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

That thing will inevitably appear before him, and when it does, it will likely be the moment when he must make a choice about his own fate and that of the entire world.

Even with the black watch as a cheat code, Gao Hai still couldn't suppress the unease in his heart. This feeling of being relentlessly pursued by something unknown, unable to escape, and forced to helplessly face it was incredibly uncomfortable.

I don't want to become some kind of great hero. Can't this kind of thing be left to a more noble and righteous protagonist?

Having finished his noodles and soup, Gao Hai casually tossed the empty noodle bucket into a trash can on the side of the room, letting out a silent sigh.

The final result of the discussions was to re-explore the dormitory building.

Based on the information currently available, regardless of whether Eriko Asamoto is alone or part of a group, the most important element in this core obsession remains the mysterious "teacher," the one whose identity Takami is suspected of stealing, for whom no crucial clues have been found. The dormitory building, at present, seems to offer a high probability of providing clues related to this.

Although the female ghost who jumped off the building is difficult to deal with, with the help of Goto Ichiri and Kumami, it might be possible to find a way to restrain her. And once this biggest threat roaming the dormitory building is under control, the investigation will be much easier.

Of course, since it was mentioned that they needed to specifically deal with the female ghost who jumped off the building, it naturally meant that they needed to investigate the dormitory building in the middle of the night.

After all, Gao Hai hadn't obtained any useful information during the daytime investigation, and considering the day-night cycle of this instance, it was still necessary to venture out and explore at night.

Reports continued to come from Maki's side. Nanakawa Ren had attempted to detach a paper doll from the courtyard using a magical artifact, but the artifact had slipped out of control and disappeared without a trace. Aoyama Nanami, on the other hand, temporarily abandoned any further digging or wall-breaking actions, deciding instead to set up a tent in the dense bushes of the courtyard to try and block the students' view and see if that would change anything.

Gao Hai estimated that this operation would not have any effect.

However, Gao Hai did exchange another very important piece of information with Zhen Fei, which was the [name] of that group of cultists.

From the moment they entered this instance, everyone quickly realized the importance of names and deliberately avoided addressing each other by name, even using descriptive terms, to prevent triggering any unknown mechanisms. However, these cultists were unaware of this. Being in the forest area, they had no access to the school's rulebook and continued to address each other by code names or full names.

So Gao Hai told Zhen Fei all the names of these people, and then through Qing Shan Qi Hai, he turned these names into lines of blood-red characters floating in mid-air, which drifted into the eyes of the group of strange students who were standing by the window watching the courtyard.

To be honest, Gao Hai was somewhat impatient, eager to see what would happen to the cultists whose names had been leaked to the monsters.

For now, however, he could only suppress his curiosity and quietly stay in the swimming pool waiting for night to fall.

From the direction of the blocked-off swimming pool, strange noises could still be heard from time to time. However, none of the people inside paid any attention to them. Since the thing could not be fully understood, it could not enter the building, so they continued to live in peace.

Gao Hai himself sat against the wall, half-closing his eyes to pass the time.

Fujiwara Chika sat beside him, her head tilted to the side, resting on his arm; she was already asleep.

At first, Miko, who was sitting on the other side, was a bit reserved, keeping about three fists' distance between herself and Gao Haihai. But after sitting for a while, the girl also started to feel sleepy. So, with her eyes open and closed, she swayed back and forth and soon fell asleep against Gao Haihai.

Xiong Mi stood at the entrance of the swimming pool, a cigarette dangling from his lips, puffing out smoke one puff after another. Every now and then, he would look up at the sky, his expression seemingly carrying a sense of vicissitude.

Goto Ichiri himself carefully sat opposite Takami, the two of them about fifteen or sixteen meters apart in the hall, facing each other.

"..."

Little Boqi opened his mouth, looked at Gao Hai, and then fell silent.

She shifted uncomfortably, hesitating as if she wanted to get up, but in the end she just remained seated.

Then, after a moment of silence, the girl's expression became agonizing, like a volcano about to erupt at its limit, and then... then nothing happened. Goto Ichiri didn't erupt; instead, she slumped down, completely dejected and listless.

"Anything you want to ask?"

Then, Gao Hai's voice reached Goto Ichiri's ears the next moment, causing the girl to subconsciously look up and see the man smiling at her.

Chapter 68: Goto Ichiri's Nightfall Mountain Middle School Exploration Mission

Gao Hai could clearly sense that Goto Ichiri suddenly became tense.

