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

Whether we like it or not, everyone must accept this reality: that extraordinary things, which no one had ever touched before, have now truly arrived in this world and will coexist with everyone from now on.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, and where the final result will lead, no one can know the answer in advance.

All those who are still alive can do now is continue to try to survive, and strive to find ways to protect themselves and those they care about in the face of the inevitable torrent of the future.

After all, many, many people have already experienced firsthand how ruthless and cruel these strange creatures are.

After experiencing the horrific event of the dungeon world invading the real world, no one can be certain what will happen next. Therefore, along with the dawn of victory comes not only the joy and relief of surviving a catastrophe, but also a sense of uncertainty and anxiety about the new day ahead.

Will other strange creatures from other alternate worlds invade the real world?

Will there still be terrifying pollution in the real world that can distort cognition and even life itself?

Will there still be those incomprehensible entities deliberately targeting and killing humans, constantly bringing disaster to the world?

Many people were filled with questions and could not truly feel at ease after the war ended.

Amid their worries, they couldn't help but think of that being.

That being, possessing the greatest power, is said to have surpassed the limits of players and reached the realm of gods.

That great deity, surrounded by several angelically pure and beautiful, yet incredibly powerful maidens as messengers, radiating endless golden light, descended to earth to save the world.

That radiant god who saved the most critical battlefield of Tokyo, defeated an incomprehensible and terrifying enemy amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, rescued millions of innocent people, and bestowed blessings and power upon everyone who participated in this divine war.

Only that one being shines so brightly, like a golden sun, protecting the safety of everyone.

Ah, perhaps, that is humanity's sun, humanity's guardian deity, humanity's lord.

Our gods.

Please continue to shelter us and protect us.

Please continue to lead us forward in this endless darkness where we cannot see the way ahead.

Ah, ah, we beg you to look upon us, to respond to us, to bestow upon us your love and majesty, like the milk of a loving mother and the sword and shield of a stern father, to become the sun that shelters us in these dark years.

……

"Damn it, I've already stepped down from the throne, why can I still hear people praying to me?"

Gao Hai was very angry.

After the grueling Battle of Tokyo, he thought he could finally rest and take a look at his body and soul, figuring out his current state. However, soon after, he began to hear and sense various prayers directed at him, feeling the power of others' faith transmitted into his senses. This feeling, like being subjected to forced, harassing phone calls, was unbearable for Gao Hai. He even lost the desire to be intimate with his wives, immediately retreating to seclusion to try and rid himself of this influence.

What do you mean by "Great Amaterasu"? When did I become your "Neon God"? And what the hell is this "Sun God" thing? The golden light in my power is the color of my own spiritual power manifested, it has absolutely nothing to do with the sun, okay? Besides, to put it bluntly, the sun is just a nuclear fusion elemental sphere, how did that thing become a god? Wait, what is this "Blood Sacrifice Blood God" thing? The red light in my power is the color of the ability that appears after the Crimson Domain combines and mutates with my spiritual power, it has absolutely nothing to do with the second-rate god! And what do you mean by "Lord of Humanity"? Which movie are you believers from? This is Earth, not Terra!

I really want to grab each and every one of those believers and complain about them.

Gao Hai never imagined that one day he would feel so mentally exhausted and at a loss because of things other than dungeons and monsters.

Fortunately, he eventually found a way to sever the connection between those forces of faith and himself, preventing the power of prayer from flowing through him. Of course, this didn't mean Gao Hai would ignore these forces of prayer. After discovering that the fusion of collective thought could indeed form a power, Gao Hai handled these connections with extreme care. He would constantly monitor the convergence of those forces of faith, ensuring that ignorant believers wouldn't have the opportunity to worship a subspace overlord.

"Well, the torn pieces of unconscious flesh can be stored in this spatial rift. We'll check on them every two weeks, so we don't have to worry about the gathering of faith power causing problems. In critical moments, we can even use this as a disposable bomb."

After carefully checking the power gathered on the pieces of flesh he had torn off, Gao Hai breathed a sigh of relief. His wounds healed instantly, and he felt much more relaxed.

Gao Hai had never considered the idea of ​​becoming a god through faith.

