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

Tourists walked by, chatting and laughing.

A couple walked past Gao Hai with a little boy in their hands; the boy was still licking his ice cream.

A couple is taking photos in front of a uniquely shaped rock.

An elderly man and a young man were walking and chatting idly about the features of the cave, seemingly comparing it with caves they had visited before.

Everything looks normal.

The only thing that shouldn't have happened at this time was the so-called normalcy.

The eerily portrayed explorer silently strode forward, heading towards the Stone Forest Road.

Gao Hai silently moved forward, while observing Fujiwara Chika's reaction beside him. He noticed that although the girl was very nervous, she was still cautiously exploring.

She didn't seem to notice the tourists around her.

After a day of working together, Gao Hai had gained a fairly good understanding of Qian Hua's personality. She wasn't very brave, and her reactions to all sorts of scary things were jumpy; at most, she could only barely keep a straight face and force herself to remain silent.

When Chika sees the tourists around her, she will inevitably have a corresponding emotional reaction.

But now she showed no reaction at all. Judging from her behavior, it was clearly the same reaction she had when she explored that chaotic cave with Gao Hai. In other words, in her eyes, what she was seeing now was an empty, dark cave, completely different from what she had actually seen.

And ultimately, what exactly are these things that I'm seeing?

Everyone in sight looked perfectly normal.

However, his own sensory blessings could not capture anything, as if these people were just phantoms and did not actually exist in this place.

Gao Hai no longer had the energy to pay much attention to Zhenfei. He had to proceed cautiously, avoiding the tourists to prevent physical contact. Although Gao Hai suspected these people might be phantoms from the past, it was best to avoid contact if possible. He wasn't sure he could handle any unexpected problems that might arise from contact.

Moreover, he began to feel that gaze again.

A chilling, eerie gaze, its origin unknown.

That gaze still seemed to be separated from Gao Hai by some kind of barrier, but... the barrier was very shallow. Compared to before, Gao Hai felt the presence of that gaze with unprecedented clarity.

It's as if... there?

Instinctively, I raised my head and looked in the direction my gaze was directed.

Gao Hai saw several tourists chatting and laughing.

It seemed as if something had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Gao Hai remained silent, turned his head, and looked ahead at the road, at C1 continuing its journey under the bright lights, and at a tourist walking towards C1.

thump—

Their shoulders collided at that moment, and both C1 and the tourist stumbled.

There was physical contact?!

Are these objects that tourists can touch? Are they physical entities?

Realizing this, Gao Hai immediately became alert, but the tourist only glanced at C1, muttered a curse under his breath, and walked away.

C1, who usually reports the situation to the command center, remained silent this time, as if the collision had never happened, and continued walking forward.

That gaze intensified once more.

Gao Hai felt as if the other person was right next to him, as if they had just passed by him.

But this time he didn't look, he just continued forward without saying a word.

This place is really nice!

Tourists passing by Gao Hai were excitedly discussing the situation.

Indeed, this grotto is quite large, and the path is easy to walk on, unlike other grotto sites I've visited before, which were full of potholes and made walking extremely difficult.

The tourist's companion nodded in agreement.

"Really? I think this place is too artificial; natural caves are much more interesting."

[What's so interesting about that? Do you think you're an explorer? If you want to see natural caves, go get an exploration license. Go over to the big slide; it seems two teams went in today. I heard the Explorers' Alliance has designated that area as a beginner's tutorial point.]

"Haha, then forget it. I just want to see the sights; hiking and trekking aren't my forte."

[That's why I've never really understood those people who do cave exploration. If they were researchers, it would be one thing, but just for the thrill of crawling into caves where you can only crawl on your stomach, aren't they afraid of getting stuck? Just thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.]

As the two tourists talked, they walked up to Gao Hai and walked almost side by side with him.

A child carrying a toy robot ran past, laughing and joking. Gao Hai caught a glimpse of Bumblebee in the child's hand.

The prying gaze intensified instantly, this time directed at him directly. Before he could look away, Gao Hai caught a glimpse of a fleeting white figure passing in front of a rather plump tourist walking ahead.

A white...like some kind of light gauze...dress?

Subconsciously making some judgments about what he saw, Gao Hai then stopped sensing that gaze, as if the other party had temporarily shifted their attention and was no longer paying attention to Gao Hai's existence.

At this time, the three of them had already passed through the Stone Forest Road and arrived at the plain.

[C1 report: We have arrived at the plains and have located the guard post. The guard post is closed and has no lights. A hole has been found in the wall surrounding the large slide. Please provide further instructions.]

The lead explorer spoke to the command center in a dazed voice.

Fujiwara Chika glanced at the location of the security booth and frowned slightly.

Gao Hai, who also stopped in his tracks, twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth.

He did not see the guard post.

At this moment, in Gao Hai's own view, there was no guard post. Under the bright lights, the place where the guard post used to stand was empty.

Not only that, he didn't see the wall blocking the big slide, but only a tall railing that blocked the way. There was a passageway with a person wearing a light blue striped shirt, who seemed to be a staff member, standing there, leaning against the railing with a bored expression.

