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

Chiyo Haeiya.

Gao Hai knew her name, but this was the first time he had seen her not completely distorted and still in a human-like state.

Her long, black hair was slightly dry, with streaks of yellow mixed in.

The coarse hair was of varying lengths and uneven, clearly cut with scissors.

The girl's eye socket was slightly dark, and there were several teeth missing from the corner of her mouth when she grinned. There were also dried bloodstains on her cheek.

Her school uniform was the same as the other students', but it was extremely dirty and smelled awful. Had someone splashed feces on it?

But she was just smiling.

The girl simply looked up and smiled at Gao Hai with an indifferent expression.

[Teacher, this classroom has been sealed off. The principal said that no one is allowed to come in or approach. Why did you break the rules and open the door? This must be very wrong, right?]

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Questions and Answers with the Little Lolita Who Has the Core Obsession

Didn't they attack me immediately?

At this moment, when facing the core obsession and confronting the root of the entire Hayate Elementary School instance, Gao Hai was originally prepared to be bitten to death on the spot by the big mouth flower summoned by this little loli, but he was surprised to find that the other party did not immediately attack him.

Is it because I gained the identity of a "teacher" in the real world through Maki that I lost the "liar" trigger point, causing her behavior to become relatively mild?

The possible reasons are still unclear, but since the other party has caught up, it proves that Gao Hai has triggered a certain rule. It's just that under this rule, he won't die so quickly, and there is still some buffer time.

Therefore, I must make good use of this crucial buffer point.

The intense pain continued to spread both physically and mentally.

But Gao Hai did not die.

Even though he could see one of his own bodies completely torn apart, already integrated into the entire classroom.

Even if he could see another version of himself whose head had been removed and then reattached, becoming a strange creature that seemed alive but was actually dead.

The reason he is able to survive is because of Chiyo Hachiya, who is now facing him.

Achieving this condition is extremely difficult. First, Takami's body and mind are currently simultaneously influenced by the rules of three different ghostly forces. Both the bewitched Kaguya and the classroom ghost have actually killed Takami, but the core obsession, Hachiya Chiyo, has not acted. Therefore, his body conceptually possesses three different forms, like Schrödinger's cat, forming a superposition of three states: death/bewitched/survival due to the difference in the observer's perspective.

Then, under this superposition, the core obsession of the only instance that did not take action was undoubtedly the highest in rank. Therefore, its observation prevented Gao Hai's death/monstrous state from becoming a reality. This resulted in the fact that, from the perspective of his head being pulled out, he could never be taken out of the classroom by Kaguya, and his shattered body could not be completely integrated into the classroom environment.

In addition, his willpower was incredibly strong, and he was protected by the object of his obsession. Therefore, even when he was simultaneously subjected to the mental distortion and contamination of three different strange creatures, he was able to persevere and continue to maintain his consciousness to strengthen his survival.

Originally, Takami only wanted to use the effects of three different rules on himself, attempting to find a chance to survive by utilizing the clash between the rules of the ghost stories when he could no longer escape. Unexpectedly, Chiyo Hachiya did not immediately take action after appearing, which reduced the pressure on him somewhat.

However, this is only temporary.

Monsters don't act meaninglessly like living people. Chiyo Hachiya locked onto him after listening to the radio broadcast, proving that Takami had triggered a rule he shouldn't have, and killing him was only a matter of time. The reason he hadn't acted yet was simply because something was still missing in the rules and procedures. If he did nothing, the inevitable result would be starting a new cycle.

Considering that he would have to use up extra rollback attempts to prevent the Keeper from tampering with the game in the new playthrough, Gao Hai had to keep struggling no matter what. Even if he was in a situation where death was certain, he could not give up easily. Moreover, there was still a chance of survival, even if the possibility was extremely slim.

But what should I say?

Thanks to the protection of the blood plasma, Gao Hai's pain has been greatly reduced, allowing him to think and analyze at high speed with almost no interference.

First and foremost, it is certain that Chiyo Hachiya has an extreme aversion to lies. Any act of lying could lead to instant death, so she must carefully consider every word she says and ensure that there are no lies in either the "objective reality" or "subjective perception" of what she says.

