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

Zhou Ke'er shrugged. "Although it doesn't seem to be that much different, it's probably more like a placebo effect. At least it can alleviate some of my anxiety and allow me to think about problems more clearly and fluently."

"Hmph, aren't you a bit too confident in yourself? What gives you the illusion that you're more efficient at thinking things through on your own than discussing them with us?"

Honghe squinted, a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes, and said, "Or do you think I can't keep up with your train of thought?"

"...No, that's not it. I just felt that they might not agree with what I wanted to do, so I planned to carry it out secretly on my own."

Zhou Ke'er looked at the red crane, which was staring at him expressionlessly, and felt a strange sense of pressure. She remained silent for a while before answering.

"Tell me, what excuse did you come up with this time?"

The flamingo crossed its arms over its chest and tilted its head back slightly.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. We just plan to use the power of ghosts to wipe out most of the humans in this city, and then control the rest to use as our scoring tools."

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes, took a breath, and gently rubbed her temples. "I just haven't thought of a good way to keep my human identity a secret for now... I suspect that Sadako already knows we are all human, but just hasn't exposed us yet."

Oh, right, I think I forgot to mention... our previous assumptions were wrong. The members of that organization weren't turned from humans into monsters, but rather monsters brainwashed by their organization..."

"Brainwashing ghosts? How is that done? Is it some kind of mystical magic or technology? Speaking of which... how do you brainwash those mindless ghosts?"

Upon hearing this, the flamingo's dead fish eyes immediately lit up, emitting an eerie glow.

"Yeah, that's what I don't understand. This is really too advanced technology. I once met an organization member whose entire body was made of black mist. He didn't have a physical form at all. How could he be brainwashed like that?"

Zhou Ke'er shook her head and replied, "That's what I'm afraid of right now. What if I finally manage to convince a group of ghosts and monsters, and I'm about to put my plan into action, only for someone from that organization to suddenly appear and use some kind of advanced brainwashing technology, causing them all to defect on the spot? What's the point of me then...?"

"So what's the point of you being so fixated on eliminating half of humanity? The current mission has nothing to do with that, does it?"

Honghe tilted her head and read the poem in a flat, monotone tone.

"Huh? You can't even see the connection between these two things, and you say you can follow my train of thought? That's really arrogant! It's hilarious!"

Zhou Ke'er glanced at the flamingo and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Heh, I was just asking you out of politeness, and you're actually getting all smug?"

The flamingo's dead fish eyes flashed with an eerie light again, and it retorted unhappily, "That's all it is. You could probably come up with something from a puddle of frog pee on the roadside."

Isn't it because urban legends are spread through humans? Eliminating most of the humans and controlling the rest allows them to both hinder other players' scoring and allow them to farm points in peace...?

It sounds tempting, but it's actually incredibly complicated to implement.

"Sigh, you've grown up so much. It makes your father very proud."

Zhou Ke'er nodded perfunctorily.

"...So this isn't something you can just figure out by thinking about it, is it? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Honghe ignored Zhou Ke'er's nonsense and continued to ask.

"If even you can think of this method, I don't think other players can't. After all, they've all completed the Nightmare difficulty module, and there aren't many pure freeloaders like Cold Rabbit."

Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips, "Right now I'm especially afraid of that guy Long Aotian... First, he might have the same ideas as me, plus he has so many people under him, and he's also involved with the organization... What if he suddenly changes his mind and immediately switches sides to sabotage the organization? Then he'll have a huge advantage..."

Secondly, I'm afraid he might go all the way down that path, continuing to collude with that organization, planning to use the opportunity to eliminate the ghosts while also taking care of the other players, and then slowly rack up points himself... He might even send people to maliciously prevent other players from perfecting the urban legend... For example..."

Before Zhou Ke'er could type out her last analogy, a system notification sounded.

[The urban legend's embodiment of the haunting demon that roams the midnight streets has died, reducing its completeness!]

[Completeness level dropped to 10%!]

[If the ghostly entity of this urban legend cannot be replenished within 24 hours of game time, or if the completeness is restored to 20% or more through other methods, the urban legend will be considered invalid!]

[Note: Player participation in invalidated urban legends is nullified.]

"Damn, speak of the devil and he appears..."

## Chapter 249, Section 244: Strange and Unusual (Fifty-Three)

"...I'm sorry, I misjudged him. I originally thought he was a ruthless and cunning person who would stop at nothing."

