A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey / Dream of the Mist

A Psychiatrist's Bizarre Game Journey (Dream of the Mist) Author: Please Eat Rabbit

Lurking in the misty fog, their hoarse, eerie whispers are ever-present...

In the foul-smelling miasma, only filthy crows flew by, leaving a streak of crimson in their pupils...

Zhou Ke'er, clinging to life here, offers a gift to every second of her remaining life.

...

I was just kidding! Why are you taking it so seriously?

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Main text

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1. The most important thing is to give up thinking.

Water droplets, falling from somewhere, made a "pat-pat" sound, their even speed like a rhythmic beat for some kind of chanting.

The dim light flickered slightly, barely enough to make out that this was a small, dilapidated study.

An ancient scroll lay open on the desk, and the hastily written characters gradually emerged on it.

Welcome to the Dream of the Mist

[Neural connection in progress]

[Detection indicates the player is logging into the game for the first time.]

[The current player avatar defaults to their real-world appearance. To adjust, simply bring up the control panel.]

[Neural heart rate recording complete. If a player's condition becomes abnormal, they will be forcibly ejected from the game, and a charge will be applied for medical assistance.]

Please enter your nickname.

"Um... could you turn the brightness up a bit? It's too dark here, I can't see the words."

Zhou Ke'er stared at the scroll for two seconds and said with a serious expression, "Also, the handwriting is too messy, I can't read it. It would be much better if it were printed."

The game system remained silent for a moment.

The initial interface brightness has been adjusted.

The system font has been adjusted.

The dim light that had been flickering suddenly brightened, and the messy handwriting became neat and tidy.

"That's more like it! Why does a perfectly good game look like this right after you log in?"

Zhou Ke'er picked up the quill pen that was lying on the side of the desk and painstakingly wrote down her nickname, "Zhou Ke'er".

Honestly, quill pens are just too difficult to use, all fancy and complicated. Why not just give me a fountain pen?

Although Zhou Ke'er's name sounds rather feminine, he is actually a man. His current profession is a psychiatrist...

Thanks to the fact that the mental hospital where he worked didn't have dangerous individuals like Mu Susu and Zhu Jue, he had some free time to play games.

As for slacking off during work hours...

"Mental patients in the hospital can play games, so why can't Zhou Ke'er?" (sound)

Being a psychiatrist is a high-risk profession. Nobody knows if the next person to come in will be a protagonist with a mental illness template. If you upset him/her, you can only laugh and say GG.

So Zhou Ke'er always believed in living for the moment. Besides... getting caught slacking off at work just meant a pay cut, not a fire. After all... the mental hospital he worked at was owned by his family.

As for the spirit of contract... can you eat that? We're all family, why are we talking like that? It's not like a family rife with infighting in a novel.

[Nickname set complete... Begin the tutorial now?]

Well, those who skip the tutorial at the start are either the protagonist or an idiot.

Therefore, Zhou Ke'er naturally chose...

"jump over."

Anyway, the general settings of this game are all on the official website, so there shouldn't be too much difference in reality. Zhou Ke'er had already carefully browsed through the official website while slacking off and waiting for the delivery.

[Players choose to skip the tutorial]

The friends interface is now available.

[Dungeon interface is now open]

[Note: Since players who skip the tutorial must complete an "Easy" difficulty "Multiplayer" dungeon before unlocking other game modules,]

"Tch... Skipping the tutorial will result in this? The official website didn't mention that..."

Zhou Ke'er scratched her head. "Never mind, I wasn't planning on playing on Nightmare difficulty right from the start anyway..."

Without much hesitation, Zhou Ke'er chose "Easy Multiplayer Dungeon".

[Simplified Multiplayer Dungeon Selected Successfully]

Number of participants: 3-6 people

Loading...

Enjoy the game!

After a simple notification sound, the scene in front of Zhou Ke'er switched to a visual similar to an opening CG sequence.

