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

Zhou Ke'er bowed slightly upon hearing this.

Speaking of which, this butler doesn't seem worried at all... and he didn't react at all to what just happened. It's really strange.

"Oh? So you are all ready?"

The butler seemed to snap out of his daze and led the way toward the manor. “Then please follow me. Mr. Desce has been waiting for a long time, and the banquet is about to begin.”

"Knowing that time is almost up, you are still dawdling and wasting other people's time. You really are a gentleman. Mr. Grassis, you are exactly the same as before, you haven't changed at all."

As everyone was walking into the manor, Finger Sand suddenly spoke as if to himself. Although he was speaking to Zhou Ke'er, he was not looking at her and did not deliberately lower his voice, so everyone else could hear him.

Zhou Ke'er was taken aback at first, but then immediately understood the intention of the sand between her fingers.

It seems that Zhijiansha has seen through Zhou Ke'er's previous hint and has begun to help improve Zhou Ke'er's NPC identity.

After all, among a group of players, only one person is an NPC... and it seems that they have no connection with the others, which is indeed very suspicious, especially in this kind of module where players' nicknames cannot be seen. Any normal person would suspect that this person is a player in disguise.

However... if this NPC has a very complex background and has interacted with many of the people... then the probability of being suspected will be much lower, and they will probably be considered an NPC used to advance the plot.

After all, isn't that how it's written in detective or supernatural novels? There's always a character who's connected to everyone else and is used to advance the plot.

“Oh dear, Miss Sandein, you have changed a lot.”

Zhou Ke'er maintained her formulaic smile and replied without turning her head, "You've become even more sarcastic and mean-spirited. I really doubt whether you'll ever find your other half."

Shi looked completely bewildered, her blank stare seeming to say, "Huh? Why are these two suddenly arguing? What happened?"

Although Jin Yi's thoughts hadn't quite caught up with Zhou Ke'er and Zhijiansha yet, she still secretly tugged at Shi Shi, signaling him not to say anything to avoid any mishaps.

"Eh? Mr. Grassis, do you know Miss Sandein?"

Pride asked, slightly surprised, a hint of doubt in her mind: Do these two people have overlapping backgrounds? ...Strange, this Grassis is also connected to the person who just left, and now he knows this Sandein...but why isn't he in my background? Could it be...I'm special?

"Know each other? Hmm... I guess so."

Zhou Ke'er replied noncommittally, "Actually, it's because he doesn't know Zhijian Sha's background. If he just makes things up, he might accidentally get it wrong and be exposed. It's better to let Zhijian Sha make up his own reasons. Anyway, Zhou Ke'er has already revealed her identity, even if it's fabricated."

"We've only met a few times in court."

Seeing that Zhou Ke'er didn't answer directly and even turned to look at her, Zhijiansha understood what Zhou Ke'er meant. "I forgot to mention, I'm a lawyer. I've represented several factory owners in lawsuits against this Mr. Grassis... although I never won. These days, even the courts reek of capitalism."

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow.

Interesting. It seems that the Sand Between Fingers doesn't want to help solidify Zhou Ke'er's NPC identity, but rather... to put himself into the NPC role as well, and by proving Zhou Ke'er's background, make his own background seem more complete and complex.

If that's the case... then Finger Sand shouldn't just be an ordinary invitee. Oh, or rather, all the players probably have a specific reason for coming here...

When you see that exclusive mission, you should know that it's impossible for Zhou Ke'er to be the only one with it.

"Squeak, squeak..."

The sound of the door opening brought Zhou Ke'er back to her senses.

The butler stood at the door and gestured for everyone to come in.

As the door slowly opened, an inexplicable chill enveloped everyone without warning. Despite the absence of wind, the decorative vines climbing the outer wall of the manor swayed gently, moving on their own without any breeze.

The lights shone from inside the manor, but the atmosphere was cold and desolate. The orange light reflected on the ground, but it did not give people a feeling of warmth.

The butler stood sideways, half his face hidden in shadow. His cloudy eyes made it impossible to guess what he was thinking, and under the cool, warm light, he looked somewhat eerie.

"Da...da..."

Zhou Ke'er walked ahead and entered the manor. For a moment, only the soft sound of his cane tapping the ground could be heard.

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32. The Shadowy Castle (Part 4)

"Welcome to my manor! The banquet is about to begin!"

Just as the last person entered the manor castle, the gates slammed shut with a "bang," as if pushed forcefully by an invisible hand, just like in a typical horror movie.

A young woman's voice rang out from somewhere, her words tinged with laughter.

"Dess... is she a woman? No, that's not right. We've been referring to her as Mr. Dess, and the butler called her 'Master.' So her gender shouldn't be wrong. Then this guy is..."

The moment Zhou Ke'er heard the voice, her mind raced, "But this person said this is her manor..."

Before Zhou Ke'er could figure anything out, the voice continued, "However... this isn't a banquet prepared for you~ You know that yourselves, don't you, scum?"

"Wow... I didn't expect them to start with such a bombshell right from the beginning. I thought the story would unfold gradually at the banquet."

Zhou Ke'er stroked the ruby ​​on her cane, pondered silently for a while, but didn't wait for anyone else to make a move.

"Hey, hey... this isn't good. Since we're all players, we know that responding in this situation will only make us look like idiots and also set a high chance of us getting killed, so everyone's silent! This is so awkward..."

Zhou Ke'er sighed helplessly. Oh well... if he doesn't step up in this situation, who will? Since the goal is thrills, then of course she has to see it through to the end. To play the role of an NPC well, she also has to convincingly portray the foolishness that comes with not knowing the ropes!

