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

In other words, are there other forces besides this one, or is there a third team of players lurking in the shadows?

Goto Ichiri's mind started to race.

This sudden, weighty revelation, delivered right off the bat, left the girl utterly bewildered. She instinctively sensed it might be a trap, a scheme by a hidden enemy to disrupt her thinking and set a snare for her team. But what the other person said was too much for Goto Ichiri to ignore. What if something really happened to her friend? What if something really happened to Kita Ikuyo…?

No, calm down, calm down.

There's definitely something wrong with this message. Don't let it get to you or disrupt your train of thought!

Until the bell rang and the students gradually left their seats, Goto Ichiri remained seated. He seemed slightly dazed for a moment before taking a deep breath and standing up.

She knew her mind was a bit of a mess right now.

The mysterious thing that appeared suddenly and disappeared without a trace—the information it gave her shouldn't be entirely false; at least some of it should be true.

After all, players who have reached the Red Moon level possess, to varying degrees, some supernatural abilities and cannot be treated entirely by human standards. They can sense the truth or falsehood of certain things, exhibit subconscious sixth sense-like reactions, and some can even unconsciously foresee future events. Unfortunately, this ability is largely uncontrollable and cannot always provide the information players desire, making it ultimately rather useless.

This time, Goto Ichiri had such a premonition.

The Kita Ikuyo she wanted to save, the friend she hoped to save, was already dead.

There was no possibility of redemption, no room for recovery. Because of something someone did, one of her few friends, this cheerful and outgoing girl named Kita Ikuyo, had truly lost her life.

Has it already come to this point?

Is there really no way to save her?

The girl became somewhat dazed.

It wasn't until Fujiwara Chika and Nanakawa Ren's voices rang out in his communication device that Goto Ichiri realized he had missed the rendezvous time. He hurriedly got up, left the classroom, and headed towards the place where his two teammates were waiting.

It was only then that Goto Ichiri realized, to some extent, that something was wrong with her. Even if she had received some bad news, she shouldn't have reacted so severely, to the point that her teamwork with her teammates was starting to falter.

Is my will actually much weaker than I thought, or have I been influenced by something?

Thinking about this, the girl seemed to lose focus again, so much so that her steps gradually slowed down, and she no longer rushed along as she had at the beginning.

The strange students in the classroom were still huddled together as before, discussing topics they themselves didn't really understand, just randomly arranging various topics and repeating conversations based on the player's memory projections and the memories left over from this place over the decades.

But within this classroom, something else is silently watching.

[It's been confirmed that a "seed" has been planted in the spiritual realm. Unsurprisingly, players at this level already possess a certain inexplicable intuitive ability. Therefore, as long as we reveal the truth—after a slight "embellishment," of course—the other party will be able to discover the problem on their own.]

In the reflection of the classroom window, several deformed and decaying bodies were gathered together, emitting a discussion that no one could hear.

From this perspective, perhaps we should indeed thank Mr. Gao Hai. Heh, if he hadn't been so audacious as to write his name on that qualification certificate, causing the strange entity on that poor girl to shift its focus, she might not have died so young.

Another swollen figure laughed, but for some reason, its voice carried a hint of suppressed pain, as if it had recently suffered a serious injury.

Indeed, if it weren't for that bastard, if it weren't for that eerie domain he unleashed, our lives wouldn't have deteriorated so quickly. We could have easily held on for another year or two, but because of that bastard's domain, our already riddled bodies began to decay even faster. Damn it, why was he able to unleash Number 1's crimson domain? That brat's blood domain is clearly not a power that humans can control!

Another thin, desiccated body spoke, its words filled with resentment and malice.

That power was probably what we called "blessing." Based on the players we "interrogated and dissected," there truly was a kind of extraordinary power called "blessing," granted to the living by a strange entity freed from its obsessions. Hmph, if such power had existed back then… no, discussing that now is pointless. Sigh, this operation shouldn't have started so soon, but now we're running out of time and have no choice but to begin ahead of schedule. Hopefully, that "seed" will produce a sufficient effect; we can't afford another failure.

As the final sigh echoed, a tall figure slowly walked past in the reflection of the glass, his gaze seemingly fixed on the classroom outside the window, which appeared quite "lively" amidst the students' chatter.

Goto Ichiri ultimately did not reveal what had happened to her.

She couldn't explain why, but inexplicably, she felt a reluctance to speak about anything. So after meeting with Chika and Nanakawa Ren, she remained silent, avoiding saying a word whenever possible. Even when specifically asked, she would only stammer and give a few incoherent answers, refusing to reveal her true thoughts.

Ichiri had a vague sense that something was wrong with his unusual behavior, but he was unable to react.

Or rather, after hearing the voice behind her during class and learning that Kita was dead, her consciousness had been vaguely sensing something was wrong after the sudden and intense stimulation of her mental energy, but no matter what she did, she couldn't manifest this abnormality in her body.

