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

"But thankfully, the final outcome was smooth sailing, just as the great deity I serve revealed. As long as I provide appropriate guidance in secret, ensuring that all choices are made by the villagers themselves and not making any decisions for them, then I can avoid the consequences. Hehehe, of course, I also have to thank you, after all, it was your choices that brought things to this point, allowing this great performance to reach an even higher level."

"Alright, I haven't spoken to outsiders for many years, but that's enough for now. The new sacrificial ceremony needs some offerings, and I can't wait to see your blood bloom."

With a wide grin, Li Xiaoxiao revealed a maniacal smile that she herself would never normally show.

The intense mental pollution spread, causing pain and disorder to everyone present.

The killing intent had become clear; everyone could sense that this "Mr. Du" was about to launch an attack and wipe them all out here.

"No, you were not able to escape cause and effect."

Having finally adjusted, Fujiwara Chika spoke calmly.

"Oh? You still have questions? I do have time to answer them, but it's not worth wasting it on you."

Having satisfied his urge to confide, Mr. Du had no intention of wasting words. Instead, he reached out his hand, intending to kill the players present.

hum-

Something flashed by in an instant.

The next second, a large amount of blood spurted from Mr. Du's body, his head exploded, and half of his body was torn apart. A blurry, ethereal figure dressed in a suit appeared behind him, about to launch another attack.

"This... such a strange creature exists? Even after fulfilling its desires, it refuses to dissipate, leaving behind remnants as a blessing to follow others? Isn't that a bit too boring? A world full of chaos is the truly beautiful world!"

However, the attack failed to launch. The pitch-black color instantly engulfed the figure. Even though the opponent was still struggling, the vast difference in power still caused the [Teacher] to be suppressed little by little, and his body began to disintegrate.

I cannot comprehend what kind of power this is; I did not sense any blessing being invoked, nor did I feel the presence of any obsession.

This "Mr. Du" appears incomprehensible to the players, and even a veteran player like Cat Brother cannot discern the essence of his power from his actions.

"You absorbed the primordial form of this instance, didn't you?"

However, Chika could see it, or rather, all the girls who had experienced the Nightfall Mountain Middle School instance with Gao Hai and had established a deep connection with him could vaguely sense the essence of this power and could perceive what was going on.

Prior to this, the historians had confirmed through repeated investigations that the Village of Crying Infants was highly likely to contain the Root Form of a rural-type instance. Of course, the historians were completely unaware of the Root Form itself; they merely speculated that this instance possessed some kind of Root characteristic. However, Gao Hai was well aware of this, and he wouldn't deliberately conceal this information from Chika and the others. Therefore, after sensing that similar power, Chika quickly made a judgment.

"You absorbed the Root Form of this instance and embarked on the path to becoming a higher being. You did not avoid the cause and effect of this instance; on the contrary, you are deeply entangled with the cause and effect of this instance, and you are destined to be a part of this instance."

Before Mr. Du launched another attack, Qianhua looked at him and spoke.

For a moment, Mr. Du showed a surprised expression. However, this expression was immediately replaced by a smile, only the chill in that smile became even stronger.

"Hey, you can think of so much just from saying a few words? Being too smart isn't a good thing, especially when the world is under the watchful eye of Chaos. Dying foolishly is happiness for you."

In an instant, intense mental pollution spread to the senses.

At this moment, bloodstains appeared on his body, as if something was trying to peel away his skin and flesh layer by layer.

Cat Brother summoned paper money again, but under Mr. Du's watchful gaze, it couldn't fly and instead fell directly to the ground. Tangyuan then tried to dial a phone, but the call wouldn't connect and remained frozen. Yili's clone also couldn't be summoned at all; even plucking the strings of his zither produced no sound. Xiao Guo, in his frantic attempt to use his object of obsession, was nearly knocked unconscious by a backlash from some force.

