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

Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Suspicious Team of Survivors and a Seemingly Ordinary Situation.

Without any warning or preparation, Shizuko Ogiyama, wearing glasses, and several unfamiliar men and women appeared in front of Nijika and Seika.

"Nijika and Hoshika, it's so good that you two are still alive. By the way, have you seen where Torio-san is? I don't know where Hondou has gone. Although he's a very troublesome person, to be honest, I still hope that she can live."

As if nothing unusual had happened, Shizuko Ogiyama smiled and asked Nijika and Hoshika, appearing even more cheerful than before.

"I……"

How should we deal with this situation?

Hongxia, who was completely unprepared for this, was momentarily stunned.

Having read the temporary rules issued by Fujiwara Chika, and having already encountered "monsters with unidentified appearances that could make the sounds of a baby crying and laughing" and "people who went about their own business," the girl, who originally thought she was prepared to face anything, now felt her head burning up and unable to think straight as she looked at Ogiyama Shizuko, who appeared in front of her so nonchalantly.

"What's wrong with you? Why do you look so strange? Did something happen?"

As Nijika Hoshika remained silent for a moment, Ogiyama Shizuko couldn't help but show a strange expression, looking at the two of them with a puzzled look and a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

"It's nothing, we're fine. We were just a little surprised to run into someone we knew. After all, we'd been separated for so long, we thought it would be hard to run into the same people again."

The next moment, Xingge saw that Hongxia was unsure how to answer, so she took the initiative to speak.

"Ah, sister?"

Hongxia was surprised that Xingge would make the decision to communicate with the other party. She was so surprised that she wanted to speak, but Xingge immediately warned her with her eyes. Then the girl understood what her sister was planning.

From the moment they clashed head-on, communication became inevitable. Choosing to avoid it at this point might trigger even bigger problems. Therefore, after a brief moment of thought, Xingge decided to take the initiative to communicate with the other person. That way, if anything went wrong, Hongxia, who hadn't engaged in the "communication," might not be affected. This could be seen as a way of verifying the rules, although if something went wrong, one of them might have to confess on the spot.

“That’s true. After all, we were separated for a while, and I can’t even remember why we broke up. But it’s fate that we’ve met again. So let’s work together to find a way to survive in this strange place and leave.”

For a moment, Shizuko Ogiyama seemed momentarily bewildered by Hoshika's words. But she quickly regained her smile and continued the conversation quite naturally.

According to Shizuko Ogiyama herself, she was peacefully reviewing her notes for an exam in room 109 when she suddenly heard a strange noise outside. Puzzled, Shizuko didn't disturb Mami Torio, who was busy working, or Haruka Hondo, who was getting ready to go to the ballroom. Instead, she went to check the situation herself, only to find that the outside world had completely transformed. Furthermore, when she turned back, room 109 itself had become abnormal, and she couldn't find her way back.

Then, she began to investigate her surroundings, trying to find a way to leave as soon as possible to continue her studies. Along the way, she encountered several other survivors who had also been caught up in this strange world, a total of five people: Midori Saeko, Nakatani Yoshimi, Kasagawa Asaka, Akita Shinji, and Hisaya Yuu.

Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani, two women dressed as hotel staff, are front desk employees at a high-end hotel. They were hiding in their dormitory at the hotel when, for some unknown reason, the ground suddenly shook violently, and they found themselves on a gloomy street. After experiencing a series of terrifying chases, they escaped into an apartment building. During their continued escape, they discovered that the entire apartment building was suddenly undergoing strange changes, and by the time they realized what was happening, it had become like this.

Kasakawa Asaka and Aketa Shinji, a man and a woman in suits, were employees of a sales company. Before the disaster, their boss wouldn't let them go home late at night, forcing everyone to gather for meetings and motivational speeches. Both Asakawa and Shinji were already tired and almost couldn't listen to what their boss was saying, thinking about when they could go home and just let the company explode. Then, the monsters began to appear. At first, the boss was unaware of what was happening. He went to check the door after hearing a knock and was instantly torn apart by the monsters. The two employees, along with others, scattered and fled while being chased by the monsters. Finally, the two hid in a changing room, where, after a violent earthquake, they found themselves there. Their subsequent experiences were similar to those of Midori Saeko.

