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

She didn't share Gao Hai's intentions, nor did she have any thought of teaching the two troublemakers a lesson. She had only decided to vent her frustration because she was about to die. As for now, she found that disciplining people with her fists actually felt quite satisfying and could be used as a good way to relieve stress.

I wonder if Hayasaka felt something similar when watching those weird stress-relieving videos.

Rumbling--

Amidst the tremors of the ground, the ruins had reached their final limit.

Gao Hai looked down and saw cracks spreading across the ground beneath his feet.

"It looks like this is the end. Are you scared?"

He spoke to Kaguya beside him.

"What's the point of asking this kind of question? Are you scared?"

Kaguya, sensing that the ruins were about to collapse completely, looked somewhat nervous, but still maintained a strong attitude in the face of Takami's question, frowning as she spoke.

"Of course I'm scared. My first two deaths were extremely painful. If this one is just as painful, I really don't know if I can make it to the fourth time."

Gao Hai sighed, shrugged, and answered honestly. Then he kicked Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen, who were trying to get up.

"...I'm scared too. I don't want to die here, but I can't think of any way to save myself now."

Kaguya lowered her head slightly, sighed, and spoke her innermost thoughts.

Head up.

Gao Hai silently gazed at the points of light in the sky.

They had clearly reached the final step, but ultimately failed at the last hurdle.

This feeling is really unpleasant.

He doesn't want to die.

Death is truly painful.

Moreover, each restart was torture. Emerging from and leaving that blood-red city, he felt himself getting closer and closer to that eerie city, realizing that after using up his twelve chances to start over, he would be stuck there forever. Upon realizing this, his fear intensified, and his unwillingness to die grew even stronger.

However, he still felt that he couldn't abandon the people who genuinely helped him.

Gao Hai didn't want to be a pushover, so if Maeda Miwa couldn't catch up with them, she couldn't catch up; he wouldn't care whether they lived or died.

But Kaguya was someone who truly fought alongside him and helped him along the way. Even though she could be a little harsh and sarcastic in her words, she was always reliable in her actions and someone people could trust. Therefore, he had no reason to abandon her and leave.

But he still really didn't want to die.

Even with Gao Hai's strong will, he did not want to experience the pain of death repeatedly.

So, I...

[Hold on, we're about to get you out of here!]

I heard someone's voice.

The voice came from above, shouting at him.

Gao Hai looked up and saw the long life ladder being thrown down from above, from the door of room 309.

"Shigong!"

Gao Hai roared, and Shinomiya Kaguya, who had already realized what was happening, reached out and grabbed the life ladder. She was then pulled up by the life ladder and dragged towards the pure white light above.

The second and third rescue ladders fell one after the other, one landing next to Maeda Miwa and the other in front of Takami.

Realizing she was saved, Maeda Miwa quickly grabbed the life ladder and was pulled up, while Takami sighed softly and also grabbed the life ladder, ready to go up as well.

crunch--

However, his escape ladder was not able to move immediately.

After Maeda Miwa's escape ladder had already gone up, Takami's escape ladder was moving very slowly and there was no way to speed it up.

"Honestly, I've vented my anger enough and I'm too lazy to care about you guys anymore. Do you really have to be so desperate as to die at the last minute?"

Turning back, Gao Hai stared down at Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen, who were clinging tightly to his legs, and his voice turned icy.

It's not just these two people.

Gao Hai could still see the mutilated black arm, the broken porcelain doll, and the figures that gradually emerged, which seemed to be debt collectors.

The monsters conceived within these ghost stories, the monsters that faced death due to the collapse of the core of these ghost stories, were now pulling themselves back, either because they didn't want to leave, or because they wanted to take this opportunity to achieve an escape that was actually hopeless for them.

Let me go, please, let me leave!

I'm going to kill her! I'm going to kill that bastard who harmed us!

Li Youcai and Xu Jiazhen's bodies were already broken beyond recognition, but their shrill roars still rang out as they climbed upwards, trying to crawl over Gao Hai's body.

"You guys really don't want to die...?"

A slow, gentle smile crept onto Gao Hai's lips.

He released his left hand, gripping the escalator with only his right. He licked his lips, glanced at his watch on his left wrist, and then cast a cold, almost inhuman gaze upon Li Youcai, Xu Jiazhen, and the broken, twisted objects below.

"Alright then..."

Gao Hai spoke slowly.

I'll grant you eternal life, how about it?

A crack appeared in the black watch.

Before they could even scream, the man and woman were sucked into the watch, along with all the monsters behind them.

They are nutrients.

It is the nutrients that can be absorbed and utilized after the core of the ghost story is destroyed.

Yes, they will be eternal.

That fleeting eternity, as nourishment and fuel.

Click——

With a crisp sound, Gao Hai's watch hands slowly turned back from 3 to the 2 mark.

The next moment, the escalator suddenly moved upwards, pulling Gao Hai into the light and towards the door of room 309.

It's time to go; the way out is just ahead.

In room 309, the figures of the rescue team stood there, and the leader spoke softly to Gao Hai.

"Don't you have any way to leave?"

Gao Hai did not leave immediately, but stood there, looking at the blurry figure in front of him.

Lin Xusheng.

Have he and the rescue team fully recovered?

We've walked for a long time; it's about time to stop and rest.

Faced with Gao Hai's question, Xu Sheng let out a gentle laugh and then slowly spoke.

"...Is there anything I can help you say?"

Having understood, Gao Hai nodded gently, no longer being coy, and simply took a breath before continuing to ask.

No need. Once this cage completely collapses, we can go home. It will all be over. Those who have forgotten us will remember everything, and the tragedy of this apartment will finally come to an end. We don't need to leave anything behind. Leave in peace; there's nothing left for you to worry about here.

Xu Sheng's answer was very calm, and the rescue team members around him nodded in agreement, clearly indicating that everyone had accepted the situation.

"I see. Well then, goodbye, and thank you."

Nothing more was said.

Gao Hai solemnly said thank you, then turned and left, stepping into the brightly lit bedroom.

He stepped into endless light in the next moment.

The last words left behind by Xu Sheng also reached his ears.

Thank you for saving her, and for saving everyone trapped here.

The last sound gradually faded away.

Gao Hai couldn't help but chuckle softly.

That's true. Without your efforts, and without the efforts of the people struggling here, I couldn't have achieved this on my own.

It's really nice, though.

hum-

Amidst the shattering sound, Gao Hai turned around and looked behind him.

He saw the abandoned Shirakawa Apartments.

They saw people drifting out of the apartment, no longer trapped inside.

Refrigerator Guy, Burnt Guy, those who stayed on the second floor, those who voluntarily died in the second-floor rooms under the decision of the virtual life, those who became the protection mechanism, those young people in rescue team uniforms, those who were trapped here and had always longed to escape.

At that moment, everyone drifted out of the apartment and disappeared into the light.

Finally, Gao Hai saw the bouncy little girl.

The little girl, now dressed in clean and beautiful new clothes, no longer dirty or wounded, was walking next to a young man in a rescue team uniform.

She is saying:

"Brother, I want to eat cotton candy."

The young man nodded gently, bent down, picked up the girl, and let her sit on his shoulders, then smiled and said:

"Okay, whatever you want to eat today, I'll treat you."

The young man and the girl laughed together, and then walked away in the light until they disappeared without a trace.

Gao Hai floated away in the light until the endless light overwhelmed his consciousness, until two soft points of light landed on him.

Before losing consciousness, Gao Hai heard the girl's voice and Xu Sheng's voice together:

【Thank you】

The next moment, as the light shifted, a dark color spread out.

A harsh noise rang in my ears.