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

"No, that's not true at all. I've already said that we're not boyfriend and girlfriend. We're just good friends. I... I have no intention of marrying him."

Zhenfei stomped her foot and yelled angrily, as if she had turned into a cat with its fur standing on end.

Of course, if Haijun really were to propose to me, I might consider it.

These words surfaced in Shijou Maki's mind, but were quickly suppressed by the girl's shame; she simply couldn't bring herself to say them.

"Oh, I see. I thought Gao-kun and Shijo-kun were already in that kind of relationship."

Fujiwara Chika turned her head slightly and said with a touch of emotion.

"W-what? What does this have to do with you?"

Maki frowned. Only then did she calm down a little and realize that Chika's question was very strange and came from nowhere.

"Because I really enjoy talking about love. I'm interested in participating in any topic related to love."

Chika blinked, tilted her head, and said in a very innocent tone.

"Now is not the time to be interested in these kinds of questions. Let's focus our attention on these clues first..."

Maki muttered, clearly not wanting to continue the topic, and then noticed that Fujiwara Chika had already started looking through the documents she had retrieved.

What's wrong with this guy? He asked that kind of question out of nowhere, and then acted like he didn't care at all.

Maki took several deep breaths, trying her best to calm and relax her somewhat chaotic mind, and focused her attention on the file she had retrieved.

What she didn't know was that Fujiwara Chika, who stood to the side seemingly without any abnormality, was actually experiencing a rapid heartbeat.

Shijou-kun… I knew you'd answer like that. I knew it, because I saw similar reactions in the month after the mission ended. You were just a little more honest then, though only a tiny bit.

Fujiwara Chika knew that what she wanted to do was immoral and contrary to the current social order and consensus.

But from the moment you become a player, that constraint no longer exists, does it?

The thought of taking Takami away from Shijo Maki had been swirling in Chika's mind for a long time, and it hadn't faded away; instead, it had only grown stronger.

As for... if there's really no way to take it away, joining in or something... no, no, no, that would be too shameless. It's better not to think that far ahead.

For now, let's focus on the task at hand. In any case, only by surviving can we have the right to think about the future.

With this in mind, Chika quickly calmed down and stopped dwelling on the relationship issue.

Of course, despite the girl's inner thoughts being the same one after another, her facial expression remained largely unchanged, a stark contrast to Maki's reaction, whose blush wouldn't fade when the topic of romance was brought up.

Now that she had gathered her scattered thoughts, Chika focused her attention on the file in her hand.

This is a log of the exploration of the red nut ash hole. Similar to the previous tape, it is more concise, includes more actions, and contains more detailed information. Judging from the pages of records, this research base has clearly been operating for a considerable period of time since its establishment, and has conducted countless experiments.

[Red Nut Grotto Exploration Log]

[Record a1-1-001]

Operation Codename: Cave-01

[Recording Time: ■■/■■/■■■■]

[Operation personnel structure: 6 people, codenamed A1-A6, a special tactics team designated by General Shegela]

[Objective of this operation: Reach the "blood vessel" entrance of the Red Nut Gray Hole and complete the installation of the sensor device]

[Operation Outcome: All personnel lost; mission failed to achieve its objectives]

[Record a1-1-002]

Operation Codename: Cave-02

[Operation personnel structure: 8 people, codenamed B1-B8, a fully armed assault tactical team designated by General Shegela]

[Objective of this operation: Locate the missing Team A and ascertain their details]

[Operation Outcome: All personnel lost; no information available for Team A]

【annotation:】

[1. Stop wasting manpower, and at least stop wasting soldiers' lives; it's pointless. — General Shegela]

2. Someone has to go down; this is a long and massive undertaking, and their sacrifice is necessary. —Professor Folnäs

[Record a1-2-012]

[Personnel structure: 4 people, selected from ■■■ prison]

[Objective of this operation: To proceed from the entrance to the "plains" and install a total of 15 small sensors.]

[Operation Outcome: All personnel lost; 13 sensors successfully installed]

【annotation:】

[1. All seven sensors were malfunctioning, rendering normal detection impossible. The training and obedience of these death row inmates are unbelievably poor. Trained military personnel should be reassigned to the exploration work; they would at least be more professional. —Professor Furn]

[2. It can be restored, but the government is no longer willing to pay insurance premiums for these soldiers, so you must pay for it yourself. Just sign if you agree. —General Shegela]

[Record a1-2-103]

[Personnel structure: 3 people, selected from ■■ prison and ■■■■ prison respectively]

[Objective of this operation: To complete the tour for "ordinary tourists," and to detect any unusual phenomena within the Red Nut Grotto by following the tour sequence of "entrance - stone forest path - plain - large square - plain - gentle slope - entrance."]

[Operation Outcome: 2 personnel lost, 1 survivor. The loss occurred on the "gentle slope." It has been confirmed that there is another abnormal source on the "gentle slope," different from the "blood vessels," which has entered an active phase.]

【annotation:】

[Stop rescue efforts and leave the two people who fell down there. The "gentle slope" has not seen any deaths or missing persons so far, which is very different from the "blood vessels." It is necessary to test whether there have been any casualties inside. —Professor Furn]

[Record a2-1-003]

[Operational personnel: 2 small mountain-type remotely controlled reconnaissance vehicles, 1 small scientific research drone]

[Objective of this operation: To attempt to use a remote control device to enter the deeper areas of the Red Nut Grotto via the "blood vessels"]

[Operation Outcome: All reconnaissance vehicles and drones were lost, both after entering the "blood vessels" (infrastructure).]

