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

Gao Hai said with a smile, then noticed that the call on his phone had just been connected.

Switch your phone to hands-free mode.

Before Gao Hai could say anything, Xiao Heshu, who seemed to have known Gao Hai's plan in advance, spoke up in his hoarse voice.

"Mr. Gao, you need to exchange your current Obsession Items for more powerful Dark Night-level Obsession Items, right? As the market manager, I can directly obtain various Dark Night-level Obsession Items for you from the market's Obsession Item warehouse. Have you decided which Obsession Items you want?"

It seems the reason she didn't answer my call immediately was probably because Xiong Mi went to talk to Xiao Heshu after contacting her own side.

That's good, it saves a lot of trouble.

Gao Hai began to think about the type of obsessive object he needed.

Very little information about Zaoli Elementary School has been leaked to the outside world, which means that there must be highly polluting information or extremely dangerous monsters with information perception capabilities in the dungeon. However, according to Xiong Mi, the mortality rate of this dungeon is not high, and players who clear it often suffer from mental illness. In other words, this dungeon is probably more inclined to mental torture and torment of players.

So, the type of object of my obsession is:

1. It can help me fight against strange combat-related obsessions.

2. Investigative objects that can assist me in conducting effective exploration.

3. A protective object that can shield me from contamination during the investigation.

4. Affiliates that can assist me in conducting investigations and making judgments.

5. My life-saving obsession with protecting me from deadly threats.

6. Healing objects that can repair the physical and emotional damage I have suffered.

7. Storage items that provide me with more carrying space.

8. Unconventional obsessions that might have unexpected effects

Interlude 3-07: A Strange Dream, and Three Dark Night-Level Obsessions

Yotsuya Miko had a dream.

In her dream, she wore a pure white wedding dress with fresh flowers pinned to her waist.

Her gaze was fixed ahead as she strode forward to the solemn chimes of the church bells, towards the man in a suit who was waiting there.

Why am I here?

My consciousness was hazy, and I couldn't clearly distinguish the scene in front of me, nor could I see clearly who the person waiting in front of me was.

However, there was a very familiar and intimate feeling.

There's a feeling that if it were him, he would definitely be the person I hope for.

So she felt a sense of joy and happiness.

Upon seeing that person, she completely forgot her dazed feelings and wholeheartedly went to greet them.

"Will you be my wife?"

She heard the other person ask her softly in a gentle voice.

"I am willing."

She answered instinctively, without the slightest hesitation.

So he lowered his head and gently kissed her lips.

Accompanied by the increasingly melodious church bells.

She felt his hand gently brushing against her skin.

She could feel her breathing gradually becoming heavier.

Just a moment ago, she and he were in the church, but the next moment they found themselves in a dimly lit bedroom.

My heart started pounding faster at that moment.

She could feel the man lift her up by the waist, place her on the bed, and then gently touch her white wedding dress with his fingers, slowly untying it.

The subsequent images and sounds made her thoughts increasingly confused.

"You won't regret choosing me?"

He then asked softly.

"How could that be? It's precisely because you're my senior that I've been able to get this far. So, the only choice I have, the only choice I will make, is you, senior..."

She buried her head in his arms, her voice timid yet firm as she answered.

My heart seemed to beat even harder at that moment.

His hands were already tightly holding her in his arms.

And then……

Then I saw that Zi woke up.

"Ugh, what kind of strange dream is this?"

The dream was so vivid, filled with all sorts of blush-inducing details, that it made the girl's cheeks blush like ripe peaches.

It's so shameful.

The various postures she saw and the experiences she felt in her dream, things she had never encountered before, were so clear and profound that she felt like she wanted to disappear into the ground.

Generally speaking, shouldn't the things in dreams be images formed by a person's subconscious? In other words, the content of dreams should not exceed a person's self-awareness.

But the things in my dreams, those actions and postures... Ugh, I've never really experienced those things before, so why can I imagine them so naturally in my dreams, and even actually experience them?