While it might sound a bit sentimental, Gao Hai believes that becoming a god through the power of faith means being bound to that faith and establishing an extremely profound connection with believers. This bond carries a very dangerous potential, and Gao Hai, already having the Blood Flower as a fallback option, will not accept such a risk.

Ultimately, after undergoing the nurturing of multiple [Sacrifice Game] instances, he was capable of reaching that path on his own, so why did he have to take the shortcut of faith? Even if he was indeed willing to help those innocent people who were suffering, it didn't mean that he had to sacrifice his own life to share the joys and sorrows with everyone. Gao Hai believed and acted accordingly on this point, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with this idea.

Children, I am not the ruler of mankind. You can choose whoever you want, but I will not be one.

Thinking this, Gao Hai stretched and yawned, then looked around at the frozen tundra, casually moving forward while silently sensing the changes inside his body.

Now that things have come to this, Gao Hai understands that he is very different from the person he used to be.

Ascending the Throne of Mind, he becomes entangled in the schemes of the Hospital, becoming a transcendent being representing the human side in Tokyo. Then, because of this identity, he is forced to acquire many unexpected powers, even becoming a being close to a god.

Even though Gao Hai has already consumed much of this power, and the part related to faith has been torn off and scattered, Gao Hai has still undergone an irreversible change, becoming far stronger than when he passed the [Infant Cry Village] dungeon. He is so strong that no player can compare to him. Even beings like Abyss Domain level monsters are no different from trash in front of Gao Hai now.

Just how strong am I now?

On the frozen plains of the no-man's-land, Gao Hai sat down on the spot, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the power within his body, his brows slowly furrowing.

First of all, Gao Hai can hardly feel the blessing power he originally possessed.

This doesn't mean Gao Hai has lost the power of those blessings; on the contrary, these external blessings have now been completely integrated into Gao Hai himself. If, originally, these blessings, as external forces, still had a clear source that Gao Hai could feel when using, and he would experience a sense of borrowing some kind of power, then now he feels complete control over these powers, having fully integrated them into himself and made them his own.

Even now, Gao Hai can still easily read other people's consciousness and memories, and sense whether they are friend or foe. But that's not because he received Li Zhaodi's blessing, but because his own mental strength is sufficient to achieve this function.

Even now, Gao Hai can still unleash a blood-red domain filled with corpses, but that's not because of any girl's blessing; it's because Gao Hai himself possesses this power. Those shattered corpses no longer originate from the memories of some strong girl, but are the dead from Gao Hai's memories—things transformed from everything he has seen and felt.

Even now, Takayuki can still summon a pistol and conduct trials, and the rules of the trials remain unchanged. However, this is not due to the power of the rules left behind by Hirano Sousuke, who is the core obsession, but rather because Takayuki can actually construct targeted sealing power according to different rules, giving the bullets he fires extremely powerful supernatural force. Even the bullets' regeneration is no longer based on the power of blessing, but is forged by Takayuki himself.

All sorts of forces from different sources have become Gao Hai's own power.

His mind and body underwent unimaginable growth with the end of the war. Even though he deliberately tore off a portion of his power, he was only temporarily weakened. Once he completed his self-repair, he would immediately reach a new level, a level that even Gao Hai could not imagine at present.

I really don't know what to say.

Feeling the various changes in the power within his body, Gao Hai's expression was full of emotion.

It seems difficult for him to say things like "I am human" anymore. After all, he has leaped from the level of a player who "receives blessings and uses objects of obsession" to the level of "understanding and utilizing extraordinary power and constructing his own rules." In a sense, Gao Hai is now even closer to a monster; he has even developed his own "rules" and can directly achieve many incredible effects through the power of those rules.

"Even so, this will have to wait until I have fully recovered my lost strength, and I probably won't be able to regain my full strength for at least half a month."

After closing his eyes and carefully sensing his surroundings again, Gao Hai was certain that he most likely wouldn't be able to enter the [Hospital] source instance at full strength, but only at about half strength. However, he wasn't too afraid of this. Firstly, with the [Surgeon] being eliminated, the portion of the opponent's KP power was now in Gao Hai's hands, adding three more reload slots to his black watch, which now had 21 slots. Secondly, the [Hospital] was actually the only opponent that the [Sacrifice Game] in this world could offer, arguably the strongest opponent that could be grown to within the rules. It was unlikely that there would be a stronger enemy than the [Hospital] within the instance... right?

