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

That's where she received the hair clip, that little gift.

Happy birthday, Chiyo!

In that gentle voice, the little girl received the inexpensive hair clip, along with the blessings and smiles of the uncles, aunts, and other children.

Even if the hair clip itself is old and faded.

Even though the once warm orphanage is now deserted and reduced to ruins.

This little item is still treasured, and it can still guide the little girl, allowing her to recall the beauty and happiness she once had, and to return in her dreams to that place that is no different from home to her.

"Then let's try again."

Enduring the discomfort of having all his strength drained, Gao Hai struggled to his feet and instantly arrived at the orphanage space.

What he didn't see was that after he disappeared, the blood-red corridor gradually turned into pitch black, beginning to revert to its state of being covered in black sludge. And during this transformation, the mutilated corpses that should have been dead and unable to move began to twitch.

pat- pat-

Rotten flesh and internal organs fell to the ground.

The tattered figure had already stood up.

Purple umbilical cords were attached to these things, appearing and then disappearing without a trace.

hum-

The sound of chainsaws rang out, accompanied by heavy breathing.

A figure covered in blood fell down in the corridor, then slowly stood up, revealing bloodshot eyes that had completely lost their mind.

Chapter Sixty: The Increasingly Perilous Situation and the Struggling People

Opening my eyes, I was greeted by an old and dilapidated hall.

Smashed pieces of tables and chairs were scattered on the ground, part of the floor had collapsed, cobwebs spread in the corners, and the smell of dust filled the nostrils.

Gao Hai looked up and saw that several pieces of the ceiling above the hall had collapsed, and the corroded edges, weathered by wind and rain, were clearly visible. The cold moonlight filtered into the room through the holes, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

Compared to the orphanage I saw in my hallucination in the previous playthrough, and the orphanage area I entered later, the place I was in now looked much more dilapidated, as if it had been abandoned for many years.

Does this place... change every time I come here?

Gao Hai frowned, hesitated, and slowly began to move forward in the hall.

If Chiyo Hachiya were here, where would she be hiding?

The last time he rashly pursued the core obsession, he was instantly killed. This time, Gao Hai changed his tactics and managed to survive the chase by using the combination of Berserk Blessing and Suppression Bullet for a long time. Therefore, he has not yet used Undying Blessing and Safe House, so the margin for error is still quite high.

However, a high margin of error doesn't mean he can be reckless. After all, his rollback attempts are already running out, and because he's currently in a scattered state, he has no way of knowing what's going on with Kaguya Hayasaka. To be honest, although he said he would solve the problem in this loop, now that he's forced to be scattered, Takami really has no confidence.

This is probably one of KP's countermeasures, right? After discovering that the opening kill in the previous playthrough couldn't take me down, they secretly made changes, increasing the difficulty of the opening kill, separating me from Hayasaka Kaguya and the others, and taking advantage of my tendency not to abandon my teammates, further restricting my movements to ensure that they could eliminate me in this dungeon.

It might not be just that. After all, in the last playthrough, I had already learned most of Chiyo Hachiya's past, which is the core of her obsession. I only needed a few key clues to figure out what this little swordswoman's obsession really was. In other words, this dungeon has reached its final stage, a crucial moment that will determine victory or defeat. If the Keeper is determined to kill me here and prevent me from clearing the game, now is probably the time for him to resort to desperate measures. He will definitely use every means at his disposal to deal with me.

So, what's next?

While he was thinking, Gao Hai had already carefully walked around the edge of the hall and looked at each room.

Although he desperately wanted to use the Blood Key to try and return to Kaguya Hayasaka's side, every room in the orphanage was devoid of doors, leaving only broken door frames. Considering the hallucinations he'd witnessed in the previous playthrough where intruders had removed the orphanage's room doors, there was nothing he could do. However, considering the KP's involvement, Takami began to suspect that this might also be due to some underhanded tactic.

There doesn't seem to be anything noteworthy on the first floor at the moment.

After carefully exploring the first floor and finding nothing of value, Gao Hai, realizing that all the rooms on the first floor were now empty, finally returned to a corner of the first-floor lobby. The staircase leading to the second floor was located there, as was the main entrance to the lobby, which was also currently the only door on the first floor. However, because Gao Hai was currently on the inside of the door, he couldn't see the keyhole.

In short, we still have to go to the second floor.

Gao Hai couldn't sense anything outside the door. It was just a door, yet his senses couldn't penetrate it at all. It was as if there was nothing outside, a void where stepping inside would mean certain death in the darkness. He dared not gamble with his life, so after some thought, he decided to choose the second floor as his next target.

I wonder what the second floor will be like. Last time I went in, it was an endless corridor. If it weren't for Hayasaka's tracking skills, I probably wouldn't have been able to find Chiyo Hachiya at all. This time, I'm forced to act alone. If I get stuck in that endless corridor again, it won't be so easy to get out.

However, there's really no better way.

tread--

Gao Hai took a step and stepped onto the stairs to the second floor.

Then, hearing a faint sound, he stopped and turned to look at the door behind him.

I think I just heard something coming from inside the door?

Gao Hai frowned, a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart.

What was that sound?

It sounded like some kind of machine constantly vibrating.

It's quite jarring, and even from a great distance, it can cause unpleasant feelings in those who hear it.

What exactly is that...

Buzz buzz—!

A sharp, explosive sound pierced through the gate, becoming clearer at that moment.

Gao Hai saw the rotating saw blade.

Two chainsaw blades, side by side, pierced through the orphanage's gate and directly into the hall.

