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

No matter how Gao Hai tried to escape or refuse, the being that was the embodiment of the blood-red flower seemed to show no anger whatsoever, nor did it intend to give up.

They're still getting closer; you can feel them constantly moving closer.

Even when moving at full speed, it's still impossible to truly shake off the opponent.

We must be prepared to face this thing again.

Gao Hai adjusted his breathing, preparing himself to immediately fire all the suppression missiles or activate the fourth aerial bomb he had never used before if he was caught up, launching all the attacks he could muster against Blood Flower in a short time, and then immediately opening Alice's Hut for refuge.

As for why he didn't hide in Alice's room immediately, it was because Gao Hai wanted to ensure that this thing wouldn't shift its target to Maki and the others. While he could still draw its attention, he needed to maintain control for as long as possible, giving Maki and the others enough time to study the divine statue where flesh and rock were fused. He believed the girls who had followed him all this way would find a way, would definitely uncover the secrets within the statue. Therefore, he needed to buy the enemy as much time as possible, even though doing so was extremely dangerous and could easily lead to his demise.

Mr. Gao, things seem to be changing again. This time, the changes are... very strange. Please be careful.

Kita Ikuyo's voice rang out from the mental world; the girl, who had been monitoring her surroundings, had detected something unusual. Following her warning, Takami immediately noticed the changes in her surroundings.

Its daybreak.

Without warning, the night, which had been going on for so long, ended at this moment.

Under the bright sky, the small village nestled in the mountains by the babbling brook is shrouded in mist, giving it a hazy, dreamlike quality.

In the fields overgrown with weeds, the scarecrow's frame had broken, and weeds had grown on the once-compacted dirt road.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that the walls of some houses on the outskirts of the village are covered with vines, and there are even faint signs that they are about to collapse.

very quiet.

From the moment he entered this space, Gao Hai heard no more sounds; the whole world fell silent.

Even his own breathing and heartbeat could no longer be heard.

Everything fell into absolute silence at this moment, as if a mute button had been pressed, and not even the slightest sound was allowed to exist.

No.

There was also sound.

Gao Hai's gaze shifted to the rushing water.

He could also hear the sound of the river flowing.

He could also hear the sounds of things wriggling in the water.

Even though it had long since died, it continued to tremble.

Just like those bullfrogs I've seen in hot pot restaurants that have just been slaughtered, even though their heads have been cut off, their skin has been peeled off, and their internal organs have been removed, they can still swim around and struggle unconsciously after being thrown into the pot.

Gao Hai knew, of course, that this was just the twitching of nerves in the killed animal that hadn't completely died yet.

Even if the scene looks bizarre, as if the thing is still alive and struggling to survive, the fact that it has completely become a corpse remains unchanged.

Open your mouth.

The intense sensation made Gao Hai unconsciously take deep breaths, but no sound came out at all.

The thing in the flowing water continued to twitch.

It was as if it could still talk to Gao Hai, express its own thoughts, and make various reactions.

But that sound was meaningless.

That chaotic, hollow noise was meaningless; it merely spread pollution. No… it wasn't pollution, it wasn't pollution, it was just meaningless sound, just meaningless noise.

However, it was too dense and too loud. The twitching of the corpse's nerves contained in the sound exceeded the limits of cognition and the boundaries that fragile life could comprehend, to the point that it became an incomprehensible poison, fatal even with the slightest contact.

"..."

Gao Hai knelt down by the river, his hands barely able to support his body.

He is completely dead.

Unlike the Black Mountain God who still retains some power and mechanism, and unlike the Fox Queen who has gone completely mad, He has ushered in eternal rest and will never rise again.

His name, which once remained on this land, has been lost; the deeds he left on this planet are nowhere to be found; and his former appearance has vanished without a trace, leaving only these twitching chunks of flesh remaining in the water.

The icy river that has flowed beneath this little black mountain for thousands of years is His final coffin and tombstone on earth.

Reach out.

Gao Hai took out a sharp cone-shaped object with extremely strong piercing properties from his black watch, pointed it at his ear, and stabbed it, piercing his eardrum.

He pierced both his ears to ensure he lost his hearing. Then, he struggled to his feet, reached out and gouged out his own eyes, plunging his vision into complete darkness.

You can still hear that distorted and noisy din.

