowing what to say, now that the topic was related to "food and drink," her worries were completely forgotten. She even temporarily abandoned the idea of ​​chatting with Nijika; her simple-minded mind was now solely focused on enjoying tea.

"...Would you like to try some too?"

Hongxia blinked, momentarily confused as to what Xiaohua was trying to do, until she noticed his gaze and realized what was going on.

It feels like a greedy child; this kind of herbal tea might smell delicious, but the taste isn't necessarily good. Especially since that player emphasized it was a specially made energizing tea, it might actually be bitter and astringent, with a awful taste that makes you never want to touch it again after just one sip. Thinking about it carefully, it's definitely best not to let the other person touch it.

Thinking this, Hongxia smiled at Xiaohua, closed the cup lid, and made no intention of letting her taste it. Xiaohua was taken aback by Hongxia's action, and then instinctively showed a wronged expression, like a child who couldn't get a snack. This expression confirmed to Hongxia that this girl, who looked to be about her age, was probably very good at getting free food and drinks. After all, before this, the only person she had ever seen who could change their expression like this was Yamada Ryo, and the latter's shamelessness at times had amazed Hongxia more than once.

"Giving her a sip isn't a bad idea. Like you, she participated in this event as an ordinary person, and then awakened her powers through various circumstances and received Mr. Gao's blessing. So, like you, she still has many human limitations. Once she encounters a situation requiring high-intensity combat or action, she will definitely run out of energy before us veteran players. So, it's okay to let her drink some of this special tea in advance, but just don't let her drink too much."

However, Li Ling probably noticed Xiao Hua's reaction. Before Hong Xia could explain her reasons for refusing, she sent a few words that blocked Hong Xia's idea.

"Oh, this special tea must taste quite extraordinary? Could it be that some kind of supernatural power has been added to it?"

Hearing this, Xiao Hua became even more curious and couldn't help but ask.

"Indeed, it does contain a special substance refined by mental-type players. It can stimulate the brain, allowing players to remain clear-headed and focused even after intense exertion. Many Twilight-level players like to bring a cup or two of this special tea into dungeons, and some Night-level players do as well. However, Night-level dungeons sometimes take a long time, and once the time exceeds two days, the side effects of this stuff become apparent, making the situation quite troublesome. Therefore, Night-level players generally don't use this unless absolutely necessary. As for Red Moon-level players, they don't need this kind of thing."

This time, the person who answered was not Liliang, but Angel, who was sitting in a chair not far away and asked Xiaohua out of boredom.

"Oh, I'd like to try some. May I?"

Since things had come to this point, Xiaohua, driven by curiosity, was determined to try it no matter what. So she put on the pitiful expression she usually wore when she secretly ate Jianzi's bento.

"Well... then you can have a sip first."

Hongxia didn't know what else to say, so she could only give the thermos to Xiaohua.

Then, when Xiaohua actually took a sip of the special tea, the dramatic change in her expression—from curiosity to shock to pain to despair—was quite frightening. Hongxia couldn't tell for a moment whether she had drunk a bad cup of tea or been possessed by some strange force.

Of course, after she took the cup and drank a few sips of tea, she naturally understood why Xiaohua had reacted that way.

What exactly does this taste like?

So bitter, so intense, each bite felt like it was being rubbed repeatedly on the tongue, then stuck there, traveling down the throat and completely blocking it, before rushing straight to the forehead, while simultaneously causing terrifying pressure all the way down to the stomach.

Sober.

I must admit that after drinking this stuff, I became completely conscious.

So fully conscious, I felt the intense bitterness coursing through my body, a bitterness that no amount of sugar water could suppress, a bitterness that would seep out of my nose with every breath. It was almost torture, a feeling I would never forget.

"Woo...Woo..."

And you can't spit it out. This tea has been given supernatural powers, so once you drink it, you really can't spit it out. This stuff is really stuck to your tongue and esophagus. It doesn't feel like you've drunk a sip of tea, but rather a sip of super bitter melon slime, slowly crawling down your mouth into your stomach.

At that moment, Hongxia's eyes widened, her whole body trembled, and a thousand words wanted to be uttered, but not a single one came out. For a moment, she almost fell off her seat, the intense shock even bringing tears to her eyes.

"Their reaction was a bit better than mine was back then. It's definitely different when you're mentally prepared."

Looking at Hongxia's reaction, Li Ling nodded with emotion, but still managed not to laugh out loud.

"You've clearly been ripped off by this tea before, so you always want to rip off newbies too. Vice Captain, do you know you only have a particularly perverse sense of humor when it comes to this?"

Kazama Ren, observing Xiaohua and Hongxia's distressed reactions, could only shake her head and sigh, saying nothing more. After all, while the tea tasted extremely unpleasant, its protective effect on the mind was quite potent. Especially for newbies like Xiaohua and Hongxia, whose mental strength was still within the normal range, even if they suffered mental pollution after using this, as long as it wasn't a fatal situation, the mental stimulation from the tea could allow them to maintain normal thinking abilities for a short period of time.

