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

"Senior, what's wrong?"

Miko Yotsuya noticed Takami's change in mood and turned to ask him with some concern.

"The murderer must appear; this ritual will not be effective if the murderer cannot be brought to the fore."

In other words, the seal on Alice must be broken, and it's likely that the four obsession objects must be combined to bring back the fully realized [Idol Alice], placing that thing in the dock. Only by doing that can the ritual truly be effective.

However, if Alice's obsession were actually taken out of the watch, the first thing that would happen would either be the reappearance of Fujika Middle School on the surface, or Hirano Sosuke would appear on the spot and start a massacre.

This...what should I do?

Chapter 86: Finding the Right Path to Break the Deadlock

The trial conducted by the players continues, with the role-playing process still ongoing.

However, every player who participated has more or less discovered that doing so is useless, and they have all realized that the instance itself has not changed in any way because of their actions.

Is there a missing condition?

Or is the fundamental direction already wrong?

The players remained silent, refraining from interrupting the ongoing trial. Although they had realized it was futile, rituals, unless something unusual had occurred, were best completed first; stopping halfway could lead to undesirable consequences.

The actors continued their performance, meticulously bringing the trial scene to a close.

Those bystanders, the phantoms of victims, also vanished quickly after the trial ended, leaving no trace as if they had never been there.

[Something's wrong. Is our intelligence lacking? We did summon the phantoms of the victims, but they're completely unresponsive. We put on such a serious performance, and they didn't even give us a round of applause? Those Crimson Moon-level anomalies are so rude!]

[Could it be that the line of reasoning is flawed? While these victims seem to constitute a significant part of the dungeon, there's no reason why a simple trial could bring these monsters to rest in peace. This is a Red Moon-level dungeon; even if it's nominally downgraded to Dark Night-level, these things are still essentially Red Moon-level. Monsters of this level can't be so easily appeased.]

Regardless of the circumstances, it's certain that our approach was flawed. If we can't pinpoint the exact source of the problem, this joint operation will likely end up being a waste of time.

After Xiong Mi provided information about Takamagahara, the players outwardly pretended to be scratching their heads in frustration, while in reality they were communicating via mental links. It must be said that these players were all masters of acting; if Gao Hai hadn't been able to hear their voices through the mental links, he estimated he wouldn't have been able to guess what they were really thinking based solely on their outward actions.

Perhaps one of the prerequisites for becoming an excellent player is to have superb acting skills?

However, although the players were having a very heated discussion, Gao Hai already knew the answer to the question they were seeking.

Only by bringing Alice to trial can this all truly end.

Gao Hai spoke directly to Xiong Mi through their mental link.

Are you sure? If that's the case, then it's practically a dead end.

Xiong Mi's voice didn't sound too surprised. Clearly, she had thought about the possible situations and prepared for them in advance. So, the situation that Gao Hai was talking about was within her expectations, even though it was the worst-case scenario that she least wanted to see.

Alice.

A monster that is neither entirely like a monster nor entirely human, but somewhere in between.

Since entering [Wisteria Middle School], this monster has become a nightmare that all players have to face and cannot avoid no matter what. Even now that the monster has finally been locked in a cage and can no longer harm anyone, it is still causing trouble for everyone.

To end this instance, Alice must be released from captivity. Moreover, considering that Alice is now divided into four different obsessions, it may be necessary to piece those four obsessions back together and find a way to reunite them into a whole, creating a "complete" Alice, in order to fulfill the basic premise of the trial.

However, releasing Alice is, frankly, practically suicidal. Her illusionary abilities are almost impossible for players to counter, and if Alice reappears in this instance, the instance's "surface" will likely descend again, rendering all previous efforts futile and returning everything to its original state.

"call……"

Gao Hai took a deep breath.

Alice must be brought under control; it must be ensured that Alice is under control immediately upon her arrival.

The only way he could think of to do this was to seal Alice inside his own body. Only his willpower could confront Alice head-on, and only he had the ability to suppress her as her "vessel."

But if he actually did that, there's no doubt that Hirano Sosuke, the core obsession of this instance, would immediately appear and kill him on the spot.

Obsession is ultimately just a remnant of the living. No matter how much a monster resembles a living person, its essence dictates that it is inevitably a rigid, non-human entity that rigidly adheres to its own rules of action. Therefore, as long as Gao Hai seals Alice within his body, causing him to reveal Alice's aura, Hirano Sosuke will kill him without hesitation. There is no way to communicate, no way to exchange ideas; no matter how much reasoning he has, he cannot reason with the other party.