It's as if the girl's body and mind have separated, becoming two completely different parts.

Something must be wrong with this situation.

Why... am I saying nothing and doing nothing? Where exactly... did things go wrong...?

The confused and bewildered girl couldn't understand the problems within herself.

However, she felt that even if she couldn't react correctly herself, Chika and Nanakawa Ren would definitely notice her unusual behavior. Since her teammates could see it, they wouldn't stand idly by; they would try to figure out what happened, investigate, and solve the problem. That way, the strange thing about her would definitely recover… um, recover? Is there something wrong with me? Um…

The gentle sunlight, as always, shone on the campus.

This school, bathed in light, seemed to be free of any filth or darkness. All the students were walking, jumping, and playing around, chatting and laughing. Everyone had completely integrated into the environment and did not feel that there were any problems here.

As the vice class monitor of Class 5, Grade 11, Fujiwara Chika organized the students in her class to move together towards the indoor stadium. Along the way, classmates would talk to Chika from time to time, and everyone was already vaguely taking her as the leader of the whole class. Even though she was not the real class monitor yet, no one in the class dared to disobey her.

This situation started in the cafeteria. At that time, Chika Ichiri and others forcibly kept all the students of Class 2 (5), which was the class that Fujiwara Chika was studying, in the cafeteria. First, they asked two of them to serve food to Chika and the others. Then they asked them to bully a few students who had been isolated because Ichiri had secretly cut their hair with her obsession. They also asked everyone in the class to pour a bowl of vegetable soup on the heads of these students.

No one stopped this unmistakable bullying, and some students were even eager to try it themselves. After completing this task, Fujiwara Chika became the vice class monitor of Class 5 in the second year of high school, and those students who were originally afraid of her began to become close to her.

Chika herself only saw this as a test, a test of whether she could force students to obey her orders and make these strange creatures work for her.

Although she had essentially done something she disliked—bullying others—she could only do her best to help Ah Hai and the others, given her lack of direct combat skills and the ability to explore dangerous areas.

Now, regardless of the circumstances, he has truly obtained the position of deputy class monitor. Hopefully, he can use this position to do something in the future.

Thinking this, Chika turned around and counted the number of students in her class, and quickly noticed that three students were missing.

"Takami-san, Yotsuya Miko-san, and Hayasaka Ai-san, why aren't they here for class? Did they skip class? Hmm, skipping class isn't a good thing."

Feeling a little strange, Chika casually called out the names of three students who hadn't come, before leading the others towards the indoor stadium.

Chapter 115: The Twisted Heart's Obsession and the New Territory Arrived In

"Well……"

Hayasaka Ai slowly opened her eyes.

The dim light flickered, and in the distance, one could faintly hear what sounded like a girl sobbing softly.

It's cold.

Just like when we were fleeing for our lives with our owner at Hayate Elementary School, it was so cold it felt like our very souls were being frozen.

Ah, speaking of which, my master back then used to hold me in his arms and warm me with his body.

That feeling is so nice.

I really want to experience that feeling again—lying in my master's arms, not needing to worry about anything, not needing to care about anything, just needing to rely on them wholeheartedly. Even knowing that my thoughts have a morbid and twisted side, I can't resist it. After all, I've already been drawn into this hellish "Sacrifice Game," so what's wrong with wanting to find someone to rely on?

However, now is not the time to think about such things.

"Uh...huh..."

Hayasaka slowly sat up.

Although their spirits were still connected, they could hardly feel the presence of Yotsuya Miko within their bodies anymore.

What happened before?

Closing her eyes, as her mind gradually cleared, Hayasaka slowly recalled what had happened.

The katana's attack did indeed sever the creature, but it was ultimately a Dark Night-level artifact fighting a Crimson Moon-level creature. Therefore, even with its body cut in two, the creature's mobility was largely unaffected, only slightly buying Hayasaka a little time to escape.

Afterwards, she tried to escape for a long time, but it was no use. Once locked on, no matter where Hayasaka ran, the thing could catch up. It could even get through closed doors, and gunfire couldn't hit it at all. It could be said that physical barriers were completely ineffective against it.

Moreover, as time passed, the creature's body gradually began to recover, slowly returning to its complete form from its severed state, and its movement speed also increased. Hayasaka's crimson domain, unable to absorb fresh blood for an extended period, was also on the verge of disappearing. Once the domain vanished, Hayasaka would find it difficult to pinpoint the creature's location. Therefore, with no other option, she ultimately chose to open the elevator shaft and jump in, attempting to change floors to evade the creature's pursuit.

This time, Hayasaka made the right bet. The thing couldn't move across floors, so it just stood next to the elevator entrance watching Hayasaka jump down, watch Hayasaka grab the elevator door on the second basement floor, open it, and rush in.

