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

Currently, it seems that there is no mandatory lunch break in the school rules. Neither the basic rules on the surface nor the survival rules on the inside have any special requirements for lunch breaks. In other words, whether or not to take a lunch break depends entirely on the students' voluntariness. In fact, Gao Hai can see many students playing football and basketball on the field from outside the window right now.

However, he still chose to return to the dormitory building, his purpose being to test the place and try to conduct a second round of investigation to see if anything unusual would happen during the lunch break.

Unfortunately, he hasn't gained anything useful since he returned to the dormitory.

Nothing fell outside the window, there were no screams from women, he didn't see anyone suspicious, and nothing called his name from behind. None of the strange things mentioned in the rule list appeared, and given the unclear situation, he didn't dare to act rashly and break the rules. So he simply left his dormitory and thought about what else to do next.

"Master...cough cough, are you alright?"

Hayasaka Ai, who had been waiting outside the door, was about to call out her usual name when she saw Takami, but she quickly realized that she was in a dungeon and had to avoid using names, so she swallowed the words back.

It was clear that this made the girl somewhat unhappy, although Gao Hai didn't understand why she cared so much about that rather unromantic nickname.

"No major discoveries, but it seems that solo operations are starting to attract the attention of those things. By the way, how's 508?"

Gao Hai calmly explained his situation, then looked at Hayasaka and Miko and asked.

"Nothing was found. Zao and I... cough cough, we investigated the dormitory building together for a while. During the process, I didn't look under the bed, but she searched under the bed and didn't find anything unusual."

“We weren’t noticed by other students, and we didn’t encounter anything unusual when we were alone in the dormitory.”

Miko and Hayasaka quickly gave their answers, and the content of their answers was completely predictable, so Takami could only sigh and had nothing else to say.

Well, at least we didn't encounter any danger, which is good news.

The other players are currently investigating in other areas. Since it's free time now, players can basically explore the entire campus, greatly expanding the scope of their investigations. Whether it's a secondary investigation of the dormitories and main teaching building, an in-depth investigation of the auxiliary teaching building and dining hall area, or an investigation of the meeting hall, swimming pool, indoor and outdoor sports fields, various roads and pavilions on campus, all of these require everyone to work together and act separately.

The sheer number of basic rule lists collected so far is already overwhelming, including rules for indoor sports fields, library student regulations, classroom usage rules in the affiliated teaching building, swimming pool usage rules, and so on. It's practically impossible for a new player to remember all of this. Gao Hai estimates that aside from veteran players with greatly enhanced memories, only truly gifted newcomers with photographic memory could possibly remember so much information, and this is just the beginning of the basics.

{Gao Hai: Zhenfei, how's the situation on your end?}

The black watch's spiritual link is activated again, connecting Takami and Shijo Maki's thoughts.

{Shijo Maki: We haven't encountered anything unusual yet. However, while the selection of books here is extensive, my aunt and I flipped through many and found numerous blank pages and inconsistent word counts. We suspect these books are actually replicas of memories, but the person who originally read them can no longer clearly recall what they've read, resulting in these books appearing this way.}

On the other side, Shijou Maki, who was in the library on the first floor of the affiliated teaching building, sat in the library's reading area, flipping through the book in her hands while occasionally observing her surroundings.

Kaguya Shinomiya sat opposite Maki, also carrying several books and flipping through their contents. Next to Kaguya, Nanami Aoyama sat quietly, wearing glasses, also reading several books.

The library area on the first floor of the attached teaching building is where these three players are conducting their investigation.

{Gao Hai: You mean these books in the library are replicas of memories, and therefore influenced by the people who created those memories?}

As Takami led Hayasaka Ai and Yotsuya Miko downstairs, he continued to ask Maki questions through the mental link.

{Shijo Maki: Yes, I searched the bookshelves carefully several times and confirmed that all the books my aunt and I had ever read could be found here, exactly as I remembered them. I also found some Chinese and English books, as well as some strange-looking books that are hard to identify and seem completely unfamiliar. We're currently going through these books, trying to find any clues.}

Is it a recurrence of memories?

