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

Something is so wrong.

After a brief silence, Gao Hai took a light breath and then activated the mental link.

{Makoto, prepare to evacuate. Immediately lead everyone to move through the well. I believe this space we are in has been invaded by "that thing."}

{What? So fast?! I understand, I'll do it right away!}

From the start of communication to the start of action, it only took less than two sentences.

Although the village's fortifications had only just been built, Maki had no doubt about Takahashi's judgment and immediately began organizing the players' evacuation.

The historian and the members of the "Slacking Off" gang had no doubts and immediately began their retreat. Many of the Dark Night-level players, however, were confused about why they had to run and even suspected that Zhenfei and the others were playing a trick on them. But after the players explained the situation briefly, everyone had no more doubts and happily followed along with the retreat.

At this moment, Gao Hai also sped up, heading straight for the village at full speed, and returned in less than a few seconds.

As for whether or not to go back and confirm if it was that thing, Gao Hai had no such thought at all.

Are you really sure... that thing has appeared?

Kita was still a little confused, since she hadn't sensed anything.

{I don't know, I didn't really feel anything. It's just that I had a feeling I'd never had before, and given this unexpected situation, I think it's better to think the worst. Who do you think is the worst guy for us in this instance right now?}

Gao Hai calmly replied to Xi Duo in his mind, and immediately activated the power of the land deed upon returning to the village. He checked the condition of the entire village through the land deed and only breathed a slight sigh of relief after confirming that the blood flower vines had not covered the area.

Regardless of whether it is that thing or not, we must speed things up on our end.

There are still three core obsessions remaining for the Red Moon-level core monsters. One of them is confirmed to be the black coffin, which may be related to the desolate village that I and Yili investigated during our first playthrough, so we have some clues. However, the locations of the other two cores are currently completely unknown, and we need to find out the locations of their obsessions as soon as possible.

Although the fourth round has only just begun, Gao Hai can already feel a strong sense of urgency pressing down from a direction that is still completely unknown.

Chapter 113: The Full Mobilization of Players and Fragments of the Ge Family's Past

Finally, after about ten minutes, all the players moved out of the village and entered another village area through the well.

The area they chose to relocate to was the fake village where Gao Hai had once unleashed his Musou attack. According to their investigation, this village was actually a fake created by the Li Family Village using the power of the mountain god. To cover their tracks, they even had these fake villagers worship the Fox Goddess. At the same time, to avoid any problems, they limited the combat power of these fakes, restricting their strength to the level of an ordinary human.

The result was that the players easily slaughtered the villagers and effortlessly occupied the entire village. Then, Gao Hai, who had been teleported through the well, used the power of the land deed to directly turn this fake village into his own territory, thus completely completing the occupation.

It was at this moment that Gao Hai discovered that the land deed of Li Family Village, this object of obsession, not only granted ownership of the initial space, but also had an effect on all spatial areas with the concept of "Li Family Village." However, it only worked on villages with inhabitants and a "clan chief." Therefore, in this fake Li Family Village, after the players found and eliminated the old man representing the clan chief, Gao Hai directly gained control of the village through the land deed.

This at least reduces a lot of trouble in terms of ensuring safety, but considering his previous perceptions, Gao Hai still can't be optimistic.

{So you can't even describe the specific characteristics of that thing? Is it really that terrifying...?}

In the temporary mental link, Tangyuan, the historian, spoke with some emotion after hearing Gao Hai's brief explanation. Gao Hai could tell she was very curious about the blood-red flower that he had never directly described. The more he avoided describing it, the more alarmed she seemed. This player—no, it should be said that both she and Chatchai, the two historians, were showing increasingly intense curiosity. Chatchai, being older and more knowledgeable, remained calm and didn't react much, while the much younger Tangyuan couldn't help but subtly ask Gao Hai several questions about it.

So, does that thing have a gender? Can it talk? Does it have the ability to pass through spatial barriers?

{Ah, I know Mr. Gao, you can't describe that thing, and you don't need to answer my question. But I'm still a little curious. You can't mention its existence because it can sense it, or is it actually always around us, only able to intervene after you mention its existence?}

{For someone as skilled as you to be so wary, and for this instance to have already experienced a time reversal, right? Does that mean I've already died once because of that thing? Could you explain how I died?}

If it weren't for Chachai, who couldn't stand it anymore and dragged her away, Gao Hai estimated that this woman would have continued to ask questions for quite a while longer.