The mental link also failed to receive a response. It wasn't broken, but rather the sound seemed to be stretched indefinitely, unable to travel out or receive a timely reply within the frozen time. The girls, who were already experienced with this, quickly realized that this was a temporal anomaly. The flow of time in this cave was different from other spaces, so Gao Hai, who was still outside, had no way of knowing what was happening here in time.

Mr. Du still had a relaxed expression on his face.

No matter what actions the players took, they seemed meaningless in the face of this figure who possessed superhuman strength. His gaze didn't even truly fall on anyone present in a direct manner, as if they were unworthy of his attention.

My body... is being torn to pieces...

Intense pain spread through both mind and body simultaneously, and there was no way to stop it.

Is this how I'm going to die this time...?

Chika gritted her teeth, her clothes soaked with blood gushing from her torn flesh, yet she was powerless to do anything and could only helplessly await her annihilation.

Jingle Bell--

Then, the bell rang.

"what?"

The unexpected event surprised Mr. Du.

The next second, the cave, which had been perfectly clear, suddenly became pitch black, and everyone lost their sight at that moment.

When the light came on again, Mr. Du, who was using Li Xiaoxiao's body, had already taken several steps back, his back slammed against the stone wall, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Jingle Bell--

Yili quickly helped Qianhua, who was in the worst condition, to her feet. The rescue team badge appeared under the effect of the deep link and quickly treated the injuries of the girls. Paper money and origami cranes flew out from beside Maoge, and Tangyuan also spat out blood and rushed forward, helping Xiao Guo, who was struggling to stand up, to her feet.

"How are you still alive?"

Mr. Du did not pay attention to the players' actions.

He looked at Chachai, who was standing in front of him with a small bell, with some curiosity.

Jingle Bell--

A soft clatter came from the stone ornaments hanging around Chacha's neck, which appeared to be shaped like four monkeys, colliding with each other.

In the hand that Chatchai was carrying behind his back, he clutched a yellowed, tattered book, which still emanated the aura of a Red Moon-level core artifact. This last crucial item, which had yet to be found, was now in the hands of the missing Chatchai.

"How are you still alive? Didn't I already sacrifice your blood?"

Mr. Du stretched his shoulders and continued to ask with a puzzled look.

"Perhaps it's because of the protection of gods and Buddhas."

Chachai put down the little bell and said in a gentle tone.

"God? You?"

Mr. Du chuckled, took a step forward, and was then hit on the head by a stone falling from above.

"That's right, the power of the mountain god and the power of the fox goddess have indeed protected me. That's why I was able to survive after being captured and endure until now, finding the most opportune moment."

Chachai said again, and the teacher, now freed from his restraints, grabbed Mr. Du in the next moment. The two figures sank directly into the rocks, and in an instant, there was a series of explosions.

At this moment, the others behind, including Tangyuan from the same team, realized that this player had performed multiple rituals before entering the instance in order to study the power of the mountain god statue, and had actually found a way to establish the corresponding ritual connection.

Chapter 144: The Split and Twisted Chaotic Consciousness and the Source of Li Ziyong

Gao Hai closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The chaotic and distorted words roared repeatedly in his mind, and the fragmented and disordered images flashed and disappeared in his vision. His thoughts were almost completely torn apart at this moment, but they gradually glued back together, never truly annihilated.

For a moment, Gao Hai felt as if his consciousness had been swept into a storm, destroyed, torn apart, and scattered into the boundless darkness in the endless gale.

But in the end, he persevered.

Just like every ordeal he experienced since coming into this world, in the end, his mind and personality remained on the side of order, and returned to their original state, without breaking down and falling into a mad and twisted chaos.

However, there are a few more things.

Because of this wondrous state achieved through a special ritual, Gao Hai had to accept bad news: something new was going to temporarily enter his mind.

Moreover, this time it's a bit different, or rather, it's very different from before.

While there had been instances before of mental intrusion or people residing in one's head—after all, Kita Ikuyo is still inside Takami's mind—Takami's own consciousness had always remained independent and hadn't been transformed into anything else. However, this time, due to the excessively high status of the [Little Black Mountain God], and the extremely risky act of temporarily [disguising] himself as the mountain god—which Takami had actually succeeded in—this led to a completely unexpected and disastrous reaction.

