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

Gao Hai was well aware of the consequences of his actions, but whatever, he really didn't want to see the whole city filled with funeral processions after finally winning the battle. As for the worship of others, since he didn't have the path to godhood forcibly bestowed upon him by the [Hospital], Gao Hai didn't need to worry about being prayed to become the Lord of Humanity. Moreover, he didn't intend to actively show himself to respond to the faith, so he didn't care what others thought.

"Unfortunately, only a small number of people can be resurrected; too many souls are still taken into the dungeon world."

After releasing his power for about ten minutes, Gao Hai resurrected everyone he could, approximately two million people. Compared to Tokyo's original population of fourteen million, this difference was terrifying. As for the ordinary people who were fortunate enough to survive to the end of the war, Gao Hai also counted their number, which was around three hundred thousand. Adding these two groups together, the final number of survivors of the Battle of Tokyo was two million four hundred thousand, accounting for about 17% of Tokyo's total population.

Of the remaining 83% of the population, Gao Hai estimated that about one-third had been sent to the instance world. Those people were probably still alive, but rather stored by the hospital as some kind of resource. Now that the hospital is gone, and the users of these resources are no longer there, there shouldn't be any immediate concern about their lives.

Even so, at least seven million people are truly dead and will never come back.

After such a difficult battle, and with so much pain and sacrifice, although victory was ultimately achieved, the price already paid cannot be fully redeemed even by Gao Hai, who now has one foot on the path to godhood.

Perhaps one day in the future, when I become stronger and truly able to turn things around, all the tragedies we face now can be completely averted?

Thinking this, Gao Hai sighed silently, then quickly flew forward towards a corner of Tokyo, to a ruined area that had suffered massive damage and which even Gao Hai's power could not repair.

That was the battlefield where players fought against the flesh-and-blood monster army of the [Hospital]. Because it was destroyed so thoroughly, this area, along with the middle area that was completely torn apart by spatial distortion, and the inner battlefield that was smashed by the [Surgeon], became three irreparable scars, waiting for future generations to come and try to deal with the problems in this area.

"Sea King!"

From afar, Maki, who was organizing the players to demolish some seemingly dangerous ruins with explosives, saw Gao Hai and waved her little hand at him.

"Ah Hai—hehehe~"

Then, before Gao Hai could respond to Zhen Fei, Qian Hua suddenly appeared in front of him and threw herself into his arms. She giggled and rubbed against him several times.

The smile that hadn't fully appeared on Princess Zhenfei's face froze, and her waving little hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.

"Yes, Maki, I'm here. It's all over now. We won."

Of course, Gao Hai's voice rang in Zhen Fei's ears right afterward, and Zhen Fei breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and for a moment she was too lazy to care about Qian Hua's little tricks anymore.

it is finally over.

This rainy night, which seemed to last forever, has finally come to an end.

Looking back now, Maki had lost count of how many monsters she had defeated, how many flesh-and-blood monsters she had killed, and how many times she had endured pain and been on the verge of death. She hadn't really noticed it while the battle was still going on, but now that she had finally relaxed, she realized that her body had long since reached its limit, and her mind was on the verge of collapse, as if she would fall asleep if she just sat down for a little while.

However, before that, there was one more thing she needed to know the answer to.

If she couldn't get the answer to this question, she was certain she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully. Although... even if she got the answer, she probably still wouldn't be able to rest well, since she had already anticipated what the answer would be when Gao Hai came alone.

"Your parents aren't coming back yet. I've confirmed their location; they're in the instance space. They're safe for now, so don't worry. I'm sorry I can't rescue them. But don't worry, I'll find a way to bring them back soon."

The answer was as expected.

But at least the person is still alive, and that's good.

Zhenfei knew that Gao Hai wouldn't hide anything from her on this matter, so she simply nodded without saying anything more. Although there was some worry in her eyes, Gao Hai had no other choice but to wait.

"So you're just ignoring me, Ahai? I also put in a lot of effort, you know."

Chika, who was being held in his arms, whispered in Takahashi's ear with a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Yes, I know. You've worked hard too, Chika."

Knowing that Chika was still somewhat uneasy after finally overcoming the crisis and was hoping to find reassurance in him, Takahashi smiled and hugged her. The two leaned against each other for a while, then Chika quickly left after saying a few words like, "I've replenished my love energy! Now I'm leaving the rest to you, Takahashi!" Takahashi then went to Maki, stayed with her a little longer, comforted her, and continued on his way.

There were quite a few gazes coming from the surrounding area.

Gao Hai is not the type of person who likes to engage in particularly intimate or private behavior in public. Therefore, when he interacted with Qian Hua and Zhen Fei before, he used his mental power to conceal his actions so that others would not notice what was happening on his side.

But after finishing the act of covering himself up, he stopped trying to conceal himself and stepped directly into the ruins. The players immediately noticed him, and many cast awe-inspiring, even worshipful, gazes at him. Some even tried to kneel and kowtow to Gao Hai. However, Gao Hai used his mental power to stop these overly formal attempts, though for some reason, their gazes became even more fervent afterward.

