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

"I know, I'm sorry, I guess I was a bit too eager. Anyway, it's great that we've all survived safely, and I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, Maki."

Therefore, the corners of his mouth curled up even more, and the joy in his voice was completely undisguised.

"Ugh... what nonsense are you spouting again? Anyway, don't come looking all high and mighty tomorrow!"

beep--

Finally, the girl hung up first, abruptly ending the call.

Gao Hai put down the phone, sat down in a chair in front of the desk on one side of the bedroom, and after sitting for a while, he clenched his fists, shook them, and whispered, "Yay!"

No matter what happens next, Gao Hai feels he's prepared to face it. Forget about those ridiculous supernatural horror films and strange tales; he's going to pander to otaku, he's going to fall in love. Of course, gathering information and understanding his own situation is also important, but the best approach is to do both without neglecting either.

As he was thinking this, Gao Hai turned to look out the window, then looked down at his phone.

Then he paused for a moment and turned his gaze back to the window.

They stared at each other for a moment, their eyes meeting the pale face of the woman pressed against the windowpane.

Gao Hai:? ? ?

Interlude 1-04: The Visible Illusion and the Beginning of a New Day

what's the situation?

In an instant, Gao Hai tensed up, almost standing up and running out of the bedroom door.

He had clearly already escaped from the instance.

Moreover, he clearly didn't encounter anything unusual during the entire day, and he was in a safe environment the whole time. How come this thing suddenly appeared just as night was about to fall? Could it be that all sorts of strange and supernatural things actually exist in the real world? It's just that they usually exist in a state of separation from ordinary people and are not noticed by people, but because I participated in the Rules of the Strange Tales game, my "eyes" were opened in a certain sense, so I was able to see these things?

Various thoughts flashed through Gao Hai's mind.

But soon, he frowned.

He sensed nothing from the woman's face in front of him.

Through the blessing given to him by the little girl, Gao Hai gained the ability to distinguish between kindness and malice, and between humans and non-humans.

This ability did not work on the round face in front of me.

It's as if this thing doesn't exist here, or it's just a natural phenomenon that doesn't inherently possess any inclination or emotion.

"..."

After a brief hesitation, Gao Hai stood up, walked to the desk, and reached out to open the window.

The woman's face simply stared straight ahead, continuing to float motionless.

Gao Hai had already reached out and tried to touch the other person.

His hand went straight through the thing.

I didn't touch anything.

This thing seems to be some kind of 3D projection or something; it doesn't have any physical form that you can touch.

But what exactly is this thing? And why am I seeing it?

After a brief moment of thought, Gao Hai got dressed and left home.

This time he saw much more.

Under the dim sky as night was about to fall.

High in the sky, distorted figures floated over the city, hovering in mid-air, sometimes blurry, sometimes clear, sometimes disappearing without a trace, and sometimes suddenly appearing.

Gao Hai saw countless corpses, countless monsters, and countless twisted and bizarre things.

Most of them are still floating in the sky, but some, like the pale woman's face, have fallen from the sky and are drifting aimlessly in various corners of the city.

People walk by on the street, ignoring them, and they, in turn, pay no attention to those passersby.

Occasionally, people would walk right through those things, and those things would also pass through pedestrians, vehicles, walls, and other objects on the road, like strange things in a bugged game that have lost their collision volume and can easily pass through walls, like a program that is running incorrectly, like an illusion, floating unnoticed.

What exactly are these things?

Gao Hai's unease intensified.

A game of supernatural tales masquerading as a ritual of sacrifice, restless souls imprisoned by unknown beings, bizarre creatures driven by obsessive desires, and... phantoms appearing in the real world. It's like a grand curtain slowly rising, and he's merely an actor in it, unable to know or predict what will happen next, unaware of where the play will ultimately lead.

"In any case, is it just a matter of taking it one step at a time?"

As Gao Hai was reminiscing, he turned his head and saw a girl with long black hair and beautiful light golden eyes walking past him, playing on her phone as she went. She was wearing a school uniform and looked like she had just come home from school, or was on her way home after going somewhere after school.

It looks like she lives right next door.

That girl's pure and lovely face is extremely rare even in the world of anime, and it carries a touch of pitifulness.

Gao Hai couldn't help but glance at her a few more times, concerned.

Let me preface this by saying that he wasn't driven by lust. Although Gao Hai was well aware that he had a somewhat frivolous and lewd personality, he wouldn't go so far as to fantasize and start having impulsive thoughts just because he met a good-looking stranger. It was just that, knowing this was a crossover anime world and having already encountered Kaguya Shinomiya and Maki Shijou, Gao Hai was suspicious that the beautiful girl he met might be the protagonist of some other work, so he was paying a little more attention to her.

As for the one in front of me... I can't tell. There are too many people with long, straight black hair in Japanese anime. The only thing I can be sure of is that this one is not Yukino Yukinoshita. The curve of her chest is obviously not something Hirano could have.