I've heard others mention that the students the strange creatures transformed into look and sound very similar to the players' former classmates. So, finding unfamiliar books in the library that none of the players recognize might provide some useful clues.

Having thought this through, Gao Hai quickly made a decision.

{Gao Hai: I haven't found anything useful here without breaking the rules, so we've come here to work together to see if we can find more books that seem problematic.}

{Shijou Maki: Yes, Kai-kun. Be careful on your way here. We don't know when those things will attack us.}

As Gao Hai walked out of the dormitory building, he immediately noticed that Xiong Mi and Jian Bing had already occupied half of the basketball court, playing with several monster students. It seemed they were trying to integrate themselves into the monsters' activities and take the initiative. However, after observing them for a while, Gao Hai discovered a clear rejection in the monster students' actions. Once they got the ball, they had no intention of playing with Xiong Mi and Jian Bing, and would do everything in their power to prevent them from taking the ball, even forcefully bumping into them and attempting to attack their eyes and the back of their heads. Only because the two players were both at the Red Moon level were they able to maintain the upper hand despite the monster students' extreme rejection.

Just like back in Fujika Middle School, Sister Xiongmi always took the initiative to shoulder the dangerous parts of the dungeon raids. This behavior, which was almost like a direct confrontation with these students, was indeed extremely stimulating and might yield useful information, but if something went wrong, she and her companion would have to face the power of the monsters at point-blank range.

Gao Hai didn't stop. He glanced at Xiong Mi and Jian Bing in the distance, nodded to each other, and then continued forward.

Kenta Hayashibe of the Red Society went to the indoor basketball court alone, but there's been no response from his communication device yet, and it's unclear whether the situation is good or bad. Ichiri Goto himself infiltrated the venue area alone, creating several clones using his guitar-themed device to scout various roads around Yoruyama Middle School. Chika Fujiwara went to the swimming pool with another member of the Red Society, Ren Nanakawa.

So far, the players have explored almost every area of ​​Nightfall Mountain Middle School. However, Gao Hai is highly skeptical that this investigation will still yield no results.

It's possible that they won't be able to access those things they haven't been able to access before until the middle of the night.

"Well……"

At this moment, Miko, who was standing next to Gao Hai, frowned slightly.

It seemed like I sensed someone's gaze.

She turned her head slightly, first glancing in another direction, and then subtly shifting her gaze to the other side. Her eyes happened to sweep over the source of the gaze, only to discover that the other person was located in the main teaching building.

There's no way to determine which floor the gaze came from; the feeling of being watched was already quite vague, almost fleeting, and now it's completely gone.

This is how the same thing?

The girl couldn't be sure whether she was being watched by a strange creature or something else. The feeling of being watched came suddenly and disappeared quickly, so she couldn't clearly confirm the situation.

But one thing is certain: this feeling should not be ignored as an illusion.

Jianzi immediately reached out and grabbed Gao Hai's sleeve, tugged it gently twice, and then pulled it a little harder, as a signal to Gao Hai that something was wrong.

"..."

Gao Hai remained silent.

Two light taps, one heavy tap... Hmm, according to the agreed-upon code, does that mean that Jianzi can't be sure of the specific situation?

If it's a strange creature watching, there's no reason for it to suddenly glance at you and then completely ignore you. This is odd; I can't act rashly.

Thinking this, Gao Hai lowered his head slightly, met the gaze of Miko beside him, and confirmed through the hand gestures that the direction she sensed was from the main teaching building, which had been searched repeatedly.

Soon after Gao Hai and the others entered the affiliated teaching building, a rescue team member secretly climbed out of a window of the affiliated teaching building and slipped into the main teaching building to begin investigating it floor by floor.

On the surface, Gao Hai and the others, who seemed to have noticed nothing unusual, had already stepped into the library. Gao Hai immediately spotted Maki Kaguya and the others, as well as the dozens of books of varying thicknesses piled up on the table where they were sitting.

