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

Combined with the fact that during the month-long break before the dungeon opened, Xiong Mi, who was confirmed dead in the [Slacking Off Gang], mysteriously resurrected and contacted players outside the dungeon to complete the solution to the area, and that Zaoli Elementary School was solved by an unknown mysterious person, it's hard not to suspect that some unknown inside story is at play that this notoriously difficult dungeon, which was considered unsolvable, vanished in just one month.

However, because the [Slacking Off Gang] and the [Red Society] had pre-arranged their external strategies, and with the old players in the dolls being restored and their lost members replenished, the two Red Moon-level player teams were no longer afraid of others' covetousness and malice. Therefore, Gao Hai's existence was well protected and no problems arose. Of course, even so, players on the forum now have a generally accepted argument: there must be a completely unknown, previously unrevealed Red Moon-level player team that participated in the [Campus Ghost Stories] instance, and it was this team that cracked the Fujika Middle School and Hayate Elementary School areas.

Because of this incident, Xiong Mi, the only one who has publicly escaped from Fujika Middle School, has received special attention. Because of this, Jianbing has been responsible for contacting Gao Hai for the past two days, and Xiong Mi herself has been unable to even make a phone call or have a chat, which could potentially cause trouble for Gao Hai.

Speaking of which, the players on these forums all believe that this was a very skilled team of all top-tier players who cracked the game. Hmm... although in reality, the team I led only became considered strong after we cracked [Campus Ghost Stories]. Well, never mind, this matter isn't important, and I have no interest in getting into unnecessary trouble. Letting them speculate as they please is fine for now.

Thinking this, Gao Hai then saw a rather strange post.

Am I the only one who thinks there's a very high chance that a single player could have accomplished this unprecedented feat of clearing the Red Moon-level dungeon?

Hmm, is this just attention-grabbing, or is there actually some argument or idea behind it?

Gao Hai clicked on the post out of curiosity. The poster's ID was "[Noble Scepter]", with no profile picture and completely blank personal information, looking like a low-level, unregistered account used by online trolls. But for players whose lives are precarious, it's normal to just make do with whatever account they have. In fact, most accounts active on player forums don't even bother to change their IDs, simply displaying something like "[Account XXXXXX]".

So why would this guy think it was a single player, rather than a team of players, who cracked the dungeon?

With that thought in mind, Gao Hai squinted at the content of the post.

[If it were truly a player team, there would be no way they could hide themselves. Think about it: how powerful would a player team have to be to crack a Red Moon-level dungeon? Even the world's top player teams can't do that, yet this team has done it three times in a row. Moreover, Fujika Middle School and Hayate Elementary School practically forced their way in before the dungeon even opened. This kind of utterly unreasonable and terrifying operation, if it were truly accomplished by a team, then before this team was even formed, its members couldn't possibly have been unknown; they would have been discovered long ago.]

Furthermore, Xiong Mi's attitude within the "Slacking Off Gang" is highly questionable. It's common knowledge that this group of Chinese players, who claim to be "slacking off," are incredibly strong, consistently tackling high-difficulty Red Moon-level dungeons. The fact that they're so tight-lipped, joining the "Red Society" in claiming ignorance, suggests there's more to the story than meets the eye! I'm certain some incredibly powerful player helped them, and they're choosing to hide their existence as a way of repaying that player.

Ultimately, if this feat were truly accomplished by a sufficiently powerful team of players, there would be no need to hide it. It is precisely because this miracle was achieved by a single individual that there is a need for concealment and protection!

[I believe the key to proving this lies with the "Red Society." We already know that this player group was on the verge of collapse, but they recovered after "Campus Ghost Stories" was solved. The question is, why did the "Red Society" have to cooperate with the "Slacking Off Gang" specifically when solving the "Campus Ghost Stories" dungeon? What reason would these two teams, who hadn't had much contact before, have to get involved in the same dungeon? I think it must be that a mysterious and powerful player connected these two teams.]

Therefore, the current focus of the investigation should be on the "Red Society." We need to find out if anything happened to this player team, such as whether any member mysteriously resurrected before the "Campus Ghost Story" was solved, but the news was suppressed. Believe me, the truth is that the one who truly solved the "Campus Ghost Story" was a very powerful player, definitely not some so-called player team!

To be honest, Gao Hai's first reaction after reading the post was to find a way to delete and hide it.

Although the so-called arguments are mostly far-fetched, the problem is that this guy's conclusion is correct, and the resurrection of Akira Toyama of the Red Society is indeed a key point.

However, after browsing through the replies below, Gao Hai felt that there was no need to pay too much attention to this matter for the time being.

