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

"Wow, there really is someone..."

The clueless Cold-Eating Rabbit couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice—but, isn't Long Aotian their nemesis?! What is he planning to do?!

"This sincerity...is not enough. No matter what, he should have come to greet us himself. Just sending a subordinate doesn't seem like he's looking down on us."

Zhou Ke'er spoke with a smile, but there was no warmth in her tone. At the same time, with a "bang," a small, jet-black dog that seemed to be made of black mist suddenly appeared on her shoulder, baring its teeth at her as if in a show of defiance.

"Oh, this..."

The other party was not angered by Zhou Ke'er's words, but instead showed a troubled expression, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Of course, everyone then heard Long Aotian's voice coming from afar: "Hahaha, just as I expected, that's the tone you're using. Look, I came to find you as soon as I heard the news, didn't I? I was just afraid that if I arrived late, you would have left first, so I had my men invite you over. How can you say I'm looking down on you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd parted to make way for Long Aotian, who walked out with a smile and headed towards Zhou Ke'er and the others.

"You arrived really fast."

Zhou Ke'er smiled, smoothing the fur of the small dog on her shoulder with one hand, and answered casually.

"I'm here to pick you up...of course I can't be negligent, I rushed here all the way."

Long Aotian seemed completely oblivious to the sarcastic tone in Zhou Ke'er's words, and simply smiled and shrugged in response.

Zhou Ke'er had no choice but to give up. You can't hit someone who's all smiles. Besides, if she continued to be sarcastic, it would just pass. She still had to cooperate with this guy later. It was enough to warn him a couple of times at the beginning and let him know that she was not someone to be trifled with. There was no need to make things awkward.

"That's wonderful. I never expected to receive such attention from President Long Aotian. It's truly an honor."

Zhou Ke'er nodded. "In that case, I'll trouble you to lead the way again. We're not familiar with the situation here—or...would you like to invite me alone, or would you like to meet with all of us?"

Upon hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, Zhijiansha couldn't help but blink hard. She glanced at Zhou Ke'er's current appearance, then at Long Aotian, who was still smiling after being rebuked by Zhou Ke'er, and slowly revealed an expression of disbelief—this sense of déjà vu is too strong!

Where did this scumbag woman and her simp come from?!

Is Zhou Ke'er really going to play this wild? Surely not?

Long Aotian was taken aback upon hearing this, then couldn't help but laugh, waving his hand behind him, "Of course... I mean, I naturally want to invite you. But if your team members also want to come, I won't object. Or, while we're at it, could we have our guild members act as guides for a short time, showing your team members around the main city?"

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow: "Are you so sure we know nothing about the main city? We were just the first team to activate the teleportation array, which doesn't mean we weren't in the main city before, right?"

"Hahaha, Miss Zhou Ke'er is joking..."

Long Aotian couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly switched to a serious expression: "You may not understand what the largest guild in the game represents—it means that our intelligence network covers the entire main city. If you've ever been in the main city... even if you've only been there for a few minutes, I can find you."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added, "For example... Miss Red Crane, who just arrived in the main city not long ago and is also one of your team members. After I learned about this, I anticipated that you would be coming to the main city soon, so I sent people here to wait for you."

"Wow, that's amazing."

Zhou Ke'er nodded in agreement. Being able to control such a vast intelligence network, Long Aotian wasn't just a simple narcissistic chuunibyou; he actually had some skills.

Then, Zhou Ke'er turned to the others and said, "How about this, you guys go with this guy's men to explore the main city and get a general idea of ​​the situation here. I'll go talk to him first."

The sand between her fingers had an inscrutable look in her eyes, as if she wanted to say something, but after hesitating for a long time, she ultimately said nothing.

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian quickly ordered his men to come over, and then left with Zhou Ke'er.

A short while later, after crushing a "Guild Territory Teleportation Scroll", Long Aotian and Zhou Ke'er appeared in a place that resembled a reception room.

It's clear that the decor is extremely luxurious—I don't know if it's part of the guild's premises or if Long Aotian decorated it himself to save face.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon. If Long Aojiao were online right now, she'd probably be begging to come see you."

Long Aotian sat down in the main seat and spoke as if they were having a casual chat.

Zhou Ke'er sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and the little dog on her shoulder jumped down on its own, snuggled up in her arms, and curled up into a ball.

"No need for small talk. Since you're in such a hurry to see me, why don't you just get to the point? What do you think?"

## Chapter 521, Section 516. Don't do this

"Hey, don't say that. Given our relationship, isn't it worthwhile to chat and exchange pleasantries before discussing serious matters?"

Long Aotian smiled broadly and waved his hand, saying...

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips. "Our relationship? Do you mean the relationship where I killed you once and you chased after me once? I don't understand what you're saying. Are you trying to say we have a good relationship or a bad relationship?"

"You become friends after a fight."

