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

The corpse under the bed had crawled out, and its target was the woman with severed hands and legs.

Gao Hai had already lifted the head, picked up the woman's scalpel, and then signaled to the terrified Maeda Mi and the Green he was carrying on his back to run. Along the way, Gao Hai also grabbed the wall clock from room 205. They then ran out of the room and back into the hallway. At that moment, Maki was already waiting at the door of room 206, carrying Lao Guo's backpack, having obtained his pistol and explosives.

Everything, from beginning to end, took only a few minutes.

Without any explanation, Maki simply told Kaguya, "Trust Kai-kun as you trust me," and then took action, persuading Sun Dajun to return to his room. Gao Hai went directly to Green, and with the visually striking object of his obsession, the faceless head, coupled with the words "Work for me or die," Green, who had been secretly observing, immediately bowed down and took Gao Hai to unlock the door to 205.

As for Lao Guo, he certainly noticed that Gao Hai had taken out his obsession object. But before he could fire a shot or do anything else, Gao Hai had already thrown out the blood puppet, causing Lao Guo to be entangled by his obsession object and trapped in the stairwell, unable to move.

As for the black guy, Gao Hai still doesn't know his name, or why he followed Lao Guo around like a lamb to become his sacrifice, even though he was in a hurry. He simply made a cut on the wall with his scalpel, pointed at the guy, and the black guy, seeing the easy cut in the concrete wall, exclaimed in surprise, "Oh man, I'll listen to whatever you say!" before running off to hide in room 206.

The strange knocker had already gone downstairs by then, but Gao Hai had gone into room 205, and the others had gone into room 206, leaving only Lao Guo, who was trapped in the corridor, still there. So the creature was attracted by this overly obvious target of mockery and went straight for him.

When Gao Hai and Green came out again, they were able to see Lao Guo's body gradually disintegrating, his mouth wide open but unable to utter a scream.

The eerie knocking didn't stop in the hallway. Although Gao Hai couldn't see the person, Zhen Fei, who had been listening in from the door of 206, opened the door as soon as she confirmed the footsteps were coming downstairs. She tore open a rulebook and slipped half of it through the crack in the door to 205 as a coded message to Gao Hai, allowing him to check the safety of the hallway. After confirming that Lao Guo was in the process of transformation, Zhen Fei mustered her courage and went straight to strip him of his remaining equipment.

Next came the most dangerous step. Gao Hai, who came out of room 205, took out the rescue team's badge, put a small nail on it, and nailed it directly into Lao Guo's chest, who was about to be completely turned into a door-knocking ghost story.

He waited in the corridor for a while, and only after seeing that the fragmentation of Lao Guo's body began to ease and his clothes began to transform into a life jacket did he retrieve the Blood Doll's obsession object. Then he also hid in room 206, locked the front door, and closed the living room door.

A few minutes later, when the door was opened, Lao Guo was no longer in the corridor, leaving only a row of wet footprints that stretched all the way to the stairwell.

The assimilation effect of the rescue team's obsession has a very high priority, stronger than the assimilation of the invisible knocking ghost story, and its effect strength is likely second only to the core ghost story of Shirakawa Apartment.

Although the process of figuring this out was extremely unpleasant, even painful to the extreme, all that pain eventually turned into experience, becoming Gao Hai's advantage in the new playthrough and ultimately helping him to annihilate the two veteran players.

Gao Hai finally relaxed and gave Zhenfei a thumbs up.

From the moment they began preparing for the operation, he and Zhenfei only briefly discussed their ideas, a process that took less than ten seconds. The entire process, including all the preparations, took only two or three minutes, and the coordination between the two sides was flawless.

"Finally... the two biggest cancers have been eliminated."

After this series of actions, Gao Hai, who was somewhat listless due to using several obsession items in a short period of time, took a deep breath and sat on the living room floor, speaking with deep emotion.

