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

However, Zhou Ke'er did not understand what she was trying to say at all.

Forget it, if I don't understand, I don't understand.

Zhou Ke'er never intended to understand. Heh heh.

After all... Zhou Ke'er just wanted to do whatever she wanted, especially now that the behind-the-scenes boss was providing limited assistance. At least on the surface, there was no obvious malice. Wouldn't it be too out of character for Zhou Ke'er not to take advantage of him?

"I'd like to turn on some special effects, is that okay?"

Zhou Ke'er flicked her sleeve, turned her back to Honghe, and asked in a low voice.

Okay, I've granted you the permissions. Just be careful not to kill her, or you'll run into trouble.

The guy hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

[Unauthorized intrusion! Program is being modified!]

[Module permission changes...]

[20% module permissions have been changed]

[Change terminated]

Player "Zhou Ke'er" has obtained the "Environmental Modification" permission.

Tch, so stingy, all they give is a change of environment...

Zhou Ke'er pouted.

It sounds sophisticated, but it's really just for showing off. After all, Zhou Ke'er herself hasn't changed. If something like the world were to collapse, Zhou Ke'er would die along with it.

So it can only be used as a small gadget for adding special effects.

Well, that's enough.

Zhou Ke'er turned around again, facing the red crane, and was about to start operating it when she suddenly froze.

Hmm? Wait... I suddenly remembered...

"Don't kill her, or things will get complicated..."

It's just a bit troublesome, isn't it? He's supposed to be a "lead actor," after all, right?

Also, that guy initially said that a player had died, so he sent Zhou Ke'er over to save the day... but there were no dead players at the scene.

Fran was just a puppet pretending to be a corpse.

Who is dead?

No, that's also possible... It was indeed Fran who died, but... that guy tampered with something!

That guy has access to this module, which means... the player's death or survival is a piece of data that he can change!

Fran might have been resurrected by him somewhere!

But if that's the case, then he didn't need to use a large group of monsters to scare Zhou Ke'er in the first place. He could have just erased the data that was out of control.

Thinking about it that way...it does seem like the purpose was very clear...

Could it be that...?

That guy calculated that Zhou Ke'er would figure out the so-called "truth" that has been revealed, and that under the monster's coercion, she would definitely choose to cooperate with him... right?

If that's really the case...

Ha, interesting! Spalashi!

Zhou Ke'er loves these kinds of plots that make your head spin!

"Hehehe... Hmph... Ahahaha!"

Thinking of this, Zhou Ke'er couldn't help but cover half her face, throw her head back and laugh wildly, revealing a face like that of a tax evader.

"...What are you doing?!"

Honghe looked at Zhou Ke'er, who was acting crazy again, and even her usually expressionless face couldn't help but break down.

"If everything is going according to plan, then let's do something different! A mere player death is just a small problem for you! So, in that case..."

Zhou Ke'er took a deep breath, her expression a mixture of pleasure and savagery. She flung her hand away and screamed maniacally, "Crows fly! Spiders eat earwax! Tornadoes destroy parking lots! Meteors destroy everything!"

As Zhou Ke'er raved, the ground began to collapse, the ceiling of the cabin instantly crumbled, and the dark sky was dyed blood red in the blink of an eye. In mid-air, a strangely shaped door appeared, behind which dark currents surged.

That's right... Zhou Ke'er is recreating the scene he saw in his dream!

(Of course, without Cronus and the Underworld)

That door...that's it...

[The Gate to the Dead! Where have you seen this before?!]

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

99. The Underworld...The Underworld!

"Rumble..."

Grayish-black smoke billowed from the sunken ground all around, and near the horizon, it was tinged with a murky red and black hue by blood-red clouds.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Wooden planks that had fallen from the collapsed cabin spontaneously combusted without warning, and flames greedily licked the air, swirling around Zhou Ke'er and Hong He.

The entire cabin was razed to the ground, but there was no sign of Zhijiansha.

Just now... it seems that the mastermind said something? Zhou Ke'er narrowed his eyes. Amidst the loud sounds of collapse and sinking, he couldn't hear what the guy said.

"puff"

Just then, without warning, Flamingo suddenly clutched her head and knelt on the ground, her face contorted in a ferocious grimace, clenching her teeth and emitting a soft, meaningless growl.

What's happening here?

Zhou Ke'er was a little confused. He hadn't done anything to the flamingo, had he?

[Sizzle... sizzle...]

[Module data is being compromised!]

[Permissions expired! Permissions expired!]

[Module permission lost: 18%...16%]

[Permissions completely invalid!]

As a series of system prompts sounded, the changes in the surrounding environment gradually stopped until they ceased to occur.

It was as if everything had been frozen in time. The smoke drifting in the sky had solidified, and the burning flames had stopped flickering, as if the hourglass of time had been shattered.

Zhou Ke'er almost thought someone had launched a Zavarudo attack, but she found that she could still move.

"Hmph, it seems we have the same type of Stand."

Zhou Ke'er snorted coldly and said some inexplicable words.

[Where...where have you seen this scene before?]

The mastermind suddenly asked Zhou Ke'er in a trembling voice, sounding completely incredulous.

"..."

Zhou Ke'er did not answer.

It seems this guy forcibly took back the permissions.

Judging from his words... he'd seen this scene before too? It was clearly a scene from Zhou Ke'er's dream...

No, actually, that's not quite right.

Zhou Ke'er touched her chin. For some reason, she hadn't thought about that dream in detail before, and had subconsciously ignored it, but now that she thought about it...

That shouldn't really be considered Zhou Ke'er's dream; perhaps it was... a memory from "Yellow Springs" or "Kronos"?

It probably originated from the "evil" things that Zhou Ke'er absorbed from Cronus before. Perhaps because they were intertwined with Cronus's divine power, they also contained some fragments of his memories.

Both Huang Quan and Cronus should be people or gods who participated in the final battle of the Old Age.

That means the boss of this module was also a participant in that battle?

Is this even possible? After all, it's been such a long time...

Suddenly, the space in front of Zhou Ke'er twisted violently, and a pitch-black crack tore through the space out of thin air, from which a blurry figure slowly emerged.

Although his expression and even his entire appearance are completely obscured, anyone who sees him will immediately sense that "this person is extremely anxious."

"You...you couldn't possibly be...?"

The guy slowly walked towards Zhou Ke'er, muttering to himself unconsciously, as if he couldn't believe it or was trying to convince himself.

However, before he could take more than a few steps, the entire space began to shake violently again. The sky was like a turbulent sea, rippled and unpredictable.

[Data... data disorder...]

The module is being... invaded...

[Permissions...buzz...buzz...]

The system notification sounded a few times without warning, but it was just a lot of static. There seemed to be some words mixed in, but it was impossible to hear them clearly.

The nauseating sound of data crashes was so loud that Zhou Ke'er felt like her ears were going to go blind!

"What's going on?! My permissions...?"

The guy in front of Zhou Ke'er stopped and exclaimed in slight shock. Then, as if realizing something, he turned his head away.

Zhou Ke'er followed the guy's gaze and looked over.

It's... a flamingo?!

The flamingo seemed to have completely lost consciousness. It had stood up at some point and was standing there blankly.

Her eyes were pitch black, but unlike Zhou Ke'er's eyes which were filled with black mist and bloodshot veins, Honghe's eyes did not have any extraneous black mist or anything like that; they were just pure black.

A blurry phantom appeared behind her. It was... an unusually large, long-handled scythe with many sharp blades.

The phantom kept shattering and reforming, tearing apart the surrounding space and creating countless dark cracks.

Zhou Ke'er remembered...