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

After Shinomiya Hikari decided to submit to Kaguya, the pressure exerted on Hayasaka Ai by the Shinomiya family vanished, and she no longer needed to carry out her espionage work. However, this did not liberate the young girl. Instead, Takami's involvement in the matter made her even more curious and fearful of this mysterious man, leading her to speculate about the relationship between Kaguya and Takami, most of which ultimately resulted in negative outcomes.

So, in the end, Hayasaka decided to try to monitor and investigate Takami again, and the backyard that Takami almost never went to became one of Hayasaka's observation areas.

When Takami and Yotsuya Miko were attacked by the strange forces of Fujika Junior High School, Hayasaka herself was obviously in Takami's backyard. There is no doubt that she was under the influence of the power of the [School Ghost Story] instance at that time.

Then, she disappeared.

"Hayasaka..."

Kaguya took a deep breath, her face turning pale.

Gao Hai did not hide his experience at Teng Hua Middle School and shared the whole process in the chat group among the group members.

Therefore, Kaguya knew very well that during the several cycles of Takami's arduous battles at Fujika Middle School, he had never seen Hayasaka Ai from beginning to end.

Could it be that she has already...

No, we can't think like that. Maybe there's still a chance. Maybe she didn't even enter the instance...

Kaguya Shinomiya opened the door to the small storage room in the backyard. Because Takami rarely came here, a small area inside was used by Hayasaka as an observation area, so there might be some traces left there.

Will there be one?

Are there any clues?

The girl, filled with unease, stepped into the depths of the dark warehouse.

Based on her familiarity with Hayasaka, she quickly located the small corner where Hayasaka usually hid. Hayasaka had deliberately placed a lot of miscellaneous items around that corner to ensure that even if Takami occasionally came in, she wouldn't notice anything unusual. Of course, this was just Hayasaka's opinion; whether it would actually work was another matter.

Bend down and squat down.

Kaguya carefully crawled into the small corner and saw the listening device inside, a pen lying on the ground, and a few scattered pieces of paper.

She reached out and picked up one of the papers that had fallen to the ground. It revealed a record of Takami's daily life at home. Judging from the record, Hayasaka herself seemed afraid to observe Takami closely anymore; it was unclear whether something had happened.

These records… Knowing Hayasaka's personality, she would definitely tidy them up, she wouldn't just leave them lying around like this… No, no, no, it's also possible that she sensed danger and ran away without having time to tidy them up, that's right, that's right, we should think of the bright side…

Kaguya comforted herself in her heart, then reached out and picked up the second piece of paper that had fallen to the ground.

"This……"

The contents of this letter caused Kaguya's expression to change.

Interlude 3-04: The Strange Graffiti Discovered and Xiongmi's Warning

There are no words.

There were no legible words on the paper, only scribbles that were hard to define and resembled a child's doodles.

Is that thing drawn... a person?

Kaguya stared at the contents of the paper for a long time, but still couldn't recognize what it was.

However, for some reason, Kaguya felt uneasy about the overly messy, almost unrecognizable lines.

Although it looked like just childish, messy doodles, it gave her an extremely unsettling feeling, as if she were being watched by something.

Could this be something Hayasaka left behind?

If it was left behind by her, why would she draw such a strange picture? Is this what she saw? But is it drawn so hastily because the situation was too urgent, and she could only sketch out a rough outline?

Regardless, one thing is certain: her personal maid, Hayasaka, is still alive.

Initially, Kaguya's anxiety caused her to lose her composure while pondering Hayasaka's situation. Furthermore, after confirming that Hayasaka had disappeared at Takami's house and that the time of her disappearance coincided with the period when Takami was caught up in the dungeon, she became even more distraught.

But her servants, and those she sent out, all knew who [Hayasaka Ai] was; they hadn't lost sight of their maid. In other words, even if the worst-case scenario—Hayasaka being caught up in the dungeon—had occurred, she would still be alive; otherwise, no one would remember her.

