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

Hopefully, that gambler likes this kind of mother.

Hayasaka and I are back. How's the situation here?

Upon returning to the village, Gao Hai immediately sought out Zhen Fei, who had been waiting at the village entrance, to inquire about the situation.

Ah, Kaijun, you're finally back!

Even though she only remembered being separated for a few hours, Gao Hai felt as if they had been apart for several days. Zhen Fei, who looked very tired, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Gao Hai and showed an expression of seeing her pillar of support.

Without hesitation, she immediately began to explain the current situation to Gao Hai.

{Many Night Elf level players have died, primarily from starvation. Of course, this is starvation with an abnormal effect; after all, none of us realized the abnormality in those players' conditions until they actually stopped breathing.}

After concerned most players and conducting a thorough investigation, we confirmed that the abnormal time changes within the instance had different effects on players of varying physical strength. For example, Fujiwara, Auntie, and I are much stronger than normal Dark Night level players, so we only felt a little weak and hungry. Goto, the "Slacker Gang," and the historian players, on the other hand, basically felt nothing. They were completely unaware of the abnormal time flow, and their bodies didn't seem to have experienced such a long period of time.

After compiling the statistics, we confirmed that the majority of the deaths among the Night-level players who suffered heavy casualties were concentrated among those who had not received Night-level enhancements and only possessed Twilight-level enhancements. Their physical strength was the weakest, and they were most severely affected by the time anomaly, dying of starvation as if they hadn't eaten or drunk for over ten days. Furthermore, these players clearly exhibited bizarre tendencies after death. We have now gathered the players' corpses in a room and sealed them, which has temporarily contained this problem. We have distributed emergency food to the remaining survivors to help them survive for a while longer.

It didn't take long for Maki to tell Takahashi what had happened.

Although her tone was relatively relaxed, considering the situation at the time, Gao Hai estimated that stabilizing the situation wouldn't be easy. His companions had suddenly and inexplicably stopped breathing and died. Upon investigation, they discovered they had starved to death, and Gao Hai himself felt weak and listless, as if he hadn't eaten for days. Then, those who had suddenly collapsed and died came back to life, transforming into strange creatures. Stabilizing the situation and suppressing the anomalies under such circumstances seemed incredibly troublesome and difficult.

Sorry, I wish I could have gotten back sooner.

Gao Hai spoke to Zhenfei very seriously.

{Don't say that, this isn't Haijun's responsibility. This whole thing happened so suddenly, it's already a miracle we've managed to stabilize the situation. Right now, all we need to consider is how to solve this instance, how to end it, that's enough. Anyway, I'll gather the others first. Haijun, you should rest for a bit. I'm sure you have a lot of information to share later, so make sure you're in good condition beforehand.}

Zhenfei shook her head slightly, and while talking to Gao Hai through the mental link, she began to arrange the operation.

Seeing her so energetic, Gao Hai, who had originally wanted to say that he didn't need to rest, hesitated for a moment and then obeyed Zhenfei and went to a deserted house near the village square to rest temporarily.

Hayasaka still wanted to stay with Takami, even offering to help her relax. But Maki's attitude changed drastically at that moment, and she seriously declared that no one should disturb Takami, grabbing Hayasaka by the back of her collar and dragging her away.

The slightly aggrieved expression on Hayasaka's face when he was dragged away almost made Takami burst out laughing.

Then, Chika and Kaguya arrived. Goto Ichiri, who was timid and hesitant because of the large number of people, hid in a corner and probably didn't dare to come out for a while.

Cat Brother from the "Slacking Off Gang," the Taoist, and Tangyuan from the Historian's group won't be able to get over for the time being. The ritual array that pulled Gao Hai back originated from the Historian, and when it was actually used, the energy consumption was more than ten times stronger than expected, so those three players are practically dead right now.

As for the others, namely the Night-level players—these poor souls who weren't much help and whose numbers died inexplicably—Gao Hai remembered what the player had mentioned about the inside man. Although he didn't know if it was true or not, he still told Zhenfei and the others about it to warn them.

Overall, the previous exploration has come to a temporary end.

and many more.

Gao Hai, sitting on a wooden stool inside the room, frowned.

What about the group of players who explored the well, and the Red Moon-level player who stayed behind in the village?

