Hearing Natsuki's request, the timepiece was very opposed at first, after all, it was related to his precious pocket watch, and he didn't want anything wrong with the pocket watch.

But after Natsuki assured him that he would be able to solve the problem, keep the pocket watch intact, and throw out several cases that he had solved, the timepiece finally agreed.

After all, if you have the opportunity to live and your pocket watch won't go wrong, fools know what to choose.

After some grinding and repeated instructions, the timepiece left the collection room and closed the door, there was no other exit here, and he didn't have to worry about Natsuki running away with his pocket watch.

Bang dang!

The door was closed, and Natsuki was finally able to put all his attention on his pocket watch.

There are actually a lot of strange talks like this with utensils as the main body, and he has dealt with a lot of them in recent years, so he can be regarded as familiar with the road.

However, no matter what the subject is, the essence of the strange story will not change, that is, the distorted rules formed with the [Gloomy Virus] as the core.

And no matter what level of weirdness it is, the cleanup method will be divided into two stages:

1. Enter the secret realm of rules and find the core of the virus.

2. Use your own means to eliminate the core virus and eliminate strange stories.

The so-called [Secret Realm of Rules]......

It is a space of rules composed of [data streams], [information fragments], [thoughts and wills], and so on.

Unlike the [Rule Field], the [Rule Secret Realm] is possessed by all strange stories, and it usually does not coincide with the space where the world is located, nor does it appear in the real world......

It hides inside the strange story, serves as a protective wall at the heart of the virus, and plays the role of a "protective umbrella".

In order to enter the secret realm of the rules, the minimum requirement is that the intensity of the data flow needs to reach level D in order to maintain basic action and consciousness in the secret realm.

Therefore, only the Fallen, the Wanderer, and the Returnee are capable of doing this, but ...... Not all of them are good at puzzle solving.

All the rules and secret realms, regardless of the strength or weakness of the strange ontology, are actually a puzzle, and they need to be explored to find the core position.

This requires a certain level of intelligence and reasoning, but it is clear that not everyone who suddenly falls or has the opportunity to wander has this ability.

Thus, gradually, two distinct branches developed between the Fallen, the Wanderer, and the Returnee, and the higher the level, the more obvious the divergence.

One of them is the [Raiders] who specialize in solving secret realms and exploring the core of the virus, except for a few individuals, their own ability development is mainly based on assisting in exploration and self-preservation, and most of them are rational minds......

The other is the [Executor] who is responsible for solving and cleaning up after the [Raider] finds the core and triggers the strange story, most of these people are simple-minded and reckless, but they are indeed very strong in terms of combat effectiveness.

Generally speaking, when the level of Strange Tales reaches [Strange Level], the complexity of its secret realm requires the cooperation of the attacker and the executioner in order to resolve the incident in the shortest possible time and prevent the expansion of the impact.

But there is also such a type of person, no matter what level of strange talk they will only deal with alone and will not cooperate with others, which also means that their abilities in both aspects are very outstanding, and they are secretly called "Lone Wanderers" by others.

As for Natsuki, he's a D-rank with the tail of a crane, and if you want to think about this kind of thing, you have to wait at least to be promoted to C-rank.

However, after his memory was restored, he already had the conditions to improve himself, and promotion was no longer a problem for him.

After observing for a moment, Natsuki picked up the pocket watch and used the pure crystal to input his own data stream, which was the first step to enter the secret realm of rules.

Although he can also input mana now, the total amount of mana in his body is still too small, so it's better not to waste it.

Although the part of the virus that helped Sosivia purify it before has also become pure magic, he can't use it for the time being, so he can only seal it in his body and slowly digest it.

The total amount of this magic power was too large for his current body to bear, and he had to gradually strengthen his body in order to turn it into his own power.

Soon, the pure crystal shimmered with a faint white light, and the light was like a light veil, gently winding the pocket watch.

Then, Natsuki's figure vanished, leaving only the pocket watch lying on the table......

……

……

"Is this the secret inside the pocket watch?"

After a few seconds, Natsuki regained his vision and began to observe.

In front of him was a wide road with vintage cars that only existed in history books, surrounded by ancient European-style buildings.

"Ancient Oome...... I haven't been here much. ”

After a brief observation, Natsuki fixed his eyes on a watch shop across the street, because the sign above the store's front read in Old European:

"Lawrence Clocks"

"Ancient languages" are a compulsory course for people who deal with strange stories full-time, and Natsuki is also very specialized in this.

There is no doubt that this watch shop is the key to this secret place, it's just ...... What are the rules that would make other D-class and even C-class helpless?

He didn't believe that there weren't any smart guys in the gang that Clock had brought in, and in fact it seemed to him that there weren't many fools who could make a living in Downtown by dealing with weird stories.

Puzzled, Natsuki raised his feet and walked across the road, not paying the slightest attention to the surprised expressions of the people around him.

In the secret realm of rules, all the characters are very realistic and real, whether it is actions, words or reactions, just like these passers-by will feel strange when they see Natsuki in strange clothes, he has long been used to this.

Coming across the street, Natsuki didn't rush into the store, but first observed the situation inside through the glass.

Even in the mortal-level rule secret realm, there must be twisted rules lurking in it, and he had to be careful no matter what.

The area of the watch shop is not large, about a dozen square meters, with only an L-shaped glass counter and a wooden counter.

Under the glass counter are a variety of beautifully shaped pocket watches, and behind the counter is an elderly watchmaker, wearing a magnifying glass, seriously tinkering with something.

"Lawrence Cage"

A legendary watchmaker in ancient Europe, a well-deserved master in the world of watchmaking.

Natsuki had seen each other's photos in the timepiece, so he recognized it at a glance, and thinking about it, this should be the key to this secret realm.

Leaning on the window for a while, and after confirming that there was no danger inside, Natsuki tidied up his clothes and prepared to open the door and enter the store to talk to Lawrence.

"Talk"

It is an important means of obtaining information in the secret realm, and it is also a method that Natsuki is very good at.

In his mind, the reason why the pocket watch became a strange story must have something to do with Lawrence's experience.

"The more memorable and unforgettable the memory, the easier it is to become part of the weird story."

This is the experience that Xia Mu has summed up in the past seven years.

However, things didn't seem to go as smoothly as he thought they would, and as his hand grabbed the doorknob and prepared to open the door, Lawrence behind the workbench looked up.

At this moment, the movements of the other party's hands stopped suddenly, as if they saw the guests coming and were about to get up to receive them.

Lawrence's behavior is normal in any store, and it is a sign of respect for customers by a store owner, and there is nothing wrong with it.

It's just that the moment he stopped his movements, everything on the street froze and stood still, including Natsuki, who could only stand there dumbfounded with the movement of opening the door.

Fortunately, this solidification is limited to the physical body and does not involve thoughts, and Natsuki's brain is still running rapidly.

At this moment, he finally understood why so many people were helpless, because of the rules in this secret realm......

It's quite tricky indeed!