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

Even the will to resist could not be raised; in the face of this incomprehensible power, it seemed that consciousness itself was disintegrating and collapsing.

Such an irresistible force, this is...

[It's just a clumsy imitation. It seems that many of these Red Moon-level core obsessions controlled by the "hospital" are failures of the "doctor," sacrifices on this thing's path to godhood. They really have a whole system for making use of waste, which is why I hate those two-faced trash the most.]

A cold voice appeared, accompanied by golden light.

Although the shattered mental shield only bought them half a second, the use of the blessing power was enough for Gao Hai, who had been monitoring the situation, to notice something was wrong and actively invest his power for a more detailed observation.

The thing hidden in the darkness trembled violently, as if trying to break free from Akira Toyama's will and turn to run away.

But the arm burning with golden flames suddenly stretched out, easily grabbing the shadow and crushing it as if it were an ant.

The next moment, Akira Toyama felt his consciousness finally break free of its restraints and return to his body.

"Finally... Haha..."

open one's eyes.

The severe headache prevented Akira Toyama from fully expressing his feelings.

Before he could thank Gao Hai for saving the day, Yuanshan Ming, regaining consciousness, struggled to sit up from the ground. He then found himself still in the dark cave, with the police officer standing in front of him. In front of him were twisted monsters that had recovered and were slowly gathering together.

The crisis does not seem to be truly over yet.

Chapter Fifty-Six: What Gao Hai Sees and the Reunion of the Red Knot Society Team.

It seems the Red Knot Society team has discovered something quite interesting.

On the throne of torture instruments, Gao Hai closed his eyes, carefully sensing the situation on Yuanshan Ming's side.

The signal from Touyama Akira's side had weakened considerably, clearly indicating that the other party had penetrated deep into the area of ​​the core obsession and paid a price for it. The question was, how much had they gained, and whether they had discovered any Red Moon-level core obsessions in that area?

Hmm, if I remember correctly, three different core obsession auras were detected in that instance area. Hopefully, the other party has actually discovered something. Otherwise, such a large-scale investment of resources would be a bit of a waste.

Unable to clearly perceive the situation in that area, with the signal weakened, he could only barely confirm the other party's condition, just like Cat Brother and Sun Dajun, who were still trapped in the edge space. However, the difference was that Gao Hai indeed had difficulty intervening in the edge space, unable to find a clear coordinate point. But Gao Hai was able to grasp Yuan Shanming's coordinates from beginning to end, especially after approaching with a signal amplifier.

Therefore, Gao Hai quickly made the decision to intervene.

After all, the other party's soul aura had begun to change drastically. The fact that such a situation occurred proved that Toyama Akira was likely facing a life-or-death crisis and had been forced to use some important spiritual or soul-level means. If no one helped him, he might be about to die.

The vague senses gradually became clearer as attention focused.

With the help of Officer Hirano Sosuke, who was standing next to Akira Toyama, amplifying the signal, Takami was able to see through the hazy cover and clearly see Akira Toyama in the dark cave, and the evil thing that was gradually approaching him.

The time needed to get a clear view of the surroundings is less than one-tenth of the time needed to get here.

In that brief moment, Gao Hai was able to understand the current situation and what lay in the darkness.

It's another cave, a really annoying place.

Moreover, the fact that it's a strange creature hidden in a cave makes it even more annoying.

As for this core obsession... ha, it's really quite clumsy. Individuals of this level pose no threat at all now, and are nothing more than annoying.

However, given Akira Toyama's strength, the situation is indeed very dangerous. If he were to confront that thing head-on, he would have virtually no chance of survival. Furthermore, to avoid being discovered by the [Hospital] and thus causing the players to be targeted even more, he cannot truly unleash his full power, which would become very troublesome.

No, wait...

The spatial structure here seems quite different from that outside.

My intuition was right; this place is more enclosed, seemingly forming some kind of mystical concept within the cave itself. The space itself changes drastically between the inner and outer areas. If that's the case, then even if I directly use my power, as long as I withdraw it in time without leaving a trace, it seems I don't need to worry about it leaking out and being discovered.

That saves a lot of trouble, so let's get started.

hum-

Burning light shone brightly in the dark cave.

