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

"Phew... the illusion is over, so it seems I didn't have to ask..."

Just as Xie Jiangzuo breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, before he could finish speaking, he heard a gasp from the side.

"It's you! Great Ghost!"

Mu Yang, whom she had met on the bus before, looked at Zhou Ke'er with a shocked and wary expression. He even subconsciously took two steps back and shouted in fear.

Jie Jiangzuo: "???"

So he was just chatting with a giant ghost for all that time? Good grief, he clearly didn't sense that this guy was a ghost...

Mu Yang's shout caused all the staff members who were scattered around handling the scene to look at Zhou Ke'er. Although, from Zhou Ke'er's perspective, if we compare the concentration of evil energy in their bodies, the highest among those present was Jie Jiangzuo, followed by Mu Yang, and the rest were relatively low, probably at the level of normal people. They were probably not genuine exorcists, but just staff members handling the scene.

"Hey, you! How can you slander someone out of thin air! I don't even know you, how dare you call someone a ghost?"

Even so, given Zhou Ke'er's current state, she probably couldn't even escape. So she immediately put on a wronged look and hurriedly said, "I'm from the Zhou family, from your prop supplier. Don't you recognize me? If you don't believe me, you can ask Shi Mi. Or take me to the Zhou family to identify me in person. How can you slander me as a ghost out of thin air?!"

Mu Yang was taken aback when he heard this. For a moment, he really thought he had mistaken someone for someone else. But when he looked closely, he realized that it was no mistake. It looked exactly like the big monster he had met on the bus last time.

"Uh... Mu Yang, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else? When I entered the illusion just now, this guy was indeed confronting another ghost and protecting Shi Mi. Although something unexpected happened later... he shouldn't be a ghost, and I didn't sense anything wrong with him."

Xie Jiangzuo carefully examined Zhou Ke'er before turning to Mu Yang and saying, "Also... the most urgent task is to treat Shi Mi; his condition is not optimistic. Where is the treatment team?"

"The treatment team is on its way and should arrive soon."

Hearing this, Mu Yang had no choice but to agree on the surface, while secretly harboring doubts: "There's definitely no mistake, they look exactly the same, it's impossible to mistake one person for another... Could it be that the monster from last time can mimic appearances? Disguised as this person? But why would that be? Why specifically this person's appearance, and why did we actually run into this person so soon after? Something feels very wrong..."

"Um...excuse me..."

Just then, Zhou Ke'er suddenly spoke up, handing the broken half of the Tang sword to Mu Yang as she said, "I also want to become an exorcist. I wonder if that's possible?"

"what?!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yang was immediately taken aback. He quickly examined Zhou Ke'er closely, and only then did he notice... that Zhou Ke'er's right eye actually had two pupils, and there seemed to be some faint writing etched on them. He had been so surprised and nervous that he had completely overlooked this detail...

But isn't that strange? He clearly examined Zhou Ke'er carefully just now, so why did he only notice this now?!

"Your...right eye?"

Mu Yang did not answer Zhou Ke'er's request for the time being, but hesitated and pointed to Zhou Ke'er's right eye.

443. You said I was just an ordinary person...

"The right eye..."

Zhou Ke'er winked at Mu Yang, "This is a secret. I'll think about whether to tell you after you make me an exorcist."

The truth is that even Zhou Ke'er herself doesn't know what's going on.

"...Well, I can't decide that either. Let's talk about it later. Next time, for sure."

Mu Yang hesitated for a moment, but still refused Zhou Ke'er's request. It wasn't that he couldn't recommend someone else to be an exorcist, but he simply didn't trust Zhou Ke'er at all. Although Xie Jiangzuo, who was standing to the side, said that Zhou Ke'er wasn't an exorcist, he still felt that something was off.

"...Alright, since you've put it that way, there's nothing I can do. I'll ask my family if they have any connections next time."

Zhou Ke'er wasn't disappointed, after all, Mu Yang's answer wasn't unexpected. She just shrugged and said, "By the way, there's one more thing... will you reimburse the car that was damaged? Don't worry, it's not expensive. It's one of the cheapest cars in my garage. It's only a few million. As for the exact amount, I'll check it when I get back."

In fact, Zhou Ke'er never really planned to join the Exorcists. Even if she did, she'd probably be the kind of person who skips work and slacks off every day. His only fun would be going to the Dream Realm to scare her. In short, unless he had a really bad sense of humor, there was really no need for him to join.

