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

Thinking this way, Gao Hai still felt somewhat uncertain. Kita Ikuyo's sudden pursuit was unexpected. Without him present, it was completely unknown whether Kaguya could successfully follow the core obsession cat alone. He could only try his best to believe that things would proceed smoothly and that the situation would develop in a positive direction.

Speaking of Kita Ikuyo, or more accurately, the strange creature possessing Kita Ikuyo, how exactly did it escape its confused state after I had confused its identity before?

Monsters are different from Alice, who is an exception. Alice possessed a human side, which allowed her to break free from the rules after a period of time. But normal monsters are mechanical, inanimate objects that only obey rules; they shouldn't have the concept of "breaking free."

So, if my actions have already restricted the thing that possessed Kita Ikuyo in terms of rules, what exactly is the opportunity for it to come back now?

It couldn't be that the monster itself generating some kind of thought or idea; monsters have no agency. It must be the intervention of an external force that could free it from its original state. So, external force, external force… If it's an external force… wait, could it be…

Gao Hai suddenly realized that the current situation was probably not as simple as it seemed.

He may have unwittingly stepped into a trap.

zizi——

The light furthest from Gao Hai, located at the end of the passage, went out completely after flickering for a long time.

Something stood in the completely dark area of ​​the passage, watching Gao Hai.

Snapped--

Another light went out.

At this moment, the distance between that thing and Gao Hai also became a little closer.

The soft murmurs became clearer, so clear that they seemed to be right next to my ears.

This feeling... is definitely not right!

It wasn't until he realized something was amiss that Gao Hai vaguely sensed something different.

That malice was somewhat different.

The malice emanating from this strange creature was different from the malice he had felt from other strange creatures before.

Unlike the malice that should be present in a non-human being—a malice devoid of any emotion or feeling, merely a twisted and frenzied accumulation of the deceased's lingering malice—this feeling… it's more like a malice with a clear self-awareness, a malice actively directed at another individual by some living being, a malice that wants to kill, destroy, and completely possess them. This is… this is malice with a clear direction that only a living person could produce!

They're from Takamagahara!

By the time he realized it, Gao Hai had already started to retreat rapidly. He had originally planned to wait for Kita Ikuyo to get a little closer and then try to use the teacher's certificate to see if he could force her to back down. But now that he understood that something else was probably looking for him, he decided not to risk contact and simply ran away.

I should have thought of this sooner. Back in the Hiromoto Mental Hospital, Miko mentioned that those people from Takamagahara might be able to control the third core obsession of Yoruyama Middle School to some extent. When Kita Ikuyo was possessed by the monster, these scumbags were probably behind it all. They're probably up to some nefarious scheme now, and I wonder how they managed to get that monster here.

They always hide themselves, like rats in a sewer, never seen in ordinary times, but they come out to disgust people at crucial moments. It's really too much.

Teacher... are you leaving...?

But just as Gao Hai was about to react, the girl's voice rang in his ears.

Snapped--

All the lights in the passage went out, leaving only complete darkness enveloping the place.

Gao Hai felt a voice ringing in his mind.

As the strange creature possessing Kita Ikuyo approached, something seemed to be gradually transferring from the girl to himself.

It's like a hermit crab, slowly emerging from its shell and gradually moving its body into another shell.

A strong sense of disorder washed over my brain in an instant.

Unable to mount an effective resistance, this invisible force was built upon the connection that Gao Hai had actively created, and he was now unable to erase that connection.

"Well!"

Click! ! !

One of the stored fragments of consciousness shattered, bringing a moment of mental clarity in return.

Gao Hai tried to back away again, but the girl in the darkness reached out and grabbed his wrist.

The opponent's strength was so great that Gao Hai's wrist strength was completely unable to resist; those small fingers were as unshakeable as high-strength alloy.

Tsk, if this continues...

Meow~

A clear meow reached Gao Hai's ears the next moment.

Next, what you smell is a strong stench of blood.

tick-

The dark red liquid began to spread.

tick-

The green leaves were stained crimson and swayed in the still-raging wind.

tick-

The crimson color had already filled most of the woodland.

Xiong Mi let out a long sigh of relief, reached out and shook off the bloodstains on her hands, as well as the two broken fingers.