Aside from Zhenfei, who knew everything and cooperated actively, almost everyone else present was in a state of confusion and shock, not understanding what had happened in the first few minutes.

Chapter 44: Can We Really Rest Assured Now?

Tick-tick-tick-

Change out of the wet shoes.

Gao Hai placed the key and tape for 304 on the table, then put down three rescue team badges, before lying back in his chair and letting out a long sigh.

The exploration of the first floor went very smoothly. Having already gained experience, he went down and managed to tear off a badge and stick it on himself. Then he went into room 109 and got the key and the tape. This time, he was not watched for finding the key information in Shirakawa's apartment. So far, there has been no sign of that little thing around him.

However, he had a feeling that if he tried to recall what he had seen in the previous timeline—even without saying it aloud, just recalling it might attract that thing's attention. As the true danger in the entire Shirakawa Apartment, if he dared to underestimate it because of the time rewind, the consequences would be dire.

"Wearing this badge allows you to be temporarily identified as a member of the rescue team, making it a very useful symbol of your commitment. However, this thing has a terrifying effect on willpower, so Miss Shinomiya and Maki, I'm only giving it to the two of you. Be extremely careful when using it, and if you notice anything amiss with your mental state, you must immediately remove the badge. Miss Shinomiya can ask Maki about this; she knows very well what happens if you wear this for too long."

Gao Hai spoke seriously to the two girls in front of him.

Kaguya hesitated, her gaze constantly shifting between Maki and Takami, but in the end she only nodded silently without saying anything.

In contrast, Maki's gaze was much sharper. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she only said "I understand" to Gao Hai before saying anything more.

As for Sun Dajun and Maeda Miwa, well, this time it's really Maeda Miwa, not that traitorous idiot anymore. Although she's still useless, at least this woman can understand human speech and knows when to be quiet, which is quite rare. In short, both of their worldviews have been easily changed. The method was simple: Gao Hai directly used the Blood Puppet, his obsession object, on them, letting them personally experience what it feels like to be grabbed by a group of corpses and dragged into the mud (of course, their mouths were gagged beforehand). After that, Sun Dajun and Maeda Miwa both became obedient.

After the scene where Gao Hai threatened him with his head, Green had already come to regard Gao Hai as the kind of ruthless player who would kill without hesitation and would cut down anyone who disobeyed. As a result, Green was ten to nine times more obedient than in the previous two playthroughs. Gao Hai was quite satisfied with this, but even so, he wouldn't trust this thing in crucial moments.

As for the black guy, Gao Hai finally learned his name: Mamer, a fervent fan of Chinese fantasy web novels. He even gave himself a Chinese name, Mamaipi, which he claimed was a trendy and cool buzzword he found online. He was very proud of this name and had it tattooed on his body. Anyway… putting aside all the questionable aspects, this black guy was quite obedient. He immediately declared that he wanted to be a follower of the Infinite Flow team, adventuring alongside Gao Hai, gaining enhancements from the main god to break through genetic limitations and become a superhuman… Anyway, putting aside all the questionable aspects, this guy named Mamer was quite reliable.

All the items the group had acquired—items that once belonged to the two veteran players but now belonged to Gao Hai and the others—were placed on the table in room 206.

These two scalpels are extremely sharp, capable of easily severing bone, and are incredibly durable and will not wear down. However, using them will gradually generate a strong urge to attack, making one increasingly bloodthirsty, and ultimately leading to the loss of self. They are weapons that require a strong will to use with caution.

A red rag doll. Gao Hai had never quite figured out how to use it or what its effects were, but he always felt that the doll's eyes were those of a living person, and that it was constantly watching its surroundings. Without figuring out exactly how to use it, he decided to put it into the watch's interdimensional space. After all, his obsession was ultimately related to ghost stories, so he had to handle it with care.

