Lin Ye expertly used the scalpel to cut open the prison guard's chest. First the epidermis, then the subcutaneous tissue, and finally opening the pleural cavity.

‘...This is going to be a bit troublesome.’

What lay beneath the sternum and ribs wasn't normal lung tissue, but a small nest of moth larvae.

Originally, Lin Ye had planned to extract the moth larvae hiding in the lungs through the intercostal spaces. Now, he had to first saw through two ribs before he could even begin dealing with the lung issue.

It took Lin Ye an hour to completely clean out the moth larvae from the prison guard's lungs. He removed a total of twelve white larvae, each several centimeters long, some of which had already developed moth-like body structures.

If Lin Ye had been any slower, these larvae would have torn through the prison guard's lungs, burrowed out of his body, and spread their wings to fly toward the ceiling.

Lin Ye skillfully treated the residual tunnels inside the lungs. Only an alienation master like him could handle this kind of injury without using spiritual energy.

This required an extremely deep understanding of human anatomy to ensure the prison guard's lungs could still function normally afterward.

After finishing with the lungs, Lin Ye began suturing the wound. His stitching was fast, clean, and precise.

But just then, Lin Ye noticed one of the spider's legs in the center of the room twitch.

Outside the window, the sky was growing dark. Clearly, these spiders were nocturnal creatures.

Lin Ye had considered this possibility, but the prison guard's condition had been so critical that he had no choice but to perform the surgery immediately.

"How are you feeling? Those spiders are about to wake up. We need to get out of here as fast as possible."

Since it was a local anesthesia surgery, the prison guard had remained conscious the entire time. He lay there, watching Lin Ye continuously pull moth larvae out of his body.

"I feel a lot better. At least I can breathe normally now."

The prison guard climbed off the treatment bed. The spiders around them were already starting to move. If they stayed any longer, they might not be able to leave.

"These two cases have the medicine we need. I packed them while I was preparing the surgical tools earlier. We'll each take one."

Lin Ye handed one case to the prison guard. It wasn't that he was mistreating a patient, but he needed one hand free to handle any emergencies.

"Alright. I'm fine now. Let's go."

The prison guard looked at the waist-high purple spiders slowly stretching their bodies and spoke in a low voice.

He didn't want to be eaten by spiders right after surgery.

"Then follow me."

Lin Ye held one case against his chest with one hand, letting the other hang naturally at his side, ready to draw his pistol and dagger at any moment.

The two of them rushed out of the infirmary as fast as they could. The prison guard's steps were a bit unsteady, but with Lin Ye leading the way, he just needed to stay behind him.

Lin Ye weaved around the spiders sprawled on the ground stretching their limbs. Now that they were awake, the entire corridor had become a true spider nest. The webs trembled, as if ready to ensnare any prey that stumbled into them.

A massive shadow pressed against the corridor window—a giant spider's head covered in eyeballs. It was watching the two of them struggling through the webs, like bugs caught in a web.

Lin Ye continued moving through the webs. The strands hadn't covered the entire corridor; there were still gaps in between.

The prison guard struggled to keep up behind Lin Ye. Just before the spiders fully woke, the two barely managed to escape the web-filled corridor. But soon, the sound of numerous spiders crawling echoed behind them.

Lin Ye pulled two simple Molotov cocktails from his case, lit them, and tossed them into the web corridor. He had prepared them while organizing supplies earlier, having anticipated a situation like this.

The webs were highly flammable. Soon, half the corridor's webs were ablaze. The spiders disliked fire and stopped in their tracks.

Lin Ye didn't let his guard down. As he ran, he kept an eye on the window outside. A dark blur flashed past, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A thick, purplish-black limb crashed through the window and stabbed into the corridor floor.

If Lin Ye hadn't stopped in time, that limb would have impaled him, then carried him out like a piece of meat on a skewer, becoming food for the giant spider.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lin Ye drew his pistol and fired three shots through the window at the limb's joint. Every bullet hit the exact same spot. Though the bullets' power was limited, they still damaged the joint.

Fortunately, the giant spider had shattered the window, giving Lin Ye the opportunity.

The giant spider let out a piercing shriek. It pulled out its limb and tried to attack Lin Ye again, but because of the damaged joint, it ended up stabbing into the wall.

Lin Ye continued running while monitoring the outside. But then, he suddenly noticed the sounds outside had stopped.

That was very abnormal. There was no way the giant spider would just let them go, nor would it suddenly go silent... unless it couldn't make any more sounds.

Lin Ye grabbed the prison guard and pulled him behind a wall, putting a finger to his lips, warning him not to make a sound.

If something outside had really taken care of the giant spider, it was likely drawn here by the spider's screams. So they'd better stay quiet.

The prison guard quickly covered his mouth and pinched his throat, afraid he might cough involuntarily.

An even larger shadow passed by outside the window. Lin Ye smelled the burnt odor of meat.

The shadow lingered outside the window for a moment before leaving the area. Even after it was gone, Lin Ye heard nothing around him making a sound.

He waited a little longer before leading the prison guard back to the window leading to the Back Kitchen. The outside had gone quiet. The thing and the giant spider were both gone, as if they had never existed.

Lin Ye climbed through the window, carefully navigating the mist-covered stretch while calculating distances. When he passed the spot where he had fired earlier, he noticed a pool of already-coagulated blood on the ground not far away. It was probably left behind by the monster that had been affecting him. He just didn't know if that monster was dead or not.

This time, they weren't affected. Lin Ye knocked on the Back Kitchen window, and Jeffrey opened it to let them in.

"We brought back the medicine. Anything go wrong while I was gone?"

Lin Ye looked around and asked.

"No."

Jeffrey helped support the prison guard, answering with some excitement.

"Good."

Lin Ye suddenly drew his pistol and fired four shots at the survivors.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Four bullets blew open four heads. The survivors all lunged at Lin Ye. He pulled out his dagger and hurled it toward the back of the group.

The blade embedded itself perfectly into one survivor's eye socket, leaving only the handle sticking out.

The survivors all collapsed to the ground. They frantically pulled transparent threads off their bodies. Those monsters had used those threads to control them.

"How did you know we were being controlled?"

Jeffrey picked himself up off the floor and asked.