Her surroundings were in complete disarray, with destroyed trees and damaged ground everywhere.

A crimson mist was spreading through the woods.

This was not the effect of some obsession or blessing, but real blood—an excessive amount of blood erupting in the woods, forming large patches of blood mist that obscured everyone's vision.

"The enemy's attack has been temporarily repelled, but they have more obsessions than we do. If this continues, we will still be at a disadvantage. Moreover, at least one of their players was missing during the last probing attack, so it's very likely that they have dispersed and are planning to look for other directions of attack or try to search for players other than us."

While talking, Jianbing next to him was rapidly typing something on the computer keyboard with both hands.

"What a hassle. We've already taken out two of their members, can't they just surrender obediently? What's the point of continuing to fight and entangle them? Ugh, what a hassle..."

Kenta Hayashibe sat on the ground, his tone full of frustration and dejection.

tick-

If you didn't look at the face the man was holding, you might actually think he was just a lazy, unmotivated person who was slacking off.

As it turned out, those fanatics were even more ruthless to their comrades than to their enemies. After confirming that Garisto and Evalist had lost all their obsession objects and that the cursed cat, a key obsession object, had vanished without a trace, they treated Garisto and Evalist as disposable expendables. They forced the two of them to bring up obsession objects with severe side effects in an attempt to take down the three on Xiongmi's side, while they themselves hid in the back, intending to be observers.

However, while these guys were somewhat capable, Xiong Mi's three were no pushovers either. Having taken precautions beforehand, neither the near-death, crazed Garisto nor the verbally manipulating Evalist were of any use. Garisto's throat was crushed by Xiong Mi himself, while Evalist was torn apart on the spot by Hayashibe Kenta, who even ripped his entire face off his head.

The scene was quite bloody. Although Xiong Mi, a Red Moon-level player, was quite knowledgeable, seeing how ruthless Lin Bujiantai, who kept complaining about trouble, was when he actually attacked made him look at him differently.

Furthermore, it's certain that the five players still clinging to their obsessions aren't in a good position either. Because they used the headless Buddha to restrict the enemy beforehand, even though these guys came up with the underhanded tactic of sending their own teammates to their deaths first, they still suffered a heavy defeat. Xiong Mi is certain that at least two are seriously injured and two are slightly injured. By now, the police officers Gao Hai sent have already given chase. Given the formidable strength displayed by that strange police officer, Xiong Mi doesn't think those fanatics will fare well.

However, the time they had to buy off was almost up. The enemy would never confront them head-on again; instead, they would try to bypass the position and attempt to break through from other places.

Therefore, Xiong Mi's side also had to retreat to protect Zhen Fei, who was left behind. Xiong Mi planned to go to the construction area and stay in the abandoned dormitory building that Gao Hai had mentioned was a safe zone.

"How are the other teams doing?"

Xiong Mi asked through the distributed communication token.

"The situation in Group 3 is good, and there are no problems at the moment. However, there has been no progress in the investigation."

Chika Fujiwara responded quickly.

Then, Gao Hai and Kaguya from the fourth group did not reply, remaining silent on the communication frequency. However, Xiong Mi was not too worried about this group. She had already become somewhat aware of a certain special ability that Gao Hai possessed, so she did not think he would fail so quickly.

However, there has been no response from Group One as well. Not long ago, Maki confirmed via mental link that Hayasaka and Miko had successfully escaped from prison, but since then there has been no news or clues, and they have no idea what's going on.

Are they encountering difficulties over there as well?

Xiong Mi was somewhat worried. After all, they were two complete newbies. Although Aoyama Nanami, who was taking care of them, was a senior, he couldn't explore with them. What if something happened... Well, never mind, let's not worry about that for now. Let's take care of ourselves first.

"Let's go," Xiong Mi said, putting aside her chaotic thoughts, before quickly retreating with the other two players.

Chapter 104: The Strange Situation Encountered by the Two Girls in Baidos

The situation on Hayasaka's side is indeed not good.

