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

As expected, just as Zhou Ke'er had anticipated, a huge screen soon appeared in the sky. After a brief flash, the figure of Nyaruko, whom Zhou Ke'er was very familiar with, appeared.

Sure enough, those guys were planning to push those evil gods to accelerate the process of integrating the real world into the game world...

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824. Destroyed in an instant

But Zhou Ke'er still didn't understand what benefit this would bring to Renault and his group! It was clearly just helping those evil gods get ahead!

Nyarko in the sky began to ramble on and on about some meaningless nonsense—at least that's how it seemed to Zhou Ke'er. He didn't pay attention to what she was saying, because not only were there raging flames all around, but the ground itself was shaking violently as if it were being struck by an earthquake, cracking open with ever-widening fissures, as if something was about to burst forth from the earth.

Zhou Ke'er could only concentrate on driving the car, dodging the surrounding flames while constantly avoiding the cracked ground to prevent falling in or being hit by something that suddenly jumped out from inside.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, followed by the rumble of the ground being ripped open and collapsing, one could see twisted, gnarled trees, seemingly baring their fangs and claws, rapidly growing from the cracks, gradually transforming the area into a forest within the city. Buildings, already weakened by the fire, were easily destroyed by these trees, collapsing to the ground. The flames spread to the treetops, leaping and dancing, yet without scorching or harming the trees, resembling fiery red maple leaves—eerie and dazzling.

"Squeak!!"

With a screech of brakes, Zhou Ke'er maneuvered the car so that the rear half spun outwards, resulting in a drift and sudden stop.

Less than a meter ahead, a tree had suddenly burst forth from the ground. If Zhou Ke'er hadn't stopped the car in time, everyone would have been sent flying by the tree, or it would have pierced through the car and left them all with a sharp, cold wound.

"At this rate, it's impossible to continue driving."

Zhou Ke'er quickly unbuckled her seatbelt. "Get out of the car, let's walk."

Without hesitation, Honghe followed and asked, "Whether we drive or walk is secondary; the most important thing is to figure out where we need to escape to now, right?"

"From a common-sense perspective, what you said does make sense, but it doesn't apply to the current situation. Because now it's not a question of where we want to escape to, but where we can escape to. And where we can escape to is not something we can decide ourselves; the choice is in the hands of those evil gods. We can only ensure our safety during this period of unrest, and then make further plans after they have arranged everything."

While gesturing for the people in the car to get out quickly, Zhou Ke'er replied rapidly, "After all, you've seen it yourself. This place can turn directly into a forest. Who knows what will happen to the place we thought might be safe?"

"If that's the case, then why are we running away? We've been hiding in your house, waiting for the disaster to pass, haven't we?"

The sand between his fingers immediately asked, puzzled.

"First of all, how could we have known back then that trees would sprout from the ground? Secondly... take a look back at that spot now."

Zhou Ke'er walked ahead without turning her head and answered.

Upon hearing Zhou Ke'er's answer, Zhijiansha subconsciously turned to look at Zhou Ke'er's house, only to see that it was also surrounded by flames, and several withered trees had even pierced through the roof, as if they had originally grown inside the house.

Just as Zhou Ke'er said, if everyone were still there now, they would probably be trapped with nowhere to go.

Porius, who had been silent and focused on following along, looked at Zhou Ke'er walking ahead. Several times he wanted to offer to take the lead and protect her, but unfortunately, Zhou Ke'er had already given him instructions long ago to keep quiet and just follow orders. However, his actions could not disobey Zhou Ke'er's orders. After struggling for a long time, he finally said nothing.

"We should be thankful that it's just a fire here and a few trees have grown. I messaged some friends in other places, and they've had something like a zombie apocalypse there. The situation there was already serious, not to mention that it's been amplified by those evil gods. Who knows what kind of mess they're in now?"

Zhou Ke'er frowned and casually said, glancing at the communication bracelet. Sure enough, there was no signal at this moment, and the urgent message she had sent to Hu Tao and Lin Wen had also failed to be sent.

It seems that I've completely cut off contact with everyone else now.

Just then, Zhou Ke'er suddenly felt her body become heavy. The evil and spiritual power within her body seemed to be suppressed by some unknown force. Although there was no loss, the effects it could exert were rapidly declining and being imprisoned. The only thing less affected was the power from the God of Time and Space and her own divinity.

Zhou Ke'er looked up at the sky in surprise—only those evil gods could do such a thing!

Clearly noticing Zhou Ke'er's surprise, Zhijiansha, who had been distracted by Nyaruko's speech, quickly said, "It seems that after this world transforms into a 'game world,' many new players with no physical strength have been added. To prevent veteran players from exploiting and bullying the new players, all players will enter a three-week 'newbie period.' During this time, new players will receive a certain degree of attribute bonuses, and veteran players whose strength is far above average will be suppressed."

Zhou Ke'er's eyes narrowed slightly, sensing that the purpose of setting up this rule was not just that. He ran, pondering for a moment, then turned to look at Qiao Yixia behind him, "And you? Has your strength been 'corrected' or suppressed?"