Secondly, Chiyo Hachiya herself was likely killed by researchers at Hayate Elementary School. She was trained into some kind of special form, and then the military intervened and planned to capture her. Judging from the treatment she received during the capture process, and the fact that Chiyo Hachiya appeared before Takami covered in wounds, Takami estimated that she probably experienced a very difficult period in her life.

Speaking of which, game hints in dungeons are always connected to the core themes or key points of the dungeon. So what is the connection between the four game hints from Hayate Elementary School and Chiyo Hachiya? I remember the four hints were: "Obedient children won't be punished," "Teachers will protect children," "Adults can't fool smart children," and "I don't need anything and I'm no worse than anyone else." Could some of these statements be things that Chiyo Hachiya herself once said?

The time for thinking is but a fleeting moment.

Gao Hai could feel that the petite girl who was staring at him was emanating an increasingly intense chill.

He had to speak immediately, he had to say something.

Before this little guy's situation changes, before everything really becomes irreversible, we need to get things under his control, or at least make things tilt in his favor.

“I am not a teacher at Zaoli Elementary School; I come from another school.”

Then Gao Hai slowly opened his mouth and uttered his first words.

The chill emanating from the black-haired girl seemed to have lessened slightly, but the intense sense of danger showed no signs of abating.

“Hayatachi Elementary School has been abandoned. The rules of an abandoned school should not be followed. The principal of Hayatetachi Elementary School has no right to order me around, even though I am not a teacher at this school. Therefore, his rules cannot restrict me, and I do not need to abide by the rules set by the principal of Hayatetachi Elementary School.”

Gao Hai tried his best to keep his tone calm.

Upon hearing these words, the chill emanating from the petite girl, Chiyo Hachiya, actually lessened somewhat, and Takahashi no longer felt the sense of crisis that he was about to be killed by this girl on the spot.

Will my words lessen her hostility because they are reasonable and contain no lies?

The teacher wasn't lying.

The little girl tilted her head and spoke softly.

At this moment, Gao Hai saw the girl's exposed neck and the obvious burn marks from cigarette butts.

What exactly happened to this child?

As he pondered, Gao Hai could feel the mental damage and physical pain he was enduring gradually subsiding.

Because the core of the instance's obsession with observing him—the classroom that could never be fully absorbed by Takahashi, and Kaguya who could never take Takahashi away—their influence on him is now slowly weakening. Takahashi, split into three different parts, is now collapsing toward the possibility of [safe survival], and therefore the damage that was inflicted on him is beginning to gradually become a state of [never having happened].

However, it's not time to pop the champagne yet. After all, he's alive because of the ultimate boss in front of him. Although this thing looks like a primary school student, Gao Hai has no way to fight back if it turns against him.

"Your name is Chiyo Hachiya, right? May I get to know you?"

Gao Hai carefully considered his words, looked at the girl in front of him, and asked.

He didn't say anything like "I want to help you." The Red Moon level game hints are two true and two false. Based on the information gathered so far, the hint "The teacher will protect the children" is highly likely to be false, and could easily become a death trigger. Therefore, Gao Hai decided to avoid using any words with the connotations of "help" or "protection" in the following dialogue.

【I'm Chiyo Hachiya. What would you like to know about me, teacher? I'm a good girl, and I'll answer your questions carefully!】

The little girl waved her hands happily in response. Gao Hai's words seemed to trigger something, causing all the wounds on the girl's body to disappear, and her school uniform to become clean again. It was as if she had returned to a state before anything happened, back to when everything was normal. Her eyes shone as she looked at Gao Hai.

Even the gloomy, dark classroom where he and the little girl were standing, covered in twisted bloodstains, suddenly became completely normal, turning into a clean, bright classroom bathed in sunlight.

Will different conversations evoke memories from different periods of her core obsession, causing her to take on completely different forms?

This discovery made Gao Hai even more cautious.

"I want to know... what are your wishes? What are your dreams? Are there any things you want to achieve or accomplish?"

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Hai slowly asked.

