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

[Frequency Band 4: Okay, I understand, sir...]

[Frequency 4: Hmm, but the fact that the phantom of the ■■ Hotel can appear here is really bad news. Could it be that the winner will also... Never mind, it's nothing. Don't leak this information. The more people know about this, the more likely there will be problems.]

[Frequency Band 4: Yes, sir]

After their conversation ended, silence returned to the frequency.

Hayasaka tried adjusting the frequency bands again, but apart from the obvious voice in band 2 that wanted to kill her still playing, there was no sound in the other three frequency bands.

It seems that this is all the information we can obtain.

Thinking this, the girl looked at the wall not far away and saw a pair of blood-red eyes staring at her.

"...?!"

Hayasaka did not make a sound.

Even though she was startled by the strange creature's appearance, she remained calm and stood still, staring at it without uttering a word. Well, her legs were trembling slightly, though.

The chilling atmosphere grew even stronger.

Soon, Hayasaka noticed that not only had a pair of eyes grown out of the tiled wall, but also a mouth that was grinning, revealing the teeth inside.

The thing stared intently at Hayasaka, and from that gaze, the girl could see a hint of frantic desire. She had a feeling that if she got too close, this thing would open its mouth, chew her up, and swallow her whole.

Is this what they're talking about in the frequency band section?

It's really ugly. You can't get close to it, and you can't listen to it talk. Is that all the key information?

Hayasaka took a deep breath, preparing to cover her ears with her hands.

And this terrifying monster opened its mouth and began to utter insane, forbidden, and filthy words.

The girl covered her ears.

The girl watched the talking monster with bated breath.

The girl paused for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

The girl lowered her hands from covering her ears.

The girl understood, let out a long sigh, and showed a helpless expression.

The monster was still talking, and judging from its ferocious expression, it probably wasn't saying anything nice.

However, this has nothing to do with Hayasaka.

Well, that's right.

She couldn't hear anything at all.

She couldn't hear a single word of the curse that corrupted the listener's mind and body, that drove the victim who heard it to the wall to be drained of blood.

Hayasaka's perception was so low compared to other players that he didn't even have the qualifications to understand the language, a discovery that left him both amused and exasperated.

"What exactly was I trying to defend against after all this time..."

Feeling genuinely exhausted, Hayasaka turned and walked to the circuit board. To the sound of the silent performance of human faces on the wall, he began to repair the circuit. He slowly repaired the damaged parts of the circuit board and took out replacement parts from the toolbox to replace them.

Hayasaka, who had spent 22 minutes completing the repair, closed the circuit board, took a deep breath, grasped the power switch, and pulled it.

hum-

Bright white lights illuminated the power supply room in the next moment.

Chapter 129: The Lingering Echoes and Unresolved Matter Between Child and Teacher

hum-

Caught completely off guard, all the lighting equipment in Gao Hai's field of vision turned on at that moment.

This startled Gao Hai, who immediately stopped and cautiously observed his surroundings for a while, but he couldn't find anything unusual. He was completely baffled.

Kaguya, standing beside her, was also nervously observing her surroundings. To be on the safe side, she and Takami checked each other to make sure that there was nothing different between what they saw and what they saw.

So the two of them stood there doing nothing for more than 10 minutes, scrutinizing every wall, every door, every chair, and every corpse as if they were seeing enemies everywhere.

Wait, what's going on here?

Did the Japanese already have motion-sensor lights during World War II?

Or is there someone on guard duty here, and they turned on the light to welcome someone who has arrived?

Gao Hai was somewhat confused by the current situation, and in the world of ghost stories, inexplicable situations often signify impending danger. So, even though he hadn't seen any danger, he began to adopt a more cautious approach. Even after scanning the surroundings several times with his senses to confirm there were no supernatural beings, he still proceeded slowly, investigating each corridor and room one by one. This was to ensure that no surprise surprise from Miyazaki Hidetaka was lurking in some corner, waiting to ambush him when he passed by or turned around.

But after the two remained cautious and vigilant for quite some time, nothing unusual occurred. Even as Gao Hai approached the central area of ​​the underground base, nothing jumped out to engage in a passionate brawl with him, which only increased their suspicions.

So what exactly is going on?

Still baffled as to why the lights had suddenly come on, Gao Hai finally decided to stop thinking about it and focus on dealing with the immediate situation first. The underground base had now been explored to its final area, reaching a critical juncture. Even if there were any problems, they had to be put aside for now; resolving Morihara Koji's obsession was the ultimate goal.

So he opened the last door that required an identity card to open and stepped inside.

The smell of blood surged into my nostrils at that moment, so strong that it made me want to vomit.

Upon arriving at this place, the stench of blood in this underground research base was no different from that in Zone 3 of the Baydos Institute.

Ahead lay a vast space, roughly the size of a football field.

Rows of pillars and various pieces of equipment were arranged in the corners of this space, while in the very center of the space, behind a thick glass cover, surging dark red bloodstains churned and writhed like some kind of living thing.

"It's much smaller than the one in Baidos. That one is a large, deep reservoir, while this one is just a small puddle at most."

Gao Hai looked at the blood pool that had appeared before him, located in the center of the huge space and tightly protected, and casually made a comment.

"Are the mirror fragments, the last fragments of Koji Morihara's core obsession, and the observation equipment for the obsession with nothingness all in this place?"

Kaguya continued to cautiously observe her surroundings. Knowing her own weakness, and that she might be killed before Takahashi could even save her if trouble arose, she was actually much more vigilant than Takahashi. However, her perception wasn't particularly sharp, so even with her intense focus, she couldn't detect much from the pervasive smell of blood in the air; at most, she felt as if someone was speaking in her ear.

