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

The sound of the wind brushed past like a gentle caress.

The boisterous young people also walked by quickly.

And time flowed quietly amidst the noise.

When the break finally ended and the two finished washing up, it was already 11 a.m. This time, Gao Hai and Yi Li's duo game didn't end early. The main reason was that Yi Li was still a beginner and was having some trouble getting used to some of the more difficult levels in the game, so they needed to progress step by step.

Put on your pants, then put on a T-shirt.

Gao Hai stretched and was about to pick up his phone from the bedside table when Yi Li came over and smoothed out Gao Hai's slightly wrinkled clothes.

"Well, for a married couple, isn't this normal?"

Seeing Gao Hai looking over with some surprise, Yili blushed, unable to explain why she suddenly had the urge to do this. After hesitating for a moment, she said these words.

"A couple?"

Gao Hai was truly stunned.

"Hey, aren't they a married couple?"

Ichiri was stunned by Gao Hai's words. Her mind raced wildly, and in just one second she imagined a tragic future where she would be abandoned by Gao Hai after giving birth to her child, and would have to raise the child alone.

"If we're husband and wife, you shouldn't call me 'husband' anymore, right?"

However, Takahashi, whose thinking was already unusual, quickly came to the rescue, interrupting the girl's train of thought with a single sentence and turning the topic in another direction.

"Huh? Then...then...darling?"

Startled, Li opened her mouth, seemingly lost in thought, before simply uttering that title.

"Okay, okay, then you can call me Xiao Yili like that from now on."

Gao Hai didn't see any problem with it at all, nodded, and decided to proceed with the matter as it was.

"Okay, okay... wait, no, it still won't work. If someone hears us, it'll be too, too embarrassing..."

But after nodding subconsciously, Ichiri quickly realized what the effect would be if this title were used in front of outsiders, so he immediately shook his head frantically to give a negative answer.

"Is it okay to call us that when it's just the two of us?"

Seeing the girl's panicked reaction, Gao Hai almost burst out laughing and immediately began the chase.

"When it's just the two of us, uh, um, it should... it should be okay... right? But, but, what should we call them when there are other people around?"

After hesitating for a while, Yili reluctantly nodded in acceptance. However, she then thought of another problem and asked Gao Hai with some concern.

"Well, it's better to just call me by my name. Hmm, just call me Gao Hai, that's fine. My name is easy to pronounce, I think it's fine to just say it directly, at least don't call me 'Mr.' anymore, that sounds too polite."

After spending a little time thinking about a suitable way to address him, and quickly realizing that it was strange to insist on a special way of addressing him, Gao Hai finally gave this answer.

"Then... Gao Hai?"

So, somewhat clumsily, Yili tried to pronounce Gao Hai's name in Chinese.

"Yes, that's right, that's exactly it."

Gao Hai nodded slightly, put his arm around the girl, and lowered his head to speak to her.

"Gao Hai."

Ichiri called out his name again.

"Well, I'm here."

He then gave his answer again.

"Gao Hai."

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Gao Hai."

"Yes, it's me."

"Gao Hai!"

"Yes, it's me."

Like two little children, Gao Hai and Yi Li stared at each other, repeating their childish words over and over again.

Several minutes later, Yili realized what she was doing, her face turned red again, and she lowered her head, not daring to look Gao Hai in the eye.

I've never felt this way before. Is this what love is?

Yili buried his head in Gao Hai's chest and pondered in his heart, but could not come up with an answer. He felt as if he had bitten into a piece of candy, and his heart was filled with a sweet taste.

Hand in hand, the two walked out of the hotel. Yili followed closely beside Gao Hai, clinging to him like a small animal, as if he might disappear at any moment. Gao Hai could see the shyness in the girl's expression; clearly, engaging in such intimate behavior in public was quite a challenge for her. He wondered what was going on in her mind that compelled her to act this way, so Gao Hai had no choice but to go along with her.

Where would you like to go next?

Gao Hai asked the girl in a low voice.

"I don't know, but wherever Gao Hai goes, I'll go."

Yili shook her head somewhat blankly. Currently, she was completely preoccupied with thoughts of "couples," "married couples," and "where her child should go to school," making it impossible for her to focus on the present. However, she had a solution: to push all the problems onto Gao Hai and let him come up with ideas.

"Let me think of a way..."

Gao Hai was also a little confused when the question was pushed back to him. After dating so many girls during this period, to be honest, he found it hard to think of any places he hadn't been to, so he was still a bit stumped for the time being.

It was at this moment that Gao Hai's hearing caught a faint sound.

This voice is...

Suddenly turning his head, Gao Hai looked across the road at the opposite street and quickly noticed several figures.

Without a doubt, that long golden hair and doll-like face and figure belonged to Alice.

"I've told Alice so many times not to bring snacks to school. See, she got scolded by the teacher today."

There was also Chiyo Hachiya walking beside Alice, carrying a small schoolbag just like Alice, looking like a complete elementary school student.

"Because the school lunches aren't enough to fill me up, I get hungry quickly. It's clearly the teacher's fault, why are they lecturing me!"

Alice, wearing the little yellow hat commonly seen on Japanese elementary school students, puffed out her cheeks and looked unhappy, her hands on her hips, her expression clearly saying "I'm angry."

"Being hungry quickly is not an excuse for Alice to sneak snacks in class. Besides, Chiyo, you've actually been helping Alice carry snacks, haven't you? I checked her bag this morning, and there were no snacks inside. You were the one who carried them, weren't you? Even if it wasn't you, it must have been Ryohei. I know that you two siblings have been secretly helping Alice."

