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

If you didn't see it, then what that shout was all about is quite obvious.

That old man deliberately shouted to lure the monster over, so that the two of us could hold off Shizuko Ogiyama and gain more time to escape. That's what he meant.

Having understood the situation, Xingge remained expressionless, but her fists clenched involuntarily.

What the hell? If Hongxia and I hadn't been protected by the Crimson Domain fragment, we might have both died from that attack just now, okay? This bastard, is he risking my sister's and my lives for his own chance?

"Is everyone here? I think one person is missing. Where's the old man?"

So Xingge spoke without any expression, her tone extremely casual.

"Huh? One's missing? Really, where did Grandpa Hisaya go?"

Upon hearing this, Shinji Akeda paused for a moment, looked around, and then suddenly realized what he meant.

I did not see Shizuko Ogiyama.

After Xingge finished speaking, she looked in the direction of the three people at the front and found that they had all disappeared. It was certain that they had gone to intercept the old man.

The strange creatures aren't smart enough. They came out immediately when I was checking the piles of items in the teaching building and dormitory, but now they're not very responsive in the convenience store. I have to be reminded to look for the stragglers.

"elder sister……"

Hongxia looked up in surprise, clearly understanding the meaning behind Xingge's words. From the girl's hesitant expression, it was easy to see that Hongxia didn't actually approve of revenge against the old man. If Xingge hadn't intervened, she probably would have just kept quiet, and perhaps even if she encountered him again after escaping and returning to the civilized world, she wouldn't have said anything.

She has the typical naive and innocent personality of someone who hasn't experienced the harsh realities of life, but that's alright. At worst, I can just do the bad stuff. In short, I will never tolerate exploitation like that. As for my younger sister's weak personality, I'll just let her be. As long as she can get through this period, that's enough.

Thinking this, Xingge didn't explain anything further to Hongxia. She simply shook her head gently to indicate that she shouldn't overthink it, and then continued on her way.

Not long after, Shizuko Ogiyama and her two followers reappeared, continuing their cheerful journey ahead. Meanwhile, Yuuji Hisaya, who had previously disappeared, returned to the group covered in dust and looking disheveled. His pale face and noticeably slower movements suggested he had likely suffered some hardship before his return.

Xingge was actually a little dissatisfied with this. She had thought about whether Ogiyama Shizuko could just kill the old man, but he actually came back unharmed. It seemed that even if the bespectacled woman became a ghost, she was not a particularly bloodthirsty one. This was quite frustrating.

"Ah……"

Once back in the group, Hisaya Yuyu turned to look at Hoshika and Nijika, letting out a low, cold laugh.

Xingge turned her head and saw the old man's undisguised venomous gaze, his teeth clenched in hatred, and a glint of cold light emanating from his hand.

He's carrying a knife too, I don't know if it's a fruit knife or something. Ha, is he threatening me or what?

"Pooh!"

Faced with the old man's provocative actions, Xingge's response was simple and straightforward: he spat directly onto the old man's shoe.

The next moment, she saw the old man's face turn bright red, instantly entering "red-hot mode." However, because Shizuko Ogiyama was right in front of him, Yuuko Hisaya gritted his teeth for a long time but ultimately didn't dare to actually turn on Hoshika and Nijika. He glared at the two of them fiercely, then turned away and continued on his way.

Xingge glanced at the other person silently again, and after replying to Hongxia's worried gaze beside her with "Don't worry, it's okay," she continued forward with the group.

Before long, the group reached the end of the convenience store.

The feeling was strange. Before, they couldn't find the edge of this place at all; it felt like they had entered an endless world. But as they walked, walls suddenly appeared one after another, and the convenience store suddenly had boundaries. Then, the group walked a little further and saw the cashier not far away, and then they arrived at the exit, where they saw the convenience store's door with its opaque glass panel.

That being said, shouldn't the glass in a normal convenience store be transparent?

Thinking this, Xingge turned to look around and saw that the ceiling panel on one side of the convenience store was open, and there was a ladder next to it. It seemed that someone had gone up there to do some maintenance not long ago.

Ok?

Xingge took a closer look at the opened panel and discovered that it had been sealed up at some point, with several handprint-shaped dust marks visible on the edges.

