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

"What?! Am I some kind of overpowered protagonist from some kind of novel?!" Cold-Eating Rabbit couldn't help but complain.

As soon as she finished speaking, Long Aojiao poked her head out from the side: "What? What happened to my brother? What?"

Chen Tian, ​​holding a wooden sword, pretended to be deep in thought—actually, he had been worried about what would happen if his identity was exposed along the way—and couldn't help but interrupt the conversation: "So what is our current plan? Logically speaking, if we gather all the top players in the entire Central Continent region together, it should be possible to solve the problem of the birthplace of the black mist, but if they are all scattered and fight on their own, it might be more troublesome."

"There's no way around it. If the teleportation points were fixed, we might be able to find other players we know, but it's random. Even if we waste a few attempts, we might not run into any other players. In other words, it's basically impossible to reunite with other players right now—if it were possible, we wouldn't need to complete the second mission."

Honghe analyzed calmly.

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EDG is awesome!!! (voice cracks)

As the title says!

Out-of-town chickens are awesome!!!

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680. Where you fall, you learn from your mistakes…

"What...what are you talking about?"

Seeing Zhou Ke'er and the others suddenly stop without warning and start speaking incomprehensible words, the noble youths couldn't help but have a bad feeling. The leader quickly asked.

Zhou Ke'er gave them a strange look, mixed with pity, but didn't answer. Instead, she asked the others, "Since that's the case... why don't we choose the Valley of Sleeping Dragons in the Duchy of Dragon as our target? I suspect Long Aotian will also choose that place."

Clearly, Long Aotian had a friend named Sion who was fairly familiar with the Duchy of Dragon. Although he couldn't take him with him on the teleportation, he could at least explain the general terrain and route to them before the teleportation, and maybe even draw a simple map for them, so they wouldn't get lost as soon as they teleported there.

Just then, Chen Tian, ​​who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up: "I have no objection to where we go, but if we're going to the Duchy of Dragon, it seems unnecessary for us to use teleportation—after all, we're already traveling in the border region where the Grand Duchy of Fuya, the Kingdom of Brambo, and the Duchy of Dragon meet. It won't take much time to get to the Duchy of Dragon. On the contrary, if we teleport, we'll be forced to split up, and it would be troublesome if we got separated."

Zhou Ke'er stroked her chin and nodded: "You're right. It's safer to act together than to be alone."

"What about these guys?" Cold-Eating Rabbit couldn't help but point at the noble boys and girls.

Flamingo remained expressionless, her voice cold: "Just leave them here. You don't expect to take them with you, do you?"

Long Aojiao nodded in agreement: "Honghe is right. If they are monsters, leaving them here reduces trouble for us. If they are not monsters, leaving them here is safer than going to the Duchy of Dragon with us. This is not only for our own good, but also for theirs."

Their conversation was completely unreserved from the noble youths, and they openly decided their fate in front of them. The young people had no way to express their opinions and could only wait anxiously for Zhou Ke'er and the others to decide their fate.

Obviously, since Red Crane had already brought it up and Long Aojiao had explained the benefits, Zhou Ke'er naturally had no objections and immediately agreed. Ignoring the despairing expressions of the noble youths, the group abandoned them and hurriedly left towards the Duchy of Dragon.

Zhou Ke'er had initially thought that only he could be so heartless, but it turned out that everyone around her was also a scoundrel. Thinking about it this way, even Zhou Ke'er felt that she had become nobler.

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Meanwhile, at the Human Alliance camp, Zhang He and Chun Kun Qiu Fei were using the remaining pots and pans in the camp to light a campfire and cook some food. Fortunately, although the soldiers were either missing or lying on the ground as corpses, at least a lot of dry rations and food were still stored in the tents and had not been taken away.

Since Zhang He and his companions had nowhere else to go, and seeing that although the place was in a mess, it was at least a relatively safe place compared to the conditions along the way, and considering that they had already traveled for two days, they decided to rest here for the time being and make further plans.

