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

Hongxia, who was sitting next to Liang, stood up after catching her breath and quickly went to Xingge's side to check her wounds. Liang noticed that although Hongxia had also fallen and suffered a considerable injury, she had regained her ability to move normally, as if she could no longer feel the pain of her wounds.

Hmm, so it's the same for me. Even though I hit my head and broke it before, I'm not dizzy at all now, and I can clearly feel my strength increasing. Maybe this is the power that Mr. Takahashi gave me. It's that thing he mentioned... what was it called again... the Rule of Love? It sounds pretty strange, like a weird children's anime setting, but if I really had that kind of ability, I think it would be pretty good.

【■■■……】

Huh?

I think I heard a sound.

The sound gradually became blurred and could no longer be clearly identified.

Although he couldn't quite understand it, Liang instinctively knew that it was Gao Hai's voice.

【■■■……】

Was he saying something to himself?

Strange, I could hear him clearly before, but why can't I understand what he's saying now?

It's like a once-clear connection has become unstable; I can't figure out what's going on. Wait, could it be because my soul has returned to my body, causing my sensory abilities to decline and not reach the intensity of an astral projection state?

Realizing this, Liang quickly changed his state, allowing himself to once again enter the state of soul leaving his body.

Just as she had expected, in this state, Gao Hai's voice, which was originally inaudible, immediately became much clearer. However, strangely, although the voice was much clearer and the content could be discerned, Liang could only understand what the other person was saying.

[Cold...doll...picked up...blood...blood...]

Do you want me to pick up that doll?

Liang looked at the little doll lying on the ground not far away, the one that had attacked Xingge not long ago and almost killed this older young woman.

At this moment, the little doll lay motionless on the ground, seemingly without any unusual effects, merely a harmless toy. But Liang knew very well how destructive this thing could be. She believed that if anyone witnessed such a little doll tear a large chunk of flesh from a person with a single hand, they would feel the same fear towards this little creature as she did.

[The doll... picked up... the doll... was special... very special... the container...]

Gao Hai's voice continued to come through, and even though it was still difficult to recognize and only some phrases could be heard, it was enough for Liang to take action.

"call……"

Holding onto the counter, he slowly stood up.

At this moment, Hongxia, who was not far away, also helped Xingge up, saying that she wanted to go to Ogiyama Shizuko to borrow bandages or something to bandage Xingge.

Before taking a step, Liang glanced back at the glass counter behind him to make sure that no more swollen-faced monsters or anything like that would pop out of it before slowly walking up to the doll, squatting down, and picking it up.

"Hey, don't take that, it might be dangerous!"

When Xingge saw Liang make such a move, she instinctively reached out to stop him.

"No problem, it's Mr. Gao Hai who wants to see this doll. We were able to survive just now thanks to his help."

Liang casually offered an explanation, then focused his attention on the seemingly unremarkable doll.

This is a cartoonish squirrel-shaped doll with a strap around its neck so it can be carried around.

Judging by its appearance alone, this little creature could be considered cute, but after witnessing its ferocious display, Ryo could no longer feel any affection for it. At this moment, she was simply trying to unleash her senses to determine what was so special about this little creature that made Gao Hai actively send her a telepathic message.

Blood...your blood...use your blood...blood...to smear...to smear...

Through enhanced perception by the separation of his soul from his body, Ryo quickly heard the voice coming from Gao Hai's side again.

Use my blood to smear this stuff?

That sounds like a really strange request. What's the point of doing this? It feels like the prefix for some kind of cult ritual. But... well, since it's Mr. Gao Hai's decision, I'll just trust him.

After a moment's thought, Liang quickly came to the conclusion that no further thought was needed.

So she reached up and wiped her forehead, directly smearing the still-wet blood from her face onto the doll.

A faint red light shone from behind Liang, silently merging into the doll. The doll's expression gradually became more vivid, and the doll's eyes, which should theoretically be just decorations, even began to tremble, repeatedly closing and opening their eyes.

"This is……"

Liang vaguely realized what Gao Hai was planning to do.

"Mr. Gao Hai? Is he the one who posted the announcement telling us to stay in Fanxing? How could we be related to him? And Hongxia, your expression... you know this Gao Hai, right? Is that a man's or a woman's name? What's his relationship with you and the End Band?"

Xingge knew very little about Gao Hai, and when she heard Liang say this, she was stunned and couldn't understand the specific situation at all, so she turned her attention to Hongxia who was standing next to her.

"I've only met Mr. Gao Hai once, but he's incredibly strong, to the point that I don't even know how to describe it. If we could get his help, maybe we could escape from here faster?"

After a moment's thought, Hongxia gave this answer.

She didn't answer the question about "what kind of relationship," and Nijika subconsciously chose to avoid it. The reason was simple: during the time when Ichiri and Kita returned to the band and were preparing to resume their activities, both Ichiri and Kita expressed their relationship with Takami in different ways and provided some information about Takami's situation.

