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

Some of the people who were frightened by the strange and noisy sounds followed closely behind Takami, watching him cautiously, unable to hide their curiosity and wanting to ask questions.

"It has nothing to do with us. We're just explorers. I'm Gao Hai, the explorer. I'm going to the heart and then leave this place. What about you?"

Gao Hai turned to look at Qian Hua and said quickly.

"I am the explorer Fujiwara Chika. I also want to go to the heart and then leave this place. Um, I didn't do anything wrong just now, did I?"

The girl answered quickly, then cautiously asked again.

"It's right to remind me after discovering something unusual, but don't be too sneaky. If you're a step too late, there's no going back. You must report any situation immediately, unless it's under certain special restrictions."

As Gao Hai spoke, he ignored Qian Hua's head nodding rapidly like a chick pecking at rice, and began to recall the entire process of the abnormal event that had occurred earlier.

That man named Dennis became some kind of medium for the activation of the supernatural forces; those things on the ceiling must have appeared through his corpse. The question is, how did he die so silently? Was it because he said something he shouldn't have?

If that's the case, then what he said at the time was...

We are all human beings.

Was it because he misdescribed his own identity?

Realizing this, Gao Hai finally had a more tangible understanding of the "personal identity" repeatedly emphasized in the rules.

The clothes on her side were gently tugged.

Gao Hai turned his head and saw Qian Hua pointing in a certain direction with her hand outstretched.

So he turned his head and saw the girl pointing to a cave, where a faint yellow light emanated from the depths, different from the searchlight on the supply box.

Chapter Four: The Broken Traces Remaining in This Darkness

Passing through the pitch-black cave.

Carefully proceed in the direction from which the light is coming.

Gao Hai bent down and carefully passed through a tunnel area that was only about 1.3 or 1.4 meters high, avoiding the protruding rocks, hanging stalactites, and stalagmites rising from the ground, before arriving at another larger cave.

In the flickering light, Fujiwara Chika carefully followed behind Takami, also bending over and proceeding cautiously.

Before long, the two of them saw the things in the direction of the light.

That appears to be a guard post.

These types of buildings are very common in schools and government offices. They are small structures located at the main entrance, typically used by security guards to monitor and control the flow of people at the gate. Some of the better guard booths are permanent structures made of brick, tile, or concrete; more luxurious ones even have air conditioning. Less luxurious ones are simply prefabricated houses, or even just a few glass frames hastily erected. As for the interior facilities, some guard booths are completely empty, while others are fully equipped with tables, chairs, and beds, requiring security guards to stay overnight.

The guard post that appeared before Gao Hai and Qian Hua at this moment was a simple prefabricated house that looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, in the kind of time measured in years.

Most of the glass in the guard booth's windows was broken, and the corrugated steel plates used to build the booth were covered in rust, with some sections even collapsing.

Behind the collapsed guard post, a small table could be seen inside. The table, which was probably made of wood, had rotted beyond recognition in the damp underground environment, and white mushrooms were growing on it. There was also a single bed on the other side, covered with moss. Apart from that, there seemed to be nothing else in the small hut.

Strangely, despite being completely destroyed, the lights in the guard post were still on, emitting a dim, warm yellow glow to guide those who arrived there.

"How could something like this exist in a cave?"

Chika was very confused. Although she had already accepted in her heart that she was in a horror game under the influence of some kind of supernatural force, she still subconsciously tried to think about it using her common sense when she suddenly saw such a situation that was too contrary to common sense.

"Spatial distortion is a very common phenomenon in supernatural tales. Time, space, mind... all common sense can be altered in rule-based supernatural tales, and what we need to do is leave this place before it is altered to the point of no return."

Gao Hai was no longer bothered by this bizarre and illogical situation. He simply explained the situation to Qian Hua while looking around and observing the place.

He didn't see the corpse standing in the shadows, staring at him.

There are no giggling, laughing ghost dolls that will use mental manipulation to make you believe the other person is a pretty little girl.

There were no sudden footsteps or anything else that seemed amiss.

At least for now, everything seems to be alright.

"You have good observation skills. Keep an eye on the surroundings for me while I check this place."

After a brief hesitation, Gao Hai made arrangements for the girl.

"Okay, mission accepted."

The girl nodded seriously in response, then widened her eyes and frantically scanned her surroundings, as if she had become a human surveillance camera.

Earlier in that large area, Chika noticed that one of the voices in Gao Hai's conversation was missing. This was probably because she was inside the cave and some distance away, so she couldn't hear clearly and wasn't affected by the strange power. Even so, Gao Hai was very satisfied with her quick observation, reaction, and action in realizing that "this situation might be problematic" and rushing over to warn him. That's why he made the arrangements he's making now.

Come to think of it, this is only my second time participating in the dungeon, but my mindset is completely different now.

