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

"What kind of monster?"

Mu Yang asked instinctively.

“You come with me to report to the organization, and I’ll tell you on the way.”

"Never mind then, not interested. See you later."

Upon hearing this, Mu Yang immediately made a run for it.

Xie Jiangzuo shrugged at Zhou Ke'er, gave her the organization's address, noted down her contact information, and then turned and left.

Zhou Ke'er glanced at her car beside her and sighed. It seemed that next time she came to see Xu Qingming, she definitely couldn't drive her own car. If she had to break down, she should break someone else's car.

With that in mind, Zhou Ke'er walked out of the blocked-off block and hailed a taxi to Xu Qingming's house.

(King Crimson!)

She originally wanted to call him first to ask if he was home, but she crashed halfway there and completely forgot about it. Now that she was already downstairs at his building, Zhou Ke'er was too lazy to call again. She figured she could just wait until she couldn't get in at his door.

It's mainly because I'm lazy.

As soon as Zhou Ke'er stepped into the building, her vision instantly turned gray again, just like in the illusion. Was it a passive effect that automatically activated after sensing a massive amount of malevolent energy?

Could it be that I'm actually a weirdo?

Zhou Ke'er touched her chin, tilted her head, then reached out and pressed the elevator button, her right hand tightly gripping half of a Tang sword.

The taxi driver had just asked him if he was cosplaying with that fake knife, and Zhou Ke'er replied in all seriousness that she had just come here after stabbing someone. The driver was speechless—his only concern was that he might actually call the police. But it wouldn't matter if he did, since the place was like Zhou Ke'er's own home (not really), she went there often, and everyone knew her well.

"Ding Dong"

The elevator arrived quickly.

Isn't this a bit too fast? We were just on the 24th floor, how come we've gone down one floor in less than five seconds? Even free fall isn't this fast.

As the elevator doors slowly opened, Zhou Ke'er's vision was completely filled with a vast expanse of deep black.

Good heavens! Zhou Ke'er was so frightened that she quickly closed her right eye, and only then did the scene in front of her return to normal.

There was only one person in the elevator: a handsome man with unusually pale skin who maintained a squinting smile.

They look extremely dangerous; those with squinty eyes are definitely not to be trifled with.

Zhou Ke'er stepped aside, indicating that the other person should go out first.

"I went up there."

The man said with a smile.

You're kidding me! This elevator just came down from the 24th floor, and you're telling me you went up there? There's no basement level in this building, so where did you go up from?

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but mentally complain, then shook her head and replied with a smile, "I'm going down, you go first."

"?"

The squinty-eyed man smiled, a puzzled expression on his face: "Go...down? Isn't the lowest level here the first floor?"

You know that, yet you still say you went up there?!

Zhou Ke'er gave an awkward but polite smile. "I mean, I came down with a friend, but he forgot something, so I'm waiting for him here."

Good heavens, finding Xu Qingming is like venturing into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair. Is he probably already dead by now?

"I see. But what are you doing holding half a knife in your hand? It could be very dangerous if you hurt someone."

The man stood still and continued speaking to Zhou Ke'er, "And why are you talking to me with your right eye closed? Is your eye uncomfortable? Do you need my help?"

That damn elevator door usually closes faster than anything else, but now it just won't close at all, even in situations like this. Seriously, elevator door!

445. It's like a journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

"Why are you so concerned about me? We've only just met, haven't we? You haven't fallen in love with me at first sight, have you? You're a good person, but I'm sorry, we can't be together. My sexual orientation might be a little different from yours. Although I respect your choice, you should also respect mine, don't you think?"

Zhou Ke'er adopted a "moved but reluctant" attitude, giving the man in front of her a "friend zone" card.

The man looked utterly bewildered, as if he had actually given it some serious thought: "In that case, if you became a woman, wouldn't you be able to..."

"Is this elevator broken? We've been standing here chatting for almost five or six minutes, why isn't the door closing? If the elevator is broken, we suggest you take the stairs, okay?"

Zhou Ke'er immediately changed the subject.

"Ah, I see... I knew it."

Upon hearing this, the squinty-eyed man looked as if he had just realized something and quickly walked out of the elevator.

