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

Regardless of the outward appearance, this at least illustrates one underlying fact: the seal is gradually losing its effectiveness.

In that brief moment of perception, Gao Hai realized that the mountain god's seal and suppression of the blood flower was now on the verge of getting out of control and could be broken at any time.

If we were to make an analogy, it would probably be like an active volcano about to erupt.

And now, I am standing right next to this volcanic crater. If I get a little closer, I can exert a bit of force that is enough to put the balance on the scales and bring forward the disaster that is yet to come.

So, the reason Yotsuya Miko was able to sense the crimson flower during her second playthrough might not have been solely due to the girl's extraordinary perception, but also because the mountain god's suppression of the blood flower was gradually weakening? Even if Miko was lucky enough not to trigger the blood flower or sense it at that time, it would still be the same. From the moment she entered this dungeon, Miko's overly powerful perception was actually constantly exposed to the blood flower; one could even say that not triggering the blood flower during her first playthrough was incredibly lucky?

As he pondered, Gao Hai began to quicken his pace, heading away from Xiao Heishan.

But soon, he noticed another problem.

The space he has entered is devoid of villages and traces of human activity. Therefore, there are no man-made dirt roads here, and he can only move forward through the woodland, thus inevitably having to meet the rule of "venturing deep into the woodland".

We must get back to the road as soon as possible, otherwise, if we continue to wander around in the woods, we'll inevitably run into animals sooner or later.

Thinking this, Takahashi accelerated even further, leaping through the woods like the wind. Hayasaka, who was clinging to his back, had to grip Takahashi tightly with both hands and legs to avoid being thrown off.

You've only just entered a new area, why are you in such a hurry to leave again?

Hayasaka realized that the seemingly ordinary space might actually be extremely dangerous and deadly.

However, if there is no way to escape the pursuit, no matter where you run, the result will be the same, right?

The girl frowned as she thought this.

Although so far, Hayasaka only knows some information about the Crimson Flower through Gao Hai's account, it is only the uncontaminated information that is known. Looking at Gao Hai's disheveled escape, Hayasaka can imagine how terrifying that thing is.

Is there any way to temporarily slow down that thing's movement?

Even if we can't get rid of the pursuers permanently, we should at least find a way to temporarily slow down that thing's movements. After all, running away indefinitely isn't a good idea.

{Master, can you still sense what's chasing you? Is it still pursuing you?}

Hayasaka asked in the temporary mental link while thinking.

It's a pity it's still there...

Gao Hai's answer was somewhat helpless, and there was something he didn't say. That was, even though he had experienced more than one distortion and transformation of the spatial structure, the sound of the thing chasing him was still becoming clearer and clearer, and the distance between them was still shrinking little by little. It seemed that no matter how Gao Hai tried to escape, the other party would inevitably catch up with him.

tread!

For a moment, Gao Hai staggered slightly, but he quickly recovered and continued walking briskly, skillfully avoiding a small animal that had appeared in front of him, standing silently in the woods.

That looks like a deer.

The reason for using "seems" is that the other party only has a vague outline, without a specific image, and is completely a three-dimensional black color.

Behind this dark mass, Gao Hai noticed more blurry animal silhouettes standing silently in the woods. Each of them seemed to be a materialized projection of a shadow, crowding into the small gaps in the woods, just like the abnormal ecosystem Hayasaka had observed during his first playthrough—so numerous it was completely abnormal.

Tread - Tread -

Gao Hai's feet landed on the tree trunks. To avoid touching the black phantoms, he could barely touch the ground and could only move through the trees in the dense forest in an acrobatic manner.

What are these things that look like animal shadows?

Hayasaka noticed that where Takami had passed, the previously still animal phantoms began to move, jumping and wriggling as if they had finally gained life, and even showing a tendency to merge together.

In those shadows, what was that thing slowly pacing, as if taking a leisurely stroll? Was it a bear? It seemed that you could see that thing moving on all fours, and at the same time, it could stand up on two legs like a human.

No, I can't see it clearly.

For a girl with severely impaired perception, all she could see was what anyone else could see—nothing more. If she wanted to delve deeper into understanding the information, she had absolutely no idea how to proceed.

"call……"

Gao Hai was still adjusting his breathing, trying his best to make sure that he could land steadily with each step and avoid missing a step.

