Chapter 101 - 96: Members’ Preparations

Chapter 101: Chapter 96: Members’ Preparations

Inside the rented apartment, Shi An lay lazily, recovering his stamina, energy, and the Curse Power contained within his Curse Objects.

Beside him, a red shadow was holding a linen cloth, wiping here and there.

It didn’t nod in satisfaction until the desk, wardrobe, and windowsills were wiped completely spotless.

But when it noticed a flowerpot nearby leaning off-center by a single centimeter, its brow furrowed. With a Candle Shadow Flash, it teleported over, precisely moved the pot exactly ten millimeters, and pruned its branches before finally feeling satisfied.

Shi An never expected the Nether Robe to have OCD tendencies.

Was it even still an anomaly?

But the Blood Hand Seal didn’t seem to have any prominent personality traits, did it?

Oh, it wasn’t completely devoid of them—Little Blood liked to slack off.

Shi An couldn’t condense a second Shadow Incarnation right now. While waiting for the Safe Zone to finish upgrading, he wasn’t in the mood to go out anyway.

Right now, he just wanted to open for business as soon as possible.

If his members and prospective members experienced a Fallen Dream during the Safe Zone’s upgrade maintenance and couldn’t find the place, he would feel quite guilty.

"Leaving the prospective members aside for now," he mused, "the Safe Zone’s actual members were almost all present during the great battle. They’re probably all resting right now."

What Shi An didn’t expect was...

During the great battle, the members had indeed fought to their hearts’ content. It hadn’t been easy.

However, being able to rest inside the Safe Zone between fights without needing to stay on guard was vastly more relaxing compared to their bitter pasts.

Now that they had returned to reality, resting was completely out of the question!

Even the powerful independent members who usually had nothing to do in their daily lives had to seize this opportunity and make the most of their time upon returning to reality.

Because there were some things that could only be done in the real world.

At a gathering of a Mutual Aid Association in the Chaoyang District.

Li Wei had already replaced the former Leader, taking over as the current president of the Mutual Aid Association.

A faint Refining Stage Curse Pressure lingered around him, leaving the surrounding Dream Descenders—including the former president, who was at the Control Stage—utterly horrified.

They wondered, "This guy Li Wei was almost slashed to death by a Nightmare just recently, yet in the blink of an eye, he’s actually become a Refining Stage powerhouse!

"This is the Refining Stage! Outside the major organizations, just how many Refining Stage experts are there in all of Baijiang City?

"Even within massive organizations like the Countermeasures Bureau or the Wizard’s House, someone at the Refining Stage is considered an absolute master with remarkable status! Just what kind of miraculous fortune did Li Wei stumble upon?"

Despite coveting Li Wei’s good fortune, the former Leader remained deeply respectful under the intimidation of that faint Curse Pressure.

"Our Mutual Aid Association has always had mutual support as its guiding principle," Li Wei said. "For my inauguration as president, I’ve brought everyone a batch of Curse Objects and items that are incredibly scarce in the outside world."

He laid out precious Incomplete Level Curse Objects and tools one by one.

There was even a Complete Level Curse Object among them.

Of course, these weren’t free giveaways. They were for sale, offered at highly affordable prices.

The gatherings of the Mutual Aid Association had always been a venue for Dream Descenders to trade, barter, or exchange intel.

However, previous trades at these gatherings rarely featured scarce goods. It was hard enough to see a relatively practical Incomplete Curse Object appear, much less a massive clearance sale like Li Wei’s.

The Dream Descenders present widened their eyes, instantly becoming die-hard supporters of their new president.

"President, if you have any orders, just say the word! We won’t hesitate to walk through fire and water!" an Ordinary Dream Descender spoke up.

Li Wei smiled faintly. "There’s no need to walk through fire and water, but I do indeed have a favor to ask of you all. Has anyone here ever heard of a ’Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl’?"

"A Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl? Hiss, isn’t that the cursed item?"

"I’ve definitely heard of it, but why ask about that, President? That thing is an omen of bad luck!"

In the past, Li Wei had also thought the Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl was ominous. He, too, hadn’t understood why the Nightmare World would produce an item with such an obviously negative effect on them.

But now, Li Wei understood.

The Dream-Dropping Pearl was marvelous! It was an absolute Treasure!

Without a Dream-Dropping Pearl, how could he possibly stay in the Safe Zone for extended periods?

Not only did he want one for himself, but he also wanted to buy Dream-Dropping Pearls in bulk!

He could even foresee that as the Safe Zone expanded and its membership grew, a money-losing item like the Dream-Dropping Pearl would inevitably become a highly sought-after Treasure among Dream Descenders.

When that time came, demand would certainly outstrip supply!

"I intend to purchase Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearls," Li Wei announced.

The dozen or so Dream Descenders present instantly widened their eyes, entirely baffled and unable to comprehend his reasoning.

Without waiting for their questions, Li Wei stated directly, "If any of you have a Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl on hand, I will buy it for the price of One Dream Crystal. Or, if you want a specific type of Incomplete Curse Object, I can help procure it.

"This doesn’t just apply to those you own personally. As long as you provide information and introduce a seller to me, I’ll still give you a commission—at least 200g of Dream Dust."

When he finished speaking, the entire gathering place was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

After several seconds of dead silence, sharp intakes of breath echoed one after another, filling the room with incessant hisses of shock.

President Li Wei’s motive for buying Dream-Dropping Pearls no longer mattered.

They only knew that this was a wildly generous offer!

And the profit margin was massive! Normally, a Dream-Dropping Pearl would only sell for 400g or 500g of Dream Dust, and even then, absolutely no one wanted it!