Even though they had already communicated and interacted more than once before, and had a basic understanding of each other, Goto Ichiri still acted as if they were meeting for the first time. She would tremble after saying just a few words, always cautious and timid, leaving everyone at a loss for words.

What's particularly amazing is that, despite Pochi's tendency to act as if she's been bullied constantly, according to the original comic, she wasn't actually bullied much. Because of her striking appearance and the aura she supposedly exudes when silent—an aura that makes people want to keep their distance—she's had a smooth and successful life from childhood, only being ostracized by classmates but not bullied.

To be honest, this premise is quite something to complain about. If Takami wasn't very familiar with the Japanese atmosphere before, she might have just thought the premise was a bit strange. But after Fujiwara Chika explained the absurd atmosphere and culture of Japan, looking back at Goto Ichiri's experience... well, how should I put it? It really does feel a bit like a fairy tale.

And assuming this background won't change due to any parallel universe effects—well, it probably hasn't—after all, when Chika was talking about the "atmosphere" issue, Goto Ichiri's reaction didn't seem like someone who had truly experienced such things deeply. In contrast, Kaguya's complex reaction at that time showed that she was someone with a story.

In other words, her social anxiety is innate.

Despite having a harmonious and happy family, genuine love and care from her parents, and no bullying from her classmates, and a smooth and uneventful childhood and adolescence, Goto Ichiri developed a bizarre personality with severe social anxiety, and even a tendency to develop social phobia into social terrorism.

Gao Hai really didn't know how to describe this innate personality distortion. Of course, although it was strange, it was also quite amusing, with a kind of aesthetic appeal to forcing her to sign a liability transfer agreement and take on the debt.

However, we're still in the instance right now, so let's save the pranks for when we leave this awful place and get back to our daily routines.

"Regarding her condition, we can now confirm that she does retain self-awareness. So the most important issue now is how to sever her connection with that monster and ensure that her vital signs are maintained the moment she breaks free from control."

After a series of wicked ideas flashed through Gao Hai's mind, he finally spoke in a serious and earnest tone.

"she?"

Goto Ichiri was stunned for a moment. This idiot had been worried about Kita Ikuyo's problem the whole time, but now that Takami had brought up the topic, she didn't react immediately.

"Your friend helped block the core obsession that was chasing us when we were in the affiliated teaching building. This alone is enough to prove that she is still alive, or at least that her self-awareness has not been completely lost and that there is still hope for her."

Gao Hai was surprised that Xiao Boqi could be so innocent, and he almost couldn't hold back. He twitched his lips a few times before continuing to speak.

"...Oh, so, she...she's still alive, right? There's...there's still hope, right?"

The pink-haired girl became excited almost immediately, but when she saw Takami make a shushing gesture and give a look to Chika and Miko, who were sleeping next to him, Goto Ichiri quickly lowered her voice and tried to be as quiet as possible, but her anxious expression was obviously not going to be contained for the time being.

Given their level of excitement, does that mean they have a really good relationship?

Looking at this girl who was genuinely worried about her friend, Gao Hai couldn't help but feel a little sentimental. Why hadn't he made a friend like that during his school days? Well, having a friend like that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing for him, since he had transmigrated and completely abandoned the interpersonal relationships of his original world. From that perspective, it's better to have no friends.

Tsk, I've digressed. Let's focus on the problem at hand.

"At least we can be sure that there is still self-awareness. As long as self-awareness exists, there is hope for rescue."

Gao Hai nodded affirmatively, and as he finished speaking, a light immediately shone in Goto Ichiri's eyes.

She has a puppy-like quality to her; if this kid were properly trained, she might be even more... no, no, no, she's not my girlfriend right now. This isn't the time to think about that. Let's deal with the immediate problem first. In any case, I need to leave this instance and break through that illusory third core obsession, so whether I save Kita Ikuyo or not, I'll have to confront her sooner or later. Before that, I need to find out if I can get more information from Goto Ichiri, the girl who knows Kita Ikuyo well and has a close relationship with her.

"In short, being able to save someone is one thing, but how to save them is another. There are many things that need to be carefully considered. Therefore, before I face your friend again, I need to know more information. If you don't mind, I would like to confirm what exactly happened during the instance exploration when you and she were separated."

Considering that there were two girls who were already asleep beside him, Gao Hai spoke in a very low voice.

However, the person sitting opposite him was a Red Moon-level player, so it wasn't like he wouldn't hear what was being said if the voice was slightly lowered. So, after closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, Goto Ichiri began to tell Takami about what had happened.

