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

"If you were injured, you should have said so earlier. Anyway, there's nothing serious right now, so I can come over and help with the medicine and bandaging."

"Next comes a crucial battle with our backs against the wall. No matter what, we all need to be in top condition."

"You're not allowed to hide away like this anymore. Can't you talk to me about anything? Or do you think I'm not reliable enough?"

The girl's displeased tone, along with the concern in her words, warmed Gao Hai's heart.

"If you keep showing me this much concern, I might just confess my feelings to you, Miss Maki."

So he laughed and joked, turning around to face Princess Zhenfei directly.

"What? You confess your feelings after only a few days of getting to know each other? That's something only a shallow man would do."

Zhenfei blushed at Gao Hai's words, but her composure remained unshaken, and she immediately retorted with righteous indignation.

"Although it was only a few days, we went through thick and thin together and experienced many ups and downs. This level of experience is something other couples can't achieve even after a year of dating. So, in terms of the depth of our relationship, I believe we've already known each other for a year."

Gao Hai's smile grew increasingly pleased, and his words became slightly more unrestrained.

In a sense, he was getting to know the boundaries of his relationship with Maki better and better, and Maki was also getting to know Gao Hai's personality more and more. The two of them were gradually no longer in need of the polite and distant boundaries that ordinary friends have.

"That's such a lame comment; it sounds like something a scumbag would say to deliberately flirt with girls."

Princess Zhenfei then immediately showed a look of disdain.

"Oh, is it really necessary to think like that? I'm going to get really hurt."

Gao Hai immediately reacted in a somewhat exaggerated manner.

"It's just too lame, and it doesn't have that kind of calculation method you mentioned, like couples and stuff... Hmph, let's talk about that after we get out of here. For now, let's focus on the present. If we can get out of this apartment smoothly, maybe I can actually hear what outrageous demands you have. Okay, okay, the bandaging is done, I should go."

Princess Zhenfei muttered to herself as she looked away slightly, her rosy cheeks appearing even more adorable in the dim light.

Gao Hai was still somewhat dazed for a moment. He couldn't help but feel that, compared to those terrifying and bizarre strange tales, this pure girl's reaction seemed to have a stronger impact on him.

So, as Princess Zhenfei got up to leave, he grabbed her wrist.

"What...what are you doing?"

Consort Zhenfei, somewhat flustered, asked, "I didn't expect Gao Hai to do this."

"I don't want to wait until 'after we get out' or any other kind of 'we'll talk about it later' approach. There are always various difficulties in making that happen, so let's talk about it here."

Gao Hai took a deep breath and pulled Zhen Fei back to sit in front of him.

"What are we talking about? This isn't the time to discuss this kind of thing..."

Zhenfei's cheeks turned even redder, and her voice became weaker. She struggled with her hands, but seemed unable to really break free from Gao Hai's grasp.

"You are very important to me, Maki. From the first time you saved my life, to the second time you supported me, and now, to be able to see you here with your memories intact, remembering the experiences we fought together. You are very important to me, so I hope you will listen to me carefully."

Gao Hai's expression grew increasingly serious.

"This...this...no, Haijun, you..."

Zhenfei's face grew redder and redder, her voice trembled more and more, and she dared not meet Gao Hai's gaze.

Her heart began to pound.

Sitting opposite her, Gao Hai had an unprecedentedly serious expression on his face.

Although he had always dreamed of becoming a harem king in the world of anime, Gao Hai had to admit that everything that the lovely girl Maki had done for him during his time in this godforsaken place had deeply moved him.

If she were willing to accept him here, believe in him here, and choose him, Gao Hai felt that perhaps his entire life would be tied to this girl.

At least for this moment, he genuinely had this thought. Because in his eyes, this kind of girl was someone he would protect with his entire life.

So, he wanted to tell her that even if he ultimately failed and couldn't leave the Shirakawa Apartments, he still wanted to tell her, to let her know his feelings for her, what he wanted to say—

pat-

Before Gao Hai could speak, Zhen Fei suddenly broke free from his hand, hurriedly got up from the ground, and ran out the door in a flash.

"I...I'll go ask Auntie if she's ready over there. Haijun, you...you need to get some rest too. Okay, that's all!"

He finished speaking hastily, and then the door outside slammed shut.

what……

They just ran away like that?

Gao Hai sat there blankly for a long time before finally withdrawing his outstretched hand that had been tightly holding Zhenfei's.

"Was I too hasty after all? But I really don't want to make a promise..."

Sighing, Gao Hai lay down on the floor, closed his eyes helplessly, and rested for the time being.

Chapter 55: The Finale Begins Under the Rain Curtain

The incident of trying to confess his feelings to Princess Zhenfei only to have her run away was just a small episode before everything began.

The light outside the window dimmed, then brightened, then plunged back into darkness, and then brightened a second time.

The third day flew by as the clock sped up.

"So, everyone, are you ready? This time, we either leave this apartment alive or die on the way. There is only one possibility."