Furthermore, Hirano Sosuke's own rules include an extremely strict rule of "no offensive intent." This rule even includes Takami's attempt to splatter blood on his pistol. Such actions with the intention of taking something will be met with his merciless counterattack, to the point that Takami cannot even get close to him.

The ritual cannot succeed without releasing Alice.

Releasing Alice would cause the surface of Fujihana Middle School to reappear, making the ritual impossible to perform.

If you can successfully capture Alice after releasing her, Hirano Sosuke will appear and destroy the situation with three shots.

After releasing and successfully capturing Alice, if you attempt to forcefully perform the ritual, Hirano Sosuke will transform into a monster god of war, his aura and strength will increase dramatically, and he will slaughter everyone on the field, turning all players who try to stop or oppose him into mincemeat. He will then use his monster-transformed pistol, which is as terrifying as a hand cannon, to become an unparalleled villain and smash everything to pieces.

Damn it, we've already found the correct path to the game, so why are we stuck here?

How to do?

Gao Hai frowned deeply.

In this situation, what should we do?

What method can be used to appease Hirano Sosuke while capturing Alice, and to quell both problems?

Using something you're obsessed with?

Since there are so many Red Moon level players present, perhaps their obsession items can be effective?

[I'm afraid that won't work. Faced with the core obsession of the Red Moon level, the obsession items we players can offer are at best on par with it. And this thing has the home-field advantage, plus its preemptive strike rule. Using obsession items rashly will only cause the power of this dungeon's core obsession to spread outside the dungeon, and it's possible that an entire block or even half a city could be wiped out.]

Xiong Mi quickly responded to the question, and judging from the complex expression on her face, similar incidents had likely occurred before. It seemed that some players had attempted to force a confrontation using Red Moon-level artifacts, resulting in extremely tragic and unnecessary casualties.

Tsk, the idea of ​​relying on high-level players to force your way through won't work here.

What else can be done?

What other methods can be used to break the current deadlock?

Gao Hai had to admit that he was still somewhat anxious.

Although he knew that such emotions were meaningless and he could suppress them, the situation of seeing the light of victory only to be blocked by a small problem that he hadn't noticed at first was still quite frustrating.

[Don't rush, Haijun. We can't rush things like this. Take it slow and think carefully about which methods will work. We can try breaking the big problem down into smaller ones and solving them one by one.]

At this moment, Maki's voice rang out. The girl's gentle voice came from the unique spiritual link between her and him, conveying her emotions as well.

Although he did not show any unusual emotions during the mental link communication, Maki, who knew Gao Hai very well, had already guessed Gao Hai's inner feelings and immediately began to communicate with him privately.

The first question is, after releasing those four obsessions, how do we capture that monster named Alice, right?

Before Gao Hai could answer, Zhen Fei spoke up.

[This problem... isn't too difficult. Miss Xiong Mi has a mental object that can see through illusions. As long as she makes sure to observe the entire process of me taking out the mental object, I have a way to keep it and ensure that Alice can't escape from my grasp.]

After a moment of silence and contemplation, Gao Hai answered Zhenfei's question with certainty.

Pfft—~

Sitting behind Gao Hai, the Alice that had conjured up in his mind chuckled, seemingly amused by Gao Hai's overly presumptuous assumptions.

[So, the second question is, after ensuring that those obsessive entities cannot escape, how will you, Haijun, fuse those four obsessive entities together? How will you ensure that they will be judged as a unified "Alice"?]

So Consort Zhen spoke again and asked.

[This… I obtained a fusion-capable artifact on the surface of Fujika Middle School. I can try to fuse those other artifacts using this. Although these four artifacts possess strange powers, they are still essentially "human structures" in nature, so it should be possible to alter them using that artifact.]

This time, Gao Hai thought for a longer time before giving an answer.

He didn't mention his intention to use himself as fusion material, since that was a last resort after confirming there was no other way to fuse with the object of obsession. After all, doing so might mean Gao Hai's own demise after the trial, and then having to start all over again would be rather disgusting.

So, the last question lies with the core obsession itself: "Hirano Sosuke." You need to ensure this core obsession doesn't interrupt the ritual; that is, you need to sever its rules of action, interrupting the conditions for those rules to take effect. Kai-kun, where do you think these conditions can be changed?

Zhenfei asked one last question, thus guiding Gao Hai's thinking step by step.

Conditions for the cut-off rule to take effect.

The power of ghost stories works through different rules, so if the conditions are not met, the power of ghost stories will never have an effect.