Just as they were filling their stomachs, a faint light suddenly emanated from a tent not far away. Then, under Zhang He's wary gaze, Long Aotian and his group walked out leisurely.

They also realized that if they used the teleportation function directly, it would cause everyone to be scattered, which would be more dangerous. It would be better to go directly to the human alliance camp at the border through the existing teleportation array. This way, they could travel to the Duchy of Dragon together as a group, and it would also save a lot of time.

Unexpectedly, they ran into Zhang He and Chun Kunqiu, who were eating a meager dinner, as soon as they came out.

"You must be... Zhang He and Chun Kun Qiu Fei from Zhou Ke'er's team? I didn't expect to see you here."

Long Aotian was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that although he was not familiar with all the players in Zhou Ke'er's team, he knew them all, so he would recognize them.

Zhang He was relieved to hear that the other party not only knew them but also Zhou Ke'er. He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked Long Aotian up and down before recognizing him: "Long Aotian, the guild leader of Aotian Guild?"

Long Aotian nodded: "That's right, I am the guild leader of Aotian Guild."

He then turned to the side, pointed to the others who had come with him, and introduced them one by one: "This is Dio, who is also Zhou Ke'er's friend. This is Sion, the hero of the Duchy of Santanrus. These two are Father Elon of the capital city of Wright and Captain Edwards of the Royal City Guard."

Seeing that Zhang He and the other person in front of them seemed to know Long Aotian, the NPCs didn't say anything, but simply nodded to them as a greeting.

Upon hearing this, Zhang He couldn't help but ask, "Have you seen Zhou Ke'er and the others before? Do you know where they are now?"

Long Aotian shook his head: "Zhou Ke'er and Honghe were indeed with us before, but they left about three days ago. You heard the system announcement, right? It was Zhou Ke'er who completed the mission in the Grand Duchy of Fuya'er. Naturally, he wouldn't be with us; he should be in the Grand Duchy of Fuya'er. However, I can guess where he's going next—Dragon's Valley in the Duchy of Dragon."

Zhang He nodded thoughtfully. "Oh... so you guys are probably heading there too, right? Why not use teleportation?"

Long Aotian patiently explained, "If we use teleportation, we will be scattered. Falling into the Fallen Lands alone is obviously very dangerous. Besides, it's not far to get to the Duchy of Dragon from here. After all, this is already the border area, so it's better to go together from here."

"Okay, I understand. In that case, let's go together. After all, we need to find Zhou Ke'er and the others now."

Zhang He quickly finished his dry rations, picked up Chunkunqiufei who had fallen asleep halfway through the meal, and said to Long Aotian while putting out the campfire.

"Extremely happy to."

Long Aotian nodded and glanced at the sky: "The timing of this mission announcement is really unfortunate—it's almost dark. We can only try our best to travel before nightfall, and go as far as we can."

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681. The Mist

The moment Zhou Ke'er and the others stepped into the Duchy of Dragon, the already dim sky suddenly became even darker, and the last rays of twilight disappeared without warning into the black mist.

However, according to the system prompt, the black fog spreading from Dragonsleep Valley will take a full day to cover the entire Duchy of Dragon. I didn't expect that the border areas, which have not yet been affected by the black fog, are already in such a state. I really can't imagine what the scene will be like after the black fog covers the entire country.

Although the noble boys and girls were abandoned by Zhou Ke'er and the others, they followed them relentlessly until they were blocked by the border of the Duchy of Dragon. They dared not cross the border into the Duchy of Dragon and could only stand at a distance, looking resentfully and venomously in the direction where Zhou Ke'er and the others disappeared. Then, all of their faces twisted and turned into the disgusting true form of the mimic monster.

It turns out that none of these "people" were actually human.

"call out!"

Several streaks of black light flew out from the black mist. Zhou Ke'er had anticipated this situation. After sensing it, she casually delivered a headshot to each of them, killing them all neatly.