Turning her head, Hoshika glanced again at Hisaya Yuuko, who was covered in dust, especially his hands, which were blackened. She realized that while the two of them were exploring in another direction, the old man had secretly found another way out of the convenience store, a possible escape route from Ogiyama Shizuko's area. However, the old man felt that the operation was not safe enough, so he deliberately called out to lure Ogiyama Shizuko to Hoshika and Nijika's side before he started clearing obstacles and attempting to escape through the ceiling panel passage.

He hadn't expected Xingge and Hongxia to escape danger so quickly, and Xingge immediately retaliated. In the end, he couldn't escape the convenience store, and Xingge and Hongxia failed to complete their exploration. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a lose-lose situation. Of course, from Xingge's perspective, this bastard brought it on himself; after all, neither of them had actively attracted the monster's attention—he was the one who acted unreasonably first.

However, although they had managed to turn the tables and win a round, the situation now presented a more serious challenge. Previously, the two of them and the old man had kept to themselves, with no conflict between them. Now, after this incident, Xingge had to be wary of the old man, and she was certain that he would also be wary of them. Both sides had to continue searching for a way to escape while remaining on guard against each other.

It's truly laughable. They're all survivors in perilous situations, surrounded by terrifying monsters capable of easily killing the living. The threat of death is omnipresent, and the slightest carelessness could lead to disaster. Yet, even in this predicament, they can't trust each other. They could even just go their separate ways, but instead, they've become wary of each other, constantly on guard against the other's sabotage. This bastard! Xingge really wanted to punch Hisako Yuu's head in the head.

"Ah, we've reached the exit. I have a feeling this door will lead us to the next place. Hopefully, it will be a safe area."

As Shizuko Ogiyama spoke, she opened the door to the convenience store.

The next second, Xingge clearly saw the living room behind the door. It seemed that the next area connected by this door was the interior of a residence.

Inside the house?

Hoshika's eyes widened slightly as she suddenly recalled the location Kasagawa Asaka and Aketa Shinji had mentioned earlier, the place where Ogiyama Shizuko had met. Behind her, Nijika, who had also noticed this, nervously looked up. Both sisters realized that something terrible might happen next.

"Ah, it looks like the next area is one I'm familiar with. Let's hurry up, everyone. Although it's a little embarrassing to say this, the area behind the door should be my house in the countryside, which is my home. I'm very familiar with this place, so I can continue to lead the way for you."

Shizuko Ogiyama spoke with a smile, her tone as casual as if she were taking a walk after dinner.

"Haven't I already been there?"

Then, everyone present heard Asaka Kasagawa speak with a puzzled expression.

It's starting to get cold.

Both Hongxia and Xingge felt a distinct chill at this moment, a sinister chill emanating from Ogiyama Shizuko, who was smiling and seemed unchanged.

"Oh, it really is! Isn't that the place where we met you, Ogiyama-kun? Does that mean we've come full circle?"

Unaware of this, Shinji Akeda scratched his head and looked at the living room behind the door with a puzzled expression.

"Everyone, aren't you going in already?"

Shizuko Ogiyama simply continued speaking with a smile.

"What are you going to do? This is completely abnormal, okay? If what's behind that door really is your house, then we've gone in circles and come back to where we started. We're looking for a way out, not circling around here, okay? And are you even listening to us? Why are you just laughing like an idiot?"

Kasakawa Asaka, who already had a lot of opinions about Ogiyama Shizuko, didn't hold back and started to criticize her at this moment.

Naturally, her words did not elicit any response from Shizuko Ogiyama.

The high school girl with glasses was still standing by the door, still smiling, looking at everyone present with a gentle expression.

For a moment, Xingge couldn't help but suspect that the smiling face on this thing was actually painted on, otherwise it would be impossible for that face to remain unchanged for so long, without even the slightest tremor between the skin and flesh.

But then she noticed that Shizuko Ogiyama's smile began to fade. She gradually became expressionless, her cheeks turning pale, like the skin of a corpse. And the chill surrounding her gradually shifted towards a more chilling sensation.

step-step-

The footsteps that sounded beside them drew the attention of Hoshika Nijika and the others, including Kasagawa Asaka and Akita Shinji, who were not far away.

Turning around, the group saw Hisaya Yuu, who looked calm and composed, walking forward as if taking a stroll. He casually stepped through the door and entered the other area.

Before the other person left, Xingge noticed that he turned around and glanced at her and Hongxia. From the undisguised hostility in that gaze, Xingge couldn't help but suspect that the old man might be lying in ambush in the area behind them, and the pressure in her heart increased even more.