"President Li Wei is so generous! So wealthy!"

Li Wei said nothing, merely smiling.

He was indeed a wealthy tycoon in the eyes of Ordinary Dream Descenders, but among the Safe Zone’s numerous members, he was nothing more than an incredibly inconspicuous individual.

He thought that the others probably had similar ideas at this very moment.

Beneath the Wanmeng Mall, at the black market.

The black market remained bustling at night. The number of stall owners seemed to have increased recently, leaving the passing Dream Descenders dazzled by the array of choices.

A Dream Descender stopped in front of a stall, his gaze sweeping over the displayed goods one by one as he judged whether they were authentic or counterfeit.

Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a certain black pearl.

The pearl was clearly authentic, radiating a considerable aura of gloomy coldness from within.

But in the next second, the Dream Descender’s expression shifted, and he hastily backpedaled three or four steps.

"Boss, how could you bring out an ill-omened item like a Dream-Dropping Pearl to sell? Forget it, forget it. I just won’t buy anything. I’m leaving."

This Dream Descender evidently felt that the surrounding items had all been tainted by the Dream-Dropping Pearl’s bad luck, rendering them too dirty to buy.

The stall owner opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to speak.

Among the few items he had on display, the Dream-Dropping Pearl was actually the most valuable Treasure.

However, he also knew that while this thing was a Treasure, it was one despised by everyone and everything.

Just then, another Dream Descender arrived at the stall, making a beeline straight for the Dream-Dropping Pearl.

"Boss, does this Dream-Dropping Pearl come with a Sealing Box?" he asked. "If it does, I’ll buy it for 1000g of Dream Dust."

A thousand grams!

The boss’s eyes bulged, but the value of a Sealing Box alone was higher than this practically useless Dream-Dropping Pearl.

He was just an Ordinary Dream Descender; how could he possibly possess high-tech gear like a Sealing Box?

Seeing that there was no Sealing Box, the prospective buyer began to hesitate.

He genuinely wanted to rely on the Dream-Dropping Pearl to stay in the Nightmare World longer, thereby earning more opportunities to enter the training room.

However, it was still entirely unknown whether he would encounter the Safe Zone during his next Fallen Dream.

Carrying an unsealed Dream-Dropping Pearl under such circumstances was simply too risky.

If he didn’t encounter the Safe Zone while carrying a Dream-Dropping Pearl, being tainted by its ominous aura could very well get him killed.

"Four hundred grams of Dream Dust. I’ll buy it."

A young man wearing a Duckbill Hat and a face mask purchased the item.

He squeezed the Dream-Dropping Pearl in his hand without the slightest trace of fear.

This bold and fearless demeanor prompted the surrounding stall owners and Dream Descenders to gasp in shock.

Only the Dream Descender who had just tried to buy the Treasure Pearl stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Are you... a VIP member?"

"Oh, you’re a person from that place too?"

"Absolutely, absolutely."

With the Safe Zone serving as a shared bond, the two unfamiliar Dream Descenders immediately warmed up to each other.

Inside a certain residential building.

The bearded man had finally met offline with the brothers he’d gotten to know in the Safe Zone.

Compared to Ordinary Dream Descenders who merely met in the Nightmare World, their bond, forged through the Safe Zone, made their relationship far more reliable.

With a little cultivation, they could become comrades-in-arms who trusted each other with their lives.

The bearded man spoke up. "I think we can slowly expand our scale and continue recruiting reliable people. Whether it’s from the Safe Zone or reality, either works.

"In the future, there will definitely be more raid operations revolving around the Safe Zone. We could perhaps establish the very first Safe Zone Raid Team!"

Raiding higher-level Nightmares was not something three or four people could accomplish.

Rather than looking for other squads to cooperate with when the time came, it was better to prepare their own forces in advance.

At the Wizard’s House.

Xi Xue and Peaches were both racing against the clock to study Curse Arts.

Couldn’t learn them? That didn’t matter.

They couldn’t possibly master a Curse Art perfectly in such a short period of time anyway. All they needed to do was memorize the learning processes, usage tricks, and Curse Power circulation paths for these Curse Arts.

That way, the next time they experienced a Fallen Dream and entered the Safe Zone, they would be able to learn these Curse Arts one by one.

Perfect!

Back at the rented apartment.

Shi An calculated the Safe Zone’s upgrade timeline.

When it was nearing completion, he sat up entirely straight, his face brimming with anticipation.

Finally—

DING!

[Notice: The Safe Zone has been upgraded to Level 3. The Safe Zone storefront has been expanded.]

[Notice: The Safe Zone has added external land. A staff dormitory area and cafeteria have been added.]

[Notice: The number of Nightmare Worlds the Safe Zone can connect to simultaneously has increased to 10.]

[Notice: Safe Zone building slots +1, staff contract quota +1, Curse Object containment slots +1.]

[Notice: The Safe Zone has added a ’Building Upgrade Function’. By consuming Belief Value, existing buildings can be upgraded, or the Safe Zone storefront’s area can be expanded.]

The notification sounds chimed incessantly by his ears.

Every DING DONG sounded incredibly pleasant.

Shi An skimmed through the notices. The most significant changes were the additions of the ’staff dormitory area’ and the ’Building Upgrade Function.’

No.

It was more than just that.

Shi An closed his eyes, and he saw a small island drifting within the boundless Sea of Gray Mist, floating among countless Nightmare bubbles.

Standing atop the island was his familiar Safe Zone shop.

But unlike Baijiang City, which constantly suffered battering impacts within the misty sea, the small Safe Zone island here...

Remained completely unsullied!