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

Sato Nagi, looking utterly bewildered and as if she were still in a dream, was sitting in her prison cell in a daze when she suddenly heard a snap of fingers in front of her.

When she looked up, she was surprised to see Zhou Ke'er's figure slowly appearing in front of her, like ink spreading on paper.

"?!"

Sato Nagi was shocked, never expecting a ghost to infiltrate this place. She quickly retreated while shouting, "Quick! Help! There's a ghost here!"

Zhou Ke'er unceremoniously found a spot and sat down, resting her chin on her hand and watching Sato Nagi shout loudly with amusement. After she had shouted for a while until she couldn't shout anymore, she slowly said, "Huh? Why did you stop shouting? Is it because you think no one will come? Honestly, compared to those people who grabbed you and threw you in here, you don't need to be so afraid of me."

The truth is, Zhou Ke'er had already used her supernatural powers to isolate the entire cell from the outside world before she even appeared. Even the listening devices and surveillance equipment inside the cell were temporarily blocked. Not only could no sound be heard from outside, but even watching the surveillance footage would only show Sato Nagi sitting motionless on the bed with her head down.

That's pretty scary.

Sato Nagi gasped for breath, swallowed hard to ease the dryness in her throat, and said in a trembling voice, "How did you sneak in here? What do you want? I'm already utterly defeated, what more do you want?! You're not satisfied with just crushing me, are you trying to kill me?"

Zhou Ke'er put on a wronged and innocent expression, shook her head and said, "How could that be? You've already been sentenced to death. Once the press conference to clarify things is over, you'll probably be executed soon. Why would I bother to sneak in and kill you? I might even leave traces and interfere with the plan."

"So what did you come here for? Just to see me like this, on my deathbed?"

Sato Nagi gritted her teeth and said.

Zhou Ke'er smiled, her eyes narrowing: "That's one reason, I suppose. But—why are you so hostile towards me? You need to open your mind. Since you're certain to die if you stay here, why not cooperate with us?"

Sato Nagi stared wide-eyed at Zhou Ke'er in disbelief, as if she hadn't understood what he was saying: "Cooperate with you? Cooperate with you?! You're telling someone who's about to be killed because of you that you want to cooperate with you?!"

Zhou Ke'er looked puzzled: "Yeah, what's the problem? Let's put aside whether I'm the one who caused you to end up like this, let's just assume that's the case—even so, what's the problem with me giving you a chance to cooperate with me and survive?"

Seeing Zhou Ke'er's leisurely demeanor, and having already vented her anger, Sato Nagi gradually calmed down. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You want to use me? To be precise, my identity... is a tool for you to deal with humanity and create chaos, isn't it?"

Zhou Ke'er nodded without any hesitation: "You're absolutely right, that's true. Your current situation is at a critical juncture, you can't just let it go so easily."

Looking around, Sato Nagi glanced at the surveillance cameras and narrowed her eyes slightly. "You want me to betray humanity and defect to your side? So, it means it's my turn to demand a higher price now?"

Zhou Ke'er held up one finger and gently waved it: "No, that's not right. You're not qualified to bargain with me. I came to you only because I personally thought it would be more interesting, not because you're necessary."

As he spoke, Zhou Ke'er snapped his fingers, and a cloud of black mist rose from his body. Soon, an identical "Sato Nagi" appeared before Sato Nagi, and no matter how you looked at it, there was no flaw in it.

"Look, we don't need your identity to have it—this chance to live is just something we're giving you out of charity. What right do you have to bargain?"

"Sato Nagi" spoke cold words in a mocking tone, and even her voice was exactly the same as Sato Nagi herself: "Anyway, whether you are dead or alive, we can use this identity whenever we want. The only difference is whether you are alive or dead."

A silence fell over the room. Sato Nagi was speechless for a moment, just staring blankly at Zhou Ke'er.

There are only two paths now. The first option is to resolutely refuse Zhou Ke'er's invitation and die, after which she will use Zhou Ke'er's identity to achieve her own goals. The second option is to accept the invitation, live on, and then help her achieve her goals.

The result was no different; the only difference was whether she herself lived or died.

……

With this comparison, the answer is quite obvious, isn't it?