Hongxia keenly noticed that the chilling aura that had been lingering around them had noticeably dissipated after Hisaya Yuuyuki left. Furthermore, Midori Saeko and Nakatani Yoshimi, who had clearly been transformed into monsters, had also vanished. It seemed that as long as they entered the room, Ogiyama Shizuko wouldn't react much, so the current situation wasn't insurmountable.

"...Let's go there first and then talk about it."

Out of kindness, after Kasagawa Asaka and Aketa Shinji clearly showed signs of being confused, enough to rule out the possibility of the monsters acting, Nijika still whispered a reminder and gestured for Hoshika to walk towards the door first, so that if anything unexpected happened, they could immediately pass through the door to the next area.

"Where are you going? I'm not here to play house with kids! We're just going in circles. Shouldn't we be looking for another way out? What's the point of continuing down this path? And you, you've been talking nonstop from beginning to end. You think this place is fun, right? Get the facts straight, we're in a monster-infested place. Who knows what we'll run into?"

Kasagawa Asaka stomped her foot on the floor and gritted her teeth, speaking angrily.

She was in a very bad mood, clearly under a lot of pressure from the journey. But the problem was that she wasn't facing a living person with whom she could discuss and resolve the issue, but rather a strange creature that looked like a living person—a truly dangerous situation.

Aren't you going in yet?

With no expression on her face, Shizuko Ogiyama simply asked a question.

The situation is becoming increasingly critical.

If this continues, something extremely bad might happen.

Instinctively, Hongxia wanted to say something more, but Xingge turned around and covered her mouth.

Looking up, she only saw her sister shake her head with a complicated expression, and then Xingge grabbed Hongxia's hand and ran towards the door. Clearly, her sister had realized something was inevitable and decided to leave first. Staying here would likely drag them into trouble.

"I really don't understand him, he's like a lunatic. Forget it, Akita, we have no reason to listen to a little kid's orders. Let's split up here. I need to investigate this convenience store some more. You guys can go ahead and wander around if you want."

Unable to sense any unusual aura, Asaka Kasaka shook her head and turned away, glancing at Shinji Aketa, who was caught in a dilemma, as she spoke.

Shizuko Ogiyama, who used to be at the entrance, is no longer there.

In the instant when the chill reached its peak, Hongxia and Xingge witnessed Ogiyama Shizuko disappear from the spot, followed by a strong smell of blood coming from behind.

"Wait, how did you get from—Ughhhhhh!!!"

A piercing scream reached her ears, but Xingge just kept her head down and kept walking forward, ignoring everything else.

"This...this...what is this...No, no, no, ahhhhhh—"

Akita Shinji's wailing came a little later. The pain and despair of impending death made Nijika's whole body stiff. However, because she was being held back by Hoshika, she could not turn around to see what the two people looked like at this moment, and could not know what [Ogiyama Shizuko] had done.

tread--

The step was taken over the door.

The convenience store, bathed in cold white light, was transformed into a large living room bathed in warm orange light.

Hisaya Yuu, standing in the living room, glanced over here before turning his gaze away indifferently.

Shizuko Ogiyama stood in front of the old television set on one side of the living room, talking about her past with Saeko Midori and Yoshimi Nakatani. Her expression was full of nostalgia as she chatted and laughed, as if she were still a living person.

"Things from the past are indeed very memorable."

Shinji Aketa stood next to Shizuko Ogiyama and spoke with a smile.

"After all, we can't go back to our childhood."

Kasakawa Asaka also yawned and looked down at the reflection of the people present on the TV screen.

Just a second ago, they were behind him, screaming in agony before their deaths, but now they've walked right in front of him, five people gathered together, chatting and laughing.

Are they...are they joking?

Hongxia dared not look over there.

Even though none of the five people were paying attention to what was happening on their side, why did they feel such a strong sense of discomfort?

Xingge only glanced in that direction before turning her gaze away as naturally as possible.

She also felt a strange sense of unease, and unlike Hongxia, Xingge knew exactly where this unease came from.

That was the old television screen in front of Shizuko Ogiyama and the others. In the reflection of that black screen, five distorted, smiling faces stared unblinkingly at the two of them.

Chapter Seventy-Two: Flaws, Obsessions, Way Outs, and Those Who Cannot Leave.

At this moment, this team of survivors, which appears to consist of eight people, actually has only three people still alive; the other five are all monsters.

Given this harsh reality, the three survivors are not even cooperating; instead, they are divided into two groups, hostile to each other, wary of one another, and even wanting to kill the other.