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

From the day they were imprisoned in this hell, these people longed to return to the world of the living, to rebuild the era they once had, to reclaim their rightful honor and status, and to move towards higher and farther places.

To rot away in an unknown cage is absolutely unacceptable to these self-proclaimed superiors.

So they waited, they endured, and secretly intervened time and again, making it easier for players entering this instance to perish and die, given their already low survival rate. Through these clandestine operations, they gradually learned about the drastically changed outside world and began planning to possess corpses, return to the human world, and use the power of these strange creatures to rule human civilization. Well, at least that's what the plan actually said.

However, Gao Hai's appearance ruined everything.

Fujika Middle School and Hayate Elementary School were destroyed one after another, and inexplicably, the moment this person entered the instance, everything changed drastically, and various important items of obsession were instantly transferred into his hands. At Hayate Elementary School, they quickly lost all awareness of the instance, ending without any explanation. Now, the same thing has happened at Yoruyama Middle School. This time, these guys couldn't sit still any longer, so they seized an opportunity to lure Takami's consciousness into [Takamagahara], intending to tamper with him.

Then, Gao Hai's willpower and dump trucks gave them a real hard time.

They could never have imagined that this man's willpower was so exaggerated. The control they had developed over the years over the strange powers and mental power were completely useless in the face of this man. On the contrary, they suffered severe injuries, so much so that they had to overdraw their power to try to save themselves and take risky actions that they had never done before.

There's no other way. If we can't find a suitable vessel among the players who have just entered to escape the dungeon, when the next dungeon opens, all of these people hiding in [Takamagahara] will turn into real monsters, and none of them will be able to retain human consciousness and continue to live.

They devised a script.

In this scenario, the fanatics and the player squad led by Xiong Mi will fight to the death, and they will take this opportunity to find players whose consciousness is collapsing and who are about to collapse. They will then possess these players and pretend that nothing happened, continuing to act with the others.

Several staff officers and leaders from the old military headquarters had polished the script to a considerable extent. They even predicted who would go first among the fanatics and Maki's group of players, who would be the first to be injured, and the general development of the battle situation, writing a very complete script. However, as soon as they started, Kumami and Goto Ichiri cooperated to completely destroy their plan, and the so-called script became a complete joke.

Only one piece remains. The "seed" planted on that girl isn't fully mature yet, but it should still be effective. However, that's not enough; we must use that other method as well.

[That's right, we can't afford to fail again, we really can't afford to fail again. If we fail again, it's all over. We have to use every means at our disposal now.]

[It seems there's truly no way out. So, let's use our last resort. In this situation, even individually manipulating a single entity is useless; tens of thousands of entities are enough to erase all traces of a person. Therefore, we must disrupt the original layered structure, directly revealing the most treacherous layer, and then find an opportunity to possess it.]

[Alright, everyone vote. Great, unanimous approval, let's do it that way.]

Let's reveal the hidden "four layers" and teach these idiots who don't follow the script a good lesson!

The rustling sounds in the darkness gradually subsided.

In the wooded area of ​​Yelu Mountain Middle School, Xiong Mi had already spotted Nanakawa Ren and Goto Ichiri running towards them from a distance.

There's nothing wrong with the aura I sensed. It seems that the one who suffered a significant amount of pollution and assimilation was that kid's girlfriend. She's clearly just a low-level player, yet she's so powerful. It's truly admirable.

Xiong Mi sighed inwardly as she carried a door toward the two people ahead.

The players here are all prepared to use the Blood Key to transfer to the underground base, thus completely avoiding the monsters and hordes on the surface.

As for those few fanatical believers still struggling in their death throes, no one cared anymore. After all, whether they were dead or alive, they were destined not to escape the pursuit of this scale of monsters, especially since Fujiwara Chika knew their location in advance and gave the monster students the order to surround them, resulting in a comprehensive pursuit without any gaps.

However, things don't seem to be going to end so simply.

"This feeling...this is not right...something's not right, everyone be careful!"

Sensing something was wrong, Xiong Mi shouted loudly and abruptly stopped in his tracks.

The sky plunged into complete darkness in an instant, a strong, chilling aura spreading with the pungent smell of blood. In an elevator in the neglected affiliated teaching building, the button for the 4th floor lit up. Then, a dark red light shone down from above, casting an eerie veil over the completely altered campus. The source of that light was a blood-red object, almost a full moon, hanging silently, yet impossible to ignore.