Scene 1: Goto Ichiri introduces Takami to Nijika and Ryo in an arrogant tone.

"Gao Hai is... he's my boyfriend. We... we've done everything, we've even crossed the adult threshold. We... we call each other 'darling' in private!"

Scene 2: Kita Iku uses a complicated tone to explain the relationship between herself and Takami to Ryo and Nijika.

"Mr. Gao, he's someone who saved my life. Without him, I'd probably be dead by now. No, I really am dead, and he brought me back to life. And although he's not exactly a model citizen in his private life, he's a good person at heart. Ah, as for our relationship... let's call it a romantic relationship. We've already kissed, and we've considered taking things further, but we don't have the time or inclination for that right now, since it's very likely that... ah, you don't need to know that."

Scene 3: Goto Ichiri and Kita Ikuyo explain to Nijika and Ryo about Takami's personal life.

"Well, well, although he does have many girlfriends, as long as Gao Hai remembers me, as long as he asks me out at least once a month, as long as he doesn't forget me, I... I'll be perfectly content!"

"It's not that exaggerated. I'd only confront him if it really got to that point. Ah, Nijika-chan and Ryo-senpai, you don't need to worry too much. Yes, Pochi-chan and I are both Mr. Gao's girlfriends, and he has five other girlfriends besides us. It sounds exaggerated, but it's actually quite normal for players. Don't worry about our relationship. It's really nothing to worry about this kind of situation."

To be honest, the way either Ichiri or Kita explained their relationship issues caused Nijika a very serious emotional blow.

She simply couldn't believe that two of her bandmates would fall for the same man and then share him with five other women. It was too depraved, too horrible, too unbelievable. Whatever the reason, Hongxia couldn't accept it at all.

Well, Ryo did say that it was very rock and roll, and became even more interested in Takami, approaching Ichiri and Kita several times to express her desire to meet him. However, Ichiri and Kita were probably aware of Takami's situation and were very secretive about it, never bringing Ryo and Takami to meet him even once.

Hongxia had almost completely forgotten these things because she hadn't seen Gao Hai again since. But for some reason, when Xingge asked "what kind of relationship" today, Hongxia inexplicably recalled these things, and her mind suddenly became chaotic. She tried very hard to control her expression so as not to act too out of line.

What happened next was completely unexpected for Hongxia.

I've only met Ms. Hongxia and Ms. Liang a few times; we're somewhere between strangers and ordinary friends.

They know me, not only because I saved their lives, but mainly because of Ichiri and Kita.

[Both Ichiri and Kita are my girlfriends, and I'm dating them both at the same time. So, they occasionally tell Nijika and Ryo about me, and that's how they've learned quite a bit about me. Of course, their understanding of my abilities only started recently.]

A slow, deliberate male voice, tinged with a hint of weariness, suddenly rang out in the hall.

Upon hearing the voice, Hongxia was stunned for a moment before realizing the possible situation. She immediately relaxed and showed an undisguised expression of relief. She then looked towards the source of the voice and saw Liang standing expressionlessly not far away, with the squirrel plush toy hanging on Liang's chest.

Huh?

Where is Mr. Gao?

And that little squirrel plush toy—isn't that the one that hurt her sister before? How did it suddenly end up hanging around Liang's neck? And the toy looks a bit strange. Is it breathing? Are its eyes looking around? Isn't it a rag doll? And those eyes can actually move and rotate?!

"Who...who's speaking?!"

Startled, Xingge shouted, looking around nervously as she couldn't find the source of the sound. Although she appeared brave, Hongxia guessed that if something scary were to suddenly appear, her sister might be so frightened that she would sit down on the ground.

[It's me speaking. Don't look around. Here, yes, right here, this doll. I've taken control of this obsessive object.]

"Hey hey hey hey?!"

As Hongxia expected, when Liang walked up and the doll around her neck actually started to wave, Xingge, who realized that the doll that had almost killed her a minute ago had come back to life, turned pale and staggered back a step in fright, actually sitting directly on the ground.

"You don't need to be this scared, do you? This doll does pose a certain degree of danger, but to be honest, it's not very strong. It scratched you a few times, but it only caused minor scratches. There's no need to be this afraid."

The squirrel doll, as if it were a living person, crossed its arms and shook its head, its expression towards Xingge carrying a human-like sense of helplessness.

"You...you...what are you?!"

Still not understanding what was going on, Xingge took a few steps back, using her bottom as feet to move around on the floor, and pointed incoherently at the doll on Liang's neck, shouting.

