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

Yurikawa Hana, who was sharing sweets with Sai Emi, noticed Miko's actions, wiped her mouth and asked, and also wanted to stand up.

"Something unexpected happened with our seniors, and they urgently need support. Kita and I have to leave now."

Seeing that Zi didn't say much, he briefly explained the situation and then turned his attention to Yu Qingshan, the captain of the Sunflower Squad.

"I understand. The Sunflower Squad will take your family and friends to a safe shelter."

Without needing to say anything more, Yu Qingshan, who had already realized that the current situation was no small matter, immediately replied seriously. Li Ling, the vice captain beside him, also nodded repeatedly, indicating that she would never allow Yotsuya Touko and Yurikawa Hana to be harmed.

"Oh, so Komiko's going to a dangerous place again? Um, can I...?"

"No, Xiaohua, you can't possibly participate in a battle of this scale. Don't overthink it. And Mom, you take care of yourself too."

Knowing what her best friend was thinking, Miko didn't wait for Xiaohua to finish speaking before denying her without hesitation. Then, she looked at her worried mother, left a slightly apologetic remark, opened the bus window, and jumped out with Kita Yuyo, quickly making their way through the dark city towards the area where she sensed something was wrong.

Rumble, rumble——

In the distance, you could hear the sound of something collapsing.

A skyscraper shattered and collapsed downwards, yet it seemed as if something was slowly swallowing it up from the bottom.

The ground continued to tremble, and a sinister, twisted aura spread outwards. This level of aura was beyond what a few strange creatures could match. Both Miko and Kita could clearly feel that this was the intense aura generated by the power of the dungeon world pouring directly into reality.

Miko and Kita accelerated, moving at an unprecedented speed that humans could never achieve, between the distorted and alienated cities.

Every now and then, some clueless monsters would block their way. At this time, either Miko would hit them with a mental spike and send them flying, Kita would pin them to the wall with a throwing knife, or they would simply be crushed to the ground by gravity field. Even the Crimson Moon level monsters were now completely unable to stop the two girls who possessed the power of blessing, and could not even attract their attention.

"This direction is... Shimokitazawa, Nijika-chan?! Ryo-senpai?!"

As the two moved forward, Kita noticed that the surrounding scenery was gradually becoming familiar, and his expression changed accordingly.

"The target of the attack must be Goto-kun."

Upon realizing the area they were in, Miko immediately understood the true objective of the "hospital."

"Poke-chan? Why Poke-chan? Ah... that's right, if I have to have a goal, it can only be Poke-chan."

Kita didn't immediately understand what he was saying, but after subconsciously asking a question, she immediately realized what he meant, and her little hands involuntarily clenched into fists.

It's perfectly normal for the hospital to choose Goto Ichiri as its target.

After all, among the girls who received the blessing power, if one had to choose the strongest, it would only be Goto Ichiri.

Whether it's the guitar that was once a top-tier Crimson Moon-level core obsession item and has now become a Crimson Moon-level blessing item, or the blessings that are almost entirely designed to enhance frontal combat capabilities and greatly boost Goto Ichiri's already extraordinary combat power, they have all elevated this socially awkward girl's strength to a rather terrifying level.

Especially considering the guitar's ability to create clones and its short-time manipulation capabilities, it can be said that Ichiri's ability to save the day and counter various traps is already at its maximum. Even if the hospital wants to organize its forces to launch a counterattack against Ichiri, it is easy for them to finally gain an advantage, only to have it wiped out by Ichiri casually strumming his guitar a few times.

Therefore, from the hospital's perspective, Goto Ichiri is undoubtedly the second most important target after Yotsuya Miko.

Unlike Miko, who is weaker and could be overwhelmed by a group of high-level fighters, Ichiri's direct combat ability is sufficient to confront the top-tier forces of the [Hospital]. If Ichiri cannot be defeated quickly, the outcome will be uncertain once Takahiro's will descends. Especially after the recent incident where Takahiro destroyed the [Psychiatrist's] clone, thus injuring the [Psychiatrist's] main body, the [Hospital] has truly confirmed the extent of Takahiro's combat power while he is stuck in the process of ascending to godhood. Therefore, these evil beings hiding in the instance know very well that a simple targeted operation would likely not be enough to defeat Ichiri.

