Chapter 123 - 118: Legend of the Safe Zone

Chapter 123: Chapter 118: Legend of the Safe Zone

The disaster in Baijiang City had erupted suddenly, but it was quelled just as quickly.

In less than half a day, every invading Nightmare was suppressed, and all the weirds were slain.

The efficiency was terrifyingly high.

There were some casualties, but far fewer than anyone had predicted.

After all, this was a disaster that occurred within the city proper. If a weird like the Water Locust Dragonfly made it into a bustling downtown area, it could have easily caused hundreds of deaths and injuries.

Several disaster zones were still under lockdown, and a great deal of clean-up work remained.

However, that was a job for the logistics department.

At that moment, the primary Dream Descenders of the action teams had already returned to headquarters. Some went to the medical bay for treatment, while others relaxed with massages in the recuperation area to de-stress.

They continuously popped all sorts of tonics and recovery medicine into their mouths.

They had to seize every moment to rest and recover, lest they enter their next Fallen Dream in poor condition and meet with an accident.

"But you know, this incident was surprisingly easy. Well, not easy, but it was resolved much more smoothly than I expected. I thought I was in for a fight to the death."

"We were about to have to fight to the death. I never expected Refining Powerhouses to show up as reinforcements, and several of them at that. I heard those experts all came from the Safe Zone."

"The Safe Zone? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that organization. Is it a new, large organization that just popped up in Baijiang?"

"I think I might have heard about it somewhere."

The existence of the Safe Zone wasn’t a secret within the Countermeasures Bureau, but not everyone had heard of it.

Many Dream Descenders were under immense mental stress and didn’t have the spare energy to keep up with gossip.

Besides, the Safe Zone had only appeared a short time ago.

The Safe Zone had only truly appeared on the radar of the Countermeasures Bureau’s upper echelons a mere two weeks ago. For many Dream Descenders, that was only enough time for two or three Fallen Dreams.

A black-clad agent who was in the know spoke up. "Strictly speaking, the Safe Zone isn’t an organization. Other than a few permanent staff members, the Safe Zone doesn’t recruit people. It’s a platform, a camp. It shelters Dream Descenders like us who are struggling in the Nightmares, and it even provides all sorts of miraculous Cultivation grounds."

"It’s because of the Safe Zone that the success rate of clearing Nightmares and the survival rate of Middle-Low Tier Dream Descenders have increased dramatically recently. Some unaffiliated Dream Descenders have also risen through the ranks because of it, like several of the people we saw today."

Nearby, a few of the primary action team members who were hearing about the Safe Zone for the first time were slack-jawed. "For real?"

It wasn’t their fault for being skeptical; it all sounded a bit like a fairy tale.

’A single camp can have that much of an impact?’

A black-clad agent who had been to the Safe Zone said, "Captain Bai, Captain Li, and Captain Lu all know about the Safe Zone. Not only that, but quite a few people in our bureau have actually experienced its wonders, like me, for example, and Vice Captain Niu."

"Oh, right, do you guys know Old Yao from Team Three? Old Yao used to be just an unremarkable Fusion Stage Dream Descender, but now, he’s already broken into the Refining Stage."

"The reason Old Yao got so strong is because he not only went to the Safe Zone, he also obtained a membership, which comes with many special privileges."

The agent’s eyes were filled with envy as he spoke.

The bureau actually had a plan to promote the Safe Zone—by using items and having members team up to bring in new people. It was just that the number of Dream Descenders within the Countermeasures Bureau who held memberships was still very small.

These members had already become a hot commodity.

The black-clad agent sighed. "If the existence of the Safe Zone could still be kept a secret, I really wouldn’t have told you all. More and more people know about it now, so it’s going to be much harder for me to team up with Old Yao and the others."

...

Unaffiliated Dream Descenders often had worse information channels. Hours after the great battle had ended, many were still eagerly waiting for news from the front lines.

In a certain Dream Descender black market.

"They’re here, they’re here! Steel Hammer, Flame Fist, and the others are back!"

Names like Steel Hammer and Flame Fist sounded impressive, but in reality, they were all just ordinary Fusion Stage Dream Descenders.

However, people like Steel Hammer and Flame Fist did have some renown in the nearby Dream Descender circles. They were considered the cream of the crop among the masses of Ordinary Dream Descenders.

"How is it? Is the disaster under control?" someone asked.

More and more Dream Descenders started to gather around.

Some of them hadn’t dared to join the battle, while others had only just heard the news, but all of them were deeply concerned.

If something truly happened to Baijiang, no one would be able to stay out of it.

It was just that some people were deceiving themselves, thinking the disaster wouldn’t end up Spreading.

Seeing everyone’s anxious expressions, Steel Hammer chuckled and decided to keep them in suspense.

"You guys have no idea what happened this morning. All I can say is, it’s a real shame you didn’t join the fight."

The faces of the surrounding Dream Descenders grew increasingly sour, so Steel Hammer finally began his story.

When he got to the crucial part, his face lit up with excitement.

". . . and at that moment, the Profound Sword True Inheritance practitioner flew through the air like a sword-wielding immortal, striking down that weird on the spot."

"And all those other powerhouses... a single casual strike from them could shatter a wall to pieces! They were so fast that our eyes couldn’t even track them. The methods of those top dogs were simply unfathomable. The power of a Refining Powerhouse... if you haven’t seen it, you can’t even begin to imagine it."

"That’s right!" Flame Fist added in awe. "To be blunt, most of us Dream Descenders aren’t that much stronger than ordinary people. We can use Dream Curse Objects to unleash some strange Abilities, but in a real fight, we might not even be able to beat a strong normal person with a knife. So I always thought that was the limit for even the top Dream Descenders. But I was wrong!"