Hirano Sosuke's rule... is to react to things that have the aura of Alice and a living body, including living people who have feelings of worship and infatuation with Alice.

To cut off the conditions for his rules to take effect, he must not be able to sense Alice's presence.

If we use a susceptibility object that can block out the aura... no, that won't work. This is its domain. There are practically no susceptibility objects that can block out the perception of a Red Moon-level core. Even if there were, they would only be effective for a minute or two, or even a few tens of seconds. And no matter how simplified the court's trial process is, it still takes at least an hour. No susceptibility object can last that long.

If the inability to sense Alice's presence is a problem...

Gao Hai frowned, looked down at his black watch, and stared at the items he was obsessed with inside.

Then, his gaze settled on the white flowers and the red candles.

Hirano Sosuke continued to mourn the students who had passed away. He wanted to remember those who died. He could never truly leave that place. To him, he was still a member of that school, one of those miserable, tormented "bad students."

That is to say...

Gao Hai's gaze stopped.

He looked at the mass of red flesh and blood, a piece of twisted flesh and blood from Class 24 of the third year of junior high school at Teng Hua Middle School, a mixture of the flesh and blood of countless tortured and killed bad students, a piece of flesh and blood that could not find peace.

Chapter 87: Lingering Echoes and the Special Identity Acquired

White flowers, candles, and the flesh and blood representing the dead students.

At first, Gao Hai hadn't established any connection between these objects of obsession. But after his conversation with Maki, he couldn't help but start to notice these items and perceive the various connections hidden within them.

Only two people would pay respects to the deceased students: Hirano Sosuke himself and his teacher.

Previously, Hirano Sosuke did not acknowledge Takami's identity as a "teacher," and Takami himself only began to see things he couldn't see clearly before after he became aware of them. Clearly, this hidden identity required him to discover and act out in order for it to take effect step by step. It's like in the Red Nut Gray Hole, where he could only issue orders by entering the General's office.

So, if I, who holds the hidden identity of "teacher", perform the act of worship, will it be able to solidify and strengthen this identity in front of Hirano Sosuke, the core obsession, and thus ensure that I will not be killed on the spot after releasing and capturing Alice?

After all, the teacher who left no name came from Fujika Junior High School and was actually a researcher, so it's perfectly reasonable for him to have Alice's aura. Therefore, as long as he establishes his identity as a teacher in the face of his core obsession and brings this hidden identity to the surface, perhaps he won't be erased for summoning Alice.

Worth a try.

Gao Hai quickly told Xiong Mi his idea, and after thinking about it for a while, Xiong Mi signaled Gao Hai to be careful and to try it out in an open space outside the courthouse. She also told him to immediately notify everyone through the mental link if he encountered any danger.

The players were still discussing their next move, figuring out how to truly address the core obsession of this dungeon. For safety reasons, Xiong Mi didn't expose Gao Hai and his group, and even with the Shinomiya family, she was using the pretext of cooperating with her "Slacking Off Gang." After all, compared to a normal Red Moon-level player, Gao Hai's power was still somewhat lacking. Furthermore, Gao Hai's mention of "Alice's lost obsession item returning to the dungeon" meant he had already harmed the interests of a Red Moon-level player. Therefore, it was best not to reveal his existence before confirming the identity of the player who lost the obsession item.

As for the reason why Yotsuya Miko cannot be exposed, it's even simpler: given her extraordinary sensory abilities, a Red Moon-level player could easily modify her into some kind of detection device. Ultimately, while most Red Moon-level players can get along amicably and cooperate, even helping each other without expecting anything in return, that's based on an equal footing. If you shift the perspective to the weaker party, things become much more complicated.

After all, Gao Hai and his group's current strength is still quite insufficient. If they encounter players who really want to target them, it will be difficult for him to fight back. Well, at least for Xiong Mi, who doesn't know about the rollback ability, she can't imagine how Gao Hai could fight back against those powerful players who are hostile to the weak. And she herself can't protect Gao Hai 24 hours a day, which is why she made this decision.

After deciding to try this approach, Gao Hai did not hesitate. He and Jianzi quietly left the court and went to an open space outside the court. After confirming that there was nothing watching them, he took out a white flower and a red candle from his watch, and then took out the object of obsession made from the flesh and blood of the bad student.

Gao Hai prepared enough flowers and candles for two people; one set was placed aside, and he carried the other.

He placed the piece of flesh on the ground, then lit a candle and placed the red candle in front of the flesh.

The piece of flesh, which had been wriggling occasionally, fell completely still after the candle was lit, as if it had become lifeless.