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

【…】

No sound was heard.

But the rusty door, covered in dust, began to tremble slightly.

【…】

I still didn't hear any sound.

Kaguya kept talking, as if she was talking to someone, and Sun Dajun, who was not far away, also started talking, as if he was saying something as well.

silent.

There was silence.

A world where there is no sound other than one's own breathing and heartbeat.

Maki simply leaned against the wall, silently observing Kaguya beside her and the gate not far away.

Gao Hai simply gripped the wall clock in his hand, waiting for the moment when something unusual would happen.

Just like last time, with that thing that spoke directly to their innermost thoughts, Gao Hai awaited the moment when danger would truly arrive.

Kaguya suddenly turned her head, looked at Takami with a serious expression, and opened her mouth to say something.

Wearing earplugs, Gao Hai couldn't hear her voice. Although he possessed a language cheat, he didn't have any special talent for lip reading. Therefore, without careful observation, he couldn't understand Kaguya's meaning for the time being.

Nothing unusual happened in the corridor.

There was no illusion of being torn apart, no violent tremors like an earthquake, and no signs of the door being gradually destroyed.

Nothing happened.

Sun Dajun stepped forward and spoke up, seemingly saying something to Gao Hai.

But Gao Hai didn't look at him. He was just observing Zhen Fei's reaction not far away. He felt that there was something strange about her. She had been looking at a certain place since earlier, but when he followed her gaze, there was clearly a wall there.

Is that strange...?

As he was thinking this, he saw Zhenfei turn her head, her calm gaze meeting his, and then she slowly spoke.

It was strange; despite being Japanese, the way her lips moved when she spoke made it sound distinctly like she was speaking Chinese. So much so that Takahashi, who was observing her, immediately understood what Maki was trying to say.

What is she talking about?

What she is saying is:

Why won't you open the door for us?

Ok?

By the time I realized it, the knocking had already begun at a leisurely pace.

The chaotic noise also entered his ears, into the ears that should have been protected by earplugs from hearing anything.

[Knock knock knock—]

Hello, is anyone home?

[Knock knock knock—]

I'm a new neighbor. Is anyone home?

[Knock knock knock—]

Who dumped trash in front of your door? What happened? Is anyone home? Aren't you coming out to check?

[Knock knock knock—]

[Collecting recyclables! Collecting recyclables! Is anyone home? Anyone have any recyclables to sell?]

[Knock knock knock—]

[You really think we didn't know you were home? Open the door! You fucking dare to owe our boss money for so long and not pay it back!]

The knocking gradually grew more aggressive, eventually turning into banging on the door.

Those knockers would come up with all sorts of excuses, but every time they opened the door, the result was the same. Sometimes, they didn't even need to open the door; once they were sure someone was home, they would break in and smash the door, again and again.

"Tsk..."

Gao Hai reached into his pocket and used a lighter to burn his finger.

The excruciating pain quickly brought him back to his senses.

Sun Dajun had already reached the door and was almost about to reach out and grasp the doorknob.

Kaguya also took a few steps toward the door, her expression somewhat dazed.

Maki was already sitting on the ground, her face contorted in pain. She seemed to be trapped in some kind of hallucination, experiencing intense pain as if her body were being torn apart.

Everyone's position is completely different from before.

At some point, the three people in Gao Hai's vision were replaced by a false image; those wriggling lips were seeking to communicate with him, searching for his weakness.

The thing that came down the stairs and the ghost that the person it killed turned into, although they were of the same type in terms of ability, had such a huge difference in strength. It seems that when you encounter danger and have to hide in a room, the corridor is a place you can never stay in. You must make sure to close both doors to isolate yourself from the influence.

Gao Hai took a step.

He knew that Maki, who was in a hallucination, had actually regained her senses. So he first punched Kaguya, who was passing by, to wake the girl who had been almost completely confused by the sound of the thing outside the door. Then he tackled Sun Dajun to the ground, first slapping him across the face, but it didn't wake him up. Then he punched him hard, knocking out a tooth. Only then did he see the man's expression change, and he clearly showed signs of breaking free.

The hallucinations had begun to erode his senses. Gao Hai could feel his skin tearing apart little by little, and he could faintly hear the sound of knocking on the door.

Then, Gao Hai shoved the wall clock he was holding directly into Sun Dajun's arm and grabbed his fingers, pressing them onto the hands.

If Lao Guo could somehow get that black guy to turn the clock, then—

Click!

Sun Dajun's fingers turned the hands of the clock.

All sounds disappeared.

All the images faded into darkness.

The next moment, Gao Hai suddenly sat up in bed, jumped down quickly, and ran to the living room door to open the door to room 204, looking in the direction of the wall clock.

The clock in sight is still a clock; it hasn't turned into a head clock.

In other words, does this thing only recognize the person who directly touches the pointer?

"Woo..."

Kaguya's pained voice came from behind him. Takahashi turned around and saw the girl's horrified face.

I hadn't noticed before, but she looks quite cute when she's scared.

