Rumble—
The sound of the water flowing inside the cavern had transformed from a rapid current into a raging flood.
A massive volume of muddy rainwater, mixed with railings, signs, various trash, and even bizarre items like tree branches, throw pillows, and stockings, swirled violently throughout the cavern.
In such a fierce current, an ordinary person would have no way to stand firm and would be easily swept away.
Wang Gui was knocked over almost the instant the water rose, but Gao Hai, with his quick reflexes, managed to grab him. Chika Fujiwara, also unable to keep her footing, reacted swiftly by grabbing onto Gao Hai's shoulder, practically hanging off of him.
Gao Hai himself stood steady in the torrent, showing no sign of being swept away.
The physical enhancement from his blessing and buffs granted him a constitution that surpassed human limits. While the raging currents were powerful, they were not enough to move Gao Hai.
Why was the world of the security guard identity the correct exit?
This question surfaced in Gao Hai's mind, and he couldn't suppress it.
The mission objective was to reach the[true surface]. Gao Hai had contemplated the meaning of "true" many times, and his conclusion was that there were many false surfaces, with only one being the real exit. And that "true surface," according to his line of thinking, should exist in the world with the latest timeline.
Following that logic, the world where the security guard existed shouldn't have been the exit, right?
The Great Slide was properly sealed off.
Although the security guard's rules had their own peculiarities, it was clear from those rules that security guards of that period could safely enter and exit the Red Nut Gray Hole. It was a time before the disaster that truly unleashed the power of the horror story.
Why would the surface from that point in time be considered "true"?
Could it be that the condition of the "true surface" was actually from the specific perspective of a single person?
Gao Hai couldn't find immediate answers to these questions.
And now was not the time to be thinking about them.
Because those tourists, those things that had risen from the water, were all closing in on them one by one.
The thing in the bulky rescue suit that had crawled out from the hole behind them was also approaching.
Gao Hai had been locked onto by some bizarre entity that had yet to reveal itself.
The malice from that thing was incredibly intense. Even though it seemed to be obstructed by some kind of barrier, preventing its power from being truly exerted on Gao Hai, the sheer intensity of the malice detected by his blessing already surpassed that of Li Zhaodi's beastly parents in the Shirakawa Apartments, in his opinion.
It also seemed that because of that thing's gaze, his own existence was now marked, making him an easier target for the various anomalies in the cavern.
However, it was far from the time to despair and give up.
Snap—
The black umbrella opened abruptly, enveloping Gao Hai and partially shielding the bodies of Wang Gui and Chika.
This black umbrella, an Obsession Item courteously sponsored by the[Woman-Face Gang], had a very simple function. As long as it was open, it could conceal the presence of those beneath it.
Neither humans nor anomalies could easily detect the umbrella holder. Unless physical contact was made, discovery was basically impossible. Of course, this item couldn't block the effects of his blessing, as the user's own emotions were not masked. That was how Gao Hai had been able to discover the hidden player from the[Woman-Face Gang]during their encounter, whom he otherwise would have missed.
At this moment, the things that were originally approaching Gao Hai all stopped, no longer able to pinpoint his location.
"Let's go. Get out of here."
Saying this, Gao Hai started moving, forging ahead with difficulty through the turbulent water.
"Gao-kun, where are we going next? Can we get out from here?"
Chika, clinging to Gao Hai's back, struggled against the rushing water as she asked him.
"No, this place with the rescue team uniform is a closed loop. Leaving the cavern will only trigger a reset. We'll have to play the role of rescue personnel again and repeat the process of entering the cave to conduct a rescue operation. We can't escape this way."
Gao Hai shook his head, giving a negative answer to Chika's question, and handed her the sheet with the rescue team's rules.
The girl took the rules and, struggling to steady herself in the current, read the contents.
To maintain her balance, she had to press herself even closer to Gao Hai, to the point where the sensation of her softness was about to completely overwhelm his back.
Unfortunately, Gao Hai had no energy to enjoy it right now. Although the[Tourists]couldn't find him after he opened the umbrella, the presence of Chika and Wang Gui would still attract their attention. As Gao Hai moved forward with the two of them, the things around them gradually gathered closer. However, it seemed the rescue team uniform itself possessed some special property, as these tourists, who had completely turned into anomalies, wouldn't actually make contact, merely following them at a close distance.
"The rescue team's rules... they're connected to the explorer's rules. But why is there water everywhere? There wasn't any of this water when we were down below before. The timelines don't add up, do they?"
Chika had quickly finished reading the rules and asked, leaning close to Gao Hai's ear.
"Who knows. The clues are a chaotic, fragmented mess. I can't draw a conclusion right now either. Maybe there were two separate occasions when a rescue team entered the cavern? We've only arrived during one of them. In any case, the only thing we can be sure of now is that the rescue team identity can't clear the instance."
Gao Hai spoke as he continued to advance, glancing behind him. It was only then that he noticed the swollen rescue team members were constantly approaching him. Unlike the dazed, wandering tourists, these things that had crawled up from below the Great Slide seemed to be partially immune to the black umbrella's concealment, able to lock onto Gao Hai's position. Of course, it was also possible they were trying to attack Wang Gui and Chika, who were with him.