At this moment, he could not see any trace of a dirt road. Looking out, under the dark red moonlight, there was only an endless forest and black, animal-like blobs. Therefore, he could only continue to move through the trees without his feet touching the ground.

The mental link then transmitted communication again.

This wasn't a temporary mental link; it was a mental link established by the black watch that was ringing.

This is a communication from Princess Zhenfei's side.

{Haijun, how's the situation on your end? Have you encountered any unusual circumstances?}

As soon as the communication was connected, Maki's voice immediately reached Gao Hai's ears.

{There haven't been any unusual situations yet, but there's a persistent pursuer that's causing some trouble. I plan to try teleporting across the spatial boundary twice more to see if I can completely separate myself from that thing. If that still doesn't work, I think I'll have to try facing it one-on-one.}

Gao Hai was in a good mood at the moment, and even had time to joke around with Zhen Fei.

But on the other end of the communication line, Maki's voice sounded extremely solemn.

{Haijun, think about it carefully again, recall carefully, have you encountered any unusual situations?}

Our player force has been reduced by more than half, and including the Red Moon level players who remained, none of us noticed the missing or dead. Even the dead, which were noticed, didn't raise any alarms in us.

{I've thought about this carefully for a long time, and I've realized that things started to go wrong after the second... or third time it got dark? Anyway, it was after this most recent nightfall. Because we're gathered inside the village, protected by land deeds, it's a relatively safe zone, so even if something happens, it won't be fatal. But Haijun, you've been out there all the time. If something really goes wrong, the impact on you could be much more severe than on our side. So Haijun, think carefully again, have you encountered anything unusual?}

Princess Zhenfei's attitude was very firm.

Gao Hai naturally didn't think that his cautious and timid girlfriend would joke about something like this.

So, in all the things I've experienced so far, what are some things that I haven't noticed, things that are obviously unusual?

The third playthrough begins with creating a safe zone village...

The dream was captured by the blood flower, triggering the blessing of immortality to escape...

Gather players to take action...

Exploration activities in different spaces during the day...

A probing attempt at the paper doll village at night...

With the power of the Fox Queen, Blood Flower, and Mountain God, he struggled to escape once more, triggering the Blessing of Immortality once more...

In my entire journey, from the third playthrough onwards, have there been any overlooked issues? If so… wait…

Gao Hai's eyes suddenly widened, and his steps almost faltered.

It originates from Hirano Sosuke's 10-minute immortality blessing, with a 3-day cooldown period after use.

From the start of the third playthrough until now, approximately two days have passed.

Then why...did he trigger the Blessing of Immortality twice?!

Chapter 83: The Encounter with the Black Immortal in the Woods and the Location Arrived

No matter how you calculate the time elapsed, Gao Hai is certain that from the start of the third playthrough until now, his total experience will not exceed 48 hours, which is not even enough for two days.

However, it takes three days to fully recover after use, and the Undying Blessing was triggered twice within two days when used again.

The power of blessings doesn't lie.

The time required to recover and reuse a blessing after it has been consumed is largely unaffected by external factors. Unless it's a blessing with a clear means of replenishment, like Chiyo Hachiya's Crimson Barrier, neither supernatural objects nor any other power can affect the blessing's inherent mechanism. At most, they might create a counteracting or shielding effect after the blessing takes effect.

This means that in his third playthrough, he has actually spent at least three days in this instance.

Why can't I feel this at all?

Is there something wrong with my own perception of time? No, that's not right. If that were the case, then I would be the only one with the problem, but since no one else has noticed it either, it proves that everyone has been affected.

In other words, is the flow of time within this instance much faster than it appears? Or does performing actions like spatial travel disrupt the flow of time within the instance, causing it to become disordered or accelerated?

While thinking, Gao Hai lowered his head and looked at the black watch he was wearing.

At this moment, the hands of the watch are stopped at position [2].

If my memory is intact, the pointer should be at position [3] at the start of the third playthrough. After being killed by the power of the Crimson Flower in the second playthrough, Gao Hai had to use two saves to fully recover, and even then, he suffered for a long time.

Now, after absorbing a large amount of obsession in three dungeons, the watch's self-recovery time has been shortened to less than seven days. The fact that the black watch has now recovered one bar means that Gao Hai has been in the dungeon for more than seven days, becoming, like the Undying Blessing, strong evidence of abnormal time flow.