At that moment, he felt his tone had become like Teacher Wang's, but in order to obtain as much information as possible without making any mistakes, he could only keep a straight face and continue asking questions.

My wish? My wish is to be a good student, an excellent student, get into a good school, earn lots and lots of money, and then go back to the orphanage to help the uncles and aunts who raised me! I want to become someone they can be proud of!

Chiyo Hachiya waved her little hands excitedly and answered Takami with great joy.

My dreams... I want to be a singer, and I also want to be a painter. I want to travel and see the world. My aunt and uncle have told me about waterfalls and canyons, and I want to be a traveler to see places I've never been. I also want to be an inventor. My aunt says inventors are amazing people, and I want to be an amazing person. I also want to be a gourmet, and I want to eat lots and lots of delicious food. I also want to be rich. My aunt and uncle are always so tired taking care of us, and my older and younger siblings often go hungry. If I had money, I could make sure everyone has enough to eat. Oh dear, are my dreams too many? But I really want them all...

Chiyo Hachiya, speaking in a slightly impetuous tone, lowered her head and spoke softly, then started laughing at herself.

[I want to... I want to find my mom and dad. Everyone else has parents to pick them up from school, but I don't. I see some classmates eating lunchboxes made by their parents, but I've never eaten a lunchbox... My parents must be having a very hard time, which is why they didn't want me. I want to find them... I want to tell them that I'm doing well now. I want to know what they look like, what their voices are like, and whether they can sing. My aunt and uncle taught us to sing, and I love singing. Will my parents like that?]

Chiyo Hachiya, her movements slightly hesitant, spoke haltingly, her voice seemingly concealing a barely perceptible longing and restlessness.

ding dong -- ding dong --

The school bell rang at that moment.

The little girl mumbled in a flustered manner, "Class is starting!" and then ran out of the classroom.

Takahashi noticed that as Chiyo Hachiya moved, the light in the classroom was rapidly fading, quickly returning to that twisted, dark place. Moreover, the headless Kaguya figure, which had disappeared somewhere earlier, began to appear intermittently, as if it had always been standing beside him.

"...Damn it, fortune favors the bold."

Without hesitation, Gao Hai cursed under his breath and quickly followed Chiyo Hachiya, moving forward with the core obsession of the dungeon that had killed him several times before.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: A Scene in a Twisted World Where Glory Dimmed

Everything around us has completely changed at this moment.

In the clean corridor, students hurried past, jogging towards their different classrooms.

Chiyo Hachiya hummed a song softly as she walked briskly down the corridor, her long black hair bouncing slightly with her movements.

Those distorted graffiti have disappeared.

The lingering eerie chill had vanished without a trace.

Bright lights and sunlight brought a touch of life to the corridor.

In the open classroom doors all around, Gao Hai could see students sitting upright and teachers standing on the podium.

Amidst the sounds of children reading and teachers lecturing, Gao Hai felt as if he had left the game world and returned to real life.

It's as if those dark and cruel stories never happened.

Everything was just as I saw it now—beautiful and simple.

But Gao Hai knew this was impossible.

Because as soon as he turned around, he could see that the far end of the corridor had returned to its original state, back to that gloomy and dark state, and there were also indistinct eerie creatures slowly moving forward in the dilapidated corridor, heading towards Gao Hai.

Those terrifying things still exist here; they are just hidden, and only temporarily suppressed by the power of the core obsession under the special circumstances triggered by themselves.

The girl in front had already walked to a half-open classroom door.

She pushed open the door, and in the brightly lit classroom, the students stared at her curiously, while the teacher smiled at her.

Hurry up and get to your seats, class is about to begin!

The teacher spoke gently.

Hello everyone! My name is Chiyo Hachiya. I hope we can become good friends and learn and grow together!

The girl bent down slightly, spoke earnestly, and then sat down in her seat.

The children's voices reached Gao Hai's ears.

【Hello, Bee House! Your hair is so shiny! What kind of hair care method do you use?】

[Hello, BeeHouse! Let's chat!]

[Want to hang out after school this afternoon, Hachiya-kun?]

The children gathered around, smiling and talking to the girl, taking her hand and showing affection.