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

Miwa Maeda's screams echoed down the corridor.

The young Black man, supporting the other person, turned back to look at Lao Guo and asked him something.

Knowing he was in trouble, Takahashi immediately closed the door. He no longer concealed his expression, so Kaguya and Maki realized he was afraid of something in the hallway, and understood his true purpose in deliberately provoking Kaguya to come over.

What's in the hallway?

Kaguya immediately asked.

"You'll find out soon enough if you want to know, but whatever you do, don't open the door."

Gao Hai, who had locked the door from the inside, turned around and said in a serious tone, before heading deeper into the corridor of room 206.

Under his persuasion, Sun Dajun should have already found the supply box in 206. If the earplugs are still there, he will have two pairs. If he can make a temporary earplug with scraps of cloth, it should be enough to tide him over.

The only passage to the first floor mentioned by Xu Sheng in the hallucination is in room 206.

Hopefully, this is the right choice. Although there's a rollback cheat, the limited number of attempts is still unsettling. He doesn't want to experience a series of deaths, accumulate a lot of mental stress, and then suffer a major failure and go insane.

As Gao Hai was thinking this, he suddenly heard a voice.

I don't care what your goal is, just don't get in my way.

It's that Guo Degang's voice.

The voice was cold and delivered a very direct warning.

I have no interest in what you're doing here. The core object of this apartment complex is something I, "Old Ghost Guo," am determined to possess. You'd better think it over carefully.

Huh, what's going on?

Does he see me as an experienced player who wants to compete with him?

Wait, no, what is this guy talking about? The core obsession? Is that the target he messed up like that in the last round?

Gao Hai was shocked to hear such words, while Lao Guo, who had just delivered the message, realized something was wrong and quickly ran towards room 210.

tread--

In the dim stairwell, the sound of steady footsteps began to descend slowly, moving towards the excessively loud cries of Maeda Miwa.

Chapter Twenty-Four: The best approach is to use a simple and direct method.

The crying and shouting outside the door had not stopped.

That idiotic blonde Japanese woman, Maeda Miwa, was still crying and screaming.

The corpse in the house must have given her a lot of shock. Ha, although in Gao Hai's opinion, this shock was far too trivial compared to the danger of the Shirakawa Apartment itself, but if he said it now, probably no one would understand.

As for the new information that has just been obtained, whether it is the "core obsession" or the relevant situation of Lao Guo, Gao Hai does not have time to analyze and think about it carefully at this moment.

The crisis that follows is the most important one.

call……

Gao Hai could feel his breathing gradually becoming steady.

That thing must have heard Maeda Miwa's voice by now and is starting to come down the stairs.

Just like last time, he walked into the stairwell with steady footsteps, and then killed everyone present in the silence.

We must get through this crisis.

Even though overcoming this crisis is far more difficult than the last one.

Kaguya and Maki behind her never wavered in their suspicious gazes.

Sun Dajun, who went in first to search the house and was supposedly "hidden by the reality show crew," will surely come out to check soon if he finds that Gao Hai hasn't come in.

Click——

After a barely audible door slam, Gao Hai heard the Black man outside shouting. Although he couldn't make out what he was saying, Gao Hai knew he was puzzled by Lao Guo's inexplicable door-closing.

Time is of the essence.

Unable to foresee his own time-travel advantage and inheriting the horrific memory of being boiled alive, Gao Hai failed to adjust his emotions and thoughts in time. After the time travel, he even resorted to silly behavior to ease his mind. Coupled with his poor acting skills, which led to various flaws being noticed, Gao Hai completely failed to gain the trust of Kaguya and Maki this time, while Sun Dajun was only slightly fooled and kept calm.

The anomalies within the Shirakawa Apartments are almost always fatal upon sight, making them unsuitable for beginner tutorials. Maeda Miwa, the team-wipe engine, summons a terrifying, untouchable entity right from the start, making her arguably one of the biggest challenges of the entire game. Even after a rollback, facing this problem again still causes Takami immense headaches, leading to the current predicament.

There was no way around it. After all, he didn't know anything about "secrets that only trusted people know" or "things that could make the other person believe unconditionally if told." Rather, given Kaguya Shinomiya's cautious and suspicious nature, even if she did reveal such a thing, she would never choose to trust him. Instead, it would likely exacerbate her suspicions.

That leaves only the simplest and most direct method.

Let everyone see the real thing directly, and then go back to the source before it's too late.

Although this will waste one backtracking opportunity, there's nothing that can be done about it.

"Brother Gao, why have you been standing in the hallway the whole time? I haven't seen any cameras in the room. Um, is there really such a thing?"

Sun Dajun had already walked out of the living room and approached Gao Hai with a puzzled look on his face to ask him questions.

His expression changed drastically, as if he had been frightened by something, or perhaps he was growing increasingly terrified as he gradually understood something. Or perhaps, from the very beginning, this middle-aged man vaguely understood that he hadn't been dragged into any reality show, but the stubbornness of an elder prevented him from making any specific connections. Although Gao Hai's deception had temporarily given him something to grasp at, the failure to verify it and the lack of evidence naturally intensified his fear.

"Have you found the body?"

Gao Hai simply asked Sun Dajun.

"What... a corpse? You mean that thing in the cabinet? No, that really is..."

Sun Dajun, who trembled all over at the question, turned pale for a moment.

I understand. It seems the death of the person in room 206 was particularly abstract, to the point that even after seeing the body, Sun Dajun wasn't quite sure what it was.