Seeing this, Zhou Ke'er quickly and discreetly took two steps back to make room for the other person.

The squinty-eyed man smiled and nodded at Zhou Ke'er before turning into the stairwell.

"Phew..." ×2

Two barely perceptible sighs of relief rang out almost simultaneously.

Zhou Ke'er quickly squeezed into the elevator and frantically pressed the close button. The elevator door, which had been stubbornly refusing to close, finally slowly shut.

The squinty-eyed man leaned against the wall of the stairwell, looking relieved. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and thought to himself, "That guy just now... although I only saw his right eye for a brief moment, I can't be wrong! The quality and concentration of that evil energy are definitely above the Great Ghost level!"

Moreover, he concealed it extremely well on the surface; only a Blue-Rank Exorcist or higher could see through it... If I weren't a specialist in reconnaissance, I would definitely have been fooled by him!

"Damn it, when I came down and saw this guy, I thought I was going to die... I just fought another monster not long ago, and in my current state, I definitely couldn't escape even if I tried to run away. I didn't expect it to just let me go..."

The squinting man pondered, pulling out his phone as he said, "He must have something more important to do, which is why he overlooked me, an insignificant weakling... No, this situation must be reported to the higher-ups, otherwise, multiple murders may occur here!"

Inside the elevator, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but wipe his sweat. Good heavens, he had just "climbed" it several times not long ago, and his limbs were still weak. If he encountered a monster of this level, he wouldn't even be able to run away! Fortunately, for some reason, perhaps because they felt there was no need to kill Zhou Ke'er or for some other reason, they only asked him a few questions and let him go... It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

Oh right, what's Mu Yang's contact information again? We need to get reinforcements over here quickly... otherwise, who knows if that rascal will launch a surprise attack!

Finally, after the elevator slowly sluggishly moved, Zhou Ke'er arrived at Xu Qingming's door.

While keeping a watchful eye on what was behind him, he quickly rang the doorbell a few times.

After a couple of seconds, Xu Qingming’s slightly muffled voice came from inside the house: “No sales pitches, no takeout orders, no deliveries, the electricity and water meters are all outside, no need for community welfare programs.”

Goodness gracious, Zhou Ke'er exclaimed, "Then do you want me to bring you warmth? If not, I'll leave?"

Upon hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, the sound of someone running quickly in slippers echoed from inside the room. Less than two seconds later, the door was suddenly pulled open.

"Zhou Ke'er? Really? What brings you here today?"

Xu Qingming lowered his head and looked at Zhou Ke'er in surprise. "I thought I was hallucinating."

"Don't even mention it. It's like I'm on a pilgrimage to the West every time I come to see you. I was supposed to come a few days ago, but I got delayed on the way, and I almost couldn't come today either. What a mess of nonsense you keep getting into every day."

Zhou Ke'er rolled her eyes and finally couldn't help but complain, while also giving Xu Qingming a quick look.

Compared to when he came to see Zhou Ke'er a while ago, he now looks much more haggard. His lips are so chapped that Zhou Ke'er almost wants to throw him her lip balm and tell him to apply it quickly.

It's painful to even look at.

"Ahem... Come in first."

Xu Qingming coughed twice in a low voice, gesturing for Zhou Ke'er to go in first.

As soon as Zhou Ke'er entered the room, she couldn't help but squint her right eye. The concentration of eeriness in this room was too high, almost twice that of a normal place outside. When she looked at Xu Qingming from outside, only Xu Qingming was dark-colored, while the rest of the room was light-colored, so she could still distinguish him. But once she entered, everything was pitch black, so Zhou Ke'er had no choice but to close her right eye again.

"Why are you suddenly looking for me today? Is there something you need?"

Xu Qingming casually closed the door, walked over, poured water for Zhou Ke'er, and asked her a question.

"If I don't come soon, you'll turn into a monster... How can I not come?"

Zhou Ke'er sighed helplessly, "You're covered in evil energy, like you've been thrown into a nuclear radiation source for days. If you said you were about to kick the bucket in a few more days, people would believe it. Let me see your hand. Last time you had scales, right? How are they now?"

