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

------------

787. The Strange Man in the Castle (18)

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

The Dejected Demon immediately shook his head: "Do you think I'm the kind of guy who, even with a perfectly good plan, gets tricked a few times and exposes myself? That's impossible! There must have been a problem with the plan, and you figured it out!"

Zhou Ke'er held up a finger, squinted her eyes and smiled, "It seems that the fact that the plan went wrong isn't much better. However, the truth is that I only tricked you a few times, and you gave yourself away three times in a row. I'm starting to wonder if you did it on purpose."

Although Zhou Ke'er certainly didn't try to trick it for no reason; she must have discovered a flaw that made her do so. But that doesn't stop Zhou Ke'er from using this tactic to manipulate the other party's mentality.

After all—compared to having a series of loopholes pointed out before revealing one's true identity, this kind of situation where one already has a mental expectation... being tricked a few times for no reason and then having everything revealed as a result—this kind of blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse situation is obviously more unpleasant.

As expected, the decadent demon refused to accept reality, grabbing his horns with both hands, widening his eyes and shouting, "No! No to that kind of thing!"

"Good boy, good boy. Alright, now that your identity has been exposed, then obediently explain the situation—what's the deal with this castle, who are you, and what's the deal with this broadcasting room—you should also know that I don't know everything about this place, right?"

Zhou Ke'er crossed her arms, her eyes seemingly shimmering with a faint glow in the darkness, giving her an eerie appearance.

"No, we can't just tell you all this so easily. Let's settle this with a fight first..."

The decadent demon, unusually, ignited and fiercely challenged the demon. However, before it could finish speaking, a loud "slap" was heard. Before it could even react, it felt a slap on its face, and its head was uncontrollably turned to one side.

Immediately, its lower body was attacked again in a treacherous manner, causing its legs to buckle and it almost collapsed to its knees.

Clearly, Zhou Ke'er, who lacked martial ethics, resorted to her old tricks again, attacking the other party before he could finish speaking.

Zhou Ke'er's movements were fluid and graceful: a slap to the face, a gouge to the eyes, a groin kick, an elbow strike, a knee lift, and a heavy headbutt, followed by a left front kick and a right whip kick.

Wow, it even rhymes!

The demon was soon bruised and battered, and finally managed to find a moment to speak, shouting, "Stop! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me! You're going to kill me if you keep hitting me!"

Hearing that the other party had surrendered, Zhou Ke'er slowly withdrew her hand, wiping it as she replied with a smile, "How could that be? I controlled my strength well. Besides, you are a demon, and I am just an ordinary human. How can a human kill a demon with his bare hands? Stop acting."

The dejected demon pointed to his head, which was swollen into a pig's head, and said mournfully, "Even if I were acting, I wouldn't make myself look like this! You're too insidious. I hadn't even finished speaking before you attacked! And you chose such underhanded methods..."

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I didn't know the rules. It was my fault. How about we play again? I promise I'll follow the rules this time."

Zhou Ke'er blinked and threatened with an innocent look.

The decadent demon was startled and quickly waved his hands, saying, "No, no, I suddenly think this isn't so bad! Your methods aren't insidious at all; it's perfectly normal to try to win in a fight!" At this moment, Zhang Si...

"Um……"

Zhou Ke'er stroked her chin, frowning at the other's panicked expression. She couldn't help but ask, "Speaking of which, you're supposed to be a demon, right? Look at the other demons, whether it's the demon in the suit at the beginning of 'this game,' or the butler demon who stopped me halfway through—they all seem much stronger than you. You were defeated by me so easily? I'm not saying this, but aren't you being a bit too weak? Are you just acting?"

Upon hearing this, the demon immediately retorted angrily, "You don't understand! This is called specialization. I'm not one of those brainless demons who only know how to fight. I'm more focused on functionality. Do you understand the value of functionality? I can manage a broadcasting studio. Can they? They can only be game hosts and monitors. That's the difference!"

Zhou Ke'er raised an eyebrow: "So, this is actually the only broadcasting room in this castle?"

"Yes! Of course, after all, where are you going to find a high-end technical genius like me?"

The decadent demon began to boast and brag, his nose twitching.

Zhou Ke'er's tone instantly turned sinister: "So that's how it is—so you were really lying to me just now? And you said you'd take me to find the other broadcasting staff? Hmm? You're not being good."

The decadent demon's pupils contracted sharply, and he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He hurriedly waved his hands and explained, "No...no! I mean, um, I didn't mean to take you to find other 'broadcast room' staff, I meant other staff! Oh dear, how could such a good demon like me lie? Impossible, absolutely impossible."

Zhou Ke'er twitched the corner of her mouth. She never expected to run into a coward as despicable as him here. It was truly fate.