The Blood Puppet is a very straightforward object of obsession; its function is to restrict movement. It can only target a single person at a time, dragging them along. If the dragged party isn't strong enough to resist, it seems to drag them into a mud pit, where they would likely die. To retrieve it, the original Blood Puppet must be taken back; otherwise, it won't stop moving, making it a dangerous item that can easily spiral out of control.

The faceless head is also extremely dangerous. After trying it once, Gao Hai confirmed that once released, it must be fed meat, and the freshest flesh at that. Otherwise, it will inevitably turn on its master. Even if it does eat meat, it must be retrieved with extreme caution, as a moment's carelessness could result in being bitten. Furthermore, this thing is purely a tool for humans. During the second playthrough, after Gao Hai was partially converted into a rescue team member, the thing simply stopped working and became completely unresponsive to the supernatural.

Gao Hai hesitated about whether to keep this thing. He felt that it was useless and dangerous, but considering that Lao Guo and the traitorous woman were two veteran players, Gao Hai, who had developed a pessimistic expectation about the overall quality of players in the sacrifice game, ultimately kept it and designated it as a self-defense weapon.

Finally, Gao Hai obtained a small box of ashes, which he remembered had caused him some inconvenience after he became possessed. However, since the watch did not classify it as an object of obsession, it could not be contained, so he entrusted it to Zhen Fei for safekeeping.

Aside from these obsession props, two semi-automatic pistols, two boxes of ammunition totaling 60 rounds, and four explosives detonated via a homemade circuit were found in Lao Guo's backpack.

This dangerous weapon was utterly useless against the supernatural, but posed a significant threat to humans. The two pistols were eventually given to Maki and Kaguya respectively, and the explosives were also divided equally between them.

Incidentally, during the event, when Takahashi asked Kaguya Maki if she could shoot, and received a negative answer, Green stepped forward and said with a smile that he could use a gun. Knowing how unreliable this guy was at crucial moments, Takahashi's response was to smile and hand over the gun. Then, just as Green was about to take it, he asked, "If I give it to you, are you really sure you want it?" This successfully frightened Green so much that he turned pale, apologized repeatedly, and dared not come forward again.

"In short... you've actually already experienced what happened in this apartment once before, but back then we failed because of those two people. Then you turned the clock back in time by moving the clock, which is how you realized you had to take action..."

After listening to Maki and Takami's explanations separately, Kaguya took a deep breath, sat down and thought for a long time before she could barely accept it all.

However, when Zhenfei and Gao Hai were alone together, things became more complicated.

"It has nothing to do with the wall clock, right? This is your own trump card, isn't it, Haijun?"

In the second-floor hallway, bathed in the harsh white light, Maki stood against the wall, her brownish-purple eyes fixed intently on Takahashi ahead, speaking earnestly. Though her words were phrased as a question, the girl's tone was clearly a statement.

"That's right, but I didn't expect you to remember what happened this time."

Gao Hai glanced at his watch, which had reached the third mark, before looking at Zhenfei and answering.

"Including the last operation, the timeline you mentioned was also a lie, right? You're actually starting from scratch for the third time, aren't you?"

Princess Zhenfei sighed softly, then asked again, clearly indicating that this clever girl had already understood everything.

"Yes, that's right. But rather than presenting something completely unfounded, a wall clock is easier to understand and explain, which is why I didn't choose to tell the truth at the time."

Gao Hai did not hide anything from the girl in front of him and answered very solemnly.

"I know, I understand what you're thinking, but... you're really something else. What kind of ability is that, and why does it have such amazing effects?"

Empress Zhen hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking again.

"I don't know the answer to this kind of question either. I can only say that I'm figuring out how to use this thing through trial and error. As you know, figuring out how this thing works is no easy task."

Gao Hai's expression turned somewhat helpless. He could only reach that blood-red city by dying, and he had only done so twice so far. What could he possibly figure out?

"...Will it bring you danger? Is this ability as dangerous as the object of your obsession?"

Seeing Gao Hai like this, Zhenfei remained silent for a while before asking again, still feeling uneasy.