[Fourfold Existence: Soloing a Red Moon-level Dungeon? LOL, you might as well just say God came down to be a player!]

[A heartwarming observation: Although a lot of seemingly reasonable things were said, but... to solo a Red Moon-level dungeon, and clear it area by area three times in a row, don't you need to use your brain to think about what kind of operation that is?]

[Let me smell your stinky feet: The poster's IQ is suffocating]

[The Clown Yearning for Love: Human delusions can sometimes bring unexpected and amusing results, hahaha, OP, you're so cute!]

【The Veil Without Faces: Brilliant!】

[Amelia Country, Gaotan City Mental Hospital: Hello]

【Incurable Wara-chan: Although I don't really want to say anything too harsh, I think this kind of delusion really needs to be treated.】

[Shimokitazawa's Great Senior: Haha, if I were to solo a Crimson Moon-level dungeon, I'd do a handstand and poop in my own mouth!]

[The Doll of the Void Threads: Hehehe, so humans are really quite interesting.]

No one believed the poster. Well, that's understandable, since a single player cracking a Red Moon-level dungeon is indeed beyond common sense. No, my situation certainly can't be considered a solo effort. Without companions who believed in me and worked alongside me, I wouldn't have made it to the end alone. Ah, I feel like there's a weirdly cheesy feeling to this kind of thinking.

Gao Hai sighed inwardly, then quickly turned off the computer and went to take a shower.

Kita Ikuyo had already disappeared. She had only recently awakened from her coma, and her mental state was not good. Therefore, after being awake for a whole day, she began to feel sleepy shortly after nightfall. Then, her clone that was on the outside disappeared without a trace, and the mental fluctuations in Takahiro's brain quickly subsided.

In Gao Hai's view, this was actually a good thing. After all, considering what might happen tonight, it would be better for this innocent girl to fall asleep as soon as possible.

wow-

After a long time of enjoying a bathtub, Gao Hai soaked his whole body in the tub and then closed his eyes.

The warm water brings a sense of pleasant comfort at this moment.

The tense body is gradually relaxing.

But if Gao Hai doesn't pay attention, his body will soon return to a tense state.

For most players participating in this "Campus Ghost Stories" instance, it was just a super short mission that would end in less than an hour. But Gao Hai fought for it for several days in a row, and later, in order to break the bad end left by the "writer," he did not hesitate to use the power of the object of obsession to travel through time, experiencing a long and difficult journey.

Therefore, although Takami could maintain a relaxed state to some extent when interacting and playing with Chika Maki, meeting with Goto Ichiri, and having dinner with Kaguya Hayasaka, and wouldn't cause any trouble, as soon as the surroundings quieted down for a while, and he entered a state of idleness, his body would involuntarily shift to a highly vigilant and tense state, and he would unconsciously start paying attention to his surroundings and become suspicious.

Just like now, Gao Hai always feels that a hand might reach out and grab him from the bathtub he's soaking in.

Or perhaps there's a face hiding behind the towel hanging behind me, secretly observing me.

It could also be a window nearby that's already fogged up; perhaps all you need to do is wipe the window and you'll find shadows standing outside.

Of course, Gao Hai knew very well that this was just his own delusion.

He simply hadn't truly adjusted his mindset from the dungeon, nor had he fully adapted to the transition back to real life. However, even if he understood this perfectly well, it wasn't something he could simply change on his own. Moreover, even if he did adjust, it was already late at night on the second day back in reality, meaning that in 28 days, he would be embarking on another dungeon mission, one that was highly likely to be no less difficult than [Campus Ghost Stories], and perhaps even more so.

Therefore, Gao Hai believes that maintaining this state is actually better.

Well, that's true, but too much rigidity leads to breakage, and some relaxation is definitely necessary. Otherwise, if you keep being so tense, even if your willpower is superhuman, you'll still run into problems.

And tonight's relaxation activities... well, it might sound a bit lewd, but Gao Hai is actually quite looking forward to them. After all, he couldn't eat properly before because of differences in physical condition, but this time there are no obstacles in his way.

slam-la-

After getting out of the bathtub, I dried myself off and changed into the men's pajamas that Hayasaka had prepared beforehand.

Gao Hai patted his increasingly muscular arms in front of the bathroom mirror, then lifted his shirt to look at his stomach, which now had eight-pack abs. Thinking that he had never done any exercise yet had a physique that fitness enthusiasts needed to train consistently to achieve, he couldn't help but hum a few times in a cheerful mood.