Blood flowed from the saw blade, staining the old door red.

Bang!

The next moment, with a loud crash, the orphanage gate flew off and slammed heavily onto the ground.

A tall figure slowly stepped into the orphanage.

Behind this figure, Gao Hai seemed to see a slaughterhouse, a slaughterhouse almost entirely stained with blood, filled with the fragmented remains of human bodies.

buzzing-

The heavy-duty double-row chainsaw, which was over 1.5 meters long, was lifted high and then slammed to the ground. With a screeching sound, it blasted two deep grooves into the ground, and then blood gushed out from these marks.

"..."

Gao Hai was already dumbfounded.

He had already recognized the person, even though the other person had almost lost their original form due to the modification by the object of obsession, and was nearly twisted into another person. But through some remaining details on the clothes and the aura emanating from the huge chainsaw, he was still certain of the uninvited guest's identity.

Akira Toyama, a member of the Red Society, a team of players at the Neon Red Moon level.

Like Xiong Mi, she was captured by Alice and turned into a doll. Unlike Xiong Mi, she did not have measures to protect her own mental personality. As a result, after she was restored to human form, she was completely eroded and possessed by the power of the object of her obsession, and became a strange possessed state.

While in the inner area of ​​Fujika Middle School, Gao Hai released the player and took advantage of the time when he was in conflict with the strange creature in the hospital to carry out his operation. After the core obsession of Fujika Middle School was broken and destroyed, the player disappeared without a trace, and Gao Hai could only guess at his possible whereabouts.

I never expected this guy to show up at this time.

buzzing-

The chainsaw was still making a sharp, piercing noise.

Possessed by the power of his obsession, Akira Toyama's entire body had grown larger than before, reaching a height of at least 2.1 meters, making him resemble a small giant. His entire body was covered in black and red bloodstains, as if he had been drenched in blood from head to toe. Furthermore, a white cloth hood was placed over his head, and his eyes, visible through the hood, were bloodshot and filled with a crazed expression.

This is... the legendary chainsaw?!

While internally complaining, Gao Hai had already quickly started moving.

Boom!

The chainsaw pierced through the stairs in the next moment, and a large amount of blood began to spread on the stairs.

Gao Hai kicked off the wall, rolled to dodge the thing's attack, then stepped on the stair railing and jumped again, landing on the second-floor corridor.

Without a moment to catch his breath, Yuanshan Ming raised his chainsaw high and leaped into the air, bringing it down on Gao Hai. Its speed and power were so fast that it created a sonic boom, forcing Gao Hai to use the power of his berserk blessing to dodge in an emergency, narrowly avoiding the attack with a roll.

Rumble, rumble——

The sharp blade of the chainsaw pierced the ground, penetrated the walls, and almost cut through the entire corridor.

The cuts gushed out dark red liquid like separated flesh, spreading a crimson stain across the corridor.

Gao Hai knew that a strange force was eroding this place; it was the power of the monsters from that slaughterhouse instance beginning to spread into this space, turning the rules of the supernatural into their territory. Without a doubt, if this continued, Chiyo Hachiya would definitely appear, and when the Crimson Moon-level monsters clashed, Gao Hai didn't think he could remain a completely uninvolved spectator on the edge of the battlefield.

tread!

With incredibly heavy footsteps, the player wielding a chainsaw had once again closed in on Gao Hai.

This guy... he's too fast, I can't create any distance at all!

Rescue team member Lao Guo quickly appeared in front of Gao Hai, shouting "Rescue begins!" as he rushed over and hugged Yuan Shanming, only to be cut into three pieces on the spot.

Taking advantage of this brief respite, Gao Hai accelerated his run again, but the next second, Toyama Akira bypassed him and intercepted him, followed by the chainsaw slamming down.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

The continuous gunfire roared fiercely, and countless bullets struck Yuanshan Ming like a rainstorm.

Thousands of bullets bombarded him in a second, causing the completely berserk player to stagger. Then, a saw severed Gao Hai's left hand at the forearm, causing blood to gush out. An unusual and eerie power immediately began to spread through his body.

The suppression munitions were almost completely ineffective.

Yuanshan Ming was possessed by more than one out-of-control obsession; multiple bizarre forces were acting on this player simultaneously, and Gao Hai was completely unaware of this. He couldn't even determine how many supernatural entities were attached to this guy. Therefore, even though he had already fired three suppression rounds, the enemy's movements were almost completely unaffected; only the chainsaw's rotation speed slowed down slightly.

bang bang bang-

Amidst the continuous gunfire, Gao Hai shattered his left hand at the shoulder.

The arm that had fallen to the ground kept wriggling, and dark red worms crawled out of it.

The skin on the arm twisted rapidly, growing into the face of a baby, and then began to scream and cry loudly.

Amidst the vast expanse of crimson blood, tiny pupae began to emerge. Gao Hai also saw countless tiny, needle-like red worms writhing and turning in the blood that was spreading across the ground.

"Mommy...I want my mommy..."

The bluish-purple baby emerged from the bloody water, grabbed Gao Hai's leg, and ripped his right leg off at the knee, pulling it into the water.

The spinning chainsaw swept across once more, this time slicing open the walls on both sides of the corridor in an instant. Exploding rubble and more blood, more babies crying, more wriggling worms appeared, and an incredibly intense, phantom pain, like an electric drill drilling into a person's head, spread through the mind.

Gao Hai had rolled to the other side of the corridor, further distancing himself from Yuanshan Ming.

Even after losing one hand and one foot, he still seized the fleeting opportunity and escaped the enemy's attack range once again.