Qiao Yixia immediately replied, "Of course it was suppressed."

As expected, this means that "old players" like Qiao Yixia who participated in the "old version" of the game in the previous era are also considered players and subject to the same rule. It seems that Renault and his group are probably the same.

Did they end up shooting themselves in the foot?

Not necessarily. Those guys have been planning for so long, they couldn't possibly not have considered this possibility. Either they have a way to deal with this situation, or the benefits they can gain from doing so are far greater than the losses from losing a little strength.

But to be honest...

To what extent can this so-called "correction" enhance the player's strength? To survive in the current situation, relying solely on the so-called "correction" that barely approaches the average player's strength is completely insufficient.

It's less about showing pity and protection for new players and more about causing collective harm to all players!

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825. A complete upheaval

Soon, as Nyaruko's rambling speech played like background noise, everyone's eyes saw an option bar just like in the game, except that there was no logout button—after all, even reality had merged with the game's timing, so where could they log out to?

"Hey hey, although I know most of you don't care what I say, I still want to kindly remind you: don't let your guard down just because I said this is already a game world, because... if you die here, you won't be resurrected."

Nyarko suddenly raised her voice, using a volume and tone loud enough to attract everyone's attention, and said, "If you're dead, you're really dead, there's nothing you can do about it. Unless—you quickly leave this world and come to the main world of our game, where you can be resurrected if you die. Good luck everyone!"

Everyone immediately understood what Nyaruko was up to. However, while it was easy to predict that she wanted to force a large number of people from the real world into the original game world, her purpose was indeed difficult to fathom.

Since the real world has already been eroded by the game world, is there some indelible barrier between the two? Or is the final step to achieving the integration of the two worlds simply a large-scale migration of people?

Perhaps that's the case, but so far no one knows what the truth is, and the truth is actually meaningless to Zhou Ke'er and the others; those are things that Renault and his ilk need to worry about.

To be honest, Zhou Ke'er wasn't worried about the current situation at all. After all, once he was corrupted by the game world, he could easily open the door to the Academy of Gods and take everyone there. If he wanted, he could do it right now.

But there's no need to rush. What we urgently need to address now is not security, but rather adaptation.

Just then, the mechanical system voice echoed in everyone's minds:

[Triggering World Quest - First Stage]

[Phase One: Beginner Missions]

[Note: The world you live in has undergone tremendous changes. Your life will be completely different from what you are used to. To help players who have difficulty adapting smoothly through the beginner phase, we have kindly added beginner quests to the pre-quest stage of the first world quest, so that everyone can adapt to the changed world as quickly as possible.]

Mission objective: Kill as many powerful monsters as you can in this world.

Note: After killing a monster, the option to teleport to the game's overworld will be unlocked. Selecting to teleport to the overworld will automatically signify that you have completed the tutorial quests and will proceed to the results screen.

[Quest Rewards: Items/Equipment/Job Change Certificate]

Note: Quest rewards range from common to epic quality, and are calculated based on the completion rate of the beginner quests.

[Note: Experienced players whose skill level is rated above average cannot accept this quest. Please head to the main game world as soon as possible to begin the first stage of the world quest.]

[Note: If the total number of new players completing the tutorial quests does not exceed one-quarter of the total number of new players, veteran players will not be able to return to the main world via the system's built-in teleportation function and will need to find and activate a teleportation array themselves. The first 100 players to reach the main world will receive ranking rewards, and the race will begin.]

Well, Zhou Ke'er said that such a simple task to farm points could not possibly fall to him. Otherwise, he would have just turned on his invincible mode and mowed down all the monsters here, and he could have gotten the highest level reward.

But then again, to be honest, this reward doesn't seem to be of much use to him. His current strength is stuck in an in-between stage; he can easily deal with those weaker than him without needing to improve, and those stronger than him are difficult to handle no matter how much he improves.

The goalkeeper is the one who is in charge.

However, although you can't get the rewards from the beginner missions, you can still try to climb the rankings in the later speed race missions.

If you can't change reality, you can only act according to the rules set by others; there's nothing you can do about it. People should be good at adapting to their environment and finding joy even in hardship.

Zhou Ke'er shrugged and turned to look at the others. "It looks like we can only listen to them for now and head to the main world first."

Qiao Yixia clicked her tongue in displeasure, but did not object, since there seemed to be no better alternative.

To be honest, Zhou Ke'er had actually seen through some of the evil gods' ulterior motives. Giving tasks and then secretly setting up a ranking system based on completion was subtly instilling in people the idea that players had to compete with each other.

Furthermore, the evaluation method for the beginner quests isn't clearly explained. What if multiple people work together to kill a monster? Would that be considered the minimum requirement for completing the quest? Or how are contributions distributed? Are they based on who gets the last kill, or on the contributions made during the process?

Nobody knows these details, so few people dare to gamble on them and hunt together. Even if they are forced to act together due to circumstances, they must always be wary of being stabbed in the back. At first, they may be concerned about their reputation and not go too far, but when their lives are under immediate threat or the mission is in its final stages, it is not surprising that people are capable of anything.