As for Yuuji Hisaya, he was a nearly sixty-year-old bachelor. This elderly man knew nothing; he had gone to bed early and was sleeping soundly when he opened his eyes to find himself in another world. Therefore, he was the only one among the group wearing fleece pajamas and a nightcap. Despite his age, he maintained a regular exercise routine, allowing him to escape with the rest of the group after the disaster. Unlike the others who were only concerned with survival, Hisaya noticed that the strange changes in the apartment seemed to start from the first floor and gradually spread upwards. He suspected that something might have happened on the first floor or in the basement that caused the current situation. He mentioned this to the others, but since no one had found a way to the first floor or the basement, they could only keep this in mind for now.

Basement?

As Hongxia listened to Yuyuu Hisaya's account, she couldn't help but think of the burial pit in the basement, the corridor that belonged to the painter Koz, and the several studios.

Could the problem be in that area?

Could it be that some survivors have wandered into that area? That... seems unlikely. The distance from the lobby to the studios is quite far. It's improbable that someone would go to such a place, and even if they did, they wouldn't care whether the studios were normal or not and just barge in. There shouldn't be anyone like that, right?

Hongxia wanted to deny the possibility of this, but Xingge, who was already an adult and familiar with the diversity of human beings, couldn't help but sigh softly.

What on earth is this all about?

She should have kept the monitoring room locked up the whole time and never bothered with it. If she hadn't seen what was inside, no matter what happened outside, nothing unusual would have occurred inside the safe house. That way, she and Hongxia wouldn't have ended up here, facing the chaos caused by the other survivors.

Xingge silently grumbled a few words to herself, but didn't show it on her face. During their brief exchange, she carefully observed the survivors around Ogiyama Shizuko, but didn't notice anything obviously abnormal. However, considering the reappearance of Ogiyama Shizuko, a supposedly dead person, Xingge felt it was best to remain somewhat suspicious and not trust these people too much; she had to be prepared to run away at any time.

"In any case, let's continue to explore our surroundings. Staying in one place will definitely not lead us to a way out."

Shizuko Ogiyama herself barely participated in the survivors' conversations and didn't care what they said. After they finished speaking, seeing that no one spoke for a while, she calmly addressed everyone and then walked forward on her own, investigating the various classrooms around her.

"Okay, okay, we'll help too."

Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi seemed like the kind of people who lacked their own opinions. Despite being adults, they only followed Ogiyama Shizuko after she spoke, cautiously investigating the situation in the classroom. However, in Hoshika's opinion, rather than investigating the surrounding classrooms, it was more like they habitually stuck together, wanting to follow those who had their own opinions—nothing more.

"Even if we say we're going to investigate, we have absolutely no idea how to investigate along the way. To put it bluntly, it's just about opening different doors to see where they lead, right?"

Asaka Kasakawa scratched her head, the short-haired woman looking somewhat agitated. But Hoshika could hear the suppressed fear in her voice. She guessed that this person was probably dissatisfied with the current situation, desperately wanting to escape but unable to find the right way, and at the same time, somewhat resentful of this small, grouped together. Hmm… she didn't know what she resented. Although Hoshika, as an adult, had met many people, she was far from being able to read minds directly. Therefore, at this moment, she only vaguely sensed that Asaka Kasakawa's emotions were a bit off.

"Alright, alright, there's nothing else to do right now, isn't there? We need to get started."

Aketa Shinji, who was traveling with Kasagawa Asaka, seemed to be a nice guy and a peacemaker. Although he looked somewhat bewildered, he still spoke up for Ogiyama Shizuko and the others who had already started their operation, urging his companions to follow along.

"I'm afraid that when I open the door I'll see something scary on the other side. Oh well, I'll just go and look for it first."

"Right, right, I told you to take action first, since there's no other way right now."

During their conversation, Asaka Kasagawa and Shinji Aketa caught up with Shizuko Ogiyama's group.

"Have you two met that young student, Ogiyama, before?"

Hisashi Yuu didn't rush to act. While everyone else started moving forward, the old man stopped and turned to look at Nijika and Hoshika with a somewhat inquisitive expression.