She could still clearly recall how ugly and terrifying Gao Hai looked, lying on her lap, his utterly twisted and miserable appearance still causing her immense heartache whenever she thought about it. Especially since even in that state, Gao Hai hadn't succumbed to the pain; this willpower made the young woman even more reluctant to let go. In her view, having the talent to endure pain was never something to be celebrated, which was why she tried to be as gentle as possible with Gao Hai, hoping he would express more of his emotions and feelings.

To be able to be resurrected after death and start all over again.

Such power sounds incredible, almost like that of a god.

Even though the Shirakawa apartment already had a clock, a device that could rewind time, it was still part of a ghost story and had obvious limitations. In contrast, the unknown power within Takami was truly unsettling, and Maki was genuinely worried.

"Don't worry. Although I'm not entirely clear on the specifics, as long as I don't face a desperate situation like last time, this ability shouldn't harm me."

Gao Hai, who knew nothing about the blood-red city, couldn't say anything against his conscience, so he could only comfort the girl in this way.

As long as he doesn't die from any accident, this thing shouldn't harm him before he dies of old age. At least for now, Gao Hai believes his judgment is correct; however, whether he can actually pull it off in practice is another matter.

"That's it..."

Knowing that she couldn't say anything more about this matter, Princess Zhen nodded gently and fell silent.

"Well, anyway, it's really great that you remember. I thought I would have to face you again, since you don't remember anything."

Gao Hai smiled again and then spoke his mind.

At least in his own view, there was nothing wrong with this heartfelt statement.

But for some reason, Maki's cheeks flushed almost immediately, and she subconsciously avoided Gao Hai's gaze, her posture changing from relaxed to rather reserved.

Huh? What's wrong with her? Could it be that what I said just now was a bit too cheesy?!

Gao Hai belatedly realized something was wrong, but didn't know how to fix it. He felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Speaking of which... you know you can start over, so last time, what you said about... never being kissed by a girl, you weren't just trying to take advantage of that opportunity, were you? You even acted like it was a life-or-death farewell..."

Then, Gao Hai heard Maki's voice, which was very low, almost a whisper.

He couldn't see the expression on her face because Maki had already lowered her head, but he could see her slightly reddened ears, and he could imagine that the girl was probably not in a good mood at the moment.

"No, it was the truth back then, the truth that couldn't be more true. For me at that time, it truly was a farewell between life and death, Makoto."

After a brief moment of thought, Gao Hai spoke to Zhenfei in a firm tone.

However, what he was thinking about was proving that he wasn't just trying to take advantage of the situation. What Gao Hai didn't expect was that Maki didn't want to ask that question at all. She was now preoccupied with another sentence, the one Gao Hai had said with a smile at the end: "I really like you."

What? Confessing to someone you've only known for three days? That's just awful, like a total jerk!

No, he's known me longer than I've known him—maybe many days for him—and he said he saw me die in front of him. No, no, that's not the same thing at all! That jerk is so frivolous! Besides, I clearly... I clearly did...

"Hmph, I never believe what you say. Who knows if you're lying or not? You've already lied to me once."

Finally, Zhenfei, whose mind had short-circuited, raised her head and snorted coldly at Gao Hai, her tone extremely harsh, though the blush on her cheeks was equally noticeable.

Is this... triggering a tsundere reaction?

When Gao Hai saw Zhen Fei's appearance, he had to admit that his heart skipped a beat.

Although creating this kind of atmosphere in this dilapidated and eerie apartment seemed a bit strange, he actually quite enjoyed it...

Gao Hai turned his head and looked at the end of the corridor.

Zhenfei, who reacted even earlier than him, also turned her head and looked at the end of the corridor.

Hehe haha—

The children were laughing happily.

The children are walking towards us step by step.

Oh, it's a child I don't know.

Want to play together?

Play together?

Play together?

Let's play together! Let's play together!

Tread - Tread -

The children's footsteps grew closer.