The previous operation went relatively smoothly. After successfully seizing the opportunity to slip out of the cell, Hayasaka defeated several monster soldiers training in the corridor, tore off their identification information from their clothes, took their ID cards, and then quickly rushed to the protective suit repair and replacement area to change into a new set of clothes.

Although the monsters tried to hinder Hayasaka's actions, since they were impersonating humans, their reaction speed and strength were not particularly strong. Therefore, they were easily defeated by the well-prepared Hayasaka using the pistol and fists shared by Miko. The whole process was like an agent infiltrating enemy camp in an action movie, a complete and utter stomp. After witnessing Hayasaka's series of step-and-punch maneuvers, four-kick combos in mid-air, one-handed automatic rifle bursts of fire suppression, and German-style back throws, Miko Yotsuya was somewhat stunned. Although her companion had already shown considerable skill in the previous playthrough, she never expected that her opponent could transform into a female version of Donnie Yen and go on a rampage.

In short, from the moment Hayasaka stormed into the protective suit repair and replacement area, changed her clothes, put on her identification tag, and walked out, brazenly blending into the midst of these monsters, nothing went wrong. None of the monsters noticed the infiltrated girl; they simply assumed she was one of their companions.

Considering only this part of the operation, Hayasaka could be said to have been quite successful. Of course, this was also due to the fact that these monsters were indeed not very bright, and they wouldn't recognize people just because they changed clothes. But what happened next was an unexpected situation that was difficult to face optimistically.

Buzz-buzz-

The piercing alarm blared one after another.

At this moment, all the strange creatures in Zone 1 of the research institute sprang into action, fully armed and assuming a posture of high alert, as if they were rapidly assembling to fight against something.

At first, Hayasaka didn't understand what was happening, or why these strange creatures had suddenly gone berserk. She could only cautiously follow one of the groups, running back and forth, under the command of the frequency band. Not long after, she heard an abnormal vibration coming from the depths of the area, and then felt something extremely terrifying spreading outward from the center of the research institute.

{Hide! Hide right now! Absolutely do not stay in the hallway at this time!}

With a noticeably clearer sense of awareness, Miko Yotsuya nervously warned Hayasaka through the mental link, her voice filled with fear.

What did she see?

Hayasaka was unaware of the vast difference in perspective between her companion and herself, but Takami had told her before the operation to unconditionally trust Miko's instructions, so she had no doubts at all and immediately broke away from the group to find a hiding place.

She first tried to enter the armory, which, as the base's weapons storage area, was clearly well-protected. But as soon as she entered, Jianzi immediately said that it was completely useless for hiding, and that the thing would definitely find them and capture them; they needed to find another hiding place.

What exactly did they discover?

Although curious, Hayasaka acted without hesitation, quickly finding an emergency power station to hide in. As a special facility responsible for supplying power to the research institute in emergencies, its protective measures were extremely thorough, practically impenetrable. However, Miko remained uneasy, anxiously stating that something had locked onto them and was approaching in their direction; staying there would only lead to certain death, and they had to move elsewhere.

Are you sure we've been locked on? If so, hiding anywhere won't help, right?

Noticing a distinctly abnormal and intense emotional fluctuation in Miko's voice, Hayasaka realized that the current situation was probably quite unusual. As he continued moving out of the power station, he asked Miko through the mental link.

{I...I don't know...but we can't let that thing catch up with us, we can't be caught. If we are caught, we absolutely cannot survive...Hmm, I think I've forgotten something, I don't understand what's going on...}

The girl's voice that rang out from the mental link was tinged with obvious hesitation and pause.

Something is wrong with her.

Whatever she saw, something was very wrong with her at that moment.

Regarding the events of the second loop, Takahiro made no attempt to conceal anything, and he explicitly stated that Miko could retain her memories of the rewind timeline just like him. Therefore, Hayasaka knew that his master and this girl with extraordinary sensory abilities died during their investigation within the research institute in the second loop. The manner of their deaths was unknown, but it was highly likely that they died around the same time, one after the other.

Takahashi did not reveal the specific manner of her death, nor what she saw or felt at the time of her death. Her partner, Yotsuya Miko, also did not say anything. She only told her what places they had been to in the underground research institute in the previous cycle and what kind of investigation they had conducted. That was all she explained.

Is something hidden in all of this?