But that didn't mean Hayasaka was safe. After opening the elevator doors in Zone 2, the entire area immediately reacted negatively to her because the Crimson Domain hadn't been deactivated. The lights distorted violently, and some fragmented phantom began to approach her. Fortunately, she pulled a winged Wonder Woman doll from her toy box, and the doll actually flew! It flew menacingly from Hayasaka's hand, drawing away the grotesque, flesh-like creatures, and Hayasaka used this opportunity to dodge.

After that, she must have finally hidden in an electrical room on one side of the corridor. Before the crimson field completely disappeared, some of the soldier-like creatures that appeared in the corridor fired at Hayasaka and threw grenades. Although the girl tried her best to dodge, she was still shaken and barely managed to escape amidst the ringing in her ears and a strong feeling of faintness. After hiding in the room, she passed out.

Looking back now, it's already a miracle that I survived and was able to wake up after falling into a coma.

"...It's really tough."

My head still feels a little dizzy.

Hayasaka sat on the ground for a while before slowly standing up, leaning against the wall for support.

It was only then that she noticed a lit workbench on one side of the small power supply room, with some bloodstains and parts that looked like they were for modifying firearms.

There are signs that someone else has been here, and they don't look like proper maintenance personnel.

While sensing the seemingly dormant consciousness of Yotsuya Miko in his mind, Hayasaka cautiously moved forward and slowly walked to the workbench. He found that there were many bullets on the workbench, as well as some strange-looking things that looked like ammunition powder.

A blood-stained note hung on one side of the workbench, with some slightly messy writing on it.

Rule #1: They are unkillable. No matter how fierce the attack, it can only temporarily stop them, and they will get back up soon after. As for the recovery time, it is currently uncertain; some may take several hours to recover, while others may be up again in half an hour.

Rule #2: Do not try to identify any corpses. You can search people, you can investigate, but do not try to determine whether things lying on the ground are corpses or living people. Don't even entertain such thoughts. Once you have doubts, they can instantly come to life. Remember this!

If you really can't control your thoughts, don't stare at them for too long, as they won't recover quickly if you stare at them for a short time.

Rule #3: Avoid those that appear invincible and are completely different from the transformed soldiers. They are few in number and easily attracted; don't engage them in direct combat, try to create noise to distract them. Most importantly, avoid contact with their blood. Unless you want to become like them, absolutely do not touch their blood.

Rule #4: Do not respond to any sounds on the communication frequency. Dead people are using this device; if you respond, they will hear you. No matter who is on it or what they are saying, even if it's your own mother calling you on the frequency, never reply.

However, it remains uncertain whether the 4th frequency band is being used by living or dead individuals. It mentions an escape route, suggesting there might be one in the dormitories of Zone 3. This hasn't been verified yet. If the exits in Zone 1 are truly blocked, perhaps it's worth a try; it's better than dying here.

[Rule #5: Since you saw the note I left, you must have also seen the special bullets I left behind. These are reconfigured bullets, available in both 9mm and 7.92mm versions. Use whichever type you have. I increased the propellant and improved the formula; these bullets explode when fired, shattering the heads of those who were once our brothers. According to my testing, if their heads are shattered, their regeneration rate slows down, and staring at them in this state won't cause them to quickly revert to zombie form.]

Additionally, if you encounter something that can't be killed, and you've been spotted and can't escape, try using this type of bullet to hit a wall or something else that's far away. As I mentioned, they're easily attracted to it, which can give you a chance to escape.

I'll try my luck at the elevator next. If I don't come back, maybe I escaped successfully, maybe I'm dead. Whatever the possibility, I will never let myself become one of them.

Good luck, stranger.

—Jobe Bohmhe

It was a name I'd never heard of before; it seemed to belong to a soldier who had been stationed at the research base.

Hayasaka waited a while to make sure he hadn't triggered any strange creatures by reading the information before taking off his gun, pulling out the magazine, and replacing it with these specially made bullets.

Out of caution, she only changed two 9mm magazines for her submachine guns and loaded all the remaining bullets. Some were put in the tactical backpack she had taken from the base, and some were put into that woman's handbag she was obsessed with.

According to the owner and Yotsuya, areas 1 and 3 of Baydos were explored to some extent during the second playthrough, but area 2 was still unknown.

Although we were forced to enter Zone 2 this time, now that we're here, we should still explore it further.

Thinking this, Hayasaka tried calling out to Miko again in his mental world, but only received a vague, dreamlike reply.

{Blood...human...birth...cycle...}

I don't understand what they're saying, but I can roughly sense that Yotsuya is probably in a lot of pain right now.

Hayasaka couldn't guess what she had sensed or remembered. But the fact that she was in such a predicament must mean something terrible. Considering their current bond, if anything happened to her, he probably wouldn't survive either.