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

Gao Hai could see the lighting fixtures installed in the cave, most of which were already turned off, but a few were still flickering faintly.

There are many clothes.

Gao Hai saw many clothes floating in the water.

In the muddy, dirty water, one piece of clothing after another floated on the surface, just like people floating on the water.

The man who led them into the cave had disappeared.

The other five rescuers, played by a mysterious figure, also disappeared without a trace.

Gao Hai felt that he had regained control of his body.

The two players, who were already terrified, sat down on the ground, looking like they were about to collapse. The very nervous player took a deep breath, then turned to look at Gao Hai and hurriedly walked over.

"Hello, I'm Wang Gui. You're a player too, right? How did you suddenly appear here? Are you a veteran player? Do you know how to leave this place? We've already repeated this six times here, whether we run out or rescue people, everyone always comes back to where we were reading the rules..."

It was clear that this man named Wang Gui was very anxious.

The last player, with a numb expression, began to move deeper into the cave. His stiff steps didn't seem like his own movement; it was more like something was controlling his body, manipulating a corpse to move forward.

"Calm down, calm down, tell me your specific situation, don't panic."

Gao Hai surveyed the surroundings and, after confirming that there was nothing unusual in the area for the time being, turned to Wang Gui and spoke to him.

The middle-aged man, who looked to be around forty years old, took a few breaths to calm down and explained the situation to Gao Hai. It turned out that he and the two players sitting on the ground were all newbies entering the instance for the first time. The three of them, completely clueless, suddenly found themselves as rescuers. While they were still bewildered, the man who had left earlier gathered them together, explained some basic rules about players and the instance, and then led them in a search for a way to escape.

They tried running straight out of the cave from the beginning, or finding a survivor inside the cave who matched the rule list and bringing them outside, but doing so resulted in everything going back to the beginning, reading the rules again, and being brought back into the cave again—a repetitive process.

So in the fourth round, the veteran player tried to enter the large slide area. However, when it was repeated in the fifth round, the veteran player stopped communicating with them and became silent like a dead person, only knowing to follow the rules and look for rescuers.

The three panicked new players also tried to save themselves, but when it was Gao Hai's turn to appear here for the seventh time, apart from Wang Gui who was more cautious and did not trigger anything, the other two new players could no longer remember their names, and their past memories were becoming increasingly blurred.

"Please, save us, save me..."

Wang Gui, gripping Gao Hai's sleeve tightly, spoke with undisguised fear and despair in his voice.

After listening to the man's words, Gao Hai lowered his head and thought for a moment before realizing a fact.

The rescue team in this instance is probably like the rescue team in Shirakawa Apartment—an identity that is "unable to complete the game."

Chapter Thirteen: Deep into Different Corners of This Darkness

"We have entered the Stone Forest Road area and are returning to the entrance."

Kaguya Shinomiya once again communicated with the command center through her earpiece, relaying information, before taking action and leading her two team members forward.

Stone Forest Road.

This is the name of the cave she was walking through.

Stone pillars lined both sides of the road, and with the stalactites clustered together, Kaguya could more or less understand why this place was called "Stone Forest Road".

Most of the benches that were once built as tourist attractions have collapsed and are now broken.

All the lights used for illumination were turned off, so the exploration team could only move around using the lighting equipment they carried.

Faintly, Kaguya could hear someone whispering.

The voices came from behind the rock wall beside me, from who knows how far away they were.

I couldn't hear what they were saying clearly.

However, the warning coming from the blessing is growing stronger, and it's certain that if this voice continues to be heard, nothing good will happen.

Kaguya did not hesitate, ignoring the noise, and continued to carefully advance in the darkness, avoiding the clothes scattered on the ground, and step by step, she approached the entrance.

slam-la-

Suddenly, the sound of flowing water could be heard.

Kaguya paused for a moment, looked up at the source of the sound of flowing water, but saw nothing.

slam-la-

Gao Hai has already waded through the water and is about to cross the Stone Forest Road to reach the area where the [Plains] are located.

Just now, I had a strange feeling, like someone was staring at me.

Gao Hai turned around with some confusion, but all he saw was a cave with dripping water and churning water; there was nothing else there.

He didn't have time to pay attention to these strange sensations right now. He had to take advantage of his current status as a member of the "Rescue Team" to find more information about this instance and to find other people.