The released power easily shattered the monster's outstretched hand.

The thing hidden in the darkness didn't have time to retreat completely before being caught up by the power released by Gao Hai, and was instantly severely burned. The thing suddenly let out a piercing scream, which almost deafened Toyama Akira in an instant, but it couldn't shake Gao Hai in the slightest.

I can see it now, and I can see it much more clearly.

A void shell, a colorless, empty entity. It resembles the result of the "Void" formed at Nightfall Mountain Middle School, but is fundamentally different. This thing was deliberately cultivated, highly targeted. The cultivator knew what they wanted to obtain from the beginning, but judging from the result, the cultivation process must not have gone smoothly. Otherwise, this thing wouldn't have been left to fend for itself in this dark cave, or now it's being casually thrown out as a grunt, with no time even spent addressing the spatial structure issues of this place.

[Mom...Mom...]

I heard the child calling for his mother.

From that empty shell, from this thing that is essentially nothing, comes call after call.

Akira Toyama, who wasn't in good condition, was unable to see what the thing behind the darkness looked like.

But Gao Hai could clearly see the faces of those babies, the crying faces crowding out from those empty shells, and those victims who remained in endless pain, given the name of "liberation" but who were actually never free.

One of the core obsessions of the [Resort] area is that its deepest and most fundamental obsession is essentially a manifestation of human suffering. It is the most instinctive fear and pain of a child who cannot receive the protection of his mother in infancy.

Therefore, it manifests when a person is in a near-death state, their mental state reverting to the vulnerability of an infant, causing the confused victim to see it as their mother and call upon it like a real infant, seeking its protection. Then, the act of "calling" establishes a contract, and the souls of those victims who have no idea what they are calling upon are devoured by this thing, trapped in an inescapable torment.

For hundreds and thousands of years, those victims have lived inside this thing and still cannot rest in peace.

Even as time accumulated, the lingering pain and obsession within the bodies of those devoured victims coalesced to form a second core obsession: a twisted entity, lost in its own incompleteness and imperfection, fixated on the search for its mother.

So, the power of the hospital can even extend back a thousand years? Did it already exist back then?

No, my thinking was limited by past habits.

Just as KP himself transcends time, the [Hospital] capable of imprisoning KP must have already evolved to a level similar to KP's. For a [Hospital] that has reached the realm of divinity, it can exist simultaneously at any point on the timeline. Therefore, it is entirely reasonable for it to have influenced a certain place and cultivated its own [Doctors] a thousand years ago.

However, even with such power, the hospital could not truly break free from the control of the sacrificial game.

Therefore, this thing cannot travel back ten thousand years to confront the Blood Flowers and the ancient planetary gods, nor can it directly reach a timeline where it has already succeeded. Instead, it must remain in the present and try to control Gao Hai, the biggest variable, in order to have a true chance of transcendence. And clearly, Gao Hai has no intention of obeying this two-faced thing; he will definitely kill this lump of a coin, just as he has done all along.

[Mommy... Mommy Mommy Mommy Mommy...]

The moment Gao Hai understood what it was, the hideous monster had already launched its attack.

Invisible cries came from all directions, the chaotic sounds carrying the simultaneous blows to flesh and spirit, capable of easily twisting any life into a blasphemous form.

For Gao Hai, this attack was no different from mourning.

But for Akira Toyama standing to the side, this was a deadly move that he was unlikely to survive.

However, it didn't matter. Before that situation even occurred, Gao Hai's power had already penetrated deep into Toyama Akira's body, shielding him from all attacks and rapidly healing him. So much so that Toyama Akira, whose senses were blurred, didn't even realize what was happening; a dangerous clash of forces silently took place right before his eyes.

"Thank you, Mr. Gao."

When Akira Toyama stood up from the ground, the golden flames that belonged to Takami had disappeared.

And the thing lurking in the darkness has become restless again, about to launch an even more ferocious attack.

Gao Hai's presence was no longer felt.

Regardless, the enemy is currently keeping a close eye on Gao Hai himself, so taking advantage of the enclosed nature of this space to make a move once is already the limit for Gao Hai.

