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

Renault stared blankly at the recording stone, his expression detached. "But humanity is finished. Chen Tian is missing, Pompeii is dead, all the gods have fallen... It's truly Ragnarok, the end of the world..."

"It seems the video recording inside this photographic stone won't be seen by any other 'person'."

Renault reached out to turn off the recording stone, but hesitated for a moment and then gave up.

"Forget it, according to the urgent report we received, this place is about to be attacked by a wave of evil god's minions. The other researchers have already evacuated... but I don't plan to leave, since we're all going to die anyway... what difference does it make whether it's sooner or later, here or there?"

Renault sighed helplessly, "At least, I guess I'll die here... I used to be considered a fighter. But now that God has fallen, I have no way to fight back."

As he spoke, Renault placed a small, silver-white object, resembling a jar, on the table. It was engraved with many intricate patterns that looked like some kind of script.

"The final result of the research... was just a half-finished product. They even left without taking this... It seems they've already given up, and just want to prolong their lives? What's the point of that?"

Renault sighed and reached out to press a sky-blue patterned button on the top of the can. "Although it hasn't been properly tested yet, well... it's not going to be that way anyway, so I'll just try it myself."

Immediately, a gray light mixed with faint hints of azure and pale gold radiated from that thing and shone on Renault.

"Ughhhhh!"

Although Renault had prepared himself mentally, he still collapsed onto the table in agony, groaning uncontrollably.

Something began to writhe beneath his skin, and fine scales gradually spread from his skin, but only in a small area. An ominous black mist churned in his wide eyes, and red blood vessels covered the whites of his eyes.

But before long, these abnormalities gradually disappeared, and Renault returned to his normal appearance.

"Is this... a success, or...?"

Renault, panting heavily, looked at his hands in confusion. After a moment of silence, forgetting to even turn off the recording stone, he staggered out of the laboratory.

The still, empty scene lasted for about five or six minutes, after which came screams, roars, and other indescribable, ominous sounds that were not human.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful impact came from outside, and the experimental base was destroyed in an instant, and the image on the recording stone ended.

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48. Let's stop discussing these trivial matters and just play the game!

After the recording finished, Xu Qingming stepped forward, carefully wrapped the recording stone and bronze sword again, and put them back into the box.

"So, what are your thoughts?"

After Xu Qingming finished tidying up, he turned around and asked Zhou Ke'er and Chen Tian, ​​who were silent.

"Oh..."

Zhou Ke'er snapped out of her daze, then slumped onto the sofa and shrugged. "What do you think? I don't have any thoughts. Anyway, this has nothing to do with me. You should discuss it with Chen Tian... Chen Tian."

"..."

Xu Qingming stared at Zhou Ke'er, remaining silent for a few seconds: "Although I don't want to spell it out... but is it really unrelated to you? Yes, I didn't see what happened to the first few of you who went in, but..."

When I went in last, I saw that canister-like object. Is what you experienced really unrelated to that?

"..."

Zhou Ke'er did not answer because he really couldn't clearly remember what happened during that short period of time.

His memories of that time were hazy, and this continued until he left that place.

Zhou Ke'er glanced at Chen Tian beside her, and at the box containing the bronze sword and the recording stone in Xu Qingming's hand. She then recalled the scene in the game where Kronos said he carried the aura of the "Yellow Springs"...

No matter how you look at it, Zhou Ke'er has indeed been drawn into this vortex.

Ta-ka, Koukouwa-lu!

Escaping may be shameful, but it can be useful.

Zhou Ke'er learned this principle six months ago.

"Yes, it's really okay."

Zhou Ke'er looked up at Xu Qingming, smiled and nodded: "These kinds of professional matters involving archaeology of the old era and the existence of gods can be left to professionals. What use is it to find a psychiatrist like me?"

If you don't have the ability to match it, don't try to take on the corresponding responsibility. This is a lesson I learned during my brief career as a psychiatrist.

How did you end up like this?

Xu Qingming stared at Zhou Ke'er in shock and asked incredulously, "If you really didn't want to know about this and didn't want to get involved, you would have refused me from the beginning! Wasn't it you who rushed here on leave as soon as you heard about this? Doesn't that prove that you actually wanted to get involved deep down?"

"...That's not the case. And I also want to give you some advice."

Zhou Ke'er's smile faded as she looked into Xu Qingming's eyes. "Don't you understand? Even based solely on the information we have so far, it's clear this matter is extremely dangerous, potentially even life-threatening..."

Do you really think we... no, do you think you're capable of figuring out the truth of this matter? You need to understand that sometimes, when you're not capable enough but insist on being strong, not only will you get hurt, but others who are also affected will suffer the same fate!

