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

Miko's slightly nervous voice echoed in Hayasaka's mind.

Is there something in front of me that makes the voice of an old woman, trying to find my presence?

Hayasaka blinked.

Her vision was shrouded in darkness, and she could see nothing.

She didn't hear anything unusual either. The dark corridor was so quiet that she couldn't hear anything other than her own breathing and heartbeat.

But her companion told her that something was slowly approaching right in front of her.

[Frequency 3: Buzz... Welcome to listen... Buzz... May I ask... Buzz sharing...]

[Frequency 3: My husband... came home... *sizzle*... turned off the lights... He stayed in the dark... *sizzle*... I heard... chewing sounds... *sizzle*...]

[Frequency 3: There's...knocking on the window...I went outside...nobody was there...buzzing...I saw someone knocking on the window from outside...buzzing...someone's knocking on the window...]

The communicator rang again at some point.

Hayasaka instinctively wanted to turn off the communicator, but at that moment she couldn't see the frequency adjustment button. So when she touched the button, the girl hesitated for a moment, unsure whether she should adjust the frequency now.

{Do not change that frequency band}

Seeing that Zi suddenly reminded her urgently.

The sound wasn't coming from our communicator; the thing was above us. If you change the frequency, it can see us.

Stop! Don't back up anymore. People are coming from behind, a lot of people are coming. Stand still and don't move. You shouldn't be able to sense these things behind you; they might not even touch you.

Hayasaka stood quietly in place, motionless in complete darkness.

She still can't see or hear anything. Oh, no, she can still hear strange noises on the communication channel, the sound of a program that seems to be heavily interfered with and is playing on a certain frequency.

Are you feeling anything unusual right now?

Jianzi asked in the mental link.

{……No}

Hayasaka gave her answer as calmly as possible.

Okay, stay where you are and don't move. Just hold that position. It should... be fine...

After saying that, Jianzi quieted down.

In the absolute darkness, Hayasaka heard no other sounds.

Even based on what Miko had said earlier, there should be many people around her, and many things passing by one after another. But Hayasaka couldn't feel anything. She could only feel the damp air of this underground base and the cold air she inhaled with each breath. That was all.

[Frequency Band 3: So... we just didn't look back for a moment... and that recruit disappeared...]

[Frequency 3: Someone... found... a recruit's half-leg... with very deep teeth marks... in the canteen's trash can...]

[Frequency 3: Nobody tells us... what happened... but that night... someone slept in the recruit's bed... the next day it was covered in... blood...]

The communicator was blaring and noisy, filled with chaotic sounds, and it seemed that people were talking about something.

However, the interference noise was so severe that Hayasaka couldn't hear what was being said.

[Frequency Band 2: Turn around, hehe, turn around]

Then, the frequency band suddenly became clear.

It was so clear it felt like someone was talking to her directly through that frequency, right next to her ear.

Don't move! Not even a finger!

Jianzi's voice rang out even faster.

Please, absolutely do not move. They... there's something nearby. This one is different; it seems to have noticed you. Don't move, absolutely do not move. It's confused; it can't be sure. Just stay still and don't let it notice you.

[Frequency Band 2: Turn around, turn around, turn around and back and back and back... buzz... back...]

Seeing the panicked voice of the child, which mingled with the noisy sounds from the communication channel.

The girl stood still, listening silently to the two voices, until the latter began to produce interfering noises, until the latter's voice could no longer maintain normal communication and began to become intermittent, just like before.

[Frequency 3: So I was lying in bed reading... when suddenly my neck felt itchy... I turned my head... and my roommate was standing next to me...]

[Frequency 3: His head landed on me... *sizzle*... I was too scared to move... *sizzle*... I opened my eyes... *sizzle*... Everyone says I had a nightmare...]

[Frequency 3: That wasn't...a dream...I know...because he appeared again at night...right by my bedside...buzzing...]

After a while, Hayasaka heard the voice from the program switch back over the communication channel. But in that short time, the narrator's voice in the program had clearly changed, as if a completely different person was telling the story.

{Let's keep going. Those things are gone. The darkness here... seems to be able to conceal our presence.}

Miko let out a sigh of relief, and Hayasaka paused for a moment before continuing to walk.

This time, she didn't press Jianzi about what had happened.

In this pure darkness, Hayasaka felt it was best not to dwell too much on what had happened before.

One step, two steps...

The girl continued forward in the pitch-black environment.

The communication channel fell silent, as if the loud program sound from a moment ago had been an illusion.