Recalling his experiences in the three cycles of the Shirakawa Apartment, and looking at his current state, Takahashi couldn't help but sigh at the changes in a person's growth. Then he became a little worried about Maki and Kaguya's situation, and once again forced himself to calm down and focus on the current exploration.

The collapsed guard post had an unpleasant stench.

Gao Hai stepped into the guard booth, waved his hand in front of his nose, and then tried to pull open the drawer of the table, only to tear off half of it.

Inside was just a pile of rotten, unrecognizable garbage.

He walked over to the bed, reached out, and pulled back the dirty sheet.

There was a human-shaped stain on the bed, like dried sweat, or something else mixed in.

Hidden under the blanket was a security guard's black uniform, which looked dirty.

Gao Hai hadn't originally intended to pay attention to the uniform, but considering the connection between the [Explorer]'s attire and the rules of identity, he still pulled it out, patted it, folded it up, and put it into his backpack.

No new rule tables or readable documents were found.

That makes perfect sense; in a place that has been abandoned for who knows how long and is in a damp environment, it's impossible for paper to survive.

However, just before leaving, Gao Hai took one last look around the house and noticed something in the corner of the house, under the collapsed corrugated steel sheet.

Crunch——

Lift up the rusty, broken planks.

Gao Hai reached out, pulled the thing out of the box, and then grabbed it and stood it up.

It's a map.

The map, labeled "Red Nut Gray Hole Tourist Map," was framed and should have been hanging on the wall.

Gao Hai didn't look at the map immediately.

He clearly remembered that the information he received from the man named Little River Tree mentioned that the area beyond the [Giant Slide] attraction was an extremely dangerous zone that should absolutely not be explored, or even known. Any player who had mistakenly entered these areas could no longer enter the Red Nut Gray Hole instance, because their knowledge would bind them to those hidden areas, throwing them into the most dangerous place from the start.

This map looks quite old.

Perhaps this is a complete map, a map that allows you to see the entire interior of the Red Nut's Gray Hole.

Once he's seen the above, this thing might cause him a lot of trouble.

Put the map down and put it back where you initially took it out.

Gao Hai stood up, turned around, and looked at Qian Hua, who was still diligently investigating not far away, and at a silent figure in a black firefighter's uniform with yellow stripes, walking slowly with his head down as he passed by her.

"..."

Gao Hai made no move, as if he couldn't see the thing at all, and walked to Qian Hua's side in a completely normal state.

"Hey, Gao Jun, have you found any useful clues?"

The girl blinked, and seeing that he had finished his exploration so quickly, she asked him with some curiosity.

She didn't see anything appear.

Gao Hai didn't sense any kindness or malice from the silent firefighter, and had no way of confirming whether the other person was human or not.

The blessing had no effect because it was just a non-existent illusion?

"It's time to move on, we need to find a way away... find a way to the heart."

As he said this, Gao Hai chose to walk in the opposite direction from the firefighter and stepped into another cave.

Based on the long rule list of 19 rules, which seemed deliberately difficult to remember, he and Chika, acting as "explorers," must successfully explore to the deepest part of the Red Nut Gray Hole, the "Heart," before they can return to the surface.

However, finding a way out of this complex cavern, which is clearly not the bizarre terrain that Red Nut Gray Hole should have, is a very troublesome matter.

Gao Hai walked through several caves for about ten minutes, but still couldn't see any path that seemed to lead him out of the area.

On the contrary, more and more disturbing signs began to spread.

Like dark red bloodstains on the rock wall, or splattered blood spots, or blood marks that look like claws, and bloody handprints of varying depths.

For example, some pieces of clothing torn by stalagmites and rock walls, mostly stained with blood, were scattered in various corners of the cave.

It seems that as they went deeper, these caves began to reveal something amiss.

“Gao Jun…this place…”

Even the most oblivious person would get nervous in such a situation.

Chika, who had been following behind Gao Hai, shrank back in fear and subconsciously moved closer.

I could smell the scent of the other person's shampoo; it was clearly a different style from Kaguya Maki's.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the energy to appreciate it now, because Gao Hai had begun to see some dark red, distorted characters, like the last words left by the people trapped here.

I want to leave, I want to get out.

Don't leave me here.

What did we do?

None of this should have happened.

Even though you can no longer hear me, I love you.

……

The congealed bloodstains were pitch black.

Many of the characters were distorted beyond recognition, and there were numerous spelling errors, as if illustrating the despair and pain of the writers in their final moments.

Chika, who could clearly read the text, fell even quieter, while Gao Hai's brows furrowed even more.

He had a vague feeling that he was going into a place he shouldn't be going into.

But no matter which direction he walked, the bloodstains, the pieces of clothing, and the distorted messages continued to increase, showing no sign of decreasing.

When he turned around and walked back to where he had come from, Gao Hai noticed that the road ahead seemed somewhat different from when he first came here.

Is the terrain of the entire chaotic cave actually constantly changing?

With these thoughts in mind, Gao Hai passed through another cave and arrived at a place he had never been before.