After all... Zhou Ke'er felt that if the exorcists knew the information, he could probably find it by asking them at their home. Most importantly, joining the exorcists would require attendance... Zhou Ke'er was rather lazy and really didn't want to be running around outside every day.

"this...."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yang's face turned pale. Good heavens! He thought to himself, "Good heavens!" Then he rushed forward and grabbed Zhou Ke'er's hands with both of them: "Let's talk about you joining the Exorcists again. Although I can't make the decision, I can tell at a glance that there's a ray of inspiration shooting out from the top of your head, you know? You're definitely a one-in-a-million genius among Exorcists. I'll recommend you to the higher-ups right away, and they'll definitely agree, okay?"

The exorcist organization isn't poor; in fact, it does have a fair amount of operating funds. But everyone here is a money-devouring beast, and they're currently facing severe financial difficulties. They're almost at the point where they can't afford the exorcism tools allocated to the exorcists.

Generally, exorcists are allocated about the same amount of exorcism tools as Shi Mi, which they use up quickly without seriously injuring the ghost. As for Mu Yang's backpack full of tools... he bought them all out of his own pocket.

If they have to lose a few million more, it will be adding insult to injury. If this continues, the exorcists might have to send some out to become idols in order to make money to support the organization.

"Huh? If I join the organization, will the organization stop reimbursing my expenses?"

Zhou Ke'er accurately grasped the key points.

While the car itself wasn't really a big deal for him—it was broken, so what? Even if he didn't have to pay for it, it wouldn't be a big deal—the main issue was... were all exorcists this poor? They'd even bring suspected ghosts into the team just to avoid paying compensation? Wasn't this a sign that the organization was full of traitors and paycheck thieves?

"Hey, once you're in the organization, you're family. Why talk about money when we're family? It hurts our feelings!"

Mu Yang patted Zhou Ke'er on the shoulder with an air of self-righteousness, "How about it? As long as you nod, I'll call the higher-ups right now, and the approval documents will be issued in a little while. Within two hours, you'll be an official exorcist."

"? So you can get into your organization just by donating money?"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but look Mu Yang up and down for a while. "I see that your outfit isn't cheap either. I didn't realize you were so poor. Don't be so stingy."

The outfit Mu Yang is wearing costs as much as one of Ke'er's coats last week; it's definitely not cheap.

“That’s different. My own money is my own, and the organization’s money is the organization’s. But if the organization runs out of money, it will pay less salary. If it pays less salary, then I won’t have any money.”

Mu Yang is acting like a brother who keeps clear accounts, having just said that talking about money hurts feelings, he's completely shameless.

"Can I not show up? I can just be listed as a staff member and not get paid."

Zhou Ke'er scratched her head. "Speaking of which, could we find a mentor or something? You think? I don't know anything. This is my first time being an exorcist, so I need someone to teach me, right?"

"Nonsense, everyone's a first-time exorcist, it's not like we've been one in a past life." Mu Yang couldn't help but mentally scoff, then forced a smile: "Well... your salary is tied to the number of cases you solve. Aside from a minimum monthly quota, you're not forced to be present. But everyone works out of passion, so when a case comes up, everyone usually rushes to step in... or something."

As for the master/mentor system... there is indeed a system where experienced members mentor newcomers. Newcomers will have a designated senior member to guide them on missions until they reach the orange rank.

Mu Yang paused here, as if he had thought of something, and added, "Oh right, you don't know the ranks of exorcists, do you? They're basically like the colors of a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet, from lowest to highest. You can wait for the organization to assign you a senior, or you can choose one yourself. Generally speaking, seniors are at least Green rank."

Just don't choose me. Mu Yang silently muttered to himself.

"Oh, oh, oh, it seems the conditions are quite lenient. Can I choose a Blue-Rank Exorcist as my senior?"

Zhou Ke'er nodded and asked seriously. He remembered that Ming Mengjing had called herself Qingjie.

"Sure, but if it's your own choice, you have to see if the other person agrees."

After handing Shi Mi over to the belated rescue team, Xie Jiangzuo walked over and patted Zhou Ke'er on the shoulder. "Young people shouldn't be too ambitious. Although the minimum rank requirement for seniors is Green rank, it doesn't mean that Green rank is the weakest. For example, look at Mu Yang in front of you, isn't he quite good? And I see you two are chatting quite happily, your relationship is pretty good, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Yang's face turned green, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, no, this young man has already asked, so he must already have someone he likes. Why should we join in the fun?"

