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

Although I don't know exactly what these things want to do, those that are clearly some kind of strange creatures can be considered my enemies. The logic is simple: the enemy's goal must be detrimental to me, so I cannot allow my enemies to achieve their goal, and therefore I cannot allow those things to realize their ideas.

Based on our previous interactions, these things first changed my perception, making me consider them friends. Then, during the conversation, they questioned this "friendship" status. Perhaps they are trying to transform themselves into a more dangerous form by first affirming and then denying a certain identity?

Like many horror stories, the protagonist believes they are talking and acting with a friend, only to discover during the interaction that the other person is not the person they know, but some other terrifying entity in disguise. Generally, these stories either end with the imposter revealing its true form before the protagonist, leaving the story unfinished, or they end with the protagonist's tragic death.

So, what did I do to disrupt their behavioral logic and interrupt their actions when they were trying to act?

Hmm... let me think... I beat up one of them. So, does that mean that beating up a monster breaks its rules?

While it's possible to deduce the truth from the outcome in such a simple and crude way, things are probably not that simple. These things aren't susceptible to physical attacks; even if you beat them ten or nine times, it wouldn't hurt them. It must be that some conceptual definition in my actions prevented them from taking further action.

tread--

As Gao Hai walked towards the door of that room, he silently pondered in his heart.

Upon closer reflection, what they were doing was defining my actions to establish the concept that "I don't consider them friends." Conversely, when I beat them, I was defining them as "I consider them friends." Because I stated that I was only beating them, not killing them, it was precisely because I considered them my friends. The starting point and the defined goal of this action were both determined by myself; they couldn't add their own interpretations, and therefore couldn't continue.

This is quite a troublesome situation. Doesn't this mean I've actually walked through the gates of hell? If I had made even the slightest mistake in how I handled it, I would have been in serious trouble?

Thinking of this, Gao Hai quickly stopped and turned to look at the blurry human figures following behind him.

"Just follow me this far. Go back to the corridor you were in before. There might be danger ahead. You bunch of idiots will only cause me trouble if you go. I'll investigate by myself. Alright, stop talking nonsense. I treat you as friends. If you don't listen, I'll just take action. I always beat up my friends without hesitation, so be sensible and you'll suffer less."

Gao Hai, deliberately putting on a fierce expression, went up and grabbed two blurry humanoid figures by the necks, lifting them into the air. Then he spoke viciously to the remaining blurry humanoid figures.

These things, barely able to maintain their basic human form, trembled several times, but none of them could utter a sound; they could only obediently do as Gao Hai instructed. Such are the so-called strange creatures; no matter how bizarre, terrifying, or elusive they are, they cannot escape their inherently mechanical and mechanistic characteristics, offering virtually no room for change. Therefore, as long as one exploits the weaknesses in the rules, one can gain the upper hand in the struggle against these creatures.

As for the eerie Alice, a creature with its own consciousness and no sense of morality, it is an exception and cannot be considered according to common sense.

After driving away those so-called "friends," they returned to the platform on the second floor.

Gao Hai opened the door and immediately smelled a strong, foul odor.

"Kennel?"

The scene inside surprised Gao Hai somewhat. He had expected to find a school or residential setting, but he hadn't anticipated a small kennel filled with a large number of mongrels. And the hygiene was so poor that calling it a kennel was an understatement. In Gao Hai's opinion, even the worst animal shelters were far better than this place reeking of feces.

But why are there dog kennels here?

This unusual scene put Gao Hai on his guard at its highest level.

He stepped into the kennel, bracing one foot against the door to prevent it from closing automatically as he entered. He then thoroughly shone his flashlight around the kennel from the doorway.

Almost immediately, all the dogs in the cages began to bark loudly and pound on their cages with all their might. Amidst the noise, Gao Hai felt like he was going deaf, and his first instinct was to leave the room.

It seems like all the dogs here have gotten sick from being cooped up, and they're mostly puppies. Wait, there's a Golden Retriever? Hmm, and a Husky too? What's up with these two dogs? They seem completely different from the others.

With a frown, Gao Hai thought for a moment before entering the kennel. Of course, before doing so, he didn't forget to place a toilet brush (from the men's restroom he had explored more than ten minutes earlier) against the door, just in case.