So what the hospital prepared for this was this... a trap big enough to engulf the entire Shimokitazawa region?

The closer they got, the more terrifying the aura became to Jianzi, and her expression grew increasingly solemn.

Meanwhile, in the dungeon world, Ichiji Nijika, who was in the monitoring room of the safe house, was carefully watching the monitor in front of her.

All the surveillance cameras are pointed at the inside of the apartment, so there's absolutely no problem.

A vague unease settled in the girl's heart. Not long ago, a strange, loud noise had suddenly come from outside, and the apartment had also been affected, experiencing eerie tremors. Afterwards, Hongxia went to the monitoring room, hoping to confirm what had happened through the surveillance footage. However, since the surveillance cameras in the safe house did not cover the area outside the Zhenyang Apartment, no matter how closely Hongxia observed, she could not find anything unusual. It was as if the terrifying earthquake and loud noise had just been her hallucination, and everything around her was as normal as ever.

Still no findings?

At the entrance to the monitoring room, Fujiwara Toyomi asked cautiously, his face showing undisguised worry.

"No abnormalities have been found yet. We might only be able to find the problem by going outside. But given our current situation, it's unlikely we can actually go outside."

Hongxia shook her head, and after confirming once again that there were no problems with the surveillance footage, she sighed and prepared to leave the monitoring room.

Staying in the monitoring room for an extended period was definitely not a good idea. After all, the monitoring response plan clearly outlined the potential problems that might arise when using the monitoring room. Hongxia wasn't very brave, and she didn't want to experience the feeling of encountering a supernatural event again. Especially now that Gao Hai wasn't around to protect her, and she only had a few protective items emitting red light, Hongxia was well aware that she wasn't cut out to be a player and had absolutely no intention of taking any risks.

[Sizzle…]

However, sometimes, even if you think you have made a decision, unexpected situations can still lead things in an unknown direction.

"There is a situation."

As Hongxia spoke, she quickly walked to the monitor.

At that moment, she clearly saw a group of panicked people rushing into the lobby of the apartment building. The group included men and women, young and old, dressed in clothes from all walks of life, but they were all equally terrified and desperately trying to escape.

Are there more survivors who have accidentally wandered into the instance?

Isn't this quantity a bit too much?

Just by a rough visual estimate, there were at least twenty people.

This number of ordinary people accidentally entered the instance and managed to reach the entrance of the Sheep Nest Apartment alive. If we consider a more bleak scenario, many survivors might have already been killed on their way here…

[They've caught up—they've caught up! Close the door! Close the door! Close the door! Close the door!]

The cries of survivors in the lobby were transmitted through the surveillance footage and rang clearly in the monitoring room.

No! No, wait, wait a minute! My husband and children are outside!

[Hurry, come here! Everyone come here quickly!]

[If you don't close the door, all those monsters will come! Close the door right now!!!!]

My son is still outside, you can't close the door, absolutely not!

[Mom! Come quick, run over here!]

Who cares if your families can get here! If those monsters get in, everyone will die!

Chaos, noise, screams, crying, roaring...

The survivors who had already entered the hall were in complete chaos. Some huddled in corners crying out, some gathered by the door shouting outwards, and others had already started fighting amongst themselves. Before the monsters even came to harm them, these survivors were already fighting amongst themselves, hurting each other over whether or not to close the door.

However, this situation ended quickly before Hongxia could take any action.

【Ahhhhh, I'm here, I'm here, I'm here!——】

Amidst terrified screams, Hongxia only saw a woman running and crying into the apartment building from the surveillance footage. But just as she reached into the apartment, something grabbed her ankle from behind, causing her to scream and fall to the ground, where she was dragged back outside.

The woman struggled desperately, her long fingernails digging into the ground until they were torn open and bleeding profusely, but even that couldn't stop the force dragging her from behind.

The apartment door closed automatically as no one dared to approach, and the woman's arm, which had been almost completely dragged outside, was severed by the door. Amidst spurting blood, the severed arm flew up due to the force of the closing door and landed among the survivors in the lobby, immediately triggering a round of screams.

[Thump—]

Then, the screams of the survivors were interrupted by a heavy explosion outside the door. A large amount of blood poured in from the cracks in the door, and shrill cries and the sound of bones and flesh being crushed and shattered by something could be clearly heard from outside the door, silencing all the survivors.

