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

Despite having a dead body right behind him, Hayasaka slowly regained his composure and calmed down.

Take a step forward.

Hayasaka tried to move slightly away from that thing.

But the feeling of something stuck to the back didn't change; it was still just as clear.

That thing was moving with her.

The girl couldn't help but feel a suffocating sensation, as if her heart was about to clench.

However, she did not stop there. After a brief hesitation, she picked up a flashlight from the side of her protective suit and turned it on.

pat-

The stark white light illuminated a patch of blood red.

Hayasaka then realized that the entire power supply room looked like a water-splashing game, or rather, a blood-splashing game. Blood was everywhere—black, congealed, dark red, semi-congealed, and scarlet flowing blood—all present in the room.

Several corpses wearing protective suits lay sprawled against the wall. Their suits looked as if something had pierced through them from the inside, riddled with holes and torn, revealing the obviously dehydrated and dried flesh inside, a truly gruesome sight.

Hayasaka noticed that the corpses were carrying toolboxes, suggesting that they had entered the power supply room while they were still alive to try to repair the circuits. It was probably around that time that they encountered the monster hiding there and were all killed.

Judging from the manner of death... it seems that the blood in these things leaked out of their bodies on its own? Does that mean the protective suits couldn't stop them?

The feeling of being pressed tightly against my back is still incredibly clear.

Hayasaka's gaze was fixed on the corpses in front of him, trying hard to find possible clues from them and to figure out the killing rules of this strange creature.

First, we can rule out artificial light; I'm using a flashlight right now, but I'm still perfectly fine.

Then, think about it again... Could it be that the act of repairing the circuit system itself led to the monster's killing?

If that's the reason, then that's hilarious. She came here to try restarting the circuit, but if repairing the circuit means being hunted down, that would be too torturous.

pat-

Hayasaka moved slightly, and some blood splashed up, making a soft sound.

She tried turning around, only to find that the thing remained pressed against her back, so as long as she didn't turn her head back, it remained in her blind spot and she couldn't see it.

Hayasaka observed the circuit board itself this time, and yes, there were obvious signs of repair. Some of the circuits had been removed, meaning that the person who repaired the circuit was attacked during the repair process, rather than the problem occurring at the beginning of the repair.

We can rule out the rule being triggered by the repair activity itself. If the murder rule was triggered by the act of repairing the circuit, these people wouldn't have had the chance to disassemble the device.

As an all-around maid, Hayasaka Ai not only possesses near-human physical abilities and is proficient in all kinds of martial arts, but she also understands various mechanical and electrical repairs. She can assemble computers herself and repair various electrical appliances. She can also repair and modify things like cars and trucks.

These old circuit systems from World War II were relatively simple, unlike the various free-style wiring found in some companies or private villas in later times. Hayasaka studied them for a while and roughly determined the original repairmen's intentions. Now that she had all the tools, if she were to continue following in the footsteps of those deceased repairmen, Hayasaka estimated it would take her about 30 minutes to fix the circuit. However, she wasn't sure if it would work afterward, considering the system was several times older than her.

So, shall we give it a try?

Hayasaka could feel her body temperature gradually decreasing, and she was starting to have difficulty breathing. If she continued to delay, even if the strange creature behind her didn't attack her, she probably wouldn't live much longer.

The reason why this strange creature attacks people is still unknown.

Under what circumstances were these bodies, which exploded and died, attacked?

Hayasaka frowned, thinking as he bent down and picked up a tool bag that was next to a corpse.

All the bodies were lying against the wall.

Wait a minute, if that's the case, the circuit board isn't by the wall. Since these people came in to repair the circuit, they should have been gathered around the circuit board. Why are all the bodies lying by the wall?

Hayasaka noticed this detail and his eyes narrowed slightly. He couldn't help but look up at the wall where the corpses were lying.

The walls... seem fine.

It's just an ordinary tiled wall.

ceramic tile?

Hayasaka, suddenly realizing something was wrong, almost instinctively tried to back away.

But almost the instant the movement occurred, the girl felt resistance behind her and a sudden, intense chill. Hayasaka abruptly stopped her movement, firmly controlling every muscle in her body to keep herself stationary and prevent herself from actually falling backward.

She knew the killing rules of the thing behind her.