{I really don't understand how there can be people who get more excited the more dangerous the situation. Shouldn't they be more cautious?}

Standing beside Gao Hai, Zhen Fei watched Tang Yuan being dragged away and muttered to herself. She really didn't understand the [Historians] player group. In her opinion, Tang Yuan and Cha Cai were both a bit crazy in some ways. In contrast, the [Slacking Off Gang] seemed much more normal. That Cat Brother became much more cautious after confirming that the time reversal had occurred in the instance. He only took action after repeatedly confirming various precautions with Gao Hai. When Gao Hai said that a retreat was necessary, he was the first to respond with the Slacking Off Gang. He also put in a lot of effort to persuade those noisy Dark Night level players.

It's normal for things to change after experiencing many dungeons, and without players like them who dare to explore danger, the survival pressure on players would probably be even greater. It's just that this situation was too extreme, which is why their curiosity turned into suicidal behavior. Okay, although nothing terrible has happened yet, we can't procrastinate; let's get moving!

Gao Hai simply smiled and reached out to pat Zhenfei's head.

Although Maki protested unhappily, saying things like "Don't mess up my hair," she still stood obediently in place and then walked with Takami toward the teleportation well.

The jade pendant, the core object of the wedding dress mystery, was now placed in the groove on the statue.

Gao Hai used the object of obsession to sense the strange creature more deeply, thus confirming that it was indeed the disciple of the old Taoist Ge Yuan, the person who traveled the world with the old man and helped him with his affairs, and that her real name was Ge Gulan.

She was an abandoned baby, thrown into the water and struggling for a long time, nearly drowning. It was Ge Yuan, a wandering Taoist priest, who found her floating in the river, rescued her, and raised her. The old Taoist priest also gave her her name. The jade pendant was bought for her by the old Taoist priest when she was 12 years old. He said he didn't want her, a grown woman, to stay by his side forever, and hoped she would one day marry into a good family. He considered the jade pendant his dowry, a meager gift, but better than nothing.

Then, after more carefully sensing the memory fragments activated by the jade pendant, Gao Hai discovered that it was actually difficult to say whether Ge Yuan could be considered a Taoist. Although he wore a Taoist robe, he did not actually have a Taoist name, and he didn't even know which sect he belonged to.

According to his own account to his disciples, he was actually just an abandoned orphan in his youth. He accidentally stumbled upon an abandoned Taoist temple, found a Taoist robe inside, and that night, while sleeping in the temple, he dreamed of an old man asking him if he was willing to inherit the robe and do good deeds for the world, relieving the suffering of people afflicted by evil spirits. At that time, the old Taoist himself didn't know why, but he agreed in a daze. Then, in the dream, he was taught some skills. After waking up, he decided to wear the Taoist robe and rely on those skills to do his work, and that's how he's lived all these years.

To be honest, Gao Hai felt quite strange when he saw these things; it felt like a ghost story set had turned into a folk fantasy set. However, he quickly discovered from those fragmented memories that the old Taoist priest's abilities seemed somewhat similar to the blessing of the supernatural. And although he couldn't see much, based on the existing fragments, Gao Hai felt that the old Taoist priest might have a connection with a certain deity, and therefore could borrow powerful forces that he didn't possess at crucial moments.

Before the [Sacrifice Game] was created, people seemed to have already established various methods for obtaining extraordinary powers and dealing with strange creatures. Although Ge Gulan rarely encountered strange creatures in the fragmented memories, most of the so-called "haunted events" and "forbidden places in haunted houses" turned out to be just a hoax, or the presence of ferocious beasts like tigers and black bears rather than real monsters. But on the few times he did encounter something real, the old Taoist priest Ge Yuan was able to truly fight against those creatures, demonstrating strength no less than that of a Red Moon-level player, and perhaps even much stronger.