Chapter 134: The Sacrificed and the Unfinished Final Steps

The blood moon has descended.

The Crimson Moon, which is an inevitable presence in every Crimson Moon-level dungeon, has finally made its official appearance at Nightfall Mountain Middle School.

This place has become completely different from before.

Xiong Mi could clearly feel every pore of her body trembling, shaking with fear at the impending death. This world under the red moon seemed completely different from the school she had just left. In her perception, the aura emanating from this place was now pure death and madness.

Consciousness was trembling.

The pre-planted mental fragments exploded, barely protecting Xiong Mi's consciousness, but even so, they couldn't hold on for long.

"This place...this place..."

Shijou Maki, carrying Hayasaka Ai on her back, stared wide-eyed at the school that had completely changed in the blink of an eye.

No, this place can no longer be called a school.

The building is completely destroyed.

Flames and swirling smoke still lingered in the collapsed building.

There wasn't a single strange student in sight, nor was there any activity from the ghost story.

Only blood.

In this place, only blood exists now.

Vast amounts of blood, of unknown origin, soaked the soil, the plants, the buildings, and everything in sight, completely staining it.

The pungent, almost nauseating smell of blood mingled with the stench of something rotting, filling the lungs as if something alive were writhing and struggling within them.

"Uh……"

My mind was subjected to an incredibly violent shock in an instant.

Whether it was the lower-level Zhenfei or powerful Red Moon-level players like Xiong Mijianbing, everyone suffered a mental shock that far exceeded their tolerance limits at this moment. Endless agonizing screams condensed within the blood; those were the last sounds of everyone who had perished here since the opening of Nightfall Mountain Middle School, the condensation of the pain and despair of all the dead. And now, the unprepared players were thus exposed defenselessly to the terrifying, eerie power radiating from this area.

Click——click——

Before entering the instance, Gao Hai had used Chiyo Hachiya's blessing to set up mental fragments for all players. At this moment, these fragments exploded one after another, protecting everyone's consciousness at the critical moment and ensuring that no one went insane on the spot.

However, Shijou Maki, being weaker and less resistant, was immediately in danger. The fragments of her mind began to crumble one after another, offering no protection for her rapidly depleting mental energy.

Nanakawa Ren, who had joined them, quickly realized this and immediately struck Maki unconscious with a chop to the neck, temporarily putting her brain activity into a sluggish state and reducing the extent of the damage. Hayashibe Kenta rushed over carrying a small plastic bag containing Aoyama Nanami, and he and Kenmochi each reached out to support the door that Xiongmi had lowered. Then they looked at Xiongmi holding the blood key that Takami had transmitted through Maki, and the two of them were stunned.

Xiong Mi did not move.

Xiong Mi, who possesses extremely strong willpower and can directly erase her negative mental state through spiritual blessings, stood still in place.

"Sister-in-law?"

Kenpachi immediately sensed the problem, quickly became alert, and signaled to Hayashibe Kenta to hand the plastic bag containing Aoyama Nanami to Nanakawa Ren, preparing to deal with the situation.

The intense mental pollution continued to spread, constantly stimulating the minds of everyone present.

Beneath the blood-red ruins, some indistinct figures began to emerge. This place was becoming increasingly dangerous; something hidden in this twisted land, drawn by the living, had begun to stir.

Click——click——

The mental fragments protecting players' consciousness continue to crumble.

At this moment, every second spent increases the likelihood of impending danger. Less than 20 seconds have passed since they entered this blood-red school ruin, and all the conscious players are already feeling intense pain. Everyone understands that if they don't leave now, they may never be able to leave again.

"...You guys go first."

Xiong Mi's voice finally rang out, but for some reason it sounded extremely dull.

Her arms trembled slightly as she took out the blood key, but her feet seemed rooted to the ground and she remained motionless.

Without a moment's hesitation, Jianbing immediately reached out and took the blood key from Xiong Mi's hand. He then used a lucky charm on himself for a short time before opening the door, revealing the underground base on Gao Hai's side.

Nanakawa Ren, carrying Hayasaka, Maki, and a plastic bag containing Aoyama Nanami, immediately stepped into the door. Next came Goto Ichiri, who was silently holding a guitar. Finally, Hayashibe Kenta, who was guarding the door, glanced at Kenmochi, nodded, and then stepped into the door, pulled out the blood key, and closed the door.