"I am Gao Hai, the one who gave you the survival rules and saved your life. I didn't expect the enemy to use the method of blocking the sewers to invade the indoor environment; that was indeed my mistake, and I've now fixed that oversight. As long as you can find a way to escape this instance area and return to the real world, you won't need to worry about being invaded again once you return to Starry Sky. Ah, however, I can't do anything about the monster that has already invaded, so even if you find a way back, you'll still have to find a way to deal with that intruder."

As for this doll, it's actually an object of obsession. You can think of it as a tool born from a supernatural being, usable by humans. Previously, your inability to pass the identity verification activated this object, leading to your attack. After completing the verification, it temporarily lost its activity. I took this opportunity to have Miss Liang perform a basic blood sacrifice-like mystical ritual, thus remotely controlling the doll. Currently, I'm actually controlling this doll from a great distance to communicate with you. Next, I will try to use this doll to help you survive.

Gao Hai had no intention of being a riddle teller and frankly explained his situation and plans.

For Hongxia and Liang, who had already encountered supernatural beings beforehand, understanding these things wasn't too difficult, so they grasped the gist of it after listening. However, Xingge, having never experienced anything like this before, and with such a major development right from the start—the entire city's anomaly and her accidental entry into a ghost city—felt dizzy watching the talking doll chatter on and on. It was as if she saw her long-deceased mother waving at her from across a great river. After swaying for a while, she simply rolled her eyes and fainted.

"Hey, hey, hey? Sister, why did you just fall down like that?!"

This startled Hongxia. She quickly helped Xingge up and carefully confirmed that the other party had simply fainted due to exhaustion and excessive mental tension before she relaxed a little.

For adults who already have their own worldview, their ability to accept unexpected things might indeed be somewhat lower than that of younger people. However, this is not the main issue to worry about right now. I have a lot of troubles on my plate, and to be honest, I can offer you very little help. Even remote communication like this can't always be maintained, so I'll first share with you what I came up with after communicating with Ms. Liang.

Regarding Xingge's coma, Gao Hai, who was controlling the puppet, didn't say much and quickly changed the subject to the main point.

[First of all, the spatial distortion you are experiencing now was caused by triggering the identity recognition rules. Now that you have passed the recognition, things should recover soon. At that time, you will see the other three survivors again and obtain a room key for this apartment.]

However, regardless of which room key you obtain, I do not recommend that you proceed immediately. The main reason is the issue regarding the three survivors that Ms. Liang mentioned to me. The woman named Hondou Haruka is in a very abnormal mental state. It's possible that she is a fairy, the kind of idiot who would continue to provoke even if someone came to her with a knife, but it's also possible that her mental state has been influenced by some force. Without more known information, I believe that the process of obtaining the key and entering the room may involve some kind of identity or cognitive contamination, so this step should be postponed.

My advice is to try to endure your injuries if possible. First, explore the entire first floor of the apartment building. Make a note of any unusual doors or rooms you see. Also, scout the inner plaza on the first floor. Often, relying solely on a rule table isn't enough to truly identify safe and dangerous zones within a dungeon. What's truly important are the records likely left by survivors; they might hold the key to the truth.

[Furthermore, my remote communication through this doll consumes the power of the Crimson Domain, specifically the red-glowing computer. That thing doesn't have much energy left and won't last much longer; you need to find a way to replenish it. Replenishing its power is extremely difficult for you in your current state, and I'll explain that in more detail later. But at least for now, you need a clear direction and can't keep running around aimlessly.]

[Let's make the first-floor corridor and inner plaza our primary targets. And also, Sister Xingge, Miss Hongxia, please wake your sister. A rough approach is fine; now's not the time for her to adjust on her own. Let's focus on saving her life first.]

Gao Hai spoke very quickly, as if someone was urging him on. He finished speaking without taking a breath, and then pointed to Iji Chisei, who was being supported by Hong Xia and was still unconscious.

"...Okay, I understand. Whew, I'm sorry, sister."

Although Hongxia still had many questions to ask, she could understand the urgency of the situation. She took a deep breath, raised her little hand, and slapped her sister across the face.

Didn't wake up.

"You can use a little more force; that kind of force won't wake you up."

Liang offered a sharp commentary on this.

"I know, I've never done this before, and I don't know how to control my strength."

Hongxia blushed slightly, hurriedly retorted to Liang, then reached out, took a deep breath, and then hit Xingge hard again.

Still not awake.

I think at this point, there's no need to gently stroke your sister's cheek. Be direct and decisive, treat her like a drum and give her a few good whacks. Maybe that will make things better.

Gao Hai also gave a serious evaluation of this.

"Oh, I know that too, I just've never hit anyone before. Oh well, I'm sorry, sister!"

Hongxia, who was getting anxious again, became serious after a brief hesitation.

Then, she grabbed Xingge's shoulder with one hand and used the other hand to quickly leave more than thirty palm prints on Xingge's cheeks.

Crackling crackling crackling crackling crackling—