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

Immediately, the bullet emerged from the woman's body again, piercing through the crack in the broken glass without any obstruction.

The scene shifts again, and the bullet, still stained with blood, flies through the air, grazing the side of the woman who jumped from the building, and striking the arm that emerged from the shadows.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, everything fell into darkness and silence.

A voice slowly rose from the side:

"You...are already dead."

"But you forgot..."

"How exactly did you die...?"

"What was the reason you died...?"

"The spirits of the dead, wandering in distorted memories..."

"Remember everything!"

"Only in this way can you find salvation..."

"You give yourself salvation..."

Finally, only a heavy sigh echoed in the darkness.

Main Quest I: Investigate the cause of your own death. Reward: 25 Sanity Points

Main Quest II: Find out why you died. Reward: 25 Sanity Points

Side Quest: Investigate the identities and causes of death of the other players. Reward: 10 Sanity Points/1

[Bonus Task: Please trigger it yourself]

After the system notification ended, Zhou Ke'er found herself in a long, narrow, dark, and damp alley. She was standing in the middle, and she couldn't see the end of the alley when she looked to either side.

Zhou Ke'er didn't rush to find the end of the alley or check if there were any hidden doors in the walls on both sides. Instead, she randomly picked a direction and strolled around, stroking her chin and thinking, "This opening CG is so stream-of-consciousness... It feels so strange. Did he kill him, he killed her, he killed her? Hmm... The logic is a complete mess."

Furthermore, since I didn't appear in the same location as Red Crane and Finger Sand, and considering the side quest... that means our quests might be opposing each other again? Tsk... whatever, well, if I die, they're all dead too.

"Oh, right... it's strange that this main quest is divided into two parts... What does 'cause of death' and 'why I died' mean? If it was murder, wouldn't those two be the same? So... I either committed suicide or bravely faced death?"

Wait, no... maybe I misunderstood. "Cause of death" only refers to the reason that caused my death, while "why I died" refers to the broader reasons that caused my death...?

Zhou Ke'er was lost in her own thoughts.

In fact, he was consciously ignoring his surroundings.

The reason is obvious. First of all, this is just a difficult module, unlike the Fog difficulty where you encounter an instant-death scenario at the start.

Secondly, being in such a seemingly infinitely long alley, it's unlikely that he could walk to the end on his own. Zhou Ke'er felt that this was just a "scene where the plot takes place." In fact, he could have just stood there and not moved at first, but he habitually took a few steps when he was thinking.

"Clap! Clap!"

A series of hurried footsteps came from ahead.

At the end of the seemingly endless alley... It might sound strange, but it just so abruptly ended.

Zhou Ke'er wasn't too flustered, she just subconsciously glanced at her sanity level.

Thankfully, it didn't drop.

It seems that the rules for the decrease in sanity are not quite the same as those mentioned on the forum. It is not that encountering a supernatural event will forcibly decrease sanity. It should also require that the player's mental state is impacted, or that the "supernatural event" itself is designed to decrease sanity upon seeing it.

As Zhou Ke'er was lost in thought, the footsteps grew closer and clearer. She saw a girl in a school uniform, her hair disheveled, seemingly being chased by something. She looked flustered, her eyes filled with fear and dread.

"Help...help me! Please help me!"

When the girl saw Zhou Ke'er, it was as if she had seen a lifeline. She immediately showed a hopeful look in her eyes and called out in a trembling voice, filled with despair and a glimmer of hope.

"...If you have any problems, call the police."

Looking at the anxious girl, Zhou Ke'er said slowly and deliberately, "Look at how thin and weak I am. Do I look like someone who can help you? Even if I help you, at most I will only drag myself into it, causing one more death or injury. It will be of no use and will only result in unnecessary casualties."

So, I advise you to call the police as soon as possible. That way, a large group of well-trained and strong police officers will quickly come to help you solve the problem. That's much more effective than me doing it.”

Zhou Ke'er shrugged and casually pointed to herself, showing off her figure to the other person.

Yes, he noticed it from the start. The dress and cane hadn't been brought in; instead, there was a very loose school uniform. The petite Zhou Ke'er looked thin and frail in the uniform.

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120. My Cause of Death (Part 1)

Don't agree to help others without thinking it through, and don't casually promise to help others.

Even if it was just out of good intentions.

This is a truth that Zhou Ke'er has always understood—though she only truly understood it about six months ago.

After all, it is cruel to make promises you can't keep and to offer only useless apologies to those who ask for your help with high hopes. This is cruel to both yourself and others.

"is it?"

Upon hearing Zhou Ke'er's words, the girl's expression suddenly changed, from panic to indifference and lifelessness. In an instant, her eyes, seemingly devoid of vitality and color, stared straight at Zhou Ke'er: "So, this is your truest reaction... No matter how much guilt and remorse you feel, even if you were given another chance, you would still choose to stand by and watch... wouldn't you?"

"Regret is fake. Seeking revenge for others is also fake. It's just a morbid consolation to your uneasy conscience—thankfully you still have a conscience. That's the kind of person you are. Indeed, even if your hands are stained with blood, even if you apologize with yourself, you are still essentially just that kind of person."