And it just so happens to be that same person, the one who left such a deep impression on me.

Incomprehensible.

Jianzi simply couldn't understand this situation.

Such things... oh well, never mind, I'll go take a shower first.

The girl shook her head, thinking as she picked up her everyday clothes and headed towards the bathroom. She stopped after taking just one step, blushed, returned to the bedside, opened a drawer, took out a pair of light blue panties, and then walked towards the bathroom again.

Last night's dream was really quite terrifying.

Feeling the strange sensation on her body, Jianzi sighed inwardly, the blush on her face showing no signs of fading anytime soon.

Meanwhile, in a guest room at the Shinomiya residence, Takami opened his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling with a puzzled expression.

"I'm clearly not a virgin anymore; I've actually eaten meat before, and quite a few times at that. Why am I still having this reaction? Could this be another manifestation of the blessing bestowed upon my body? This is really troublesome..."

As Gao Hai murmured these thoughts, he couldn't help but recall the shy little face of Jianzi that he had seen in his dream, and the youthful awkwardness of her coy refusal.

How should I put it? Even though it was a dream, it felt like it was actually happening.

Yes, and Chika and Maki's reactions were quite different. Chika seemed bold on the surface, but at first, she was actually quite passive, only becoming more proactive after gradual contact. Maki, on the other hand, was slightly resistant, like playing a strange game of kidnapper and female prisoner, but she quickly got into character and cooperated as the game progressed. As for Miko in this dream, the layered feeling of shyness and longing, how should I put it, it was truly a unique experience.

It's a pity it was just a dream; I wish it were real.

However, well, never mind, let's not focus on that for now. Let's think about how to rescue Kaguya's little maid, Hayasaka Ai.

Thinking this, Gao Hai stretched and went to the bathroom in the guest room to wash up and clean up some stains that hadn't appeared for a long time. Then he opened the door and walked out of the guest room, and immediately saw Kaguya Shinomiya waiting at the end of the corridor. She had obvious dark circles under her eyes and hadn't slept well all night.

"Seriously, you really need to rest properly. Don't forget what kind of place we're going to. If you don't get your energy back, something might go wrong."

Seeing the other person's attitude, Gao Hai thought for a moment and decided to remind them.

"...I know, I just can't sleep."

Kaguya shook her head and said that, then fell silent and stopped talking.

They went out, got into Kaguya's family's private car, and headed to a high-end venue.

Koga had already booked a private room in advance, and after Takahashi and Kaguya entered, he prepared the object of Takahashi's obsession.

The first obsession was that Gao Hai believed he needed something that could assist him in conducting investigations and making judgments, verifying the authenticity or importance of information, and helping him to gather intelligence or speed up the research of the intelligence he had acquired.

This coveted item is called the "20-Sided Lucky Gold Dice." As the name suggests, it is a pure gold die with 20 sides.

To use this object of obsession, the user needs to hold a die, make a decision in their mind to do something, and then throw the die. The user can then judge the quality of the idea by the number of faces revealed on the die.

If the dice roll a 20, it means the user's idea will definitely achieve a good result, and there may even be unexpected surprises; if the dice roll a 10, it means the lucky golden dice cannot make a judgment on this matter, or the good or bad tendency of this matter is unclear; if the dice roll a number lower than 10, it means the user's plan is likely to lead to a bad result.

This golden die can be used in various situations, whether it's judging the danger of a path or assessing the truthfulness and bias of gathered information. Of course, with its advantages comes its disadvantages. The problem with this object of obsession is that if the user rolls a 1, not only will the user immediately be watched by the strange creatures within the instance and influenced by eerie forces, but the die itself will also trigger unfortunate events, leading the situation into a dangerous predicament.

In other words, it can be understood that after rolling a 1, this golden die will indicate an event-driven message: "Something bad has already happened, and something even worse is happening at the same time." Furthermore, the more times this golden die is used within the same instance, the greater the probability of rolling a 1. This is because from the second use onwards, the number on the [2] side of the die will become 1, the [3] side will change on the third use, and so on, until after the 20th use, the die will only show [1]. Of course, even in that case, this object of obsession isn't entirely useless.