His eyes were filled with yearning.

As he described the scenes of ’Wall-Climbing and Roof-Soaring’ and ’Sword Aura Flying Shot,’ the other Dream Descenders cried out in astonishment.

At that moment, they truly regretted not being able to witness the power of top-tier Dream Descenders with their own eyes.

"So, Dream Descenders really can become like Superman?" someone murmured.

It was as if a ray of light had finally appeared in the bitter struggle of their lives as Dream Descenders.

Flame Fist said, "We can! I know many of you must be thinking that even if you can get really strong by developing a Dream Curse Object to its limit, that’s an opportunity only for the core members of large organizations and factions. We’re just ordinary people, nobodies, background characters with no connections and mediocre Talent."

"But..."

He scanned the crowd and spoke slowly.

"You would never guess this, but of the Refining Powerhouses Steel Hammer and I just described, besides the one with the Profound Sword True Inheritance, none of the others came from a major organization! You heard me right. They’re just like us—unaffiliated Dream Descenders! Grassroots Dream Descenders!"

The listeners’ eyes widened.

The True Inheritance of Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall, the descendant of a high-ranking official in the Countermeasures Bureau, the Direct Lineage of the Wizard’s House—all of these were things far removed from their reality.

But a powerhouse from a civilian background was something very close.

And especially legendary!

"Unaffiliated... from a grassroots background, with no backing and no connections... can you really get that far?"

"It’s true that a genius or two might pop up occasionally; that’s normal. I remember the Countermeasures Bureau has several captains and deputy captains who rose from the ranks of the unaffiliated and joined the bureau later. But can there really be so many grassroots Refining Powerhouses? There has to be a reason."

Yes, there had to be a reason.

Flame Fist was stumped by the question.

He was only certain that Phantom Dancer, Duckbill Hat, and Power King were not from the Countermeasures Bureau or any of the other major organizations.

He hadn’t thought about it in detail before, but now that he did, he realized there must be something he had overlooked.

But he, Flame Fist, only knew a little more than the others.

A very limited amount more.

When he couldn’t explain the ’why,’ the other Dream Descenders started to doubt his and his friends’ descriptions, and their claims about ’unaffiliated Dream Descenders.’

Flame Fist and Steel Hammer grew anxious, but they couldn’t refute the doubts.

Just then, a Dream Descender walked over, and the crowd parted to make way for him.

"It’s ’Sunset Spear’ Brother Xu!"

Sunset Spear Xu Xun. It was said that he was skilled in martial arts even before his first Fallen Dream, with a particular expertise in the spear. No one knew when Xu Xun had his first Fallen Dream, but he was now a Control Stage master, and his combat strength ranked among the top of those at the Control Stage.

Sunset Spear Xu Xun was a Lone Wolf, but even the black market administrators, who were also at the Control Stage, were always exceedingly polite and respectful whenever they saw him.

It was clear that his strength was anything but ordinary.

Xu Xun walked to the center of the crowd and smiled faintly. "Phantom Dancer, Wolf King, Duckbill Hat, Old Wang, Power King... Flame Fist and the others are right. They all came from an unaffiliated Dream Descender background."

"They really are from a grassroots background?!"

The words of Steel Hammer and Flame Fist carried little weight, but Sunset Spear Xu Xun was different. His confident, personal confirmation was enough to make the crowd start believing.

But people were still confused.

Xu Xun said, "But of course, for unaffiliated Dream Descenders like us, who have no backing and lack resources, rising up naturally requires a bit of fortune. Wolf King and the others are geniuses from a grassroots background, but it’s true they relied on a specific opportunity to realize their potential and join the ranks of the powerful. Otherwise..."

He revealed a secret.

It was said that when Wolf King was still a Fusion Stage Dream Descender, he had nearly fallen below the Nightmare’s execution threshold.

But this only made people more curious.

From a wandering Dream Descender who was nearly executed by a Nightmare to a top-tier powerhouse with a fearsome reputation who could slay weirds with his bare hands—what exactly had Wolf King gone through?

"In his most desperate and perilous moment, Wolf King saw the light!"

"He arrived at a place called the Safe Zone."

Perhaps for powerhouses from large organizations like Profound Sword and Xi Xue, the Safe Zone was merely a Cultivation Holy Land.

But for ordinary Dream Descenders like them, many owed their very lives to the Safe Zone.

It allowed them to escape execution by the Nightmares, which in turn gave them a chance at a future.

The Safe Zone had given them salvation.

"Phantom Dancer, Power King, Duckbill Hat—every one of these Refining Powerhouses, including the already famous Profound Sword True Inheritance, actually came from the Safe Zone."

"You ask how I know all this so clearly?"

Sunset Spear Xu Xun recalled.

"Because I was there at the time. I was just a nameless nobody in the crowd, and I watched with my own eyes as those Refining Powerhouses sealed the Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearls they wore. They made a pact, they rushed to the battlefield, and their eyes held not the slightest fear of facing the weirds, only..."

"a soaring, fervent will to fight."

"The powerhouses made a pact to show the weirds their power, and to show the Baijiang People the strength they had gained from their advanced training."

Xu Xun was a little envious.

He was envious of their membership status, their strength, and their ability to rush to the battlefield.

He couldn’t return to reality immediately, and his own strength was far from sufficient.

Whether in this black market or any other place where Dream Descenders gathered, today’s disaster was the central topic of heated discussion.

And as news of the disaster spread, so too did...

the legend of the Safe Zone.