"This smell over here... Hmm, the container must have broken open. Judging from the way it looks here, all those researchers were probably dragged in by Eriko Asamoto, who came out of the blood pool. Hmm, look here, the drag marks are quite clear."

As Gao Hai spoke, he pointed to an overturned table and chairs, as well as ten deep lines of blood on the ground.

Even the broken fingernail remained where it was, suggesting the researcher was probably in a state of utter despair. However, Gao Hai felt no pity for such a person meeting this fate; he would only think it was a good death.

"Don't go near the central area yet. Let's explore the surrounding area first, focusing on finding the remains of [Morihara Koji]'s obsession and experimental observation facilities."

With that, Takahashi pulled Kaguya along and began exploring the large laboratory.

It's clear that compared to Fujika Junior High and Hayate Elementary School, Yoruyama Junior High's underground laboratory is far more professional. Whether it's the number of facilities, the size of the space, or the allocation of different areas, it's significantly superior. Considering that Yoruyama Junior High is run by Kenichi Egaya, a research fanatic similar to Urian, rather than Sato, a power-hungry individual who essentially wants to climb the social ladder through research, this difference isn't entirely incomprehensible.

However, no matter what this place used to look like, now all that's left is a mess of fragments, nothing more.

The experimental records yielded little result, seemingly because all the researchers in this area had been directly wiped out by Eriko Asamoto, leaving no usable clues, perhaps even devoid of any remaining attachment. However, several traces of Koji Morihara were discovered. This high school boy, whom Takami considered worthy of the title of "God of War" on par with Sosuke Hirano, was clearly wounded when he escaped here, leaving numerous drops of blood and bloody handprints on the walls and floor.

Judging from these marks, the boy seemed to have fallen to the ground and was too weak to get up.

Gao Hai crouched down and looked at a small patch of blood on the ground, and the trail of blood that extended from that patch and continued to move forward.

Did someone help him up?

Judging from the marks alone, it seems like someone helped him up and he continued forward, but that doesn't quite seem right.

Takahashi's observation skills were excellent, and Hayasaka later taught him some knowledge and experience in identifying traces. Therefore, after spending some time, Takahashi was able to determine that the traces on the ground were problematic.

If someone is holding onto something while walking, these bloodstained footprints should be lighter and less noticeable.

So, could we think of it this way...? He actually got back on his feet through his own willpower, but in his mind, he was helped up by someone else.

Someone that no one else can see, only this boy can see.

Would such a person exist?

【teacher】

In a daze, Gao Hai raised his head and looked ahead at the trail of blood.

He could see two figures walking side by side.

One person supported the other, and they slowly walked forward in the dark and cold underground base.

Yes, how could I forget this?

Koji Morihara also encountered a "teacher".

“There doesn’t seem to be any ‘observation program’ or anything like that in this place. I have a feeling that if we want to start that observation program, the key might not be in this research lab.”

Unlike Takayuki, who was possessed, Kaguya, standing to the side, couldn't sense what Takayuki was feeling. However, she wasn't idle either; while Takayuki was investigating the bloodstains, she investigated her surroundings. It was during this investigation that the girl discovered the various instruments and research documents seemed unrelated to what Takayuki was looking for. This made her wonder: what Takayuki spoke of should actually be an observation point for those who interacted with the core obsession, [Nothingness]. Could such a thing really be in this base?

Perhaps... the main campus of Yelu Mountain Middle School, which Gao Hai considered merely a smokescreen to deliberately disrupt his thinking, is actually a place that must be investigated in detail.

Based on Gao Hai's description, this mastermind behind it all, the so-called "writer," is truly shameless and loves playing all sorts of plot twists. This KP (King of Players) is deliberately treating the players investigating the instance as their adversaries, using every possible means to create obstacles and sabotage. Therefore, the idea that "the main campus is just a distraction" might actually be a deliberate trap designed to manipulate the players' thinking. Thinking that way might actually cause us to miss important clues.

Gao Jun stated that Fujiwara-kun had already shown clear signs of assimilation. Gao Jun couldn't possibly have concealed this during their mental link communication. However, his lack of action proves that Fujiwara-kun, knowing she was being assimilated, still persisted in following the original plan.

So, you did think of this possibility, and that's why you decided to test it with your own life, Fujiwara-kun?

"Come on, this way."

Gao Hai's voice was tinged with obvious emotional fluctuations.

After confirming the traces, he quickly followed them, heading towards one side of the large research lab along the direction of the bloodstains.

This is the second time such abnormal emotional fluctuations have occurred. Just like when Yotsuya died, Takamoto has once again experienced obvious anxiety, and he himself is unaware of it.

"Don't get agitated, keep your emotions stable."

Kaguya immediately spoke up to remind him, and Takahashi also realized that something was wrong with him again.

This is the second time. Kaguya is completely fine, but I keep experiencing emotional fluctuations. This situation is quite abnormal.

There must be some external force influencing me.

The only external force currently affecting me is this core obsession: nothingness.

Shouldn't this core obsession be based on a completely non-existent person? Why would something that has never truly existed in the real world, leaves no trace, and has no emotions of its own, but is merely a false impression shaped by the perception of [Eriko Asamoto] as the victim, exert an external emotional influence on me?

Furthermore, there were two instances of abnormal emotions: the first was the death of Yotsuya Miko, and the second was the discovery of Morihara Koji's struggles after being severely injured... It seems that the core obsession of "nihilism," something that shouldn't inherently possess a self, simultaneously played the role of teacher in the perceptions of both Asamoto Eriko and Morihara Koji. Could it be that, through repeated iterations and reshaping, this thing did indeed acquire a certain degree of self-awareness and assign itself the identity of "teacher"?

Sensing something amiss, Gao Hai didn't rush to take any immediate action, but simply continued along the trail of blood.

He took out the nearly complete body of the kitten and held it in his arms.