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

He walked around the still-standing corpse, picked up the disc, and tried to channel some spiritual energy into it.

Sure enough, it was successfully triggered.

A weak but still resolute voice came from within.

[Report to the school committee: The student council has eliminated all the monsters that attempted to invade the dormitory from the rooftop, successfully defended the dormitory, and contained all sources of pollution on the top floor.]

The student council members participating in this operation included: the student council president, myself, Xing Diansheng; 24 department heads and deputy heads; a total of 148 student council members; and 11 security personnel and faculty members who came to provide support. They are…

He spent a full three minutes reciting the names of everyone involved in the operation, one by one. Although his voice was growing increasingly weak, he persisted in reciting all the names before continuing:

The operation lasted approximately eighteen hours in total. Casualty statistics are as follows: No wounded. One hundred and eighty-three dead. One person is critically injured and on the verge of death. Countless enemy monsters were eliminated.

Suggestions attached: Following this operation, rebuild the Student Union. If the vice president who was on duty at the training ground is still alive, appoint them as the new president to lead the rebuilding of the Student Union. If the vice president has also perished, then seek the remaining ministers, vice ministers, and officers through a step-by-step process. If the current Student Union is completely wiped out, hold elections among the remaining students, and consider appropriately reducing the size of the Student Union.

This concludes the report. I sincerely wish all our surviving comrades a bright future. Please hold fast to our beliefs and never abandon your courage. As long as we keep moving forward, the road ahead will continue to extend.

With the last sound fading, all the audio recordings on the phonograph came to an end.

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717. Ruins Exploration (Part 4)

Zhou Ke'er turned around and carefully scanned the entire floor.

The guy in the black armor should still be on this floor, because the corpse behind Zhou Ke'er is still standing there motionless, and there isn't enough space behind him to let him pass through—unless the guy has no physical form.

But Zhou Ke'er was more inclined to believe that the guy hadn't left yet. Clearly, his sudden appearance and luring Zhou Ke'er here meant he had ulterior motives—it couldn't have been just a simple matter of getting her here, could it? Combined with what she'd overheard from the recording stone—the student council president saying they'd completely annihilated the monsters and held their ground on this floor, completely preventing further monster invasion…

It's easy to deduce that the student council president used all the corpses on this floor, along with his own remains, to construct a powerful barrier that blocked any monsters from reaching the floor below.

The monster likely lured Zhou Ke'er here so that she could break the barrier and allow it to further invade.

But if that's the case, there's still a difficult question to answer: judging from the situation we encountered while entering the academy, this base academy should have already fallen. From the security post to the training grounds, dormitories, and teaching buildings, there's clearly no sign of life, not a single living person left. That means those monsters could easily bypass the restricted rooftop and enter from downstairs—since no one can stop them now. So why be so fixated on this point and insist on exposing themselves to Zhou Ke'er?

Isn't this like taking off your pants to fart, completely unnecessary?

Zhou Ke'er couldn't figure out what the other person was thinking, but that didn't stop him from leaving directly.

That's right, just leave—he sensed it as soon as he came in, and he had already deduced that all the corpses on this floor were part of this restriction. If Zhou Ke'er wanted to search this floor to find the armored monster, she would have to move the corpses, which might just be what it wanted, so there was absolutely no need for that.

If I can't find you, then I'll just leave on my own. What can you do to me then?

Zhou Ke'er pursed her lips, stretched out her hand and gave the middle finger, then instantly teleported behind the student council president, cleverly bypassing the restriction and leaving the floor.

Although Zhou Ke'er could bypass the student council president and pass through the gap by transforming herself into black mist, she couldn't guarantee that the evil spirit wouldn't affect the restriction. After all, Zhou Ke'er's knowledge of the cultivation system was basically at a kindergarten level, and she was self-taught. It was good enough that she could see that there was a restriction here, let alone understand what the situation was. So she chose a safer method.

Looking past the student council president, Zhou Ke'er peered into that floor. A moment later, sure enough, the figure in black armor emerged from a hidden corner, staring intently at Zhou Ke'er, who had suddenly appeared outside. Beneath his helmet, his dark, bloodshot eyes revealed a complex mix of shock and anger.

Zhou Ke'er grinned at it, revealing an extremely arrogant and mocking smile, and stretched out her other hand, also raising her middle finger. Two middle fingers, double the pleasure, double the mockery.

The black-armored monster became even more enraged and almost rushed over to attack Zhou Ke'er, but it was still firmly restrained by the restriction and could not take another step forward.

"You will remain here forever to experience the barrier built by the lives of 184 people. You wretched thing, destined never to be reborn."

Zhou Ke'er chuckled and raised an eyebrow: "By the way, I sealed off the stairwell leading to the rooftop with my evil magic when I came in. Unless your evil magic level completely overwhelms mine, you might not be able to leave this place for three to five years, or even decades."

Blocking off the retreat route before entering is a basic tactic, and this not only blocks the enemy's retreat but also leaves a way out for yourself. Even if Zhou Ke'er can't defeat the opponent, she can slip away on the spot and return the way she came—after all, she won't be stopped by the seal she sets up, but the enemy will.