But in reality, "games" can indeed be like that, but reality shouldn't be entirely like that.

Or rather, players who compete with each other and spread out their strength are easier for them to control, or more in line with the scene they want to watch.

Do you really enjoy watching humans kill each other? That's incredibly twisted.

Seeing Zhou Ke'er seemingly deep in thought, Zhijiansha realized that if she let him continue pondering, a whole day might pass. So she quickly asked, "So we need to find a teleportation array quickly, right? But our array master, Lengchitu, isn't with us. Even if we find a teleportation array, it will be difficult to activate it..."

Zhou Ke'er glanced at the sand between her fingers in surprise. "Are you out of your mind? What nonsense are you talking about? We need a teleportation array to get to the main world, right? Can you please stop being so stereotypical?"

As she spoke, Zhou Ke'er showed off the academy wristwatch that had appeared on her wrist at some point. "Why don't we go to the Divine Academy first, transfer there, and then use the teleportation array there to go directly to the main world?"

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Please take one day off.

I'm taking a day off for Qingming Festival.

To be honest, I've been pretty busy lately. I need to finish my thesis in the next few days, so I'll have to ask for a day off today. (orz)

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826. Trying to cheat in speed racing? Impossible!

However, to Zhou Ke'er's surprise, the spatial gate she had expected did not appear. Not only did it not appear, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed as soon as she raised her hand.

But then, the swollen woman appeared beside Zhou Ke'er without warning, one hand still holding a fan to cover half her face, while the other hand firmly gripped Zhou Ke'er's wrist: "You have to follow the rules properly. How can you just think about how to take shortcuts? Besides, if it were just taking shortcuts, that would be one thing, but you've actually exploited a loophole in the system."

Although Zhou Ke'er was completely taken aback that an evil god would personally intervene, let alone the others who instantly became wary, she quickly calmed down after seeing that the other party didn't seem to be very hostile. "What you're saying is unfair. How can this be called opportunism? Since I can go directly to the main world and have such channels and methods, why shouldn't I try it? Seeking the fastest method within my capabilities isn't opportunism—if you're talking about exploiting system loopholes, isn't that your problem?"

The swollen woman was surprised that Zhou Ke'er dared to argue with her under these circumstances. As expected of her, she immediately replied with a smile, "I must say, you have a point. However, are you sure you want us to fix the system vulnerabilities ourselves? There are quite a few vulnerabilities in you that need to be fixed."

It's not surprising that the swollen woman knows these things. Although she didn't explain exactly how much she knows, Zhou Ke'er judged it based on the assumption that the other party knows everything.

"Then there's no need for you to do it yourself. So what if you can't directly send it back to the main world? Fine, I won't send it."

Zhou Ke'er shrugged. A real man can bend and stretch. It's just admitting defeat. What's the big deal?

The swollen woman still wore a smiling expression, but her smile contained no kindness whatsoever; instead, it was filled with malice. "No matter what, your promise seems far too cheap. I know all too well your two-faced nature. You're agreeing with me now, but who knows what you're really thinking? I don't want you to cause me a lot of trouble if I'm not paying attention. My time is very precious."

A sense of foreboding welled up in Zhou Ke'er's heart. He immediately turned his remaining hand behind his back and quickly gestured for the others to leave. Although he didn't think the swollen woman would punish him on the spot, it would be troublesome if any punishment affected the others.

While doing this, Zhou Ke'er still asked with great doubt, "So what do you want to do? You can't just cut me off right here and eliminate the trouble forever, can you? Oh, you can't do that."

The swollen woman laughed coquettishly, her laughter chilling: "How could that be? Haven't I been kind enough to you? It's just a small punishment, it won't have much of an impact at all, it shouldn't be a big deal for you—it's just sealing your abilities for now, making you complete the beginner's task with the strength of an ordinary person. After you complete it, the seal will be automatically released, it should be very simple for you."

Zhou Ke'er breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and immediately agreed, "Okay, okay, you're so kind to me. Let's do it your way!"

LOL, it's just sealing off her strength. Anyway, she has a bunch of teammates with her. Let them grab a few monsters and beat them half to death, then let Zhou Ke'er finish them off. That completes the task, right? And unlike other newbie players, Zhou Ke'er can totally use Red Crane and the others' help to farm points.

Zhou Ke'er almost thought that the swollen girl was specially giving him a benefit, helping him to cheat.

"Seriously? Even after all this, you're not still thinking about taking shortcuts, are you? You really think I'd leave you a loophole to exploit, that I'm handing you a reward?"

The swollen woman saw right through Zhou Ke'er's scheme—or rather, anyone with eyes could see it—and sighed rather helplessly. Then she grabbed Zhou Ke'er by the back of his collar and lifted him up into the sky.

"Hey! What's going on? What's going on?! You want to kill me just because we disagree? That's going too far! I haven't even done anything yet!"