The noise emanating from the corpse in the water was like a deadly poison, eroding reason.

As long as one remains on this land, one cannot completely reject this unique voice.

Fortunately, it has already decreased significantly.

After eliminating certain information-receiving organs, the intensity of the noise has been reduced and is no longer as terrible as it was at the beginning.

Kita Ikuyo fell silent, making no sound.

Gao Hai wasn't sure if it was the supernatural mechanics of this place that prevented him from hearing her voice, or if she simply sensed the sound in the water as well. His consciousness was shattered, and he fell unconscious once again. Occasionally, Gao Hai felt a pang of regret. If it weren't for the fact that he had absorbed and enveloped Kita's consciousness, making it difficult for her to die as long as her consciousness didn't collapse, the monsters and demons they had encountered since entering this instance would have already completely destroyed Kita.

With a sudden burst of strength, he jumped.

Even though he couldn't see or hear, Gao Hai still remembered where the river had been before, so he was able to jump across it easily.

Then, with slightly unsteady steps, he continued running forward, step by step leaving this quiet place under the sun.

After advancing for more than ten minutes, Gao Hai sensed another change in the surrounding space before summoning his rescue team badge to heal his injuries. It was at this moment that he received a mental link from Zhenfei:

{Kai-kun, Fujiwara and I, using the [Historian]'s spiritual amplification artifact, managed to investigate that statue, and we've already found some things.}

We have confirmed that the formation of this statue went through two stages. It appears that the black rock belonging to the Little Black Mountain God was first thrown into the lake, and then the flesh and blood of the Fox Goddess also fell into the water for some reason, eventually merging together.

{We haven't yet determined the time interval between these two stages, but after careful observation, we've discovered that the second stage—the fusion of the Fox Queen's flesh and blood with the mountain god's rock—was very likely not accidental, but rather a deliberate act. In other words, during the period of the second stage, the Fox Queen, this non-human being, may have still possessed a degree of rationality, and she may have actively created this fused statue for some purpose. According to Mr. Chachai and Ms. Tangyuan, this statue itself may possess extremely special mystical ritual effects. That is to say, to properly utilize its power, we may need to find the ritual in which it was intended to be performed.}

Without any unnecessary words, Maki quickly relayed her investigation findings to Takahashi.

Is it an important prop in occult rituals?

What kind of ritual would require the combined power of the mountain god and the fox goddess?

Gao Hai, whose eyes had grown back, turned around and looked at the dark forest behind him. Although he couldn't see any trace of the bloodstains yet, he could feel that the other party was still approaching.

{You guys keep your research careful. I haven't been caught by that thing yet, so you should be safe over there. But still, be careful; unexpected situations might arise, so be vigilant about your surroundings. By the way, is it daylight yet where you are? Or is it still dark?}

As Gao Hai ran, he asked in the mental link.

{It's still night, Ahai, have you encountered daytime yet?}

This time, it was Chika who answered in the mental link.

{Well, we encountered a somewhat unexpected situation.}

As Gao Hai spoke, he continued to speed up his movement through the forest, and then his steps involuntarily faltered.

{Kai-kun, I just asked other people, and they all said it was dark. But Hayasaka-san just came over and told us that she saw it get light for a little while, and then it got dark again.}

Princess Zhenfei's voice was very solemn.

Gao Hai was taken aback upon hearing this, and then a bad feeling arose in his heart.

It was Hayasaka who saw the dawn, and it was she who sensed something was wrong... So, are the others who didn't see the dawn abnormal? So, something unusual has happened in the village, but no one has realized it?

{Evacuate from the well. Try to get the historians to find a safe space, then evacuate everyone there. The situation on your side is unclear and may be dangerous. Continue studying the statue only after you've reached a safe location!}

Although there was no direct evidence of a serious problem, Gao Hai really didn't want to gamble at this time, so he immediately gave this instruction.

Just then, light appeared ahead in the woods. Gao Hai ran out of the woods in a few quick steps and once again came to the open area under the sunlight.

This time, what he saw was a bustling village on the shore of the [Water Ghost Lake], with many villagers coming and going. At the entrance of the village, Gao Hai saw a plaque with the words [Zhang Family Village] written in ancient script.

Chapter 99: The Untouchable Illusion and Those Who Failed to Escape

Zhangjia Village?

Gao Hai never expected that he would encounter Zhangjia Village, something that had left no trace before, at this time.

