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

That's strange. According to the skeleton's last words, if I didn't call for the [Hospital], I shouldn't have been able to leave this corridor, right? So why am I in a new place? Could it be because I successfully dealt with a monster? Or has this place itself changed in some way?

Although she couldn't figure out exactly what had happened, Xiaohua could still sense that something was wrong. Therefore, she quickly became alert, gripping her phone in one hand and clenching her fist in the other, ready to unleash a powerful punch to burn the enemy to death if attacked.

I'm not afraid at all.

Although Xiaohua was indeed very scared when she was in the mansion and when she first entered this strange space, she has now become arrogant with the golden light surrounding her. She doesn't think she will lose to these strange creatures that are entrenched in the distorted space, even though she doesn't even know the limits of the power she possesses.

Buzz-buzz-

As Xiaohua moved forward, she gradually noticed a dull sound, which sounded like the operation of a huge machine.

The pungent smoky smell is getting stronger and stronger.

The signs of decay on the ground were gradually spreading, until, as Xiao Hua walked, he found that the ground was completely covered by a blood-red color, and the original iron-gray color had completely disappeared and could no longer be seen.

Where exactly is this place?

The increasingly confused girl cautiously observed her surroundings, and her steps gradually slowed down.

Then suddenly, a faint light appeared in the darkness ahead.

The light flickered and was very faint, but it immediately alerted Xiao Hua, who was walking in the darkness, to the presence of the other party.

At the same time as she saw the light, an even more intense heat, like something burning, swept towards her, accompanied by a choking cloud of smoke, causing the unsuspecting girl to cough a few times.

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

Something was making a series of noises.

Like the heavy hum of a machine slowly turning, the entity in the darkness gradually revealed itself, allowing Xiao Hua, who had mistakenly wandered into this place, to see it clearly.

It was a boiler; at least based on the girl's limited knowledge, this enormous thing must have been some kind of boiler.

The girl couldn't see the edge of this thing at a glance. She walked through the road covered with blood-red rust, through the gaps between huge iron pillars that were over a thousand meters high, and then what appeared before her eyes was an almost endless sea of ​​blood-red fire, a raging inferno that roared incessantly in this dark place, releasing streams of scorching hot air.

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

With an even clearer sound than before, Xiaohua raised her head and looked towards the direction where the iron pillars stretched upwards. From the darkness, she saw mutilated, blood-soaked corpses falling straight down into the burning sea of ​​fire, only to be engulfed in new flames.

What exactly is going on?

Xiao Hua stared wide-eyed, unable to comprehend the scene she was witnessing at that moment.

It seems that I am no longer in the same space.

After successfully eliminating the ceramic monster, the wire mesh corridor, which should have had no other passage according to the will, led to a completely new area, a place that was not occupied by the monster mother from before, and seemed to be "deeper" in some sense.

She had a vague feeling that she had probably come to a very strange place.

hum-

The dull thud spread again.

But this time was different from before. Xiao Hua clearly heard that the sound did not come from above, but from in front of him, from this surging sea of ​​blood and fire.

Something is trying to crawl out of there.

I don't know what it is, but just hearing the sound gives me goosebumps all over and makes it extremely difficult to breathe.

We absolutely must not come into contact with that thing!

Without any prompts or warnings, Xiaohua was able to clearly realize this fact simply by sensing the other party's presence.

Without hesitation, she turned and ran, circling around the massive iron pillars along the edges of the fiery boilers, trying her best to avoid the direction of that aura.

Buzz-buzz-

More voices rose from this burning sea of ​​fire.

A more chilling and terrifying aura surged within the flames.

Xiaohua didn't see what those things looked like. She didn't look back for a moment, nor did she show any curiosity or intention to try to observe them. She just ran as fast as she could. She even learned to suppress the golden light on her body while running, returning to her normal appearance in order to reduce her presence.

She could sense that the red light, now severely depleted of energy, would likely be unable to protect her from those things. Any one of the creatures lurking within this burning flame was probably stronger than all the monsters she had encountered before combined. In her current half-awakened state, with only a sliver of her abilities, if she were truly detected, she probably wouldn't even have the chance to put up a fight.

Ugh, I finally gained real superhuman power, and now I'm immediately encountering an even more terrifying monster. What's going on?

hum-

The girl's reverie abruptly ended, and she stopped abruptly in her tracks.

I sensed their gaze.

It wasn't directed at me; it seemed to be just a casual glance from the side.

But even just that was enough to make Xiaohua's whole body stiffen, and she almost fell straight to the ground from that terrifying gaze.

What is that...?

It was almost impossible to maintain the ability to think; all the organs in my body had become disordered under the gaze of that moment, to the point that I couldn't even organize my thoughts normally.

Looked up.

Despite not wanting to do such a thing, once she truly felt that aura and that gaze, Xiao Hua was unable to control her body. Driven by an inexplicable instinct, she slowly raised her head and looked at the dark sky pointed to by those massive iron pillars.

No, it wasn't a pitch-black sky anymore.

There is something there now.

An eyeball.

An eyeball that appears enormous from afar, almost taking up the entire sky, covered in bloodshot veins and wriggling insects.

