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

Alice paused for a moment, then tilted her head and thought for a moment before speaking.

[Yes, comedies are always the same, and family reunions are utterly boring; it's the power of tragedy that truly moves us. Yes, this story must end in flames. Let the fire consume everything, burying both beauty and evil, so that the ignorant masses will neither remember the heroes' names nor know the villains' crimes—that will be enough. Very good, the idea is clear; now it's time to fill in the details.]

As he spoke, the man put away his paper and pen, his voice filled with anticipation.

Hmm, I don't really understand these things. Alice just wants to make friends, so is it really possible for Alice to become like you?

Alice shook her head, clearly uninterested in the story, and immediately changed the subject.

[That's right. As long as you listen to the researchers and everyone else, and try to make as many friends as possible, you'll have a chance to become like me. After all, you're so perfect, so evil, so pure, so innocent. Finding an actor like you is incredibly difficult...]

With a low laugh, the man's gaze slowly shifted over.

On the paper in his hand was the word "kp" written in beautiful handwriting.

His originally gentle tone suddenly turned cold at this moment.

So, you really are a very annoying person.

[I've already finished the story, so why am I adding more to it?]

[You defeated the villains, freed the innocent, and then changed my fate with such a clichéd and boring ending—is this what you wanted to do? How arrogant and rude!]

Bang!

He reached out and grabbed Gao Hai by the neck, almost tearing his head off his body.

[You think you're very capable? Okay then, you can join this game anytime. The rest of the place is up to you. Just give it a try and see what you can do for my work!]

His voice rang in Gao Hai's ears, a hoarse, discordant, and indescribably oppressive voice that was extremely uncomfortable.

What are you doing?

Alice stared at the man with great confusion, not understanding what he was doing or who he was talking to.

Click!

Amidst the shattering sound, Gao Hai felt as if he had been crushed, experiencing intense pain.

But the next moment, his eyes widened suddenly, and he sat up. With a subconscious deep breath, Gao Hai found himself sitting on the floor, right where he had been dragged into the dungeon by those ghostly hands.

What I just saw... exactly was it...?

With a buzzing and dizzy feeling in his head, Gao Hai frowned, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts.

Reach out.

He gently touched his neck.

Nothing unusual.

The skin is intact, and there are no problems with the muscles, blood vessels, bones, or anything else.

What I just saw seems to have been nothing more than an illusion.

But the pain and the feeling of being broken in that instant are still so vivid to this day, making Gao Hai fall silent and unable to show any relief.

.

.

.

Volume 3 (Part 1): Strange School Rumors

Finish

Conclusion of Volume 3, Part 1

This concludes the first part of Volume 3.

Compared to the previous two volumes, this volume made some new attempts, so Alice, an artificial, non-human and non-monster existence, appeared, becoming a major source of torment for Gao Hai.

Well, how should I put it? This artificially created pure evil beauty has received a much stronger response than expected.

You people...do you really like bad women that much? I see horny readers in every thread I read every day. Are bad women really that great?

However, it's impossible to keep Alice no matter what. After all, one of the selling points of this book is the harem of two-dimensional beautiful girls. Such an original character, especially a villain who isn't redeemed, is naturally impossible to keep.

Also, this volume is indeed much longer than I expected, a full 35 words, which completely exceeded my initial expectations. The original plan was to connect the Early Standing Chapter with the Wisteria Chapter, but because this volume was longer than expected, it was separated and put into the middle volume.

That's right, some readers have already seen the preview and know that this middle volume is about Takami and Kaguya teaming up to enter Hayate Elementary School to find Hayasaka. The Hayate arc should be much shorter, currently estimated to be under 60 chapters (hopefully my future self won't betray my present self). Furthermore, the Hayate arc doesn't actually have much to do with the school itself; it's more like a mix of different rooms, similar to Cube, and will likely draw inspiration from typical home layouts. After all, readers would get tired of three volumes consisting entirely of school maps.