The three of them had now reached the Stone Forest Path area, and the water in the cavern had risen to their thighs, making movement increasingly difficult.
Yet the speed of the rescue team members behind them did not decrease in the slightest. The distance between them was closing, bit by bit.
"We need to change clothes. Something other than the rescue or explorer outfits, but not the tourist ones either."
Gao Hai said this as he scanned their surroundings. Although the rules emphasized not to pay attention to things in the water when it was rising, it now seemed very difficult for them to return to the surface safely. Gao Hai had to start considering changing their identities right here.
Although the tourists' clothes had vanished and they had become pale white figures standing in the water, Gao Hai had still seen some clothes floating on the surface as they walked.
What could they try changing into now... Staff uniforms, tourist clothes... No, he couldn't be sure what the staff uniforms looked like, as he had yet to see anyone playing the role of[Staff]. As for the tourists, that seemed even more dangerous. From the existing rules, it was clear that the[Tourist]identity was heavily targeted and extremely perilous...
"Let's try changing into the yellow-striped uniforms. When I put on the security uniform, I vaguely saw a few figures in yellow-striped uniforms. One of them looked a bit like Kaguya. The yellow-striped uniform might be useful, maybe it'll let us meet up with Kaguya."
Chika spoke up at that moment, sharing a piece of information she hadn't detailed before because she couldn't confirm if it was real.
The rescue team members behind them were getting closer and closer.
Gao Hai's resolve hardened. He reached out, grabbed Wang Gui's shoulder, took a deep breath, bent his knees, and with a sudden burst of strength, threw Wang Gui several meters forward, landing him at the front of the spacious cavern of the Stone Forest Path.
"Run! These things aren't targeting you right now! Get back to the surface and trigger the reset. You'll be safe then!"
Shouting this at Wang Gui, Gao Hai then fished a yellow-and-white striped outfit out of the water.
Is this it?
In a daze, Gao Hai saw the clothes seem to change. It looked like just an ordinary yellow t-shirt and yellow long pants.
Ah, that's right.
At this point in time, those yellow-and-white striped clothes shouldn't exist.
But when Gao Hai looked closely, he saw that the outfit was indeed a yellow-and-white striped uniform.
Clothes that shouldn't exist in this timeline, yet had appeared.
There was no time to think about the specific reason.
Gao Hai threw the clothes to Chika behind him, then grabbed the girl and lifted her, helping her climb onto a higher platform in the Stone Forest Path.
By the time he turned back to look for a second yellow-and-white striped uniform, a rescue team member was already right in front of him.
Bloated.
That was Gao Hai's immediate, intuitive impression of these things.
Its thick uniform was stretched taut, and he could vaguely see something like pus seeping from the seams of the rescue suit.
The head exposed outside the uniform was similarly swollen. The eyeballs were squeezed so hard they were about to fall out of their sockets. The horrific face reminded Gao Hai of a bloated cadaver, and he immediately realized these rescuers had likely all drowned.
A swollen, large hand was already reaching for Gao Hai.
But with a sharp "kachak," Gao Hai snipped the thing's entire arm off.
Blood dripped from the scissors.
The anomaly, now missing a hand, reached out with its other one, which Gao Hai promptly severed, followed by its head, and finally its legs.
Unlike before, when anomalies cut by his scalpel would recover instantly, this time the anomaly didn't immediately regenerate. It truly was cut into several pieces, which were swept away by the fierce current back towards the rear of the Great Slide.
The Blood Scissors.
This was another spoil of war from the[Woman-Face Gang], and one of only two Obsession Items Gao Hai's team had taken from that group of players so far.
Its function was simple: to cut living things. From fingers to thighs, to heads, to every part of the body—even things that seemed too large for the scissors to cut, this tool could sever with ease.
At first, Gao Hai thought it was like the scalpel, just an item for attacking players.
But after actually handling it, Gao Hai realized the true purpose of these Blood Scissors.
They could cut through anomalies with physical bodies and prevent these corporeal anomalies from easily healing their wounds, forcing them to remain in a divided state for a period of time.
As long as it wasn't a horror like the Refrigerator anomaly that could kill from a distance, those with physical forms that had to use physical contact to exert their bizarre powers could be temporarily weakened and sealed by these scissors, leaving them in a debilitated state.
Of course, in return, the risk of this thing going out of control was extremely high. Even Gao Hai had to immediately return it to his watch after using it.
The other bloated rescuers had not yet closed in; there was still some distance.
Gao Hai didn't hesitate. He quickly searched the water and found the second yellow-and-white striped uniform he was looking for.
With a look of pleasant surprise, Gao Hai plunged his hand into the water and grabbed the clothes.
Good, as long as I quickly change into this, I can—
Splash—
A pale white hand shot out of the water and grabbed Gao Hai's arm.
Without giving him time to think or react, the next moment, with a surge of immense force, Gao Hai was dragged directly into the water.
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