Lin Ye approached the window. Outside, the weather was clear and sunny, without a trace of mist.
Below the window lay a ten-meter-wide stone slab road. On both sides of the road, there appeared to be two downward slopes.
This place really did look like the top of a dam.
Lin Ye tossed a piece of bread outside. The bread landed normally on the stone slabs, seeming perfectly fine.
Then Lin Ye tested with other items a few more times, including a frozen chunk of raw meat.
All these items fell onto the stone slabs without triggering any changes.
Lin Ye climbed out through the window. This truly was the top of a dam, and it wasn't just a single dam here.
On both sides of the dam, there were many more similar dams, stretching beyond the horizon.
And below the dam, there was no reservoir or ground to be seen—only a bottomless abyss.
"What the hell is this place..."
Some survivors crawled out of the kitchen and walked over to Lin Ye. The past few days had left them mentally exhausted. The mist had already been terrifying enough, and now being thrown into this unfamiliar place pushed some of them to the brink of collapse.
"Can we still go back?"
"It must be hallucinations from inhaling the fog. We need to find some gas masks."
"Is this a collective hallucination? But it feels way too real..."
"We'd better get back inside quick. This place doesn't look good."
"We can seal the windows shut. Maybe by tomorrow we'll be back over there."
...
Lin Ye stood at the edge of the stone slab road, looking down. The dam's slope was about 65 degrees. Going down wouldn't be too hard—just maintain balance and run—but climbing back up would be tough.
"What should we do?"
Jeffrey hoped Lin Ye could give a clear answer like he usually did. This situation was already beyond his understanding.
"Go back first."
Lin Ye had all the survivors return to the kitchen, then they sealed the window with metal tables.
Just like last night.
An hour later, they moved the metal tables aside. Outside was still the same dam. Even the items Lin Ye had thrown out earlier hadn't changed at all.
"We'll try again at night. If it still doesn't work, we'll have to figure out how to survive here."
Lin Ye wasn't in a hurry to go back. Staying here was far safer than being trapped in the mist.
After eating the necessary food, Lin Ye leaned against the wall to rest. He could leave matters here to Jeffrey.
The moment he closed his eyes, Lin Ye woke up on the other side.
"Still about five minutes. How's it going over there?"
Little Guardian was pulling Lin Ye along as they moved. Something seemed to have changed here—the Dreamstones were constantly shifting positions.
"The ritual is almost complete."
Lin Ye led Little Guardian into the passageway. He began dismantling the Dreamstones that formed the passage. These Dreamstones still had plenty of energy inside; they should fetch a good price.
Of course, before thinking about that, he had to figure out how to get back.
As the number of Dreamstones he collected grew, Lin Ye's technique became more and more skilled. Before long, he had cleared all the Dreamstones from the passageway.
Once all the Dreamstones were gone, the passage began to collapse. Just before it completely crumbled, Lin Ye pulled Little Guardian back to the area that served as the entrance.
"That should do it."
With the passage severed, the Dreamstones that had been maintaining the ritual were also excluded from it. This area became a sealed space.
"These Dreamstones aren't dangerous now, but this kind of action still carries some risk. The timing of cutting the connection is crucial. If you had severed the connection here while the ritual was in progress, it could have triggered unknown consequences."
Little Guardian carefully observed the surroundings. Only after confirming that Lin Ye's actions hadn't caused any changes in the ritual did she relax a bit.
"Don't worry. I'm a Master of Ritual Studies. Even if I'm not familiar enough with the Dream World, I can still make sound judgments based on the ritual's changes."
If Lin Ye was willing to risk being dragged into the depths of the Dreamrealm, he could even try to alter this ritual by going deeper into these areas.
But in a place like this, Lin Ye didn't have much confidence. Besides, in the deeper regions, at the more critical positions, there would definitely be extremely dangerous Dreamrealm creatures stationed.
"Well then, as a Master of Ritual Studies, surely you can deal with that Dreamrealm creature approaching us?"
No sooner had Little Guardian finished speaking than a Dreamrealm creature covered in wings and spikes appeared in the center of this area.
This Dreamrealm creature was about two meters tall, with multicolored patterns growing all over its body.
"Are all Dreamrealm creatures this ugly?"
Lin Ye used Spiritual Energy Vibration to tear this colorful Dreamrealm creature into shredded flesh. But those colorful chunks quickly gathered back together, forming something pieced together from the minced meat.
"For a Dreamrealm creature of my rank, appearance no longer matters."
That pile of meat didn't attack Lin Ye. Instead, it spoke through a mouth formed by the stitched-together flesh.
"No, if your appearance is extremely ugly, I can't help but attack you. So it still matters."
Lin Ye didn't continue fighting. Since the other party wanted to chat, he could use this time to study its state.
"Attack? Don't be ridiculous. You can't even touch me. What you see is just the shell I'm displaying here. Your opinion means nothing to me."
That pile of meat began to deform and reorganize, quickly returning to its state covered in wings and spikes.
"Then why did you change back? Why talk to me?"
During the Dreamrealm creature's transformation, Lin Ye tried to sense its body structure, but he failed. Dreamrealm creatures were completely different from normal beings—they were on a whole different level.
"You see, you can't even understand what I'm doing. Talking and changing form are both my methods of attack. Your time is running out."
The Dreamrealm creature let out a strange laugh. The sound blurred Lin Ye's consciousness.
"It's not directly harming your consciousness. I've never seen this type of attack before, but if you can hold out a bit longer, I can try to weaken its effect on you."
Without the support of the mental network, Little Guardian could only provide basic mental protection. It was hard for her to respond to an attack method she was encountering for the first time.
"Sorry, I don't think I can hold on."
Even though Lin Ye forced his eyes open and crushed the Dreamrealm creature into minced meat over and over again, he couldn't resist its attack. Soon, he completely lost consciousness.
"Doctor Lin Ye! Wake up! There's something outside!"
A piercing voice jolted Lin Ye awake. He snapped his eyes open. Around him was the familiar Back Kitchen. Jeffrey was calling his name nearby.
Lin Ye looked around. Nothing had changed in the kitchen. But outside the window, a strange creature covered in spikes and wings had appeared on top of the dam.
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