Standing in the living room of 206, Gao Hai looked at Kaguya and Maki beside him, as well as Sun Dajun, Green, and Maeda Miwa, who were a little further away with very tense expressions, and Mamael, who was waving her hands excitedly like a primary school student on a school trip. He spoke slowly and solemnly.

"Let's go, now is not the time to hesitate."

Kaguya spoke in a cold tone and took the lead, walking forward.

"……Um."

Maki simply responded softly, not daring to turn her head to look at Takami, and followed Kaguya with her head down.

"We really should follow them..."

Green trembled slightly. He originally thought that he would stay behind as before, but Gao Hai's words, "Everyone has to leave," made the decision that all the survivors on the second floor should follow along.

"The main problem is that the second floor really can't be used anymore..."

Sun Dajun understood the decision. He lowered his head and looked at the wet floor, unable to hide the unease on his face.

The apartment's condition is deteriorating.

After the toy doll, which housed a part of the core ghost story obsession, was taken out of room 304, the situation in the entire apartment continued to deteriorate.

The walls on the second floor, which should have been safe, began to grow moss, water was still dripping from the ceiling, and dirty sewage gradually appeared on the floor, as if it were turning towards that past moment, towards the worst moment that this apartment building had ever experienced.

We can't stay on the second floor any longer.

The second floor of the Shirakawa Apartments will soon be completely transformed into an area of ​​unknown danger, so the original support staff cannot be left behind for this operation. Everyone must go to the third floor, and once there, we can try to find a place to house those who are not suitable for exploration.

Stepping out of the main gate and into the hallway, one can immediately sense the unpleasant stench permeating the air.

Most people here didn't understand what the stench was; they just found it extremely unpleasant. But Green's brow furrowed even deeper, because he knew very well that this smell could only come from a rotting corpse.

Moreover, it must smell like a human corpse.

Gao Hai also knew what was emitting this smell.

The smell on this layer isn't strong, but it's far from being nauseating.

But as everyone climbed the stairs one by one and entered the third floor, upon reaching that twisted and chaotic area, the stench became extremely strong.

"Why does it smell so bad? Ugh, it's disgusting..."

Princess Zhenfei was really struggling to hold it in and was already feeling the urge to vomit.

"Don't spit it out, don't make any loud noises, keep quiet."

Kaguya, who was walking in front, also had her brows furrowed, but she immediately turned around and whispered to Sun Dajun and the others who were following behind.

Sun Dajun was about to vomit, but he managed to hold it back after hearing this. Green and Maeda Miwa, on the other hand, remained unfazed, but the difference was that the former could barely tolerate the smell, while the latter had damaged her nose from inhaling some irritating gases and couldn't smell anything at all.

"Oh man, this is a terrible place."

The young Black man, Mamer, was initially excited, but upon reaching the third floor and facing the surreal scene before him, he swallowed hard and became somewhat frightened.

It no longer looks the same as the original third floor.

Gao Hai looked around, gazing at the damp floor, and became even more aware of the strange changes happening in this place.

All the walls were in a state of near disrepair, soaked through with water, like the top floor of a building with poor waterproofing that had been eroded by a rainstorm. Large patches of paint had peeled off, revealing the damp brick structure inside.

The water on the ground continued to flow, haphazardly moving in all directions.

The children have all disappeared.

The footsteps did not reappear.

The third floor of Shirakawa Apartments has shifted from a state of "normality" to one of "abnormality." The experience that Gao Hai and the others had accumulated from exploring this floor is now completely ineffective and they are no longer able to cope with the current situation.

However, at least for now, they haven't encountered anything that poses a threat to them.

"Consort Zhen, try using the key first."

Gao Hai quickly found a nearby door that was leaning against a twisted wall and spoke to Zhen Fei.

"OK, all right."

Although her heart had been racing from Gao Hai's actions, now that it was time to get down to business, Maki knew what was important. So she immediately suppressed all her emotions, went to the door, and took out the red key.

Inherited from the old player Lao Guo's Blood Key, it is an obsessive item that seems to be able to open any door and make the opened door lead to the place the user wants to go, or to lure something dangerous up there.

This is a double-edged sword, so both Takami and Kaguya were very careful and vigilant about their surroundings when using it, always watching out for anything that might be lured over.

Click——

With a gentle turn of the key inserted into the lock cylinder, the door opens.

Behind that door was a small living room that was constantly dripping water; the windows were sealed shut, and the kitchen door was tightly closed. The door that Maki had opened led into this living room.

"No problem, come in."

Gao Hai was the first to enter the house. After searching inside and finding nothing unusual, he waved to signal the others outside to come in. Zhen Fei, who was at the back, closed the door, took out the key, and carefully closed it again. When Zhen Fei opened the door again, although the area outside was still a chaotic and distorted architectural area, it was clearly different from where they had been before.

"We haven't found anything attracting it yet, so it should still be safe."

After observing the situation at the door for a while, Zhenfei turned around and spoke to the people behind her.

"Very well, let's begin. Those who remain, just stay here and don't forget the agreed-upon code. Maki, Lady Shinomiya, let's go."

Gao Hai nodded slightly, then started walking towards the door.