"No need, we can take another route."

There was only one corridor leading to the cafeteria, but more than one path could reach it. However, the other route might be more dangerous than this one, and Lin Ye wasn't sure which way was safer.

Under Lin Ye's lead, they quickly stopped next to a window. Outside the window was thick white mist, but based on the terrain structure, the back kitchen of the cafeteria was less than ten meters from this opening.

"I'll scout ahead. You wait here. After I go out, close the window. When I come back, I'll open it myself."

Lin Ye covered his mouth and nose with a towel, then pulled open the window and climbed out.

The white mist wasn't corrosive, and Lin Ye didn't encounter any monsters. He quickly found the window leading to the cafeteria's back kitchen.

The window wasn't locked. Lin Ye opened it and climbed into the back kitchen.

There were no monsters in the back kitchen. This was moth territory, and those moths seemed to prefer hanging from the ceiling of the main cafeteria hall.

Lin Ye walked out of the back kitchen and glanced into the main hall. The floor was scattered with moth dust, but it only covered the ground, with some distance between it and the back kitchen.

After that, Lin Ye began checking the kitchen's food supplies. He inspected the storage room, refrigerator, and freezer separately. The storage room was piled high with food that could be kept at room temperature, while the refrigerator and freezer were mostly empty.

These supplies were enough for them to survive here for a long time.

Lin Ye first blocked the passage between the back kitchen and the main hall with clutter, then climbed back out of the back kitchen and returned to the corridor.

"How is it?"

Jeffrey asked nervously.

"It's good over there. Plenty of food, and relatively safe. We can use it as a temporary base."

Lin Ye didn't close the window. He didn't know if this round trip would alert the monsters hiding in the mist, so they'd better move quickly.

The survivors didn't question Lin Ye's proposal. They quickly climbed out the window and, under Lin Ye's guidance, successfully entered the back kitchen.

Seeing the food in the storage room, the survivors finally relaxed a bit.

That was when Jeffrey found Lin Ye, pulled him out of the back kitchen, and lowered his voice:

"We're missing two people. I counted heads back in the corridor, but I can't remember who's gone."

"Don't tell the others."

Lin Ye certainly hadn't failed to notice something like this. He could even vaguely recall what those two looked like, but he didn't know exactly when they'd disappeared.

All he knew was that during the process of entering and exiting the mist, they'd lost two people.

Lin Ye first blocked the passage between the back kitchen and the main hall with miscellaneous items, then climbed back out of the back kitchen and returned to the corridor.

Jeffrey had been injured by those prisoners too, but his physical condition was decent. He could still hold on for now. The others weren't in such good shape.

"Go eat something and rest for a bit. We'll discuss how to get the medicine later."

Lin Ye was a little hungry too. He was no different from an ordinary person now and had to maintain his state through eating and resting.

"Right, you must be tired too. We'll talk later."

Jeffrey returned to the back kitchen and took a piece of bread handed to him by a prison guard.

Lin Ye also ate some bread. Although the back kitchen had a gas stove, considering the monsters outside, they didn't make too much noise.

'So, how do I get out?'

Lin Ye was far less familiar with the Spirit and Dream World than the real world. He didn't know how to leave a dream world that was almost indistinguishable from reality.

'It can't be that I have to solve the problem here, can it?'

Lin Ye didn't know what would happen if he died in this kind of realistic dream, so he could only try another method to break out of the dream.

'But I'm just an ordinary person now. Even going outside is risky.'

Lin Ye had been trying to use his Special Ability. This time, there were no restrictions on the ability-he could use it freely.

When he'd killed those prisoners and monsters, he had indeed felt some kind of power merge into his body.

But perhaps related to the dream world, this power was pitifully weak. Even if he used it all up, it wouldn't be as effective as a pistol.

According to the ability's description, Lin Ye was supposed to make the survivors feel fear, but he wouldn't go that far. Besides, these people might still be useful later.

Lin Ye rested for a while, then pulled up a chair and sat by the window.

The back kitchen had only one window, and he needed to observe the outside through it.

Just as Lin Ye was observing the outside, a commotion broke out among the crowd. A prison guard was lying on the ground, coughing violently, coughing up black-green liquid onto the floor.

It was the prison guard who had inhaled the moth dust.

The survivors quickly backed away, afraid of being contaminated by the blood. Only a few prison guards stood helplessly, patting the guard on the back, unsure of what to do.

"You'd better stay away from him."

Lin Ye pulled out his pistol. There were still eight bullets inside-it was all the ammunition they had left.

"Doctor Lin, can you help him?"

Jeffrey walked over and asked.

"It's very difficult. If he had just inhaled ordinary dust, it wouldn't cause such severe symptoms. I suspect that wasn't dust at all, but moth eggs. This symptom is likely caused by the eggs hatching inside his body. There's no condition for surgery here, and I can't extract the eggs from his lungs."

Lin Ye was an expert in this area. Just by looking at the symptoms, he could deduce the cause.

"Then what do we do?"

Jeffrey asked anxiously.

"Cough... does the Infirmary have conditions for surgery?"

The prison guard asked with difficulty.

"...We can try. Can you hold on?"

Lin Ye put down his pistol. He had intended to help the guard find relief directly, but if the guard was willing to struggle until the last moment, he could accompany him on the trip.

"I feel much better after coughing it up."

The guard struggled to his feet and shook his head.

"Then let's go quickly. It's four in the afternoon. We'd better get back before dark."

Lin Ye opened the window, and the guard climbed out with his help.

"I'll go with you."

Jeffrey also walked to the window, holding a kitchen knife.

"No need. We don't know what will happen here at night. If the outside changes after dark, we might have to spend the night somewhere else. This place is your responsibility."

Lin Ye climbed out the window and closed it.

He moved through the mist and quickly covered ten meters. But ahead of him, there was no window or building-just an endless expanse of misty world.

'...This really is easy to get lost in.'

Lin Ye didn't wander randomly. He pulled out his pistol to guard against any monsters that might ambush him from the mist.