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

However, he couldn't discern anything from Aoyama Nanami's calm expression, so in the end, Takahashi shifted his gaze to Xiong Mi, who was standing in the middle of everyone, with a cigarette dangling from his lips but not lit.

"I won't say anything more. Everyone who came here is well prepared."

Amidst the calm words, an illusory ticket appeared on Xiong Mi's body.

"So, from now on, try not to die, everyone."

The time is fast approaching.

Even if you can't see anything unusual or hear anything special, you can instinctively feel that the time to enter the dungeon is about to arrive.

Gao Hai stretched out his hand, and a ticket immediately appeared in his palm.

This is a blurry student ID card; the contents are barely legible, making it impossible to determine whose student ID it is.

[Dark Night-Level Dungeon Entry Ticket: Campus Ghost Stories]

After sensing the information that the [Sacrifice Game] had imbued into this blurry student ID, especially after hearing the phrase "Dark Night Level," Gao Hai had to admit he really wanted to curse it out. However, doing so wouldn't change anything, so he simply remained silent.

Miko Yotsuya, standing beside him, trembled slightly.

"Don't be afraid."

Gao Hai turned his head, smiled at the girl, and said.

Then, time finally came to the beginning.

The student ID card in Gao Hai's hand spontaneously combusted without any wind.

hum-

A dull, eerie sound was already echoing in his mind.

He heard the voice say:

Welcome to the "Sacrifice Game"

The game level you are about to participate in is: Dark Night.

May you witness the end of all things amidst true fear.

Then, all the light completely disappeared at that moment.

Pure darkness engulfed everything.

When it lit up again, a "ding-a-ling" sound rang continuously in my ears.

"Oh, get out of class is over! get out of class is over! get out of class is finally over!"

Sitting in the front row, Fujiwara Chika stretched out her body and said with a happy smile.

"You should pay attention in class. Don't always ask to borrow my notes right before the exam."

Sitting on the other side, Shijou Maki looked at Chika and muttered a few words, her tone tinged with helplessness.

"..."

Gao Hai turned his head and looked out the window at the familiar campus scenery.

He recognized the place.

This is... Shuchiin?!

Volume 3: Mission Three (Part 2): The Nameless Man

Chapter 1: About getting used to the fact that every game starts off a little strange

The first day of school has arrived.

In the dim light of early morning, the clear sound of bells began to ring.

I opened my eyes and sat up in bed.

The bed creaked and groaned, and a musty, rotten smell filled the air, reminding the people in the room that they were no longer in their own home.

The ceilings of the old dormitory building were covered in blackish-gray stains, supposedly due to frequent leaks in the past, which caused them to become so disgusting. However, the roof of the building was renovated a few years ago and no longer leaks, which is a good thing.

I yawned unconsciously.

Footsteps and laughter could already be heard coming from the corridor outside.

Only at this moment can one truly realize that they have arrived at a new school, a new place, and are about to begin a new life.

This feeling is really hard to get used to.

However, regardless of the circumstances, as it's the first day of school, things should go well from here on out...

……

"..."

Gao Hai's breathing went from rapid for a moment to returning to normal in just a fraction of a second.

His gaze swept over the old-looking dormitory room, where the walls were peeling to some extent, and the three other people who had just sat up from their beds. In the dim light, he could hardly make out their faces, but his blessing had already given Gao Hai the answer: the only living person in the dormitory was himself, and the three people who had gotten up from the other beds were not human.

My memory seems to have gaps.

I vaguely remember that I first appeared in a classroom at Shuchiin Academy, and everyone else was around me. They all seemed normal and were preparing for the class that was about to begin.

But then something seemed to start to change.

He began to feel like he wasn't in Shuchiin, but in a classroom at a school called Sumyeong University of the Arts Affiliated High School, and then it seemed to turn into something like Soo-hwa High School, and later even into a Japanese high school in the 1980s or 90s, and a Chinese high school in the 2010s or something like that.

Before losing consciousness, Gao Hai realized that the memories of all the participants resonated with this instance and modified it.

Then, time returns to the present, to the moment I get out of bed.

Gao Hai was able to clearly confirm that there was no problem with his self-awareness. He remembered that he was Gao Hai, he remembered his origins, and he remembered why he came here.

At the same time, he could also clearly perceive that something new had appeared in his understanding. It was something like instinct, gradually twisting his self-perception and causing him to develop thoughts and ideas that he shouldn't have had in the first place.