Whether she turns on a flashlight, repairs an electrical circuit, or does something else, the thing standing behind her doesn't care. But if she tries to walk backwards, the thing will kill her.

Then, she also realized something else.

These maintenance workers were not killed by the strange creature behind her.

What killed them was this wall, or rather, a strange object connected to this wall that Hayasaka couldn't clearly see.

Is this the thing?

The girl looked the wall up and down, secretly relieved that she hadn't gone close to it and had only taken a tool bag that was further away.

I still can't see it.

Although Hayasaka really wanted to see what was going on, even though she already knew the source of the anomaly, her senses still didn't react at all. In her eyes, it was just a tiled wall, nothing more.

Hmm, it's something that's obviously problematic, but I can't sense anything unusual at all. How do Yotsuya-kun and Master use their senses? Why don't I have that kind of talent?

Hayasaka felt somewhat discouraged.

However, in an underground military research institute where everything was designed to be as simple and straightforward as possible, such walls were far too conspicuous. If it weren't for the eerie creature behind her and the dark, bloody surroundings that distracted Hayasaka, she should have noticed the problem immediately. Come to think of it, though, these walls... how should I put it, they felt more like something you'd find in a hotel, and judging from the color and style of the tiles, they even seemed a bit like those in a high-end hotel...

After a brief moment of thought, Hayasaka first turned sideways, moving like a crab, adjusting her position little by little to ensure she could create distance between herself and the wall without provoking the woman behind her. Then, she placed her finger on the communicator's frequency switch.

She knew her actions were risky. Based on the rule lists and previous comments she'd seen so far, this communicator was a complete trap; the speakers were all supernatural beings, and a moment's carelessness could lead to disaster. But she truly couldn't see anything, she genuinely couldn't sense anything. If she were to deal with supernatural beings and investigate their information on her own, Hayasaka was utterly helpless. Therefore, in this situation, she had no choice but to try it. After all, while this frequency was dangerous, at least it was genuinely supernatural beings speaking, and it seemed to change its content based on her surroundings. Perhaps it could help her right now.

I hope my thinking is correct; I don't have a better solution right now.

Snapped--

Hayasaka switched the frequency to band 1.

[Frequency Band 1: ...]

[Frequency Band 1: ...buzz...buzz...]

Amidst the slightly harsh static, this frequency band remained silent, with no sound emanating from it.

So Hayasaka waited a little while and then turned the device to frequency 2.

[Frequency Band 2: ...buzzing...]

[Frequency Band 2: ...hehe...hehe...]

[Frequency Band 2: ...Come here...Come here quickly...Come here, come here, come here...]

You can't tell if the person speaking in the frequency band is male or female; you can only feel a strong, creepy feeling spreading through you.

Hayasaka didn't wait for the thing to finish speaking. As soon as he realized something was wrong, he immediately adjusted the frequency and switched it to the 3rd frequency position.

[Frequency 3: Buzzing... Welcome to listen...]

The noise interference in this frequency band is also very serious, but compared to the previous two frequency bands, at least there is something being said in this frequency band.

Hayasaka Ai first carefully checked that there were no problems with the other walls in the power supply room, then stood still, keeping her eyes fixed on the abnormal wall directly in front of her, before carefully listening to the voice from the communicator in her earpiece.

[Frequency 3: Tonight's...guest...buzz...]

[Frequency 3: Hello everyone... I'm... the repairman from Zone 2... lately... things keep breaking down, it's really... annoying... ugh...]

[Frequency Band 3: The higher-ups have criticized us several times, but each time we inspect...buzzing...we find a problem...we've decided to...stake out an on-site inspection to ensure the source of the problem...]

[Frequency 3: As it got late... the missing...we found...a dried-up corpse...on the wall...alive...sizzle...we shot at the wall...blood flowed out...eyes and mouth...sizzle...sizzle...]

[Frequency 3: That wall... hissing... hissing... breathing... hissing... buzzing... talking... let's keep shooting...]

[Frequency Band 3: ...]

[Frequency 3: Everyone says... it's telling a story... but this isn't... we all saw... that thing has... and a mouth... staring at us... hiss...]

[Frequency Band 3: Thank you so much... for the guest's horror story... an interesting... story...]

