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

How can I describe this kind of tactile sensation?

This question is full of philosophical depth.

Unable to find an answer, Gao Hai sat there lost in thought, which once again startled Maeda Miwa, who was huddled on one side of the room. The latter mistakenly thought that Gao Hai was engrossed in thinking about something terrifying.

Soon, the crisis was over. Maki jumped down from the cabinet with a blank expression, took the doll in her hand, stared at it for a while, and then put it back on her shoulder.

Gao Hai touched his shoulder, where a bloody mark had been pinched, the result of Zhenfei accidentally using too much force when she was holding the doll.

When this doll is subjected to an external force, it seems to amplify that force and feed it back to the user.

So, using obsessive items isn't as easy as it seems? These things always have their pros and cons.

"When my great-aunt and Haijun came up here to carry out their operation, were they also stuck together on the cabinet like this?"

Maki looked around and, seeing that there was no immediate danger, asked Kaguya, who had jumped down from the cabinet, a question with some displeasure.

"...Does that matter? Focus on the task at hand."

Kaguya paused for a moment at the question, but her expression remained unchanged. She simply replied coldly and continued walking.

"I... um..."

Suffocated by this rhetorical question, Princess Zhenfei couldn't think of a response and could only remain silent and continue forward.

Indeed, does it matter?

The other person is just a guy she's known for four days. What important relationship does he have with her?

I don't quite understand this vague feeling of unease.

But when this guy was squeezed between me and my great-aunt just now, it was definitely on purpose, wasn't it?

Princess Zhenfei glared at the doll sitting obediently on her shoulder.

If the current situation weren't so inappropriate, she would definitely teach the other person a lesson.

Maki quickly suppressed her complaints and followed Kaguya. Soon, the two found the door to room 304. Their speed was almost half that of when Kaguya and Takami were together, making them extremely efficient. Moreover, they were only discovered by the dolls and had to hide three times. Several times, the dolls, which moved silently, hadn't even noticed Kaguya and Maki yet, but they had already spotted them and found a way around to avoid them.

Neither of them needed to find a room to rest for a while, and their physical strength was basically not depleted.

Their efficiency seems to be many times greater than mine...

Gao Hai felt extremely embarrassed at that moment.

I felt that my performance in the first round of exploration was much worse than that of Kaguya and Maki.

No, that's not right. This isn't called a dish; it's called each dish having its own strengths.

I can only say that the position I was assigned before was not very suitable, and the current situation of sitting in the rear might be better.

After comforting himself in this way, Gao Hai turned his attention back to Zhen Fei.

Kaguya took out the key and opened the door to room 304 once again.

squeak-

After a clear sound of the door opening, a dark corridor appeared behind the door.

The corridor was empty, piled with garbage bags and bottles, and filled with the stench of alcohol.

This time, even Gao Hai, who was observing from the perspective of the doll, did not see anything unusual.

Chapter 51: Do you like the first-person perspective of a little nightmare?

Kaguya cautiously stepped into the corridor before her.

Maki followed behind Kaguya, cautiously observing her surroundings and closing the door she had entered through to prevent anything from following her in through the open door.

Both girls knew very well that once they entered this place, they might not be able to return alive.

Therefore, we must gather as much information as possible from all sides before the situation deteriorates completely, and try to find valuable clues.

"This looks like a hallway on the second floor."

Maki lowered her voice and spoke to Kaguya.

"Don't speak for now. There might be something here that can be activated by sound. Use code words."

Kaguya gestured a few times with her hands to remind Maki, and only continued forward after Maki nodded.

Gao Hai silently observed his surroundings through the doll's perspective. He had already called Sun Dajun, Green, and Mamer back into the house. Because he couldn't be sure if any problems would arise, he needed the three of them present to ensure that Maeda Miwa could turn back time at a crucial moment.

He was also prepared to sever the connection with the doll at any time and stop observing the interior of 304.

However, at least for now, he didn't sense anything amiss. Perhaps it was because he was currently observing through the perspective of an object of obsession. The object's inherent properties, to some extent, blocked the transmission of the curse. However, Gao Hai wasn't sure how long the object's effect would last; he could only hope it would persist as long as possible.

Kaguya, who was walking at the front, had already reached the end of the corridor.

After turning the corner of this corridor, a room so huge it was hard to believe appeared before you.

It was as if I had entered the kingdom of giants.

The table was towering high, the boots were as big as trucks, and the rice grains, the size of basketballs, were scattered on the floor.

Looking around, there was no way to see the end of the room.

No.

No, this room is an enlarged room!

This incredible and wondrous scene left Kaguya stunned. But then, Maki grabbed her collar from behind and pulled her back into the passageway.

A pair of enormous feet, wearing slippers, landed on the ground, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Then, a gloomy woman's voice reached their ears.

Mice have gotten into the house again...