Seeing the other person like this, Gao Hai felt a strange, wicked sense of pleasure welling up inside him.

"So, do you believe what I said now?"

As he spoke, he took the wall clock in his hand and shook it.

Gao Hai didn't pay any more attention to Kaguya's expression as she was adjusting her mindset. He simply took a deep breath, stepped into the corridor, and walked towards the stairwell.

After solving the troublesome problem with a simple and straightforward method, it's time for the official operation of the second round of the game.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Will the exploration of the new area be smooth sailing?

"So, in the last operation, we acted together, but ended up being completely wiped out?"

In the living room of room 206, Kaguya tapped her forehead, then looked up at Takahashi on one side of the room and asked.

"It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel. If it weren't for what just happened, it would be hard to believe."

Holding the virtual message she found in the supply box, Maki sighed, took a piece of chocolate bar, ate a couple of bites, and then frowned because of the rather poor taste. However, she still endured the taste and finished it.

Sun Dajun sat in the corner of the room, clutching his head and letting out a low sigh. This man was currently in a state of complete worldview collapse, and it seemed unlikely he would recover anytime soon. Meanwhile, Green stood obediently at the living room doorway, sternly watching over Maeda Miwa, who sat timidly in the corner.

The team that participated in the second round of the previous operation has now been reunited.

However, unlike before, this time Sun Dajun was no longer a burden to be kept in check, but had become a member of the team. Green still joined the team, but this time he was not as rough with Maeda Miwa when controlling her. He simply brought her out, lured the corpse in her room 205 to 210 with a lie, and waited until the fighting there was over and he was sure that things had calmed down outside before he made a discussion after confirming that the door to 206 and the living room door were locked.

Gao Hai recounted his previous experience in its entirety, including the ghost story of knocking on the door, the head clock, the eerie entity that communicated through letters, the strange black hand that abducted people, the chaotic and distorted third floor, Lao Guo's own team wipe operation, and so on. He told everyone present everything except for his own cheat code that still had 11 rollbacks left.

"The interaction through information can trigger unusual effects, and under such effects, we probably cannot conduct intelligence gathering at all."

Knowing that now was not the time to continue questioning the truth, Kaguya Shinomiya quickly got into the zone and began her analysis.

"No, I carefully reviewed Ms. Shijo's experience with her during that operation. The reason she saw things she shouldn't have seen was probably because she read all the clues in one go. So, if we find any more written clues, we need to read them separately. For example, if we find a piece of paper with something written on it, we'll have one person read the top half, then another person read the bottom half, and finally the two of them exchange the information they know. If it's something we're not sure about, we can have a third or fourth person read it, which will ensure safety even more."

Gao Hai shook his head, immediately rejecting Kaguya's idea, and offered a new suggestion.

"So, the next step is to investigate the kitchen of room 206? But according to you, the corpses in the room will definitely move at night if the homeowner isn't there, and some of the corpses might even move during the day. So, Mr. Sun probably can't come down with us. After he leaves, that thing in the room might not stay still."

At this moment, Zhenfei slowly spoke, her gaze fixed on the half-burnt wardrobe on one side of the living room.

At this moment, through the half-open wardrobe door, one could see a mangled, charred corpse lying inside. Because the corpse was mostly destroyed, Sun Dajun didn't recognize what it was when he first investigated the house. However, with Gao Hai and the others' further investigation, they quickly figured out what it was.

The final conclusion is quite simple.

Takami, Kaguya, and Maki are tasked with investigating the kitchen to see if there is an entrance leading to the first floor.

Green and Sun Dajun stayed on the second floor, keeping an eye on the clock on the second floor and watching over Maeda Miwa, who was still too frightened to move after being startled by the corpse. If there was a significant change in time, they would go to the kitchen to notify Gao Hai and the others to return.

"Don't worry, I will never let that stupid woman scream like before again."

Before Gao Hai and the others set off, Green patted his chest confidently and said something, then glared fiercely at Maeda Miwa, who was sitting on the ground trembling. Incidentally, this woman was now required to wear a soundproof mask, which could reduce a person's snoring to the point that it could basically not be heard in a room, and wearing it could effectively suppress her screams.

"Is all of this... real?"

Seeing Gao Hai preparing to enter the kitchen, Sun Dajun raised his head dejectedly and muttered a question.

Do you think that just because you sit here looking sullen, these things will become fake?

Gao Hai simply said this to Sun Dajun, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

Too much time has already been spent getting the team together.

Next, we should focus our attention on the important matters.

Thinking this, Gao Hai looked up and stared at the kitchen in front of him.

To be honest, the kitchen in room 206 wasn't much different from the ones in rooms 204 and 208 I'd seen before—equally filthy, with the same still-usable plumbing and stove. The sink was piled high with dusty dishes, and light shone through the window, which was nailed shut with wooden slats. The whole room reeked of decay. Of course, it wasn't entirely without differences; for example, this room's kitchen didn't have a refrigerator, and several empty cardboard boxes were laid out on the floor along one side of the room.

"It looks like a packaging box used by a fruit company."