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

732. Doomsday Escape (Part 6)

Still shaken, Zhijiansha finally came to her senses and quickly said to Zhou Ke'er, "You drove very well, don't drive like that again."

She genuinely thought the module had only just begun, and they were about to die and be sent back to base. Failing the module itself wasn't the problem; the real fear was that dying back like that... might violate the rules and result in punishment.

"Hey! What are you saying! We've survived with all our good arms and legs, haven't we? Trust me, we'll be fine."

Zhou Ke'er confidently patted her chest and assured him, then continued driving the car, which was still not completely scrapped.

Just then, a cell phone rang. Everyone looked over instinctively and saw that it was Honghe's cell phone making the sound.

"Did someone call you?"

Zhou Ke'er asked subconsciously.

Honghe shook her head. "No, I dialed the emergency number myself. Although I don't know the police number for the area where this module is located, the phone's built-in automatic SOS mode seems to be able to make calls directly. I was just trying it out, although it's unlikely anyone will answer..."

Before he could finish speaking, the phone stopped ringing abruptly, followed by a voice: "Hello? This is the police station in S City. What's going on over there?"

It actually connected! What happened to the ironclad rule that phone calls would never go through in a post-apocalyptic setting?!

Upon hearing the question, the cold-cooked rabbit quickly replied, "There's a monster here..."

She had only said a few words when Zhou Ke'er abruptly stopped her, turning her head to shake her head at Leng Chi Tu, signaling her not to talk nonsense.

Upon hearing the sound of car brakes, the person on the other end of the phone quickly asked, "What happened? If it's inconvenient to talk, you can turn on your phone's location tracking system, and we'll track your location directly."

Honghe and Zhou Ke'er exchanged a glance before feigning anxiety and replying, "Officer, this is what happened—we're currently located roughly on the outer ring road of S City, near Highway 113 after we exited the elevated highway. We encountered a gang of murderers on the road. They stopped a vehicle organized by our school and went on a killing spree—there are many underage students here! There are four of us in total. I managed to escape with three students when they weren't looking, but we don't know when they'll catch up with us, so please send someone to rescue us as soon as possible!"

Hearing the anxious voice on the other end of the phone, the person quickly replied, "Okay, okay, ma'am, please don't worry. I understand the situation. Our police station has already dispatched officers to your location. Please turn on the location tracking on your phone so we can find you more easily. And please make sure you are safe until we find you."

"Okay—ah! They've found us! I...we have to run away quickly! Please get here as soon as possible! I...I'll hang up now!"

As Honghe spoke anxiously and fearfully, she casually hung up the phone.

The passenger in the back seat, still quite puzzled, didn't understand why they would say that, so they asked directly, "Why do you say there's some kind of serial killer?"

Zhou Ke'er sighed: "Cold-cooked Rabbit, have you not used your brain in too long? Is your IQ running out? How could you possibly say that a monster is chasing us in this situation?"

Seeing that Cold-Eating Rabbit still looked puzzled, Red Crane added, "Judging from the fact that the call was made and the first question asked after the other party answered, there are no monsters in the city—at least not within the city's police station area.

If the city is already overrun with monsters and they're too busy dealing with their own problems, even if they answer the phone, their first question shouldn't be what's happening on your end. They should instinctively ask how many survivors you have, or urgently tell you where the temporary shelter is, or even directly instruct you to find a place to hide and not go out for the time being.

Zhou Ke'er nodded: "That's right, so the probability that there hasn't been a monster riot over there is very high, and their subsequent words also confirmed this idea. So under these circumstances, telling them that there are monsters would definitely be seen as a mental patient escaping from a mental hospital, or someone making a false police report. Therefore, by lying that there is a murderer, they will immediately send people over, and a sufficient number of armed police officers."

Immediately, Honghe lowered the car window and casually tossed his phone out, where it landed perfectly on the grass outside the road without breaking.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Why did you lose your phone?!"

