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

There was absolutely no way to match her with the Shizuko Ogiyama I remembered; it was hard to imagine that she would be such a talkative person.

However, Mr. Gao once said that ghosts possess an aspect of condensed human obsession. The reason why ghosts, constructed from the fusion of human thought and divine blood, exhibit a mad and twisted side often lies in the depth and strength of the obsession of the person upon whom the ghost was born. After all, ghosts themselves are twisted beings, and what they display is inevitably an abnormal and morbid obsession. But conversely, knowing the characteristics of ghosts allows us to deduce from their behavior what their obsession might be like.

Ogiyama kept talking about her life after coming to Tokyo.

Whether studying, working, or resting, she constantly emphasized how hard she worked and how difficult things were, repeatedly recounting her most challenging and painful period to others. If it were some other supernatural being impersonating her, it's unlikely they would recount these experiences so repeatedly; this supernatural being must be Ogiyama herself in disguise. And what it reveals about Ogiyama's obsession… is it simply about telling others about her hardships?

I feel that it shouldn't be something that can be summarized so simply.

Perhaps it was the resentment towards the various disappointments she experienced after arriving in Tokyo and the big city, or the burning desire to achieve something? She wanted others to understand her, wanted everyone to accept her—this was her deepest obsession. However, the now completely distorted and chaotic Jin'yō Apartment couldn't fulfill her wish. This place seemed to only manifest the most memorable parts of those who lived there in a distorted way. Therefore, now that Shizuko Ogiyama had become a ghost, all she could do was wander through these scenes of memory, constantly telling others about herself.

Is there any way to break her obsession?

Since the key weakness of the monster lies in its obsession, finding and breaking through the weakness of its obsession might solve the current problem.

The problem is, what should I do? And according to my sister's strategy, since she has already spoken first, I now need to remain silent and avoid interacting with Ogiyama. In this situation, I can't even explain my thoughts to my sister, let alone discuss tactics together.

Tread - Tread -

As she pondered, the girl moved forward, passing one shelf after another.

Then, she was slightly taken aback, and turned her head to see Hondou Haruka's figure pass by about three shelves away, and quickly disappear behind a tall shelf.

Is my classmate here too?

If Torio Mami is the kind of person who is easily forgotten, someone whose full name you might not remember even after knowing them for a long time, then Hondou Haruka belongs to the type of person who leaves a very deep impression. Of course, in a negative sense, no doubt.

After all, it's rare to find someone who can force their sister to hit someone, not to mention that Mr. Gao even directly stated when teaching her survival skills as a player that if you encounter someone like Hondo Haruka in a dungeon, you should break their limbs and control them, and use them as a scapegoat when in doubt. Of course, Nijika definitely couldn't do what Gao Hai said, but even as kind as she was, she couldn't empathize much with someone like Hondo Haruka.

However, this is not the key issue we need to focus on right now.

Hongxia knew very well that Hondou Haruka, like the other two in group 109, was already dead; she had seen their bodies in the underground mass grave. The key question now was: if the area she and Xingge had been in was the territory of the strange creature, Ogiyama Shizuko, then why was Hondou Haruka also in this place? Did the activity areas of these strange creatures overlap? If so, if Hondou Haruka were lured here, would the conflict between the two people who didn't get along well in life and their post-mortem obsessions create an opportunity for escape?

There might be a chance!

Hongxia's gaze sharpened.

For Hongxia to immediately devise a therapeutic approach to break Ogiyama Shizuko's obsession or find a way to slip away and find a way out was far too difficult. However, even she could deduce from past experiences that when someone deviated from the group, Ogiyama Shizuko wouldn't necessarily appear immediately beside them. Generally, if the strange creature teleported right up to them, it was either doing something like checking the piled-up area to find another exit, or the distance was simply too great, or they hadn't entered the passage to the next area in time. So, if they were just taking a slight detour in another direction, the creature would probably wait a while before coming to intercept them.

Hongxia considered the details of the operation in her mind, then reached out and grabbed Xingge, gesturing with her eyes for her to walk in another direction.