He looked at the plaque again. Yes, although the font was different from modern simplified Chinese characters, it was still recognizable as Zhangjia Village.

Did I actually travel to the space where Zhangjia Village is located?

He had initially thought the Zhang family, like the Liu family, belonged to the "past" abandoned by the Li family and wouldn't be easily accessible. But the village actually still existed, and could be reached directly through spatial travel. This was good news; it would significantly reduce the difficulty of investigating the Zhang family. Although Gao Hai wasn't particularly hopeful about having time to investigate the Zhang family in this playthrough, he was prepared to wait until the next playthrough to find this place.

However, this village looks quite strange.

Under the bright sunshine, Gao Hai could see that the small village by the lake was very lively. Children were running around waving branches and various strange trophies, while adults were carrying farm tools or baskets, coming and going on the village roads, chatting and laughing with each other.

If he were to rely solely on his visual senses, Gao Hai estimated that he would have little chance of noticing anything amiss. However, he was currently in a state of complete concentration, with all his senses activated, so he could clearly perceive that the villagers who appeared so peaceful and serene in the distance had all stopped breathing and were as cold as corpses.

They didn't seem to react at all to Gao Hai's appearance.

These villagers were simply going about their own business, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Just like Liu Family Village, which had been completely covered in blood, they no longer reacted to the unusual changes in the outside world.

Unlike Liu Family Village, which was covered in blood, those blood-red vine structures could only sustain short periods of repetitive activity—for example, woodcutters would repeat the same chopping motion for about two or three minutes, unable to maintain prolonged activity. But these villagers, from Gao Hai's arrival until now, showed absolutely no repetitive movement. It was as if they were still alive, living in a world only they could understand, only no longer able to comprehend anything outside themselves.

If possible, Gao Hai really wanted to stay and investigate this place thoroughly.

However, the aura of the thing chasing from behind was getting closer and closer, and there were also obvious abnormalities in [Li Family Village]. So, after a brief hesitation, Gao Hai simply activated his Void Transformation state and rushed directly into the village, intending to use the most straightforward and brutal physical contact to test the waters and escape at the same time.

At the same time, he was also warning Zhenfei and the others through a mental link, telling everyone there to evacuate immediately and not to stay in the village any longer.

How much time do we have left?

He asked the mountain god with whom he had a connection through his own consciousness.

[There's not much left, after all, we've been close to our limit from the very beginning. This is probably just our last gasp before we die, right?]

Alice's cheerful voice rang out, but the content of her words made Gao Hai fall silent.

The existence of the mountain god of Xiaoheishan is gradually collapsing.

The deity's condition was far worse than Gao Hai had anticipated. The prolonged sealing of the crimson flower had inflicted damage on it, damage that went deep into its very core. In fact, it might have vanished long ago, ceasing all existence. However, the twisted and cruel sacrificial ritual of the Li Family Village villagers, to some extent, maintained the connection between the mountain god and the real world. Through this ritual bound by certain rules, and through a special mechanism prepared in advance by the mountain god that would continue to function even after its own consciousness had perished, it was able to maintain its existence instead of dissipating.

However, Gao Hai's plunder and slaughter of the villagers severed this connection, causing the mountain god's link to the real world to weaken rapidly. This chain reaction sounds utterly absurd, but the fact is that the existence of these beasts in Li Family Village was indeed related to the survival of the mountain god. After countless years of sacrifices and rituals, these villagers and the mountain god had essentially formed a two-way bond; the loss of either would cause problems.

No, it should be said that it was the Li family's actions that gradually led the mountain god to its current state. After all, the mountain god, who was originally sealed with the blood flower, should have been in a state of slumber and should not have been paying attention to the real world. It was these villagers who somehow established a connection with the mountain god, constantly offering sacrifices to seek the mountain god's power, causing the mountain god to be constantly consumed and constantly establishing connections that did not exist before, until finally, step by step, they reached this point.

Of course, this connection ultimately buried the villagers themselves, much like Gao Hai's sacrificial suggestion through the statue. With just a little trickery, they easily wiped out the enemy. This weakness was the result of the villagers' own greed and cruelty; after all, as the connection deepened, the restrictions they faced also increased. In a sense, in the end, these guys lived like mangy dogs, finding it difficult to live a normal life.