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

Taking these people along is absolutely impossible. Involving a bunch of complete weaklings who can't even withstand the aftershocks of friendly fire in such an operation would only lead to a tragic outcome. The students from Fujika Middle School are the best example of this. Only Gao Hai, that practically inhuman guy, could come up with a way to forcibly bring them back to life after cracking the [Campus Ghost Stories], and preserve as much information as possible about the ghosts, so that they could face danger with a better mindset after becoming players.

If I remember correctly, there were about 20 girls, right? After the last mission, 14 people were still alive, which is a survival rate of about two-thirds, so it's quite good.

The problem is that even the lucky girls who survived only faced the Dark Night level dungeon in the worst-case scenario. Their situation is completely different; it's a whole different story...

[A survivor]

The rescue team then entered the nurses' station and immediately located the dozen or so living people inside.

What's this guy up to now?

Looking at this guy who kept doing abstract things, Xiong Mi suspected that he was going to perform something strange again.

They were afraid, they were exhausted, they suffered.

They had not committed any capital crimes; they should have been uninvolved in the disaster.

This time, however, the rescue team member didn't shout anything. He simply walked silently to the anxious survivors, nodded to them, and then raised his head and turned to speak.

I am a rescue worker. I exist to save lives; saving these people is my duty.

Then, the rescue team member who left those words went directly to the survivors.

"you……"

Listening to the rescue team member's words, Xiong Mi's feelings were somewhat complicated, so she tried to talk to him and discuss her plan to leave the survivors here temporarily.

But the next moment, Xiong Mi was unable to speak.

Because the rescue team member walked directly up to a survivor, and before the survivor could figure out what was going on, the rescue team member's body began to writhe strangely, and the rescuer swallowed the survivor whole like a slime, merging into his own body.

"What...what's going on?"

Startled by the scene, the film's director, Kikue, covered her mouth, trying to suppress her scream, which was then swallowed by the rescue team.

Is this to protect us?

Watching the rescue team members' actions, and finding that the players were not stopping him, Tajii Yu took the initiative to step forward and was swallowed up by the thing.

"Holy crap, Maru—"

The last one to be swallowed, Gozo Ikemoto, was clearly about to say something unsettling, but the rescue team acted quickly and didn't give him the chance.

After swallowing more than a dozen survivors, the rescue team member's figure did not change much, except that its walking movements seemed to become a little unsteady. But in the end, it turned around, stood firm in front of Xiong Mi and the other players, and even saluted.

[Guarantee the completion of the protection mission]

The rescue team members said this.

Chapter Twenty-One: Cat Brother's Lucky Coin and the Initial Investigation of the New Area

This thing... I didn't know it had this function.

Xiong Mi watched as the rescue team member swallowed all the survivors, his face expressionless, but his heart was far from calm.

Honestly, if we hadn't known beforehand that this strange creature was one of our own and wouldn't act recklessly or kill indiscriminately, its series of miraculous transformations would have been enough for Xiong Mi to eliminate it. Frankly, in a fantasy story, its actions would look like an evil being devouring people. Is this really protecting them? Or are you just going to kill them outright?

Humanity is the link between the gods and humanity; I will protect humanity, even for millennia!

The rescue team members were still speaking passionately.

"Were those things... really okay?"

Cat Brother hesitated for a moment. As a Red Moon-level player, he had seen monsters eating people before. To be honest, it was quite similar to what the rescue team had done earlier. So even though he knew that these were friendly forces and probably wouldn't do anything reckless, he still couldn't help but ask.

Their lives are my lives; for the sake of the Lord of mankind, we will never fail in our mission!

The rescue team member straightened up and immediately spoke earnestly to Cat Brother.

Perhaps sensing the players' anxiety, the rescue team member reached out and tore open his own chest, then pulled out a tattered mask of bewildered Ikemoto Gozo's face, which emerged from the rescuer's chest like a newly born alien.

Then, after the players confirmed that Gozo Ikemoto was still alive, the rescue team immediately pressed the young man's head down and stuffed him back into his body.

"No, did my personality just get expelled? Can't I just put it back in later?!"

As for the bewildered remarks uttered by Ikemoto Gozo himself, the players present chose to ignore them as much as possible. Well, not entirely. Xiongmi didn't really understand, Jianbing had a vague understanding, Cat Brother understood but being a seasoned veteran, he just smiled, the lawyer understood but was indifferent, and it didn't matter to him. However, the two Japanese locals, Hayashibe Kenta and Nanakawa Ren, were very embarrassed, afraid that the members of the "Slacking Off Gang" would turn around and ask them what Ikemoto Gozo meant.