Going back to the previous round, Lao Guo's reaction to room 210 was somewhat strange. As the owner, he shouldn't have been attacked by corpses while inside the room, yet he specifically mentioned to Gao Hai that room 210 was dangerous and warned him to be careful of the corpses. At first, Gao Hai thought it was because Lao Guo was a veteran player who could identify the problem, but this time, Lao Guo's self-destructive line made Gao Hai think more deeply. He wondered if Lao Guo, this veteran player, might have a different identity than the others. Perhaps… he used some method specifically to target the Baichuan Apartment, so he wasn't identified as the "owner," leading to his attack in room 210?

Then consider another problematic house, room 204, the room where he and Kaguya woke up together. Only in this room were no bodies found, and only in this room were two players present at the same time.

Perhaps there's something wrong with this room? Or is the problem with either him or Kaguya?

A whole host of questions flashed through my mind.

However, Gao Hai did not show any hesitation on his face. He was already prepared. He simply put on his earplugs, but did not immediately plug them in tightly. Then he spread his hands to Kaguya and Maki, revealing the second pair of earplugs in his palm.

“We all heard that voice, that voice that led us to participate in the sacrificial game and threw us into this strange place.”

“Mr. Sun, you probably only find the feeling of being unable to move due to the control of that voice terrifying, but Ms. Shinomiya and Ms. Shijo, you two must realize that such a thing is not something a human can do, and realize the terrible truth hidden within it.”

“Ms. Shinomiya, you were very wary of me just now because you noticed that I knew you, and I admit that. But what I want to tell you is that the reason I know you is because we worked together in this apartment not long ago and encountered various dangers. The reason why you, and all of you, have no memory of this is because you died in this apartment, or rather, we all lost our lives in this apartment.”

Gao Hai's tone was extremely serious.

But clearly, his words were not believed by the three people present.

"What nonsense are you spouting? I died in this apartment? You don't think you can confuse me with such absurd claims, do you?"

Kaguya Shinomiya's expression grew increasingly dangerous; she was prepared to subdue Takami right there and then. From the beginning until now, this man had been far too suspicious, and she had even begun to suspect that this was all part of Takami's scheme.

"Wait, didn't you just say it was a reality show? Xiao Gao, why are you suddenly saying things that are hard to understand?"

Sun Dajun was plunged into deeper confusion and fear, standing there helplessly, not knowing what to do.

Only Shijo Maki remained silent, quietly observing Takami's reaction.

She shares the title of a genius beauty with Kaguya Shinomiya, but because she comes from a normal family, unlike Kaguya who is extremely suspicious and finds it difficult to trust others, she is more willing to trust her own observation skills.

Gao Hai's reaction, no matter how you look at it, seems to be the truth, or rather, Gao Hai himself is completely convinced of what he said, without a trace of falsehood.

What the hell does this happen?

Consort Zhen frowned, somewhat unsure of what to do.

At the same time, the corridor outside the main gate had become quiet, and there was no sound at all.

Gao Hai knew that the black guy and the blonde girl who wiped out the whole group were now dead.

With only a door separating them, there was no doubt that the thing outside could hear their conversation in the corridor.

"The people in the stairwell are dead. Next, that thing will find us, and it will find us talking without any cover. Based on our last experience, that thing will start knocking on this door, and then the terrifying things will begin to happen."

Gao Hai took a deep breath, simply looking at the three different gazes around him, and said calmly.

“Sound is its medium of action, so I will put on earplugs to avoid hearing that thing’s voice. You want to verify the truth, right? Then choose one person to put on these earplugs. If one person can hear it and the other can’t, then you can naturally verify whether it’s true or false.”

He stretched out his palm towards Kaguya and Maki.

Gao Hai awaited the answer.

"Playing tricks? If you really want to verify it, why don't you just open the door and verify it?"

Kaguya, who still doesn't believe Takami, is already planning to go and open the door.

"..."

Sun Dajun, on the other side, didn't say anything, but took a few steps back. It was impossible to tell whether he believed it or not, but it was clear that the middle-aged man was in a very bad mental state and had been somewhat agitated.

Only one person remained unanswered.

Gao Hai knew that this was exactly the answer he had been waiting for.

"Alright, I'll give it a try and see what you really want to do."

Shijo Maki reached out and took the earplugs from Takami's hand.

"True concubine..."

Kaguya frowned, unable to understand.

"This guy looks like he's been forced into a corner. He's spouting utterly absurd nonsense, yet he seems to believe it wholeheartedly. Plus, there are definitely many strange things about him... Even if we're going to verify it, we should at least find a safe way. Grandma, your suggestion to just open the door is the most straightforward, but it's tantamount to putting ourselves in potential danger. So, let's see what this guy is up to. Or is it that the main branch of the Shinomiya family isn't as daring as the branch family members of the Shijou family?"

With a somewhat provocative attitude, Shijo Maki put on her earplugs and plugged them in tightly.

Upon seeing this, Gao Hai did not hesitate and immediately put the earplugs into his own ears.

The next moment, he could no longer hear any sound.

These earplugs, specially made by the previous generation of survivors, have an extremely strong soundproofing effect. Even though he could clearly see Kaguya standing only three or four meters away from him, opening her mouth and saying something, Gao Hai couldn't hear any sound at all.

Coming?

Gao Hai looked toward the doorway.

【…】

No sound was heard.

But Kaguya and Sun Dajun both turned to look at the door at the end of the corridor at the same time.