Gao Hai wasn't particularly concerned about how he appeared in the eyes of these participating players. He was simply observing the survivors and tallying their numbers. The results left him speechless except for a silent sigh.

At this moment, less than one-twentieth of the original participants remain on this battlefield.

Of course, Gao Hai managed to revive many of the dead players in the final wave. These players were now scattered throughout the city, not all of them left in the ruins. But Gao Hai remembered their numbers, and even after adding them all up, about one-fifth of the players were still completely dead, beyond Gao Hai's ability to revive.

Perhaps this number of sacrifices can already be considered a great victory?

Although he said this in his heart, Gao Hai still couldn't feel happy. Despite knowing it was impossible, he still secretly hoped to achieve a miracle like a flawless victory for everyone, just like the dungeons he had cleared before. However, this time the enemy was far too powerful compared to the past, and unlike the Blood Flower, they couldn't communicate. Fighting such an enemy, who could only fight head-on, would inevitably result in sacrifices, and it was destined that not everyone would live to see the day of victory.

"..."

In silence, Gao Hai, who clearly understood this, simply continued forward until he arrived at a completely collapsed area of ​​ruins, which had clearly been subjected to an extremely fierce siege.

This area was located at the outermost edge of the player's defensive line. Before Maki and Chika could successfully arrive, it was abandoned due to the overwhelming attack. The players who were guarding it had almost all retreated to the rear of the defensive line, except for the player who was responsible for covering the rear and held off the most enemies before reinforcements arrived.

"Is that you... Mr. Gao..."

The little river tree, whose original appearance was almost completely unrecognizable and whose entire body was covered with dense insect eggs, turned its head slightly at this moment and spoke hoarsely in the direction of Gao Hai.

"Well, it's me."

Gao Hai walked up to Xiao He Shu and looked at the figure in front of him, which had been almost completely devoured by the power of the obsession object and was covered with curses and pollution. His expression was very solemn.

Among the players fighting on the front lines, this one bore the brunt of the firepower, hindered the [Hospital] operation to the greatest extent, and took the initiative to cover the rear when the defensive line needed to retreat, preventing the flesh monsters from chasing the players and protecting the most people.

Although Maki and Chika, who arrived at the battlefield later, actually stopped more enemies, from the perspective of the player group alone, this man, who was already trapped in the inevitable corruption and now only had a sliver of consciousness left in his final moments, was undoubtedly the one who had achieved the ultimate. Just like how he directly defeated the core obsession controlled by the [Hospital] in the depths of the distorted space at the cost of the entire group's sacrifice, successfully detonating the players of the Moyu Gang and Hongjie Society at the spatial point, Gao Hai had only one hundred percent respect for such a person.

Unfortunately, the members of the Fishing Gang and the Red Society were able to be saved because they died relatively quickly and were not too polluted. However, Gao Hai could no longer save the little river tree in front of him.

"How have you managed to endure such severe pollution and erosion until now?"

Gazing at the little river tree, which was no longer recognizable as human, Gao Hai asked with some emotion.

Despite being a person with extraordinary willpower himself, Gao Hai couldn't help but ask questions when he saw a fellow traveler with an iron will.

"It's just about persisting... From the moment I chose to accept the [Hive]... it's just about... persisting..."

Xiaoheshu seemed to smile, but unfortunately Gao Hai couldn't see the expression on his face anymore.

There was no way to remove the pollution from him; those twisted forces were too closely connected to his soul. If Gao Hai were to use his power to remove them, it would only cost him his life.

Attempting to freeze time and temporarily preserve the damage for a future solution is also futile. The level of corruption on his body is very high, including damage caused by the [Hospital]'s enraged attack. Gao Hai cannot completely freeze this kind of damage. Even if he manages to stop Xiao He Shu's own time, the erosion will continue, and he still cannot survive.

This hard-won victory is one that some people are destined not to witness, a fact that even Gao Hai cannot change now.

Having deeply experienced this once again, all Gao Hai could do at this moment was remain silent.

"Mr. Gao..."

Seemingly understanding something from Gao Hai's silence, Xiao Heshu spoke up again, her voice becoming clearer than before.

"Mr. Gao...did we save this city?"

The words sounded like a question, but Gao Hai could hear the confidence and pride in the other person's voice. He already knew that when the monsters under the control of the [Hospital] stopped appearing, and when Gao Hai appeared beside him, it signified the arrival of true victory. This victory was undoubtedly a victory for humanity.

"Yes, we won."

Gao Hai then gave an affirmative answer.

"We won...that's...that's great..."

So the little river tree sighed again, and its last shred of will to survive was satisfied at that moment.

hum-

As the golden flames burned, the body covered with maggots and eggs began to burn, gradually turning into smoke and dust.