Ah, it's because of bastards who spout off slang from the underworld without a care in the world that the reputation of Japanese otaku continues to decline!

Kenta Hayashibe, also a homebody, sighed deeply, feeling quite frustrated.

Although I didn't quite understand it, it sounded like they were using really bad language. I hope everyone isn't overthinking it.

Qi Chuanlian didn't have too many thoughts on it, she was just a little worried about public opinion.

"So, the issue of the survivors is resolved. Now let's continue our investigation. It's rare to find such a safe and stable place in this chaotic instance space, so we should gather as many clues and information as possible."

The lawyer, who hadn't paid attention to the survivors' actions at all, nodded to the group now that the rescue team members were in stable condition and showed no abnormalities. He then opened the heavy book in his hand, revealing a map of the hospital's first floor, and pointed to the location of "Elevator No. 4" on the map.

Of the leads investigated so far, the only place we haven't visited yet is elevator number 4. According to existing records, a child hospitalized with a fever saw the "faceless person" in elevator number 4 at 4 PM. Although this person is unlikely to be the core obsession, the lawyer deduces from the existing leads that even if the "faceless person" isn't the core obsession, following this lead should still lead to information related to it.

"Well, let's go. Tsk tsk, things really are unpredictable. I was supposed to stay behind, but I ended up here anyway."

Cat nodded and habitually walked to the front of the line, almost bumping into Xiong Mi.

"Plans can't keep up with changes, but at least we have more people now, which makes it easier to deal with various problems. Also, I suggest we be prepared to receive more survivors. Since we can find more than a dozen survivors in the shelters here, there's a possibility that there are also survivors in the relatively stable areas of other instances. After all, judging from Cat Brother's situation, many of the monsters in the Red Moon-level instances have already left the instances and gone outside. In this situation, it's entirely possible to create some monster vacuum areas within the instances, and there will always be lucky ones."

Xiong Mi stepped aside and walked alongside Cat Brother, then solemnly expressed her concerns.

"There's no need to worry too much about that. At least in my opinion, we're doing quite well right now."

Upon hearing this, Cat Bro chuckled, casually tossed a coin in his hand, and showed everyone the number [78] displayed on the coin.

Lucky Coin

This is one of the obsession items held by Cat Bro, classified as Red Moon level. Unlike most obsession items, this one functions even when normally held. One side of the coin displays a blurry, unreadable pattern, while the other side shows a number that constantly changes to reflect the holder's current fortune. The lowest number it has ever displayed is 1, which usually signifies extremely dangerous misfortune; the last time Cat Bro rolled a 1, he was struck by Alice. The highest number varies depending on the person and the situation, but generally, a number above 50 indicates good luck. Cat Bro himself rolled a 200, during which he successfully obtained the extremely powerful core obsession item, [Blood Paper Money].

Of course, as a high-quality item of the Red Moon level, this thing can't just have this one function. In fact, its most important function is that when this thing displays a lucky number, the user can consume a portion of that number, temporarily reducing their own luck in exchange for some incredible magical effect.

The magical effect varies with each use, making it difficult to summarize. However, essentially, the coin's magic allows the user to perform actions they urgently need but are unable to for various reasons. The strength of the effect varies depending on the amount of coin consumed. Incidentally, this function is unusable when the displayed number is 1, as the coin's value cannot be lower than 1. It was for this reason that Cat couldn't use this obsessive item against Alice back in Fujika Middle School, until Takami underwent a major resurrection procedure, allowing him to return and find a way to reclaim it.

"It's best to use this thing with caution; it's too easy to cause problems."

Xiong Mi glanced at the coin in Cat Brother's hand, thought for a moment, and then spoke up to remind him.

"I know, I've experienced the effects of reduced luck many times, I won't do anything reckless."

Hearing this, Cat Brother sighed helplessly, probably recalling some past experiences, and his expression was not very pleasant.

Obsessive objects, unlike blessings, ultimately come with a price. Therefore, the [Lucky Coin] also has side effects. One is the decrease in luck resulting from consuming a certain number of coins. This unlucky effect is persistent and difficult to offset, making it extremely unpleasant. Furthermore, this eerie coin constantly tempts the user to take risky actions, slowly but steadily eroding their will, causing them to gradually disregard their own lives and use this obsessive object more frequently, actively putting themselves in danger.

Cat Bro himself was always certain that he had remained vigilant when using this item and hadn't been tricked. But now that he's been resurrected and is carefully recalling the past, some things are indeed hard to say, so Cat Bro is now even more wary of this thing.