Long Aojiao took out a map scroll, slowly unfurled it, and squinted to see it clearly. He then gestured with his fingers on it: "Let me take a look... We were told that we would reach the Human Alliance camp in less than a few hours. That should be around this location. From here, we should head straight for the Duchy of Dragon and cross the border at roughly the same distance. Our current unknown should be here. And the location of Dragon Sleep Valley is... um, here."

"It doesn't seem too far, so we're lucky."

Zhou Ke'er also went over to take a look. She knew the route they were about to take—the forest they would have to cross on their way to Dragon's Rest Valley was the same forest where she, Xi'ang, and the others had been wiped out. No wonder Green Dragon lived in that forest; it was probably out for a stroll back then. Probably.

It's just that the location is slightly different from where we entered the forest. Otherwise, we might have seen the bodies of our companions who died there—well, maybe not, since it's entirely possible they've been completely destroyed.

Upon hearing this, Honghe calmly asked, "It sounds simple, but there's an important question: we're in a place that's practically pitch black, and there's nothing in the sky, just a murky, dark expanse—so how are we going to determine our direction?"

"Let's just use a map to confirm!"

Cold-cooked Rabbit, on the other hand, had a "I'm so smart, praise me!" expression on his face. He immediately squatted down, moved closer to the map, and gestured with his hand: "Look, didn't Long Aojiao just say that we came from this direction? That means we're facing this direction now. Using this direction as a reference, we can start adjusting our direction based on the location of Dragon Sleep Valley."

Zhou Ke'er was shocked: "What! It actually makes a lot of sense... If you weren't Cold-Cooked Rabbit, she wouldn't be saying something so reasonable! Who are you? You damned mimicry monster, what did you do to our Cold-Cooked Rabbit!"

"What?! Do you think I'm just the kind of person who just slacks off and cheers on?! Didn't I save you guys once back in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Fuya?" Cold-Eating Rabbit immediately retorted, adding that he was actually incredibly clever most of the time.

"A-Tu, you've finally grown up!"

Zhou Ke'er patted the cold rabbit's head with satisfaction, her right hand gesturing as if wiping away tears, just like an old father who felt gratified watching his children grow up.

Cold-cooked Rabbit slapped Zhou Ke'er's hand away in annoyance, and was about to say something when he suddenly heard Red Crane's slightly serious, calm voice: "Be alert. Something is coming this way."

In the distance, countless beings seemed to surge within the impenetrable black mist, watching Zhou Ke'er and the others intently—clearly, if anyone were to become separated from the group, unimaginable disaster would ensue.

Enveloped by this seemingly thin but actually incredibly thick and murky black mist, Zhou Ke'er's perception was greatly weakened. The range she could sense was barely larger than her visible field of vision, and even her accuracy was drastically reduced—it was unimaginable what a terrible situation would be if the black mist from Dragon's Rest Valley spread out. In a state where almost all vision was lost, was it really possible to complete the mission?

Even if you continue traveling without sleep all night, and reach Dragonsleep Valley at full speed without any monsters or other disturbances along the way, it will still take at least half a day—or more accurately, about six to eight hours. If you plan to sleep as well, then time will be even more of a constraint.

Solving the black fog in Dragon Sleep Valley in half a day? What kind of speedrun/overpowered protagonist novel is this?!

Zhou Ke'er didn't think that with his skill level, this was something he could do—and that was just the time it would take to get there; finding a solution would also take a lot of time, and there was no guarantee that a solution would be found.

But the problem is, if it drags on for too long... no, not even long. Once the black fog has completely enveloped the area, Zhou Ke'er estimates that mission option one will have failed within 24 hours.

Zhou Ke'er was thinking, what if, once they arrived at Dragon's Rest Valley, he jumped right in and became a human vacuum cleaner, frantically sucking in the evil spirits and black mist? That might solve the problem—even if not, it should at least slow down the spread of the black mist, giving the other players more time to deal with it.

A jumble of thoughts flashed through Zhou Ke'er's mind, and then she subconsciously drew her Jade Trace Sword and slashed it fiercely at a certain spot in front of her.

but……

It didn't work out?!