With a dull rumble, the huge foot slowly moved away, revealing the face of an old woman wearing a dirty apron and ugly clothes like an old woman, with a face covered in pimples, messy hair, and crooked teeth, some of which were broken.

The woman was carrying a huge bowl, muttering something as she slowly walked around the room.

Are you ever going to stop? Where's the wine?

A man's angry voice came from the other side of the table.

Kaguya and Maki heard a dull thud as a porcelain bowl was slammed onto the table, followed by a wine bottle rolling off the table and shattering into pieces on the floor.

[If you want alcohol, then drink it. Why are you throwing things?]

The woman's voice turned displeased the next moment.

[Enough with the nonsense, just give me the drink!]

The man's voice then became even more violent, like that of an enraged beast.

[All he does all day is drink!]

The woman's footsteps moved slowly. She bent down, opened a cardboard box placed against the wall, took out a bottle of golden beer, and tossed it to the man.

It appears to be an ordinary family interaction, but the relationship between the members is not very harmonious.

If it weren't for their ridiculously tall and large stature, Kaguya and Maki would probably have found the scene rather boring. But now, they had no choice but to be on high alert and think about how to deal with the situation.

"This must be the 'reenactment' that Hai Jun mentioned in Sanchez's diary. In this room, the family in room 304 will keep repeating a scene from the past like a movie replay. We can't let them find us. Although these two are repeating the past like acting out a script, the situation will definitely change immediately if they find us."

Through a combination of sign language and eye contact, Maki quickly explained her thoughts to Kaguya.

“I know, the problem right now is, where do we go? Since this is room 304, we need to find a specific place in this room.”

Kaguya calmly cooperated with Maki, exchanging gestures and glances, and the speed of their communication quickly increased.

Before long, the two people's interaction turned into a rapid hand seal practice between two ninjas in Gao Hai's view.

The narrow corridor exit has turned into what looks like a rat hole on the edge of this giant house.

To the right of the hole was a huge dining table against the wall, with three large chairs and a small stool. The man sat in the chair furthest from the mouse hole, seemingly drinking while watching the television in the room. Although, to Kaguya and Maki, the television was just a blurry, static screen, not actually playing anything.

To the right of the hole, close to the wall, you can see an old-fashioned water dispenser in the corner, and a low stool nearby, both of which can be used for cover. Further ahead from the box, there's a passageway leading into the bedroom.

A little further ahead from the low stool was a box in the corner, filled with liquor. Every now and then, the woman mopping the living room floor would take a bottle of liquor from the box and hand it to the man amidst his curses. Then she would mop the area from the front door to the old television, and after mopping for a while, she would go through the half-open door directly opposite the hole—theoretically the kitchen—to rinse the mop before coming out again.

Although they looked very much like real people, in essence, these two people were just empty shells repeating the past. Therefore, after observing them for a while, Maki and Kaguya confirmed their movement patterns and summarized the rules.

"Let's try going into the bedroom first. Neither of them will go into the bedroom, so it might be a safe place to stay and search temporarily. It will also be easier to get into the kitchen from the bedroom later. Walk along the left wall; there are things that can help us hide. If we time it right, we should be able to avoid their line of sight."

As Kaguya said this, she quickly took action, taking advantage of the moment when the woman turned around to hide behind the water dispenser.

Without hesitation, Maki followed suit and hid behind the water dispenser with Kaguya.

[Don't block my view of the TV! Are you deliberately mopping the floor while I'm watching TV?]

The man started cursing again.

Yes, yes, yes, it won't block your view of the TV. Just keep it down and don't disturb the child's sleep.

The woman's voice was almost numb as she mumbled something and moved aside to continue mopping the floor near the gate.

Meanwhile, Maki and Kaguya continued forward, hiding behind the low stool and using its legs to conceal their positions.

This feels... like a first-person perspective version of the Little Nightmare series.

Gao Hai, observing everything from the doll's perspective, broke out in a cold sweat and casually complained about the current situation.

Room 304 had inexplicably transformed into an absurdly large house of giants, where two enormous figures mechanically repeated their conversations from their past lives, while a petite girl cautiously moved forward, avoiding the gaze of these long-dead beings.

Sight...

Gao Hai felt the gaze upon him.

A gaze clearly emanating from the doll, coming from a certain direction.

Then the doll on Maki's shoulder slowly turned around and looked behind her, towards the rat hole-like place where the two girls had come out.

Then, he saw a blurry figure standing at the entrance of the rat hole, staring at him silently from a distance.

tick-

A drop of scalding water landed on Gao Hai's face, causing him to involuntarily flinch in pain.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room of his second-floor room, he looked up and saw a figure standing upside down on the ceiling, its head turned as if broken, staring at him.

The core curse of 304 has once again befallen him.

Meanwhile, Kaguya took a deep breath and suddenly rushed out from behind the low stool, heading towards the bedroom door.