Seeing the system notification, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but sigh. "I didn't expect him to be even more ruthless and cunning than I imagined. This move was truly well-planned. If it were just targeting players, not only would finding them be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it would also be difficult to distinguish between players and NPCs, making it extremely inefficient. In that case, it wouldn't have much of an impact; it would just cause unlucky players to have a mental breakdown..."

However, by addressing the urban legends created by other players at their source, their aim is likely to preserve only those created by themselves, leaving other players with no choice but to work for them... In this way, their contribution level will always be in the lead...

"In that case, it seems you really have no choice but to implement your plan as soon as possible."

Red Crane nodded. "Although I haven't heard of that guy named Long Aotian, according to what you said, as the leader of a large guild, he has a group of underlings and close ties with that organization. He can even command the organization's members when necessary. As a result, his ability to act is ridiculously high. Unless we can catch him off guard, we have no way to deal with him once he is prepared."

"Oh ho, this doesn't sound like something Red Crane would say. I thought you'd say that Long Aotian is nothing special, and that you could take them all down by yourself."

Zhou Ke'er looked surprised.

“I suspect you are driving, and I have evidence. I called the police, and they will come and arrest you immediately.”

Honghe glared at Zhou Ke'er with dead fish eyes, and said while taking out her phone.

"...If I hadn't lost my cane, you'd be in a real mess right now."

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Hong He, who was expressionlessly saying he was going to call the police after taking out his phone, and couldn't help but say subconsciously, "Go ahead and scream, scream all you want, no one will come to save you!"

"Ugh... Which head are you talking about? How dare you make suggestive remarks in front of women? That's despicable! I never knew you were like this, Zhou Ke'er!"

The flamingo deliberately made a disgusted expression, although it looked incredibly strange mixed with her expressionless face.

"??? When I typed a question mark, it wasn't that I had a problem, it was that I thought you had a problem! It's like you suddenly put on yellow glasses and started driving! You were going 280 miles per hour!"

Looking at the red crane, who was speaking witty remarks with a straight face and a serious expression, Zhou Ke'er felt that her吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to roast or criticize) energy was about to be so full that a hair sticking up on her head that could shoot out a star cooling cannon!

"Da da... da..."

Just then, hurried footsteps came from a street corner not far away, giving the impression of someone fleeing in panic.

Zhou Ke'er subconsciously reached out and pulled Honghe into the shadows where he had just been—this was a spot he had carefully selected over a full minute, and with the environment so dark, even if a passerby looked closely, they might not be able to tell that someone was there, let alone pass by in a hurry.

Honghe didn't make any other moves, letting Zhou Ke'er pull her over with a blank expression. Although she didn't realize what was happening, she remained very calm.

Soon, a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with delicate features and a burly build, staggered out from around the corner. He had several wounds on his body, from which blood was constantly seeping out.

"Wow... this is the modern-day Nezha!"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but mutter to herself upon seeing it. This is just too bizarre! Can anyone really look like this in real life? Zhou Ke'er certainly didn't believe it. Shouldn't she be rushed to the hospital for treatment? She guessed it was a character creation in a game... This aesthetic is truly bizarre. Is she trying to give someone a sanity check before even engaging in combat?

"Huff...huff...huh?! Who's hiding there! Is Long Aotian's lackey sent to ambush me?!"

Unexpectedly, this guy had sharp eyes. As soon as he turned the corner, he spotted Zhou Ke'er and Hong He hiding. He glared at them and shouted angrily, "Not only did you send people to chase me, but you also set up an ambush. Are you really planning to wipe me out?! You're not giving me, Zhao Ritian, any face at all. Are you trying to provoke a conflict between the Long and Zhao families?! If I, Zhao Ritian, hadn't arrived at this game a few days later, you wouldn't have had the chance to be so arrogant!"

"...???"

Zhou Ke'er opened her mouth—wait, what the hell is this guy...? He sounds like he doesn't get along with Long Aotian? But the names seem like a perfect match!

And what kind of ridiculous urban novel setting is this Long and Zhao families?! He's never heard of such a bizarre family in his family before...

"Da da da..."

At the same time, a more chaotic series of footsteps came from the direction the man had fled from, indicating that a group of people were indeed chasing him.

"No, we..."

Seeing that she had been discovered, Honghe came out, squinting as she prepared to deny it. But she had only uttered a few words when Zhou Ke'er, who had followed her out, immediately interrupted her, saying, "That's right! Since you've discovered us, there's nothing we can do. Our boss, Long Aotian, means what he says. If he says he'll chop up your whole family, he'll chop up your whole family. He's absolutely not lying! A family should be together, right?"