Even so, it doesn't mean she can put her mind at ease...

After all, in Takami's account of his arduous battles over several cycles, he clearly mentioned the terrifying fact that once sewn into a living doll, one could never die. Hayasaka's willpower wasn't as strong as Takami's; if she had experienced something like that, she might have already suffered a mental breakdown.

Calm down, calm down.

Kaguya said this earnestly to herself in her heart.

Put down that picture.

Out of caution, Kaguya first conducted a thorough mental check-up, mentally solving math problems and recalling various common-sense questions she had prepared for herself and memorized. This was to confirm that there were no abnormal deviations in her thinking. She then carefully examined the picture and finally checked other records to confirm that there was no useful information before standing up and leaving the secluded location.

In any case, this matter is likely beyond her control.

Kaguya realized that she had to ask others for help, to ask Takami, and to ask the players who could help her.

Hayasaka... please be alright...

The girl prayed silently in her heart.

What no one saw was that the hastily drawn picture seemed to change slightly at a certain moment, as if the things on the picture trembled slightly.

……

The weather changed from sunny to overcast at a surprisingly rapid pace.

Half an hour ago, the sun was shining warmly on the earth; half an hour later, a torrential downpour began to violently lash the city.

Gao Hai sat by the window in a coffee shop, casually sipping his coffee while talking to Xiong Mi on the phone.

"Yes, I received the same blessing as Miko."

As they were talking, Gao Hai noticed a commotion coming from Xiong Mi's side, and it sounded like quite a few people were making a scene.

"Then you'd better make good use of this power. With the strength of a Crimson Moon-level blessing, a Dark Night-level game shouldn't be too difficult for you. Alright, alright, stop drinking so much. If you're not up to the task, don't brag!"

Xiong Mi's voice was much louder than when she was in the dungeon, and there were people next to her shouting things like "Cheers!" It seemed like they were having a small group meal together.

"I know, they say that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune. I've been carefully studying the effects of these blessings lately."

Gao Hai did not tell Xiong Mi about the pistol, and even Kaguya, Miko, and Chika did not know. So far, only Maki, who had established a mental link with him, knew that he had obtained this item.

Aside from testing the power and accuracy with a bird on the day he received the blessing, Gao Hai and Maki conducted several more tests together. He set the target of the gun as a pencil, and after visually confirming the pencil's appearance, he had Maki take it to the rooftop of the school building. Gao Hai himself left the school, took a tram to a location more than ten kilometers away, and fired a shot without being able to see the object at all, only knowing its approximate location. Immediately, Maki saw the pencil shatter instantly by a bullet that flew from an unknown source.

The power of this pistol seems even more unreasonable than expected.

After that, Gao Hai tested the switching between unlimited bullets and ten bullets. This time, he used the almost out-of-control obsession object, the Faceless Skull Eater, as an example. He found a hidden place, threw the thing out, and then aimed it. He discovered that the bullet mode switching was not forced, but rather controlled by himself. So, he first fired at the obsession object in unlimited bullet mode, firing more than 300 bullets in one second, pinning the dead head to the wall, unable to move. Then, he switched to the second mode with limited bullets, and one shot sealed the thing, rendering it immobile.

To test the recovery efficiency of the ten bullets, Gao Hai fired five bullets containing the sealed monster, completely freezing the head of the obsessive object. He then confirmed from the pistol's feedback that the device would enter a 24-hour countdown once it began consuming the ten bullets targeting the monster. Once the countdown ended, the bullets would be fully replenished, regardless of how many bullets were left in the chamber at that time.

Therefore, Gao Hai couldn't help but think of emptying all the bullets from the magazine and letting it automatically replenish itself, thus accumulating a large stock of bullets. Unfortunately, the gun's bullets were dependent on the weapon itself; as soon as he removed a bullet, it vanished instantly. Attempts to individually insert bullets into the watch also failed. Unlike the rescue team badge left by Xu Sheng, this gun was a complete manifestation of blessing and couldn't be stored in the watch's space. It could only appear and disappear according to Gao Hai's own will, and he had no idea where it went when it disappeared.