"Huh?"

Zhou Ke'er raised her eyebrows.

It seems like she's touched a nerve. Normally, one would choose to help the other person, right? But Zhou Ke'er seems to be in a bit of trouble now. Did she fail this so-called "test" right from the start?

However, this statement contains a lot of information. The phrases "give me another chance," "avenge someone," and "have blood on your hands" suggest that, barring any misleading intent, at least the following points can be inferred.

First, "Zhou Ke'er" had previously stood by and watched the girl die without offering any help, and now feels remorse for it.

Secondly, Zhou Ke'er eventually had a change of heart and, in order to avenge the girl, "stained her hands with blood," either injuring or killing people.

Third, the only redeeming quality of "Zhou Ke'er" is that she at least has a "conscience," which means that the characters represented by "Red Crane" and "Sand Between Fingers" never felt any remorse from beginning to end...

Connecting these three points, the obvious conclusion is...

"Red Crane" and "Finger Sand" were killed by "Zhou Ke'er".

If the other party is not lying or misleading, then this is a done deal.

And Zhou Ke'er's own death...

It's very likely suicide!

However... if he kills the other two and then commits suicide... it doesn't quite fit with the "self-redemption" mentioned in the opening CG.

Although there is no direct evidence, Zhou Ke'er intuitively believes that Zhou Ke'er's suicide occurred before the deaths of "Red Crane" and "Finger Sand"!

It was Zhou Ke'er's suicide that led to their deaths. This fits perfectly with the opening CG, where the man shoots the rose-shaped gun, killing himself, and then shoots bullets from his corpse, killing the other two.

So the problem now is...

What is the technique?

How did you do that? By causing the deaths of others through your own death?

There is insufficient information to make further inferences.

Zhou Ke'er looked up at the girl opposite her. She was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something.

But Zhou Ke'er won't give her the chance to take control of the situation.

Before she could speak, Zhou Ke'er shrugged nonchalantly and said, "But I avenged you."

The girl paused, then frowned: "You're only doing this for yourself..."

"But I avenged you."

Zhou Ke'er raised her voice, forcefully interrupting the other person.

The girl looked at Zhou Ke'er, seemingly a little taken aback, but still continued, "You did absolutely nothing at the beginning..."

"But I avenged you!"

Zhou Ke'er interrupted her again, speaking loudly and clearly, word by word.

The girl finally fell silent.

"Isn't that an obvious fact? Is there some rule that... I have to be a hero? Please... helping you is a favor, not helping is my right."

Seeing that the girl was silent, Zhou Ke'er said in a matter-of-fact manner, "You are so submissive to the people who hurt you, and dare not do anything, but you stand here condescendingly criticizing me, the only person who helped you... It's really quite interesting."

If I remember correctly, did those who hurt you get the punishment they deserved? Yes. Who did it? Me. What did you do? You were bullied, but did nothing. And now you're here, righteously accusing those who helped and pitied you?

Actually, there was a lot of hidden agenda in this statement. If the other party accepts it all, then it could verify some of Zhou Ke'er's guesses.

"Ha! I have never seen such a shameless person!"

Seeing that the other party did not speak, Zhou Ke'er took a few steps closer and said: "If I were you, I would at least have some respect for my benefactor, if not be grateful to him first."

Your actions remind me of a little story... the demon sealed in a bottle who decided to kill the person who rescued him—it's quite ironic, isn't it?

After saying that, Zhou Ke'er crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows at the other girl, and looked at her provocatively, waiting for her reply.

"Phew... since that's how it is..."

To Zhou Ke'er's utter surprise... the girl suddenly let out a sigh of relief, then her face blurred, her entire body contorted, and finally...

She has transformed into another "Zhou Ke'er" wearing a school uniform.

"Very good, it seems you feel no remorse what you've done. That's wonderful... If only you had thought this way sooner, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Zhou Ke'er" raised her head, looked at Zhou Ke'er, and sighed, "Alright, since that's the case, then you should be mentally prepared to know everything... So, now... your memories will be revealed to you little by little. I hope that until the very end, you can maintain a heart free of guilt."

"Whoa?!"

Zhou Ke'er was also taken aback for a moment. This situation was slightly unexpected, but only slightly.

Zhou Ke'er had suspected from the beginning that it was a hallucination of her own death, but... the other party's identity was a little intriguing.

As Zhou Ke'er finished speaking, the surrounding scenery began to crumble inch by inch, collapsing from both ends of the alley towards the middle. A thick, black fog appeared behind Zhou Ke'er, and half of her body sank into it. "You must... find your memories! Don't feel guilty! Only in this way... can you... be redeemed!"

"Ha, you think... I'd just sit back and wait for this kind of plot-driven situation to unfold?"

Zhou Ke'er scoffed inwardly, then slightly moved her right ring finger, instantly activating the second effect of the "Trickster's Little Tricks" accessory.

The positions of Zhou Ke'er and "Zhou Ke'er" were switched in an instant.

"Huh?! This is..."