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

Even though he could sense the chilling aura, there was nothing in his sight at all; he couldn't discern anything unusual. Furthermore, due to the peculiar nature of this place, his senses couldn't be fully utilized to directly locate the enemy; he could only get a very vague, general impression.

Moreover, even more dangerous things are approaching.

After that strange impact, the underground alleyway maze, which had been lifeless, slowly began to come alive. The hidden monsters that had not yet become active approached one after another, heading towards the two players who had gathered there, namely Sun Dajun and Cat Brother.

Cat Brother couldn't see any of those things either; at most, he could only vaguely sense them.

The enemy is numerous and their exact location cannot be pinpointed.

Then let's skip locking on and just attack everything we can reach!

"Close your eyes! Cover your ears!"

Cat Brother, who had no time to make any further preparations, turned around and roared at Sun Dajun, who was still confused about the situation. Then he gathered the blood-stained paper money in his hand and released it the moment it hit the ground. The paper money pierced through the ground and merged into it. Then he unleashed his power and shattered the corridor that had been painstakingly reassembled.

boom--

An even more violent impact followed, completely tearing apart the area where the two were located.

In the raging wind, Cat Brother carried Sun Dajun, who was almost dizzy from being shaken, with one hand, and reached out with the other to collect the blood-stained paper money. He looked at the hideous things with blurry shapes that were gradually becoming visible in the explosion, then rolled twice in mid-air before landing steadily on the ground.

At this moment, the surrounding environment had changed again.

Chapter Forty-Eight: The Whispers of the Lost Land, Madness, and the Messages of the Victims.

The smell of blood was spreading.

The dying man's gasps continued intermittently.

The corpses piled up on top of each other, trembling, and smiling through the blurred vision.

What have I done...?

Why... did everyone become like this...?

There is no way to recall when it all started or how it evolved into what it is today.

All I remember is that at the very beginning, I seemed to see someone's corpse, and then I found that the person appeared perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

Those who thought they could fool me were actually only fooling themselves...

No, that wasn't the very beginning...

In the very beginning, everyone should have been together.

That's right. Although we don't know how we got into this strange and chaotic underground space, we were all together at that time. We all gathered in a relatively open area, and after contacting Mr. Gao, we decided to stay put and wait for rescue. We never thought about leaving.

But, without anyone noticing, people began to disappear one by one.

At first, there were some tense and restless survivors. Despite carefully checking everyone's condition, they somehow disappeared.

Did they leave on their own? Or did someone take them away?

Next were the players patrolling the perimeter. Even though they had communication tokens and were all very vigilant, carefully observing their surroundings, they inexplicably became careless. By the time they noticed, their teammates had already disappeared, lost contact, and gone without a trace.

This shouldn't have happened. We've fought side by side more than once; there shouldn't be this kind of thing where someone leaves without saying goodbye.

There are fewer and fewer people.

Even with constant contact with Mr. Gao, continuous requests for rescue, and calls for the remaining people to gather together, including the decision to have everyone hold hands and form a circle, the number of people was still inexplicably decreasing.

It's as if there's an unseen monster lurking in the group, quietly devouring our existence.

The number of people has decreased to less than 10, but the rescue has still not arrived.

The number of people has been reduced to less than five, but the rescue promised by Mr. Gao has not arrived.

In the end, when he was all alone, the rescue that was supposed to come still hadn't arrived.

[Your coordinates and the coordinates of the player coming to your rescue are now in the same area. Are you sure you can't find any trace of them?]

If that's the case... then the spatial anomalies in this area are probably more severe than anticipated, and I still can't pinpoint your exact location, tsk...

I still suggest you stay put. This level of anomaly could cause even bigger problems if you leave. Just stay put and wait. The players coming to rescue you are nearby. I'll work with them to figure out how to resolve the spatial anomaly.

Gao Hai, who was on the other end of the communication, was still explaining the situation and trying to find a solution.

However, listening to the other person's voice, for some reason, I had a strange feeling that "the rescue is no longer coming."

After all that they said, no one actually came, right?

What Mr. Gao promised was probably all a lie, wasn't it? Believing him and waiting for rescue was the biggest mistake they made.

I can only rely on myself.

Once you realize this, you take a step forward involuntarily.

Ignoring the words of the man named Gao Hai, she naturally made the decision to find her teammates and survivors on her own.

Perhaps my thoughts and actions are a bit strange, or maybe there really is something wrong with this place. After all, whether it's the inexplicable dispersal of people or the rescue team's inability to reach my location, it's clearly due to some kind of unusual effect.