Incidentally, even after using up all ten bullets, this thing can still switch to unlimited ammo mode. The ammo for the two modes doesn't seem to be interchangeable; it can even fire when the magazine is lost at high altitude and you're left with an empty gun. However, he also noticed that when there are still blessed bullets in the magazine, each bullet in unlimited mode has a power approaching that of a small rocket—a terrifying force capable of tearing a person apart just by grazing their body. But after all ten blessed bullets are used up, the power of the bullets in unlimited mode drops significantly, becoming roughly equivalent to the power of submachine gun bullets.

Of course, this refers to a submachine gun with a maximum speed of over 300 rounds per second. In reality, this speed could probably be increased further, but Gao Hai's body couldn't withstand it. The recoil of this thing is much greater than that of a normal gun, and the impact of continuous firing accumulates all at once. Therefore, under normal circumstances, firing over 300 rounds per second is already Gao Hai's limit. However, if he activates Hedar's berserk blessing, Gao Hai estimates that he might be able to fire over a thousand rounds per second with this gun.

"This is a terrifying weapon that completely disrupts the balance of power. It could easily be used to massacre an entire city. I guess it's lucky that it ended up in the hands of someone like me who still has some sense of justice?"

After the test was completed, Gao Hai couldn't help but feel this way.

As for choosing not to tell others afterwards, this was actually related to Xiong Mi's warning. During the destruction of Teng Hua Middle School, one of the Alice's obsession items in Gao Hai's possession was the black umbrella made of human skin. The source of the black umbrella was the Female Mask Gang, who had no ability to challenge the [Campus Ghost Stories]. Therefore, Xiong Mi judged that this was probably a Red Moon level player deliberately distributing some problematic obsession items to lower-level players for testing. This Red Moon level player would definitely suspect whether the destruction of Teng Hua Middle School was related to Gao Hai and others who had eliminated the Female Mask Gang, and might even come to test them.

Because of the mental link, Gao Hai can remotely transfer the willpower-sharing watch function to Maki, but he can't do that to others for the time being. After all, this function requires Gao Hai to die once to activate, and currently only Chika meets the conditions to activate it. Therefore, before the player behind the scenes reveals their true colors, he still needs to take some precautions and keep this exceptionally powerful trump card hidden.

"Oh, right, there's something I didn't ask before. After you came back, did you go back to your own home? And what about that girl, Xiaojianzi? She had an accident at school, right? Did she go back to the classroom? Did she go back at all?"

The conversation about blessings lasted only a short while before it was dropped. But then, Xiong Mi's tone became much more serious, and she solemnly asked Gao Hai another question.

“I went back once and saw that Zi hadn’t returned to school yet. She’s been staying home to rest these past two days. What’s wrong?”

Sensing that Xiong Mi was about to say something important, Gao Hai focused his attention.

"Although the chances are slim, if you see something that clearly doesn't belong to you, well, generally it's something like children's doodles, you should be careful. Don't touch those things, whether you're going to scribble on them or take them away. Just leave them there and don't move them; they'll disappear on their own in a couple of days."

"In the few records of Fujihana Middle School appearing in the real world, there are sometimes related anomalies with Hayate Elementary School, but these phenomena are very subtle and difficult to notice under normal circumstances. Moreover, that [Alice] will throw people she doesn't like into Hayate Elementary School. There was a player who triggered the friend rule because he was too ugly and Alice thought he was ugly. As a result, Alice threw him into Hayate Elementary School by some unknown method, and that's how he survived."

"You might think that Hayate isn't a big deal after hearing this, and of course, the player survival rate there is indeed very high, since they are very 'rule-abiding' there. However, try your best to avoid getting caught in a trap. Believe me, it may not be the most dangerous place, but it is definitely the most torturous. Although I can't tell you the specifics, anyone who has been there once would never want to go back a second time, including myself."

