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

The doctor you need to see has been scheduled for you, Mr. Gao Hai.

A gentle voice, sounding like that of a young girl, came from the phone.

"A reservation? You made the reservation for me?"

Gao Hai raised an eyebrow at these words, then smiled slightly in response.

Yes, Mr. Gao Hai, your heart is filled with pain. You are not happy. You are suffering from an illness, and that pain originates from within your own heart.

The incredibly gentle voice was as melodious as a musical instrument being played, yet it also carried a sense of peace and a feeling of drowsiness and exhaustion.

However, such gentleness could not make Gao Hai lose his way; it would only make his expression even colder.

The voice on the phone showed no sign of stopping; instead, it gradually took on a frenzied joy, and the eerie aura emanating from it grew stronger.

We will guide you on the path to true happiness.

The woman's voice seemed to be mixed with other sounds, making it somewhat noisy.

"What, does that mean I'm not happy right now?"

Gao Hai chuckled, but the woman ignored him and continued talking to herself.

We will heal all the pain and suffering that has tormented you, and all the scars that remain on your heart.

Under our guidance, you will become a god of hope led by us, and what we can give you will surely be the right path most suitable for you.

Therefore, we urge you to seek treatment from our "psychologist" as soon as possible; it will surely heal all your inner wounds. Then, our "surgeon" and "internist" will guide you towards a truly transformative experience.

Click! ! !

The more earnestly she explained, the more obvious the cacophony became, and the sobs of many people hidden within the noise grew stronger and stronger.

Gao Hai remained expressionless. After confirming through mental scanning that the source of this thing could not be traced for the time being and that the other party was not in the real world at the moment, he casually crushed it with his mental power, turning the old-fashioned telephone into a small ball amidst a series of cracking sounds.

The chilling aura dissipated rapidly. With the telephone, the medium of communication, destroyed, the seemingly fanatical message could no longer influence the real world. However, through this communication, Gao Hai had also achieved complete confirmation that the other party was indeed in a dungeon world, and that this dungeon could autonomously influence the real world to a certain extent, unlike the Red Moon-level dungeon which had certain limitations and could only temporarily descend into reality.

It seems that maintaining the existence of these things in the real world might require human sacrifice? And it should be a sacrifice from a specific group, for example, this "psychologist" needs to have patients with mental illnesses sacrifice their lives to enter the real world.

Where did this warp demon come from?

Gao Hai, who had been mentally complaining, first woke up Zhen Fei, who was standing next to him. After she released her senses, he told her what had just happened and led her away from the underground area.

They entered the secret staircase between the first and second basement levels again. Unlike before, this time Gao Hai walked in front, with Zhen Fei following beside him. The two stepped onto the stairs and walked up a few steps before stopping simultaneously.

They both noticed at the same time that there was a figure standing above the stairs.

Interlude 4-17: The investigation temporarily halted and Maki's one-day date.

"So, the investigation ended up being a dead end? Hmm, I have a feeling that the enemy Ah Hai is facing this time is very different from the ones before. They are quite good at hiding themselves."

In the afternoon, in a private room of an upscale coffee shop, Chika nodded slightly after listening to the results of Takami and Maki's investigation that morning, and said with a sigh.

"Well, I thought they were really going to do something serious in the end, but it turned out they just used a portrait to scare people. I can only say it was pretty hard to keep up."

As Gao Hai spoke, he downed his coffee, which was 150% sweet and had practically turned into syrup, in one gulp. Then he pursed his lips and gave a helpless look.

"...Do you really have to drink coffee like this?"

Maki made no comment on the investigation, but frowned as she watched Gao Hai's overly rough way of drinking coffee.

"I prefer it a little sweeter."

Gao Hai smiled, conjured a gummy candy from his hand, popped it into his mouth and chewed it, but his mind couldn't help but recall the previous investigation.

The investigation into the villa where the elderly Iwako lived yielded some results, or perhaps not much. In fact, after that phone call in the basement, Maki discovered that all traces of supernatural power within the villa had vanished; even with her full sensory awareness, she couldn't find any clues.

The thing that startled them, which they initially mistook for a human figure, turned out to be just a painting upon closer inspection—the very same painting they had taken down from the living room earlier. They didn't know what was wrong with the painting; light could filter through the edges of the frame but not through the human figure, making it appear almost like a person at first glance—quite eerie.

Feeling something was amiss, Gao Hai, for safety reasons, dismantled the painting, tore it apart, and conducted a thorough examination. After confirming that the painting itself did not contain any clues, he used his mental power to pulverize it.