"Okay... I agree. I'll do anything for you as long as you let me live."

Sato Nagi made her decision quickly, replying coldly through gritted teeth.

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807. Ghost City (Fifteen)

"Very good, I like people who know when to yield."

Zhou Ke'er extended her index finger and lightly touched Sato Nagi's forehead from a distance. Immediately, a wisp of barely perceptible black mist dissipated from her fingertip and disappeared into it.

Sato Nagi didn't react much to this, let alone show any alarm—after all, this kind of tactic was all too common and normal. Besides, her fate was death no matter what, and now that Zhou Ke'er had given her the option to live, it meant she wouldn't kill her right after saying that, so there was nothing to be afraid of. It was probably just some kind of tactic to ensure her obedience.

"Da...da..."

However, at that moment, a series of footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, approaching from a distance.

In the otherwise quiet environment, the sound of footsteps seemed quite abrupt.

Zhou Ke'er narrowed her eyes slightly, and the corners of her mouth turned down slightly, almost with a sneer. He had used his evil magic to isolate the entire room from sound, so not only could the sounds inside not come in, but the sounds outside could not come in either.

It would have been one thing if some clueless guy sneaked in, Zhou Ke'er wouldn't have cared anyway—but he insisted on making a scene and deliberately exposing himself, which was tantamount to slapping her in the face.

With a helpless sigh, Zhou Ke'er raised her hand and waved it behind her as if casually.

"boom!"

A loud bang.

Cracks appeared on the wall, along with a faint human-shaped mark. Then, a semi-transparent body gradually emerged from the shallow pit.

Sato Nagi looked surprised as she gazed at the gradually emerging figure, frowning as she asked, "This is... a ghost? Are there different factions among you ghosts, each opposing the other?"

Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing this, but she didn't answer Sato Nagi's question. Instead, she slowly walked to the figure, squatted down, and said in a mocking voice, "Did you hear that? She said you're a ghost. A ghost—another faction?"

The figure didn't reply, but stared intently at Zhou Ke'er with a cold gaze. His figure gradually became clearer, revealing him to be a gaunt, thin man with extremely pale skin tinged with gray. His long, curly, unkempt hair was casually draped over his shoulders, appearing somewhat greasy and making his dark circles under his eyes appear even more pronounced.

Zhou Ke'er didn't care about the guy's rudeness, and continued to mock, "After the last incident, I thought your so-called organization should have ceased to exist long ago. After all—I killed your leader. I didn't expect that you remaining stray dogs would still be gathered together, trying to do something meaningless."

At this point, many people may have forgotten—even Zhou Ke'er herself only just remembered. In the last event module of this sub-world, besides the ghosts and humans, there was another group of beings who underwent modification in human form, acquiring the power of ghosts and becoming neither human nor ghost, indiscriminately hunting ghosts throughout the city. The leader of this organization was incredibly blind; he actually teamed up with Long Aotian to attack Zhou Ke'er, and unsurprisingly, was ultimately killed by her.

Furthermore, these modified individuals are not actually ghosts or monsters; they possess powers similar to those of ghosts, but they perish instantly upon being killed, unlike ghosts which can be reborn by relying on the memories of others. Therefore, Zhou Ke'er initially thought that these individuals should have been completely wiped out during the period when the ban was lifted, but she was surprised to find that there were still survivors.

"asshole!"

The man finally couldn't hold back any longer, immediately slapped the ground, and rushed towards Zhou Ke'er while cursing angrily.

Zhou Ke'er could easily have waved her hand and pinned him back to the ground, but after thinking about it, she turned to the side and moved aside.

Sure enough, the guy seized the opportunity and pounced on Sato Nagi. Although Sato Nagi reacted quickly, she was still just an ordinary person with normal physical abilities. How could she compare to a guy who had been modified to be almost a monster? So, unsurprisingly, she was caught by the guy in no time.

Zhou Ke'er knew what he was up to the moment she saw his movements. She patiently waited until he had subdued Sato Nagi before tilting her head and asking, "What are you doing?"