"I've only met him before, so I was a little surprised to see him again."

Hoshika stood in front of Nijika and looked at Hisaya Yuuko quite naturally.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense. After all, this place is quite unusual. It's fate that we can run into someone we've met before."

With a calm sigh, Hisaya Yuu turned around and prepared to follow Ogiyama Shizuko and the others ahead.

"Mr. Hisaya, when did you meet Ogiyama?"

Xingge then asked in a low voice.

"Well, it's in a library. According to the little girl, it's the library she used to go to study and read all the time. As for the others, Ms. Midori and Ms. Nakatani met me after me at a small convenience store. She said it was a store she frequented on her way to and from school. Ms. Kasakawa and Mr. Aketa met me before me. According to them, they went into a house that looked exactly like Ogiyama's house. In short, we met her in about these places and walked all the way here."

Hisaya Yuu didn't turn around, but spoke casually to Hoshika and Nijika, and slowly followed the group ahead.

Xingge found this leisurely attitude somewhat strange. She felt that the old man wasn't in a hurry to leave, nor was he particularly afraid of this distorted space teeming with all sorts of eerie things. Xingge even had a vague feeling that this person had completely adapted to this place, and had begun to treat it as if it were his home or a park near his residence, as if he were enjoying this environment.

Are you kidding me? Would anyone actually consider this godforsaken place their home?

Xingge really wanted to confront her, but reason made her keep all her words to herself and not show any weakness on her face.

"Sister, what should we do now?"

Hongxia was very anxious because Xingge had been communicating on her behalf the whole time, but she couldn't think of any way to help. So she had to wait until Xingge finished communicating and everyone else had gone far away before she approached her and asked her in a low voice.

"...It's not good to leave directly now, and we can't find any way out. Let's stay a little distance away and follow them. If we find a way out, we'll leave immediately. By the way, you must not speak at all during the conversation, no matter what. These people don't seem right to me. I have this computer protection, so I can talk to them myself."

Xingge lowered his head and thought for a while, then lowered his voice to speak to Hongxia.

Hongxia wanted to express her desire to do something more, as she didn't want Xingge to share too much of her burden. However, she didn't say a word, simply nodded silently to Xingge, and obediently continued following her.

“Miss Ijichi, and your sister, you two, hurry up a bit, why are you lagging behind?”

At this moment, Shinji Akita turned around and found that Nijika and Hoshika were far apart, so he called out to them.

"We'll catch up."

Xingge quickly gave an answer, and led Hongxia to follow behind the group, continuing to observe their actions.

Shizuko Ogiyama kept opening the doors around the corridor and going into the classrooms behind them to observe. She would stay inside for a while and then come out.

Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani followed closely behind Shizuko Ogiyama the entire time. It seemed that the two of them simply felt safer by Shizuko's side, but Hoshika couldn't help but wonder if they were also not quite normal, and she felt a sense of unease and repulsion towards them.

Kasakawa Asaka kept a certain distance from the three people in front of her, and always kept a safe distance when the door opened. She seemed quite vigilant, and gave the impression of being a normal survivor. However, Hoshika felt that it was too early to make a judgment, and that she needed to observe more carefully.

As for Shinji Aketa, who was traveling with Asaka Kasagawa, he stayed close to the other three, basically hovering around them. He would frequently ask Shizuko Ogiyama questions, seeming to be a kind and curious person. Occasionally, when he noticed that the people following behind were too far away, he would call for them to catch up, or he would step away from the three in front and come over to signal the others to follow him. Hmm… he seemed fairly normal, the kind of person who was careless and not very oblivious to unusual surroundings. Hoshika thought that regardless of whether there was anything wrong with him, she should minimize contact with him.

The best among them was Hisaya Yuu, who was quite far from the group ahead, but very close to Hoshika and Nijika, who were deliberately keeping their distance from each other. He maintained a leisurely demeanor, which made Hoshika feel somewhat pressured. She suspected the old man was suspicious, and at the same time, she vaguely felt that his problems might not be related to Ogiyama Shizuko, but rather a different kind of danger. Therefore, she and Nijika deliberately kept their distance even further, focusing a significant portion of their attention on him.