Xingge, who was observing the surroundings and looking for an opportunity, saw Hongxia's sudden reaction. Although she didn't quite understand what she meant, she knew that her sister must have something in mind, so she nodded and changed direction, heading towards the path that Hongxia had pointed out.

"..."

Hisaya Yuu, who was also moving forward in silence, saw the two sisters suddenly change direction. He didn't say anything, but just continued moving forward.

As they turned around, almost immediately, both Hongxia and Xingge felt a chill coming from ahead.

The surrounding scenery is changing.

The moment the two chose this path, some unusual changes immediately occurred.

The originally bright white lights began to flicker.

The shelves in front had been knocked over at some point, and various goods were scattered everywhere. Many bottles and jars were smashed, and glass shards and liquids of various colors were scattered all over the ground.

I smelled a faint odor of blood.

The stench of blood wafted from ahead on the road, from behind the darkened shelves where the lights were off.

There was also a slightly pungent, smoky smell, like the nauseating smell left after dozens of people have gathered together to smoke.

tread--

Then keep moving forward.

The lights became dimmer, and the smells of blood and smoke became more pronounced. The aromas of beverages and condiments emanating from the broken glass bottles mingled with the smells, creating an unpleasant sensation that made one feel as if their sense of smell was about to be lost.

It sounded like someone was sobbing softly.

The sound of sobbing seemed to come from one direction, or perhaps from several directions at the same time, and its source could not be found.

It's getting colder.

Unlike the one with Shizuko Ogiyama, this was a chilling aura of the same level as the strange creatures that Nijika had encountered during her time under Takami's protection.

The difference is really big.

Hongxia couldn't help but guess that if she and Xingge really encountered Hondou Haruka and were face to face with her, who had become a monster, she would probably attack without hesitation and they would immediately be in a life-or-death situation.

However, Hongxia was already mentally prepared for this situation. After all, even if Ogiyama Shizuko wouldn't be in danger as long as she quietly followed along, the outcome would most likely still be death if they just continued on like that. Since that was the case, she might as well take a gamble!

step-step-

The two sisters continued on their way.

On one side of the collapsed shelf in front, dark red bloodstains slowly seeped out from the edge of the line of sight and spread across the white floor.

Is this really okay?

Xingge was already starting to hesitate.

The biting cold emanating from all around made her feel unwell, and instinctively, she wanted to turn around and leave this seemingly dangerous area. But her younger sister was still moving forward, and as the older sister, she couldn't possibly turn around and leave, so she could only grit her teeth and keep going.

What's ahead?

So cold, so twisted, I have a feeling something...

"Someone's fallen behind! We don't know where those two sisters went! Has anyone seen them? It would be terrible if something happened to them, let's go look for them right away!"

A loud, energetic shout rang out from behind the two of them, from behind a shelf.

It was the voice of that old man, Yuo Hisaya.

The unexpected shout startled Xingge and Hongxia. They had never expected the old man to shout loudly after they had walked a distance. Completely unprepared, they were unable to respond effectively. A strong chill suddenly appeared around them.

What are you doing here?

Shizuko Ogiyama's voice rang out from behind the two of them, her words sending a chill down their spines.

The collapsed shelves have disappeared.

Instead, there was Midori Saeko, who stood in front like a puppet with her head down, her hair hanging down so her face was obscured.

Look back.

Shizuko Ogiyama, wearing glasses and smiling, stood in front of me, her face as pale as paper. Behind her, at the exit on the other side of the shelf, stood Yoshimi Nakatani, her body slumped like a puppet, her head bowed and her hair hanging down so her face was not visible.

What are you doing?

Shizuko Ogiyama's voice rang out again, devoid of any warmth, only filled with an unprecedented chill.

It was clear that the other party was at a critical point. The Shizuko Ogiyama who appeared before them now was probably only a hair's breadth away from directly revealing her monster form.

"We're lost. Sorry, this place is too big. Several shelves look similar, and it's easy to get lost."

Hoshika opened her mouth, forcing an apologetic expression as she spoke, and led Nijika past Shizuko Ogiyama, intending to walk towards the outside of the shelves.

But the chill did not disappear.