Chapter Sixteen: The Mental Link Project and the Investigation Within the Library

[Basic Student Rules for the Library]

1. Students must use their student ID card to enter and exit the library. Those without an ID card will not be allowed to enter or exit the library.

2. Silence should be maintained in the library; loud noises that disturb other readers are prohibited.

3. Smoking and open flames are strictly prohibited inside the library. Lighters, cigarettes, and other similar items are not allowed inside. Students should hand over such items to the registration desk upon entering the library.

4. Books in the library may only be read in the reading area. Unless you have registered in advance to borrow them, you may not take them out of the library. If you are found to have taken books out of the library without permission, you will be severely punished and banned from entering the library again.

5. Books marked as "valuable" may not be taken out of the library, and books marked as "library collection" may not be borrowed without the school's permission.

[6. Books can be borrowed from the library for 3, 5, and 7 days respectively. Books must not be returned beyond the pre-borrowed period. Books will not be allowed to be taken out after 3 overdue periods. Books not returned after 7 days will be considered lost. Regardless of whether the book is returned, the borrower will be required to pay for the lost book and will not be allowed to take it out again.]

7. Books borrowed from the library are for the use of the borrower only and should not be provided to others in principle. Any damage or loss caused by others shall be the responsibility of the borrower.

As soon as Gao Hai stepped into the library, he saw a new set of rules on the wall.

Instinctively, Takahashi turned to look at Yotsuya Miko, wondering if she had seen anything different. But then he remembered that even if Miko could see a different rule list at this moment, he wouldn't be able to understand what she was saying, so it would be pointless for him to ask.

The information-blocking mechanism in this instance is extremely unfriendly to intelligence exchange between teammates. To successfully pass this instance, Gao Hai feels he'll probably need to find a way to establish telepathic communication with Jianzi, to establish the special mental link that can only be established with the black watch. After all, only this mysterious [Key to the Unity of All Things] possesses power that transcends the instance's rules and can guarantee smooth intelligence exchange.

Unfortunately, this link could only be established after his death, while he was in that blood-red city. In the two operations at Fujika Middle School and Hayate Elementary School, the former failed because his emotional connection with Miko wasn't deep enough to establish a mental link, while the latter, after careful consideration, saw Takami ultimately choose to preserve his memories rather than establish a mental link. After all, although Takami claimed he wanted to resolve everything at once, he was still somewhat uncertain and couldn't afford to try and take it all.

But now, it's not impossible.

Now, it's certain that Fujiwara Chika can establish a mental link. As for Miko, although their relationship has developed rather slowly, she's already practically a guest in Blood City, so Takahashi believes establishing a mental link between them is definitely not a problem. As for Kaguya… well, let's put Kaguya aside for now and think about Hayasaka first. Speaking of which, his relationship with Hayasaka was actually a bit of a forced transaction; it just happened to be at the right time, and that's how their feelings deepened. But, Takahashi believes establishing a mental link shouldn't be a problem at all.

In other words, if he dies in the Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance—well, he's 100% certain to die once—then after death he'll need to establish a mental link with Chika, Miko, and Hayasaka. Including the cost of rewinding after death, Gao Hai would need to use up four rewind attempts in one go, consuming a full quarter of his handheld game count to achieve this goal.

If it were in one of the earlier dungeons, Gao Hai was certain he wouldn't have dared to waste skill points like that.

But in the present situation, doing so is not necessarily a bad thing. Well, at least the connection with Miko is something that can be done directly without much consideration.

After all, the self-recovery speed of his watch has now been reduced to once every 9 days.

Thinking this, Takahashi walked towards Kaguya Maki while glancing down at the black watch he was wearing.

At this very moment, the only hand on the watch is pointing to position [1].

When the Hayate Elementary School dungeon was cleared, the black watch absorbed the fragmented and obsessive objects left behind by the dungeon's destruction, causing the pointer to return to position [2]. Then, because it absorbed a large number of derivative obsessions, even though those obsessions were quite low-level and almost devoid of self, the watch's recovery function was greatly enhanced, so much so that the pointer returned to position [1] the day after Takami returned to reality.