"We've arrived. This is the [Plains]."

In the flickering light, Wang Gui followed Gao Hai into a very spacious cave, almost the size of a football field.

This is the largest area in the Red Nut Grotto, filled with peculiar rock formations. If it weren't for the fact that water is leaking everywhere and the ground is covered by water, Gao Hai thinks he might still be willing to stay here and enjoy the scenery.

But right now, just the pale figures wandering around here in rescue team uniforms and firefighter uniforms, and those accompanying them dressed like tourists and some who seemed to be explorers, made Gao Hai have to be on his guard and act with caution.

He sensed intense malice here.

There's no way to pinpoint the exact direction; it's as if something, like a thick barrier, is projecting intense malice towards us.

"You said that rescuing people from here would only start the next cycle, and staying here too long or running away would also start the next cycle, right?"

Gao Hai turned to look at the new player named Wang Gui and spoke.

"Yes, that's how it is. Do you have any ideas?"

Wang Gui nodded quickly and asked Gao Hai cautiously.

"There may not be a solution, but I can only give it a try."

With that, Gao Hai took a step and approached the entrance to the giant slide.

His goal wasn't the big slide.

It was based on information given by Wang Gui on the way here, specifically the guard post located at the entrance of the large slide.

slam-la-

The raging water tumbled down the slope inside the cave.

Gao Hai could see that the location of the large slide should have been blocked by a cement wall, but now that wall had collapsed, and the rainwater in the cave gathered and spread down the hole, flowing deeper into the cave.

In the dim light, one could almost see someone reaching out and waving at them from behind the opening in the giant slide.

Gao Hai felt an invisible force, as if it were enticing him, driving him to approach the breach, to walk through the entrance of the giant slide and into the cave.

However, this level of mental erosion was no longer effective against Gao Hai, so he first told the three players to stand further away, and then quickly headed towards the guard post. The guard post that appeared in the cave at this moment looked completely intact, unlike the completely abandoned guard post that Gao Hai and Qianhua had discovered earlier.

He reached out and grabbed the doorknob, then gently turned it.

The door didn't turn; it looked locked.

Gao Hai reached out and knocked hard on the guard booth door, then kicked it, but received no response.

Is no one home?

After a brief hesitation, Gao Hai drew his pistol and pointed it at the door lock.

boom!

After a sharp gunshot, Gao Hai kicked open the guard post door and strode into it.

Fujiwara Chika raised her head, turned around, and looked at the security guard who had opened the door and walked in.

Or rather, something wearing a security guard uniform walked in.

The girl did not scream.

She simply clenched her fingers, letting them prick her palms and draw blood, without making a sound, just watching the thing that walked in.

It was indeed wearing a security guard uniform.

But its body... Chika found it hard to describe. It was like a person being flattened bit by bit, with every part of its body appearing flattened. Broken bones and rotten flesh seeped out from the gaps in its clothes and between its skin and flesh, all being flattened in the same way.

The only description that Qianhua could think of was people who were crushed into mincemeat in those grotesque movies, or rats that were run over by car tires on the highway.

This thing is standing right in front of me now.

Even after it has become such a terrifying creature, it still acts like a normal person.

【Who are you?】

The girl heard the thing's indistinct questioning voice.

"I...I am..."

Even though she tried her best to keep her emotions in check, Chika's voice still trembled uncontrollably.

[The guard post...cannot...be entered...]

Its flattened body writhed and stumbled forward, its head, crushed into a pile of pieces, slowly approaching Chika.

The crisis of death is looming.

Before today, the girl had never felt such intense fear.

Don't panic.

We must not lose our rationality.

You must provide an answer, and it must be an answer that conforms to the rules of this place.

You...cannot...be here...

In the muffled sounds, the creature's head was almost touching Chika's face.

"I am... a security guard..."

The girl, clenching her teeth, finally gave her answer in this suffocating moment, each word she uttered trembling.

The monster stopped moving.

【security guard……?】

The thing seemed puzzled by Chika's words, its movements paused slightly, and its twisted body froze.

"N-No, that's right. I'm a security guard, yes, I'm a security guard here! I'm the newly appointed security guard, Fujiwara Chika!"

With that reply, the girl, who had regained some confidence, grabbed the chair and stepped back a little, then continued to speak loudly to the monster.

[Security guard... shift one... only one person... no partner... why...]