Since it's been decided that he will be using his ability on Nightingale, Lin Yie has to prepare as much as possible. Even if the damage to Liz's mind is inevitable, he will do his absolute best to minimize it.

That's why Lin Yie called in Ptilopsis. Even though she talks in an unusual manner, and always randomly falls asleep during work hours, her analytical skills are top-notch, or at least better than everyone else in this room. Perhaps, she might even hold the key to saving Liz.

Fortunately, Ptilopsis remembers that she's Lin Yie's assistant, so she readily agrees to his request, "Orders received. Ptilopsis in transit. Destination: nursing room."

"Are you free right now? How long will it take you to get here?"

"Unit Ptilopsis currently has no critical tasks on her task list. Estimated travel time: ten minutes."

After that, the call abruptly ends.

Nearl frowns, "Ptilopsis? One of the operators from Rhine Lab? Why did you call her?"

Lin Yie shares with her his plan and how Ptilopsis' skills can come into play.

Nearl falls into contemplative silence.

After a while, Nearl bluntly states, not even trying to hide her distrust, "I don't know much about her, but I don't like Rhine Lab. I heard some nasty rumors about them, back when I was still in Kazimierz, but... since they joined Rhodes Island, their past shouldn't matter anymore."

As Ansel had warned him, Rhine Lab doesn't have a good reputation. It's no surprise that the Radiant Knight suspects a hidden motive.

But Lin Yie doesn't care about those rumors. His impression of Ptilopsis is actually pretty good, and as her boss, he needs to stand up for his subordinate.

"I don't know what Rhine Lab did in the past, but I think Ptilopsis is quite reliable," Lin Ye says, "Ms. Kalt'sit and Amiya seem to trust her at the very least."

Otherwise, they wouldn't have let her manage Rhodes Island's database, right?

Still, compared to the others in this room, he's still a greenhorn. His words don't hold as much weight, despite his rather prominent position. Anyway, if Ptilopsis can help cure Nightingale, it would hopefully improve Nearl's opinion about Rhine Lab.

The only problem is…

Why isn't Ptilopsis here yet?!

The ten-minute mark had already come and gone.

Lin Yie says, more to himself than the others, "She should be arriving soon."

Nearl is silent, her face blank.


Twenty minutes passed.

Lin Yie feels a little embarrassed after speaking up for Ptilopsis.

He turns to Nearl, "She might be putting on makeup."

Nearl's eyebrows crease ever so slightly.


Thirty minutes passed.

Lin Yie facepalms, "I'll give her a call."

Nearl's expression darkens.


Forty miutes passed.

And he still can't reach Ptilopsis.

Lin Yie feels his hair standing up, as Nearl nears her boiling point, raising the tension in the room.

'Ptilopsis, where are you!? I'm in hot water because of you!


The door opens.

Finally.

Ptilopsis enters the room with a small bag, "Ptilopsis has arrived, awaiting further commands."

Having spent all this time next to a livid Nearl, Lin Yie is relieved, but still, he has to ask, "Why are you late? Didn't you say that you would be here in ten minutes?"

"Ten minutes? Error, Ptilopsis cannot find the relevant files in the database."

Lin Yie rolls his eyes in exasperation. He approaches his assistant and lightly raps his knuckles on the top of her head as punishment.

He doesn't hold any ill will against her. However, as her boss, if he doesn't, in the very least, reprimand her for being late, it would set a bad precedent for their workplace relationship. The symbolic knock on her head was also for Nearl.

But to his surprise, the moment he touches her head, Ptilopsis suddenly freezes, her ears standing up, as she seems to shrink in on herself. She looks like a thin branch that can be easily knocked over by the wind.

"Uh, Ptilopsis, you okay?"

A few seconds later, Ptilopsis finally returns to normal.

Ptilopsis says, "Warning. Physical contact may cause catastrophic damage to unit Ptilopsis' mainframe. Please refrain from touching unit Ptilopsis at all times."

She turns towards Nearl, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Nearl.", she says before greeting the others with the same courtesy like a good little kid. This gesture slightly softens Nearl's stern face.

Then, Ptilopsis takes a laptop out of her bag.

"Ptilopsis was provided insufficient information regarding the exact details of this task. Therefore, Ptilopsis performed independent simulations and approximated the mission parameters. Model predictions indicated a high probability that Dr. Lin would require the information stored in Ptilopsis' laptop. Therefore, it was deemed imperative that Ptilopsis retrieve her laptop from the laboratory before arriving at the target destination."

Everyone in the room curiously watches her, as she rapidly types in streams of commands. Soon, a 3D rendering of a map appears on-screen.

Lin Yie's eyes widen, "This..."

"This is a 3D map of the 'game' based on the descriptions provided by Dr. Lin," Ptilopsis says in a neutral tone, "Ptilopsis assumed that the information Dr. Lin provided was important, and prepared the map to facilitate effective future analysis."

Everyone is surprised, especially Lin Yie.