Thinking this, he feigned confusion and asked in a deep voice, "I don't understand what you're saying. Why are you insulting us the moment we meet? Is this Mr. Dais's way of treating guests?"

"Oh dear, calling you scum is already an understatement, don't you even realize it?"

Seeing that someone had finally responded, the voice sounded relieved and mocked, "Do you expect me to dig up all your past mistakes one by one? Oh, right, people like you who have no conscience wouldn't care about that, would you?"

Wow, are they all villains after all?

However... Zhou Ke'er's identity is clearly that of a righteous police detective.

"Oh, scum? That adjective really fits you, Mr. Grassis."

Even at this point, Zhijiansha still hasn't forgotten to maintain her persona and take a jab at Zhou Ke'er.

"Tsk, he didn't say anything when he should have, and now that the plot is moving forward, he's trying to take advantage... That guy, Finger Sand, is incredibly cunning!"

Zhou Ke'er subtly pursed her lips, her smile unchanged. "Miss Sandein, have you forgotten that you're one of the scumbags too? I'm rather curious, what exactly did you do? Disdainful of capital, a self-proclaimed righteous lawyer?"

"What did I do? I absolutely did not do anything illegal."

The sand between his fingers scoffed, "My heart and actions are as clear as a mirror, and all my deeds are for justice."

"You didn't break the law? That means you did something immoral?"

Zhou Ke'er squinted, her fingers casually stroking her cane. "According to you, I haven't done anything illegal, since I won all the cases."

"Hey... this isn't the time for you two to argue, is it?"

Jin Yi felt completely lost, unable to understand what Zhou Ke'er and Zhijiansha were doing. Just a moment ago, she felt like she was about to catch up with their train of thought, but now she was completely dumbfounded and couldn't help but ask.

As for Stern and Pride, they had the idea of ​​letting Zhou Ke'er and Zhijiansha, who were arguing and ignoring the atmosphere, attract most of the attention, while they stayed on the sidelines and observed from the shadows. So they didn't say anything.

Completely oblivious to the situation, Mr. Shi actually went to push the door open!

Normally, you'd think that a door in a horror movie-style scenario couldn't be opened once it's closed, but surprisingly, Mr. Shi actually went and pushed the door open...

Zhou Ke'er was startled when she saw this: "That's right! I should have tried to push the door open! Although I am a player and know that this door can't be opened, a normal NPC would definitely try to push it... I didn't expect to give myself away here! But luckily, those two didn't seem to suspect me."

"Oh! This door... isn't locked! It can be pushed! There's someone blocking it from the outside, probably the butler! If we push together, we can definitely open the door!"

Just then, Shi suddenly turned to the others and spoke.

"Huh? Huh?!"

Even Zhou Ke'er was stunned...

Your actions are truly... baffling! It feels so cheap! And the butler is such an old man, and you're making him block the door? Doesn't your conscience bother you?! Is this your stance for condemning others as scum?

There were just too many flaws, and Zhou Ke'er's face turned red as she tried to maintain her image.

"Hey! Why are you all talking to yourselves? Didn't you hear me talking to you?! That's incredibly rude!"

The voice rang out again, but this time it sounded exasperated. "Damn it! Fine... talking to scum like you is an insult to myself. In that case, let the banquet begin!"

...

This script is hilarious. Zhou Ke'er, who initially tried to seriously play the role and went to great lengths to maintain her persona, is just like a complete idiot.

This guy's words have absolutely no boss-like demeanor! He's just a grumpy little brat!

"Squeak, squeak..."

Just then, the door was slowly pushed open.

"Ouch... sir, please stop pushing me. My old bones are about to fall apart..."

The butler stood helplessly at the door, but showed no intention of running away.

"What... is going on?"

Stern couldn't help but ask aloud, his voice gruff.

"Ahem... I'm sorry everyone, my daughter was really too naughty and actually directed and acted in this farce. I apologize to everyone here."

A middle-aged man's voice came from the corridor in front of everyone. Everyone quickly looked over and saw a middle-aged man who was well-dressed, whose every move was very steady and exuded an aristocratic air, walking out with a cane.

Zhou Ke'er's eyelids twitched upon seeing this.

This guy... his cane is the same style as his! I've heard of people wearing the same clothes, but I've never heard of people using the same cane! This is so embarrassing...

Fortunately, no one noticed this small detail.

"Huh? What does this mean?"

Mr. Shi was confused. He put his foot down and asked, looking bewildered. He had just been about to run out.

"It's like this, I was just waiting for you all in the banquet hall, but you didn't arrive, so I rushed over... only to find that my daughter had played a joke on you all."

The man bowed slightly. "I'm so sorry. Butler Slevin, why are you joining in my daughter's nonsense?"

"Ah, I'm very sorry, Mr. Desce."

Upon hearing this, the butler quickly bowed and said, "Miss Etty only told me to close the door quickly after the guests entered, so that the wind wouldn't blow into the manor... I really didn't expect something like this to happen."

"Hmph, how boring!"

The little girl called Etty ran out from a corner, pouted, and ran inside.

That place was hidden by decorations; no wonder no one noticed her earlier.

"Oh dear, my daughter is so naughty. Has she done anything disrespectful to you all?"

Daisy sighed and asked the crowd, "If there is anything, I would like to apologize to you all on behalf of my daughter..."

"No, no, Mr. Desce, you're overthinking it. Miss Etty has treated us very well, and there's nothing wrong with it. You don't need to worry."

Zhou Ke'er smiled and waved her hand, spouting nonsense without hesitation.

"They really do speak human language to human beings and ghost language to ghosts."