Woof woof woof woof—woof woof woof—

All the puppies in their cages were barking excitedly, including the half-grown husky, which even bit at its cage, making Gao Hai feel as if it was saying, "Take me away, I'll demolish your house." In contrast, the little golden retriever remained quiet, simply watching him silently. Gao Hai unexpectedly saw a hint of humanity in the puppy's eyes, making him feel that this dog seemed different from the others.

Perhaps there are some clues on this dog?

Thinking this, Gao Hai walked up to the cage and yelled "Quiet!" at the dogs that were still barking around him before looking at the golden retriever in the cage.

The barking puppies quieted down considerably at this point, but for some reason, the husky behind Gao Hai continued to bark, even squeezing around excitedly in the cage, knocking over the puppies next to it.

Having already decided to make contact with the golden retriever, Gao Hai simply reached out and opened the hook on the cage, opening the top of the cage, and then gently stroked the golden retriever's head.

"Good boy, good boy."

Having no idea how to interact with dogs, Gao Hai simply whispered words of comfort to the golden retriever based on his own impression.

The golden retriever was indeed quite docile. When Gao Hai petted it, it naturally lowered its head and rubbed against his hand, even sticking out its tongue to gently lick his palm.

Suddenly I feel like having a dog at home is a really good option.

At that moment, Gao Hai couldn't help but have this thought.

"...?!"

However, at that moment, Gao Hai's gaze suddenly sharpened, and his entire body tensed up instantly.

The power of blessing has been activated.

He must hide immediately, or the monster's power will affect him.

The powerful blessing from Hirano Sosuke directly pointed Takami to a safe hiding place: the cage that had just been opened in front of him. To avoid danger, he had to immediately hide inside this cage. Any other action would be futile in helping him escape the impending crisis.

crunch--

The next moment, deep inside the kennel, a door slowly opened with a piercing sound.

Chapter 19: Actions in a Crisis and the Puppy's Problem

Gao Hai could hear his breathing becoming longer and his heartbeat slowing down.

He felt the hairs on his body stand on end, and an intense chill swept over him, making his body increasingly stiff and almost unable to move.

You can't face that thing.

Even though he hasn't seen what it looks like yet, Gao Hai is already aware of this fact.

The thing that walked out of the door, which had not yet entered his field of vision or made any eye contact with him, had already made Gao Hai truly feel the threat of death, making him realize that he absolutely could not confront the other party here.

Perhaps handgun bullets could be used to seal and suppress it?

Gao Hai's gaze shifted slightly at that moment, turning to the pistol he was holding.

However, I haven't seen it yet. I don't know its appearance, its past life, or the specific rules it possesses. I don't know if this is its core territory or the place where it died. The only thing I'm certain of is that when I can see it, and when it can see me, its rules will activate, and I will be under the influence of the "strange tale rules," thus fulfilling one of the firing conditions for the suppression bomb. And the sixth condition—whether it harmed innocent people in its past life—this strange entity may or may not meet.

As a Red Moon-level anomaly, this thing exerted such a strong sense of oppression on Gao Hai that even if it couldn't reach the level of a core obsession, it was definitely an extremely important component of the obsession in the entire instance. Forcing a confrontation when almost all the conditions for firing the suppression bullet were not met would result in a very high chance of failure, and was by no means a wise choice.

But, do we have to go into the cage?

This wasn't the first time the blessing indicating the safe zone had worked. Gao Hai could vaguely recall that he had broken something before, triggered a certain rule, and successfully survived. At that time, he must have received guidance from this blessing.

As one of the blessings from Hirano Sosuke, this instruction blessing couldn't possibly be a trap for Takayuki. However, Takayuki is certain that entering the cage is actually a trigger of a certain ghost story rule, and after triggering it, he will most likely become one of these dogs, another dog in a cage.

This is really a troublesome situation...

Thinking is a matter of a fleeting moment.

The action only lasted for a fleeting moment.

Gao Hai took the rescue team badge off his body and bent the pin on the badge.

Then, he pierced his tongue with a needle and forcibly pinned the badge to it.

Despite the profuse bleeding and intense pain, Gao Hai did not even flinch or utter a single cry.

He had already plunged headfirst into the open cage door in front of him.

tread--

The next moment, a rather tall figure, covered in blood and emitting a foul stench, stepped into the kennel and walked step by step to the spot where Gao Hai had just stood.

There was no trace of Gao Hai left, only a few bloodstains on the ground.

【…】

The thing didn't speak, didn't breathe, and didn't make any sound.