Tread - Tread -

The sound of their footsteps was particularly clear in the empty school corridor.

“I’ve been in this classroom before. I used this classroom for self-study. Look, there are words carved on this desk. This is my usual seat. There aren’t many students at my school, so even if I carved words on my seat, no one would care, and no one would take my seat.”

At the front, Shizuko Ogiyama entered another classroom and began telling the people around her about her past.

When she gets excited, this seemingly quiet girl with glasses will make all sorts of exaggerated gestures, occasionally cover her mouth and giggle, and talk about all sorts of things she has encountered during her school years.

To be honest, she is quite different from the Shizuko Ogiyama we met at the beginning. Is something playing her? Or did she reveal her true self after becoming some unknown being, or perhaps she has hidden a side that she wouldn't normally show?

Xingge didn't know the answer to that question. The only fact she could confirm was this one, and it was this fact that allowed her to maintain her composure at that moment.

Shizuko Ogiyama must be dead.

This judgment wasn't made by her or Hongxia, easily deceived survivors, but by Gao Hai, who was still in contact with them at the time. Such a being couldn't be easily fooled, especially since Hongxia had said she found Ogiyama Shizuko's body in the burial pit in the basement, and that the body had been recovered by Gao Hai's power. These clues alone were enough to confirm that Ogiyama Shizuko's death was an undeniable fact, so this thing laughing and talking in front of them definitely wasn't human!

As for why someone who is already dead can still be laughing and talking while leading survivors on an expedition, that's not important. What's important is that this person is dead, and according to Mr. Gao Hai's guidance, the dead will become monsters in the instance world. Therefore, no matter how normal and friendly Ogiyama Shizuko may seem on the surface, she will definitely show her fangs at some point, attack me and Hongxia, and attempt to kill us.

Xingge was very calm; she felt she had never been so calm before. After experiencing several dangers, and after clearly realizing that one mistake of hers could lead to Hongxia's death, she found her mind becoming unusually calm, and her thinking speed increasing.

"Let's check the surroundings together and see if we can find a door leading to the new area."

Xingge whispered these words to Hongxia, and then began to search and investigate the surrounding doors.

Click——

Xingge opened the classroom door and looked inside. What she saw was a pile of desks and chairs stacked on one side of the classroom, completely blocking the wall.

The place was deserted, with a faint smell of dust in the air, giving the impression that it had been abandoned for some time.

The windows are all sealed off, there's no way out, it seems there's no way out from here.

Speaking of dust... could it be considered the opposite of a "clean environment"? Tsk, if only those rules were more clearly stated.

While pondering, Xingge stepped into the classroom, intending to investigate further.

"What are you looking at here, Sister Xingge? There's nothing interesting here."

Then, she heard Shizuko Ogiyama's voice suddenly coming from beside her.

Turning around, the smiling bespectacled girl stood not far away, with Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi beside her. They seemed to be observing the surroundings, but their attention was actually focused on Hoshika herself.

"I was just worried that I might have missed some clues, so I came over to take a closer look."

Xingge answered without changing her expression, and Hongxia nodded slightly beside her. The two sisters remained calm and composed.

"There's nothing to see here. I've already checked it out. Let's keep going."

Shizuko Ogiyama simply smiled and said this, then turned and walked away.

Everything seems to be normal.

But in Hoshika's eyes, this seemingly normal Shizuko Ogiyama should be described as abnormal in every way.

"Ah, I've found the door to the next area. Hopefully, I won't encounter any danger."

Suddenly, Shizuko Ogiyama opened a door and said with a look of surprise.

Hoshigo looked in the direction the other person was and saw that Shizuko Ogiyama, who had been beside her just moments before, had reached the end of the corridor and opened the door at the end, revealing another section of the corridor behind it. Unlike the corridor in the teaching building, which was paved with white tiles, the corridor behind the door was a plain concrete corridor without any decoration. Furthermore, there were room doors on only one side of the corridor; the other side had a structure resembling a balcony, but it was covered by thick, stitched-together pieces of cotton fabric, obscuring the view outside.