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

Zhijiansha sighed, naturally stuffed her phone into her pocket, and then carefully flipped back onto the round platform. Using the light from the flashlight on her phone, she quickly surveyed the scene in the hall.

The lobby was sparsely furnished, with only a few information desks near the door and the reception desk in the center of the lobby. The only other furnishings were potted plants, all of which looked wilted and dejected, making the space seem rather empty.

But... there seems to be a dark, lumpy thing piled up in that corner over there, uh... why is it rising and falling rhythmically? Although the amplitude isn't very large, it's like it's breathing... huh? Breathing??

She glanced at the screen instinctively, then immediately panicked and switched off her phone's flashlight mode, plunging the hall into darkness once more.

Holy crap, that doesn't look like a thing, it's a giant, furry monster! And it looks like it's sleeping. Luckily, the move I made didn't wake it up, otherwise I would have just given up!

The sand between her fingers stood still, holding her breath and waiting for a few seconds. After not hearing any movement from there, she slowly and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Given that there were monsters guarding the area, it wasn't wise for Zhijiansha to linger any longer. She wouldn't be like Zhou Ke'er, rushing over to the monster and yelling things like "Shut up, get up and party!"—she was quite certain that Zhou Ke'er would do that.

Thinking of this, Zhijiansha couldn't help but secretly rejoice that Zhou Ke'er wasn't by her side at the moment.

Then, she tiptoed towards the nearest door she had just caught a glimpse of.

Beside the sleeping monster was a corridor leading to some unknown passage, but she didn't dare go there right now. Instead, she went to check out the door not far away. She wondered why there was a separate room next to the hall, and it didn't look like a door leading to any passage. Surely they wouldn't set up an office next to the hall? That was really strange...

Thinking this through her fingers, she soon arrived at the door.

After adjusting to the darkness for a while, Zhijiansha was able to vaguely make out the general outlines of various things in the hall—but it was as if a black veil had been draped over his eyes, so he could only make out the outlines.

I looked up at the door frame—there wasn't even a sign. Now I really had no idea where the door led.

Silently, she took a deep breath, reached out and grasped the doorknob, turning it gently, little by little—thankfully, it wasn't locked.

Just as Zhijiansha was congratulating himself on his good luck, he suddenly heard a clear sound coming from a distance behind him, which seemed to be the monster turning over or something.

Could it be...?

Upon hearing the sound, Zhijiansha felt a jolt run through her body, her hair stood on end, and cold sweat poured out instantly. However, she knew that hesitation would lead to defeat, so she didn't give herself time to be stunned. Sometimes, life and death are separated by just one second of hesitation.

Since she was already in a bad situation, she decided to go all in. She gritted her teeth, twisted the doorknob forcefully, pushed the door open, and darted inside. She then closed the door behind her and pressed the spring lock on the doorknob. The whole sequence of actions was smooth and seamless.

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200. Strange and Weird Things (Part Nine)

Rushing into the room, Finger Sand, leaning against the door panting, couldn't help but give himself a thumbs up. This was just too damn exciting...

At the same time, the monster in the hall was startled awake by the sudden loud noise, and subconsciously sat up, looking around the hall with a puzzled expression.

"No other ghosts? What was that sound just now? Was the door closed? Was it the wind...? Hmm, that probably was. Maybe someone forgot to close the door properly when they left... Wait... why did my fear level suddenly increase? What just happened?"

The furry monster, still sleepy and confused, scratched its head, unable to figure out what was going on for a while. So it simply stopped thinking about it and lay down to continue sleeping soundly.

Leaning against the door, Zhijiansha calmed herself slightly. Without lingering, she immediately turned around to survey the situation behind her—this time, she didn't dare turn on her phone's flashlight mode, in case there was something else inside—well, it didn't seem to make much difference; if there were, the loud noise from earlier would have already given her away...

Fortunately, there was no such thing. Unexpectedly, behind the door was a stairwell, with stairs leading upstairs. There was a window on the side against the wall, and the cool moonlight shone in, providing some light, enough for Zhijiansha to see the steps clearly.

Since that was the case, Zhijiansha was too lazy to turn on her phone again to avoid being too obviously discovered, so she tiptoed upstairs.

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Not long after, not far from the outside of this building, Zhou Ke'er, who kept her word and let the Slit-Mouthed Woman go, strolled leisurely toward this place.

Just as Zhou Ke'er turned the last street corner and was about to go in and cause trouble, she saw a sneaky figure outside the building, doing something that seemed to be planning to slip inside.

Hey, you're not sleepy anymore now! Seeing this, Zhou Ke'er immediately perked up and quietly walked quickly behind that guy.

Before he could even notice that Zhou Ke'er was behind him, she reached out and patted the man's shoulder.

The man was startled, his whole body trembled violently, and he almost jumped up. He turned around quickly and saw Zhou Ke'er's strange and terrifying face. He was about to scream in fright, but Zhou Ke'er was prepared. She quickly reached out and covered the man's mouth, grinned, and said softly in a hoarse voice, "Don't be afraid~ After all, I'm not a devil."