【annotation:】

"Stop using drones and reconnaissance vehicles; they're too expensive. Let's use death row inmates instead; they're much cheaper." —Professor Folnäs

[Record a1-3-077]

[Operation personnel structure: 3 people]

[Objective of this operation: To carry a K-type remote-controlled explosive into the "blood vessel" area of ​​the Red Nut Grotto. This explosive will detonate 30 seconds after the remote control signal is lost and the network is down. The explosive force is sufficient to destroy the area where the "blood vessel" is located.]

[Operation Outcome: No explosives were detected; all exploration personnel and command center staff perished; the containment zone was severely damaged; over 90% of the detection equipment installed inside the Red Nut Grotto was rendered inoperable]

【annotation:】

[1. This is the most foolish, irresponsible, and outrageous act I have ever seen. What do you think we are doing? We are Prometheus trying to steal the power of the gods. Do you really think this arrogant act of destruction will yield good results? Wake up, you bunch of idiots. —Professor Folnen]

[2. Watch your words, Fuln, I still hold supreme command of the base personnel. —General Shegela]

……

The exploration record of the Red Nut Gray Hole alone is several hundred pages long, spanning more than five years.

It's hard to imagine how many people disappeared forever in that cave.

Meanwhile, as Chika felt a pang of anxiety at the record she had found, Kaguya, who had returned to the first floor, glanced around to make sure there were no soldiers guarding the corridor. She then carefully approached the power area, took out her key, tried it, quickly found the correct key, inserted it into the lock, and quietly opened the door.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Investigation and Reenactment, Hunting and Searching, and the Girl

Gao Hai slowly walked down the spiral staircase to the large living room of a luxurious villa.

A constant commotion could be heard, and it seemed that many people were walking around the hall, talking and laughing.

The floor, covered with a high-end animal hide carpet, occasionally showed tiny dents, while the flames in the fireplace continued to burn silently.

Standing in the middle of the living room, Gao Hai looked towards the floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the house. Through the reflection in the window, he saw a group of people dressed in luxurious clothes, the mayor who looked handsome in a suit, the guests laughing around him, some scantily clad female companions, and... well, and some others who were also scantily clad, but seemed to be less than 1.3 meters tall... I can't take it anymore. Anime lolis are one thing, but this is just too beastly!

After witnessing firsthand the true appearance of the high-ranking officials of the copper-smelting superpower, Gao Hai's expression completely transformed into the standard meme mode of an elderly person using a cell phone on the subway, showing no desire to look at it again.

In short, this is the place where that mayor's regrets reside.

I wonder what clues might be left here.

Gao Hai opened the door on one side of the living room and walked in, finding it to be a small office.

The noise in the living room was becoming increasingly unbearable. Gao Hai, while inwardly lamenting how depraved these people's casual sex was, walked to his desk and noticed a letter on it.

My beloved grandfather, Antoine Tovin:

I have made thorough preparations for tomorrow's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

[I've already made arrangements with Pei Di and the fire department. Once the ribbon-cutting ceremony is over, they'll be locked up in XX prison. After that, you can use that cave however you like.]

Regarding those rumors about man-eating monsters in the caves, I've already instructed the online response team to prepare countermeasures. You'll see results by the day after tomorrow at the latest; those fools will soon be unable to distinguish between true and false news.

Furthermore, please rest assured that I was not involved in your cooperation with the military. However, my men in charge of road control discovered a miniature camera, secretly installed by the fire department. What are your thoughts on how to locate and deal with this person? Should we wait until after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, or should we detain him now?

[And capturing Wilbo might be more difficult than expected. He went to Russia, and our people could easily alert him, so I only sent one person to monitor him. However, judging from his recent communication and internet records, he doesn't seem to have any intention of exposing the situation in the Red Nut Gray Hole. That guy seems to be just, uh, just drowning his sorrows in alcohol, spending his days drinking like a useless person. Of course, I know this could also be a way for him to mislead us, so I won't relax my surveillance on him.]

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was set up in an open area 800 meters away from the cave entrance, quite a distance from that awful place. However, I still feel that you don't really need to attend this ceremony. Of course, if you insist, I will always follow behind you, my beloved grandfather Antoine Tovin. Your will is my direction...

After about a third of the letter contained some concrete content, the remaining two-thirds consisted of elaborate and varied praise of Antoine Tovin. The flowery, garish, and nauseating language made Gao Hai's skin crawl after less than 10 seconds. However, to ensure he didn't miss any useful information, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and finish the letter, to the point that he almost vomited by the end.

"The more I write, the more it sounds like Nan Tong confessing her love to her beloved husband. But considering how perverted these executives are, could it really be true?"

The thought of a certain possibility made Gao Hai feel like vomiting.

{Haijun, how's the situation on your end?}

Just as Gao Hai was about to leave the area after putting down the letter, he received a message from Zhen Fei.

{I'm fine here, what's wrong? Is there any situation on your end?}

As Gao Hai quickly replied to Zhen Fei, he walked to the door and then noticed a distorted figure walking towards the office. Judging from the tattered suit it was wearing, it seemed to be the mayor.

{Oh, I'm doing fine here too. I was just checking in to see how things were going on your end. Have you found any leads?}

Maki's voice sounded slightly flustered, and Takahashi could clearly sense that the girl was only pretending to be calm as she spoke to him.

{I found a letter from the mayor to Councilman Anthony Towan. It seems these higher-ups plan to use the Red Nut Gray Hole until they've purged those involved. I haven't found anything more specific yet, but I think I might be able to dig out more useful information. What about you? What have you found?}

Gao Hai, holding up a black umbrella, stood by the door, watching the thing open the door and come in, then brushing past it and walking out before the door closed.

After being used multiple times, the black umbrella began to show signs of losing control again, with dark red blood dripping from its edge. Gao Hai returned to the hall, put away the black umbrella, and then stepped into a corridor on one side of the hall, soon arriving at a ticket hall.