Gao Hai wasn't quite sure which divine power he was relying on came from. After all, the images in the memory fragments didn't possess true power. However, considering that he always needed to use plants as tools, and that the crucial method of sealing the strange creature required special paper made from plants and blood, he suspected that the old Taoist priest's power might be connected to the mountain god of Little Black Mountain. After all, the mountain god's power wasn't just manifested in the black stones; vitality and the resulting plant transformations were also part of the mountain god's power. If the mountain god's power could extend beyond Little Black Mountain, perhaps…

In short, the key is to completely cover your own aura with the aura of the supernatural creature, and ideally, the supernatural creature's aura should have some connection to the paper figures in this instance. For example, the auras of the supernatural creatures in the Water Ghost Lake would be quite suitable.

After covering yourself with your aura, maintain your sanity, and you can then cross the well to reach [Liu Family Village]. We've successfully reached there four times in our previous attempts. During those two attempts, we tested it and confirmed that each crossing to [Liu Family Village] causes a certain degree of "reset," so even if you encounter danger there, as long as you find a way back, crossing again will return you to your initial state.

{So, Gao Jun, are you ready?}

Beside the well, Kaguya, having finished explaining the general situation, looked at Takami and asked earnestly through the mental link.

{Okay, no problem. Then Maki and I will go together.}

The initial exploration team consisted of Gao Hai and Zhen Fei, along with historian Tang Yuan and Cat Brother from the "Fishing Gang," making a total of four people.

Because it was an investigation of an unknown area, and based on previous intelligence, the danger on the other side wasn't considered high, Gao Hai, after some consideration, decided that multiple people should work together to find useful clues as quickly as possible. While they were exploring, Yi Li had already used the power of the land deed to send a clone into the deserted, desolate village to try and find the other, now identified, core obsession.

The other four Red Moon level players remaining in the village were also exploring the outside world, attempting to conduct a more thorough reconnaissance of the surrounding environment. This time, even the Dark Night level players were mobilized to scout the surrounding environment as far as possible without straying far from the village. It can be said that all available manpower has been mobilized, with forces deployed in every possible direction for reconnaissance.

Gao Hai didn't know if what he was doing would actually work. When the blood-red flower, which had remained unseen and whose existence he couldn't even sense, would finally appear was completely unknown. Therefore, all he could do now was to do his best. The rest was up to fate.

Hopefully, my luck will be better this time.

With this in mind, Gao Hai covered himself with the aura of the jade pendant, the core object of his obsession, and directly used the power of the Red Moon-level core to disguise himself.

I saw more.

After using his mental power to connect more deeply with the object of his obsession, Gao Hai saw more fragments of memories and felt more images and sounds.

He saw the old Taoist priest traveling to various places, taking in many abandoned children along the way, and his group grew larger and larger until it was more than ten people.

This young woman named Ge Gulan actually joined the group quite early; she was the third person to arrive at Ge Yuan's place. However, because she was an infant when she was abandoned, while most of the children taken in by the old Taoist priest were only a few years old or even teenagers, it was many years later before she actually grew up and started helping the priest. As a result, everyone basically treated her as a junior. When she followed the priest into this small village in the Black Mountain, she was not yet 16 years old. Ge Yuan and his fellow disciples would occasionally discuss her marriage, feeling that it was unwise to let a young woman continue to brave the wind and rain with them.

After that, her age remained at that level and did not increase any further.

Judging from the fragmented memories, the villagers' method of dealing with the old Taoist priest was simple and brutal. They secretly learned the paper doll technique the priest used to appease and seal away the evil spirits. After mastering it, they deliberately used the paper dolls to lure the evil spirits to the old priest's disciples. Taking advantage of the disciples' lack of practical experience, they forced the old priest to go to the rescue, and then attracted more evil spirits, causing chaos in the old priest's team and resulting in continuous casualties.

This tactic seemed to be used for the first time by these villagers, resulting in many deaths among them. Even as the villagers were being harmed, they cried out to the old Taoist priest for help. The old priest, unaware that these villagers were the culprits, went to their aid but was nearly stabbed in the back by one of the villagers – a truly perilous situation.

However, in the end, the old Taoist priest successfully suppressed those strange creatures and was not actually killed.

However, the villagers seemed to have anticipated this, so they did something else while releasing the strange creature. Gao Hai didn't sense anything specific from the jade pendant, only that the old Taoist priest had sensed something extremely dangerous, so he solemnly told his disciples to leave first, while he went alone into the depths of Little Black Mountain.