If he continues to unleash his power, the hospital might discover him. Right now, it's up to Akira Toyama to figure out a solution himself. However, even if he can't easily intervene, Gao Hai doesn't intend to let him die here. If things truly reach an irreversible point, he will definitely take Akira Toyama's soul with him.

The crisis is not over yet. Even with police protection, you could still fall here. Don't let your guard down.

A voice from Takahashi echoed in Akira Toyama's mind, issuing a solemn warning.

Upon hearing the sound, Toyama Akira didn't say much. While approaching the police officer and keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings, he quickly pulled out a faded old whistle from his body, put it in his mouth, and blew it sharply.

There was no sound.

The whistle seemed to be broken; no matter how much force Yuanshan Ming used, he couldn't make a sound.

boom!

In contrast, the bullets fired by the police officers did not stop for a moment, raining down on the monsters that had risen again, tearing them to shreds and turning them into pieces of flesh.

The flashes of gunfire repeatedly tore through the darkness, just as bullets ripped through the body of the strange creature.

The monsters, which had recovered rapidly under the influence of an unknown force, were pulverized by the police officers' bullets once again before they could even take a step toward Akira Toyama.

Unlike before, these deformed creatures, even when shattered to pieces and reduced to mangled flesh, would quickly reassemble. Even though this reassembly often resulted in severe deformities or rendered the assembled creatures incapable of normal movement, their aggregated bodies would continuously change form, gradually finding a posture capable of normal movement through repeated disintegration and reassembly, searching for a way to break through the police's firepower.

Bang bang bang bang bang——

The officers responded with even more intense firing, giving the monsters no chance to change their form, turning them all into minced meat, and even tearing the minced meat apart further.

The being lurking in the darkness didn't seem to intend to reveal itself immediately, but instead urged those strange creatures to launch an attack.

Toyama Akira didn't know the reason why the thing was doing this, but that didn't stop him from taking action. Finding an opening, Toyama Akira patted the officer beside him, signaling him to follow him, then climbed over the collapsed wall and began to move deeper into the cave.

Fighting a group of unkillable monsters is never the purpose of players coming here. Finding the core obsession object, locating its coordinates, burying the fragments of the Crimson Domain, and allowing Gao Hai to detonate them remotely to completely solve these problems is the reason why everyone is willing to risk their lives to enter this place.

It should be somewhere nearby.

As Yuanshan Ming ran, he silently memorized the surrounding environment in his mind.

The core obsession, seemingly originating from ancient times, should theoretically have never left this cave; its core object must be within this cave. As for the core obsession formed by the plague victims, considering they died in this cave, Akira Toyama believes that its core object is unlikely to have wandered into the resort area; it might also be within this cave.

【Mother……】

The thing started moving.

Even after losing the support of Gao Hai's power, Toyama Akira's senses could no longer clearly identify the thing. However, just the slightest approach of its aura was enough to make Toyama Akira feel a chill run down his spine, making him clearly aware of the consequences of being approached by the other party.

Bang! ! !

The next second, the police officer leaped into the air, disappearing into the darkness amidst the whistling and roaring bullets, and directly clashed with the twisted entity.

The ground was shaking violently.

Without looking back at the battle of the immortals behind him, Yuanshan Ming ran wildly, following his intuition, towards the depths of the cave ahead, stepping into a flat area with obvious signs of artificial repair.

The first thing we saw was the body of a middle-aged man.

Strangely, the moment Akira Toyama saw the other person, he realized that it was Fumio Asakawa's corpse.

Then, looking forward from the location of the corpse lying on the ground, which looked like it had just died, Akira Toyama saw blood smeared on the wall, distorted and bizarre drawings that were impossible to understand, and a slightly ajar door at the deepest part of the cave.

On the other side of the door, Akira saw bright lights, a clean white corridor and ward, and a little girl standing in the corridor, watching him.

Are you... here?

The momentary lapse in consciousness lasts only a moment.

A strong mind allowed Akira Toyama to stabilize his emotions in an instant, casting aside all his chaotic thoughts. He then turned his head sharply to look at a skull with many patterns carved among the rubble on one side of the cave.

There's no mistake, this aura... this is a core obsession object. Although we can't be sure which one it is, it's definitely a core obsession object.

Yuanshan Ming sprinted forward and arrived in front of the thing in the blink of an eye.