It is watching this place, watching this burning sea of ​​fire.

Xiaohua couldn't sense any emotion from that eyeball. She couldn't even see the structure of the eyeball clearly. She just stared blankly at the huge eyeball slowly scanning the sea of ​​fire, and in the process... felt a stinging sensation in her hand.

"Huh? Huh?!"

My previously confused consciousness suddenly cleared up.

Feeling her hand holding the phone starting to go numb, Xiao Hua hurriedly glanced at the eyeball again, only to find that the thing seemed to have noticed something and was looking in Xiao Hua's direction.

The next moment, the girl practically scrambled to the back of an iron pillar, hiding behind it and not daring to breathe.

I wonder if this action will be able to avoid being watched by that thing.

With his mind completely muddled, Xiao Hua had no time to think about what was going on. His ego, which had been inflated by gaining combat power, had regressed to its initial state, returning to the timid state he had been at the beginning.

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

The sound of the machines still echoed dully in the surroundings.

It was only then that Xiao Hua noticed some things with flames of various sizes burning on their bodies, which she didn't know what they were, gradually moving forward in the darkness, slowly leaving in the direction the girl had come from.

Because of the great distance and the extremely dark environment, Xiaohua was unable to identify what kind of monster it was.

She vaguely sensed that the thing was very likely a monster that had crawled out of the sea of ​​fire, and that it was heading towards the decaying space she had previously in. It might even go further, heading directly into the real world.

What exactly is going on? Where am I?!

I have a feeling I'm in some really dangerous place right now, maybe even the main villain's lair. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea what I can do in this situation. Will my golden aura really work on those things with flames? And that big eye from earlier—I felt like if it just glared at me, I'd die instantly! What should I do? What should I do? Why did my phone have to run out of power and not get a recharge?!

Xiaohua was very anxious.

Although she knew very well that panicking wouldn't help at this point, she still couldn't calm herself down.

In short, first determine how much protection you have left.

[Willpower: 29%]

Defense: 5%

"Waaah! Why did my willpower suddenly drop so much? It's almost halved! And my defense dropped by 2% too. How could this happen? Could it be because I was affected by the power of that big eye? Just that level of impact, how could it have such a serious effect? ​​If I get looked at again, I'm doomed!"

The situation was more severe than expected, leaving Xiaohua extremely anxious, like an ant on a hot pan.

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

But at that moment, she heard another heavy machine roar, and this time, she noticed that the sound was much closer than before.

Realizing something was wrong, Xiao Hua hesitated for a moment, but still cautiously peeked out from behind the pillar to observe the situation outside.

The enormous eyeball had vanished without a trace.

In the darkness, a massive metal pipe slowly extended, spewing out mutilated corpses into the sea of ​​fire below.

This time, the distance in the pipe was indeed quite short, so short that Xiaohua felt she could jump onto it with just a short running start. Of course, the prerequisite was that she could grab onto it; otherwise, she would fall directly into the sea of ​​fire below and die.

Speaking of these pipes used to transport corpses... could these corpses be residents of Tokyo? Were all those people who disappeared after being killed by monsters thrown into this place?

Well, if that's the case, I wonder if these corpses thrown into the sea of ​​fire will meet the requirements for the red light's banishment.

Xiao Hua's eyes suddenly widened.

She realized a possibility, a possibility she hadn't considered before, but one that was now entirely worth trying.

Now that I'm practically trapped here, going back the way I came might mean encountering those dangerous monsters crawling out of the inferno, and those giant eyes that could pop out from above at any moment are even more deadly. So, with no way out, my only option left is to gamble and risk my life, right?

Haha, thinking back carefully, Mr. Gao Hai actually said that when facing monsters, humans sometimes have to gamble with their own lives in order to have any hope of defeating their opponents and surviving.

Strangely enough, after truly realizing this, I didn't seem to panic; instead, I felt it was the most natural thing in the world.

I wonder if Mr. Gao Hai's fragmented mental state also contributed to this.

"Ugh...cough cough, this smell is awful."

Xiao Hua slowly stood up.

She took a deep breath, then coughed a few times because of the smell of coal ash, which made her eyes water.

Then, without even wiping her eyes, she placed the phone, which was almost extinguished and only emitted a very faint red light, against her chest, closed her eyes, and prayed silently.

Please, Mr. Gao Hai, God, please bless me and don't let me die here! I want to go back to my parents, I want to eat more snacks and cakes, and I want to continue my ordinary student life. Please let me leave here alive! I'll do anything as long as God blesses me to leave alive!

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

The metal pipe, which had already expelled many corpses, trembled, as if it were about to rise back into the darkness.

Xiao Hua, who had already emerged from behind the metal pillar, no longer hesitated. He sped up and rushed forward. Gritting his teeth, he leaped from the edge of the enormous furnace, heading towards the tentacle-like metal pipes.

Duang! ! !

The next moment, a crisp sound rang out as the girl's forehead slammed hard against the metal pipe, almost causing her to fall backward. The impact even produced a slight echo.

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Moment of Yotsuya Miko's Decision and the Place the Girl Ventured Deeper