"I'm not sure if that was a dream. Even if it was influenced by drugs, it felt too real."

But if it wasn't an illusion, Lin Ye couldn't understand what that world actually was.

"Thank you. If you hadn't given me the powder, I might have been dragged away by those orderlies too."

Jessica didn't know what world the powder would show her, but before taking it, she had seen some terrifying things in the real world—otherwise she wouldn't have consumed that powder with unknown effects.

"No need to thank me. We're in the same situation. Only by helping each other can we escape from here."

Lin Ye wouldn't casually help others, but in this circumstance, he would proactively choose some reliable teammates.

"Did you also enter that world full of monsters?"

Caroline asked quietly.

"Yes, when did you enter that world? Did you go there right after taking the medicine?"

Jessica thought about Caroline's condition yesterday. If she had already been there at that time, then they might have just experienced similar hallucinations due to some kind of drug.

"No, I didn't enter that world after taking the medicine yesterday. At that time, my brain was affected by the drugs and I saw some things you couldn't see. It wasn't until I returned to the ward at night that I entered that world."

Without medication, Caroline's thinking was very clear, and she hadn't forgotten what happened after taking the medicine yesterday.

"What kind of monsters did you have there? What skills did you synthesize? Tell me about the skill effects and synthesis formulas."

Lin Ye still had a batch of red fragments in his hand. He planned to gather one hundred fragments to synthesize the ultimate skill, but if there were good synthesis formulas, he could create a few decent skills first to boost his combat power.

"Synthesize skills? What's that?"

Jessica and Caroline looked at Lin Ye curiously.

"You don't get fragments when you kill monsters? Those fragments can be used to synthesize skills... Didn't your 'guide' tell you?"

Lin Ye didn't intend to hide information about skills and Little Ye. The situation in this mental hospital was very complex, and he needed to compare other people's conditions there to analyze what was really happening here.

"What guide?"

"Can you see another version of yourself after taking the medicine?"

Jessica and Caroline spoke almost simultaneously.

"What I saw wasn't another version of myself, but a woman. She told me some information about that place, including that fragments can be used to synthesize skills."

Lin Ye explained.

"I didn't see anyone else, but I also get fragments when I kill monsters. Those fragments automatically integrate and strengthen my body."

Jessica described her situation.

"The other me can control my body to fight the monsters for me. She becomes much stronger after absorbing those fragments."

Caroline's situation was slightly different from Lin Ye's.

The three shared their respective information. Both Caroline and Jessica were fighting monsters near their wards. Outside their wards were also red corridors and various red monsters. They hadn't crossed the stagnant water area or explored other wards—only Lin Ye had moved far from his ward and found that gap.

After all, they had no reason to leave their wards to explore that world.

"...Your friend told you time is urgent, and you must escape the mental hospital from that side as soon as possible?"

After hearing Lin Ye's description, Jessica asked somewhat conflicted.

"She didn't say I must escape the mental hospital from that side. She just asked me how I could determine which side is the normal world."

Lin Ye wouldn't misremember such important information.

"But is going deeper into that side really correct? Is there really a way to escape from there?"

Jessica couldn't trust a stranger who only appeared after taking medicine, and she didn't think they could find a way out from that world full of monsters.

"But the monsters spawning there are getting stronger. Even if you keep fighting near your wards, you won't last more than a few days."

As time passes, that world will become increasingly dangerous. They must hurry to explore that world.

"We can search for exits on both sides—explore the mental hospital during the day and explore that world at night. It's a pity the fragments can't be brought to this side, otherwise we could gather fragments on one person."

Caroline said regretfully.

"It's a pity we can't use abilities here, otherwise we could just fight our way out."

Lin Ye's physical fitness was quite average at best—he could only deal with one or two orderlies through sneak attacks, and even that was prone to failure.

"I found a note in my ward recording the locations of several secret passages. One of them is in a blind spot of the activity room's surveillance."

Jessica suddenly covered her mouth and whispered.

At that moment, they happened to be passing through the most open area of the cafeteria. There was nothing around them—such places were difficult to install listening devices.

"I'll go, you cover for me."

Lin Ye immediately responded.

"Okay."

Jessica had originally planned to enter the secret passage herself to find a way out, but since Lin Ye volunteered to go, she wouldn't object—after all, this wasn't the place to discuss things.

After finishing their simple breakfast, the patients were taken to the medication room to take today's pills—still the red and blue capsules. This time, under Jessica's guidance, Caroline clumsily hid the capsules under her tongue. The nurse clearly saw through Caroline's trick, but she didn't interfere.

This was also part of the experiment.

After taking the medication, the dazed patients were taken to the activity room for free time.

"My capsules are fine—they contain red and blue powder respectively."

Caroline opened the slightly melted capsules to check the powder colors.

"My capsules contain only blue powder."

Jessica's luck still wasn't great.

"Perfect, my capsules contain only red powder. We can exchange one capsule."

Lin Ye and Jessica exchanged one capsule.

They weren't the only ones checking and exchanging capsules in the activity room. Like Lin Ye and the others, these patients all had reasons for being locked up here.

The orderlies didn't care about the patients' small actions at all. As long as they didn't leave the activity room, they wouldn't interfere with the patients' behavior.

The three moved to the surveillance blind spot. Jessica and Caroline blocked the secret passage entrance while Lin Ye crouched behind them, pried out several bricks embedded in the wall, and quickly crawled into the secret passage.

After Lin Ye entered the secret passage, Caroline hid behind Jessica and stuffed the bricks back into place.

The inside of the secret passage was very narrow—Lin Ye could only barely crawl forward. But after crawling less than ten meters, the secret passage connected to a ventilation duct.

Lin Ye entered the ventilation duct. The ventilation system was structurally very complex, but fortunately he knew the general layout of the surrounding area, so he wouldn't get completely lost in the intricate ventilation duct system.

If that previous Patient No. 3 had been thrown into the ventilation ducts, he would have gotten completely lost before going very far.