Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 1750: Chapter 920: Everything That Does Not Exist

”To be precise, the ghost is still lying on my back,” Qing Chen corrected.

Gou Wa was somewhat puzzled: ”What’s the difference?”

”Because it came out of the water, it’s no longer a Water Ghost,” Qing Chen replied.

Gou Wa hesitated for a long time: ”...rigorous.”

For a normal person with a ghost on their back, just being able to speak while trembling is already impressive. Yet this man in front of him was even contemplating the definition of a ghost.

Is this a normal way of thinking?

Qing Chen smiled: ”In this amusement park, one needs to be a bit more rigorous. When I discovered that Water Ghosts kept emerging from the river, I started thinking about one thing: do they really exist?”

”Huh?” Gou Wa thought for a moment before saying: ”Actually, I wanted to tell you about this, but I was worried you wouldn’t believe me. Besides... most people don’t believe what I say; they only believe what they see.”

Qing Chen continued: ”So I did a test on myself using the Davos Cognitive Bias Assessment Scale.”

”Do people always monitor me.”

”I avoid considering information that shakes my views.”

”I don’t go out after dark.”

”I stay alert to danger.”

The Davos Cognitive Bias Assessment Scale has a total of 42 items for scoring, and it’s a tool for assessing patients with schizophrenia and delusional disorders.

Qing Chen’s level of mental stability has never changed; it’s always been at the same score.

However, he did an assessment for himself in the Drifting Area... the score changed.

The score changed extremely subtly, with only a two-point deviation; most people wouldn’t care about a two-point deviation.

But to Qing Chen, a change is a change.

He was influenced by the environment and started to develop some hostility.

Gou Wa was speechless upon hearing Qing Chen had done a cognitive bias assessment; what normal person would go out and casually do a cognitive bias assessment for themselves?

Qing Chen looked at Gou Wa: ”You can’t see it, right? Just answer true or false.”

”True, I saw you swatting the air.”

Qing Chen nodded; in fact, during the drift, he noticed that some people had stiff bodies, taut muscles, and even their rowing movements were particularly awkward.

At that moment, he knew the other party was experiencing the same situation as him.

But he could only see his own, not others’.

So, do Water Ghosts really exist?

Qing Chen pointed at the three subordinates of Gou Wa and asked: ”Will their spirits have issues, right?”

Gou Wa looked surprised: ”Right.”

These three people participated in the Merry-go-round and Sword game, directly killing three new visitors.

Qing Chen: ”Even though I didn’t take action, because I stood by indifferently, my spirit will also have issues, right?”

”Right.”

”Other Observers will also have spirit issues, right?”

”Right.”

”The faces they saw on trees weren’t the trees’ problem, but their own, right?”

”Right.”

Qing Chen’s questioning became increasingly reckless, gradually trying to discuss the essence of the amusement park’s rules.

Simply because the visitor’s guide didn’t mention that discussions about the amusement park’s rules are prohibited!

It’s not the rules of Taboo Land; it’s the amusement park’s rules!

So now Qing Chen understands where the lunatics in the town come from.

They either participated in killings or were spectators to killings.

In this amusement park, killing or refusing to save teammates will lead to invisible punishment.

So, the Water Ghost doesn’t exist; it’s a hallucination.

In the first round, after the Merry-go-round and Sword game ended, the pillar reminded: ”The Drifting Area is for one person per kayak, but if someone suddenly appears behind you, paddle ashore immediately and exit the amusement park along the original route, without turning back to look.”

This isn’t a rule.

It’s a kind reminder.

Because they didn’t pass through with the correct approach, the pillar reminded them: your spirit has been contaminated, and you’re not suited to continue the game.

And when they pass through correctly, the pillar’s passing prompt changes to ”The kayak can be safely used” because no reminder is needed; their spirits won’t be contaminated.

But the eerie aspect of this amusement park is that its kindly reminder acts like a masterpiece of psychological suggestion, causing one to fall deeper step by step.

Qing Chen wouldn’t have fallen into this situation originally, but he analyzed too deeply; where others skim over certain information, he scrutinizes and remembers each piece.

This resulted in him receiving the most psychological suggestion.

The actual rules in this amusement park, currently known, are:

First, fill the stone urns in each level with blood to leave.

Second, after killing, one’s self-recognition is affected, with the degree of ’pollution’ increasing with each kill.

Third, rules for clearing each level, such as maintaining a three-meter distance after dark in the Merry-go-round game, or 23 people must reach the end in the Drifting Area.

Fourth is that in each new level, the number of people must decrease by one, and only by one (to be confirmed).

Fifth, no tools can be used.

The visitor’s guide is merely a guide, not rules. For instance, entering the Maze Area is forbidden after sunrise and before sunset; it’s not a rule, it’s a warning!

Qing Chen looked at Gou Wa: ”The syringe that Buddha holds is a Taboo and can eliminate the state of mental pollution, right?”

”Right.”

”So that’s why your subordinates and Boss Wang are fine. Once passing with the wrong method, the passers will also slowly get lost in the amusement park.”