Therefore, let's entrust this matter to someone who is truly capable...

Before Zhou Ke'er could finish speaking, Xu Qingming interrupted, "Are you trying to twist the facts?! This isn't about showing off...this is about saving yourself!"

As he spoke, Xu Qingming rolled up his right sleeve, revealing his elbow.

There was a small patch of fine scales.

"I was only the last one to go in, and I didn't even stay for more than ten seconds, yet I already had this reaction... And you, who stayed much longer than me and most likely faced that thing directly, couldn't possibly not have it!"

Xu Qingming said fiercely, "Why do you think I... ran away immediately back then?... Don't you even care about your own life?"

"..."

When Zhou Ke'er saw the scales on Xu Qingming's elbow, her pupils couldn't help but shrink, but she ultimately shook her head: "No...you're wrong, nothing like that happened to me."

"..."

Xu Qingming's expression froze, unsure of what to say.

"Feel sorry."

Seeing Xu Qingming's astonished expression, Zhou Ke'er whispered.

"...I understand. Although I don't know what happened to you in the past year, I respect your decision."

Xu Qingming looked at Zhou Ke'er and finally just sighed, "If this is your choice."

He then rallied and smiled, "Honestly, we haven't seen each other for so long, and we're arguing as soon as we meet. That's not right. We're good friends, aren't we?"

"Oh, of course. If you want to play games with me, I wouldn't mind either."

Zhou Ke'er smiled and shrugged, saying, "After all, I took a whole day off, so I can't waste such a good time to be lazy."

"No, then forget it. Look, I haven't even changed my clothes yet. I'll go home first, take a good shower, and get everything settled before I come back to treat you to a drink."

Xu Qingming chuckled and patted Zhou Ke'er on the shoulder, slung his large bag over his shoulder, turned and walked outside, waving goodbye to Zhou Ke'er without looking back. "If I'm still alive by then. If I am, then you'll have to bring some wine to my grave and treat me to a drink, hehe."

As the door closed softly with a "click," Zhou Ke'er's smile gradually disappeared, and she stared blankly at the doorway.

"that..."

Having switched back to Chen Tian mode, Chen Tian said weakly, "I won't bother you any longer, I'll head back now... Chen Tian will probably be struggling with this for a while longer... Well, goodbye?"

With that, Chen Tian quickly slipped out.

"Ha...really..."

Zhou Ke'er lay back on the soft carpet on the floor, covered her eyes with her hand, and remained silent for a long time before sighing helplessly, "Forget it, why think so much... I'll just go play games."

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Welcome to "Dream of the Mist"

Dense fog is gathering...

Zhou Ke'er appeared in the cabin.

"Alright, cheer up! If we're going to play a game, we should play it well!"

Zhou Ke'er patted her cheeks with both hands, "You can't not have fun playing games!"

You have received a notification from the system.

The title "Zhou Ke'er" has not been claimed; please claim it as soon as possible.

[If not claimed before the next module, it will be automatically destroyed]

"Ah... I even forgot about that. I just quit the game last night."

Zhou Ke'er scratched her head and chose to view the newly generated title.

According to the game rules, players who complete modules of "Hard" difficulty or higher have a chance to be awarded a title based on their performance in the module. The probability increases with the difficulty of the module and the specificity of the player's performance.

Title: The Two-Faced Conman

Title Effect:

①When you tell a lie and two-thirds of those present believe it, you recover 5% of your sanity.

②When more than half of the NPCs believe your disguised identity, you will temporarily gain the necessary skills for that identity within the module.

(For example: If you impersonate a police officer, you will gain professional traits such as "basic marksmanship", "meticulous observation", and "basic reasoning".)

[Note: If I pretended to be me...would you believe me?]

"Holy crap, this is an amazing title! The effect of this title is incredibly useful!"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but exclaim, "This is absolutely perfect for me! But... if I pretend to be mentally ill... what trait will I gain? 'Unfathomable'?"

Player "Red Crane" has requested to add you as a friend.

Player "Red Crane" invites you to join the team.

"Oh? This guy skipped work too?"

Zhou Ke'er was slightly surprised, accepted Honghe's friend request, and joined the team.

He then appeared in another small cabin.

"Hey, I didn't expect someone with thick eyebrows and big eyes like you to skip work too?"

Zhou Ke'er looked at the expressionless red crane and raised an eyebrow. "Playing games at work?"

"I'm off today, and there's nothing to do, so I went online."

The flamingo explained calmly.

"How did it go? Did you pass that module?"

Zhou Ke'er asked casually.

"No, I don't know why it mutated and failed."