Long Aotian raised an eyebrow, then changed the subject, "However, since you don't want to waste time with nonsense, let's get straight to the point. Actually, the question I want to ask is very simple, and you should already be able to guess it—why didn't you enter the main city after leaving the cabin? If you didn't enter the main city, where did you go? And how did you get here?"

After speaking, Long Aotian paused, then added, "That's all for now. Of course, don't worry, these questions aren't asked for nothing. If you can answer them, our guild will do its best to help you in the future, or share any information that doesn't involve anything that can't be disclosed with you. I think these exchange conditions are quite generous. What do you think?"

"It does sound tempting, but... with these restrictions, it doesn't sound very sincere. What does 'as much as possible' mean? What kind of information can't be disclosed? Aren't these standards something you can set for yourselves?"

Zhou Ke'er didn't even lift her eyelids, reaching out to gently stroke the small dog curled up in her arms, and said casually.

Long Aotian gave a helpless smile, but how genuine it was was hard to tell. "Well, now that you mention it, there are indeed these problems... but I thought there was still trust between us. After all, we've worked together before, haven't we?"

Zhou Ke'er's lips curled up slightly as she looked up at Long Aotian. "No problem. In that case, I'll tell you a top-secret piece of information. However, as a condition, I need to ask you a question to confirm... who is behind you?"

Upon hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, Long Aotian subconsciously turned his head to look behind him, scanned the area, and then frowned as he turned back, asking in confusion, "Behind me? Behind me... there's no one there? There's nothing there either... Is there something I can't see?"

Zhou Ke'er crossed one arm over her chest and rested her chin on the other, not caring whether Long Aotian was genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance. She chuckled and continued, "Alright. Since you put it that way, I'll pretend you don't know for now—but I suggest you don't turn around and ask about my identity as soon as I leave. It won't do you any good."

Before Long Aotian could say anything, Zhou Ke'er waved her hand and continued, "And the news I have for you is—after this major game maintenance, there will be a large-scale event for all players. But the way it's called an event is actually quite simple and brutal... The option to quit the game will be removed, and players who die during the event will fall into a coma in real life, and can only be saved if the event is successfully completed. If everyone fails... then everyone will become a vegetable."

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian remained silent for a moment, an indescribable expression appearing on his face. After hesitating for a long time, he asked in a very strange tone, "Miss Zhou Ke'er, I am very serious about cooperating with you. How can you treat me like a delusional teenager trying to fool me? Although I may not be considered resourceful, you can't think I'm stupid. At the very least, you should come up with a believable lie, right? It's better to avoid saying things like 'players fall into a coma after death and can only be rescued by clearing the event,' which sounds like something copied from an old-fashioned novel."

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes and glanced at Long Aotian for a while. She wasn't sure if he really thought that Zhou Ke'er was just talking nonsense, or if he already knew but was saying it on purpose.

But that's not important. Anyway, Zhou Ke'er has already told him about it. If he really doesn't know, he'll quickly realize what Zhou Ke'er said once the event starts and come to her for cooperation. If he already knows but is just pretending not to, then he's probably already made preparations behind the scenes, and Zhou Ke'er doesn't need to worry about it.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ke'er's lips curled up: "Didn't you say that with our relationship, we could joke around and chat before talking about serious matters? Why are you laughing at me now? You really don't understand romance."

Long Aotian was taken aback at first, then realized what he meant and showed a wry smile, "You were the one who kept saying not to do this, weren't you? Of course I thought you wouldn't do it."

"Oh? You mean I don't want it? Even if I said no, can't I change my mind now? Are you making the decision for me?"

Zhou Ke'er crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows, and started to argue unreasonably.

Long Aotian almost gave off the same look as the old man on the subway looking at his phone. He subconsciously scratched the back of his head to ease the awkwardness, and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Then... shall we continue our conversation?"

Zhou Ke'er turned her head away and snorted, "No. I'm not interested anymore, let's not talk about this, let's get down to business."

Long Aotian's temple veins throbbed violently—damn it, is this what women are like...? Why can they make others so irritable so easily?

(Zhou Ke'er: No, this is what a man should be like.)

"Okay...okay...let's get down to business. Where were we...?"

Long Aotian exhaled a breath of stale air, barely managing to calm down. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and then realized... what was that all about? We hadn't actually talked about anything important at all!

Seeing that Long Aotian was already like this, Zhou Ke'er didn't intend to provoke him any further, lest she cause some problems. So she coughed twice and finally forced herself to become serious: "I'll answer the questions you asked me at the beginning one by one. First, why didn't we enter the main city after leaving the cabin? We're not really sure about the reason either, but we have some speculations that we don't know if they're correct."

Seeing that Zhou Ke'er was really getting down to business, Long Aotian breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "Oh? Tell me about it?"

"Normally, after leaving the cabin and entering the foggy area, following some kind of guidance will lead you to the main city, right?"

Seeing Long Aotian nod, Zhou Ke'er continued, "But I'm different. I received two kinds of guidance... Maybe I was just unlucky and chose the wrong one, so I was led astray. But as for why there were two kinds of guidance... I really don't know."