Nakatani Yoshimi, who was standing in front of the road, had no intention of making way and continued to block their path.

What are you doing?

Shizuko Ogiyama stepped out from behind Yoshimi Nakatani, looking at the two of them expressionlessly, and asked once again.

Instinctively, Xingge wanted to back away from this chilling aura.

But Hongxia behind her didn't back down, and the two bumped into each other. Then, Shizuko Ogiyama took a step forward and blocked their path.

Xingge turned around and saw that Suikawa Saeko, who had been standing on the other side of the intersection, was now almost touching Hongxia behind her. The reason Hongxia refused to back down when Xingge retreated was because they would definitely collide if she did. Whether Hongxia was injured or the Blood Domain fragment in the computer activated and knocked Suikawa Saeko away, it would mean that the situation had reached a point where there was no more room for compromise or deception, and the two would have no choice but to break off all pretense of civility.

Why can't we get away with this this time?

At this moment, Xingge felt that her hands and feet were almost numb. She kept thinking about solutions, but she couldn't come up with any.

There must be something in the direction Hongxia led me to, otherwise it wouldn't have caused such a strong reaction from the monster. But the problem is, that old man's shout just now completely ruined their operation. Now, what should they do to get the monster back to normal?

Perhaps the only option left is to start a fight.

Unable to find a suitable excuse, Xingge swallowed hard. Although she didn't want to do this, she couldn't think of any other solution at the moment.

“We saw Haruka Hondo; it seems she’s here too.”

Then, she heard Hongxia's voice beside her.

"Wait……"

Xingge was a little anxious because she didn't expect her younger sister to speak and establish communication. She turned to look at her sister in surprise, but only saw her sister give her a reassuring look.

"I'm also your classmate, Ogiyama, right? Since we're classmates, we should definitely look out for each other. Otherwise, the other students and teachers might have something to say. After all, you're from the same place, aren't you?"

Facing the strange creature before her, Hongxia, who was also under great pressure, barely managed to maintain her composure and looked at Shizuko Ogiyama with a forced smile.

The chill is fading.

Although Shizuko Ogiyama's face clearly showed disgust, the eerie aura began to dissipate as she revealed a lifelike appearance, almost like a human.

"I don't need to take care of my classmate. I'll be grateful if she doesn't come to take care of me."

Shizuko Ogiyama said to Nijika, her tone filled with helplessness.

“She and some people she met somewhere came to the convenience store late at night, drunk, to buy cigarettes. Because she was under twenty, I refused to sell her cigarettes, so she and her friends smashed things up in the store, knocking over the shelves. When the police came and arrested them, they even spat in my face. How can I take care of someone like that? I just hope she doesn’t bother me.”

As Shizuko Ogiyama spoke, her expression grew increasingly disgusted.

"Alright, let's keep going. Let's talk about something else."

Then suddenly, her face lit up with a smile again, and she turned around naturally to continue walking forward. Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi followed beside her, and the three of them continued walking and talking as they went.

Because the change of expression was so fast, to be honest, both Xingge and Hongxia were stunned for a moment. But then Xingge turned to look at Hongxia again. Although she didn't say anything, the doubt in her expression was written all over her face.

"There's no other way but to say it this way to avoid any problems. It's alright, don't forget that Mr. Gao Hai's power is protecting us. Exchanging a few words won't cause any issues."

Hongxia made a very serious promise to Xingge, tugged at her sister's sleeve, and gestured for her to continue.

After Shizuko Ogiyama suddenly appeared, the path had disappeared, and now Hoshika Nijika could only see a wall when she looked back. Yes, after triggering the anomaly on this side but failing to actually go deeper, the once boundless convenience store now had a wall, officially creating the [Edge] area.

Xingge still found this unbelievable, while Hongxia, who had already witnessed various unbelievable situations before, didn't react as strongly, only feeling a little regretful about the failure of the operation just now.

"Why did you fall behind? This place is so big, you need to keep up."

After taking a few steps forward, Akita Shinji suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Not far away, Asaka Kasakawa could be seen looking around, while Shizuko Ogiyama and her two companions continued to move in unison as always.

I did not see Yuyu Hisaya.