After that, the two found no further clues. Of course, this didn't mean the investigation would stop there. After obtaining the lead of the "psychologist," Gao Hai asked Xiong Mi to contact high-level players with free time to conduct a global investigation, searching for information on missing persons from the past twenty years, focusing on those diagnosed with various illnesses who disappeared and were completely ignored by their families. Gao Hai had a premonition that any region confirmed to have experienced such a large-scale disappearance would become a disaster zone in the upcoming unknown catastrophe. However, this matter couldn't be handled in a day or two, so Gao Hai was temporarily free again.

"If it involves the power of supernatural phenomena blocking ordinary people's memories, then this matter is indeed very troublesome to investigate. Well, we will also mobilize the people in the family to investigate, and hopefully we can get results as soon as possible. But Ah Hai, don't overwork yourself. You don't need to run around like this. You just barely got back safely from the dungeon, so you should rest for a while."

After leaving behind those last words, Chika quickly departed, leaving only Takahashi and Maki alone in the coffee shop's private room once again.

This situation made Gao Hai vaguely realize that, without his knowledge, the girls seemed to have secretly reached some kind of agreement. Therefore, after Gao Hai spent the whole day on a date with Jianzi, the others seemed to plan to each spend a day alone with Gao Hai.

It's unclear when they came up with this plan, but Gao Hai was quite willing to cooperate. Come to think of it, it had been a while since he and Zhenfei had spent time together.

"Since the investigation hasn't yielded any results yet, should we do something else?"

Gao Hai then turned his gaze to Zhenfei, who had been sitting beside him and had been fidgeting ever since Qianhua left, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

"What are you up to? Even if you're free right now, you might get busy at any time. Do you think everyone's as idle as you are? It's not easy for me to make time for you, okay? Humph~"

Zhenfei tilted her head slightly and spoke, immediately giving Gao Hai a familiar sense of arrogance.

Yes, that's exactly how Maki should be. She was led astray by Chika before, but now that they're back to their own world, she's starting to revert to her true self.

"In that case, let's hurry up."

So Gao Hai grabbed Zhen Fei's small hand and pulled her out of the coffee shop.

The sun was shining brightly on the street, and the trees along the roadside were already tinged with golden hues, suggesting that autumn was not far off.

Just moments ago, Zhenfei had been a little haughty, but now she followed closely behind Gao Hai, holding his hand and jogging with him down the street. Occasionally, she would bump into Gao Hai because their steps weren't quite in sync, and then she would mutter a few complaints. Gao Hai would laugh heartily at this, but would simply pull her along even tighter.

"So, where are we going? Isn't it silly for the two of us to be running around in the streets like this?"

The girl who leaned closer to him spoke with obvious complaint in her tone, but her movements were swift and decisive as she took Gao Hai's arm.

"I don't know either. Why don't we walk and think about it?"

Gao Hai pretended to think deeply for a while, and then came to a very serious conclusion.

"So you're still just wandering around aimlessly? Can't you plan your goals beforehand? This kind of recklessness is a big turn-off."

As expected, Zhenfei immediately puffed out her cheeks in displeasure and began to scold Gao Hai.

But Gao Hai had already figured out that this girl had already thought of the next date location. She was asking this question deliberately, knowing that Gao Hai couldn't tell her the location right away, in order to naturally elicit her plan.

In this respect, Maki and Kaguya are quite similar; both like to make plans on their own but are unwilling to directly state their intentions. However, for Takahashi, seeing through his girlfriend's little schemes and cooperating with her wasn't too difficult. After all, after the mission at Yoruyama Middle School, he and Maki and Kaguya had been intimate twice, and even though Takahashi had politely deleted many related memories, his understanding of Maki had still deepened.

Therefore, he knew very well what he should say at this moment.

"Then, I'll ask my lovely and beautiful wife, Princess Zhenfei, to guide me on my next steps."

Gently taking the girl's fair hand in his hands, Gao Hai lowered his head and lightly kissed the back of her hand before solemnly saying...

"That's completely wrong etiquette. That's not the way to behave at this time. But it's normal for you, since you're pretty clueless when it comes to everyday things. Hmph, to be honest, I don't know either, but unlike you, I can figure it out right away."

Zhenfei tilted her head slightly, her proud expression making Gao Hai want to pick her up and lift her high a few times. However, she would really get angry if he did that, so Gao Hai held back and watched her continue her performance while suppressing his laughter.

"The water park in the suburbs looks really nice. They even have small areas that you can book for yourself. It happens to be a new project invested in by the Shijo family. Let's go check it out together. Ah, of course, we didn't specifically choose this place. My family just happened to give me two tickets, so I figured I might as well use them."

Then, the scene changed to Maki pulling Takahashi's hand and walking forward. Although the girl was still trying to explain, she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

So Gao Hai didn't expose the girl's thoughts, but just smiled and started walking, following behind Zhenfei towards the sunlit road.

Everyday life...

