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

I sensed a deep, dark aura of death.

Just like the mass grave village full of corpses that he and Ichiri had visited during their first playthrough, this aura originated from that place, but it was even more concentrated and profound, like... the core of that space.

{Is this a second Red Moon-level core obsession? Its sudden appearance suggests it was lured here by someone. You keep running, I'll deal with it.}

Bang!

After a muffled bang, Gao Hai instantly swept past Li Nianyou and rushed straight towards the location of the black coffin.

{Huh? Huh? Huh? How could you just charge straight in like that, with such a deadly thing?!}

The Taoist priest, who had never expected Gao Hai to react this way, gaped open and almost shouted it out in the real world.

But even the voice that rang out in the temporary mental link was forced to stop before it could finish speaking.

He had already seen Gao Hai reach the coffin, and then a dirty-looking police officer appeared out of nowhere beside Gao Hai, pounced on the coffin, knocking it to the ground and causing something inside to roll out. Gao Hai then stepped forward and kicked the thing hard, sending it and the coffin flying through the air. After three barely audible gunshots, the thing landed in a nearby paddy field, slumped in the mud.

{ah?}

The fake Taoist priest, who never expected to see such a scene, was dumbfounded.

No, that thing just now, that should be the core obsession of a Crimson Moon level, right?

This is a monster that can only be found in the highest-level Red Moon dungeons, existing as the final boss. Even if players team up to form the best teams, they can usually only struggle to escape in the face of monsters of this level, with almost no possibility of fighting each other.

But this Mr. Gao... he... he just kicked the other person away?!

And that aura... that thing he summoned, the one that looks like a police officer, shouldn't it also be a strange creature? And this aura... isn't that the aura of a Red Moon-level core obsession?! Although Mr. Gao did say that he could summon very powerful strange creatures to assist him, is "very powerful" the standard for a Red Moon-level core obsession? This doesn't make sense, does it? This is completely wrong! Are you really a player?!

Although everyone had exchanged information about their abilities beforehand to ensure smooth cooperation, Gao Hai hadn't demonstrated either the "Police Officer" or the "Teacher" in detail to the other players. As a result, the Police Officer's appearance in battle completely baffled the Taoist, and also made the Taoist realize why the leader, Xiong Mi, cared so much about Gao Hai.

{That thing was forcibly dragged here by some force, so even some of the basic rules are invalidated. In terms of threat, it doesn't reach the level of a Red Moon core. I just used a trick. Okay, we're almost there. Now is not the time to worry about such things.}

Gao Hai calmly spoke in the temporary mental link, leading the Taoist priest forward, and finally arrived at the entrance of the village, which had suffered severe spatial distortion.

The Taoist priest carrying the statue was the first to enter the village and was responsible for placing this important prop in a relatively safe area within the village.

Gao Hai, who was a step behind, stopped after entering the village.

wrong.

I can't go in.

Through the connection between himself and the land deed, the object of his obsession, Gao Hai clearly confirmed a fact.

The village of Lijia is now beyond saving from the invasion of blood.

The village's original defensive capabilities have now dwindled to less than a tenth of their former strength. Under these circumstances, if Blood Flower's clone were to arrive, it could very well force its way in, kill everyone, and end Gao Hai's current cycle.

Why has it weakened so much?

Where did this power go?

Teacher, do you really not know the answer to the question? You should know very well in your heart what the power to protect the village truly comes from, right? Time is almost up, and if you have to make a decision, teacher, you can't hesitate now!

Alice's voice echoed in my mind.

In the mental link, Maki had already begun asking Takami why he wasn't coming in, while Kita Ikuyo, who had been silently observing the surroundings, was also speaking up, urging him to hurry up and enter the village.

But he could no longer go in.

It seems this playthrough is nearing its end.

After finally gaining a slight advantage at the start, is it still impossible to continue because of this blood flower?

Gao Hai knew very well that without the protection of [Li Family Village], he would have little chance of escaping the Blood Flower's pursuit. But if this thing destroyed [Li Family Village], everyone would lose their safe zone, which would only hasten the end of everything.

{Haijun, what's going on? Why haven't they come in? That thing... could it break through the village's defenses?}

The voice of Maki coming through the mental link had changed, and the girl realized the possible situation, her tone becoming serious.

{Yes, that's how it is. So I need to get away from this village and find a way to stall it.}

Gao Hai answered casually. He turned around, silently walked out of the village, stood on the dirt road and looked down at the darkness on the hillside. A smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

{In that case, I'll have to leave the rest to you, Maki.}

{While I'm stalling that thing and playing hide-and-seek with it, I can only ask you and the others to decipher the statue and confirm its hidden information and function.}

{Because of the time distortion, [Alice's Hut] has already cooled down, so optimistically, I can at least hold that thing off for a few hours. But if the situation really gets so serious that we have to enter the safe house, then I'll essentially be camped, and I'll be done for once the safe house disappears. So, in these few hours, are you confident that you and the others can successfully decipher the statue?}

As he spoke, Gao Hai had already crossed the fields and was running towards a path on the side of the village.

I could feel its gaze shift; sure enough, it was only coming for me. While it wouldn't refuse anyone else it saw, its attention was primarily on me; I was the only one truly capturing its attention.