In his serious voice, Xiong Mi's admonition carried an undisguised sense of regret.

Interlude 3-05: A Special Ticket Destined to Arrive in Your Hands

Gao Hai felt that he could start preparing to head to the Zao Li Elementary School area instance.

Although he really didn't want to go back to the [Campus Ghost Stories] place, after his experience at Fujika Middle School, and recalling his previous behavior of paying attention to this instance because of the abundance of information about it, he couldn't help but begin to suspect that it was precisely because he paid attention to Fujika Middle School that he was chosen by this instance in some mysterious way.

Then, when Xiong Mi mentioned the Zaoli Elementary School instance, he had a feeling that this might be another mysterious guidance from fate, reminding him that whether he wanted to or not, he would be involved with the Zaoli Elementary School instance, just like the preview for the next episode after each episode of a TV series, using a few keywords and images to foreshadow what would happen next.

Perhaps, after this half-month is over, his next dungeon will start there.

No, it's even possible that he'll be dragged into a dungeon before the mission even officially begins—a truly tragic situation. After all, as the saying goes, there are only two kinds of cross-dressing: zero times and endless repetitions. These concepts are completely different; once it happens, it happens again. The same thing could very well happen again. Before, at Fujihana Middle School, it was the high school student Alice, a strange idol, who took a liking to him. Maybe this time at Hayate Elementary School, a strange elementary school student named Alice Lily will appear and fall for him?

That's right, as long as you imagine the worst-case scenario from the beginning, it will happen. It's not a big deal, my foot... He finally got back, finally had time to rest, and now another crisis is looming over him...

Don't do this kind of thing!

"Ahai, what's wrong? What's wrong?"

Chika, sitting next to Gao Hai, blinked and noticed that the expression on Gao Hai's face was changing drastically, so she leaned closer and asked.

"It's nothing, just a bit of pressure. My beliefs are being tested, and... I passed the test, it was courage."

While speaking with an air of seriousness, Gao Hai's gaze was fixed on Fujiwara Chika's collar, looking at the faint curve that was visible below her collarbone.

Ah, those are beautiful breasts, I feel my sanity is recovering at a rapid pace.

Through his unique Gao-style healing method, Gao Hai's mind is rapidly stabilizing.

"You can't be in heat, and you can't be in heat in public."

Chika, who was quite sensitive to Gao Hai's gaze, reached out and poked his cheek, speaking in a very serious tone to warn him.

"So it's okay as long as it's not in a public place?"

Gao Hai's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"So Ah Hai's test of faith actually failed, right..."

Chika, who casually made a sarcastic remark, didn't really have any objections to Takami's gaze; after all, he had already seen, touched, rubbed, and licked it before. Compared to that, her dessert was more important, so the girl's gaze once again focused on the pastries on the table.

If you were to ask Chika what she's most satisfied with since becoming a player, she probably wouldn't say something like "meeting Gao Hai," but rather something like "it's amazing that I don't gain weight easily after having superhuman physical abilities." Because her physical strength surpasses that of ordinary humans, players can eat much more than average people and basically don't have to worry about accumulating fat. This means Chika doesn't need to worry about calories or sugar anymore; she can eat whatever she wants.

In fact, after confirming the changes in their bodies, many players basically stopped paying much attention to their diet. Although, in Gao Hai's opinion, this level of carelessness was nothing compared to the Red Moon-level players that Xiong Mi mentioned, who drank industrial alcohol or even kerosene to compete in drinking.

Of course, while we enjoy ourselves, we still need to talk about serious matters.

"As for Kaguya's situation, well, I'm not entirely sure, but it seems she's looking for someone. Maybe someone she's close to has gone missing? I was actually planning to talk to Kai and Maki about this this afternoon. I wanted to ask her about it before, but Kaguya has never been one to ask for help. But there's nothing I can do about it; that's just her personality..."