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

{What's so great about this? You're a pervert, an idiot, a total jerk.}

Zhenfei squinted and playfully pressed Gao Hai's nose with a reproachful tone.

{It's okay, it's okay, I don't mind if you praise me more.}

{Who's praising you? Why do you always interpret these kinds of words as compliments? I really don't understand.}

{Because you're so cute when you say those things, Maki!}

{Ah, you really are an idiot, I don't even know what to say about you.}

Seeing Gao Hai's increasingly smug expression, Zhenfei couldn't resist reaching out and pinching Gao Hai's waist. Of course, she didn't pinch hard, just gave him a light pinch as a form of protest.

{Yes, that's just the kind of person I am. So you just need to trust me, cooperate with me, and work together to find a way to survive.}

Gao Hai simply smiled, revealing his usual confident expression, and the words he conveyed to the girl's mind showed no confusion or hesitation.

Despite having gone through so many hardships and still enduring trials with no light at the end of the tunnel, this guy seems to have no idea how to spell "setback." He always manages to push forward with all his might when facing difficulties, as if he's completely incapable of despair.

It's probably inevitable that I would be attracted to such a person, stand with him, and end up where I am today.

{Hmm...I believe you, Haijun, so let's get through this together this time.}

After replying softly in the mental link, Zhenfei raised her head, wrapped her arms around Gao Hai's neck, closed her eyes, and once again entwined their breaths.

A moment later, Takahashi put the girl down. Maki, her face slightly flushed, breathed a sigh of relief, wiped her mouth, and went down the stairs first. Takahashi, following behind, was about to go downstairs when he saw Kita float out from beside him, looking somewhat surprised.

{Huh, you guys didn't take your clothes off?}

The red-haired girl looked at Gao Hai with disbelief in her eyes.

Why do you think we need to take our clothes off? We're inside a dungeon!

Gao Hai was very puzzled and couldn't understand why Kita would have such an idea. He wasn't some lewd demon who controlled the big head with a small one; he could still tell the situation from the current perspective.

{Well, that's what they say, but there's no real danger right now. I thought you guys had already... oh, but not taking off your clothes doesn't seem like a big deal, considering you often let Shijou and Fujiwara use their hands and mouths on you at school...}

Kita's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't seem particularly ashamed; in fact, she thought about it more deeply.

{Stop, stop, stop! I didn't do anything like that, I just kissed him. Don't overthink it. I wouldn't do that kind of thing during a dungeon run. Why are you so concerned about this? Do you enjoy watching me do *that*? Okay, okay, let's go down and meet up with the others.}

Gao Hai had to admit that Kita's completely unashamed attitude actually made him a little embarrassed, so he quickly ended the conversation and hurried downstairs.

When Takami walked into the living room on the first floor amidst Kita's roar of "Who likes to watch that kind of thing?", he was met with very strange stares from everyone, and Maki's face covered in a state of self-isolation, as if she had died.

What's going on? What happened?

Realizing something was wrong, Gao Hai stopped in his tracks with great vigilance and began to carefully observe Kaguya Chika and the others.

There's nothing wrong with the atmosphere, and I haven't detected any unusual changes in the space. There's also no trace of the paper figures that could replace the players. What's going on? I don't sense anything wrong, so why are everyone's expressions so strange?

{Because the mental link is on a public frequency, we actually heard Xiaozhenfei sneaking away. Hmm, how should I put it? It was a very typical Ahai-style way of comforting her.}

Then, seeing Chika's somewhat teasing expression and words, Gao Hai finally understood where the problem lay.

Ah, speaking of which, the mental link provided by the black watch definitely doesn't have a private frequency; whatever everyone says can be heard by everyone. This didn't change after connecting to the temporary frequency constructed by the object of obsession, so what just happened was actually a live broadcast?!

It was a little awkward.

Gao Hai had to admit that, although he was fairly thick-skinned, he was still a little embarrassed in this situation.

{Favoritism isn't good, you know. Ah Hai can't just appease Little Zhenfei alone, right?}

But Chika had already stood up with great interest. Although she said that Gao Hai should treat everyone equally, her attitude clearly indicated that she was going to take some further action before she would stop.

While the atmosphere between Takami and the girls was strange, Goto Ichiri looked at Kita Ikuyo with great surprise.

What Kita said to Mr. Kai just now... does that mean that Kita was watching the whole time Mr. Kai was doing that kind of thing?

I've only ever heard about these things, but Kita-san saw them firsthand. And judging from what Mr. Kai said later, Kita-san even seemed to enjoy watching him do *that*? Does she really have that side to her?

{Kita-kun, this...this...this is just too rock and roll! Ugh, I knew I couldn't do something like this. Watching Mr. Kai and that girl...no, no, I guess I still can't do something that rock and roll, at least not right now...}

The socially awkward girl, her face completely flushed, let out a wail at that moment because of the knowledge that exceeded her limits.

