"So we're just sitting here drinking tea?"

The base had no chairs, so the three of them sat on the floor, hiding beneath the window, eating the tea snacks Lin Ye had prepared.

"You could also go outside and have some fun with those monsters."

Lin Ye had used the power of the instinctual Rule Fragments to exert a certain influence on the monsters outside the base. Perhaps because that particular monster wasn't in this area, the monsters outside had begun fighting and killing each other according to their instincts, with only a few nearby monsters still attacking the base.

"I'll just stay here and drink tea."

Mia leaned against the wall, rubbing her eyes and letting out a cute yawn. She usually had the habit of taking an afternoon nap and was feeling a bit sleepy now.

"Don't we need to think about what to do after we go back?"

Xivia elegantly held her teacup, gently blowing on the somewhat hot tea.

"Unfortunately, unless we can forcibly destroy this world, we cannot interfere with matters over there."

Lin Ye opened the pale purple suitcase again, took out a set of comic books, and handed two of them to Xivia and Mia.

"Why not read the first volume together?"

Although she said this, Mia still opened the second volume, looking at the story that was already nearing its end.

"Because it's more efficient this way. After reading, we can each summarize what was covered in our volumes."

Lin Ye flipped through the middle volume. He actually didn't care much about the viewing order; he could roughly guess what the first and second volumes contained anyway.

This method of guessing the beginning and ending while watching was one of his hobbies.

Xivia absentmindedly flipped through the comic book. She wasn't really in the mood to read comics, after all, two massive monsters were fighting to the death right outside the base. This was no different from watching a horror movie within a horror movie.

Terrifying monsters were right outside the room, yet they were hiding in a warm bedroom watching horror films...

"Actually, that sounds pretty nice..."

Xivia decided to let go of her worries and enjoy a moment of peace.

Just like the carefree Mia beside her.

Lin Ye quickly finished reading the middle part of the comic and had already figured out the story's beginning and ending. Feeling somewhat bored, he looked out the window. The Flesh and Blood Giant Monster and the Giant Plant had already become entangled, and all the monsters that had approached the base had been killed by the head traps on the base.

The battle here wasn't actually important; he just needed to protect the base from being destroyed. The real fight would only begin after they returned.

The battlefield of the two giant creatures began moving closer to the base. Lin Ye hurriedly relied on instinct to use World of Ashes. The heads on the base and the surrounding corpses began to burn, and ashes fell from the sky.

Influenced by instinct, the two giant creatures began moving away from the base.

"Whew, good thing I reacted quickly."

Lin Ye sighed in relief, picked up the black tea Mia had poured for him, and took a sip.

The black tea disappeared from his hand, and Lin Ye returned to the dinosaur body. At this moment, the base was pitch black inside, and the outside world was covered by a large amount of matter originating from different Planes. They couldn't get out anymore.

"You're quite relaxed, aren't you."

The monster's voice echoed from all parts of the base; it seemed to have completely taken control of the base.

"Can't be helped. You threw us over there to wait for death; we can't waste what is likely the last moments of our lives on fear."

Lin Ye left the core position of the base and walked over to Xivia's side.

"You've already realized that resistance is meaningless?"

The monster's voice sounded pleased.

"Just a possibility. If you plan to end the ritual by destroying us, then be prepared to be killed by our desperate, all-out strike."

The Phantom of the World of Ashes appeared beside Lin Ye, and Xivia also drew that precious sword, ready to deliver the final blow at any moment.

"With just this? You don't even have the qualification to fight me to the death with just this."

The monster let out a mocking laugh.

"What if we add that Dreamrealm? You've focused all your attention here, so you shouldn't be able to control that world anymore, right?"

Mia suddenly seized control of the dinosaur body. A colored cloud layer appeared above the base, breaking the monster's blockade of the base.

"So it was you before, trying to wrest control of the Dreamrealm from me... But what can you do even if I give it to you? That's the Dreamrealm. Even I can only act according to the rules formed by the Dreamrealm there. What can you do with it? Use it to smash me to death?"

The monster sneered.

"Uh, can't I?"

Mia had also just suddenly obtained authority over the Dreamrealm. She didn't know how it happened or how to use the Dreamrealm.

"So you're a rookie. That means someone handed the authority to you. It seems those people outside the ritual still haven't given up. To prevent any accidents, I won't waste any more time.

This is an ability I rarely use. It's an honor for you to die under such power.

Farewell."

As the monster's voice faded, those substances blockading the base suddenly established some kind of connection with the base itself. The entire base began to undergo a fundamental change.

Lin Ye watched this scene quietly, using that special perception to sense the changes around them.

Xivia drew her sword, but Lin Ye reached out a hand to stop her.

"What did you do! Why am I also being affected by the fusion of Plane rules?!"

The monster suddenly let out a panicked voice.

"You know what? Trying to hold back laughter is really difficult." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lin Ye said with a smile.

"You did this? No, you don't even have memories, you're just an ordinary person. It must be those two bastards who tampered with the base! But I didn't find any traces of them affecting the ritual..."

The monster carefully sensed the entire ritual area. The ritual was sealed; it simply couldn't find any traces coming from outside the sealed space.

"The current me indeed can't do such a thing. But what if I had already done what needed to be done before the ritual started?"

Lin Ye reminded it.

"How is that possible? You couldn't possibly have anticipated anything about me!"

The monster completely disbelieved Lin Ye's words.

"Actually, I'm not very clear about it either, since I have no memories. Do you remember that incident before, when the dinosaur body suddenly couldn't rely on instinct to act anymore?"

Lin Ye didn't like lying, especially when an enemy was about to die a miserable death. He liked to let his enemies die with understanding.

"...I remember. Wasn't that because of your operational error?"

The monster faintly sensed there was something wrong with that situation.

"At the time, I thought it was your doing. But when I gained control of the instinctual Rule Fragments, I found you hadn't done anything. Of course, it wasn't my mistake either, but due to a much simpler reason."

Lin Ye paused for a moment, then continued:

"At that time, instinct judged that what needed to be done was already finished. As long as we waited for you to destroy the base, the ritual would end.

This was the only flaw in the entire process, and your only chance. It's a pity you didn't seize it."