Cold-cooked Rabbit, who had just figured out why she had spoken that way, was now confused by Red Crane's actions and couldn't help but blurt out the question.

"Isn't that simple? Come on, Finger Sand, explain it to Cold-Cooked Rabbit."

Zhou Ke'er was clearly too lazy to talk, so she simply turned her head and started using the sand between her fingers.

Suddenly being called out, Zhijiansha blinked in confusion, grinned awkwardly, but still obediently explained, "Since it has been confirmed that there are no problems in the city for the time being, then we don't need to rush to seek help from the police station."

Instead of this, since the monster's origin is likely in this suburban area, it would be better to use this phone with location tracking enabled to lure the police officers over. When they see the fallen phone and the broken overpass nearby, they probably won't immediately suspect us of making a false report. Instead, they'll search the area first, which would greatly increase their chances of encountering the monster.

The large number of armed police officers dispatched because they mistakenly believed there were serial killer gangs in the area might be able to stop those monsters outside the city. Even if they couldn't stop them, it would be better than letting them spread in unchecked.

At this point, Zhijiansha paused, then continued, "However, there is a problem with doing this—if there are also sources of infection in the city, our current actions may actually lead to a shortage of police force in the city, accelerating the spread of the infection."

Zhou Ke'er nodded, confirming Zhijiansha's idea: "That's right. However, there is no perfect solution - after all, the decision we just made was made in just a few seconds after the phone rang, so it's normal for it to have flaws."

Honghe echoed, "Compared to the potential negative impacts, the likelihood of achieving our goal is greater. Even if a large-scale infection occurs due to the lack of police force in the city, we still have an option to retreat and seek help from the officers who are on their way here—unless both sides fall. Of course, this is indeed a possibility, and I will think of some preventative measures."

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733. Doomsday Escape (Part 7)

I didn't see any other vehicles along the way. If it's because this lane leads from the suburbs to the city, and it's rare for anyone to drive back from the suburbs these days, that would make sense. But there wasn't a single car passing by in the other lane either, which makes me wonder if the road was blocked at the entrance or at some checkpoint.

After driving for a while, the group finally saw a large building ahead. From the outside, it looked like some kind of train station. However—it didn't seem to be directly connected to the highway.

Continuing to drive forward, after finding a reasonably suitable location, Honghe stopped the car, and everyone got off near the train station.

Zhou Ke'er was the first to climb onto the roof of the car, and then she leaped up and grabbed the edge of the road opposite.

However, he overestimated his current physical strength and power, and almost lost his grip on the edge, about to slip and fall to the ground. Fortunately, he reacted quickly, and before he could slip, he took a gamble, letting go of his right hand clinging to the edge of the road and grabbing the railing, then doing the same with his left hand.

After catching his breath, Zhou Ke'er managed to climb up with great effort. If it weren't for his prior experience and skills (honed through handling patients), it would have been a pipe dream for him to accomplish such a feat given his current physical condition. Moreover, his success was partly due to luck.

The next group of flamingos didn't have it so easy. Although Zhou Ke'er was there to help them from above, she wasn't very effective in this situation. They tried more than a dozen times before they finally managed to jump up.

Especially with sand between your fingers, you can easily slip and fall hard, but thankfully you didn't suffer any serious injuries.

After resting for a short while, the group hurried toward the nearby train station.

Unlike the desolate scene just now, although no other vehicles were passing by on this road for the time being, there were still quite a few cars parked in the parking lot from the train station to the entrance, and you could vaguely see people guarding the entrance.

At least from its appearance, it seems to be operating normally.

The group continued to approach the train station gate.

Sure enough, there were several security guards at the entrance, all smiling as they stood guard.

Just as Lengchitu was about to go up and say hello and ask about the situation, Zhou Ke'er suddenly reached out and stopped her.

Apart from Cold-Cooked Rabbit, the others did not lower their guard upon seeing humans. After all, firstly, in the event of a disaster, other humans are not necessarily safer than monsters; secondly, in the apocalypse, things that look like humans may not actually be human.

