Chapter 788: Leaving the City
Leaving the City
The car drove out of the city, with bizarre protruding structures growing on the road and corpses in protective suits standing along the roadside. After leaving that city block, these upright corpses began appearing sporadically by the road.
Lin Ye only glanced at them briefly; he had no intention of stopping to check the situation. Occasionally, cries for help came from buildings by the roadside, but there wasn’t a single living person to be seen here.
“There’s a road leading out of the city up ahead. I hope leaving the city will let us escape the secret realm.”
Lin Ye had originally planned to find some nutrient-rich food in the secret realm, but it turned out to be far more dangerous than he had imagined. For some unknown reason, not only was there no spiritual energy in this secret realm, but it was also filled with a group of unreasonable monsters.
“I thought we could come in and collect some rare materials. If I’d known earlier, I might as well have looked for a material merchant outside.”
Eura sighed, still feeling that the secret realm’s transformation might have something to do with her.
“I wonder why the secret realm underwent this kind of change.”
Ryan opened a bag of snacks and shared them with the others.
“Maybe we should stock up on some supplies before leaving the city district.”
Lin Ye scanned the buildings along the street. Most of their surfaces were covered in dark red, fleshy structures, and inside some of the buildings, there were silhouettes writhing continuously.
“Shouldn’t we have enough?”
Ryan wasn’t too keen on venturing into those buildings.
“If we’re just going outside the city, it should be fine. But if we’re planning to go further, it won’t be enough.”
Lin Ye had only grabbed two spare backpacks while fleeing earlier, and their supplies were limited—barely enough for a few days.
“Even outside the city, we might not be able to escape the secret realm. I suggest collecting some supplies before we leave.”
Little Guardian naturally supported Lin Ye’s proposal.
“Then let’s go collect supplies first.”
Eura knew how much Lin Ye could eat; this little bit wasn’t enough for even a single day.
Lin Ye quickly spotted a relatively intact grain and oil shop by the roadside. He parked the car, grabbed his hunting shotgun, and pushed open the shop’s large door.
The shop was filled with dark red flesh cocoons hanging everywhere, varying in size, all gently pulsing like they were breathing.
Lin Ye carefully maneuvered around those cocoons, handing a whole bag of rice to Ryan, who was standing by the door.
Ryan passed the rice to Eura, who stuffed it into the car’s trunk. Little Guardian stayed in the car, keeping an eye on the surroundings.
After filling the trunk, Lin Ye and the others returned to the car. The whole process went smoothly, except for a few corpses in protective suits in the distance that had turned their way, seemingly watching them.
Lin Ye started the car and drove straight onto the road leading out of the city. Following it for about ten minutes would take them beyond the city limits.
“Those corpses in the distance are still watching us.”
Little Guardian warned.
Lin Ye pressed the accelerator to the floor. He had originally planned to stop at a gas station to fill up the tank, but when they were gathering supplies, Eura noticed a small spare gas can in the trunk.
The car gradually moved away from the city district. Twenty minutes later, they had completely left the city behind. But they hadn’t escaped the secret realm; leaving the city wasn’t the way out.
“…What do we do now? Are we going to be stuck in a place like this forever?”
Ryan said in a slightly panicked tone.
“Should we head back to the city district to find a way out of the secret realm?”
Eura looked back toward the city, where a massive shadow hovered above it, blotting out the entire urban area.
“…I think it’s better not to go back.”
Lin Ye kept driving forward. He had no idea how to leave the secret realm either; this place was just as troublesome as that Dream World.
After leaving the city, the roadside was no longer lined with buildings but gradually transformed into dark red forests and black fields covered in fleshy tumors.
Massive figures could be seen in the distance, and no one knew what they were. Lin Ye clutched a whole bag of rice, grabbing handfuls to eat whenever he was hungry. He didn’t plan to stop here, so he had to make do for now.
The sky gradually darkened. Lin Ye hadn’t seen any maps of the area outside the city and didn’t know how far it was to the next city.
“Are we going to spend the night in a place like this?”
Eura asked worriedly.
“If we spend the night here, we might not survive until morning.”
Lin Ye stared at the dense shadows on both sides of the road. The shadows kept trembling, as if something was hidden inside them.
“Maybe we could find a house by the roadside and stay the night there.”
Ryan kept scanning both sides of the road, where occasional rural-looking spots appeared.
“Places like that are even more dangerous. It’d be better to park by the roadside and hide in the car for the night.”
Little Guardian also felt like they were doomed.
“Hold on, isn’t there a silhouette up ahead?”
Lin Ye suddenly spoke.
Straight ahead on the road, a silhouette stood in the middle of it. Due to the lighting, Lin Ye couldn’t make out what it was.
“…No normal person would show up in a place like this. Let’s just go around it.”
Ryan stared at the silhouette, speaking nervously.
Lin Ye kept his eyes on the silhouette. As the car approached, he finally saw what it was. A white mannequin wearing clothes was waving at the car, seemingly wanting them to stop.
Lin Ye didn’t stop, only slowing down slightly.
“Help! I’m not a mannequin! I’m a secret realm explorer! You must have come in from outside too, right?!”
The mannequin shouted excitedly.
Lin Ye still didn’t respond, just rolled down the window a crack.
“I know how to leave the secret realm! I can take you out!”
Seeing that Lin Ye didn’t seem inclined to stop, the mannequin quickly raised its voice.
Lin Ye parked the car near the mannequin and motioned for the others not to speak.
“I’m not lying to you! If you take me with you, I’ll guide you out of the secret realm!”
The mannequin kept shouting at Lin Ye excitedly.
Lin Ye still said nothing, just observing the mannequin’s eyeballs through the gap in the window.
“The nights here are terrifying! If you can’t escape in time, you’ll all die here!”
The mannequin waved its prosthetic limbs frantically. This was the first group of people it had encountered, and if it missed this chance, it might never get out.
“Say something, will you?! Are you all mute?!”
The mannequin waved its limbs in desperation, unable to figure out what these people were thinking.
Seeing the mannequin starting to ramble, Lin Ye started the car and drove forward again.
“Please! Don’t leave me here alone!”
The mannequin let out a pitiful scream, but Lin Ye just silently pressed the accelerator, leaving the mannequin behind.
“Why didn’t you talk to it?”
After a while, Ryan asked in confusion.