"You... Long Aotian, you've gone too far! Fortune changes every thirty years, never underestimate a young man's potential! Once I, Zhao Ritian, have regrouped, your Aotian Guild will be utterly destroyed!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ritian became even more enraged and immediately couldn't help but shout out the classic line, almost digging his nails deep into his flesh.

No sooner had he finished uttering those harsh words than the group of pursuers emerged from the street corner. Zhao Ritian, caught between a rock and a hard place, was about to end his own life (logging out of the game) when the pursuers, startled by the sudden appearance of Honghe and Zhou Ke'er, noticed one of them pointing at Zhou Ke'er and shouting, "This guy is on the kill list too, and he's marked as the highest priority! We just happened to run into him, let's take him out too! Lord Long Aotian will reward us handsomely!"

"...?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ritian's angry expression froze instantly. Looking at Zhou Ke'er, who remained defiant and unashamed even after being exposed, he stood there dumbfounded—he had never encountered anything like this before and didn't know how to react...

"Ah... Damn it, I was so engrossed in the temptation of growing taller that I forgot about this... I was actually planning to stir up trouble and add fuel to the fire... Tsk."

Zhou Ke'er pouted and muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed.

"...What are you muttering about! Why aren't you running? What are you doing standing here? If you get killed here, what kind of crazy plan will you be able to carry out?!"

Seeing Zhou Ke'er's displeased expression, Honghe squinted and grabbed Zhou Ke'er, then pulled away—it was Zhou Ke'er who had pulled her just now, and now it was her pulling Zhou Ke'er, so they were even... probably.

## Chapter 250, Section 245: Strange and Unusual (Fifty-Four)

Why are you running?

However, Zhou Ke'er, who was being held back, didn't move an inch. She stood there blankly, glancing at the red crane who was about to run away, looking utterly puzzled: "If it's a ghost or monster, then they can't hurt us. If it's a player, then I can easily deal with them, right? What's the point of running?"

"Look at all the wounds on his body, you can tell those guys chasing him aren't ghosts or monsters!"

Hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, Honghe could only let go of his hand, squinted at Zhao Ritian who was bruised and battered, and said to Zhou Ke'er, "As for you saying you can take them all down by yourself... do you think you're Ip Man? And what if they have weapons or guns?"

"Oh right, did I forget to tell you?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at the guys who were about to rush up to her, less than five meters away, slapped her forehead, and then reached inside her coat and pulled out a... rifle—the one she had snatched from the organization members when she confronted Long Aotian earlier.

Oh right, speaking of this... Zhou Ke'er actually finds this setting quite puzzling. Although it's stipulated that ghosts and monsters can't hurt people, why are they allowed to carry guns and ambush people outside? Does that mean that using firearms to inflict damage doesn't count as self-harm?

Or perhaps they didn't know Zhou Ke'er was human and mistook her for a ghost, which is why they used this method. But judging from Long Aotian's actions, he first emptied the ghosts' magazine of bullets before coming out, which means he was indeed afraid of being hurt by the ghosts' bullets—but no ghost actually hit him, so we can't be sure... It's possible that he forgot this setting in his haste?

Zhou Ke'er shook her head, putting aside these pointless speculations, and took a deep breath: "Take this, Scar-colored Ripple Dash!"

"Da da da da da..."

The gun in Zhou Ke'er's hand spat out specks of light, and the people chasing ahead who couldn't stop in time fell down in droves before they could even react.

Zhao Ritian, who had already run about ten steps and was about to slip away, was stunned when he subconsciously looked back and saw this scene. He stopped in his tracks, completely bewildered.

"what...."

Honghe squinted at Zhou Ke'er, who was slaughtering the unstoppable, and was momentarily speechless. Was this the legendary "adult eating excrement"...?

"Wait a minute! I've suddenly had a great idea! Hmm, let's do it this way!"

As Zhou Ke'er was firing her gun, a brilliant idea suddenly popped into her head, and she cheered on the spot.

"...I don't know what good idea you have, but I do know that if you keep pulling the trigger without changing the magazine, no bullets will be fired."

Honghe looked at Zhou Ke'er, who was absentmindedly pulling the trigger, and then glanced at the group of people who had completely failed to notice this and fled in panic. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief and finally kindly reminded her, "You're weak and haven't even realized it yourself. Did you lose consciousness because it was too fast?"

"Oh, I see... But there's nothing I can do about it. I don't have any other magazines to replace them with. I just stole someone's gun, and I couldn't find any magazines."

Zhou Ke'er completely ignored Hong He's carriage wheels and casually replied, "After all, I'm in a hurry to get back and do things with you..."

"???"