However, you could take a look at her house number... Hmm, the Yotsuya family? If it's the Yotsuya family... could it be the protagonist of "The Girl Who Can See," the one who's bullied by monsters every day and always has tears in her eyes?

With her around, does it mean that things invisible to ordinary people will one day become visible, and will gradually be noticed by those around them, and then...?

Forget it, what's the point of thinking that far ahead? I'd rather think about how I'm going to survive the next mission.

Gao Hai didn't approach her just because she was a beautiful girl. Instead, he turned and left, searching for a hair salon while continuing to think.

If the first mission, Shirakawa Apartment, is at the Twilight level, the next mission will be at the same level. As long as you act cautiously, you should be able to get through it safely. Hmm, it shouldn't be a big problem, as long as you avoid running into Old Guo and the traitorous woman again—those two absolute gems.

With that thought in mind, Gao Hai's gaze fell on a barbershop on the street, and he went straight inside.

"Boss, I'm going to see my girlfriend tomorrow, could you please give me a good-looking hairstyle?"

Gao Hai's words fell with a resounding force.

The shop assistants all looked up.

"Here he comes."

One of the young shop assistants adjusted his glasses and said in a low voice.

"Here comes the rare customer the boss was talking about—the one who doesn't order, only gives requests, hides his preferences, and even throws out punishment cards if he's not satisfied."

Another shirtless shop assistant nodded slightly, his expression serious.

"Are you sure the boss didn't stay out too much at the Night Sparrow Diner last night?"

The last employee, who seemed like a normal person, timidly raised his hand and asked.

tread--

Finally, a middle-aged man wearing a pink cat apron slowly raised his head and locked his gaze on Gao Hai as he walked into the barbershop.

"Young man, you actually dare to make such a request to me, the Tiger of the Backstreet, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Tokyo's barbershops. It's truly exhilarating. It seems that today is the day I return to the scene and reclaim my title of 'Onikiri no Tsukasa' (Demon-Kiri's Hand)."

Oh no, isn't your吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or witty remarks) a bit too classic? And even in the world of anime and manga, there's no need to make it this awkward. Have I wandered into the set of some kind of comedy show?

Despite wanting to complain, Gao Hai ended up getting his hair fixed at the shop, making himself look a bit neater. Then he went to the street and bought a few casual clothes that matched the colors and styles. While he wasn't exactly dressed up in a very stylish or trendy way, it was much better than the hastily put-together outfit he wore when he went to see Zhenfei.

That evening, Gao Hai contacted Maki and Kaguya again to ask if they could see the things outside, and both of them gave negative answers.

It seems that even among the players, only they themselves can see these things.

"If I had to say what makes me different from other players..."

Gao Hai lowered his head and looked at the black watch he was wearing.

Is it this thing that gave me the ability to see these things?

The question could not be answered.

Now is not a good time to take action.

Therefore, Gao Hai simply stayed at home and played games, trying out various game consoles. He marveled at how he had never dared to imagine such a life before, and happily played until late at night before finally going to rest and sleep.

That night he had a strange dream in which he was standing in the middle of a straight road.

On one side of the road stood the adorable Shijou Maki, and on the other side stood many beautiful girls with disheveled clothes.

Gao Hai walked toward Zhenfei, only to hear Zhenfei snort and turn away.

"Who cares if you choose me, you pervert, idiot, freak!"

Gao Hai then turned to look at the beautiful girls, who beckoned to him with their fingers.

"Sir, come and play!"

Gao Hai hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at Zhenfei, who had her back to him.

"Hmph, if you like it, just go ahead, you pervert!"

Then Gao Hai turned his head again, looked at the beautiful girls, and took a step forward.

"Idiot, who told you to actually go over there!"

The next moment, an anxious voice came from behind.

Gao Hai turned around and saw Zhen Fei rushing towards him and crashing into him. The force of the impact was so great that Gao Hai couldn't react in time, and as a result, the two of them fell backward together, landing on the spot among the group of beautiful girls.

Then, amidst the chaotic noise silenced by a "beep," Gao Hai opened his eyes, and the sky outside the window had already brightened.

Ah, it's a dream.

Why do I have such abstract dreams?

Gao Hai was completely baffled, and finally decided to give up thinking about it. He got up, took a good shower, and ate the bread and milk he had bought before going home yesterday. Then he checked his phone, confirmed the message that Zhenfei had sent him, and prepared to go out to the agreed meeting place.

drip-

The phone, which had already been turned off silent mode, made a sound at this moment.

Gao Hai looked down and saw a news report about a woman found dead in the restroom of a Tokyo bar. The victim had been disemboweled, a gruesome sight. The report also included a blurred image, but it was barely recognizable as a woman sitting on a toilet.

and many more……

The mosaic only covered the more crucial parts, so Gao Hai quickly noticed the woman's clothes.

Could this outfit belong to... Miwa Maeda?

Realizing something was wrong, Gao Hai abruptly stopped in his tracks.