【My name is Gao Hai, and I am a freshman at Yeluoshan Middle School】

At this moment, Gao Hai had already formed this understanding in his heart.

With his strong willpower, Gao Hai immediately realized that this perception was forcibly fixed in his mind by some external force, and was not his own true thought. But he couldn't erase this perception; it was like a parasite clinging to his mind, subtly expanding little by little, constantly deepening its influence.

This is completely different from the intelligence information we initially received; the original Yeluoshan Middle School did not have this kind of information.

The original plan was for the players from the [Slacking Off Gang] and [Red Society] to manipulate the effects of the artifacts to ensure everyone would converge immediately upon entering the instance, specifically within a safe zone at Nightfall Mountain Middle School. Given that two core artifacts had already been removed from the Nightfall Mountain Middle School area, finding a safe zone should have been easy. However, the situation has clearly deviated from the original plan.

It's really not surprising at all.

Gao Hai knew that this must have been the adjustment made by the KP dressed as a clown.

After modifying the "Writer" dungeon, which was never intended for players to complete and was filled with various challenging elements, the current "Campus Ghost Stories" has changed and is now completely different from before.

Of course, Gao Hai didn't hide this matter. Although he couldn't explain what KP was, he still reminded the other players in the group that the situation inside the dungeon was very likely to change. Incidentally, Gao Hai initially blamed the incident on [Takamagahara], since those bastards were indeed the most suitable targets to frame.

So now, others may have already started trying the previously agreed-upon alternative contact methods.

Then, before Gao Hai could observe the surrounding environment more carefully and determine his action strategy, he heard that long-lost, piercing buzzing sound.

hum-

All actions ceased completely at this moment.

As if a pause button had been pressed, Gao Hai could only sit silently on the bed, listening to the voice echoing in his mind.

Welcome to the Sacrifice Game

[Player Gao Hai, this is your third game, game level: Dark Night]

Your victory condition is: Change the future that was destined to be yours.

The time limit for this game is: Unlimited.

[A game tip is now being sent to you. Please make good use of it.]

[Tip 1: What you believe is what is real]

[Tip 2: The truth of the majority is something that cannot be contradicted]

[Tip 3: Everything has an origin, without exception]

[Tip 4: The boundary between the real and the unseen lies deep within the unseen realm.]

[This concludes the tutorial. We wish you success in this game and hope you can approach the throne that will witness the end.]

The noise quickly subsided, and Gao Hai regained his mobility.

However, he didn't rush into action, but instead stood still for a moment. Because Fujika Middle School and Hayate Elementary School weren't official instances, Gao Hai hadn't received the [Sacrifice Game] prompts before, so now that he was suddenly receiving them again, he was still a little disoriented and needed time to recover.

As a player who has actually participated in the [Sacrifice Game] for the fifth time, I am not used to listening to the opening prompts. I am probably quite an odd case among players.

As Gao Hai thought to himself, he saw the other three people on the beds get off, change into their school uniforms, and make their beds. One of them, who was quick, had already taken a towel and a toothbrush and headed to the washroom.

No communication.

These three figures, whose only distinguishing feature is their male student shape, have already begun to get busy.

"..."

Gao Hai didn't say anything, but quietly got out of bed and followed the students' example to make his bed.

He didn't see any rules or anything like that.

Compared to the situations at Fujika Junior High School and Hayate Elementary School, the current situation may not be particularly dangerous, but if we are not careful, we might die a rather tragic death.

What exactly has become of [Nightfall Mountain Middle School]? What specific operational requirements does the "change the predetermined future" condition for passing the level refer to? And what about the unsettling "unlimited" time limit for passing the level? All of these gave Gao Hai a very bad feeling.

Whether it's tragedy or comedy, is it just KP who craves intense emotions?

Gao Hai felt a mix of amusement and a sigh. He found himself somewhat envious of ordinary players without the black watch cheat code. He envied those who couldn't access the Keeper (KP) or the hidden secrets of the dungeons. Even a Red Moon-level player like Xiong Mi was unlikely to know about the scriptwriters who wrote the scenarios for the dungeons. Thus, the pressure they felt when facing dungeons came solely from the dungeon itself, unlike Gao Hai who had to consider deeper layers of complexity.

However, we don't need to worry about that right now. Let's focus on surviving, figuring out the current state of this instance, and rejoining the others as soon as possible.

Gao Hai set himself a few small initial goals, breaking them down step by step, and thinking about how to overcome the current difficulties.

Gao Hai had already roughly figured out the layout of the dormitory rooms through observation.