Chapter 85: The Players' Situation and Gao Hai's Squad's Internal Communications

Gao Hai was certain that, if he remembered correctly, while he, Cat Brother, Tangyuan, and Hayasaka were in charge of investigating the paper village, Chachai, the historian player, and Xiao Guo from the slacking-off gang were assigned the task of investigating the [well].

In addition, a new character named Li Xiaoxiao was assigned to stay behind in the village. And if I remember correctly, the reason she was assigned to stay behind is because, according to the tradition of the player organization [Historians], new players who join the organization often have serious personality flaws. To put it bluntly, people who actively run to such a high-casualty team of top experts might be a little bit off-track-minded. Therefore, before they get to know each other for a while, no one dares to work with newcomers with peace of mind.

None of the three players are currently in the village.

Both the two players who were exploring the well and the player who was supposed to stay in the village were nowhere to be found.

This is no small matter that can be ignored. If three Red Moon-level players were to die together, even without the blood splattering and disregarding overpowered elements like the Fox Queen and the Mountain God, the resulting chain reaction would be something Gao Hai couldn't easily handle. After all, compared to defeating or killing a Red Moon-level player in a fight, the series of problems caused by a Red Moon-level player who died somewhere unknown, such as the loss of control over obsession objects and the player's own transformation into a monster, are far more troublesome.

{Hey Cat Bro, how's Guo from your team doing?}

Without hesitation, Gao Hai immediately contacted Mao Busi, who was currently resting due to exhaustion, via mental link.

{Over there, he and Mr. Chatchai are still on the other side of the [well]. I don't know the specifics. The mental link they established with the artifact has been broken, but I can still receive calls from time to time. They're not entirely sure of their exact location either; they're somewhat trapped. But they've probably discovered some clues and are investigating, so they're not in a hurry to find a way back. We'll just have to wait.}

Cat Brother's mental state wasn't very good during the communication; it seemed that the previous spatial positioning traction had taken a considerable toll. However, he still earnestly communicated with Gao Hai about the situation for quite a while.

As for the Red Moon-level player who was supposed to stay in the village, Maki and the others completely forgot about her existence. Of the entire Gao Hai team, only Gao Hai himself and Kita Ikuyo (in his mind) retained any memories related to her. Gao Hai was very worried that she might have been infected with some kind of deadly contamination. However, after consulting with the historian, Tang Yuan remembered some things about Li Xiaoxiao and stated that she only left after Gao Hai returned safely. The reason others couldn't remember her was because she used a consummation object to conceal her personal information; this was a way of showing her stance to prevent others from being implicated by her actions.

{So, this player named Li Xiaoxiao has been searching for something, and not long ago she thought there might be clues to what she was looking for in this instance, so she left alone after Hayasaka and I returned? That... well, you could say she's quite unique.}

After talking with the listless Tangyuan for a while, Gao Hai finally figured out the situation of this missing player.

This strange player didn't actually do anything that harmed other players by acting recklessly, but even so, having reached the Red Moon level, he remained so withdrawn and eccentric, deliberately acting alone. Even though there were indeed players like Goto Ichiri who were more unconventional and skilled at acting alone, Gao Hai still found Li Xiaoxiao too odd. Especially after further questioning Tang Yuan and learning that this player hadn't been this withdrawn before joining the historian's group, he found it even stranger.

Perhaps we shouldn't have let her go alone.

Gao Hai pondered this in his heart.

Although he couldn't quite put his finger on the reason, this player's situation was indeed a bit too strange, which really bothered Gao Hai.

{Miss Li, what exactly is her situation among your historians? This is the first time I've encountered such a strange player.}

Still puzzled, Gao Hai once again inquired about Tang Yuan through their mental link.

"Big brother, I went through so much trouble to finally get you back to your location, can't you let me rest for a bit? You're such a hassle. Sigh, never mind, let me think about it..."

The player who named himself after the traditional Chinese food tangyuan (glutinous rice ball) harbored some resentment towards Gao Hai, but after yawning a few times, he regained his serious attitude and thoughtfully gave an answer.

