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

"Keep searching. We must confirm that there is no third entrance here."

After quickly confirming the entrance to the cave, Gao Hai turned around and said that he remembered very clearly that the rules emphasized that there were no forks in the passage of the "correct" Red Nut Gray Cave. If you encountered a fork in the road, you had to return the way you came.

Previously, when they were in a chaotic area where they had no idea where they were, this rule couldn't be applied. But now that they've arrived in what appears to be the correct area, they must carefully verify this rule.

The two searched for quite a while, but they were unable to find a third passage. They checked the top of the cave and various edges and corners, but still found nothing.

Snapped--

Slightly relieved, Gao Hai took a bottle of water out of his backpack, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, then handed the bottle to Qian Hua and gave her two energy bars.

"There will definitely be more forks in the road ahead. Make sure you drink enough water, eat something, and don't get too tired. We can only rest here for about five minutes at most, and then we'll have to go back to where we were before."

As Gao Hai spoke, he looked up at the top of the hollow cave, at the stalactites standing upright.

This time he didn't see the body stuck in it.

Speaking of which, when he encountered those four people earlier, he heard the corpses talking, and the tour guide was telling the tourists to look up at the stalagmites above. But stalagmites are things that emerge from the ground, standing upright like bamboo shoots; stalactites are sharp spikes that grow from the ceiling of a cave. And when stalagmites and stalactites grow longer and longer until they come into contact and merge, they become stone pillars.

Could it be that the tour guide wasn't very good?

Or……

Gao Hai thought of the corpses lying on the top of the cave, and the things lying above him as he passed through the tunnel.

reverse?

Did the bodies of those tourists and tour guides mean that everything here was upside down in their minds?

If that's the case, why didn't the same thing happen with the first corpse they encountered with its head split open? Generally speaking, shouldn't the strange occurrences in the same instance share certain commonalities? Could it be because of their different identities?

And... Maki and Kaguya, there's still absolutely no trace of them. Where could they be...?

Various questions and pressures made Gao Hai feel somewhat heavy-hearted at this moment.

He took out a vanilla-flavored energy bar, unwrapped it, ate it, and then crumpled the wrapper into a ball and stuffed it into a small compartment on the side of his backpack.

"Um, thank you for the food and water, Gao Jun."

Meanwhile, Chika had already drunk her water and eaten her energy bar. She returned the half-empty water bottle to Gao Hai and carefully folded the finished energy bar, putting it into her pocket.

"It seems to be getting a bit cold. Let's rest for three more minutes, and then we'll go back. Following that safety rope, we should be able to reach the [heart]."

As Gao Hai began to feel the temperature dropping, he looked around again as he spoke.

This time, he saw a blurry figure flash by in the distance, as if someone was taking a walk in the cave.

Fujiwara Chika didn't seem to see many strange things along the way, but she could sense many abnormal things. Could it be that the reaction caused by that guy named Dennis had affected her?

As Gao Hai was thinking this, he felt Chika's gaze beside him becoming increasingly intense.

So he turned his head and looked directly into the girl's eyes. When she saw that he had noticed her, Chika hesitated for a moment before asking him a question.

"That rule list, there seems to be something slightly off about it. Some of the rules actually conflict with each other, right? But Gao Jun seems to trust the contents of the rule list a lot. Is there some reason for that?"

Does this refer to the conflict rules that emphasize identity and the conflict rules regarding the description of the cave's interior?

It seems that the girl had been thinking about those rules the whole way, probably because she couldn't understand why those conflicting rules existed so openly, and that's why she hoped he could explain them.

"It's normal for the rule list to have conflicts. What determines how this place operates is inhuman weirdness, a twisted obsession. Therefore, there may be situations where the rules are outdated, and acting strictly according to the rules will lead to problems. There may also be situations where real and false rules are mixed together, and multiple different forces are influencing and changing the contents of the rule list. However, as for this rule list, I am more inclined to believe that every single rule is true."

Gao Hai spoke very seriously.