Then the second half of the book covers the two academies, Nightfall Mountain and Bydos. As for the hidden fifth academy, that's probably similar to the challenge of entering the Firelink Shrine to confront the avatar after defeating several Lords of Cinder and obtaining the Cinderstone; it won't be too long. Even so, the second half of the book will still be quite long with just the two academies combined, but it definitely won't be arranged in a numbered sequence like upper, middle, third, or fourth—absolutely not!

In short, what follows is the interlude, which will be much shorter, no more than 20 chapters, probably around 15, 16, or 18. After all, the events of the middle volume actually take place before the dungeon begins. As for how Gao Hai returned before the dungeon started, the reason was already given at the end of the first volume.

Also, the preview in the conclusion of Volume 2 was a preview of the entire Volume 3, so I won't give any new preview clips here. Readers who are curious about the plot of the middle volume can go back and read the conclusion of Volume 2 to guess which parts correspond to Hayate Elementary School.

That said, when the initial plan was to have a total of 7 volumes, many readers thought it might be too short. But now, with only the third volume finished and a third of it already at over a million words, I have a feeling this book might end up at three million words.

As for the minor characters in the middle volume... there won't be many characters appearing in the middle volume. Those who want to engage in "shipping" (romantic relationships) can ship a few Japanese elementary school students or their parents, but only story characters, not player characters. It's highly unlikely that any player characters other than Takami and Kaguya will appear in the middle volume.

That's about all for now. Next up is a relaxing scene, and some more fun stuff. See you in the next part of the story!

After thinking about it, I'll just give you a preview image. It's a rather eerie image (although I personally don't think it's anything special). Readers with low tolerance for fright are not advised to open it at night.

Interlude 3-01: The Moment of Return, with the True Crimson Moon Blessing

The embrace felt especially warm at that moment.

Gao Hai lowered his head and hugged Zhenfei tightly, whose body was trembling slightly. After hugging her for a while, he slowly let go.

Zhenfei simply kept her eyes tightly closed, hugging Gao Hai tightly for a long while before finally letting out a sigh of relief and slowly releasing her grip.

"Alright, alright, I'm back safe and sound, aren't I? It's nothing, it's nothing."

Seeing that Zhenfei's eyes were a little red, Gao Hai lowered his head and spoke softly.

"Fool……"

Realizing she had lost control of her facial expressions, Zhenfei simply muttered a complaint, gently patted Gao Hai's chest, rubbed her eyes, and walked away.

Next was Chika, who had been waiting silently to the side. Gao Hai also hugged her, and the girl reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. After they hugged for a while, he heard Chika mumble "That's great," and then she collapsed into Gao Hai's arms, completely exhausted.

Gao Hai, who had almost thought she had fainted, was startled and hurriedly checked on her. He then saw her raise her head and make a face at him.

This little prank left Gao Hai both amused and exasperated. Of course, on the surface, he still cooperated by showing an expression of being tricked, which made Qian Hua quite pleased and relieved her anxiety.

He could tell that both Zhenfei and Qianhua were terrified by this sudden turn of events.

Especially after confirming that Gao Hai had rewound three times and gone through four full playthroughs to successfully complete the dungeon, a process that was extremely dangerous, the two girls could not hide their unease and worry. As a result, Gao Hai had to comfort them for a long time before it finally ended.

Xiong Mi's call was transferred to Qingshan Qihai shortly afterward. The other party said that Gao Hai's information was well concealed and he didn't need to worry about leaks in the near future, but he should still be cautious and vigilant at all times. He also advised him not to easily reveal the new blessing he had received.

Koga, the player market manager for the Tokyo area, along with Aoyama Nanami and Goto Ichiri, visited Takami shortly after their return. Koga suggested providing Takami's team with more Twilight and Dark Night dungeon tickets and gifting them with items of remembrance, clearly recognizing Takami's potential and intending to invest in him. Nanami and Pochi (who were dragged along) mainly checked on Takami to make sure he was alright.