"..."

Although Xu Qingming didn't understand what Zhou Ke'er meant by that long string of words, he still obediently stretched out his hand and rolled up his sleeves. "I don't know what's going on either. Originally, the scales were growing more and more, but recently they've started to decrease. Maybe it's a good omen?"

Good my ass!

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but curse under her breath. Combining this with the scene she saw with her right eye, she could easily draw a conclusion: the scales that appeared on Xu Qingming's body before were traces of an external evil force forcibly grafted onto him. The scales gradually decreased because the external evil began to assimilate into his own body. There was no rejection reaction, so it would no longer be visible on the outside.

If it's an externally forcibly grafted evil, Zhou Ke'er should be able to absorb it, but if it merges with her own being, then Zhou Ke'er is powerless to stop it—is this principle the same as the evil within an exorcist's body that has been activated and used as a weapon?

That was a mistake; we should have come directly here after the last bus incident...

Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips, deciding she could only try first and see what happened. At worst, she could ask Mu Yang if he had any solutions for this situation when he arrived. The exorcists should know more about these kinds of things.

"It might be a little uncomfortable, just bear with it."

Zhou Ke'er said something casually, then opened her right eye and moved closer to Xu Qingming's outstretched hand.

Soon, a visible black mist rose from Xu Qingming's hand and rushed into Zhou Ke'er's eyes. At the same time, the scales on Xu Qingming's hand disappeared rapidly.

"What...what's going on? Have these ghostly things gotten inside your body?"

Xu Qingming was taken aback by what he saw and quickly asked, instinctively trying to pull his hand back.

Zhou Ke'er held Xu Qingming's hand tightly, preventing him from pulling it away. "What are you shrinking back for? Can't bear to part with all your scales? Has your aesthetic sense become warped?"

446. Full-power vacuum cleaner

"But...but are you alright? It looks like you've inhaled all this black mist...even if you suck out snake venom, you'd spit it out, but you're not even spitting it out!"

Xu Qingming immediately spoke to Zhou Ke'er.

"Nonsense, where would I spit? On you? Asking such a question, your brain must have been squeezed by a door. I suggest you go back to school and get retrained."

Zhou Ke'er pouted. Xu Qingming really had a lot of evil energy. She had only absorbed less than half of it, and she already felt a little full.

Just then, Zhou Ke'er suddenly felt something was wrong—the evil spirits emanating from the surrounding air began to unconsciously burrow into Zhou Ke'er's body, as if Zhou Ke'er were a blanket that had been violently rubbed, and the surrounding evil spirits were like dust, quickly being attracted to her.

"This is..."

Zhou Ke'er frowned slightly, but quickly realized what was going on. She thought to herself, "So that's how it is... No wonder the evil energy on Xu Qingming's body increased so quickly. It turns out that the evil energy that was forcibly attached to him had the function of slowly absorbing the surrounding evil energy and gathering the evil energy in a large area into the space around him... No wonder the concentration of evil energy in this room is so much higher than outside."

"Moreover, this effect should have been activated when I first encountered it. Considering the timeline, my ability to absorb evil entities only occurred after I met Xu Qingming again..."

As Zhou Ke'er absorbed the evil energy, she pondered, "Thinking about it this way, it's very likely that these two functions originally belonged to the same kind of evil energy, but Xu Qingming happened to take that portion of the evil energy with him when he came in last..."

"These are all functions that forcibly absorb evil into the human body... What exactly was that experiment in the old era researching? I'm a little confused about its purpose. Was it to develop a weapon that could help humanity win the final battle, or was it to leave a way out, so that if humanity failed completely, they could use this method to turn themselves into monsters and blend into the enemy group to survive?"

Before Zhou Ke'er could think any further, she felt her right eye absorb the evil energy at a sudden slowdown, and it stopped absorbing it within a few seconds.

Because the evil within Zhou Ke'er's body is already overflowing, it's almost bursting out of control. Unless she can push the evil deeper into more areas of her body that can hold it, squeezing out more space, or find a way to compress and aggregate the existing quantity of evil, reducing its size while increasing its concentration and quality, Zhou Ke'er currently cannot do either of these things.