"But how do you know we would need this today? I didn't tell you anything on the phone… No, this map seems to be prepared in advance. You knew already?"

"You presented the information in a hypothetical manner," Ptilopsis says, "But based on your pupil dilation, skin temperature, and motor functions, Ptilopsis calculated an 83% probability that it was more than a game. Based on the assumptions that you knew the abnormal state of Ptilopsis's brain, and you hired Ptilopsis for her skills, Ptilopsis concluded that this is the first task you assigned to Ptilopsis, and for Ptilopsis' first task, Ptilopsis will treat it as a high-priority assignment."

Lin Yie doesn't know what to say anymore. She's right. With little to no information, she managed to guess all this on her own.

But Ptilopsis was wrong about one thing. The real reason he hired her in the first place, was not because of her analytical skills or her risk assessment capability...

He just thought she was cute!

How could a man refuse a cute girl like Ptilopsis? And he's not even the one paying her salary. There was no reason to refuse her, alright. As for her skills, he only discovered them afterward.

That being said, her intelligence did surprise him quite a bit.

While Lin Yie is busy talking to Ptilopsis, the others have been analyzing the map on her screen.

"Is this where Liz is staying?" Nearl says, "It seems a bit crude."

Ptilopsis says, "Affirmative, this map was constructed using the available information, and the information provided by Dr. Lin was extremely limited in scope. Therefore, the current map is superficial and incomplete."

Lin Yie smiles bitterly, "That's because I haven't been to the other parts of this dungeon, and the tunnels extend in all directions. There's no way I could memorize everything."

Nearl looks at Shining, "Do you still remember the layout?"

Shining shakes her head, "No, I don't even actually know this place. When I found Liz, the tunnel system had nearly collapsed entirely."

Nightingale has been watching the group curiously. Noticing this, Lin Yie asks her, "Liz, do you…"

Nightingale silently shakes her head.

Well, if she could remember that, then there would have been no need for him to bring Liz out of the dungeon.

"What should we do next?" Nearl asks.

Lin Yie, noticing Ptilopsis' gaze, remembers that she is the only one out of the loop. He quickly brings Ptilopsis up to speed about his ability and the dream worlds.


Fortunately, Ptilopsis didn't fall asleep during the explanation. She even seemed to be taken aback after hearing Lin Yie's summary.

"An impressive ability." Ptilopsis states after a few seconds.

"Do you understand how my ability works now?"

"Acknowledged," Ptilopsis nods, "Ptilopsis still thinks that this is a game, but due to unknown variables and possible damage to Ms. Liz's overall health, the number of attempts needs to be minimized."

Nearl, who is unwilling to treat Nightingale's fate as some sort of game, nods in agreement.

Lin Yie asks, "Do you have any solutions? To minimize the risks?"

Ptilopsis nods, "Ptilopsis has several courses of action in mind."

"What are they?" Lin Yie presses.

"Ptilopsis previously mentioned that additional information is required for successful extraction," Ptilopsis explains, "From Ptilopsis' point of view, to achieve the goal of saving Miss Liz, at least two attempts are required. The first attempt would primarily be a reconnaissance mission, focused on collecting information and identifying potential escape routes."

"At least twice?" Nearl frowns.

Liz's condition was already unstable after the first attempt. After the second one, it had taken a day and the combined effort of Lin Yie, Shining, and the entire medical group to stabilize her mind. Even now, Nightingale's mental state can't be called stable. That alone makes Lin Yie worry about his third trip, let alone the fourth attempt that Ptilopsis' plan requires.

Everyone knows that the chance of succeeding in one attempt is virtually nonexistent. Even Lin Yie wasn't able to escape on his own. What was he supposed to do when he had to bring Liz along? In the end, he didn't prepare enough, and the information he collected was little to none.

The bleak silence that descended was broken by Ptilopsis, "Ptilopsis has a query."

Lin Yie asks, "What is it?"

Ptilopsis holds three fingers up, "Ptilopsis has identified three possible conditions by which you can escape from a dream."

Three?!

"The first condition is the termination of Dr. Lin. Examples: Ms. Liz, Ms. Shining, and Ms. Nearl."

Lin Yie nods.

"The second condition is the dream of reaching its conclusion. Examples: Ms. Hibiscus and Ms. Lava."

Lin Yie nods again.

"The third condition," Ptilopsis lowers her last finger, "The host wakes up, interrupting the dream sequence. Example: Chen Sir."

Lin Ye pauses.

"That's right! Why didn't I think about that before?"

"Because Dr. Lin's cognitive capacity is infe... fixed in one direction."

Nearl asks, "What do you mean?"

"Dr. Lin's propensity for violence has led to him always ending Ms. Liz's dreams with his termination. The re-living triggered Ms. Liz's deep-seated mental trauma, accentuated by an unfavorable resolution," Ptilopsis elucidates, "But if Ms. Liz were to wake up before the dream ends, there would be a chance of bypassing any potential damage to her mental state."