Takami had considered telling Goto Ichiri about Kita Ikuyo, but seeing that the girl could barely utter a word, Takami simply asked for Aoyama Nanami and Goto Ichiri's phone numbers, planning to discuss the matter properly later.

There's been no contact with Yotsuya Miko yet, since Takami and she didn't exchange phone numbers. However, he's certain she won't be happy for the next few days, given that almost all her classmates have disappeared and everyone is indifferent to it. Experiencing something like that is truly terrifying.

However, given her mindset, I suppose she'll eventually adjust no matter how difficult things get.

After all, she is indeed a very strong girl, but no matter how strong she is, it is still too unfortunate for her to encounter such a thing.

It's also worth mentioning that Kaguya didn't specifically come to check on Takami's situation. After confirming that Takami had returned safely, she left directly. It's unclear why, but she seemed quite anxious when she left, so she probably encountered some trouble.

However, Gao Hai decided to leave these issues for later. His immediate priority was to change his clothes, take a shower, and get some sleep.

Although her clothes weren't badly torn this time, they were still covered in dust and blood. The sudden wave of exhaustion after everything finally settled down, along with the mental fatigue from absorbing Alice and fighting against her, was simply too much to bear.

Although both Maki and Chika offered to let Takami stay at their homes, he simply chose a nearby hotel, booked a room, went in, and fell asleep immediately, sleeping for several hours before opening his eyes.

The moment I awoke, I felt the changes within myself.

blessing.

The power of the most sincere and beautiful blessings, devoid of any filth or evil, has completely permeated and integrated into Gao Hai's body and consciousness.

This is a blessing from Hirano Sosuke.

I sat up in bed.

Gao Hai reached out, and a black standard-issue pistol appeared in his hand.

Remove the magazine; there are ten bullets in total.

Gao Hai put the magazine back, pulled the safety, chambered a round, aimed at the wall to one side, and pulled the trigger, but no bullets were fired.

Of course, no bullets will be fired, because bullets will only actually be fired from the chamber when he wants to start the gun.

This gun is the embodiment of Hirano Sosuke's blessing. Following the rescue team badge given by Lin Xusheng's blessing, this is the second blessing with a tangible reward that Gao Hai has received.

To be honest, the power of this blessing is truly terrifying.

As a blessing bestowed by the core obsession of the Red Moon class, this pistol has two different modes of use.

The first mode is used as a regular pistol against enemies with physical forms.

In this mode, the pistol has no ammunition limit. It seems to be able to draw power directly from the surrounding air, and its power increases in areas with a stronger eerie atmosphere. It is a pistol with truly unlimited ammunition and possesses the "precision" characteristic that Hirano Sosuke himself uses when wielding a pistol.

In other words, once Gao Hai has "aimed" at a target, that is, seen the other person's appearance and knows where the other person is, the bullets he fires with this gun will definitely fly towards any part of the other person's body that he wants to hit, even if the muzzle is not actually aimed at the other person.

As for its power...

Gao Hai opened the window and looked down at the street. After thinking for a moment, he felt that this was not a good idea, so he looked up at the sky and locked his gaze on a small bird that was flying in the sky, at least several kilometers away from him.

boom!

Gao Hai casually fired a shot at the ground.

After a not-so-obvious gunshot, the bird that was several kilometers away from him exploded on the spot, turning into a cloud of blood mist and falling to the ground.

Even at a distance of several kilometers, this gun can still hit its target almost instantly after firing. And its power... even in its normal form without any strange aura enhancement, it's probably comparable to weapons like rocket launchers.

In addition to the normal mode, this gun also has a special mode for dealing with the bizarre.

Gao Hai calls this model the "trial model," which is the most vivid description he can think of.

To use this mode, Gao Hai must meet its firing rules. There are six firing rules in total. As long as one of the conditions is met, the gun will fire. However, the more conditions are met, the stronger the gun will be. In particular, when the sixth rule is met, the power of the gun will be greatly enhanced.

These six firing rules are:

1. Knowing the strange appearance of the target.