Next, as long as today goes by safely, tomorrow the black watch will be able to reset one more time, allowing the hands to directly reach the position of [0].

Gao Hai could tell that the eeriness of the Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance was entirely hidden, so this quest was likely to take a considerable amount of time. Fortunately, his black watch could now automatically regenerate. Therefore, if he encountered difficulties, he was confident he could repeatedly attempt the quest by stalling for time and erasing his own memories—specifically, if there was indeed enough time within the instance for him to use such tactics.

However, that's a plan that would only be used in the worst-case scenario. Right now, he should first consider how to make use of his first life.

Gao Hai: How is the situation?

While he was thinking, Gao Hai walked up to Zhen Fei, sat down beside her, and asked her through the mental link.

{Shijo Maki: We haven't found any valuable clues yet, and the three of us are far from finishing our investigation of the library. You guys should search each bookshelf again to see if you can find any clues.}

Shijou Maki nodded slightly, replying to Takami via the mental link while quickly writing something in a notebook she had brought with her. She then showed the notebook to Miko and Hayasaka, who were standing next to Takami, and told them what she was going to do next.

Since the library rules regarding "no loud noise" didn't seem to have any specific standards, everyone could only try to think in terms of the strictest possible rules. So, Maki decisively tore open her notebook, gave a piece of paper to Takami, Miko, and Hayasaka, handed them each a pen, wrote "Be careful," and then continued to focus on the books she had brought.

Without hesitation, Gao Hai and the two girls quickly set to work and returned to the library's bookshelf area to search.

Of course, even under these circumstances, the three of them did not split up. Instead, they remained in a state of joint action, ensuring that they could keep an eye on each other at all times, and did not have any idea of ​​splitting up and acting alone.

"..."

Gao Hai could barely hear his own footsteps.

The library floor seemed to be made of some special material, so that almost no sound was made when footsteps were placed on it. Gao Hai didn't know the principle behind it, but under the white light, walking through the quiet bookshelf area, he felt a subtle sense of heaviness.

Faces under the beds in the dormitory building... recruitment forms for the Ghost Stories Club in the teaching building and voices in the toilet... So far, apart from the cafeteria, the two places I've been to haven't shown any major problems, but they've all revealed some abnormalities to varying degrees.

So, will there be any unusual phenomena appearing in the library? If so, in what way and in what form will they appear?

slam-la-

Take out a book and open it. Just as Maki said, the book looks normal on the surface, but the content is as if it were printed with errors. You can hardly find a single sentence that can be read normally.

Gao Hai then tried several more books, discovering that some contained readable sections, but these were often vague and abruptly interrupted, with no connection between paragraphs. The books were incredibly diverse, ranging from culinary works to various supernatural tales, professional books, and others that Gao Hai couldn't understand at all—a truly chaotic mess.

No clues could be found.

After searching for more than twenty minutes, Gao Hai was not surprised to find that he had only found a bunch of nonsense, and there was nothing of value in any of the books.

Admittedly, although no danger has yet befallen him on this mission, Gao Hai has already felt a strong sense of frustration. This is the first time he has encountered a copy that no matter how you investigate, you just can't find anything useful.

Hayasaka silently examined the books on the other side of the bookshelf. She carefully browsed through almost all the books on this shelf, but like Takami, she was unable to find any valuable clues.

Perhaps trying to find clues in these books is not a wise idea?

As Kaguya's attendant, Hayasaka knew this wasn't the first time she'd encountered all sorts of tricky problems. Especially lately, the young lady, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, had become even more clueless than she'd anticipated, forcing her to find ways to create opportunities for her mistress to get closer to Takami. While this process caused Hayasaka considerable trouble, it also opened up some new avenues of thought for the usually rule-abiding girl.

Looking down at the slightly old bookshelf, Hayasaka hesitated briefly before beginning to think. She began to consider the situation where the players couldn't find any clues and a way forward as another challenge that Kaguya Shinomiya had set for herself, and in order to find a possible solution.