The brain is trembling.

At this moment, the senses slid towards an unfathomable abyss, forcibly linked to the power of the gods under the side effects of this overly intense ritual response.

Gao Hai can see everything.

Whether it's the soil, the branches, or the animals moving through the forest.

It's the trembling of cells in every green leaf, the radiating divine power flowing within those animals, and the eerie aura lingering in every wisp of wind in this instance.

His gaze pierced through space, revealing the reasons for the differentiation and distinction between the various spaces that had been shattered as the [Infant Cry Village] instance took shape, spaces that were chaotically arranged based on timelines and human thought.

At this moment, his consciousness also came to understand the flow of time. He began to see the various changes this closed place had undergone over hundreds and thousands of years, the anxious refugees who came here, and how they went from working together to build their homes, to breaking apart into different forces, and finally being destroyed one by one, facing their own tragedy and fate.

The three-dimensional perspective could no longer completely limit his perception of the world. Gao Hai discovered that when he looked at something, he could now see both the outside and the inside of that thing at the same time, and could see through everything about it.

Take, for example, Li Ziyong, a man filled with dread, desperate because he couldn't understand the changes in Gao Hai and couldn't resist Gao Hai's power. He was a man whose ugly side was exposed, wanting to escape. Gao Hai only glanced at him, yet he understood the trajectory of his life and the sins of this twisted and vicious soul.

I really want to burst out laughing.

After discovering the truth, Gao Hai couldn't help but chuckle.

This wasn't something he usually did, but Gao Hai was finding it hard to control himself. He was genuinely struggling to contain himself; an intense sense of pleasure was spreading through him, and the unrestrained laughter of a certain girl kept echoing in his mind.

However, there's nothing we can do about it.

After all, Gao Hai now can be considered, in a sense, the mountain god himself.

The personality template he gave to the mountain god, the embodiment that corresponds to the close connection between Gao Hai and the mountain god, possesses a twisted mind called [Alice].

Although it wasn't actually the nightmare Gao Hai encountered at Fujika Middle School, and its distortion, after adjustments, was far from being truly evil, the successful initiation of this ritual forcibly merged its consciousness with Gao Hai's, severely impacting his thoughts and personality. If Gao Hai hadn't been relatively restrained and trying to control himself from leaning too much towards Alice, he probably would have already become a bloodthirsty madman.

But I can't help it, I'm so happy.

This feeling is so pleasant.

Such a twisted soul, so repulsive, something that wears human skin but whose inner self is not even human.

Is it wrong, or something that needs to be restrained, to punish something like this, or to inflict pain and despair upon it?

Teacher, don't you think it's only right to show these people, who deserve to be in hell, the cruel beauty of life?

So let's be happy.

Let us tear open his flesh, let us sew up his eyeballs, let us cut, let us chop, let us hack, let us saw. Let us play with his nerves, let us paint with his veins, let us peel off his bones one by one, and then put them back together. Let us inflict pain on all his senses, let him scream, let him not scream, let him die, let him not die. This art of living a life worse than death is the ode to life itself, the beautiful Sinai that you and I should embrace, isn't it?

So, teacher, please accept me. You actually want to understand the beauty of life, don't you?

Right... right?

The voice, forcibly imprinted into Gao Hai's mind along with the influx of the mountain god's power, briefly plunged him into confusion.

Yes...yes...that's it...I am Alice...I truly yearn for it...

{Mr. Gao, what's wrong with you? Don't scare me!}

Kita's panicked voice rang in her mind. She could clearly sense the storm raging in Takahiro's mind and feel that the man's cognition was falling into extreme chaos. Therefore, she couldn't help but remind him and inject the little mental energy she had managed to recover into him, trying her best to help Takahiro maintain his composure.

Am I... Alice...?

No...no...no, no! I'm not Alice! I'm Gao Hai!!!

Hehehe, but the teacher really is Alice now.