The view quickly narrowed from the sky to the ground, revealing an old and gloomy building. The dense vines on the exterior walls seemed to be baring their fangs, and a few specks of scarlet light shone through the broken windows.

Many gaunt and emaciated people stood behind the window, hunched over lifelessly, their eyes dull and empty.

As a bolt of lightning struck, creating a dramatic effect, the building was momentarily illuminated, revealing several large, dark, and worn-out characters: "Qingshan Mental Hospital".

"Why is it another mental hospital?! Is there some mistake here?!"

Zhou Ke'er could tell this was a mental hospital without even seeing those words! Why would she get matched with a mental hospital mod when playing this game in a mental hospital?!

"Why, why did it turn out like this? For the first time, I slacked off at work; for the first time, I actually played the game I'd been looking forward to—these two pleasant things intertwined..."

Here, all arguments are futile; no one will believe you.

All logic seems like a fragile luxury, born to be destroyed.

This is a mental hospital, a slaughterhouse of reason.

You all consider yourselves normal people, so this is an opportunity to prove yourselves.

When you are diagnosed with a mental illness, how can you prove that you are not mentally ill?

[Task loading....]

[Main Quest: Prove you are not mentally ill. Reward: 10 Sanity Points]

Content: Although this is a mental hospital, your task is to prove you are not mentally ill. Each time a native inhabitant judges you as mentally ill, your reward is -1.

[Side Quest: Find the normal people (excluding the player) in the mental hospital who have been identified as patients. Reward: 5 sanity points]

Side Quest: Prove that any mentally ill person is normal. Reward: 3 Sanity Points (stackable)

[Bonus Task: Determine if any staff member at the mental hospital is mentally ill. Reward: 5 Sanity Points (stackable)]

[Note: The mod will automatically end when all surviving players complete the main storyline, reach the mod's time limit (24 hours), or all players die.]

The task panel appeared in front of Zhou Ke'er, along with the status panel on the side.

The status panel displays basic health and sanity bars, along with the statuses of other players participating in the module.

However, the status display for other players does not include health or sanity bars; it is simply represented by text, such as the current "Normal".

There are 30 seconds left before the game loads, during which players can prepare in advance.

[Backpack and equipment slots are now available]

[Countdown: 30....29...]

Zhou Ke'er brought up her backpack and glanced at it; unsurprisingly, it was empty.

However, the equipment slots do contain the initial outfit.

【Name: Brand New Hospital Gown (Upper Body)】

Quality: Inferior

[Effect: Very fragile, can withstand only a very small amount of damage]

[Note: This is a specially made hospital gown for mental patients; it has long sleeves with secure buckles.]

The rest consisted of a brand-new hospital gown (for the lower half) and faded white slippers.

"Wait a minute! Why is my starting outfit a hospital gown?! That's so weird!"

Zhou Ke'er complained loudly that he had read the official website's introduction before, which stated that each player's initial outfit was the outfit assigned to the first module they experienced.

However, the first module most people experience is... the "Tutorial," where their clothing consists of normal shirts and trousers.

"I'm sorry, can I do the tutorial again?"

Zhou Ke'er sighed. It seems that this game hasn't opened a cash shop yet, and even the fashion system isn't available. She really doesn't know how this game manages to make money...

In other words, until she gets new equipment, Zhou Ke'er can only wander around in her mental patient's gown.

"Unfortunate!"

Zhou Ke'er increasingly felt that the saying was true: "Those who skip the tutorial are either the protagonist or a complete idiot." Now he felt that he was a genuine complete idiot.

[Countdown ended, game begins]

The panel in front of me dissolved into the darkness, and then the endless darkness receded like a tide, and light gradually regained its presence.

Zhou Ke'er opened her eyes and found herself lying on the ground.

Trying to stand up, she discovered that her hands were bound several times by the long sleeves of her hospital gown, the clasps fastened securely behind her back, leaving her completely unable to move.

"???"

Xiao Zuo and Xiao You, you've tied me up, what else can I do?

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