Distracted by this guy, he lost interest in asking any more questions and simply shrugged indifferently: "Fine, I believe you. So, tell me how to get out of here."

"Leave here? Okay, I understand. I'll take you out right away. The exit is here, please follow me."

The Dejected Demon immediately showed a relieved expression and transformed into a traitor, acting like a lackey.

"?"

Zhou Ke'er silently raised a question mark on her forehead—he meant "how to end this game and leave here," but why did the other person subconsciously say "how to leave here immediately"?

Do you really want to get rid of him that badly?

"Oh, I suddenly don't want to leave. I think this place is quite interesting, so why don't you show me around?"

Zhou Ke'er tilted her head and went back on her word, saying, "Let's explore this floor first."

"???"

The decadent demon stared wide-eyed, not understanding why Zhou Ke'er had changed her mind again: "What's so interesting about visiting here! There are monsters everywhere, and it gets dark every now and then. It's both troublesome and boring."

"Hey, is it really okay to belittle your own production team's facilities like that? Be careful you don't get punished or have your salary docked."

Zhou Ke'er waved to it, signaling it to come closer, then leaned in and whispered, "To be honest, I was sent by the Supervision Bureau to inspect this program—but frankly, I'm so busy every day, how could I have time to watch this damn program? Besides, I'm too lazy to prepare in advance, so I don't know anything about this place. Just find some problematic but not major issues and take me around. I'll just do my job and get it over with, and you won't lose anything. It's a win-win situation, understand?"

------------

788. The Strange Man in the Castle (19)

"There's such a department? I've never heard of it before?"

The dejected demon rubbed his face, which had been beaten into a pig's head, and couldn't help but mutter to himself in confusion. But after glancing at Zhou Ke'er's seemingly friendly but actually smiling expression, he ultimately didn't ask aloud. He decided to just pretend that such a department really existed—after all, even if it didn't, he would still have to listen to Zhou Ke'er's orders.

Before long, a bell rang, and the castle was soon brightly lit again.

Not far in front of Zhou Ke'er and the decadent demon, a tangible black shadow twisted and gradually turned dark red, slowly forming a human shape. Finally, it emerged as a vampire-like person with a pale face, scarlet pupils, and a pair of sharp fangs.

"I'm sorry, but we can't let you take Damon Nye away for now. The broadcast studio here still needs him to keep running."

The vampire spoke politely to Zhou Ke'er, then turned to look at the dejected demon who had already shrunk behind Zhou Ke'er, revealing a look of disappointment and frustration. He said helplessly, "And you... don't embarrass yourself like this. You're a demon, how can you be like this? Don't you feel even a little bit ashamed?"

The decadent demon known as Damon blushed, stubbornly retorting, "What do you know! This is called strategically protecting my own life and safeguarding the interests of the castle! Only I can operate this broadcast room. What if I accidentally die? That would be a disaster! So I can't die! I'm not being cowardly; I'm thinking of the bigger picture!"

Zhou Ke'er stroked her chin, pointed at the vampire in front of her, turned to look at the decadent demon, leaned closer as if to whisper, but her voice was loud enough for even the vampire to hear: "Hey, that guy seems to look down on you. A demon looked down upon by a vampire... You're not really that bad, are you?"

"What do you mean by that! Do you think I can't do it? I'm just considering the friendship between colleagues, I... I'll let him have his way! That's called being magnanimous."

The Degenerate Demon immediately disagreed, stubbornly retorting with stammering words.

The vampire's smiling face twitched involuntarily, and a prominent vein throbbed on his forehead. Looking at the pathetic, decadent demon's foolish appearance, an inexplicable surge of anger rose within him. "Hey! Damon! Ironhide..."

Seeing this, Zhou Ke'er retreated a few steps to make way for them. Obviously, Zhou Ke'er must have been behind this. Don't forget his title skill. Although he is no longer female, he can still use it as long as the title has not been updated. He is now taking advantage of one of the title effects: making it easier to start disputes between male NPCs and controlling the direction of the dispute.

Yes, so Zhou Ke'er is openly sowing discord.

"What are you doing?! Don't come any closer!"

Completely oblivious to the situation, Damon was probably too cowardly and timid, so even Zhou Ke'er's attempts to sow discord had no effect on him. He remained unchanged, and when he saw the vampire walking menacingly towards him, he couldn't help but be startled. He quickly retreated while shouting, "I, I'm telling you, don't do anything reckless! Otherwise, the boss won't let you off the hook! Be careful you don't get your salary docked!"

Unfortunately, the more he said these words, the angrier the vampire became. He immediately started walking with great speed and determination, covering a thousand miles in a day, and even the lines on his face became resolute.

Damon quickly turned to Zhou Ke'er for help: "Quick, help me! Help me! If this guy beats me to a pulp, no one will be your guide for sightseeing!"