{I don't want to watch it! Don't listen to that lewd nonsense! I was forced! I was forced, okay? If I could hide, I would have hidden it long ago. Why would I actively watch something like that and find it interesting? I'm not like that!!!}

Completely caught off guard, Kita panicked and desperately tried to explain the situation.

{N-No, it's okay, Kita-kun. Um, although I can't do it right now, I'll try my best!}

However, it was clear that Ichiri, who had already formed a fixed impression, could not understand Kita's meaning. Instead, she took a deep breath and showed a serious expression that said, "I want to learn from your advanced experience," leaving Kita momentarily speechless.

Ah, did I actually leave such an impression on Boqi-chan, and even influence her?

Forgotten by her parents, family, and classmates, forgotten by Nijika-chan and Ryo-senpai, and treated as a slut by Pochi-chan, she was forced to stay in a man's body and watch those disgusting things...

Ah, this world, maybe we should just destroy it.

Kita Ikuyo tasted despair at this moment, and her will was severely tested.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

Then, there was a knock on the door.

{…}

The once vibrant spiritual connection suddenly fell silent.

Hayasaka, who had been on high alert, stood up. Kaguya, holding a bow and arrow, flipped over and stood in a blind spot behind Hayasaka. Chika and Maki observed and guarded from the left and right. Ichiri summoned a clone almost instantly, and Kita immediately returned to Takami's side, who was already on high alert.

In less than a second, everyone returned to the posture of a player in a dungeon.

Excuse me, how do I get to Yingti Village?

Then, at that moment, everyone heard a question coming from outside the door.

Chapter 53: Reflections on the Rules and the Abnormal Players

A voice devoid of any emotion, as monotonous as reciting lines, and whose age and gender were indistinguishable, began to echo outside the door.

Do you know how to get to Yingti Village?

As this sound rang out, a monotonous "knock knock knock" began to echo at the door.

For a moment, Gao Hai wondered if he had returned to Shirakawa Apartment.

Inside the dimly lit house, the unchanging, mechanically precise knocking at the door, followed by voices, was all too similar to his experience in the Shirakawa apartment—it was like a replay of everything. Considering the similarities between the mountain god statue and the Guanyin statue in the Shirakawa apartment, Takahiro felt an even stronger sense that everything was being guided by some unseen force, as if some invisible thread was manipulating everything and showing him these recurring scenes.

Of course, despite saying that, Gao Hai was well aware that the current situation was completely different from what happened at Shirakawa Apartments.

Back then, he had no blessings, no obsessions, and was weak; aside from his relatively resilient mental strength, he was practically useless. Therefore, when faced with the mental pollution from the knocking ghost, he nearly succumbed and died, only managing to reverse the situation at the last second by striking the bell. Now, even though he can clearly sense the mental pollution emanating from the words of the being outside the door, he remains unmoved, completely unaffected by illusions, and utterly unaffected by its words.

Therefore, he will no longer be able to struggle helplessly like he was at the Shirakawa Apartment.

{Don't make a sound. This thing is faulty; it's different from the previous one.}

Gao Hai spoke calmly through the mental link, remaining completely still and silently watching the door that was making the knocking sound.

{Hmm, indeed, this voice asking for directions is somewhat different from the paper figures we saw before. Its aura... is much more terrifying, much more eerie, giving off a chill just from hearing it. Ah Hai, compared to the strange creatures you've encountered in the dungeon so far, do you think this thing is more like a normal Red Moon-level strange creature, or more like those hard-to-understand things, like Alice or the Little Black Mountain God?}

Fujiwara Chika stood beside Takami, carefully analyzing the situation through their mental link.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

The knocking didn't change anything; the door remained tightly shut, without even the slightest sign of movement. It was as if the hand knocking hadn't exerted any force at all, and even the sound itself was like a pre-recorded message, utterly meaningless.

Excuse me, how do I get to Yingti Village?

The sounds outside the door continued, still devoid of any emotion, just as before.

Is the name of the village mentioned, "Yingti Village," the same as the name of this instance, "Yingti Village"? Or are there some differences in details, such as a certain character being replaced with another character?

As Gao Hai pondered, he stood motionless, his breathing almost completely still.

Given the unclear situation, Gao Hai felt it was best not to act rashly. So he just stared at the door, quietly listening with the girls to the constant knocking and talking sounds coming from that thing.

Please tell me how to get to Yingti Village.

Could you tell me how to get to Yingti Village?

Does anyone know where Yingti Village is located?

Tap tap tap—tap tap tap—

The thing outside the door would knock on the door every time it spoke a sentence, and each knock would always be only three times, repeating the behavior like a precise program.

Although it received no response from anyone inside the house, the thing seemed oblivious to the concept of giving up, and kept knocking and asking questions incessantly.

