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

Gao Hai frowned slightly and began to think carefully.

{Moreover, the last part of the note mentioned that the villagers' perceptions seemed to influence this thing. Perhaps this is a mechanism similar to the "lie-to-be-true" system at Yelu Mountain Middle School? In any case, since that thing has the word "immortal" attached to it, there must be other ways to deal with it, right? Perhaps we could try offering it something?}

At this moment, Princess Zhenfei spoke up and gave her own thoughts.

The four communicated through their mental link and soon reached a final conclusion.

I never expected it would come in handy so soon...

During the mental link, Gao Hai's voice carried a mix of emotion and anticipation.

{I've heard of this before, but do boys really like this kind of thing? I don't really understand...}

{Yes, I do know that. My family has cooperated with some Chinese companies. Once, my dad mentioned that the son of one of these entrepreneurs was playing with firecrackers and went to light a manhole cover. He got hit in the head by the flying manhole cover and had to get ten stitches.}

{Is it really that scary? And does my senior have this side to him?}

Chika made a somewhat wistful comment, but Maki and Miko didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with it, and they even started chatting and complaining casually through their mental link.

There's a famous saying that "an explosion is art," and another that "a man is a boy until he dies." Just take it with a grain of salt; don't take it too seriously.

As for Gao Hai himself, he didn't think there was anything wrong with the girls' complaints at all. On the contrary, after hearing the girls' own evaluations, he was somewhat proud.

Alright, let's get started.

Despite the strange music playing, the villagers' ceremony to welcome the mountain god was still ongoing.

They placed blood-soaked pig heads and chickens, along with some dried vegetables and various other offerings that the players couldn't quite decipher, in front of the mountain god statue covered in gray cloth, and then began to sing and dance again.

The players around were still in a state of fear and apprehension, while the villagers were all enjoying the celebration, as if these players were some kind of outcasts.

Gao Hai's attention was no longer on the ceremony, but on the deep connection established through the black watch, silently conveying the power of blessings.

This time, he activated the blessing of that big boy named Koji Morihara, which he had never used before.

As a powerful offensive blessing unique to Takayuki and unavailable to others, Takayuki received three aerial bombs and an extremely special fourth aerial bomb. Because this weapon, unlike Hirano Sosuke's pistol, had no controllable power, Takayuki had never tried using this dangerous blessing during his rest time. But now, with Miko in danger, the opportunity had finally arrived.

Be prepared. While you may be immune to damage, it's difficult to completely avoid light, so protect your eyes.

After giving Miko a final reminder via mental link, Takami began to activate the power of his blessing.

I could feel it.

A certain power hidden within, a power that had been dormant and waiting to be released, began to come active under the control of one's own thoughts.

I could feel it.

It was as if that boy was standing right beside me, the boy who roared with all his might, who was angry, who fought, and who ultimately burned and destroyed everything with his own life.

Gao Hai can now feel the intense and violent power emanating from that boy.

The designated target has been confirmed; Yotsuya sees the child.

Causal immune target identification, Miko Yotsuya, Ai Hayasaka, Kaguya Shinomiya, Ichiri Goto.

Unable to determine whether the four lost teammates were scattered in different areas or concentrated in one area, Gao Hai quickly designated all four as targets to be immune to damage.

Then, the bomb was transmitted past Takami through the deep link between Takami and Miko.

hum-

Still standing motionless in the increasingly foggy, dilapidated bedroom, Miko suddenly opened her eyes.

The power of blessings has been conveyed to her.

Raising her head slightly, the girl saw the large aerial bomb that appeared out of nowhere and crashed down onto the ground beneath her feet.

【…】

The next moment, the sound disappeared.

Under the sudden burst of dazzling light, as bright as the sun, Jianzi could not hear any sound.

Or perhaps she only heard a faint rumble at the very beginning of the explosion, and then nothing more.

The raging fire, accompanied by a violent cloud of smoke, swept across the area.

