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

"I have no opinion……"

Finally, it was Seventeen, who didn't talk much. He casually added a comment and then walked forward with his camera.

squeak-

The old apartment door slowly opened, and the three players stepped into the pitch-black apartment. Before they could do anything, they heard a soft "click," and the lights in the apartment corridor ahead and the apartment staircase on one side lit up, dispelling some of the gloom.

Yu Qingshan heard the sound of children's bicycle wheels.

He turned his head and saw that the sound was coming from the direction of the stairwell. He took a few steps forward and looked towards the source of the sound. He then saw something flash by at the bottom of the narrow, enclosed stairwell.

Chapter 32: The Sunflower Squad's Investigation of the Dark Apartment

Tick-tick-tick-

Yu Qingshan looked up at the water droplets dripping from the ceiling of the rotting apartment corridor, sniffed, and continued to carefully explore forward while holding his phone.

Seventeen, holding the cursed camera, walked in the middle, silently observing those in front and behind, while Kazama Ren, carrying a machete, walked at the back, constantly watching for any possible situation behind her.

The three of them slowly made their way up the stairs of the apartment building in such a simple formation. With the dim red light emanating from their phone screens and the cold white light inside the stairs, they cast three long shadows on the walls and the ground.

The signal is gradually increasing, so it seems that the node should be located somewhere upstairs.

Yu Qingshan stared intently at the signal bars displayed on his phone screen. Now that they were deep inside the apartment building, the signal, which had originally reached 8 bars, was now approaching 9 bars. The ninth signal bar on the screen was flashing and changing, gradually showing a tendency to be filled.

"The 13th floor."

Suddenly, Seventeen spoke in a low voice. Upon hearing this, Yu Qingshan and Kazama Ren turned to look at the number markings at the top of the stairs. After confirming that the number they saw was 13, the three of them silently moved forward and continued to move up the stairs.

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

This time, however, Yu Qingshan stopped after taking just one step upstairs and turned to look at the dark corridor outside the stairwell door.

When we went upstairs, the signal strength on our phones didn't increase; instead, it started to weaken. Clearly, the team's target was on this floor, and there was no need to go to any other floors.

The 13th floor? That's not a good number. It seems like there might be something extraordinary waiting for us on this floor.

"This is the floor. Be careful, there are definitely monsters guarding this place."

Yu Qingshan glanced at the floor marker at the stairwell again, his gaze lingering for a moment on the yellowed "13th floor," before opening the stairwell door first.

squeak-

A piercing noise came from under the door.

The door seemed to have been unopened for many years and was completely corroded. Even with the powerful boost from Yu Qingshan's perfect completion of the Dark Night level dungeon, he still felt a bit of difficulty opening the door.

Seventeen quickly stepped forward as Yu Qingshan opened the door, grabbed her camera, and aimed it at the entrance, ready to deal with any strange creatures that might appear there. Kazama Ren, on the other hand, stood back-to-back with Seventeen, perfectly positioned in the middle of the stairs, ensuring she could observe both the upward and downward sections simultaneously.

Regarding coordination in these actions, the three players didn't need any verbal communication; they could achieve perfect results instinctively. For players who had already traversed multiple instances of the "Sacrifice Game," this level of teamwork was taken for granted; after all, players who couldn't achieve this level of coordination usually wouldn't survive to this stage.

This time, however, the three vigilant players did not encounter anything unusual. At least until Yu Qingshan fully opened the door, nothing escaped.

"It still smells nauseating, but the corridor is safe for now. In any case, stay alert and keep moving forward."

Standing at the front, Yu Qingshan held his phone and observed the corridor for a while before whispering to the two people behind him and taking the first step into the dark corridor.

The dark red light emanating from the phone screen illuminated the fresh blood splattered on the ground and walls. For the player, this smell was all too familiar. Yu Qingshan couldn't even remember which mission he had been on when he became insensitive to blood, let alone the feeling of fainting from seeing blood when he was still an ordinary person after receiving an injection.

