Frightening Joke: Above the Mist-Chapter 399 Brother Bai

My name is Gu Pingsheng.

Profession: Doctor.

This path was chosen by my parents, not by me.

However, I don’t resist it. People are bound to be born, age, get sick, and die. As a doctor, I will at least have a relatively high social status and material conditions.

Doctors are accustomed to life and death and can best understand that between life and death, it is merely a cycle of matter. Once dead, you’re truly dead.

Although every hospital has its share of strange rumors and stories, as a doctor, I never take those strange stories to heart.

If ghosts really exist in this world, or if ghosts were really as omnipotent as in stories, humans could never have built a civilization to such an extent—it is a very simple truth.

However...

When I pushed the door open and stepped into what was supposed to be an ordinary office, everything changed.

This is not the world I know.

An endless space, a mysterious fog, and... indistinct figures.

In this place, I met many people I could never interact with in my lifetime.

And experienced one bizarre death game after another...

Until, under the leadership of that man, we reached the brink of the finish line.

He was always so calm, always maintaining the most optimistic attitude about returning to reality.

We all called him "Brother Bai."

I don’t know the rules that determine who gets chosen by "Fog Gathering," but those who manage to survive this long, whether due to luck or skill, have already far surpassed ordinary people. Yet, even under these circumstances, Brother Bai became the leader unanimously recognized by all of us.

Every one of us still alive was willing to believe that Brother Bai would surely lead us out of this devil’s game.

Until one day, Brother Bai suddenly found me in the real world and told me a story... one I could never have imagined.

"Pingsheng, what do you think ’Fog Gathering’ is?"

"Everyone says ’Fog Gathering’ is a boundary between life and death..." This answer was given to me on my first day in Fog Gathering by someone named Xun Weimo.

"By now, your answer isn’t likely to be that anymore, right?" Brother Bai’s tone was light, but his words hit me like a thunderclap.

Exactly...

The answer in my heart, or rather, the answer in the heart of everyone who has survived to this point, has long been completely different.

What exactly is Fog Gathering?

From the initial answers like "the devil’s game" and "a boundary between life and death," it gradually turned into...

"Fog Gathering... is like our last refuge." I voiced the only answer I truly believed in.

Brother Bai’s eyes trembled slightly.

"Refuge... Is that what you think?"

The emotions in his eyes were too complex, and I really couldn’t discern what Brother Bai was thinking.

But, regarding Fog Gathering, this is indeed what all the survivors believed.

It is definitely not a meaningless "God and Devil Game," nor a "dead end" devoid of intelligence.

Fog Gathering has its own stance, and this stance clearly favors humans.

Or rather, within its "powers," it tries to favor humans as much as possible.

We were all just ordinary people, without any so-called superpowers. We managed to survive one terrifying event after another relying on those lines of blood letters and one hint after another.

Moreover, although those blood letter hints were written somewhat obscurely, they were clearly interpretable by human logic.

In other words, the intelligence behind the hints given by "Fog Gathering" is likely very much related to humans.

"Pingsheng, what I’m about to say next, you might find incredible, but this is the only way I see."

Brother Bai’s voice still carried no waves or inflections, but the importance of his words had already captured my full attention.

"Remember, from now on, you are not a negotiation expert; you are a... doctor."

Brother Bai’s voice swirled in my mind, as if it had a certain magic, instantly splitting my consciousness into two parts.

"Pingsheng, remember, you must never tell anyone what I’m about to say, not even me in the future."

Brother Bai’s words left me increasingly puzzled, but the long-standing trust made me memorize his subsequent words firmly.

"We’ve already escaped from Fog Gathering more than once..."

"The prison of Chongquan Beheading, Cold Spring Poisoning Prison, Yin Spring Cold Night Prison, Netherworld Slaughter Prison, Lower Spring Long Night Prison, Bitter Spring Slaughter Prison, Frost Spring Burning Hell..."

"This time, it’s the Yellow Spring Chasing Ghost Prison, and we’re also about to escape it."

Brother Bai’s words left my mind blank.

Hold on...

What does this mean?

What’s going on with those names related to hell?

When did we ever escape from those hells?

"Do not ponder my words, Pingsheng, you only need to remember them." Realizing my hesitation, Brother Bai immediately gave an instruction.

And it was this sentence that made me suddenly realize.

Perhaps...

None of us was entering "Fog Gathering" for the first time.

Could it be that a certain force altered our memories?

A hard-to-express absurdity abruptly surged from all directions, the sunlight turned cold suddenly, and this world seemed to become unreal.

"Nine is the ultimate number, the last prison is Fengquan Command Prison, which is also our last chance."

"I will tell a lie, and you... you must participate in the last round of Fog Gathering with a dual memory."

Brother Bai’s speech sped up, seemingly pursued by some invisible force.

"Remember, the negotiation expert you is the real you. The doctor you, this memory was forged to take part in the final Fog Gathering. Make sure to remember, otherwise... you will lose yourself."

"Why me?" I tried hard to note everything, but I couldn’t help asking. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Right... why me?

Among those surviving till the end, there are many worthy of being entrusted, both in ability and in character.

But judging from Brother Bai’s current meaning, the last round of Fog Gathering will see him using some method to bar the ’elder’ from participating, only he as ’Doctor Gu’ will enter the final Fengquan Command Prison.

"Because, you’re the last one."

Brother Bai looked at me quietly and gave a reason I couldn’t deny.

"Even though everyone lost their memories, I remember, every time Fog Gathering reopened and the next hell arrived, you were always the last to arrive, which means... the last participant."

Brother Bai...

I looked at him in astonishment.

He indeed knew some unknown matters. If what he said was true, then he... Brother Bai, possesses all the memories of past escapes from hell!

"And what about you, or the others?" I asked, "What can I do by participating in the final Fog Gathering?"

"We’ve escaped seven times already, but each time, we fall into the next hell. We are using the wrong method."

"This time, the Yellow Spring Chasing Ghost Prison is the eighth time, and what I’m telling you is to prepare for the ninth and final time."

Brother Bai smiled slightly.

"However, maybe I’ll succeed with this attempt?"

He looked up at the sky, emotions in his eyes innumerable: "Even if we can’t succeed, we can leave something for our last battle."

"As for what you need to do, Pingsheng..."

Brother Bai’s eyes fell on me.

"At the start of the last Fog Gathering, if I appear, kill me."

My heart jolted violently.

"If any other companions you’ve seen appear, run."

"Stay out of their sight. They are no longer human."