{As for Xiao Li... she's only just joined us, so it's impossible for her to leave a deep impression. But the fact that Brother Cha let her in means her character is definitely up to standard. While our reputation as historians might not be the best, we're not going to take just any crazy person.}

{However, she's quite different from the others. Generally, players willing to actively join the historian team are either genuinely interested in exploration like me, and willing to risk their lives for that interest, or they're like Brother Chatchai, possessing a somewhat self-sacrificing, saintly spirit to pave the way for all humanity and all players. But she's neither. She seems to be searching for something, but I feel what she's looking for is different from my exploration of dungeon puzzles. She's probably looking for something more private, more personal.}

{Sigh, I'm just giving my feeling. After all, every player has their own secrets, and generally, as long as it doesn't affect our actions, we won't pry into our teammates' secrets. Anyway, that's about all I can tell you. Whether you can find any clues in it is up to you. I'm going to take a nap; I'm exhausted after all this work…}

In the end, Tangyuan even fell asleep while talking.

However, it's not surprising that the other side would behave this way. After all, according to what Cat Brother mentioned when he returned, they were ambushed by both the treasure hunters and the villagers in the Paper Doll Village. Even though they managed to break through and achieve some results, they encountered a lot of trouble on their way back to the village, which caused both players to be exhausted and need to rest temporarily.

It's worth mentioning that while both Cat Brother and Tangyuan encountered abnormal changes in the spatial structure on their way back to the village, they only experienced slight distortions in spatial distance, unlike Gao Hai and Hayasaka who were directly teleported to other dimensions. In other words, these two returned directly from Paper Village to [Li Family Village] without accidentally entering any other dimensions. This matter greatly concerned Gao Hai, who suspected he might be targeted by some force. For example, he might have been more easily teleported to other dimensions because of the Blood Flower's pursuit, while Hayasaka was caught in the crossfire because of him. However, this was merely speculation; the Blood Flower couldn't provide answers, so Gao Hai could only ponder the possibilities in his mind for the time being.

Besides these two things, there was something else that Gao Hai hadn't noticed before, something that could be described as a pleasant surprise.

Are you sure everything is okay?

{Yes, my intuition is right, no problem}

Amid Zhenfei's somewhat worried question, Gao Hai reached out and dipped his fingers into a bowl of water on the table.

In the completely still liquid, where even reaching in wouldn't cause the slightest ripple on the surface, and which was more like a background color than water, Gao Hai's fingers showed no change and appeared no different from normal.

Gao Hai would never have dared to do something like this before, even though he didn't actually know what the so-called "curse in the water" was. But after confirming through Lao Guo's swift sacrifice that the water did indeed carry something, Gao Hai couldn't possibly risk his life by reaching out to try it himself.

But now, he can indeed do that.

After being torn apart by the two deities, the Fox Queen not only cleansed Gao Hai of the blood within his body but also left behind a portion of her own power. It was this portion that gave Gao Hai the ability to directly interact with still water.

I don't know whether the Fox Queen realized she needed this power and gave it to me during the process of clearing the blood flowers, or whether it was just a perfectly timed accident that I happened to obtain her power through this means.

Gao Hai couldn't help but ponder the possibilities. He initially thought he would lean towards the latter, but in his contemplation, he couldn't help but consider the former, pondering the current state of the Fox Goddess, a native deity theoretically on par with the Mountain God. What exactly was the mental state of this goddess with animal ears and a large tail, possessing a voluptuous and alluring figure? Compared to the Mountain God, who had completely lost his own personality and was left only with simulated personality functions, was this deity, who still possessed a strong sense of self, now insane? Or was she half-mad, half-rational, or even feigning madness?

Regardless of the possible outcome, at least in the third playthrough, this god clearly and undeniably helped Gao Hai immensely. Without Him, his current condition would likely be far worse, and he might even have been completely parasitized by the power of the Blood Flower. After all, more than ten days had passed in the entire instance without him realizing it, and under such circumstances, the Blood Flower parasite within his body might have gone berserk.

{So, let's decide on the next step: go to [Water Ghost Lake] to get the items.}

Gao Hai finally decided on the next course of action.

{Huh? Are we going to continue now? Is it in such a hurry?}

Chika asked after hearing Gao Hai say this in the mental link.

{Ah, not really. While the abnormal flow of time is certainly concerning, this level of change isn't alarming. In fact, in a way, this anomaly is advantageous to me. For now, well, I'll stay in the village for a while and wait for the players from the "Slacking Off Gang" and the historian to recover.}

As Gao Hai spoke, he glanced at the black watch he was wearing.