Hayasaka couldn't help but think of the story Takami had once told her, about how he had once explored a partially flooded apartment in the dark, unable to see anything.

{Keep walking, and don't show any unusual behavior.}

Then, in Miko's voice, Hayasaka noticed that what he was holding had changed from a wall to a distinctly human skin-like texture.

call……

This time, she finally heard some different voices.

All around her, there was a sound like many people breathing together.

The thing she touched seemed to be trembling slightly, as if it were crying softly; it appeared to be a high school girl.

The girl showed no unusual reaction and continued to take steps forward, reaching out to feel around and experience the texture of the various clothes as she moved forward little by little.

There should be a door ahead, but it seems like those things aren't inside; it's as if some force is isolating them from its influence. Your position is slightly off-center from that door, about 15 centimeters to the right? Take about six more steps forward, making your movements more natural.

Seeing Zi's voice grow increasingly tense.

Hayasaka didn't know what Miko had heard or perceived that made her so nervous. But she was certain that what the other person was perceiving was different from what she was currently perceiving, otherwise the fear in Miko's voice wouldn't be so pronounced.

As for whether she was afraid or not, Hayasaka couldn't give a definite answer. She could only try to walk as quietly as possible, counting her steps as she went. After taking six steps, she reached out and touched the doorknob that Miko had mentioned, slightly to the right.

It's getting colder.

Although he had already sensed it before, Hayasaka could feel the dampness around him gradually increasing and the air becoming colder as his heartbeat quickened.

[Frequency Band 4: Number 020614. Don't forget to check your own condition; sometimes a small mistake can be fatal.]

The next moment, the communication tone made the girl's eyes widen in surprise.

It was only then that she suddenly realized how intensely she could feel the damp and cold environment of the underground base, given that she was wearing a full-body protective suit and breathing through an oxygen tank. Shouldn't her senses be confined by the protective suit?

I have to check my protective suit every 10 minutes... Oh no, my protective suit is torn!?

Snapped--

Before I knew it, my fingers were already gripping the doorknob.

{quick!}

Amidst the shouts in the mental link, Hayasaka abruptly turned the doorknob, and bright light followed, illuminating the room.

She took a step forward and stepped directly into the room.

Then she turned around and slammed the door shut, separating herself from the things outside.

Bang!

Before the door closed, Hayasaka saw what was outside.

Indistinct, fragmented human figures, laughing and watching her, those grotesque things, stood one by one in the darkness.

After the door closed, those things disappeared from Hayasaka's sight.

"call……"

Then, the girl took a deep breath, touched the possible damage to her protective suit, and turned to look at the room, inspecting the area.

A large desk, stacks of files, a cabinet for firearms, and a small object that looked like a sand table.

The good news is that there's nothing moving here except yourself, so it seems those strange creatures can't get into this place for the time being.

Hmm, it looks like this is a small office belonging to some officer?

Thinking this, Hayasaka took a step forward and came to the only desk in the room. He looked at the stack of documents on top of it and found that it was an appointment document.

[Reassigned Personnel: Sora Smit]

[Position: Captain]

[Reassigned to: Baydos Institute]

Chapter 87: What Hides in the Darkness and What Remains Within the Frequency Band

Is it a transfer document?

Hayasaka frowned as he looked at the old-fashioned document with black and white photos attached, his gaze lingering on the name "Sola Smit" for a moment.

When Master was exploring and investigating this area of ​​Bydos, did you encounter anyone with this name?

{Yotsuya-kun, have those things outside gotten in yet?}

Thinking of this, Hayasaka first carefully observed the surrounding environment, and at the same time asked in the mental link.

No, they're stopped outside the door. Hmm, this room seems to be a safe house; it should hold out for a while.

Miko quickly replied, and after confirming that she was safe, Hayasaka first pulled out the worrying document and set it aside. Then, she quickly began to check the damage to her protective suit and soon found a tear on her left wrist. At that moment, she could see her fair skin directly through the tear.

The location of this tear... is a common spot for wrist-slitting attackers. Why did my protective suit tear in this location?

There were no spare protective suits in the office, but Hayasaka found a roll of industrial tape and a spare oxygen cylinder. So she used the tape to wrap several times around the tear in her protective suit, completely sealing off any possible leaks. Then she replaced the oxygen cylinder, making sure the gas was back in the protective suit and there were no more leaks. Only after the damp and cold feeling of the research institute gradually disappeared did she feel a little relieved and pick up the documents to read.