The small mud house shattered in an instant, turning into a white expanse. The sweeping heat tore apart the walls and nearby houses, advancing relentlessly and terrifyingly in all directions.

Boom! ! !

Then, the sound of the explosion finally became clear, and Jianzi could finally hear the raging explosion and feel the earth rumbling and trembling.

The "Black Fairy" behind them had disappeared.

However, the thing didn't disappear because it triggered any rules; rather, it was physically thrown away by the shockwave of the explosion, traveling at least three kilometers away. As a result, when Jianzi came to her senses, she couldn't find the thing at all.

The paper figures walking in the streets were no exception to this terrifying power; they vaporized on the spot without even being able to scream. Considering that these things are merely derivative monsters and do not possess the indestructible characteristics of true physical monsters, their current performance is a good illustration of their actual strength.

"Well……"

Not far away, a blonde girl stood up from the scattered dust, looking around in a daze at the flat ground around her where no buildings could be seen, and then at herself, whose clothes were still intact. She was completely confused about what was going on.

"Is this... Gao Jun's bomb blessing? Such power... is it really just a bomb?"

Further away, more than 700 meters away, a black-haired girl peeked out from a broken and collapsed house, staring at the fiery clouds spreading across the sky in the distance. She was speechless for a moment.

As for Miko, who was at the epicenter of the explosion, she was temporarily blind and deaf. Although Takami's designation ensured she was completely unharmed by the bombs, even standing at the center of the blast, the intense light and deafening noise severely affected her vision and hearing. However, this effect would soon subside and wouldn't actually damage Miko's senses. After all, the power of the blessing was absolute; since Takami had designated Miko as unharmed, she would definitely not be harmed in any way. This was a causal and unchangeable fact—the power of a Crimson Moon-level blessing.

But on the other side, more trouble was just beginning.

hum-

The joyous welcoming ceremony in the center of the village was suddenly put on hold, and everyone stopped what they were doing.

Then, before the surrounding players could figure out what was happening, the ground suddenly shook slightly. Next, accompanied by a strange hot wind, a violent cloud of dust swept across the entire plaza in an instant, knocking almost all the players and villagers to the ground.

The tremor was as if a massive explosion had just occurred somewhere.

Chapter Twelve: Art is the Explosion and Search Reunited by the Miko Team

To be honest, Gao Hai was a little stunned when the sudden shockwave spread out.

After all, whether it was in the Red Nut Gray Hole or in the Campus Ghost Stories, when spaces were separated, although there was still some mutual influence, this influence wasn't particularly obvious. It was more reflected in various indirect changes. But this time, when the Blessing Bomb exploded on Miko's side, the powerful shockwave directly affected Takami's side.

Of course, compared to the shockwave of a real explosion, the shockwave that appeared in the square was much gentler. There was neither a violent high-temperature reaction nor any high-speed debris; it was merely a rather strong gust of wind.

Yes, it was probably the kind of super gale strong enough to lift a car off the ground. Therefore, unsurprisingly, all the players present, whether Red Moon or Dark Night level, were slammed to the ground, unable to stand up in the gale. As for the villagers who, in our perception, were just ordinary humans, they flew—truly flew.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

Amidst piercing screams, a villager was swept nearly twenty meters into the air by the violent storm, from the village's central square to a residential area a hundred meters away, crashing through the roof of a rural outhouse and landing headfirst in the latrine.

Several villagers dressed as animals were thrown into the air, then slammed heavily to the ground, then flew up again, then fell down again, bouncing around like pebbles drifting on water. Some rolled on the ground for a long time before stopping, lying motionless like dead dogs. Others crashed directly into the surrounding earthen walls, smashing through the thick walls and falling into the house.

Crack—Boom—!!!

The wooden platform in the center of the square collapsed directly under the violent shock wave.