This is so strange.

Gao Hai had absolutely no idea what was going on.

However, there is at least one thing he is certain of: this mission has a time limit.

The puppet-like Keeper (KP) gave him a 30-day time limit to complete the dungeon, meaning he had to find a solution within those 30 days. Based on past experience, KPs, unless they are oddballs like writers, generally don't tamper with dungeons after players have started playing. Therefore, the 30-day time limit doesn't mean Gao Hai will be punished by the KP if he fails to complete the dungeon within 30 days; rather, it means that if he can't solve the dungeon within 30 days, he will miss his last chance to solve it, and the dungeon will enter an irreversible, worst-case scenario.

Gao Hai hadn't initially considered the time limit for clearing the dungeon, as he hadn't had to worry about it during his previous five dungeon runs. However, in the [Infant Cry Village] dungeon, he probably had to consider the time constraint. Normally, with a 30-day time limit, either Gao Hai wouldn't survive the full 30 days, or he would immediately meet the requirements and begin clearing the dungeon. But now, it seemed this damn dungeon even had a fast-forward button. At this rate, he might suddenly be eliminated before he'd even explored much of the dungeon.

It's really a headache. One problem after another keeps popping up. Before one can be solved, another one appears. I feel like this dungeon is already comparable to the ultimate nesting doll king at Nightfall Mountain Middle School. Is this doll KP really the writer's twin brother?

As Gao Hai continued moving at high speed through the woods, he couldn't help but complain to himself.

Is it a complicated matter?

Hayasaka, who had learned about the conversation between Takami and Maki through a temporary mental link, asked with some concern.

{It's okay, more debts don't weigh you down. Anyway, we're already in this mess, so there's nothing to be afraid of.}

Takami sighed inwardly, but her voice remained as confident as ever when answering Hayasaka.

Even though the pressure he felt was considerable, Gao Hai still didn't want to show a bad side in front of the maid who accompanied him. In a sense, this was also a matter of his pride as a man.

The dim, dark red moonlight shone through the gaps in the woods onto the ground.

At this moment, Gao Hai moved through the trees with ease, like a ninja, thanks to his superhuman physical abilities.

Below him, through the gaps in the trees and on the grass, the silhouettes of animals blurred and coalesced like ink, appearing pitch black. They seemed completely unresponsive to Gao Hai's passing, standing motionless. But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the heads of these strangely positioned animals all seemed to be turned towards Gao Hai, watching him, or perhaps… watching the moonlight filtering through the trees?

I felt a pulling force.

Gao Hai closed his eyes and felt a very faint pulling force as he moved, as if someone was talking to him, telling him to go in a certain direction, and pulling his hand to try to pull him there.

Was it a teammate's mistake, or an enemy's tactic?

I need to observe the situation over there.

[Alright, alright, Alice the Observer has received instructions and will begin observing now~. Reporting to the teacher, those on the other side are Uncle Cat and Uncle Li from the Slacking Off Gang, and Aunt Tangyuan, the historian. It seems they established contact with you through Uncle Li's divination abilities and are trying to guide you back. They've already returned to "Li Family Village." Hehe, it seems that in the previous operation, only the teacher's side was targeted and encountered problems.]

Alice's powerful voice rang out quickly. Even without directly borrowing her power for specific operations, this personality template transmitted by Gao Hai to the Mountain God could still provide considerable assistance. Not to mention, her ability to observe multiple spaces as the Mountain God was already irreplaceable.

Well, the only problem is that this thing won't completely obey Gao Hai's instructions, or rather, Gao Hai's requests for help from this thing must never involve other entities that have established a connection with the mountain god. Therefore, if Gao Hai wanted Alice to help observe the whereabouts of the villagers, Alice would absolutely not respond to him. Alice, a member of the [Treasure Hunters], also refused to observe, which is considered solid evidence that this organization has colluded with the villagers in the instance.

In short, since Alice is certain that the other party is one of their own, Gao Hai doesn't need to doubt it either.

While he was pondering, a communication came from Chika Maki's side, confirming that the players from the "Fishing Gang" and the historian had indeed returned safely to Li Family Village, and that they were trying to contact and locate Gao Hai, guiding him back to the village's location. Therefore, Gao Hai wasted no time and increased his speed in just a few breaths.