Zhou Ke'er has always been very detail-oriented.

After making her sarcastic remarks, Zhou Ke'er turned around without looking back and walked downstairs step by step, accompanied by the incessant roars and howls of the monster in black armor.

Perhaps there are still survivors left in this building? Zhou Ke'er clung to this almost impossible thought. After all, if there were, why would the recording stone still be there, untouched? Besides... even if someone did survive and hide in this place, that was in the ancient era, countless years ago, so dying of old age would be considered a peaceful end.

Zhou Ke'er slowly walked down the stairs to the door of the next stairwell and pushed it—but the door was locked.

It's obvious that this was done by someone, but it's hard to say whether the student council members upstairs locked it before they carried out their mission, or whether someone locked it afterward to block the area.

Zhou Ke'er used the same trick again, instantly teleporting behind the door.

It was still pitch black and deserted, appearing extremely cold, but at least the lingering smell of blood wasn't as strong; there was still a faint trace of it coming from the upper level.

The ground was covered with many messy footprints, as if someone had hurriedly passed through here a long time ago. But there were too many footprints and they were too messy, with a lot of overlap, so it was difficult to tell which direction they had gone.

Zhou Ke'er floated slightly in the air, moving forward slowly while trying not to erase the footprints.

It's worth mentioning that all the doors to the rooms on this floor were open. Zhou Ke'er searched each room one by one and found that most of the rooms had already been cleared out, and there were obvious signs that things had been taken away in a hurry.

It couldn't possibly be some kind of monster destroying things here—if it were destruction, it wouldn't be taking things away, but rather physically destroying the place itself—so it's obvious that it was done by the original survivors. They probably felt this place was no longer safe and tried to salvage some important items.

However, the further you go, the more you realize how rushed the rescue operation was. The rooms closest to the stairwell were spotless, but further back you go, you see more and more small items left behind. Most of them were just useless trinkets.

Soon, Zhou Ke'er caught sight of some documents and papers in a room that seemed to have been accidentally dropped on the floor during the move and that she hadn't had time to pick up.

Zhou Ke'er beckoned with her finger, and the few pieces of paper on the ground flew up into his hand.

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718. Ruins Exploration (Part 5)

"Hmm? This is..."

Zhou Ke'er glanced at the papers in her hand and checked them again before confirming that these few pages were likely pages that had accidentally fallen out of a student's diary, and were far from the documents she had expected.

However, he quickly realized that his initial guess was indeed somewhat preconceived. The chaos here was not caused by a group of people rushing to salvage data. Zhou Ke'er had inadvertently overlooked one point—that is, this is a dormitory building! So the correct answer should be: the traces left by the students who originally lived here after receiving the evacuation order and packing up their belongings to leave.

Speaking of which... shouldn't a diary be written in a whole notebook? Why would a few pages accidentally fall out while packing up? It's impossible to be flipping through your diary and reminiscing while you're leaving, that would be too absurd.

With these questions in mind, Zhou Ke'er carefully examined the text recorded on the remaining few sheets of paper.

January 13th, School Calendar

Weather: Cloudy

For some reason, the school suddenly announced that it would change its original calendar system to the academic calendar, and that previous academic calendars would not be counted, starting from the day of the announcement... This sounds very strange! It feels like a meaningless thing, and I don't know what the school is trying to do.

Also: Could it be that the letter I sent to my parents encountered some trouble on the way and couldn't be delivered? Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken so long to reply to me.

Another thing: Zuo Pingsheng, who sleeps in the opposite bed, seems really down lately. Could something have happened at home? I need to go and comfort him.

This is the record on the first sheet of paper, and it looks like the time is relatively early, while the time recorded on the second sheet of paper is quite far from the time recorded on the first sheet of paper.

June 29th of the school calendar

Weather: Cloudy (as always)

Zuo Ping's fate... no, he's missing. I took his place and became the class's disciplinary committee.

After being summoned by the student union and given an orientation, I finally understood what the college was going through and what Zuo Pingsheng and his colleagues had been doing before.

Also: We've only been temporarily cut off from all contact with the outside world; this doesn't necessarily mean the war outside has failed. After all, according to the principal's calculations, although we humans are at a disadvantage, we should still be able to maintain the front line for at least several decades or even a century—if he's not deceiving us.

Secondly: After the meeting, I was a little slow packing up and seemed to hear student council members huddled together, whispering about "it" and "it," and it didn't sound like anything good. I wonder what's going on.

Zhou Ke'er continued turning the page.

November 1st of the school calendar

Weather: Undoubtedly overcast.

I encountered "it." Although I promptly contacted student council members and security personnel as instructed in the manual, I was still undeniably affected. While I'm barely holding on through sheer willpower, I don't know how much longer I can endure it. (Gu)

I informed my class advisor about the situation. Afterwards, I left the class and was recruited into the student council, becoming a member. It turned out that most of the student council members had experienced the same thing as me, having been corrupted by evil, but still wanted to do their last bit for humanity and maintain order—after all, having already been corrupted by evil, there was nothing to fear.