Gao Hai wasn't surprised by the thing's gaze. After taking a deep breath, he activated his Berserk Blessing, instantly surpassing the speed of sound and leaving a fleeting afterimage in the forest. Without needing to involve others or consider the consequences, the speed he displayed was terrifying, beyond even the comprehension of Red Moon-level players.

{I understand, Haijun. Please be careful. Your life is the most important thing among all of us. Only if you live can this possibly end. So please, please don't die. We will do everything in our power to help.}

Zhenfei answered solemnly in the mental link, and then fell silent.

Kita, who was standing next to Takami, muttered to himself, "I hope I don't die a terrible death this time either." It seems he has some PTSD.

...Mom is here...

...Don't run away from your mother anymore...

The sound of blood flowers was chasing closely behind.

Just as Gao Hai had predicted, this thing's primary target was always Gao Hai himself, and he didn't know why it was so particular about Gao Hai.

However, there was one thing Gao Hai didn't know.

That is, when this thing passed through [Li Family Village], it paused briefly and turned its attention to other directions.

Then, a small vine separated from Him, burrowed into the soil, and spread toward the village.

After glancing once more at Hayasaka Ai in the village, He turned his attention back to Takami and chased after him.

Chapter 98: The Silent Howl of Flesh and the Unused Ritual Items

whoosh-

In the deep woods, a figure flashed past like lightning.

The excessive speed created a sonic boom, tearing apart the surrounding trees and bushes, and even kicking up a layer of soil from the ground.

The animals in the woods raised their heads, their gazes turning blankly, but they couldn't catch the fleeting figure. The speed at which the other party passed by was truly astonishing, and it seemed to have activated some kind of special ability that could weaken its own existence, or even make itself disappear from the real world, thus easily shaking off the pursuit of these strange creatures.

We have arrived at another space.

Although the surrounding area still appeared to be a dense jungle with no apparent changes, Gao Hai could sense subtle ripples in the surrounding space and deduced from this that he was in another dimension.

Where will I arrive this time?

While he was thinking, Gao Hai continued to move forward at full speed, showing no intention of stopping whatsoever.

The thing chasing them was getting closer and closer.

Even though Takami could use all his strength without restraint this time because he didn't bring Hayasaka with him, he found that even with the power of blessing to accelerate, he still couldn't shake off the thing behind him.

From the moment the chase began, no matter how he dodged, the distance between them was irreversibly shrinking. It's a bit hard to explain, but Gao Hai was certain that his accelerated running had no chance of shaking off the blood flower clone.

Oh well, if I can't get rid of it, so be it. As long as this thing's attention is still on me, that's fine.

While he was thinking, Gao Hai had already seen what was beyond the woodland.

What entered my pupils was a village engulfed in flames and indistinct figures fleeing in all directions.

this place……

Gao Hai frowned as he looked at the blurry figures fleeing the village.

He heard the sounds echoing in the space.

The voices emanating from these figures fleeing the village seemed to come from a distant past.

[Run! Run! Those soldiers have gone out of control!]

[Damn it, how did they manage to break free? They've never had any problems before!]

[Mountain God, save us! Mountain God, please save us! Quickly kill these damned bastards!]

Amidst the shouts, one could almost see the flames spreading out, engulfing some of the figures who had fallen behind.

Something emerged from the flames.

A emaciated creature, dressed in rags, with torn armor, wielding a spear or longsword.

They look like they used to be soldiers.

Forced into the army from their homes, they received little systematic training and were forced to take up swords and enter the battlefield. After being defeated, they fled in disarray and wandered far from their hometowns.

These fleeing soldiers were undoubtedly unwelcome wherever they went. Ordinary villagers were their targets for looting, while the local soldiers could easily hunt them down. As a result, these fleeing soldiers, chased around aimlessly, were forced to enter dangerous areas that the locals would not go to, such as deep primeval forests.

However, somewhat unexpectedly, there was a secluded village in this supposedly deserted woodland.

And behind this seemingly peaceful little village lies a group of monsters whose cognition and behavior have been completely distorted, making them utterly different from normal people.

Huh-boom-

The raging flames spread through the woodland.

Gao Hai had already passed through the phantoms of the chaotic soldiers and villagers, swiftly flying past the burning village.

The timeline of the mutinous soldiers appears to predate that of the group of soldiers marked with the demon-suppressing symbol. It seems these defeated soldiers entered the village deep in the mountains due to external warfare, much like the initial reason these villagers came to Little Black Mountain.

Because of the limited time, Gao Hai didn't have time to observe the village more closely. Even so, he confirmed quite a few things. For example, in the villagers' phantoms, he saw Li Ziyong, his face deathly pale, being shunned by the other villagers even during their escape. Although he couldn't be certain of the specifics, judging from the expressions and reactions of those around him and his own, it was possible that Li Ziyong had initially decided to use these chaotic soldiers for something, resulting in the entire village being engulfed in flames.

Well, that makes a lot of things come together. But there are still some things that don't match up, such as what was going on with the bandit camp he saw before, and why the timelines of the chaotic soldiers and the soldiers of the Ghost Suppressor were mixed up, to the point that he almost didn't realize that the two were actually not on the same timeline.

As Gao Hai pondered this, he continued to accelerate his pace.

He ventured deep into the dense forest once more, moving through the darkness at an incredible speed.

The calls from behind continued to draw closer.

The throbbing pain under the skin is becoming increasingly clear.

...Don't run away from your mother anymore...

...Mom will give you anything...anything, okay...

...With Mom...With everyone...With everyone...