A look of surprise flashed in Zhou Ke'er's eyes—how could this be? He clearly felt something attacking from that spot!

"Clang!"

On the other side, Red Crane reacted just in time at the critical moment, holding the Death Scythe in front of her to withstand the unpredictable attack from the black mist.

Zhou Ke'er immediately became serious: "Everyone be careful, this thing can fool my senses..."

Before he could finish speaking, he felt another attack coming at him. Although he knew it was probably fake, he couldn't just let it go undefended—what if it became real if he didn't defend himself?!

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682. "Evolution"...an illusion

As Zhou Ke'er expected, this attack was another feint. She felt that there was nothing in the direction from which the attack was coming, and she blocked it but failed. Fortunately, Zhou Ke'er reacted quickly. The moment the warning appeared in her mind, she changed her actions and blocked the attack on the other side. She also reached out and grabbed the monster that was attacking her.

Chen Tian, ​​standing behind him, raised a lantern. The soft light from the lantern slightly illuminated the surroundings and expanded the field of vision.

With the help of the dim light, Zhou Ke'er and the others could clearly see the appearance of the monster that had launched the attack—how should they describe it? Should they say that this thing was a human transformed by insects, or an insect transformed by humans?

This creature has a body that is roughly similar to a human, with an upright torso and limbs, but its torso is a huge insect body, and its limbs are covered with black, hard hairs and barbed insect legs. Its head is like a combination of insect and human, with human facial features, but with a sickle-shaped mouth like an ant and compound eyes like a fly—it is absolutely disgusting when magnified.

Fortunately, Zhou Ke'er had taken precautions beforehand and didn't touch it directly. Instead, she applied a thick layer of protective barrier to her hands. Otherwise, she would have been disgusted to the point of nausea. As mentioned before, the thing Zhou Ke'er fears and finds most disgusting is those damned bugs!

The moment Zhou Ke'er saw this monstrous thing, she immediately and without hesitation released it as if in a stress response, and fired seven or eight magic energy piercing cannons at it with her other hand, all the while cursing, "Holy crap! Damn it!"

But once it broke free from Zhou Ke'er's control, this thing's absurdly fast mobility became apparent. Its transparent wings flapped rapidly at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and it instantly dodged all of Zhou Ke'er's magic energy piercing cannons, disappearing from everyone's sight and vanishing again.

Seeing the grotesque flapping of wings, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but show a look of utter disgust. "Could this forest be full of these kinds of monsters from now on?! I can't accept that! You have to protect me!"

After saying such shameless things, Zhou Ke'er immediately hid in the center of the crowd, as if she were being fawned over by everyone.

But everyone else present doted on Zhou Ke'er. Except for Lengchitu, who might have said a few words, but seeing that no one else spoke up and seemed to take it for granted, Lengchitu didn't say anything more. After all, Zhou Ke'er was the group's darling!

Who wouldn't like Zhou Ke'er?

Everyone loves Zhou Ke'er! (Sound of excitement)

As the group continued onward, more and more strange creatures began to appear one after another—such as snake people, eagle people, and tree people. In short, all kinds of creatures began to show strange signs of "humanization".

This is actually quite absurd—you see, the source of these biological mutations is the influence of evil, but evil itself doesn't originate from humans. Logically speaking, it would be more reasonable for them to become those grotesque creatures covered in eyeballs, tentacles, and chunks of flesh.

Although the fear of the Evil Style does not stem from the overused tentacle element, its ecosystem is essentially based on such a thing—and in any case, it is certainly not human!

What's even stranger is that although these monsters would inexplicably jump out and ambush Zhou Ke'er and the others, just like the insectoids at the beginning, they would only scratch the surface and leave without causing any harm to anyone.

It's like being an extra in a rush to collect your paycheck and leave; you just show your face, clock in, and you're done. It's practically the same as Zhou Ke'er, who clocks in and skips work!