P.S.: It turns out the principal really did deceive us. Only the school's higher-ups and the student council know the true situation—the world outside the academy has been destroyed; everything has been wiped out. It's unclear if there are any survivors. If not, then our academy is the last human settlement. No wonder the evil's invasion is becoming increasingly aggressive; it's because there's no intervention from the front lines…

Another two: Parents...

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow in slight surprise. She hadn't expected that this academy could still exist after the final battle of the Old Era... No matter how far back it was, it was impossible to be completely unaffected by such a war. How exactly did they survive? One person was one thing, but an entire academy was preserved intact.

Secondly, besides this point, Zhou Ke'er was still able to glean some other information from the diary, such as:

The ordinary trainees are still not quite clear about what happened and are continuing to train as usual, still thinking that there is a "front line" for them to go and provide support.

The class committee members were informed of some of the truth and played a role in maintaining order and protecting their classmates.

As for the class committee members and students who have been corrupted by evil forces, if they do not immediately turn into monsters but retain a certain degree of rationality, they will be recruited as members of the student council, know the truth to the greatest extent, and safeguard the order and safety of the academy with their own lives as the ultimate guarantee.

There was one last piece of paper left, and Zhou Ke'er continued reading.

The notes on this diary page are extremely messy, as if they were written in a great hurry.

January 1st, Year 2 of the School Calendar

Weather: Crimson

"It" began its full-scale invasion. Training grounds, dormitories, canteens, teaching buildings... all places were attacked indiscriminately at the same time. Neither the student council, security personnel, nor even all the teachers and advisors could completely hold all positions. They could only temporarily direct other students to resist and had to abandon unnecessary areas.

In the end, we only plan to keep one dormitory building, the cafeteria next to it, and the academic administration building. But we must also send a small number of people to the other sites to buy time, otherwise, if the abandoned sites are occupied instantly, the other places will face many times more pressure. In other words, we need to send out a suicide squad.

Most of the student council members will stay in the dormitories under the leadership of the president, while I will be led by the vice president as a member of the suicide squad to go to the training ground to delay the monsters there.

P.S.: I probably won't be able to come back from this trip. This may be the last diary entry... So I tore out a few pages containing the most useful information and put them here, hoping they will be helpful to future students.

Secondly: If these papers belong to a student council member or advisor, I hope you won't blame me for revealing this information without my permission. After all, given the current situation, most students already have a vague idea of ​​what's going on, so it's better to tell them the truth than to continue hiding it.

If you receive these papers, please don't give up hope. Although we have to abandon many places today, and the outside world no longer exists, please believe that humanity is not a species that can be easily wiped out. We are united, brave, and wise; what cannot defeat us will only make us stronger! As long as we persevere, there will definitely be a future!

It turns out that the person who kept the diary left it here on purpose. No wonder Zhou Ke'er said that if it had been accidentally left behind, how could the content be so coherent and contain such useful information?

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719. Ruins Exploration (Part 6)

Speaking of which, the student who wrote this diary seems to have said that he ended up with the vice president of the student council as a suicide squad rushing to the training ground to intercept the invading monsters and buy time for the others—Zhou Ke'er immediately thought of the several students who had died hanging on the weapon rack when she passed by the training ground just now.

It seems that this is their final fate.

Wait a minute, something's not right. There's still something that doesn't make sense. For example, the suicide note left by the deceased recorder clearly shows that most of the other students didn't know, and would continue to know, that the base academy was facing an insurmountable calamity—otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to hide the cause of his death from "Classmate Mu Zi." According to the diaries Zhou Ke'er currently has, almost all the students participated in the resistance against the invasion. Since the recorder was there, he must have been a member of the suicide squad. In that case, it's impossible that the other students didn't know the cause of his death; his concealment would be meaningless.

From this perspective, there seems to be a subtle discrepancy in the timelines of the two events. Judging solely from the severity of the situation at the time, the recorder should have written his suicide note earlier than the student council member wrote his last diary entry.

So, is it that the timeline of the training ground is different from that of the dormitory building, or is it that the recorder's body was never found after his death and only appeared there by chance? Or perhaps... these clues might be fabricated, or even completely fake?

Zhou Ke'er couldn't completely rule out the possibility that the black-armored monster's apparent obstruction was an act. Perhaps it was just trying to convince Zhou Ke'er that the entire building from the top floor down was safe and that the information inside was reliable, and that's why it staged this whole thing.

Given the current lack of information and the inability to verify the authenticity of the information obtained, Zhou Ke'er, with her exceptionally low intelligence, is indeed unable to make an effective analysis immediately. Her limit is to conclude that there is a problem based on her vigilance. As for what the problem is and how to solve it, Zhou Ke'er is powerless.

After all, Zhou Ke'er is not a top-notch strategist, and it's impossible for her to set up a stunning plan with so little intelligence at the beginning, like Colonel Chu.

Since you can't solve the problem yourself, then get the person who created the problem to solve it for you, or just get rid of the person who created the problem.