This kind of daily life is actually what I've been longing for, isn't it?

Gazing at the girl ahead, who was overjoyed that the plan was going smoothly, Gao Hai couldn't help but think to himself.

How long can this kind of daily life continue?

Faced with a completely unknown disaster, one that I only know is about to happen, can I still hold onto this daily routine?

Some heavy questions were piling up in Gao Hai's heart, but he didn't show it on his face at all. He just continued to chat and laugh with Zhen Fei, listening to her talk about various things at school and in the family, and occasionally making a few comments, just like usual.

Soon, the two arrived at the water park that Maki had mentioned.

Unlike other tourists who had to buy tickets and queue, Maki was immediately led inside by someone as soon as she approached the entrance of the amusement park.

After entering the water park, the two of them didn't go to the areas where ordinary tourists played, but went straight to the high-end facilities area that were not open to the public. This feeling of enjoying privileges made Gao Hai somewhat sentimental, but before he could ponder it for long, Maki came out wearing a very cute one-piece swimsuit, and Gao Hai's attention immediately shifted, and he no longer cared about how decadent the place was.

"This outfit... well, I just picked one out randomly, what do you think?"

The girl, her face slightly flushed, gently lifted the hem of her petal-patterned skirt, her voice revealing a hint of lack of confidence.

"It's beautiful, it's amazing, the kind of amazing that makes you want to eat it right away."

Gao Hai gave a thumbs up and gave his sincere evaluation without the slightest hesitation.

"Don't bring up SeSe in public, you're getting way too excited. That's weird, you know~"

Somewhat pleased, but deliberately feigning displeasure, Zhenfei stepped forward and poked Gao Hai's stomach.

"There are only the two of us here, don't worry about it. I genuinely think you're very cute."

Gao Hai continued to praise her very seriously, and Zhen Fei, whose cheeks were completely red, immediately couldn't hold back and pushed him into the changing room, using this slightly forceful action to cover up her slightly out-of-control emotions.

That's great, it seems he really likes it. I spent several hours choosing it last night.

The girl was overjoyed, and her smile became uncontrollably bright after Gao Hai entered the locker room.

Of course, once Gao Hai changed into his swim trunks and came out, Maki's expression had returned to her usual arrogant look, completely unrecognizable from her previous demeanor.

However, Gao Hai clearly saw it. Even if the other person did enter the changing room, seeing Maki's expression through the wall via mental manipulation was no problem for him at the moment. Since the girl herself wanted to hide it, Gao Hai was happy to play along and wouldn't expose her.

Splash—splash—splash—

Amidst the rushing water, Zhenfei and Gao Hai slid down the large water slide, which was dozens of meters long. In the semi-enclosed slide, Zhenfei turned to the side and hugged Gao Hai, falling into the water with him. After splashing a lot of water, they floated lightly to the surface, but Gao Hai deliberately pulled her feet and pulled her back into the water. The two played around for a while before getting ashore.

Next, they tried surfing in the simulated wave area, which was naturally a breeze for the two, who already possessed physical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people. Gao Hai even deliberately struck various comical poses on the skateboard to disrupt its balance and make it wobble, and even tickled Maki when she wasn't looking. As a result, the skateboard accidentally flipped over, and both of them fell into the water, startling the staff nearby. They only breathed a sigh of relief after the two of them safely made it ashore.

After casually enjoying a few attractions, the two had some smoothies together. Gao Hai ordered blueberry, while Maki chose kiwi. They swapped flavors while eating, and then started feeding each other. Finally, Gao Hai deliberately kissed Maki with a mouthful of sweet smoothie in his mouth, only to find that she copied him, also deliberately putting a mouthful in her mouth. As a result, both of their mouths were filled with the sweet taste, and Maki's swimsuit was slightly stained.

The morning's investigation seemed like a distant memory to the two of them. Both Gao Hai and Zhen Fei completely forgot about their worries and wholeheartedly enjoyed this hard-won daily life.

Unlike Miko, who lacks assertiveness, Maki clearly had a lot of plans for this date. Therefore, after arriving at the water park, Takami was basically led along by Maki, experiencing various attractions under her direction.

They played until the sun set, until dusk faded, and until night fell. Finally, they arrived at a high-end lounge in the water park and leaned against rocking chairs on the balcony, watching the dazzling fireworks light up the sky. Only then did they belatedly realize that the day was almost over.

"Although I was a bit delayed in the morning, I felt pretty good in the afternoon and evening."

Gao Hai reached out and put his arm around Zhenfei, who was sitting on his lap and leaning against him, and gave a very serious evaluation.

"Yes, I had a lot of fun today too."

The girl nodded gently, no longer maintaining her haughty demeanor, and instead, unusually, revealed her true thoughts.