This eerie and dark underground space must conceal something, something extremely terrifying and incomprehensible, that constantly affects the living people within it.

My decision to ignore that man named Gao Hai and choose to act alone might also be influenced by some kind of force.

But who cares?

I think this is the right thing to do.

Now I can only rely on myself; everyone else is untrustworthy. After all, they disappeared on their own; no one stayed put like I did. Those so-called rescuers never came; they were just empty promises.

Only I realized the problem here, only I perceived the danger and understood the possible forms of the other party's existence.

So now, I am the only one who might be able to save everyone.

It was truly a strange story. Even though nothing had changed after I waited in the same spot for so long, the moment I decided to move, I immediately discovered traces of survivors I hadn't seen during my previous patrol. Then, after following those traces for a while, I actually found a living person—a player who had mysteriously disappeared from the party earlier.

If I hadn't found the other person's body first, I might have been very happy.

"Captain, I don't know how I got away. I felt like my head suddenly became a little foggy, like I was dreaming. It was that feeling of not being able to control my body. Even though everything around me was wrong, I still kept moving forward under the control of my instincts until some time passed and I suddenly realized that something was wrong... Anyway, by the time I realized that I might have been affected by the power of the ghost stories, I had completely lost my team, and I couldn't find a way to get back."

The player who had been separated from him seemed very happy to be reunited with him.

It was clear that the other person was very afraid when acting alone. After all, it was a completely unfamiliar dungeon environment. Without knowing the rules or the strength of the monsters, any player would feel fear, which is perfectly normal.

However, I have already seen his body.

This player is dead in this underground area; he is dead.

The person standing before me now is merely a false entity, sustained by the power of obsession, temporarily existing under the rules of ghost stories.

He is no longer my teammate, but my enemy.

However, if I choose to expose him, he might immediately turn into a monster and attack me, which is very dangerous. So I must keep him calm, make him think he is still alive, and find an opportunity to suppress or eliminate him.

It's such a shame that they would do such a thing to their own comrades. Damn this "Sacrifice Game," why does it always have to torture us in various ways?

"Great, I've finally found you."

"I thought I was going to be found by those monsters, thank God, thank God..."

"What on earth happened? You promised to protect us, so why did you all suddenly disappear?!"

After that, even more people were found.

Some were fellow players who had participated in the rescue operation, while others were ordinary people who were survivors who had been swept into this unknown area. The people who had been scattered were now returning to the group, as if they had never gone far, as if these people had always been beside them, only they hadn't seen them before.

Everyone seemed to be very happy.

Everyone seemed to relax, anticipating the moment to escape this eerie space.

However, I know that there are monsters mixed in with these people.

I believe some of my teammates were aware of this as well, judging from the expressions on their faces. Perhaps some survivors also noticed the problem; I observed those anxiously observing their surroundings. Although they were ordinary people, there were still some with keen observation skills among them.

I know that everyone is waiting for an opportunity; they, like me, are waiting for the right moment.

We await the truth about those things that approach us disguised as living people.

Waiting for the moment when those monsters who think they are still alive will reveal their weaknesses and be killed in one blow.

Then, the smell of blood seemed to get stronger.

My vision gradually blurred, and I could no longer see my surroundings clearly.

Everyone around me had their faces veiled in mist, making it impossible to see their expressions or even understand their voices.

Is something about to happen again?

As I was thinking this, I noticed even more corpses hidden on both sides of the road.

The corpses that are hidden in various ways, but which an experienced person can spot at a glance, while others may not be able to detect them.

Some were his teammates from the operation, and some were survivors he had managed to rescue. The number wasn't particularly large, but finding more bodies meant that more of his comrades had actually become monsters, only pretending to be alive now.

So that's how it is. I'm afraid everyone here except me is the problem.

It's truly regrettable, but things have come to this point, and it's time to take action.

After all, I chose to join this rescue operation and take on this responsibility, so I must live up to the expectations of those who survived.

Yes, I have to get rid of those fake individuals; I have to kill those who think they're still alive.

That's right.

【Yes】

Someone has to do it.

This is a responsibility I should rightfully shoulder.

There must be other survivors who haven't been harmed yet; I have to protect them.

This was a choice that had to be made to save more people and for the happiness of more people.

I don't want to do this, but I have no choice. I have to save more people. I have to protect those who can still be saved.

They're beyond saving. These people are no longer our allies; they're now among the monsters. We must kill them.

Let's end their confusion and suffering; that's the only way now, there's no other way.

Kill them so that others can live; kill them so that more people may find happiness.

I had no choice; it wasn't my fault.

I didn't do anything wrong. This isn't my fault; it's just the unfairness of fate.