What are you up to, lurking around here so suspiciously?

"I...no! Are you a human or a ghost?! What are you?! When did you get behind me?! What do you want?!"

The other party paused for a few seconds upon seeing this before asking a question in return.

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes slightly upon hearing this. Because the player's nickname wasn't visible in this module, she couldn't tell whether the other person was an NPC or a player. However, judging from his tone and reaction just now, he didn't seem completely unafraid of ghosts...

If this is an NPC from this mod, it shouldn't have any reverence for ghosts. Just like in the movie theater, some people even dared to throw plastic bottles at Sadako. So there's a pretty good chance that this guy is a player.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ke'er had an idea. She immediately took two steps back, placed her hands on her chest in a very gentlemanly manner, gave a slight bow, and revealed a chilling smile, saying, "I am Joker, belonging to the organization 'Glory.' My purpose here is to bring a new baptism to this already decaying city, and let the glory of ghosts and monsters descend upon this place once more... It's a pleasure to meet you—if you don't care about your own life or death, seeing me can make you a little happier."

Upon hearing this, the other party's pupils suddenly contracted. Zhou Ke'er secretly chuckled to herself, "They've taken the bait!"

He disguised himself as someone who seemed to be related to the main quest that had not yet been revealed, and fabricated a main quest that he made up. Due to the limitations of the players, any player who was not out of their mind would definitely connect the story of Zhou Ke'er to the currently unknown quest objective of this event module, even if they had doubts!

"The throne of heaven has been vacant for far too long. From this day forward, we shall stand at its summit!"

Zhou Ke'er's mouth stretched from ear to ear as she looked up at the sky and laughed wildly.

The man stood there stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned and shouted in another direction, "Boss... Boss! I've found the main quest! Come quick!"

"??"

Zhou Ke'er was laughing for a moment when she heard what the other person said, then her smile faded and she turned to look in that direction.

A cold-looking man slowly emerged from the shadows and stood in front of Zhou Ke'er. He looked down at her from a full head taller than her and asked the other man in a cold voice without turning his head, "What's going on here? Who is this? And what's the main quest all about?"

"Boss, you were right! This place is indeed related to the main quest. This weird-looking, somewhat short guy..."

The guy immediately answered quickly, but before he could finish speaking, Zhou Ke'er, whose forehead veins were bulging, slapped him on the back of the head and slammed his head to the ground with a dull thud.

"Looks weird? Short? You're really something! You think you can take advantage of me just because I'm a little bit nice to you? You think you're someone important just because I smiled at you?"

Zhou Ke'er pressed the guy's head down and slammed it to the ground, then lifted it up and slammed it down again... all the while muttering something incoherently, looking completely mad.

"..."

The man who came over saw what was happening but didn't intervene. After a while, seeing that Zhou Ke'er's movements had slowed down, he spoke up: "Would you be so kind as to give Bei Xuan some face and let him go? We can discuss anything. My name is Chen Bei Xuan, the vice president of the Aotian Guild. And you are?"

Aotian Guild? ...That sounds familiar...

Wait, damn it, isn't that the guild with Long Aotian as its leader?! How could we actually run into it?

That's outrageous!

"Are you begging me or threatening me? If it's the former, then show some sincerity. If it's the latter... I advise you not to be too insistent. Stepping over an ant without killing it is a very difficult power to control."

Zhou Ke'er held the back of the unconscious man's head with one hand, squatted down without standing up, and looked up at Chen Beixuan, tilting her head and revealing an indescribable smile as she asked.

A moment of silence fell, broken only by the sound of blood dripping from the wound on the face of the creature in Zhou Ke'er's hand, a result of its close contact with the ground.

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201. Strange and Weird (Part 10)

"So, you're not going to give Bei Xuan any face?"

Chen Beixuan frowned slightly and looked at Zhou Ke'er coldly.

"Face isn't something given by others, but sometimes, you just throw it away yourself."

Zhou Ke'er let go of the guy who had been knocked unconscious, gently wiped the bloodstains on Chen Beixuan's clothes, and whispered in his ear in a very irritating tone.

"Bei Xuan has never acted inferior to anyone in his life! Since you have spoken thus, Bei Xuan will certainly not hold back..."

Chen Beixuan slapped away Zhou Ke'er's hand, which was wiping his clothes with disgust, and was about to say something harsh when Zhou Ke'er suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him away, while she slid behind Chen Beixuan.

"Shh!"

At the same time, a spear stopped just in front of Chen Beixuan, its blade almost touching the tip of his nose.

"You shot too high! You won't hit him like that!"

Chen Beixuan, however, was not flustered at all. Instead, he frowned and said with dissatisfaction.

"Ha, you've been used as a shield by others, and you still have the nerve to criticize me?"

A handsome man appeared in front of Zhou Ke'er and Chen Beixuan at some point. If Zhou Ke'er hadn't just happened to see a white light reflected from Chen Beixuan's eyes, she would have almost fallen for his trick.