A deathly silence spread.

The survivors in the hall looked towards the door, trembling, and for a moment they didn't even dare to make a sound.

Hongxia didn't know what they had seen. The surveillance camera in the lobby on the first floor couldn't see what was outside the door, as that area happened to be a blind spot for the camera. But after witnessing such a horrifying scene, this kind-hearted girl couldn't bear it any longer and decided to take action.

"Wait a minute, are you planning to go out and help those people?"

Fujiwara Manho, who had been drawn to the commotion in the monitoring room, witnessed the horrific scene as well, but made no move whatsoever. Instead, noticing the change in Nijika's expression and realizing what she was about to do, the middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to block Nijika's path.

“They will die if they continue like this. Although this apartment building can keep out the monsters outside, it is not safe inside either.”

When Hongxia saw an adult coming out to stop her, she subconsciously took a step back, but when she thought about the situation of those people, she still spoke seriously.

"Even if you go out, you can't save them; on the contrary, you might die outside."

Fujiwara Manho shook her head and spoke directly without any pretense, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of Nijika's older sister, Ijichi Seika, who shouted, "What did you say?" and stepped forward, blocking Nijika's way and glaring at Fujiwara Manho.

“I’m not exaggerating or trying to scare your sister. Miss Xingge, you’re an adult, and you should understand that those people in the lobby on the first floor are terrified. Their next move is completely unpredictable. Organizing them, even getting them to obediently walk to the third floor and into the safe house, will require immense organizational skills. We only have a few women here who can move, and even if we go out, it will be difficult to persuade these frightened birds. On the contrary, we are more likely to get caught up in their trap.”

Fujiwara Maho glanced at her eldest daughter, Fujiwara Toyomi, beside her, and her youngest daughter, Fujiwara Moeha, who was taking care of her unconscious father, Fujiwara Daichi, not far away. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Hoshika and Nijika and explained earnestly.

Clearly, Hongxia and Xingge understood this principle as well, but seeing the group of people crying and shouting in the monitoring room, they felt uneasy.

"We do not have the power to help others right now, and acting rashly will only lead to bad results."

"In the end, the fact that we are alive and well in this safe house is not due to our own efforts, but to the power of Mr. Gao Hai."

"If we act irresponsibly and impulsively, and end up getting ourselves into trouble, we will have failed Mr. Gao Hai in his efforts to rescue us. So, please, for now, we can only stand by and watch these people."

Fujiwara no Manho sighed deeply and tried to persuade her once again.

"Is there... really no way they can help...?"

Hongxia bit her lip and said in a low voice, unwilling to give up. She understood the reasoning behind Fujiwara Manho's words and could not strengthen her resolve to leave the safe zone to find those people.

It was at this moment that Xingge saw her younger sister becoming upset. She opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Frustrated, she turned her gaze back to the surveillance cameras behind her, which had now fallen silent, and then she froze.

People on the surveillance cameras are watching her.

In the lobby, where the surveillance cameras were located, the survivors who had just been crying and shouting with various expressions were now staring blankly at Xingge as she turned around, looking at her through the camera lens.

A chill ran down Xingge's spine in an instant, especially after she noticed that the faces of the survivors seemed familiar. Recalling certain contents of the response form, Xingge realized something was wrong and quickly pulled Hongxia out of the monitoring room, closing the door behind them.

Found it...

Faintly, I seemed to hear some sounds coming from the monitoring room.

However, Xingge was already covered in a cold sweat and didn't have the energy to pay attention to such things for the time being.

Splash—splash—

It looks like it's starting to rain outside.

Although they didn't know how they could hear such sounds from inside the safe house, the people inside the house definitely heard the sound of rain falling.

slam-la-

slam-la-

The rain seemed to fall endlessly, as if it would never stop.

Goto Ichiri, carrying a guitar, walked slowly through the shattered ruins, then stopped and looked around.

A thick layer of malice has enveloped us through various means.

Whatever is hiding in the darkness, it has now locked onto itself.

Therefore, all that's left to do is fight.

The girl's deep blue eyes revealed no emotion.

She simply took down her guitar and silently watched the first strange creatures to appear. Her fingers gently strummed the guitar, and an invisible force immediately spread out from the girl.