At that time, Goto Ichiri, Aoyama Nanami, and Kita Ikuyo were working with other Red Moon-level player teams to enter the massive "School Ghost Stories" instance to gather intelligence and data for further investigation and even the possibility of seizing the core obsession object.

During this exploration, Goto Ichiri himself unexpectedly came into contact with Asamoto Eriko's core obsession.

This contact process seemed quite absurd to other players. Goto Ichiri had only played the guitar continuously for six hours without even taking a moment to catch her breath, and then the guitar that she was obsessed with automatically flew towards Ichiri and became her possession.

However, for Goto Ichiri himself, who accomplished this feat, it was a hell from which there was no way to escape, where even the slightest mistake would lead to utter ruin.

Many people later believed that this core obsession might have been about leaving his guitar to someone before he died, so there were rules related to "tests" in his obsession after death, and Goto Ichiri just happened to have the key to the answer that corresponded to it, which is why he was able to get this invaluable core obsession item by sheer luck.

However, Goto Ichiri herself knew very well that she hadn't just been lucky enough to pass some kind of test; rather, the monster had already locked onto her and triggered the killing rule to attack her. If she hadn't made a quick decision in the face of danger, using her musical sense and blessings to perceive that the monster was actually expressing a certain emotion while playing the guitar, and then tried to imitate and follow that emotion with her own guitar, the girl would have been killed on the spot.

The following six hours, in the eyes of onlookers, were a thrilling challenge to the player's core obsession with top-tier strength, culminating in a glorious victory. But for Goto Ichiri herself, it was a brutal and suffocating ordeal.

The evil spirit named Eriko Asamoto wasn't playing music at all; the chaotic, melody-less notes were essentially a manifestation of extreme madness. Despair, pain, rage, distortion… these emotions were released with the frenzied music, inflicting pervasive pollution. To survive, Ichiri Goto had to desperately imitate the spirit's music, forcibly merging her own playing with the evil spirit's, making it unable to distinguish between her and Ichiri, thus escaping its killing intent.

This emergency measure initially barely saved Goto Ichiri's life, but Asamoto Eriko's playing was extremely fast and varied, with twisted emotions shifting almost constantly. Goto Ichiri had to concentrate intently on playing to match Asamoto's rhythm for over four hours before she could finally keep up, preventing the monster that identified players by their music from recognizing her. Even so, Goto Ichiri's situation remained extremely dangerous, because if she paused even slightly—no, even if she fell slightly behind—the monster would immediately detect her and attack.

At that time, neither Nanami nor Kita could save Goto Ichiri, because her actions had already bound her to that monster, and outsiders could no longer interfere with this duel between humans and monsters.

If things continue like this, there is no doubt that Goto Ichiri, whose physical strength and energy will eventually reach their limits, will ultimately not escape death.

But through her incredibly sustained performance of over four hours, she gradually began to understand the emotions this strange entity was expressing, and sensed that something was missing from its playing—some deliberately concealed melodies. It was like a song that kept looping the intro, never quite getting to the main theme; it needed further guidance to unleash what followed.

Then, she tried to guide the melody of the eerie creature.

Instead of echoing the other person's crazy and distorted voice, I tried to add my own notes to the playing and try to bring in other emotions.

At the beginning, this almost instantly killed Goto Ichiri, who was already mentally exhausted.

But with the life-saving items provided by Nanami Aoyama and Ikuyo Kita, she persevered and began to revise the performance content again and again, trying to make herself the protagonist of the concert.

Then, at the cost of exhausting her and Kita Ikuyo's life-saving artifacts and losing most of Aoyama Nanami's artifacts, Goto Ichiri finally found her hidden emotions and played them out, adding them to the cyclical performance. The monster's playing began to be swayed by the girl, gradually becoming one that played along with her. When Goto Ichiri finally took control and played a complete song by her own band, completely masking Asamoto Eriko's music, the monster vanished without a trace, and the core artifact, the guitar, flew automatically to Goto Ichiri and was taken by her.

The hidden emotions are regret, sadness, and a hint of anticipation and joy.

As for more specific information, Goto Ichiri didn't know, though she naturally shared this information. Takami speculated that Asamoto Eriko's last wish was to see that "teacher" one last time, partly based on the information provided by Goto Ichiri.

If the story ended here, it might indeed be considered a beautiful story of overcoming hardship to achieve victory.