"..."

Gao Hai suddenly felt a little insecure.

The crimson flower from [Infant Cry Village] is already a heavyweight opponent that is clearly outside the rules.

While the hospital in Tokyo that he was facing off against was also very powerful, the existence of a god from another world behind it, and the many questionable things that had not truly intervened in this battle, could they necessarily be enemies who conformed to the rules?

Let alone the fact that he hasn't recovered to his full strength yet, even if he entered the dungeon in his complete state, and even became stronger without removing his faith power, Gao Hai still wouldn't be confident. He's been proven wrong far too many times since entering the [Sacrifice Game]. Even though he's already incredibly powerful, Gao Hai still can't be sure that in the next operation, some ridiculously strong thing will appear and give him a good beating.

Ah, suddenly I have a feeling that the future is bleak.

Thinking of this, Gao Hai couldn't help but sigh.

However dark the future may be, he has no choice but to face it. After all, he chose the more difficult path instead of leaving with Bloodflower and becoming a deserter. He will fight to the very end and crush all those nonsensical people!

[Hehe, the teacher is very ambitious! Alice is bound to be captivated by a teacher like that!]

Suddenly, a laughing sound rang in my ears.

Gao Hai turned his head and saw Alice sitting on the ground with her knees together in a Japanese-style sitting posture, looking like a lady.

Her long, golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, covered with specks of white snow that seemed to shimmer with light.

Her eyes were blood-red like jewels; her face was so exquisitely beautiful, like a porcelain doll, that it seemed impossible for a human to possess such a bewitching allure; and her body was so curvaceous and seductive, that it shouldn't have appeared on the short, 1.5-meter-tall girl.

Even now, Gao Hai still feels somewhat uncomfortable with Alice's existence. He must admit that her beauty is the most outstanding among all the girls he has ever seen; no girl can compare to her in terms of appearance alone. Sometimes, Gao Hai can't help but wonder if his inability to forget Alice's existence, leading him to create such a replica of her, might also be due to his being captivated by her appearance.

However, regardless of whether that's the truth or not, it won't change Gao Hai's will. Just as he wouldn't abandon reason and obey Alice because of her beauty in the past, Gao Hai now won't speak ill of the innocent Alice because of the sins of the past Alice. He knows that the two are not the same person.

"Alice, what brings you here? Or is there something someone asked you to tell me?"

Despite saying that, Gao Hai still has some psychological trauma, so for now he just keeps a straight face and talks to Alice in a serious manner, trying to establish a businesslike office colleague relationship with Alice in this way.

[Hmm, Alice is also very curious about the outcome.]

The blonde idol smiled, a smile so beautiful that an ordinary person lacking willpower would inevitably fall into a lifelong madness upon seeing her, but it had no effect on Gao Hai at this moment.

"What do you mean?"

Gao Hai was a little puzzled; he felt that Alice's attitude seemed different from usual.

I don't know, because Alice is also searching for answers—answers about herself, about the future, and about her teacher.

Alice was still smiling.

She gently, very gently, extended her pink little tongue and slowly traced it along the edge of the girl's own moist lips, as if licking an unseen candy, or as if rehearsing some action for something from the future.

As Gao Hai watched this scene, he inexplicably felt a slight unease, a strange premonition that something terrible was about to happen.

The teacher still doesn't know anything.

However, for someone like a teacher, not knowing is probably the normal part of development.

[So Alice can't tell the teacher the answer, and can't let the teacher enjoy the ending ahead of time. In Alice's opinion, that's not fun at all.]

After leaving behind a few strange riddles, Alice disappeared from Gao Hai's sight.

Just like how this mysterious little sprite would suddenly pop out from some corner without warning and startle people, Gao Hai could never be sure when she left, nor could he anticipate her actions.

However, he didn't care much about such things now. After all, this Alice was created by a planetary god and would never betray Gao Hai, so there was no need to worry about her.

In contrast, what we need to pay more attention to now is that unknown copy of the source of the [hospital].