Gao Hai stretched out his hand and released his power to purify the little river tree's body and soul, which had been polluted to an extreme degree and could no longer be repaired.

The filthy power gradually dissipated in the flames, and the self and soul belonging to Xiaohe Tree also gradually vanished within it. The filth turned into black ashes, which were scattered by Gao Hai's casual wave of his hand, while the pure fragments of the soul transformed into dazzling crystals, slowly rising into the air, dissipating, returning to the invisible cycle of this planet, returning to the purest torrent of unconscious souls.

Perhaps one day, these broken sparks of light will be able to be pieced together again, becoming a complete soul, and being born once more, becoming someone similar to the little river tree, but without having to endure his pain and torment again?

Gao Hai didn't know whether he was looking forward to that day or not.

He simply bowed slightly to the corner where the little river tree no longer existed, where the light and dust had dissipated, as a gesture of mourning and respect. Then he turned and walked out of the ruins, returning to the outside.

The rain has stopped.

Gao Hai turned his head and looked into the distance, at the warm orange sun rising at the edge of the sky.

Dawn has arrived; it is time for the sun to rise.

"Liang, sister, this is great... Waaah... This is great..."

I think I heard someone crying.

Gao Hai turned to look at the rubble not far away, now reduced to rubble, and saw Hong Xia holding Liang and Xing Ge, sobbing uncontrollably. It's worth noting that Xing Ge was crying just like Hong Xia, while Liang, though also shedding tears, only cried softly for a couple of moments before noticing Gao Hai and forcefully holding back, seemingly not wanting to cry in front of him. Gao Hai didn't understand why she was holding back like that, and he was too lazy to think about it.

Hopefully, this feeling of surviving a disaster won't bring nightmares to these three people.

Thinking this, Takahashi then noticed Kaguya, Ichiri, Kita, and Miko walking towards him. Kaguya and Miko were hurrying towards him without any attempt to conceal their movements. Kita, however, lagged slightly behind the other two, deliberately walking at the back with her arms crossed and an air of nonchalance, though it was unclear who she was trying to impress. As for Ichiri, she had initially been smiling and walking towards him, but upon seeing Kaguya and Miko rushing forward, she was startled and now hid behind Kita, looking at him pitifully like an abandoned puppy, too afraid to get ahead of them.

Even at this point, he's still behaving like this. I have to say, it's quite amusing to admit that Little Pochi has this kind of personality.

"Hey, you guys are back. You look pretty good."

As Gao Hai spoke, he smiled and walked towards the girls in front of him, all the gloom on his face disappearing, leaving only a peaceful smile under the morning sun.

No matter how many hardships, obstacles, pain, and despair we still need to face, at least now is the time to enjoy victory.

Just like the members of the "Fishing Gang" and the "Red Society" who have gathered together at this moment, after experiencing life-and-death battles together, the relationship between the two groups of players has improved a lot, and they have reached the point where they can call each other brothers.

Xiong Mi directly invited the Red Society to China for drinks and meat, Shi Tang Zhengzhao also invited the Moyu Gang to Japan for coffee, Cat Brother and Hayashibe Kenta chatted about anime, and Toyama Akira and Kenmochi unexpectedly found common ground in taking care of their teammates.

The Sunflower Squad, the Light and Dark Squad, and many other Night-level player teams that participated in the battle had all received Gao Hai's enhancements. They were all chatting amongst themselves, their faces relaxed and radiating the joy of survival. Except, of course, for Qin Shou, who ended up vomiting after being approached by several female players.

As for lucky players like Sun Dajun and Wang Gui, who were weak and could only follow stronger players around, and ended up experiencing various big events in a daze and actually survived, their reactions were different. But in general, they were all happy to have survived and felt genuine joy for their survival and victory in the war.

In every corner of the city, there are survivors, resurrected victims. Whether they are confused, happy, or sad, it doesn't change the fact that they have survived. As for the future of this disaster-stricken city, the future of this country and other countries that have come to understand what supernatural beings and extraordinary powers are, and how this planet and this civilization will develop, those are things that people cannot determine at this moment.

Now, everyone has survived.

Thanks to the blood and sweat of Gao Hai and the girls, and the sacrifices of countless players who burned their souls and disregarded everything, everyone finally survived.

This is the only thing that all the survivors can truly empathize with at this moment.

.

Volume 5, first half.

Finish.

Interlude 5-01 of Chapter 1: Children, I am not the ruler of mankind.

A war has ended.

A horrific war that began unexpectedly and left an indelible mark on the world has finally come to an end.

Regardless of people's understanding of the distorted existence beyond the world before this war began—whether they were ordinary people isolated by mental barriers, players who had actually experienced certain instances, or powerful individuals who had successfully explored aspects of the hidden world beyond common knowledge—from this day forward, after the war ended, they would inevitably face this fact: those things that were once hidden, unknown to the world, are now completely exposed, with no chance of being concealed again.

The whole world is changing.