Although it might be overthinking, it's still necessary to be vigilant, so everyone is currently hiding behind the vehicles and hasn't been seen by the security personnel yet.

Zhou Ke'er pondered for a moment, then gave Honghe a look, and Honghe nodded in understanding. Next, Zhou Ke'er reached out to Zhijiansha—she had already used the escape hammer she had taken off during the escape, and Zhijiansha had also taken off her own escape hammer on the bus, just like Zhou Ke'er had done, so she could only borrow it now.

Zhijiansha paused for a moment, almost instinctively placing her hand on Zhou Ke'er's outstretched palm, but quickly realized what Zhou Ke'er meant and hurriedly pulled the escape hammer from her pocket and handed it to Zhou Ke'er. Fortunately, no one else present noticed anything amiss.

Then Zhou Ke'er bent over and nimbly darted out, quickly arriving at a car at the edge of the parking lot not far away. Holding a miniature escape hammer, she smashed it hard against the car window with all her might.

With a loud bang, although the car window wasn't shattered, the vehicle's alarm immediately went off, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly drawing attention in the quiet parking lot.

As expected, the security personnel were drawn to the noise. However, to Zhou Ke'er's surprise, they actually came forward to check the situation themselves—shouldn't there normally be dedicated patrols and security personnel? Even if there weren't, it should only be one or two people coming up to check the situation, but they all came up together.

However, this was not a bad thing for Zhou Ke'er and her group. Zhou Ke'er immediately gestured to Hong He and the others not far away, signaling them to quickly take a detour and sneak into the train station to investigate while the security personnel were checking the situation.

Just then, likely drawn by the car alarm, a figure appeared near the window on the third floor of the train station, looking down to check the situation. He immediately spotted Honghe and the others who were about to sneak in, as well as the security personnel surrounding Zhou Ke'er.

This startled him, and he hurriedly went back, but soon returned with a sign and placed it in front of the window.

Although he didn't make any sound, since he didn't dare to attract attention, fortunately, Honghe and Zhou Ke'er both had excellent dynamic vision, so they naturally couldn't ignore the changes happening by the window above.

As the flamingo approached the train station entrance, it immediately recognized the words on the sign: two hastily written characters – “Run!”

However, Zhou Ke'er, who was a little further away, was not so lucky. No matter how good her eyesight was, it was impossible for her to see the situation on the third floor of the train station from the edge of the parking lot. She could only barely make out that there was a person holding a sign standing there, but how could she possibly see what was written on the sign?

However, it seemed unnecessary for him to know what was written on the sign—because soon in front of him, the bodies of the security personnel twisted and writhed, instantly losing their human form and turning into the monsters that had been spewing "eggs" before. They sprayed "eggs" out, covering the entire vehicle and making a "sizzling" corrosive sound.

Fortunately, Zhou Ke'er hadn't stayed near the car that had sounded the alarm; she moved to a different spot almost the moment the security personnel set off.

However, the situation was still quite dire for him—he hadn't expected these monsters to be able to mimic the appearance of normal people; Zhou Ke'er hadn't recognized them at all just now. Clearly, these monsters must have devoured a considerable number of humans to be able to mimic them so convincingly.

In other words, these monsters are much more difficult to deal with than the ones we encountered on the bus!

Moreover, it's definitely not just the entrance that's guarded by monsters; there are even more monsters inside the train station!

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734. Doomsday Escape (Part 8)

Without much hesitation, Zhou Ke'er immediately used the cover of the other vehicles in the parking lot to speed up and head towards where Honghe and the others were.

Behind him came the sickening sound of a vehicle being squeezed and deformed by some immense force, accompanied by a hissing sound of corrosion. Zhou Ke'er didn't turn around, but he could still deduce that the car he had used to attract attention was now completely covered by the "eggs," as if it had been stuffed into his "stomach" and was being digested.