The second object of obsession is an object that can repair physical and mental damage. It is called "Emerging Blood," which is a bottle of fresh blood that is constantly flowing, as if it has a life of its own, contained in a small glass bottle.

It's very simple to use; just drink it.

A drop of blood about the size of a fingernail is enough to heal severed limbs. Even fatal injuries like being cut in half at the waist can be fully restored by drinking more of this liquid, as long as there is still a breath left. Moreover, after suffering from information pollution and mental distortion, one can alleviate symptoms by drinking the liquid in this bottle, and even restore a distorted mind to normal.

The blood has this effect because the instance from which it originates is a Dark Night-level instance involving experiments and research on forcibly fixing and altering a person's mental state and personality. The source of this blood is a deeply modified being who firmly believes themselves to be an ordinary person, but has in reality become a terrifying monster. Therefore, players who drink this blood will be influenced by the blood's owner's mind, causing their bodies and minds to autonomously revert to a "normal" state.

However, if the player believes their usual state is "abnormal," then drinking this stuff might not have a good effect. Furthermore, a person can only drink a maximum of three small sips; otherwise, excessive mental bias can lead to cognitive distortion. Unless the user has exceptionally strong willpower, this substance should be used with caution.

The final, third obsession item is a toy box, which players have named the "Mysterious Toy Box," while another privately calls it "Screw Useless Thing."

Yes, this thing is indeed a Dark Night-level item; at least it was found in a Dark Night-level dungeon.

However, this thing has indeed caused great confusion for the players who use it, and after many users, it always ends up being returned to the little river tree.

The function of this object is simple: the toy box itself cannot be opened, but it has a small hole just big enough for a person to stick their hand in, and then they can pull out a toy from inside. This toy can be anything: a plush teddy bear, a plastic toy soldier, a toy train, or even something like Ultraman or Transformers.

What these things have in common is that they are all alive and act according to a logic that players haven't yet been able to figure out. And... well, they really are just toys, without any supernatural powers. The most powerful player that players have pulled out of them so far is Chucky, the Chucky doll. That thing has the physical strength of 10 children, wielding an unsharpened knife and stabbing wildly at the monsters, only to be crushed by a monster that wasn't even paying attention to it.

In short, this is completely useless, purely a gimmick. Incidentally, the toys taken out of the box only function for 15 minutes before disappearing. Players can only take out the next toy after the previous one has vanished. Furthermore, what happens if this thing goes out of control is something no player has yet figured out; it seems to be an extremely stable obsession with a very low tendency to go out of control—well, it should be said to be the most stable, and also the most useless, of all the Dark Night-level obsessions discovered so far.

"Mr. Gao, are you really sure you want this?"

Xiaoheshu rarely showed a hesitant expression. He always felt that giving this thing to Gao Hai was cheating him and taking advantage of him.

"Yes, I want this."

But Gao Hai's attitude was very firm. He knew this was a prank, but Zaoli Elementary School was a scenario involving children, and Xiong Mi's suggestion to "think from the perspective of children" made him finally decide to bring along this strange obsession that seemed to have no purpose at all.

He had a hunch that carrying this thing might have an unexpected effect.

"Since you have made your decision, then so be it. We will keep these Twilight-level items of obsession that you have entrusted to us safe. When players come into need of them, we will sell or rent them to them, and we will share the profits with you."

After leaving those words, the assistant brought by Xiaoheshu took away all the Twilight-level Obsession Items that Gao Hai had given him, which were no longer useful in the Red Moon-level dungeon, as well as the transaction fee paid by Kaguya, and left behind the three Obsession Items before departing.

Gao Hai first held the golden die in his hand and played with it for a while, then shook the blood in the glass bottle that never dried up, then picked up the toy box and looked at it, and finally put the three items of obsession into the watch space.