It merely turned its head slightly, glanced around, and finally looked at the cage with bloodstains on the ground, at the trembling mutts inside, and among them a golden retriever and a muscular German Shepherd. After a moment of silence, it turned around, walked away step by step, taking a full half minute to reach the door, went inside, closed the door, and then all sound disappeared.

The golden retriever turned its head at that moment, staring wide-eyed at the black dog. Despite being a dog, the golden retriever displayed an extremely human-like expression of shock, as if it were not a dog but a living person.

"Woo... Wu..."

At that moment, the husky in the cage opposite also let out a mournful howl, a pitiful sound that sounded like it was crying.

In response, the black-backed dog, whose mouth was tightly closed, slowly opened its mouth, letting blood drip from it, thus revealing the rescue team badge inside.

A tall figure in a firefighter's uniform, whose face was obscured, appeared in the kennel the next moment.

It opened the cage, grabbed the black-backed dog, and put it on the ground.

Gao Hai blinked, then got up from the ground.

To be honest, that brief experience of turning from a human into a dog was absolutely awful.

He was certain that if he kept the rescue team badge on his chest, it would fall off as he changed, most likely slipping through the cage's gaps and landing on the floor. At that point, whatever he did would likely be fatal; he'd face the same fate as the other dogs in the cage. Well, he didn't know what that fate would be, but Gao Hai was certain it wouldn't be anything good. He was particularly confident in predicting these kinds of things.

The rescue team members were retrieved, the rescue team badges stuck on their tongues were removed, and they were reattached to their chests.

The healing power quickly took effect, repairing his pierced tongue.

At the same time, Gao Hai quickly opened the cage door in front of him and released the golden retriever inside.

The puppies became restless again at this moment. Gao Hai whispered "Quiet," then turned to look at the husky in the other cage, only to find that the dog was also staring at him.

"Was it also transformed from a human?"

Without hesitation, Gao Hai opened the cage door and took the dog out as well.

The golden retriever followed Gao Hai very obediently. When it saw the husky being carried out, it went up and licked it twice, looking quite friendly.

Gao Hai himself quickly retreated to the doorway of the one he had come in through. The door had been on the verge of closing when he was forced to hide in the cage, but because he had blocked the doorway beforehand, it could still be opened.

Let those two dogs out the door.

After a brief hesitation, Gao Hai, who was using the rescue team badge again, chose to summon the third rescue team member he had just acquired.

A flash of red light appeared, followed by a figure in a police uniform holding a pistol appearing in front of Gao Hai.

Like the two previous rescue team members, the figure's facial features were also obscured. However, unlike the previous two, its aura was noticeably more powerful, and even Gao Hai, its summoner, could feel a faint chill emanating from it.

This thing should be at the Red Moon level. Even though it no longer possesses the strength of a Red Moon level core obsession as a remnant, it still hasn't fallen below the Red Moon level.

Gao Hai made a judgment and then gave the rescue team member the order to "Release all the puppies; they are all cursed living beings. Fight back against anyone who tries to stop you," before leaving the kennel.

Before leaving, Gao Hai saw the rescue team member deftly open a cage door and take the puppies out one by one.

After being freed, the stray puppies scrambled to escape towards the door. Although Gao Hai was a step ahead, he had only taken a few steps down the stairs with his two golden retrievers and husky when they all caught up with him. In no time, the entire area from the second-floor platform to the first-floor lobby was filled with these little creatures running around everywhere.

Gao Hai opened a door on one side of the lobby on the first floor, revealing the auditorium inside, and then a large number of puppies ran straight in.

He opened the door on the other side of the corridor, first kicking over a few blurry human figures that tried to enter, and then letting the other puppies run in, allowing them to spread out more in this chaotic building area.

Finally, he closed the hallway door, shutting out the blurry human figures. Then, he took the two golden retrievers and the husky that hadn't run away and hid in the small bedroom, locking the door behind them. Next, he rolled up the carpet and duvet cover of the small bedroom and stuffed them under the bed, then filled the space completely with various toys. He didn't even glance at the notebooks on the bed, just tossed them on the floor, stomped on them, and then threw them under the bed. He locked the windows on both sides of the room before finally stopping.

"Phew... Okay, everyone be quiet. Let's hide here for a while."

As he said this, Gao Hai sat down on the ground, looked around the room, and then focused his attention on the locked door in front of him.