"Is every single one of them true?"

Qianhua was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding Gao Hai's meaning.

"No matter what kind of rule sheet it is, the first rule sheet that players receive is always meaningful and can provide various clues to help analyze and deal with the situation at hand. Even outdated and inaccurate rule sheets will contain very crucial things that determine the probability of survival."

"And this rule list, if you don't look at the surface rules and regulations, its core is actually about identity. We are [Explorers], this is our current identity, and it doesn't seem to do us any harm by sticking to this identity. Only through this identity can we increase our survival rate. From this point of view, I am more inclined to believe that this rule list is true, and we need to act in accordance with the rules on it."

Gao Hai pondered for a moment, then began to share his thoughts with Qianhua.

"However, if we calculate it this way, there is a rule that conflicts with this principle of identity."

Although Chika didn't specify which rule she was referring to, Gao Hai knew that she was puzzled by the strange conflict that when facing rescue teams or fire departments, the identity of "explorer" could not be used, and instead, one had to claim to be a "tourist".

"Although this is just speculation, I think it might be because as [Explorers], we can't avoid them through this identity. In other words, the essence of the conflict rules is that they 'only take effect under certain conditions, and become invalid after the conditions are met.' However, we'll only know the specifics when we actually face this situation. So, we should try to pray that we don't have the opportunity to verify the truth of the rules. Sigh..."

Gao Hai patiently explained, but as he explained, he suddenly reached out and covered his face, his mood becoming depressed.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? What happened?"

Qianhua, not understanding why Gao Hai suddenly seemed so downcast, panicked for a moment.

"It's nothing... It's just that when I was doing my newbie quests, if only I had met a veteran player who was willing to patiently explain the game's mechanics and information to me..."

The thought that the lessons he was sharing with Fujiwara Chika were things he had managed to obtain after completing the beginner's quests, and that she only needed to sit there and listen to him, filled Takahashi with immense sorrow.

However, he quickly stopped dwelling on these minor emotions.

Because he heard footsteps and the sound of people talking to each other.

The sound coming from the spacious passageway in this large space was like someone approaching.

Chapter Seven: Don't let them know what you've discovered.

"Huh...huh..."

Amidst heavy breathing, a woman with torn clothes and a noticeable scar on one arm slowly walked in.

Following this person, a young man and the Japanese man who had spoken to Gao Hai earlier also entered the cave. All three of them appeared to be in poor condition, showing signs of injury, as if they had rolled around on the gravel several times.

They were the same three players we had encountered before.

Gao Hai stood up almost immediately and gestured for Fujiwara Chika to step back a little.

"We are explorers, who are you?"

While Gao Hai was reacting, the three on the other side also reacted quickly. The woman in front drew her pistol and asked in a cold voice.

"Explorer".

Gao Hai, who gave such a simple answer, also drew his pistol, grabbed Qianhua's shoulder and stepped back a little. The two of them stood facing each other in the cold cave, about twenty meters apart.

It's a little surprising that none of the three players died, but considering that none of them were novice players, it's not entirely incomprehensible.

However, considering the corpses he had encountered and the occasional phantoms he had seen while traversing the tunnel, Gao Hai didn't think the few surviving veteran players were in much better shape. Who knew when they might be completely corrupted and transformed by the strange power, becoming a serious threat to the other players?

"Hehe, everyone, don't get excited. There are only a few of us left now. There's no point in doubting each other. Cooperation is the only way to survive."

The neon-speaking man stepped forward again, waving his hand to signal Gao Hai and the woman to put down their guns.

"This instance is being fixed, and the rule list we obtained clearly points to the [Identity Role Playing] content. This means that there must be some kind of [Instant Death] rule and [Contamination Transformation] rule in this place. Under these kinds of rules, it is meaningless to gather a large number of people. On the contrary, it may lead to the annihilation of the entire group because of one person violating the rules."

The woman spoke coldly at this moment, her gaze sweeping over Gao Hai and Qian Hua, her expression clearly conveying a sense of rejection.