Zhou Ke'er tapped her chin with her finger, looking thoughtful: "I think what that vampire said makes a lot of sense. Since only you can keep this broadcasting studio running, if we take you away, there will be a constant stream of staff sent to obstruct us. So why not just let this vampire beat you up and throw you back, and then make him my guide?"

"If it weren't for that last sentence, I would absolutely agree with it! But why did he have to beat me up?"

As Damon fled in a disheveled state, he frantically complained, "Hey! Wenpel, didn't you hear what he said? He's already agreed to leave me here, so your mission is complete! Are you taking revenge for me?! Stop chasing me! I've already been beaten up, if you hit me again I'll be killed!"

Minpel's crimson eyes flashed: "Don't worry, I know my limits! I won't kill you, I'll just make your head look a little more like a pig's head."

"Qiangxi" is pronounced as "xi". "So why did you have to hit me again?!"

Seeing the vampire getting closer and closer, Damon panicked and hid behind Zhou Ke'er, peeking out at Wen Pei'er: "Be careful, or I'll tell the boss you're taking revenge on him, and he'll dock your pay and deduct your bonus!"

Zhou Ke'er stroked her chin and raised an eyebrow—where did this kindergarten kid come from? Judging from the background of the module, it should be a dark, cruel, and terrifying organization…

Why does Zhou Ke'er always encounter this kind of thing...?

Ok?

This is Zhang Si. Eh?!

Zhou Ke'er's pupils suddenly dilated—he seemed to have discovered the key point!

Based on all the previous mod experiences, Zhou Ke'er discovered that no matter how profound or cruel the background of the mod was, it seemed that as long as they stayed with Zhou Ke'er for a long time, they would become like an idiot... no, like a child!

For example, there's Sadako from the Ghost City, and those guys in the cultivation world, like Jun Lian, and even the people I encountered in this module, like Roya and the others, and these two guys in front of me!

It's worth noting that Damon was able to disguise himself as an entire studio staff member at the beginning to mislead Zhou Ke'er. Whether he succeeded or not, the scheme was fundamentally sound, clearly demonstrating his intelligence.

The longer he spent with Zhou Ke'er, the more something felt off!

Before meeting Zhou Ke'er: Illusion, incarnation! The scheme was laid, the outcome was already decided!

Upon encountering Zhou Ke'er: "Stop hitting me! If you keep hitting me, I'm going to be beaten to death!"

"Control the powerful and the ruthless." Zhou Ke'er's eyes narrowed sharply—could he actually be carrying around an aura of idiocy?! If so, everything makes sense! All the NPCs who spend too much time with him will have their intelligence reduced! And not just their intelligence, but also most of their cunning will be eliminated—to be more precise…

He's just turned into a comedic character!

------------

Please take one day off.

Sorry, I have a full day of classes today... and they're all important ones I can't miss, so I really don't have time to write anything, sob sob QAQ

------------

789. The Strange Man in the Castle (20)

"Tsk..."

Minpel looked at Damon, who was hiding behind Zhou Ke'er, and hesitated to make a move. After all, he and Zhou Ke'er hadn't had any conflict yet, and it would be too impolite to hurt her if he made a move.

"Alright, alright, this is getting annoying if we keep dragging it out. I don't want to waste this much time here."

Zhou Ke'er grabbed Damon by the back of his collar and pulled him in front of her. With a shocked look on his face, she threw him to Minpel in front of him. "Tell me quickly how to end this game and leave here. I need to finish this quickly."

Seeing that Zhou Ke'er cooperated in handing Damon over to him, Wen Peier readily replied, "It's very simple. Although I don't know why you don't know the rules, it's hard to say whose mistake it was. In short, the rules of this game are: find some specific 'tokens' in the castle and leave the castle through the corresponding specific locations using these 'tokens'."

Because the number of these "tokens" is limited, contestants may fight and steal from each other. Of course, due to the existence of "fake tokens," all their efforts may end in vain.

The castle is also filled with all sorts of monsters, which are generally difficult for players to fight against, so they must avoid being hunted by these monsters.

In addition, if one is not in a safe, enclosed space after "darkness" but remains outside, one's mind will be affected by the darkness, leading to corruption and depravity, and ultimately turning into a monster.

While players possessing the "token" can resist this corruption to some extent, they still cannot see in the dark, so proceeding in the dark is not recommended.

After a lengthy explanation, Winpel briefly outlined the basic rules of the game. "That's about it—anything else you'd like to ask?"

Zhou Ke'er shook her head: "There's nothing more to ask about the rules. But besides that—for the negative consequences of your technical error, namely my amnesia—isn't there any compensation?"

Wenpei looked at Zhou Ke'er with a strange expression: "Originally, there was one, and we had already instructed the 'butler' to deliver it to you. But... didn't you refuse? And you even beat him up."