Speaking of which, Maki and Chika's skin became noticeably smoother after receiving the Dark Night-level enhancement, and their hair also became much smoother, to the point where they didn't need any conditioner to maintain its smoothness. As for their figures, well... it seems they've gotten a little bit bigger, both top and bottom...

tread--

The restless fantasies stirring in my heart were interrupted by the sound of footsteps echoing in the corridor.

For Gao Hai, whose senses are now even more enhanced, it is not particularly difficult to detect and judge who is coming in advance.

That voice doesn't belong to Hayasaka.

The unexpected situation startled Gao Hai slightly.

He had originally thought that Xiao Ai would come to his room. After all, he had noticed that the maid was already getting impatient that evening.

Hmm, that kind of footstep sound...

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

"Gao Jun, are you inside? Is now a convenient time?"

A soft knock sounded on the door, and Kaguya Shinomiya's voice echoed from outside.

"Yeah, I'm here."

Gao Hai, who had already recognized who it was, stepped forward and opened the door to the guest room.

Outside the door stood a black-haired girl wearing a light pink nightgown, her movements slightly awkward, her cheeks flushed.

She raised her dark red eyes and met Gao Hai's gaze, then quickly looked away.

Around the corner not far down the corridor, Hayasaka peeked out and gave Kaguya, who was still hesitant, a thumbs-up before hiding away again.

It turned out to be the case.

Gao Hai had already figured it out.

The first thing to attack me was Kaguya's turn?

Interlude 3-52: The procrastination and key issues before Kaguya Shinomiya's turn-based battle

Kaguya Shinomiya's heart was pounding wildly.

Facing Gao Hai, who was wearing pajamas and exuded the dampness of someone who had just taken a shower, she felt very flustered. She was so flustered that her posture became stiff, and she stood in front of Gao Hai as if she were standing at attention. Gao Hai almost couldn't help but shout "At ease!"

The reason she was here instead of Hayasaka was, of course, because the maid had given her this opportunity. No, "given an opportunity" isn't quite accurate; in fact, she was forced to come by her maid.

a few minutes ago.

"So, Kaguya-sama doesn't plan to go see Master tonight and try to deepen your relationship with him?"

In Kaguya's bedroom, Hayasaka watched Kaguya finish washing up and change into her pajamas, and asked with a frown.

“What kind of thing would it be for a girl like me to go see a guy in the middle of the night? And if I don’t even have the basic self-restraint of a girl, what will Gao Jun think of me? He’ll definitely think I’m a promiscuous girl. I have to do everything I can to avoid this, so there’s no way I can go see Gao Jun at this time. Of course, if he comes to me first, I don’t mind putting aside my self-restraint and chatting with him.”

Kaguya gave a soft hum, tilting her head back with a touch of pride, her tone as confident as ever.

"...While I did consider that as a reason, 'chatting and talking'? Miss, is that all you could think of?"

Hayasaka sighed deeply, her face showing signs of exhaustion.

"Hmm? Is there anything strange about that? I've only known Gao-kun for a little over two months. Our relationship will definitely progress gradually. Hayasaka, instead of worrying about this, you should think about how to do your date tomorrow. We can't let the failure of last time happen again."

Yes.

At this moment, Hayasaka finally made a decision.

Kaguya, the young lady of the house, had no intention of having any further contact with Takami tonight. She kept Takami at the mansion overnight simply so she could easily find him for a date the next day—it was all for that one advantage.

It's absolutely suffocating!

"So, if Master comes to see you, is that alright? At this time, given Master's schedule, he should still be awake. He might come looking for you because he's bored."

Hayasaka, feeling a bit breathless, stiffened all over and it took her a while to catch her breath before she could continue asking.

"Huh? That won't do either! I've already put on my pajamas, how can I show myself like this? Yeah, that's right, you can never let your guard down when it comes to your personal image. So if he really comes over, you... you just have to say I'm already asleep!"

Kaguya, who hadn't expected this, was taken aback at first, then blushed, and then—without hesitation, swallowed back what she had said just a minute ago, giving Hayasaka an answer that made her even more silent.

It's really hard to know what to say.

The sheer stupidity of our young lady is truly beyond words.

Originally, I was thinking that after the young lady and master developed a better relationship, I would attack the master at night. But now, it seems that even after everyone has gone to the last step, and who knows, everyone might be pregnant, the young lady will still be in the same situation.

This won't do.

Although I don't know why the young lady has become so stupid, this absolutely cannot continue.

Well then, since you're unwilling to move forward, I'll give you a little push.

"Then, Miss, you should go to sleep early. That way, I can go find my master."

Hayasaka's expression turned cold as he spoke, and he walked straight towards the door.

bang——

A small, fair hand landed on her shoulder the next moment.