However, Goto Ichiri and the others, who had finally obtained the core item guitar, still had a lot of time before they could complete the task of "surviving in the dungeon for 24 hours." At that time, all three of them were in a very bad situation, and even if they obtained the core item guitar, it would not change their disadvantage.

For players venturing into Red Moon-level dungeons, backstabbing and hostility are rare occurrences, as everyone faces immense challenges and understands the potential ripple effects. However, the situation is entirely different for a heavily damaged team, especially when dealing with a Red Moon-level core artifact—a rare and highly sought-after treasure that can drastically alter a team's combat strength.

Although no other player teams made a move at the time, and everyone inevitably felt greedy, they still carefully restrained themselves from actually attacking. However, as the survival time gradually approached the final few hours, the environment inside the dungeon became increasingly harsh and severe. Under the survival crisis, more and more players began to pay attention to Goto Ichiri's team, and the atmosphere among the survivors gradually began to change.

Aoyama Nanami realized that things might go wrong if things continued this way, so the three of them broke away from the group in the last hour and went to another relatively safe area within the instance. That was also one of the areas they were initially responsible for investigating, namely the 10th basement level of the main teaching building.

And the tragedy happened there.

"That thing... it has no shape, no sound, no color, no breath..."

Goto Ichiri lowered his head and said in a soft, weak voice.

Her body was trembling slightly. Her emotions made Goto Ichiri unwilling to recall that moment any further, but her reason was forcing her to remember the things that caused her pain.

"That feeling was really strange. We didn't see anything. The other side of the corridor was completely empty, and there was no feedback whatsoever. But we all felt that there was something there."

"We cannot see it, feel it, or describe it, yet we instinctively feel that it is there, and we can sense it walking towards us, approaching us step by step. All means of resistance are ineffective, because neither obsession nor blessing can select a target, nor can they find this non-existent thing."

"Then, she (Kita Ikuyo) rushed up..."

Chapter 69: The Autistic Girl Who Masters Mental Dramas and the Manifestation of the Anomaly

Ichiri Goto himself is unaware of how Kita Ikuyo ended up in this possessed state.

That point in time was already close to the end of the game, the time when they would return to the real world. Moreover, after Kita Ikuyo sacrificed herself to buy time for Ichiri and Nanami, the remaining two did not dare to stay and observe the situation, but instead took the opportunity to escape.

To be precise, Nanami escaped by dragging Ichiri, who refused to leave. It was after that incident that Nanami's already cautious style became even more prudent, which is why she stopped Maki and the others from taking action earlier.

As for Gao Hai, besides marveling at the terrifying skills Goto Ichiri displayed when facing the core obsession, he couldn't help but think about the fact that her team encountered the third core obsession. He quickly realized that the reason why Goto Ichiri's team was in danger when they were severely weakened, and that they were facing the highest level of [Original Ghost Story], was probably not a matter of luck, but rather the work of some guy who couldn't handle the situation.

After all, the KP who was called the "writer" was truly a spoiled brat who couldn't handle the game. Through subsequent analysis, it was revealed that during her six-hour-long, extremely intense, and inhumane solo performance, Goto Ichiri imitated the monster's playing, guided and altered its performance, and stirred up its lingering emotions from its previous life, causing it to imitate her playing. In effect, she made herself more like Eriko Asamoto than Eriko herself within the rules, thus altering the ownership of the guitar that she was obsessed with and obtaining it.

It's safe to say that this is something virtually impossible for anyone other than Pochi to achieve. From a player's perspective, this is an unrepeatable miracle. But precisely because it's a miracle, it's absolutely unacceptable to the "writer." In the eyes of that idiotic, sentimentalist who blindly idolizes tragedy, achieving an impossible miracle through a combination of willpower, talent, and effort is undoubtedly something it finds extremely repulsive. Therefore, it will definitely target Goto Ichiri's team, and Kita Ikuyo's half-dead state is like a scar deliberately used to mock Pochi, luring this desperate girl back to the instance to try and save her friends.

[A lovely girl achieved a miracle through courage and perseverance, but at the cost of her friends. In the end, to save her friends who died because of her, she desperately tried to create another miracle, but tragically succumbed to reality and fell into eternal sleep in darkness with her friends. Ah, what a beautiful story.]

Gao Hai could even picture the writer's expression and words.

It's disgusting, it makes me want to vomit. Even though it's already been killed, it still pops up every now and then to disgust people. No way, next time I go to Crimson City, I'm definitely going to give that bastard a good beating to vent my anger.