If time in this instance accelerates again like before, the watch's recovery speed will likely increase as well. This would actually increase the number of rollbacks and trial-and-error attempts, potentially making the instance clearer more efficient.

In addition, the villagers secretly spying and the treasure hunters are also a problem. Li Xiaoxiao has left, and the Red Moon level players from the Fishing Gang and the historian are either too exhausted or still on their way back. Under these circumstances, Gao Hai still needs to stay in the village for a while to ensure that those spyers do not dare to really come forward to test the waters.

After thinking for a long time, Gao Hai, who was sitting on the high platform in the village square, let out a long sigh, feeling somewhat tired.

The exploration of the Paper Doll Village... to be precise, it didn't even get a proper exploration; it failed as soon as it entered due to an enemy ambush. Not only that, but it also attracted a Blood Flower Parasite that was chasing after me. Of course, obtaining the Fox Queen's power was worthwhile, at least I'll have no problem exploring the [Water Ghost Lake] later.

As for solving the puzzle dungeon... it doesn't seem to be working. Although there are tons of clues, very few truly point to the core issue. In fact, even after three playthroughs since entering the dungeon, he hasn't actually encountered the core obsession yet; all the creatures that have appeared are non-core obsession entities. As for the three gods with whom he has had in-depth exchanges more than once, Gao Hai doesn't even know what kind of species these so-called "gods" are, nor does he know if the methods for dealing with gods are the same as those for dealing with the core obsession.

Is Ahai still thinking about something?

A small hand waved in front of Gao Hai. He looked up and saw Chika's smiling face leaning towards him. Not far away, Goto Ichiri was sitting, looking a little reserved because of the presence of outsiders.

{I'm just thinking about how to successfully complete the dungeon. After all, several things that don't seem like monsters have appeared in this dungeon. I don't know if I should banish those gods to break through this dungeon, or if I should mentally prepare them and find loopholes in their obsessions to release them.}

Gao Hai casually explained the situation to Qian Hua, who then sat down next to him without hesitation and even squeezed in.

Noticing the situation, Maki, who was still patrolling the outskirts of the village, expressed her dissatisfaction through a mental link, but Chika just smiled foolishly to brush it off.

Takami subconsciously hugged Chika, but after seeing her long pink hair, he seemed thoughtful. Then he turned to look at Goto Ichiri, who was sitting not far away playing the piano and manipulating the clones around the village. Then his eyes lit up as he remembered something important.

{First, there's something we need to do right now, preferably immediately.}

Gao Hai spoke earnestly to Goto Ichiri through a temporary mental link.

{Huh? Me? Um, what's up?}

The socially awkward girl was taken aback and asked with some confusion in the temporary mental link.

{It's about a spiritual connection. I think we should try exchanging bodily fluids to see if that meets the requirements.}

Gao Hai spoke in a very serious tone in the mental link.

{Why?}

Yili's eyes widened, and her cheeks gradually turned red.

{I was sitting right next to him, why would Ahai want to do this kind of thing with someone else? And in a dungeon no less?}

Chika looked at Gao Hai with surprise and admiration.

No, what are you admiring?

{What?! You're finally going to make a move on Pochi-chan?!}

Kita Ikuyo in her head also let out a sound of surprise—no, I mean, a sound of shock and anger. Her intense reaction was as if she had been waiting for this moment for a very long time, and was now excited by its arrival.

So, it seems my expression was indeed somewhat ambiguous.

But even if there's ambiguity, if you think about it carefully, you should be able to figure out I'm talking about the black watch, right? I haven't hidden the activation conditions for the watch's many functions. It's one thing for Kita, but why is Chika reacting like this? Do you guys have some strange bias against me?

Gao Hai frowned slightly; he was certainly aware of the misunderstanding between the two. Incidentally, he should mention that his interactions with the girl on his team wouldn't simultaneously link her to outsiders like the "slacker gang" or the historian; he was mindful of protecting her privacy. However, if it was just a misunderstanding based on personal impressions, he was actually quite indifferent.

Therefore, instead of explaining what he had just said, he continued to speak through the mental link:

{After this part is over, I still need to spend some time alone with Kaguya. I need to see if we can take our relationship to the next level and increase our intimacy. This is very important.}