The female villagers who were singing, and the clan chief Li Ziyong standing at the very center of the platform, were all buried under the broken pieces of wood. Some had pieces of wood piercing their bodies, their faces covered in blood, or several holes pierced through their chests and abdomens. The air was thick with the stench of blood, and screams of agony echoed one after another.

As for the villagers who carried the mountain god statue down the mountain...

Gao Hai got up from the ground and looked towards the mountain road.

Yes, it was flattened.

In the shockwave, the villagers carrying the heavy stone statue likely let go accidentally, causing the statue to crash down and instantly turn them into mincemeat.

Judging from the current situation, these villagers are probably already intertwined, each existing within the other. Separating them for burial might be difficult... well... maybe we'd have to use chopsticks to pick them out?

slam-la-

At this moment, a cloud of yellow sand surged up and then fell like a drizzle, carrying withered leaves, weeds and some strange little things.

The small square, which was bustling just moments ago, has now completely transformed into a different scene.

"Ugh...ahhhhhh—"

"Wow! Oh my gosh!"

"Hmph hmph hmph ahh ...

One scream after another echoed across the square. Compared to the thick-skinned players, the villagers, who were at least outwardly ordinary humans, suffered heavy casualties in this storm, with almost no one surviving. The dead died in all sorts of ways, while the survivors had broken arms or legs, were missing parts, or had deformities—the sight was truly gruesome.

"This……"

Chika, who was thrown onto Gao Hai by the impact, reached out and grabbed Gao Hai's shoulder, and helped him get up. She looked around a few times and was stunned.

"Is it really that powerful?"

Maki's legs were pinned down by Takami, so she was only able to sit up after Takami got up. Compared to Chika, her reaction was smaller, but she still couldn't hide the surprise on her face.

Although everyone knew from the beginning that Gao Hai's special blessing included a seemingly powerful bomb-like blessing, no one could accurately imagine its destructive power until they actually witnessed its might. Including Gao Hai, who, having never used it in real combat, was somewhat unsure of the true level of this offensive blessing from Morihara Koji.

Now I know, but the process of finding out was a bit earth-shattering.

"What the heck is going on? The ceremony to welcome the mountain god is actually a hurricane?"

Not far away, a player who had been knocked to the ground and had a mouthful of sand got up, spitting out the sand and wiping his face as he spoke.

"What the hell is all this... This dungeon is way too weird, isn't it? Or was that commotion just now not part of the dungeon mechanics?"

Some players who had already stood up looked puzzled and began to have doubts.

However, no matter how much these players thought about it, they couldn't possibly know that the culprit was Gao Hai, who was mixed in with the crowd. Red Moon-level blessings remain incredibly rare; virtually no player has ever seen one, and no one can truly understand them before direct contact. Moreover, Gao Hai actually unleashed the skill from another dimension. The Li Family Village side was merely caught in the aftermath.

Moreover, let's focus on the other side's issues first.

{See you, Zi? How are things on your end? Are you alright?}

Even knowing that the power of the blessing could designate someone to be unharmed, and that the unbroken mental link proved the other person was alright, Gao Hai still couldn't help but worry about the situation on the other side, having experienced such terrifying explosive power just by indirectly sensing it.

{I'm fine, senior, I'm fine. I don't have any wounds at all, not even my clothes are torn. It's just that the explosion was so loud and the light was so bright that I was blinded and deaf for about three or four seconds. But my eyes and ears weren't damaged, and my vision returned to normal after those three or four seconds.}

The girl's voice quickly rang out in the mental link, sounding strong and clear, without any problems.

{That's good. Check the surroundings. If there's no danger, find Kaguya and Hayasaka as soon as possible and try to reunite with your teammates. But be careful when you're looking; make sure they are indeed your teammates and not some imposter.}

After confirming the other party's condition, Gao Hai breathed a slight sigh of relief and then quickly gave instructions.

To this, Jianzi quickly replied, "I know I'll be careful," and then fell silent, clearly already taking action. Shortly after, she briefly described her surroundings through the mental link.

Flames, smoke, ruins.