## Chapter 522, Section 517: Colluding with Each Other

"Two kinds of guidance? Wait... I remember that this guidance should be related to the beings that players encounter after completing the Fog-level module for the first time. Some beings can guide players directly to the main city gate, while others can only guide players to the outskirts not far from the main city... but none of them will stray too far from the main city."

Upon hearing this, Long Aotian did not doubt Zhou Ke'er's words, but instead frowned and pondered, "But no matter what, they will only receive one kind of guidance... No, let me think... Could it be that you encountered more than one being at the beginning?"

It's no secret that the guidance received is related to the presence encountered; in fact, most players can "sense" it when traversing the fog.

"Yes. I received the gaze of two beings."

Zhou Ke'er did not deny it, and nodded, saying, "However, those two beings seem to be hostile to each other. Perhaps one of them pointed out the right path to me, and the other deliberately opposed it and maliciously pointed me to the wrong route. I didn't expect that I would actually fall for it."

"I see, I understand now."

Long Aotian stroked his chin, then guessed to himself, "After that, under your misguided guidance, you went to a wilderness far from the main city... But fortunately, you finally found a teleportation array, and then your teammate... Cold-Eating Rabbit, right? used some means to activate the teleportation array, which brought you to the main city. That should be about right, right?"

Zhou Ke'er nodded. "There's nothing seriously wrong."

This kind of speculation is obvious even to someone with their feet, so there's no need to ask him for confirmation, right?

Thinking of this, Zhou Ke'er saw that Long Aotian didn't continue to ask questions, but instead asked curiously, "Wait, aren't you going to ask us what the conditions are like in the wild? I thought you would be more curious about that."

"This one?"

Long Aotian snapped out of his reverie and waved his hand, saying, "Our guild couldn't possibly have stayed cooped up in the main city ever since we arrived, could we? Of course, we've already explored the wilderness outside the main city, so there's nothing to ask about that."

Then, after thinking for a moment, he added, "However, speaking of which... this city is really huge, even larger than some towns in reality. But it's worth mentioning that although there are quite a few NPCs in the main city, they are definitely not enough to support such a large city. If they were all living in the same area, they would probably only occupy about a quarter or a fifth of the city. Obviously... the remaining space is specially set up for the players."

"Oh, I remember now. When we first met, you said you got your character template by accepting a quest from an NPC, right? Do NPCs here care about that?"

Zhou Ke'er suddenly asked as if she had remembered something.

"Oh, not some NPC. There's a place in the main city called the Job Change Center, which gives players tasks of varying difficulty that can only be completed solo. After completing them, you'll be given a corresponding character template based on your level of completion."

Hearing Zhou Ke'er's question, Long Aotian shook his head and explained, "Of course, these selectable character templates must match the player themselves. By the way, some common character templates may not look classy, ​​but their advancement paths are clear. Some unusual professions may indeed be very strong, but you have to figure out the advancement methods yourself. Or they may just be flashy and not very useful."

At this point, Long Aotian asked Zhou Ke'er with a hint of curiosity, "By the way, I remember you should have also activated your character template, right...? Although I've seen you fly on a sword before, could it be that your character template is some kind of sword immortal?"

"Not much different, just an ordinary cultivator."

Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips. Now that he had cultivated the Yanran Technique that Mo Bugui had given her, he was basically the one who completely countered most cultivation systems. Unless their cultivation level was much higher than his, or they had cultivated to the point of being in sync with the Heavenly Dao.

After all, Zhou Ke'er has only just established her foundation. No matter how outrageous her cultivation technique is, she can't possibly go head-to-head with a powerful expert who has just undergone tribulation.

"Oh, this system is pretty good. Although there are quite a few players using the same system, it's very comprehensive, and the materials for upgrading are all available for trading and sale in the main city. It's a highly recommended template."

Long Aotian suddenly narrowed his eyes, revealing a smile, and said with ill intent, "Hey, how about this... how about we make a deal? Over this period of time, our guild has collected quite a few skill books for cultivation templates. You can learn all of these, but you'll owe me a favor. How about that? I think it's a pretty good deal, right?"

"Skill books? Tell me what kinds are available."

Zhou Ke'er had little interest. He already possessed a top-tier cultivation technique, the Yanran Technique, which could even be described as a cheat code. Furthermore, the methods of using it were already quite diverse in the "Two or Three" manuals. He didn't think he would lack any more skills.

Long Aotian thought for a moment and said, "Let me think, you already know how to control a sword, so how about trying a skill like fire control?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Ke'er stretched out a hand, and a flame suddenly appeared on her fingertips.

"Ah, you can do that too. What about lightning magic? Like palm lightning or something..."

"Crackling"

A ball of thunder with a piercing sound appeared out of thin air in Zhou Ke'er's palm.

Long Aotian refused to believe it and continued to press, "What about lightness skill? Or the supernatural ability of divine speed?"

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Long Aotian, then instantly appeared behind him. After Long Aotian turned around and saw Zhou Ke'er, he teleported back to his original position and sat down again.