Why is that terrible premonition that something bad is about to happen coming back? What's causing this inexplicable chill...?

Chapter 1 Interlude 5-02: The Aftermath of the Event and the Second Battle of the Five Armies.

The war is over, and peace and tranquility have returned once again.

That being said, for those who have personally experienced all of this, those affected by this incident, and those who need to deal with the aftermath, the problem is far from over.

Especially for Tokyo, the epicenter of the battle, more than half of the population was wiped out at once, and a large number of buildings and infrastructure were destroyed. Even with Takami's subsequent repairs, about one-tenth of the city was still completely reduced to ruins. Not to mention the area previously ravaged by the "Surgeon," which was so badly damaged that it was dug down to a depth of at least several hundred meters. At this moment, a considerable portion of that area was flooded by sewage from the sewers due to the elevation difference, making it a scene of utter chaos.

Despite the nationwide relief efforts launched in Japan and the assistance from various countries, including China, Tokyo remains in chaos, even with the help of powerful families like the Shinomiya family. Twenty-four hours after the disaster, the exact number of survivors is still unknown, emergency relief supplies have not been distributed, and numerous crimes have occurred due to mismanagement. Some areas where survivors have gathered have even descended into chaos, with people resorting to buying things for free.

Furthermore, with the arrival of aid and disaster relief from various countries, conflicts have arisen between different disaster relief sites in Tokyo. For example, some disaster victims at the American rescue team's site, located near the Chinese rescue team's site, inexplicably bypassed the rescue team's guarded area and went to loot supplies brought by the Chinese rescue team, even attacking rescue team members, which nearly led to a conflict. In addition, many conflicts have also occurred between the local Japanese government and several disaster relief sites. For instance, the site managed by the Shinomiya family was inexplicably obstructed by government resettlement teams when using temporary roads cleared by the government. At the same time, there were several areas where disaster victims spontaneously gathered and clashed with government resettlement teams. There were even instances where disaster victim groups took the opportunity to block key roads, preventing rescue teams from passing through.

After a short rest following the battle, the members of the "Slacking Off" team volunteered to join the post-disaster resettlement work. As a result, they witnessed all sorts of incomprehensible operations, which broadened their horizons considerably.

"What's going on with the rescue team at the sixth resettlement site fighting with the disaster victims? Oh, and over thirty disaster victims are having a music party in the square? Wait, did the disaster victims at the Amei resettlement site run over and steal the tents prepared for the eleventh resettlement site to sell? Dozens of disaster victims at the third resettlement site ran away, saying they wanted to go on a march? And they even tried to drive away the Chinese rescue team, saying we wanted to put all the Japanese people in concentration camps because of rampant hatred? Damn it, these..."

Xiong Mi, who originally intervened in the rescue operation simply because she saw the homeless disaster victims looking so pitiful, has now become flushed, her heart is racing, and her eyes are crinkling after experiencing dozens of conflicts. In short, she's blushing, and she has to try her best to hold back in order to maintain politeness, but she's almost at her breaking point.

"So what are these people doing? They weren't so bad when Tokyo was isolated by the ghost stories, but now that it's safe, they're all acting like they've gone crazy and starting to cause trouble. And why is there nothing going on your side? It seems like all the troublemakers have gathered at the resettlement points I'm in charge of?"

Xiong Mi sighed, patted his head, and then looked at the lazy-looking Cat Brother beside him, asking with a puzzled expression.

"It's very simple. I grabbed a few troublemakers at each resettlement point and threw them dozens of meters high. Then I used the power of the object of my obsession to make them land safely. If they still didn't accept that, I used the power of the object of my obsession to make them see their limbs being cut off and then put back together in a hallucination. Of course, their senses would also be synchronized. Then everyone would behave themselves and obey the resettlement."

Cat Brother answered in a relaxed tone, causing Akira Toyama, a member of the Red Knot Society who happened to be passing by not far away, to show an embarrassed expression.

"Wow, that's a good idea! How come I didn't think of that before? Okay, let's do it this way!"

Upon hearing this, Xiong Mi's eyes lit up, and she rubbed her hands together, clearly eager to give it a try.