This was both sarcasm and genuine questioning—Zhou Ke'er truly didn't understand what this guy was up to. She'd assumed he was just there to eavesdrop and gather information, so she hadn't paid him any attention. After all, he also hoped the news of Sato Nagi's betrayal would spread, making the city even more chaotic.

But this guy was incredibly blind. After getting the information, instead of leaving quickly, he inexplicably started making some underhanded moves, acting all mysterious and up to no avail. If this guy really had some strength and thought he could kill Zhou Ke'er here, then it would be understandable—but how could he dare to do that to someone like this?

And now that he knows he can't win and has been completely outmatched, why does he go and kidnap Sato Nagi? Does he mean he's using her as leverage to try and save his own life? But if he wanted to leave safely, he could have just left from the beginning. Why go through all this trouble?

Unless this guy is not only mentally unstable but also inexplicably confident in his abilities, he wouldn't do something so anti-intellectual.

In contrast, Sato Nagi remained remarkably calm. "It's no use threatening that guy by kidnapping me. Although I don't know when you got here—if you had come earlier, you would have heard what that guy just said: my life or death is not important to him at all. He just wanted to see me betray humanity, and he thought it would be fun, so he came to rescue me, not because I am necessary to him."

But to everyone's surprise, this guy grabbed Sato Nagi's head and slammed it to the ground, yelling, "It's all the same! I didn't expect to survive here! Anyway, you're planning to be a traitor and betray humanity, you deserve to die! Even if I die, I'll rid the world of this scourge one last time and drag you down to hell with me!"

Sato Nagi was utterly speechless—if she had any chance of survival, would she have become a traitor? You can't expect an ordinary person like her to be like a hero, unyielding to the death, can you? That would be giving her far too much credit. This wasn't a fact she could control; killing her wouldn't change anything. Zhou Ke'er's plan would proceed as usual. What difference would it make except for one more person dying?

At this moment, Zhou Ke'er slowly spoke up: "Inspector Sato - why be beaten so badly? Since you have already offered your pledge of allegiance, betraying humanity and being rejected by this guy's organization, then your joining us is beyond question and unchangeable - then, don't hold back, use your Flame Fist on that guy!"

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808. Ghost City (Sixteen) and Summary

Zhou Ke'er and Sato Nagi walked silently down the street, heading towards the address of the Slit-Mouthed Woman.

Just now, Sato Nagi had no choice but to fully accept the evil spirit that Zhou Ke'er had transferred into her body, making her a form of existence close to a familiar, thus gaining the power to resist that thin man.

As for the fight scenes, there's really nothing to say. They're Zhou Ke'er's subordinates, after all. If they had to make a big fuss and have a thrilling, high-octane battle to deal with such a minor character... that would be too beneath them.

Having dealt with the lanky man, Sato Nagi was now even less likely to turn back. She might have initially feigned obedience to Zhou Ke'er, gathering evidence before betraying her and returning to the police station to atone for her crimes—but that was no longer possible. Having become a kind of familiar, she had been branded by the evil spirit and was utterly incapable of betraying Zhou Ke'er.

Note that it's not about being punished or suffering unbearable pain after betrayal; it's about not being able to betray at all—unless another god forcibly erases the mark.

Zhou Ke'er concealed their figures and walked openly down the street.

Sato Nagi looked at Zhou Ke'er with a complicated expression, and finally couldn't help but ask softly, "I don't understand, since you have such great power, why bother to set up a deception like that? Wouldn't it be easier and more convenient to just snap your fingers and kill us all?"

To be honest, Sato Nagi had no doubt that this guy possessed the ability to destroy the entire demon city. After all, no matter what... the limit for demons is just demons, but this guy...

Zhou Ke'er turned her head to look at Sato Nagi, blinked and asked in return, "If I killed you directly, what would I gain? In comparison, I didn't kill you, so what's the difference now? Actually, the answer is obvious—can't you use your little brain a little? Don't always rush to ask questions whenever there's a problem; you need to think for yourself."

Although Sato Nagi didn't understand anything, she wisely kept quiet and didn't ask any further questions.

Soon, the two returned to the Slit-Mouthed Woman's residence and revealed themselves. Sadako, who came to greet them, was initially very happy to see Zhou Ke'er return, but upon seeing Sato Nagi following behind her, her expression immediately changed, revealing a look of surprise and confusion.