Fortunately, this way, the "eggs" won't have the energy to pay attention to other situations for the time being—such as secretly sneaking away from Zhou Ke'er.

Leaving aside Zhou Ke'er's efforts to get there as quickly as possible, Hong He and the others—who hadn't even gotten within five steps of the train station's main entrance—suddenly saw a side door—usually used for emergency exits or for special individuals who didn't need to queue—suddenly open, and a person dressed in the same uniform as the security personnel from before walked out.

With a formulaic smile on his face, he looked at Honghe and the others, who were clearly wary, and said, "Hello, the security personnel are not here at the moment, and passengers are not allowed to enter. Please wait here for a while."

It can talk?

Even so, it's really strange that he's saying such nonsensical and incomprehensible things at a time like this!

Cold-cooked Rabbit obviously didn't think much of it. After hearing this, it immediately blurted out, "What are you talking about! Are you a human or a monster?"

The security guard turned his gaze to the cold-cooked rabbit, his expression unchanged, and repeated his words: "Hello, the security personnel are not present at the moment, and passengers are not allowed to enter. Please wait here for a moment."

Not only did his expression remain unchanged, but his tone of voice and intonation were exactly the same as the previous sentence, without the slightest difference, as if he were a machine that had been programmed.

Obviously, there's no need to ask any more questions. It's a no-brainer that this guy has something wrong with him. Although it's unclear why he hasn't suddenly attacked anyone yet, it's obvious that he's a monster in disguise.

Cold-cooked Rabbit seemed to want to say something, but was immediately stopped by the sand between his fingers. Red Crane did not turn around, but made a gesture to the two people behind her, and then took two steps back without making a sound.

Unfortunately, every time the three of them took a few steps back, the guy in front of them would take a few steps forward, as if the distance was fixed.

The flamingo's eyes narrowed slightly—putting aside everything else, if the other party insists on maintaining this distance at most, then it means that the other party may have broken free of its mimicry, transformed into an "egg," and instantly splashed to the farthest distance.

Just as she was pondering whether to turn and run immediately or charge in recklessly, Zhijiansha suddenly patted her shoulder, pointed into the train station, and said in a trembling voice, "Honghe, you... look in there! This is bad!"

Honghe looked over and saw through the glass of the train station gate that a dozen or so "people" were walking toward them as if they had been summoned. They all had formulaic smiles on their faces and their eyes were fixed on Honghe and the others.

Given this, the result is obvious—this path is blocked.

With the outcome decided, the flamingo didn't hesitate any longer. It immediately turned around, grabbed the sand between its fingers and the cold-cooked rabbit, and ran away.

Zhou Ke'er, who had just run all the way here, hadn't even caught her breath when she saw Hong He and the others running towards her. She wanted to ask what had happened, but it seemed there was no need to ask any more questions—after all, the situation was obvious at a glance.

"Don't run back, come this way!"

Zhou Ke'er made a quick decision, turning her foot slightly and shouting to Honghe and the others as she changed direction and continued to flee—after all, there were still two or three monsters behind her, and she was now being attacked from both sides.

Red Crane and the others naturally didn't have any other suggestions. Since they weren't familiar with the terrain, it didn't matter which direction they went, as long as they didn't run into monster hordes.

So, the group used the shape of the outer perimeter of the train station as their escape route, and soon passed the outermost corner, circling around to the back of the train station.

Then they saw a large group of scattered "people" wandering around the square behind the train station.

Okay, let's recycle FG at lightning speed.

Now we are truly being attacked from both sides, caught in a pincer movement.

Just then, a door to a safety passage, usually used for emergency evacuation, not far from them was suddenly pushed open. A furtive figure peeked out, looked around, and, finding no one else was paying attention, breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly waved to Zhou Ke'er and the others, saying, "Here! Hurry!"

Without hesitation, Zhou Ke'er and the others immediately started running towards that direction.