What period of the Red Nut Gray Hole am I seeing now?

As he was pondering this, new instructions came from the command center.

[Exploration team, all members enter the large slide area and explore at least to the "Great Cliff" area.]

This instruction...

Going down the giant slide is definitely not a wise move.

Having gathered so many clues and intelligence along the way, Gao Hai knew very well that the giant slide was not a place to enter or leave casually. Given the strange situation he was currently observing, who knew what strange things might happen once he stepped onto the giant slide.

It's about time to take action.

Gao Hai decides to find a way to accidentally destroy the communication devices he carries, thereby breaking free from the restrictions he is under.

That intense gaze came once again.

This time, Gao Hai felt that gaze seemed to be right behind him.

A faint smell of blood entered my nasal cavity.

Meanwhile, C1 in front has already taken a step, walking towards the big slide.

Gao Hai took a step forward, then stumbled and fell to the ground. He happened to turn to the side, and his loosely worn earphones fell down. Gao Hai's arm pressed down on them, crushing them instantly.

C1 stopped in her tracks, turned around to look at Gao Hai, her pale eyes revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Chika, unaware of what had happened, also stopped. Although she didn't understand why Takami had suddenly fallen, the girl immediately stepped forward and helped him up.

"I'm so sorry, my headphones are broken."

Gao Hai said to C1 with an apologetic expression.

【…】

C1 remained silent, seemingly unable to comprehend the current situation and unable to make a decision.

But the moment Gao Hai spoke, he noticed that all the tourists touring the cave stopped at that moment. Then, in the blink of an eye, all the tourists disappeared, leaving only clothes scattered on the ground.

What's going on? Does my voice somehow trigger these things?

Realizing that his actions might lead to some unpredictable situations, Gao Hai became somewhat nervous.

At that very moment, he noticed that in the field of vision of the doll he was controlling, Maki had pulled out an old, somewhat damaged notebook from Professor Foln's desk.

The notebook cover bears the name "Auston".

The first page of this notebook is titled "A Preliminary Investigation of the Red Nut Grotto and a Study of the Primitive Beliefs of the Ancient Indian Tribe of Chichajara".

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The First Moment Found and the Object of Contemplation

"This notebook is..."

Shijo Maki slowly opened the book and looked at the contents recorded inside.

Qichazhala tribe.

These are the names of ancient Native American tribes recorded by the author of this notebook, an explorer named Austin.

As an indigenous tribe that once existed on the land of América, the fate of this tribe was not much different from that of other tribes.

They encountered outsiders, offered them assistance, then clashed, and died one by one under gunfire, their scalps becoming targets of bounties. However, unlike those tribes that were fortunate enough to survive in the reserves into modern society, the Chichazhala tribe eventually disappeared into history, leaving only a few documents to prove its existence.

If that's all there is to it, then this tribe is actually nothing special.

But this explorer named Austin discovered in the records of some cowboys and scholars that the Chichajara tribe seemed to have had a very unique belief.

According to their research, newly adult males in this tribe embark on a solitary journey into a natural cave, enduring a long climb to its deepest point, a ritual considered their rite of passage into adulthood. The tribe has named different areas of the cave, such as "skin," "blood vessels," "major blood vessels," and "limbs," while the deepest part is called the "heart." In the tribe's view, only those who can reach the heart alone and successfully emerge are considered true warriors.

Based on the findings of various investigations, it seems this tribe believed the cave they entered housed the body of a deity. Their journey into the cave and outwards was a devout pilgrimage, and those who emerged alive were considered blessed and powerful. Austin wasn't particularly interested in these myths, but the cave mentioned in them intrigued him. He instinctively realized that the cave, considered a rite of passage for this tribe, was no ordinary place and could certainly become a fantastic exploration site. Furthermore, according to the laws of the Kingdom of Amerin at the time, whoever discovered and explored the cave first would gain priority development rights—a prospect that was certainly tempting.

The next ten pages or so describe the explorer, Austin, traversing the desolate wilderness in his quest to find the cave. The changing dates indicate that the search lasted a full three months, fraught with peril. Austin was attacked by bears and wolves more than once, and even with a hunting rifle, he was bitten several times, nearly losing a leg – a truly grueling ordeal.

He thought about giving up more than once, constantly recounting his hardships in his diary and blaming himself for his momentary impulse, but he couldn't bring himself to give up.

Ultimately, through sheer perseverance, he successfully found what he was looking for.

[Auston's Notes:]

I've decided to name this cave "Red Nut Grotto".

This is truly a wonderful place, with various stalagmites and stalactite formations, as well as all sorts of stone pillars. It could definitely make a lot of money as a tourist attraction.

However, the latter half of this area is too treacherous. Perhaps I could try developing it in sections? I'm not sure if my budget is sufficient.

In short, this is my territory now.

Thank you, Chichazhala tribe. Although you are no longer here, I don't think I could have found this wonderful place without you. May God bless you; this is my heartfelt blessing.