After the old Taoist priest, who posed the greatest threat, left, the villagers who had pretended to be severely injured and unable to resist during the chaos of the monster attack immediately launched an attack on the old Taoist priest's disciples. It was at this moment that the girl named Ge Gulan was captured, hit on the back of the head with a hoe by a teenager, and then had her tendons in her hands and feet severed by the villagers who rushed up. Finally, she was dressed in a wedding dress, tied with stones, and sunk to the bottom of the lake.

The magic of this paper figure now belongs to the Li and Liu families. We can't let you take our things and leave. Leave them all here.

In the final scene of the memory fragment, an old man who seemed to be the head of the Li family at the time spoke calmly, his eyes filled with disgust as he looked at the dead and injured old Taoist disciples on the ground.

The villagers clapped and cheered, and everyone had a smile on their face.

They all said that from now on, those water monsters could be easily suppressed, and the village's fortune would only increase. As they spoke, they checked to see if any of the old Taoist priest's disciples were still alive, and if they found any who were still alive, they would give them a couple more stabs.

Do you know how to get to Yingti Village?

Suddenly, a voice rang out beside them, asking questions.

The villagers seemed to have discovered something, and they screamed and scattered in all directions before being swallowed by darkness.

Then there were no more scenes to be seen, only the sound of the man who appeared to be the clan leader shouting in grief and indignation, as if he was saying something like, "Why does God always have to harm good people like us? Why can't we just have a few good days?" He sounded quite aggrieved.

Seriously... can't you show me something less anthropomorphic?

Gao Hai sighed inwardly, and these past scenes finally disappeared completely.

Under the gentle sunlight, he jumped out of the well and could already see the village not far away.

Unlike [Li Family Village], this time Gao Hai emerged from the well to find himself surrounded by open space, with the village some distance away. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the village did not overlap with [Li Family Village] spatially. In other words, this time he had arrived in a place where there was truly no [model reuse].

Have we finally arrived at Liu Family Village?

Thinking back on what he had heard in his senses, Gao Hai remained silent. He simply pulled Zhenfei, who had come out of the well, along with him, and then headed towards the village.

Chapter 114: First Contact with the Villagers of Liu Family Village and Village Chief Liu Qigui

It's very ordinary, very common.

It's as tranquil as a small mountain village in the modern sense, with a touch of Shangri-La.

This was Gao Hai's first impression upon arriving at Liujia Village.

There was no eerie or sinister feeling, no discomfort from being secretly watched by something; it was all so peaceful and ordinary that it gave one the irresistible urge to live in seclusion there.

Of course, Gao Hai knew very well that this was only "appearances." If he really thought this was some kind of resort or farmhouse because of the superficial peace, he might not even know how he died.

tread--

The princess stepped forward and carefully looked around before glancing at Gao Hai, who was still standing still.

{This place feels too calm, it's really unsettling.}

The girl commented on her surroundings.

{After all, this is a high-difficulty dungeon beyond the Red Moon level; there shouldn't be any idyllic scenery here. Hmm, the other two are here too, let's go.}

Gao Hai replied to Zhen Fei calmly, then looked back and saw Tang Yuan and Mao Ge emerge from the well before he started walking towards the village ahead.

I could sense a faint feeling of rejection.

Although it wasn't particularly obvious, Gao Hai could sense that as he gradually approached the village ahead, something seemed to begin to repel him, causing his progress to be met with an invisible resistance.

For Gao Hai, whose physical abilities far surpass those of humans, this level of barrier is of little use.

But the important thing isn't whether it's useful or not, but why this situation occurred. Especially after asking others through mental links and temporary mental links, and confirming that only he was experiencing this condition, Gao Hai quickly realized that his [Clan Chief] status, obtained through the land deed, would likely have some unpredictable consequences in Liu Family Village.

The Li family and the Liu family... they were able to cooperate when dealing with the old Taoist priest, but in the end they became enemies?

Or was it a case of double-crossing from the very beginning, but they just hadn't turned against each other yet?

Regardless of the situation, it's certain that the Liu family isn't a good person either. Therefore, even with the experience shared by Chachai from last week, Gao Hai was prepared for any emergencies from the start. In this respect, his discussion with Cat Brother of the Lazy Fish Gang about involving him in this operation was also because of Cat Brother's strength; he could play a greater role should problems arise.

In short, let's hope nothing bad happens.