He simply crouched down, gently touched the blood on the ground with his axe, and after confirming that it was okay, touched it with his hand.

"The blood is from a living person, and the time should be within three hours. It's unlikely that someone could survive such a large amount of bleeding. The monsters active on this floor may have the ability to cause serious physical damage. Also, since no corpse was seen, we cannot rule out the possibility that the corpse was modified or that the monsters have some kind of collecting tendency."

As Yu Qingshan analyzed the situation, he looked up at the ceiling, his gaze sweeping over the mottled surface that resembled rotting flesh, before finally looking at the road ahead, still shrouded in darkness.

No trace of the strange object has been found yet.

As one of the few players who has perfectly cleared a dungeon, especially a high-difficulty dungeon of the Dark Night level (it took four months and four consecutive runs with different players to achieve a perfect clear), Yu Qingshan possesses a Dark Night-level blessing. This blessing originates from a diver who accidentally drowned in a deep cave, and its main effects are twofold. First, it significantly increases Yu Qingshan's lung capacity, allowing him to maintain activity for at least half an hour even in an oxygen-deprived environment. This activity time is not reduced by Yu Qingshan's strenuous activity, making it a blessing that can be useful in crucial moments.

The second ability of this blessing, the one Yu Qingshan is currently struggling to use, is an enhancement of his observational skills. With this passive ability, Yu Qingshan can quickly identify and analyze various complex environments, thus rapidly locating hidden objects such as monsters, treasure chests, and secret passages. Furthermore, when activated underwater, this passive ability can forcibly calm impurities in the water, creating a clearly visible area.

So far, no trace of the strange creature has been found in the corridor, which is good news. However, it is also possible that the other party has already ambushed us somewhere. Let's hope it's not the latter.

As they moved forward, the blood in the corridor began to increase.

Most of the blood that had been splattered had dried, but some pools of blood were still wet, and stepping on them would even cause blood to splatter.

Obviously, under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a person to bleed this much. Therefore, there must be either a large number of victims or some abnormal effect has spread in the blood, making it appear so dense.

Despite the lack of evidence, Yu Qingshan suspected it was the latter, instinctively feeling that the blood in the corridor belonged to him alone.

"A record has been found, but it's uncertain whether there is any cognitive hazard involved. Seventeen, come and see, Kazama Ren and I are on alert."

Amidst the pool of blood, a messy mark on the wall caught Yu Qingshan's attention. However, he didn't examine it closely, immediately switching positions with his teammate. Seventeen simply nodded and quickly stood in front of the wall with the writing, while Yu Qingshan and Kazama Ren flanked Seventeen, both turning sideways to ensure they could simultaneously see Seventeen's expression and the situation in the corridor, while remaining oblivious to the writing on the wall.

"The text was written in blood. The camera is not responding yet, so it is assumed that there is no cognitive harm or other negative effects. These texts should have been left by a victim."

Seventeen stared at the blood-stained writing on the wall, still mixed with bits of flesh and blood, and frowned as he carefully read its contents.

I will ascend, I will attain eternal happiness, I am Tomo, I am Miyake Tomo.

I am happy, I will be happy, happiness will come to me, happiness will live in my body, happiness will be within me, happiness is mine, happiness belongs to me.

I'm in so much pain, so much pain, so much pain, but the doctor will heal me. The doctor will heal me with happiness. I will never be in pain again. I will be happy. I will be happy forever.

Happiness will tear through my skin, happiness will play inside my organs, happiness will dig open my head, happiness will suck my marrow. The doctor says this is happiness, the doctor says this is happiness, this is my happiness, happiness is already here with me, happiness is already within me.

Happiness has taken root and sprouted within me; happiness has grown within me. I will receive happiness; the doctor will give me happiness; the doctor will take me to a world of happiness. I will become a part of happiness; I am happiness; I am happiness; I am happiness.

I will be happy. Where did the doctor go? I should go to the world of happiness. The doctor is behind the door. I should go there. I should go, I should go. I will take happiness with me. Happiness will take me there. Happiness is taking me there.