At this point, Mu Yang realized that he still didn't know Zhou Ke'er's name, so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "By the way, I still don't know your name. My name is Mu Yang, and this is Xie Jiangzuo."

"My name is Zhou Ke'er."

Zhou Ke'er touched her chin, "Hmm...do you all know those Blue-Rank Exorcists?"

“There are only about ten Qing-rank exorcists in our area, so of course we can remember them all. But we might not be able to remember those in other places; we might have to check.” However, I don’t recommend that you seek out exorcists from other regions to be your seniors, since you said you were afraid of trouble.

Mu Yang shrugged and replied.

Zhou Ke'er then realized, "Oh right, speaking of which, Ming Mengjing might not be an exorcist here. I miscalculated." "Do you know a Qing-rank exorcist named Ming Mengjing? I don't know her real name, but that's how she introduced herself to me."

"...Oh, it's her. I see. I understand now."

Jie Jiangzuo immediately revealed a sly face, looking like he understood, and patted Zhou Ke'er on the shoulder, "It seems you already have someone in mind and have made your decision. Congratulations, you're very lucky, she is indeed on our side. Don't worry, we'll go and ask her for you right away."

?

What do you understand?

444. The decision has already been made.

"Ah, you guys figured it out. Yes, that's exactly right... Then I'll leave it to you."

Although she didn't know what Jie Jiangzuo had figured out on his own, Zhou Ke'er just needed to go along with what he said. After all, he himself said that since that was the case, he would help Zhou Ke'er, so how could Zhou Ke'er not take advantage of it?

"Um, if I may ask, how did you two meet? Did she save you before, or...?"

Mu Yang, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Uh, yes, I have."

Zhou Ke'er answered succinctly.

Upon hearing this, both Xie Jiangzuo and Mu Yang looked at Zhou Ke'er with pity. "So that's what their relationship is..."

When they heard Zhou Ke'er's words, they naturally changed "had hit" to "had been hit". They didn't expect that Zhou Ke'er would still come to find her after all this. Could she be a masochist?

Mu Yang subtly took two steps back, forced a smile, and said, "Well, I support you, keep it up!"

"Brother Zhou, it's all done."

Jie Jiangzuo grinned and patted Zhou Ke'er on the shoulder—why does this guy like patting people's shoulders so much? Is he pretending to pat someone but actually wiping his nose?

Zhou Ke'er glanced at her shoulder discreetly, and seeing no unidentified liquid on it, she breathed a sigh of relief: "What, all done?"

“Ming Mengjing. That girl hasn’t brought anyone along since she reached the Green rank. She always makes excuses to decline, but everyone knows she’s just sneaking off to play games.”

Xie Jiangzuo explained in a serious tone: "Originally, the higher-ups had been planning to have her lead a group once, and since you specifically requested her this time, they just made the decision and assigned you to her."

"So many people have asked for this before, and it still didn't work out, did it? I think it's all because of these few million... It's all fallen apart! This exorcist organization has fallen apart too!"

Mu Yang said with a pained expression, "If they are even slightly rotten, then a whole group of exorcists will be rotten! If they are all rotten, then all exorcists will be rotten!"

"Then you'll pay for it?"

Jie Jiangzuo glanced sideways at Mu Yang.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm also broken, I'm the worst."

Mu Yang immediately gave a French military salute from the old era (pointing to raise both hands).

Ah, so these are the exorcists who protect humanity? Is humanity really doomed?

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but look at the two people in front of her with a suspicious gaze, and then reached out and took back the half of the Tang sword that he had just handed to Mu Yang.

"What's wrong with this?"

Mu Yang was stunned for a moment, wondering what Zhou Ke'er was up to.

"Since you won't even compensate me for the car, how about I take a small souvenir as a keepsake?"

Zhou Ke'er said matter-of-factly, "By the way, does the Exorcist Organization issue weapons? Do the seniors teach us how to use them?"

"Send it, send it; teach it, teach it."

Mu Yang nodded quickly.

Just then, Xie Jiangzuo glanced at his phone and looked helpless. "Sigh, the higher-ups sent a message to Ming Mengjing but she didn't reply. She's probably playing games right now. I'll probably have to wait until she's finished playing before she sees the message. After all, she's not required to be on duty today, and the organization won't contact her urgently over such a small matter."

Okay, I'll give you the address of the meeting first, then you give me your contact information... I'll report this to my superiors later, and they'll plan the time. Now everyone can disperse; I still need to report on that new type of monster that appeared earlier..."