She doesn't trust Gao Hai and Qian Hua.

"Don't say that, Shelby, we're not in a good situation right now."

The Japanese man was taken aback by the woman's attitude and, somewhat embarrassed, whispered his advice.

"It's precisely because I'm not in good shape that I need to be more cautious. I don't want to be dragged down by others, nor do I want to be a burden to others. Also, Mr. Kawano, we just happened to be traveling together. If you think the other team is better, you can go there. I have no objection."

As the woman called Shelby spoke, she sat down directly on a high rock platform, took off her backpack, and began bandaging her wounds.

Kawano, the Japanese man, looked rather displeased, as if he was about to explode and say something, but ultimately held back.

As for the last man, he still didn't participate in the conversation; he simply found a place to sit down and bandaged himself.

Judging from Shelby and the man's actions, both of them should have professional medical skills. Shelby was obviously very professional, and many small details and movements during the bandaging showed that he had a certain level of skill.

Should we join them?

Chika leaned closer to Takahashi, stood on tiptoe, and whispered.

"When we encountered these people just now, it was only because one person said the wrong thing that the whole army was almost wiped out. In this kind of place, too many people are not necessarily a good thing. We've rested enough, it's time for us to continue our journey."

Gao Hai shook his head, showing absolutely no intention of getting to know these three people better.

If it were a new player, like Fujiwara Chika, Gao Hai thought he could mentor her; she might even be of some use in crucial moments. But these three veteran players, seemingly working together, were clearly not the type to cooperate effectively. Shelby, Kawano, and the man who hadn't uttered a word yet—they were obviously only banding together out of necessity. Working with this superficially united team, Gao Hai feared he'd die even faster.

However, sometimes things don't always go the way you want them to.

Gao Hai had just turned around to look at the narrow opening he had come through when he saw a figure slowly crawling out of the cave.

The pungent smell of blood was spreading rapidly.

The man had already raised his head, which had slumped down a little, and smiled at everyone present. Behind him was a purplish-blue boy of about thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing only boxer shorts, and a woman whose face was almost completely smashed, reminding Gao Hai of a "failed dive."

Are you also adventurers visiting this place?

The man with half his face sunken down and an eyeball hanging from his mouth asked with a smile.

Gao Hai first glanced at Fujiwara Chika, and then noticed that although the child was frightened, she did not make a sound at all, keeping her mouth tightly shut and remaining calm.

Then he turned to the direction of the three "people" and found that in that instant, the three of them had moved much closer.

All three "people" were staring at him, waiting for his answer.

Obviously, just like that thing with the back of its head open before, when you encounter these kinds of things, if the other party has shown an intention to communicate, it's not so easy to just shut up and fool them.

"We are explorers."

As Gao Hai answered, he reached out and nudged Qianhua. The girl hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I am also an explorer," though her voice trembled slightly, barely concealing her fear.

"Oh, you came together? That's great! My wife and I came to Red Nut Cave with our son. Have you arrived at the heart yet? There seem to be a lot of people here today."

The man spoke again, smiling as he addressed the two of them.

[Hiss... hiss... gurgle...]

The woman seemed to be saying something, but her face had split open in the middle, with dark red blood gushing upwards. Gao Hai could only hear the sound of airflow coming from her trachea and the sound of bubbles being blown up as blood blocked her trachea.

[Dad, it's cold]

The bluish-purple boy just stood there blankly, his gaze fixed on Gao Hai and Qian Hua, tilting his head as if he were somewhat puzzled.

Gao Hai turned his head slightly to look in the direction of the three veteran players, but he didn't see anyone.

Did they run away the moment those three things appeared? They ran pretty fast, huh?

"We haven't gone to the heart yet, but we're about to go there now."

Facing these three people who looked utterly dead but were still chatting with him, Gao Hai's expression remained unchanged. He simply kept talking while pulling Qian Hua, who was trying to hide her fear, toward the narrow opening, intending to go directly into the hole.