To bring happiness to everyone, to ensure that all people are happy, I want to help doctors bring happiness to the world. Happiness is about helping doctors bring happiness to the world. I belong to happiness; I am happiness; I am happiness; I am happiness.

The world of happiness will be elevated, happiness will be eternal; it will surely be achieved, they will surely be achieved.

The distorted text, written entirely in blood, resembled the ravings of a madman, filled with incomprehensible, nonsensical things, as if the writer had been on drugs.

Seventeen silently gazed at the text, constantly monitoring his own state. His spirit was considered relatively resilient within the Sunflower Squad, but to say he was completely immune to mental corruption was wishful thinking. In reality, he only dared to take responsibility for observing these texts because of the unique core obsession—the [Corpse Camera]. Although this camera would spit out a photo of him being killed every day and curse him, it had an unexpected benefit: if Seventeen faced a life-threatening situation before dying in the manner depicted in the photo due to something completely unrelated, the cursed photo could, to some extent, avert disaster for him—a kind of humorous "I must be the one to kill you" kind of situation.

However, this time, the protection of the photo was not triggered. Although I could feel some faint tinnitus and dizziness, the blood words did not have any obvious residual corrupting power. It is estimated that the writer was just a poor person who was corrupted by the power of the supernatural tales, and the person was probably still alive when writing the words, so they did not carry a particularly strong aura of the supernatural.

"It might be some kind of parasitic or supernatural power. This record only has mild mental pollution, so it's not a big problem."

After carefully reading the text, Seventeen spoke earnestly to the two beside him. Yu Qingshan and Kazama Ren first carefully observed and examined Seventeen, preparing to quickly fix his head should anything go wrong. Fortunately, Seventeen was indeed fine this time, so he didn't need to experience what Kazama Ren and Wang Gui had gone through in the previous instance—being hit in the face with a brick repeatedly or slapped seven or eight times until he was spinning around.

"The word 'happiness' written here seems to refer to something else? Hmm... it does resemble some kind of parasite. Is the 'hospital' a place that breeds parasites?"

After confirming that there was no problem, Yu Qingshan quickly glanced at the blood-written words on the wall and then looked down at his fingers that had touched the blood.

I haven't sensed any problems, so everything should be fine. The "happiness" mentioned in this record shouldn't be something that can easily infiltrate a person's body. Anyway, I'll write down what's mentioned in the text first. Regardless of whether the record itself is true or false, I should at least be mentally prepared. It's about time to move on; the signal is almost at nine bars.

Thinking this, Yu Qingshan turned to the front of the corridor. After exchanging a few words with Seventeen and Kazama Ren, he continued walking.

This time, however, Yu Qingshan had only taken two steps forward when he sensed something was amiss. Following his intuition, he quickly observed and soon discovered that the source of the anomaly was a door to a room not far ahead in the corridor. Unlike the other tightly closed doors, this room's door was open, but there were no lights inside, so the room itself was hidden in darkness, and it wouldn't be immediately noticeable that the door was open unless one was paying close attention.

So, was the door open from the beginning, or was it opened after the three of us arrived?

Feeling increasingly uneasy, Yu Qingshan first warned his teammates, and then decided to go over and check the situation.

【Sizzling...】

The cell phone signal then increased to nine bars, which means it's possible the person is inside this house with the door open?

tread--

Take a few more steps forward and approach the open door.

Yu Qingshan, gripping his axe, exchanged a gesture with his companions and stepped into the room first, warily watching the figure sitting on the sofa with his back to Yu Qingshan, illuminated by the pale light of the television screen.

watch TV?

Wait a minute, that's not right. When I was outside the door, I couldn't see any light at all, but now that I'm inside, there's light!

Before Yu Qingshan could react, realizing something was wrong, the figure on the sofa slowly turned its head, looking at him with a force that could snap a neck. As it moved, the stench of blood in the room instantly intensified, and Yu Qingshan immediately felt his shoes get wet, looking down to see a layer of blood on the floor.