Rumbling--

In the distance, the sound of another explosion could be heard.

However, unlike before, the people on the bus, especially the veteran players like Yu Qingshan and Li Ling, could immediately tell that this explosion was not the one that occurred when Kaguya and the others fought against the [Surgeon], but rather the commotion caused by a large number of players fighting against the flesh-and-blood monsters.

We're almost there, in the outer battlefield area.

"Everyone be prepared, it might be a bit bumpy."

"I'm going to speed up," Yu Qingshan said in a low voice from the driver's seat.

But before that, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and switch from accelerating to decelerating.

"What's this……?"

Chapter Ninety-Five: Pollution and Emergency Notice from the Edge Space

This is definitely not the outer perimeter of the battlefield.

Yu Qingshan frowned. This usually taciturn team leader was more serious than ever before, and his whole body tensed up.

His gaze swept across the surroundings, quickly scanning everything before settling on the ruins that seemed no different from before.

Although the environment itself seemed unchanged, and even the fluctuations of strange objects, obsessive objects, and blessed power were still present, Yu Qingshan was completely certain after just a subtle observation that this was no longer where they had been before, but had become some other "seemingly similar" thing.

"Everyone be on high alert! Something is very wrong. Be prepared to be attacked at any moment!"

Upon confirming the anomaly, Yu Qingshan immediately shouted to notify everyone in the car and slowed down to observe the surroundings more carefully.

"What happened?"

After Yu Qingshan spoke, Deputy Captain Li Ling immediately returned to the driver's seat, asking him questions while observing the surrounding situation.

"You two sit down properly. Tsk, I knew nothing good would come of it, there was bound to be trouble."

Upon hearing this, Kazama Ren immediately restrained Nijika and Yurikawa Hana, preventing the two girls, who were unaware of the situation, from making any impulsive decisions.

"Ehhhhh?"

Hongxia herself was still completely bewildered, and Xiaohua beside her hadn't even had a chance to do anything yet. The two of them reacted too slowly to this sudden situation, far less efficiently than the other players around them, to the point that even when Kazama Ren had already placed her hand on their shoulders, they didn't realize what was happening.

Is something trying to attack this car?

Hongxia blinked, looking around in confusion, but saw nothing unusual. She didn't sense any strange aura, nor did she smell any blood or the stench of decay. Everything was calm; at least to her, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Hmm? Where are the people outside?

As a veteran player, Li Ling noticed the subtle inconsistencies within seconds of observation and understood the reason for Yu Qingshan's nervousness.

There were no other players or those fleshy monsters in sight.

They had already approached the outer area, and not long ago they could see the players fighting against the invading flesh monsters and strange creatures in the distance. But at some point, it seemed that just as the car turned a corner or their view was blocked by some building debris, when they looked towards the outer edge of the battlefield again, all the players had disappeared, and the strange creatures and flesh monsters were also nowhere to be seen.

The ruins were still burning, and the sounds of fierce battle between players and monsters could still be heard, as if nothing unusual had actually happened. But no matter how real it all sounded, there was still no one in sight; no matter which way you looked, you could only see the same unchanging scene. This phenomenon was like auditory hallucinations, as if hearing itself constituted some kind of pollution source, while other senses remained unaffected, resulting in this eerie and bizarre effect.

Even Wang Gui, who had little experience with dungeons and practical combat, understood the problem. However, this wasn't a problem everyone could grasp. At least for the two girls whose shoulders were still being held down, they were completely baffled as to why everyone had suddenly become so tense.

"Although the sound hasn't changed much and we can still hear it, we can no longer see anyone other than this car. Hmm, this is a typical phenomenon of being transported to another dimension. We should still be in a state of intersection between the real world and another dimension. So, although we can no longer observe the activities of other people, sounds from another dimension can still reach us. This state shouldn't last too long; soon we will be completely trapped in another dimension."

Angel, who was also standing up to observe the situation outside, spoke softly and slowly, which served as an explanation for Hongxia and Xiaohua, who were completely confused about the current situation.

"Huh? Really? I've seen other-dimensional phenomena before, but the problem is, this place shouldn't be experiencing one, right? The spatial structure here is already extremely unstable. Inside the battlefield is a battle between gods, and outside is a chaotic battle between legions. Plus, with the continued influence of Mr. Gao and that lousy hospital, the spatial stability here should be almost gone. Other-dimensional phenomena shouldn't exist here at all. That thing needs a stable space to support it. Logically speaking, any other-dimensional phenomena here should explode immediately, right?"

Before Hongxia and Xiaohua could say anything after hearing this, Kazama Ren, who was standing next to the two little ones, paused for a moment after hearing this, and then asked with some doubt.

"That would normally be the case, but it's clearly not normal now. Check your phones; there are updated messages."