After refuting Chen Beixuan's words, the gunman twirled his gun and looked at Zhou Ke'er (who, of course, hadn't returned the scissors to the slit-mouthed lady...) who was pressing the scissors against Chen Beixuan's carotid artery. He said in a flippant tone, "Brother, Liangchen advises you to release that fool. Otherwise... Liangchen has a hundred ways to make you unable to stay, and you will be helpless. Liangchen never makes empty promises, so Liangchen hopes you will think twice."

"..."

Zhou Ke'er was silent for a moment, then deliberately asked Chen Beixuan in a hoarse voice, "This idiot... is he also from your Aotian Guild?"

"Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! I don't like to waste my breath on people. If you feel you have the ability to play with me, Liangchen doesn't mind playing along to the end."

Before Chen Beixuan could say anything after hearing Zhou Ke'er's slightly sarcastic words, Ye Liangchen narrowed his eyes and said angrily, "You can continue to do as you please, but your life won't be so comfortable anymore. I'll make you understand that Liangchen never makes empty promises!"

Zhou Ke'er didn't speak, but lightly traced circles on Chen Beixuan's neck with the tip of her scissors, secretly thinking, "Judging from how steadily that guy stopped the spear in his hand, he's definitely trained... Damn, what era is this? Do people still practice with cold weapons? Oh... right, ordinary people can't get their hands on guns, so they can only practice with these things..."

This is a little tricky, and... if this Ye Liangchen is even somewhat capable, then there's no reason why I could capture Chen Beixuan, the so-called vice president, so easily...

Moreover, judging from his seemingly calm and composed demeanor, he must have some backup plan... Besides equipment and skills, what else could be considered a backup plan?

If that's the case... facing two opponents alone would be a bit dangerous...

Just then, Chen Beixuan, who had keenly noticed that Zhou Ke'er seemed to be a little distracted for some reason, immediately reacted, grabbed Zhou Ke'er's right hand holding the scissors, and bent down sharply, trying to throw Zhou Ke'er forward.

"Hmph, Bei Xuan has never been inferior to anyone in his life!"

As Chen Beixuan exerted his strength, he coldly shouted, "If you dare to attack me, you'd better be prepared!"

"...This is your backup plan?"

Zhou Ke'er, who was being swung into the air by one hand, asked in a strange tone. He had just thought so much, worried that this guy might have some kind of backup plan... but this is it?

So, someone who's only had a little bit of fighting training can be considered a master of counter-attacks? Does that mean they'll never be inferior to anyone in their entire life?

Before Chen Beixuan could discern the sarcasm in Zhou Ke'er's tone, Zhou Ke'er suddenly bent her wrist and plunged the scissors into the arm of the hand that Chen Beixuan was holding. Then, she abruptly pulled her legs up and kicked them out.

Chen Beixuan hadn't expected Zhou Ke'er to be able to resist in mid-air. Although it wasn't very painful because he had lowered his pain sensitivity, he subconsciously let go of her hand due to a physiological reaction. After Zhou Ke'er was freed from Chen Beixuan's restraint, she took the opportunity to kick Ye Liangchen, who was nearby, with both legs. Ye Liangchen didn't even have time to raise his spear to defend himself before he was hit—because he never expected that Chen Beixuan would be so easily shaken off by Zhou Ke'er.

Zhou Ke'er, who had just kicked Ye Liangchen, used the momentum to push off the ground with both hands and launched a sweeping kick that struck Chen Beixuan's shinbone hard.

The shinbone is the weakest part of the leg, second only to some joints. When a normal person is kicked, they will inevitably bend their leg forward and even lose their balance and fall down – which is one of the reasons why a sweeping leg kick is so damaging.

In this module, Chen Beixuan had no equipment or skills, so he was no different from a normal person. Under Zhou Ke'er's kick, although he did not feel much pain because he had lowered his pain sensitivity, he still couldn't help but fall to the ground.

"Hmph... I never expected that so many people combined would be even worse than me alone."

Zhou Ke'er slowly stood up, stretched her wrists, walked forward, kicked away Ye Liangchen's spear, and stomped hard on his chest. She bent one hand on her knee and leaned down slightly. "A hundred ways to make me unable to stay? Is this the first one? One kick and I'll beg you not to die?"

"hateful..."

Chen Beixuan, standing unsteadily behind her, suddenly pulled the scissors stuck in his arm, causing blood to gush out with a "plop." However, he didn't care and looked at Zhou Ke'er, saying, "You actually abandoned your weapon and even left it in my hands. Your actions were extremely unwise! Beixuan will make you taste the bitterness of regret!"

"Don't make boastful remarks lightly, as that will only reveal your weakness."

Zhou Ke'er slowly shifted her foot position, placing it on Ye Liangchen's throat, pressing it against his Adam's apple—this was certainly not as effective as compressing the carotid artery, but...it was more painful, and the time before death...lasted longer.

Well, although it's not as uncomfortable after lowering the pain threshold, it still feels suffocating.