When you’re disoriented, moving around blindly only leads to getting completely lost, or even lured into a monster’s nest. But if he just stood still, assuming the terrain hadn’t changed, he’d definitely be within ten meters of the Back Kitchen window.

The last time he passed through here, Lin Ye hadn’t encountered this situation. That meant something had triggered it, and that thing was probably hiding in the fog, watching him.

Now it was a game of who could hold out first. Lin Ye kept turning his body, scanning his surroundings. He didn’t spin in a predictable pattern, but constantly changed both direction and speed, ensuring the enemy couldn’t ambush him from behind.

After a minute, Lin Ye suddenly spotted the silhouette of the Building a few meters away. He didn’t rush toward it immediately but kept turning as he moved closer.

A Dark Shadow flickered in his peripheral vision for half a second. Without any hesitation, Lin Ye predicted its trajectory and fired a shot in that direction.

Bang!

Lin Ye didn’t look for the enemy’s body; he kept rotating as he approached the Building, only holstering his pistol once he climbed through a window into the corridor.

“Cough, cough… You alright? I can’t see you, just heard a gunshot.”

The prison guard leaned against the wall, struggling to breathe. Each inhale was accompanied by an abnormally loud, rasping sound from his lungs.

“I’m fine. Can you still walk?”

Lin Ye closed the window. He had no idea if he’d killed the enemy, but he’d be more careful on the way back.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty loud. Better keep your distance.”

The guard held onto the wall, desperately trying to silence the noise from his lungs, but he couldn’t manage it.

“No need. If we attract monsters, I’ll deal with them as best I can. If I can’t handle it, I’ll ditch you and run.”

Lin Ye stated bluntly.

“Good.”

The guard forced a grim smile.

The two of them made it to the corridor thick with spider webs. The Infirmary was located in the middle section of the hallway, three turns ahead.

“Doctor Lin, listen. I know my condition. My lungs are finished. This isn’t something surgery can fix. I’ll go into the Infirmary first to look for medicine. You follow behind me. If it’s safe inside, I’ll bring you the supplies. If there are a lot of monsters in there, I’ll try to lure them away, and you can slip in for the medicine, or just run.”

The guard never planned on surgery. He just wanted to do something for the others before he died.

“Whether the surgery can be done is my problem. Since I came with you, it means I think I can save you. You only get to decide if you want it. So make your choice now: do you want me to end your suffering, or do you want to fight until the very last moment? As for the medicine, I’ll handle it. I don’t need a wounded man’s help.”

Lin Ye replied calmly.

He only had seven bullets left, but that was still plenty, even enough to spare one for the guard.

“I won’t choose to give up.”

The guard met Lin Ye’s eyes with unwavering determination.

“Then let’s go. Follow behind me. Don’t get too close.”

Lin Ye stepped into the web-covered corridor, moving quickly and easily sidestepping the strands of silk.

The corridor ended at a turn. Lin Ye used a small mirror—one he’d gotten from a female survivor—to check around the corner.

The reflection showed the hallway ahead: dozens of deep purple spiders of varying sizes lay sprawled across the floor. Their bodies were covered in constantly pulsing, dark purple-black fleshy tumors.

The spiders seemed to be resting; not a single one moved.

Beyond the hallway, a massive shadow, as tall as a two-story building, loomed within the fog. Its silhouette looked vaguely like a giant spider.

The guard neared the corner. In the silence, the rattling sound of his breathing was painfully obvious, but the spiders didn’t stir.

“You go first. If you can make it through, then I might still be able to help you. If you can’t… then you’ll just die here. And when that happens, I’ll end your suffering.”

Lin Ye had no desire to walk into a corridor packed with spiders, but if he wanted to end the Dreamrealm, he needed reliable teammates to help him deal with the situation here.

“Thanks.”

The guard didn’t waste time. He entered the hallway directly, walking right past the spiders.

The dark purple tumors pulsed beside him, looking like they might burst at any moment, spraying their contents all over him.

But the guard felt no fear toward them. At worst, he’d just die here.

When a man no longer fears death, nothing can make him hesitate.

Seeing that the spiders remained unresponsive, Lin Ye followed behind the guard. The two of them moved in single file, weaving through the spiders. Before long, they reached the Infirmary.

The guard pushed open the door. Inside wasn’t a clean, tidy medical room. Instead, it was a space filled with spider webs. Several half-meter-tall spiders crowded the interior, making the already cramped room feel even tighter.

“Can you still do the surgery like this?”

The guard asked with a bitter smile.

“No problem. We can take the medical equipment and medicine out of here. As long as I have a UV lamp and disinfectant, I can set up a sterile environment somewhere else.”

Lin Ye scanned the Infirmary’s layout. The tools were relatively complete, enough to attempt a thoracotomy. As for whether these spiders carried some strange Pathogens, that wasn’t something he could worry about.

“Cough, cough… but I… I don’t think I can… hold on… cough, cough…”

The guard collapsed to the ground, coughing up black-green pus. The pain in his chest intensified, his breathing growing even more labored. He couldn’t get back up.

“Then there’s no other choice.”

Lin Ye closed the Infirmary door, then turned on the UV lamp to disinfect the treatment area. It wasn’t standard medical procedure, but it was the best he could do.

After completing a simplified disinfection, Lin Ye lifted the guard onto the nearby treatment bed. He prepared the supplies, put on a mask and latex gloves, and unbuttoned the guard’s shirt to begin sterilizing the skin.

“I can only give you local anesthesia. If I gave you general, even if the surgery succeeds, it’d be hard for me to get you out of here. This isn’t a proper surgical procedure. I’m fine on my end, but on your side… you’ll have to rely on yourself.”

Lin Ye felt a strange sense of familiarity, like he was back at the hospital. But even the best doctor on Blue Star would struggle to perform a thoracotomy in this environment, let alone remove the moth larvae.

If he didn’t have such a thorough understanding of human anatomy, Lin Ye wouldn’t be confident about this surgery either. Blood loss alone was a major problem.

And he didn’t even know the full extent of the internal damage. If the situation inside was too complex, there was a chance the surgery would fail.