[Frequency 3: This...guest...what are you...doing...sizzle...]

[Frequency Band 3: Buzzing...]

Identifying the content within a frequency band amidst immense noise interference and various delays and leaks is extremely difficult, but it's not impossible for Hayasaka. Therefore, she listened carefully for quite some time, frowning, and managed to figure out some of the issues.

This wall appears to have had problems even when the Baydos Institute was still open to the public.

While it's unclear exactly how they did it, the tiled wall is clearly some kind of blood-sucking monster, and did these soldiers solve the problem by shooting at the wall?

Hayasaka glanced again at the guns on the corpses by the wall and decided to treat this message as a trap deliberately designed to lure people into suicide.

Frequency band 3 was completely quiet at this point, with only occasional faint noises.

After confirming that there was no further information on that frequency band, Hayasaka switched the frequency back to the initial band 4. Normally, this band would not produce any sound, but this time, after she switched back, she was surprised to hear voices coming from inside the device.

[Frequency Band 4: I would like to raise a problem with you, Mr. Urian]

That voice was the same Sora Smit that had been heard a few times before.

Hayasaka recognized this sound as distinct from other frequencies, clearer, and capable of conveying human emotions.

Although the voice on frequency 4 in the third playthrough didn't provide as many clues as in the second playthrough, only occasionally ringing out and saying something about the research institute, Hayasaka knew, given Miko's explanation of the second playthrough, that the voice on this frequency came from someone he could trust to some extent.

So she remained silent, intending to listen to what information this frequency would provide.

[Frequency 4: It's you, Captain Schmidt. You've done a great job. In my opinion, you're a very loyal and capable subordinate. So, what's your question?]

Another man's voice came through the frequency.

The voice was that of a man who sounded somewhat old, but still very energetic, and with a hint of arrogance.

This situation was clearly unprecedented, but Hayasaka remained silent and did not react, simply continuing to listen patiently to what the thing was saying.

[Frequency 4: Mr. Urian, the casualties in Sector 2 this week are 300% higher than last week. Based on the characteristics of the survivors and victims summarized so far, everyone started seeing things that others couldn't see after coming into contact with the blood in the blood pool. Many of them mentioned that those things looked like...from a high-end hotel.]

[Frequency 4: So you think this has something to do with me? Captain Schmidt, you sound like you're interrogating me. Do you think I did something?]

[Frequency 4: No, sir, I didn't mean that. But you are the only expert here, the first to come into contact with those things, and the most authoritative person among everyone. I think the only way to solve this problem is to seek your help. The anomaly in Sector 2 is worsening, and more and more people are seeing those things. If this continues, I think Sector 2 will probably have to be abandoned like Sector 3. And as you know, sir, the first batch of Blood Plague Bombs is being produced in Sector 2. If something goes wrong at this critical juncture, we will all be held responsible.]

[Frequency Band 4: ...That's really how it is. Okay, you've certainly given me a difficult problem. However, the reason this phenomenon occurred is probably related to the gas leak in the inner monitoring area. The concentration of divine blood in the air in Zone 2 is too high, and unlike the liquid leak in Zone 3, where a high concentration of liquid would kill a person instantly, a gas leak, while capable of raising the concentration of divine blood in the air to abnormal levels, isn't high enough to cause immediate death. This makes it easy to trigger various chain reactions.]

[Frequency Band 4: The reason those people can see that place is probably related to themselves. After all, that place is the source of this batch of divine blood, so it's normal for it to attract people to enter it. Hmm, I'm afraid I don't really have a good solution. However, staying away and not listening to those things' voices is a relatively good temporary coping strategy. Those things have limited influence. As long as you don't get too close to them and cover your ears immediately when you feel them speaking to you, you can avoid them to some extent.]

[Frequency Band 4: However, if the influence of that thing intensifies further, if its sound begins to resonate directly with senses other than hearing, then perhaps the only option left is to flee.]

[Frequency Band 4: In other words, Mr. Urian, you don't have any good ideas either?]

[Frequency Band 4: Yes, child, this is a great power that human civilization can hardly reach; it is the power of God. That we can steal even a sliver of its light and use it is already extremely dangerous, easily inviting a destructive crisis. So, try to hold on a little longer. Now we can only race against time to see who reaches the finish line first.]