This thing seems quite persistent.

After waiting for a full ten minutes without the thing stopping, Gao Hai frowned and began to wonder if there was something wrong with his current actions, or if he hadn't taken the correct countermeasures.

According to the rule sheet distributed to players by [Li Family Village], players need to "avoid asking for directions at night," "avoid sleeping in roofed rooms," and "ignore knocking at night." In short, players need to stay in roofed rooms at night, avoid going outside unnecessarily, and ignore anyone knocking on the door asking for directions. Judging solely from this, Gao Hai and his group's current approach should be correct.

However, things cannot be analyzed solely based on appearances. Ultimately, rule sheets are written by humans, and they cannot be all-encompassing. In practice, they often contain various omissions and even traps. After all, the people who wrote the rules are often not the players, but victims in the initial creation of the instance. For example, in the Red Nut Gray Hole instance, although Wilbo tried to leave many rule sheets in the instance, after he was killed and transformed by the monster, the rule sheet that Gao Hai finally obtained from him contained language traps, a situation where one could easily be led into a dead end.

The source of the rule sheet in this instance is even more questionable. The rule sheet provided to players by [Li Family Village] was ultimately written by a group of people who colluded with the monsters and willingly acted as their accomplices. The primary purpose of this rule sheet was to imprint a special binding mark on the players, ensuring they could be manipulated at will. Even though Gao Hai later obtained the [Li Family Ancestral Instructions], a set of rules that should be more accurate, it still contains obvious biases and deliberately omitted parts, requiring careful judgment based on the actual circumstances.

So, think carefully about how to interpret the contents of these two different rule tables I obtained in Lijia Village.

First, it's certain that the villagers won't immediately kill the player. The festival lasts 30 days, and the time limit for completing the [Sacrifice Game] mission is also 30 days. This means that unless you bombed the plaza from the first playthrough, players could theoretically survive in [Li Family Village] for 30 days. Of course, due to the rules of this instance, if a player actually survives for 30 days, they'll probably be transformed into something neither human nor monster, becoming a so-called [qualified sacrifice], right?

On one hand, this can be considered a rather malicious trap. On the other hand, it also means that, as long as the player doesn't cause trouble, the villagers will protect the player to some extent. After all, for these undead, the player's flesh and blood are a form of wealth that they need to hold onto tightly. Therefore, this tendency is reflected in the rule sheet as a way to prevent the player from being kidnapped by the paper dolls, or from being taken away by Liu Family Village or other strange forces within the instance. In other words, the thing knocking on the door outside asking for directions might represent another force within the instance, and if the player responds to it, they might be labeled differently and thus escape the control of Li Family Village.

Now that everyone in Li Village has been sent away by Gao Hai and their fates are unknown, the interruption of the welcoming ceremony has brought unforeseen consequences. This long, dark night shows no signs of ending. Perhaps that's why the thing outside the door, which might have only asked for directions a few times before leaving, is now relentlessly banging on the door and refusing to leave. So, perhaps it's necessary to test it out and confirm which faction within the instance this thing belongs to.

Well, but before that, we need to ensure our own safety.

We moved into the inner room, just like when we hid from the debt collectors in the Shirakawa apartment. Now we were only separated from the outside by a door, so that thing should be able to sense our presence. If the area between us was larger, perhaps once we couldn't hear its voice anymore, it would also lose its ability to sense our presence and then move on to another target.

After a moment's thought, Gao Hai made his decision and spoke to everyone through the mental link.

Maki and Kaguya immediately understood and explained in their mental link what Takami meant by "Shirakawa Apartment." Without hesitation, Hayasaka extinguished the stove, and then everyone moved swiftly in the darkness, going up the stairs and moving directly from the first floor to the third floor. They entered a room on the third floor and closed the door in the corridor, completely sealing the room. They also used a sealing artifact to ensure that external sounds and supernatural forces could not penetrate the room.

After these steps were completed, the knocking and inquiries from downstairs were completely stopped, and no one could hear them anymore.

But to be honest, Gao Hai himself wasn't quite sure whether doing this would actually work, since he was only making a judgment based on the case of the Shirakawa Apartment back then.

The inner room where everyone was hiding now appeared to be a small warehouse, filled with items and utensils of unclear purpose, as well as what seemed to be tea and wine. It seemed that Li Ziyong and the so-called members of the Li clan occasionally enjoyed a drink and tea on the third-floor terrace, indulging in some high-class pleasures. Gao Hai had no interest in this at all. If these items were objects of his obsession, he might have valued them more, but after investigating, he found them to be quite ordinary objects, and thus immediately lost interest.

{Haijun, can you still sense other players through the land deed? Could you try sensing them to see if any other players have been targeted by that thing? We need to confirm whether that thing can appear in different places simultaneously.}

At this moment, Maki made a serious suggestion to Takahashi through a mental link.