Lin Ye dug quickly, and before long, he discovered a black crystal with an extremely complex internal structure at the center of the ruins.
Putting the crystal away, Lin Ye continued excavating the passageway. It took them half an hour to finally escape the Prism Ruins area.
"We're finally out."
Jeffrey couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
"Is the mist here getting a little thinner?"
A survivor asked excitedly.
"It really does seem that way."
"Did we actually escape?"
"Thank goodness... I thought we'd never make it out."
"Let's hurry up and get out of here. Maybe the military is stationed just outside the mist. We can tell them what's inside, and they might be able to save more survivors!"
...
The mist ahead grew a bit thinner, and the survivors wept with joy. Some of them couldn't wait to sprint in that direction.
Lin Ye pulled Little Guardian along as he followed behind the survivors. He felt like this dream was about to end.
The mist gradually dissipated. The survivor at the very front suddenly stopped in his tracks, staring at the distant skyline before tremblingly backing away.
Several skeletal creatures, hundreds of meters tall, stood scattered at the edge of the field of vision, their bodies draped with human corpses.
Countless giant eyeballs covered in long, slender tentacles crawled across the sky, constantly observing the ground below like so many celestial eyes.
The sky and the ground were riddled with pitch-black chasms of varying lengths. These chasms looked like smiling mouths, baring eerie grins.
...........................................
"You seem to have had a nightmare."
The young girl leaned against the hospital bed, using a gentle voice to wake Lin Ye.
"Yeah, thanks for waking me up. Did you take care of that dream?"
Lin Ye hadn't had a nightmare like this in a long time.
"No, that nightmare isn't something that can be casually dealt with. You've been targeted."
The girl poured Lin Ye a cup of hot cocoa, and the air filled with a sweet, cloying scent.
"Is it the organization behind the mining activity? Or that fishing group from last time? I knew those people couldn't be trusted."
Lin Ye took a sip of hot cocoa. He actually preferred a lighter drink, but this warm beverage helped him relax a little.
"No, the organizers this time didn't have that many ideas. They just wanted to mine some Dreamstones to trade for resources, but ended up dragging the miners and the train into the depths of the Dreamrealm."
The girl flashed a strange smile.
"So someone wanted to stir up trouble in the depths of the Dreamrealm, and they just happened to need a batch of miners, so they triggered this incident? These are two separate events? Who's the one targeting me?"
Lin Ye felt a bit speechless. He'd just wanted to mine some ore, and instead he'd stumbled into this kind of trouble.
"Yeah, I don't know much about what's going on in the depths of the Dreamrealm either. But this incident is likely connected to an old acquaintance of yours. As for the one targeting you... that's a bit more troublesome."
The girl poured Lin Ye another cup of hot cocoa.
"I can probably guess who it is... Isn't this the result you wanted?"
Lin Ye sighed. Compared to having nightmares, he much preferred mining.
"You're overthinking me. I'm just a pitiful woman trapped in an asylum. This time, I really did just want you to mine some Dreamstones."
The girl replied with a smile.
"How should I deal with that dream? I'm just an ordinary person in there. I can't handle those monsters."
The only reason he'd managed to take down that Prism monster earlier was entirely thanks to the power of Fear. If Lin Ye ever entered that dream again, he'd have to rely on himself.
"Don't try to use other methods to mess with the Civilization Tower's setup. That will only make things worse. In the end, this is just a test. If you pass it, the benefits will far exceed your expectations."
The girl removed the spatial item from Lin Ye's finger. Inside was the haul from his current operation.
"You mean... but I'm too fragile in there. I can't even sense spiritual energy."
Lin Ye began to think about how to resolve the trouble in the dream.
"Because there is no spiritual energy in there at all."
The girl clearly had some understanding of Lin Ye's dream.
"If there's no spiritual energy, what are those monsters relying on to exist? Dream power?"
Lin Ye thought of a certain possibility.
"No, the Civilization Tower wouldn't make such a shoddy dream. Everything in that dream is logical. It could even be recreated in the real world."
The girl said seriously.
"...So you're saying I could learn the technology from in there?"
Lin Ye looked at the girl with great interest.
"That's right. For example, this."
The girl took out a black crystal from the spatial item. The internal structure of the crystal was exceptionally complex.
"This thing can be brought out?"
Lin Ye took the crystal. He'd thought the spatial item only contained those Dreamstones.
"Of course. Later, I'll send it over to your Shelter as a gift."
The girl took back the black crystal and set it aside.
"Do I have to go there every time I sleep from now on?"
If that were the case, Lin Ye would have to resolve this nightmare as soon as possible. He didn't like things that interfered with his sleep.
"I can make a 'switch' for you. You can decide whether to go there or not. You don't have to worry about the Civilization Tower for now. It's still in the selection phase over there."
The girl said casually.
"That's good. How should I handle those Dreamstones?"
Lin Ye hadn't figured out how to use the Dreamstones yet, so he decided to get the girl's opinion.
"You can leave these Dreamstones with me for now. Once you've solved the dream problem, you can use them to sustain your dream. After all, by then, the Civilization Tower won't be helping you maintain it anymore.
Of course, if you want to build a new dream world, I can help you with that too. With just one Dreamstone, you can do whatever you want inside it."
The girl took out a Dreamstone from the spatial item and placed it in front of Lin Ye.
"If the Civilization Tower stops interfering with the dream, does that mean I can do whatever I want in there?"
If so, Lin Ye would need to deal with this nightmare as soon as possible.
"No, even though this dream is connected to you, the content inside is mostly spiritual imprints filled by the Civilization Tower. So even if the Civilization Tower stops interfering, you'll only gain ownership of the dream. You won't be able to directly control its operation. But that's already quite good."
This was essentially the Civilization Tower helping Lin Ye establish a country of his own within the Dream Plane. But he could only enter that country; he couldn't directly rule it.
"Then forget it. I'll deal with this nightmare when I'm in the mood."
Lin Ye wasn't very interested in a project that required long-term maintenance.
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