[...Happiness...I am happy...]

And that murmuring sound, accompanied by a suffocating chill, had already reached the player.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Sunflower Squad's Bloodstained Dimension Escape Time

The transition from a seemingly safe situation to a life-or-death crisis often takes less than a second.

Any player who has survived the hardships to this point understands this all too well. With the ever-changing and diverse rules of the supernatural tales, even with all the necessary preparations, players often find themselves in unexpected dangers, sometimes even facing certain death. Not to mention that their Sunflower Squad is currently incomplete, and they've entered a completely unknown supernatural realm with absolutely no prior information. In such circumstances, reacting in time to danger is incredibly difficult.

No, it should be said that choosing to join the rescue team and come to unfamiliar Tokyo to fight against the [Hospital], which is said to be even more powerful than the Red Moon level dungeon, was inherently a suicidal act, wasn't it? Even top-tier Red Moon level player teams like the Slacking Fish Gang could only serve as front-line support when facing the [Hospital], and it was difficult for them to independently hold the line. Second-rate Dark Night level player teams like the Sunflower Team would, frankly speaking, be nothing more than lowly minions filling the gaps if they joined.

So if you knew it would turn out this way, why did you make this choice in the first place?

After being drawn into the "Sacrifice Game" and experiencing countless near-death experiences, why would I do something so contrary to my personality and the player's willingness to do anything to survive?

Yu Qingshan hadn't expected that he could think of so many things and recall so many events in such a short time. He couldn't help but wonder if he had reached the last moment of his life and entered the replay stage of his memories.

【happiness……】

The thing sitting on the sofa had already stood up and reached out its withered, thin hand toward him.

A giant eyeball had appeared on the television screen, which was flashing with distorted light, and turned towards him without a trace of emotion.

The suffocating feeling of death gripped Yu Qingshan's throat with crystal clarity in that brief moment of breathing, making his whole body numb. He couldn't even muster the strength to back away; he could only watch helplessly as the deformed, withered arm reached out towards him, watching the fingers spread open one by one, extending as if to swallow him whole.

boom! ! !

The next moment, a burst of crimson light struck the monster, sending it flying and crashing into the wall. The television displaying the eyeball was also blasted away, tumbling twice in mid-air before slamming into the screen.

Amidst the blinding crimson light, Yu Qingshan himself was thrown away by the impact, crashing through the ground and landing on a floor below.

Because he was already a player, the impact of this magnitude had no effect on Yu Qingshan. In fact, he even had the energy to observe his surroundings. Therefore, he was able to clearly see that cracks of all sizes had spread throughout the apartment building, and that something seemed to be wriggling inside each crack, with dark red blood seeping out continuously.

The surrounding environment is changing.

As the eerie creatures inside the apartment begin to stir, the entire building transforms, with a crimson color spreading continuously. The walls, floors, and even the furnishings inside are constantly twisting, tearing, and piecing themselves back together.

When Yu Qingshan landed again, the surrounding environment had completely changed. Looking around, dark red blood spread down to his calves, and chaotic building structures stretched out in all directions. One after another, rotting corpses, bound by thick bandages and wire, stood in pools of blood, fixed in various poses. At the same time, accompanied by a sinister aura, Yu Qingshan clearly sensed something spying on this blood-soaked place. Something very powerful, perhaps a Red Moon-level monster, had descended upon this place and begun searching for the players present.

A trap? No, impossible. Mr. Gao's power has surpassed the Red Moon level of supernatural phenomena. Even if it's just a fragment of his domain, it should be able to point out the right direction. There must be a node inside this apartment building. Does that mean the enemy was prepared long ago?

Happiness... for everyone... happiness...

The sound of murmured words came from not far away.

Yu Qingshan stretched his body and looked at the signal display on his phone. He found that the signal had now stabilized at nine bars, and the tenth bar was starting to fill up.

Is it around here?