The middle-aged woman following behind the two children, who was none other than Keiko Hachiya, the orphanage director who died tragically in the Hayate Elementary School instance, was now following behind the two children, looking at them with a helpless smile and sighing.

Judging from this, it seems their parents have been called in.

"Gao Hai, those people over there, aren't they...?"

Noticing Gao Hai's gaze, she quickly spotted the three people—one adult and two children—and paused for a moment before recognizing them as the people she and Gao Hai had rescued together.

"Yes, that's them. I didn't expect to see them in Tokyo."

Gao Hai nodded slightly, looking at the group of people over there, a smile suddenly appearing on his lips.

“Great, let’s go check out that orphanage again, shall we? After all, we’re the two of us who saved them together.”

With a smile, Gao Hai held Yili's little hand and ran quickly down the street.

As if responding to Gao Hai's joyful mood, a ray of light pierced through the originally gloomy sky, casting brilliant colors upon the dim city.

As for the meeting with Hongxia that he had mentioned this afternoon, Gao Hai probably won't remember it for the time being.

Interlude 4-44: The Lives of the Saved in the Forgotten Land

Outside of Tokyo, there is a quiet town nestled among mountains.

This place didn't exist in history; it was created out of thin air by Gao Hai and Yi Li using the power of a dungeon—an ordinary little town that was basically ignored by everyone. According to their design, it was built after the war, but due to changes in the planning scheme, it was almost abandoned, leaving only the original residents and their descendants in this remote town. And precisely because of this plan, subsequent construction projects have deliberately avoided this town, to the point that everyone has now largely forgotten its existence.

The reason for making things so complicated was, of course, to avoid potential historical turmoil. After all, this was an extremely poorly written story by the author; a slight misstep could have far-reaching consequences, potentially distorting the entire history of Japan. However, it was precisely because of the immense power inherent in this poorly written scenario that Takami and Ichiri were able to alter history and potentially accomplish the feat of saving everyone.

Now, Gao Hai and Yi Li have returned to this place.

They didn't simply walk straight here.

In fact, before setting off, Gao Hai deliberately took Ichiri to Kaguya's house, where they made arrangements together, making it appear to outsiders that Gao Hai and Ichiri had stayed at Kaguya's residence and were playing a threesome with her. Then, he and Ichiri moved a certain distance through Tokyo's sewer system, and after approaching the outskirts of Tokyo, they concealed their mental energy, disguised themselves, and sneaked out of the city before finally arriving at this small town.

The reason for all this trouble is simple: Gao Hai is certain that the entire city of Tokyo is covered in spies from the [Hospital]. That entity, which has been gradually establishing its presence in the real world through unknown means, is constantly watching Gao Hai. Even if Gao Hai's location remains an undetectable void in its eyes, it needs to ensure that the void's location is under its surveillance at all times. Therefore, to prevent this town from being exposed, Gao Hai must disguise himself as much as possible. He doesn't want the people he's worked so hard to save to die in the upcoming battle; if that happens, wouldn't his efforts to save them have been in vain?

In short, after expending a considerable amount of time and effort, Gao Hai and Yi Li finally entered the town. Upon entering, they didn't immediately visit the rescued people, but instead thoroughly investigated the town's hospital and surveyed all the townspeople whose life force was weak, who were elderly, or ill. Only after confirming that the thing from the hospital hadn't left any trace did the two finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"This town should be safe, right?"

After a busy day, Yili wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at Gao Hai beside her, asking in a low voice.

"After all, it's a town we created ourselves that doesn't exist in history. As for the thing inside the [Hospital Instance], it shouldn't be able to realize the existence of this place until it actually sees it. So we just need to make sure to minimize communication between this place and the outside world for the next two months, and they should be safe."

Gao Hai thought about it seriously for a while before speaking, and quickly came up with a strategy.

"Then, let's begin!"

So Goto Ichiri immediately took out his guitar, eager to try it out.

"So serious! I always feel that you're more motivated than me."

Seeing the girl's eyes light up, Gao Hai couldn't help but laugh and say something.

"Because, because these are the people Gao Hai and I saved together, we rescued them together, and I don't want them, who finally escaped hell and gained a new life, to suffer and die again. So, so let's help them together, okay?"

She's basically no longer socially awkward in front of Gao Hai, but she still stammers a bit when she speaks for a long time. This time, however, her voice was very clear.

"Yes, of course, let's get started together."

Undoubtedly, Gao Hai shared the same idea, so after Ichiri expressed her determination, he nodded without hesitation and set off again with the girl.

Find every resident in the town and use psychological manipulation to reduce their desire to travel and communicate with others over the next two months, making them more inclined to stay in the town.

For those who need to leave town due to illness or urgent matters, Gao Hai directly uses his mental power to distort reality, either healing them or finding solutions to their problems. For townspeople who need to visit relatives or attend school, Gao Hai uses mental manipulation to persuade them to postpone their plans or to take a temporary leave of absence for some reason. He also kindly provides parents of students who take leave with various workbooks for the corresponding grade level, ensuring that even if their children are not attending school, parents can still ensure their children continue their studies.

Even though most people can solve problems instantly with their mental power, only a few need relatively precise operations. But when this is scaled up to a small town, it undoubtedly takes a considerable amount of time. It wasn't until dusk that Gao Hai and Yi Li finally finished the matter and were finally able to rest for a while.

"It's more tiring than I expected."

After catching his breath, Gao Hai said to Yi Li, who was leaning against the wall and panting.

"Hmm...but I feel good about this. We...we can really help everyone by doing this, right?"

After taking several deep breaths to calm herself down, Yili happily spoke to Gao Hai. However, as she spoke, she seemed to think of something else, and her happy expression suddenly faded. She then looked at Gao Hai hesitantly and asked.