The players didn't exchange a single word throughout, yet their tacit understanding was as if they had been working together for a long time. Perhaps for these people who risked their lives every month, this scene was all too familiar, so familiar that no preparation was needed; everyone knew exactly what to do.

What are you doing?

Xiong Mi took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and looked up to say.

“I can’t leave you with them, Captain.”

Jianbing simply shook his head, and as he spoke, he took out an ancient-looking ring-pommel sword.

"Tch, it's not like I can't end my own life if you leave."

Xiong Mi sighed, her tone becoming even more helpless.

"I'll do it faster, so you won't feel as much pain."

Jianbing gripped his knife tightly, his tone remaining as unwavering as ever. This man with the strange name seemed unaffected by anything, always maintaining the same serious expression. But at this moment, as he raised the long knife, his gaze flickered slightly, though his expression remained hidden by the dim, blood-red light.

chap!

As the blade fell, Xiong Mi's head followed, and her body quickly decayed, accelerating its self-destruction under the power of the blade's obsessive force.

Jianbing could see the bloody marks rising from Xiong Mi's body, and the cursed power that had been awakened in this world under the blood moon and merged into her body after the broadcast. It was the existence of these things that had rendered Xiong Mi unable to move, causing her to directly enter the process of transforming from a human into a monster. This strange cursed power seemed to originate from something higher than the Red Moon level, of unknown origin, to the point that even the Undying Blessing was unable to resist it. In other words, from the moment she entered this space, Xiong Mi had already been sentenced to death.

However, she wouldn't feel any pain, because Jianbing was indeed very good at doing this kind of thing. His teammates who ended her life would never feel any pain, and that was the only thing he could guarantee.

[You...you bastard...how dare you...]

The bear-like head lying on the ground was rotting much slower than its body, and it could even continue to make sounds. However, the sound didn't sound like the bear-like head at all; it sounded more like the voice that Brother Gao Hai had mentioned—some bastards who should have died long ago but were hiding in this place, clinging to life.

That's why I said we can't leave the captain to scum like you.

Jianbing thrust the blade downwards, piercing Xiongmi's skull and splitting it in two, then accelerating its decay.

He took the spatial bag containing Xiong Mi's obsession, removed the bronze eye, and dug out one of his own eyes on the spot. He then put the bronze eye obsession into the bag and looked at the distant ruins illuminated by the blood moon.

Since [Takamagahara] can indeed possess those players who were announced on the broadcast in this strange space, then those three fanatical players are probably already in a state of gradual possession.

He straightened his clothes, then looked down at the bloody hands reaching out from the pool of blood and grabbing his legs. Knowing he couldn't leave this place alive, his expression remained unchanged. He simply picked up his knife and walked in the direction the three fanatics had initially fled.

Since we can't leave now, let's take a few more with us.

……

The blood-red color was gradually spreading.

Not only are things changing on the surface, but the underground base is also being affected.

The walls were stained blood red, and the ground gradually became sticky. Something was spreading step by step, slowly filling the underground space.

"Tsk, so that's one of those tricks."

Gao Hai frowned. The desperate measures taken by [Takamagahara] were more severe than he had anticipated. Even though the underground area had not yet reached the extreme distortion and danger of the surface, he could already sense the things gradually filling the air and realized that these things were like the school building at midnight during his first playthrough—dangerous things that no player could touch, as touching them would result in death or serious injury.

time is limited.

If this problem cannot be solved, then everyone's time will be running out.

This can no longer be simply described as a Red Moon-level dungeon. This scene is likely a replay of the annihilation of the researchers from Nightfall Mountain Middle School and the subsequent leak of the blood pool. Even if this isn't a genuine release of divine blood, but merely a false illusion, the power it contains is beyond the reach of players.

Ren Nanakawa, Ichiri Goto, and Kenta Hayashibe have already reunited through the portal of the Blood Key.

Hayasaka is still unconscious, and because everyone wasn't paying attention for a moment, they now realize that her injuries have become significantly more severe. So, Takami puts the rescue team badge on her to treat Hayasaka's injuries. Then he looks at Maki, who is still unconscious, and... well, and Aoyama Nanami, who is in the bag. Because of the urgency, there wasn't time to wait for her to fully recover, so they had to sacrifice some of her newly grown flesh to allow her to regenerate.

"What about those two people?"

When Gao Hai asked that question, he already had the answer in his heart.