Soon, the group arrived at the location of Elevator No. 4.

That was the elevator located on one side of the back lobby on the first floor of the hospital. From the first floor, there were a total of six elevators in the building. Elevators 1 and 2 were on the side of the lobby where the registration desk was located, elevators 3 and 4 were in the back lobby, and elevators 5 and 6 were located in the staff activity area behind the electronic lock doors. At this moment, everyone arrived at elevators 3 and 4. The lawyer first pressed the elevator button to confirm that the power was off, then went up and opened the elevator door by hand. He discovered that the elevator itself had fallen at least two floors below ground due to a broken cable.

The other floors might not be in a stable state, and the investigation of the first floor wasn't yet complete, so rushing to other floors was clearly not a good idea. Therefore, after confirming that it was impossible to pull the elevator up from below, the lawyer had no choice but to temporarily abandon the investigation of this location.

"That covers the outer area. If we want to continue, we'll have to go over there."

Xiong Mi turned her head and looked at the electronic lock door on one side of the back hall.

Strangely, while the elevator was clearly out of power, the electronic lock on the other side was still powered. However, the players present obviously didn't know the electronic lock's password, nor did they have any identification cards or similar items on them. To obtain these things, they would probably have to go to other floors, but the problem was that other floors might not be as stable as this one, and if they were transferred to another dimension, their trip would be pointless.

Fortunately, they have a more convenient way to open the door.

Bang!

Kenta Hayashibe punched through the electronic lock, then grabbed the other doorknob and easily opened the door.

The lawyer and Jianbing stepped forward. The former opened a heavy book and silently memorized the features of the corridor behind the door, while the latter activated the computer program of the object of obsession to perform a scan of the surroundings. Then Xiongmi and Cat Brother stepped into the corridor behind the door, followed by Qichuan Lian and the rescue team.

zizi——

The overhead lights flickered with a stark white light.

Compared to the outside work area, this area, which is only provided for medical staff to move around, doesn't look much different. But as soon as you enter, you can tell that every room here has a power supply, unlike the outside area where most of the area is dark.

Is there a dedicated backup generator?

As Xiong Mi walked in, deep in thought, she suddenly felt a chill. She couldn't pinpoint its source, but she was certain it belonged to a strange creature.

"There's something here, be careful."

Xiong Mi said in a low voice, slowing her pace slightly.

Based on the rules document that has been found, the group has undoubtedly violated the rules and entered an area they should not have entered.

This was, of course, everyone's goal. After all, the players weren't here to survive; they came to this hellish place to confront the monsters head-on and find the mastermind behind them. So, now that they confirmed there were monsters guarding the medical staff's area, everyone perked up. Cat Brother pulled out a deck of cards, Jianbing prepared his long knife, the Lawyer's meteor hammer was ready to strike, and Xiong Mi had somehow acquired a blood-soaked chainsaw.

"Speaking of which, it's definitely a monster on the other side, not one of us, right?"

Kenta Hayashibe, who also pulled out a baseball bat, glanced at the group of slackers ahead who were eagerly anticipating encountering a strange creature. He held back for a moment, but couldn't help but mutter a complaint to Ren Nanakawa beside him.

"What, you want to go to the other side? I don't mind."

With a somewhat helpless look at her slightly eccentric companion, Qi Chuanlian casually retorted, then grabbed a butterfly knife and followed the group of slackers ahead.

squeak-

Push open the door to the locker room.

There was nothing unusual in either the men's or women's changing rooms.

Next, they opened the entrance to the doctors' lounge. The place was quite nicely furnished, with several large sofas, a large TV mounted on the wall, and plenty of entertainment facilities. The players were certain this hospital was from Europe or America, not China or Japan, since hospitals here typically didn't have so many fancy features.

The strange creature did not appear.

Despite the players' meticulous search and investigation, they were unable to find any trace of the ghost.

Even though that chilling aura lingered all around, and even though everyone could sense the presence of those things and knew they were in this place, no matter how they explored or what methods they used to lure and search, no strange creatures ever appeared before them.

"This won't work; we won't find it this way."

The lawyer stopped and whispered.

"We must have never triggered some special rule, so the strange creature hiding here has never shown itself."

After fiddling with his computer for a while, Jianbing also spoke up.

Cat, who was at the front of the line, didn't say anything. He just tossed the coin in his hand again and frowned after confirming that the number had changed to 55.

Xiong Mi, however, looked back thoughtfully at the direction of the changing room that the others had just investigated. After a moment's thought, she turned around and walked back the way she came.

"It might be because we're all together. I'll try it on my own to see if it works."