However, before she could ask anything, Sato Nagi wisely preemptively explained, "I've come to join you. I've abandoned the light for darkness—no, I've abandoned darkness for light—to join you. That's no exaggeration."

Sadako turned her gaze to Zhou Ke'er, as if asking if it was true.

Zhou Ke'er blinked: "From a generally rational point of view, that's true. A character who betrays humanity might be somewhat useful for the upcoming plans."

However, he quickly changed the subject and continued, "Instead of that, I have a task for you—to secretly gather a group of ghosts and monsters. Note that they must be the kind of ghosts and monsters that are absolutely guaranteed not to be recruited by humans and that will never betray us. The more the better. The plan must be carried out in secrecy, and it doesn't matter if it takes a while, as long as we ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Although Sadako still had some questions she wanted to ask, since Zhou Ke'er had already given her a task, she naturally had to prioritize the task. She grabbed the Slit-Mouthed Woman and went into the bedroom to discuss countermeasures.

"And what about me? I just need to hide here and show myself when I'm needed, right?"

Seeing this, Sato Nagi asked.

Zhou Ke'er smiled and said, "You wish. You know more about counter-surveillance techniques than they do, and you're the only one who knows some of the inside stories of the police department—of course you have to help them come up with ideas, otherwise, how could you expect to get away with this? Hurry up and go!"

Upon hearing this, Sato Nagi had no choice but to obediently do as she was told.

After doing all this, Zhou Ke'er found a safe place to hide and then logged off.

That's about all he can do for now. Perhaps some more resourceful people have even more sophisticated methods, but Zhou Ke'er has already done enough. Seizing faith is not something that can be done overnight. This plan has only just begun. To expect to harvest a large number of believers in just a few days is pure wishful thinking. Take it slow, there's no rush.

Zhou Ke'er could already foresee that she would need to come to this place for a long time to come. However, as the number of people under her increased, most of the work would be done by others, making Zhou Ke'er's job easier and easier.

Log out of the game and sit up in bed.

It's not too late yet, since we just had dinner and haven't spent too much time playing the game.

Zhou Ke'er is now like a player in an idle game; she has already completed all the grinding tasks and is now idly waiting for events to refresh and resources to accumulate.

So, with nothing to do, Zhou Ke'er sat on the bed and began to think about her own abilities.

After all, comparing strength is probably ingrained in human nature; even in fantasy games, there are always those who prioritize strength.

As for Zhou Ke'er's strength, it can indeed be considered quite strong, but upon closer inspection, it is actually a very superficial state.

First, there's the divine power she recently gained through "becoming a god." This is indeed a low-investment, high-return source of power, but the downside is that Zhou Ke'er's entire source of faith currently comes from Mo Bugui. If something happens to him, Zhou Ke'er will likely fall from grace, losing all of this power. Furthermore, Zhou Ke'er has no control over Mo Bugui's situation—she can't even know about it; it's completely unknown.

Such superficial strength is unreliable. It can be used, but it cannot be relied upon, otherwise, endless troubles will follow.

Secondly, there's the "Seven Secret Chapters of the Mysterious Lord" and the evil within his body. The "Seven Secrets" were a gift from those evil gods, and the evil within him has been confirmed to originate from the experiment Renault participated in at the end of the Old Era. Currently, it seems that only Renault and Zhou Ke'er have obtained the final results of the experiment, which should be considered a relatively stable source of power, but it is still essentially "evil." If one's rank is too low, he will be at a complete disadvantage against those evil gods—let's not even talk about evil gods, just some beings of higher rank.

Finally, there's the divine status of the God of Time and Space, and his barely achieved Foundation Establishment cultivation. Well, it's more accurate to say that these are perhaps the only two sources of his power that truly belong to him, but the facts of the old era have already proven that these two power systems are insufficient to contend with those evil gods…

Doesn't this mean that although Zhou Ke'er seems to be quite strong now, upon closer examination, her strength is actually full of flaws?

It seems that the cultivation of the immortal cultivation system and the development of the divine personality of the space-time god must be put on the agenda. Regardless of whether we can fight against those evil gods, we can always surrender to the enemy in the end!