Chapter 125 - 119: Lost Camp

Chapter 125: Chapter 119: Lost Camp

She planned to bring it up at the next meeting. As for now, there was a more pressing matter.

"This disaster seems to have been reported to the Safe Zone by a Dream Descender who brought the news inside, prompting the Manager to issue an emergency notice. It was a coincidence. We cannot rely on such coincidences anymore.

"Therefore, I believe our Countermeasures Bureau needs to establish a new department—the Safe Zone Liaison Team!

"We must have our own liaisons inside the Safe Zone to ensure that information can be relayed there anytime, anywhere. Or, if something major happens within the Safe Zone, we can learn about it immediately. This is crucial."

"I agree," a captain said.

The others chimed in one after another.

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

Meanwhile, inside an apartment building in Baijiang City.

"Patriarch, we’ve figured it out. The Nightmare we brought this time was resolved so quickly entirely because of an organization called the Safe Zone!" a burly man reported.

Not far away, the middle-aged man addressed as the Patriarch stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, swirling a goblet in his hand as he overlooked the distant night view of the riverside.

"Human society is truly wonderful." He turned around. "The Safe Zone? Humans aren’t that easy to deal with. A single failure is to be expected. At the very least, we forced this hidden human organization out into the open. It wasn’t a loss. This time wasn’t a loss at all.

"However, we cannot fail next time."

"Yes, yes, I understand," the burly man bowed repeatedly, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The Patriarch turned back to gaze at Baijiang City’s nightscape. He watched the endless stream of traffic on the roads and the bustling crowds weaving along the riverbank. His eyes were filled with absolute obsession.

"Humans are very important to us, and this human settlement of Baijiang City has a population of a full three million. Three million!

"Wang, do you understand what three million means to our race?"

The burly man lowered his head even further and said in a hushed voice, "I understand. These humans are the nourishment for our race’s growth."

"Exactly," the Patriarch said. "As long as we can occupy Baijiang City, turn Baijiang into our race’s nest, and develop it for a while, our strength will inevitably experience explosive growth. Given time, even those ’great races’ and ’great territories’ Deep in the Nightmare will be surpassed by us!"

Taking Baijiang City would be a milestone on their race’s path to prominence. As for the Safe Zone, it was ultimately just a minor obstacle that would be crushed during their rise.

Shi An had slacked off regarding the task of saving Baijiang City, pushing the heavy responsibility onto the members who had already matured under his wing. The members handled it splendidly, and Manager Shi was happy to take it easy. He pretended to be a newbie and joined Old Song and the others in sweeping the battlefield and handling the aftermath. However, he hadn’t expected the cleanup work to take two whole days.

"I’m exhausted!"

Their rookie division was indeed busy. The disaster had affected quite a few Ordinary people. They had to seal the memories of the Ordinary masses while simultaneously screening for talent among those who refused the memory wipe. Shi An hadn’t expected that fighting anomalies wouldn’t tire him out, but dealing with the aftermath would leave him utterly drained. Even so, the moment he got off work, he returned to the Safe Zone.

"The fame the Safe Zone gained this time has brought some benefits," he noted. "Those new Dream Descenders are no longer suspicious when they see the Safe Zone’s storefront; instead, they’re pleasantly surprised.

"However, the Watchtower has been completed for two and a half days, and yet no top-tier Dream Descenders or Transcendents have arrived. Is this reasonable?"

Fen Huo’s visit didn’t count. Or at best, it barely counted as half. Aside from Fen Huo, Shi An hadn’t seen a single one of the Countermeasures Bureau’s other Captain Level experts, nor any powerhouses from the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall or the Wizard’s House. It was as if the Watchtower had been built for nothing. Of course, it wasn’t built in vain; Shi An could roughly guess the reason.

"There are still too few top-tier experts in Baijiang City," he mused. "How many Second Refining Realm and Third Refinements Realm experts, along with higher Tier Extraordinary Beings, are there in the entire Baijiang City?"

Shi An didn’t know the exact number, but he figured it couldn’t be many. There were only a meager twelve captains and deputy captains in the Countermeasures Bureau combined. The number of Dream Descenders above the Refining Stage was already exceedingly scarce. With such a small base population, the probability of them stumbling into the Safe Zone was naturally low.

"At the very least, the number of newcomers arriving at the Safe Zone for the first time is growing faster than before," he thought.

"I’ll take it slow.

"First, I’ll secure the fundamental base of Baijiang, and then gradually expand into Deep in the Nightmare."

Deep in the Nightmare.

Elk Camp.

This place was different from the Campfire Camps built by the vast majority of organizations. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary village. Upon closer inspection, however, one would notice that the doorways of many houses and numerous walls within the village were inlaid with stones bearing fiery red patterns. Furthermore, a stone wall had been erected around the perimeter of the village, embedded with an abundance of these crimson stones.

This was a Lost Camp!

The camp had quite a long history, having existed since the initial fall of Baijiang City. When Baijiang City fell in the past and the entirety of Baijiang vanished from within Great Xia, the vast majority of Baijiang People continued to live in the Present Realm. However, some unfortunate souls plunged directly into the Nightmare. There were quite a few of them—perhaps thousands or even tens of thousands. In the end, only a meager few survived.

Elk Camp was built by a group of the Lost who had tenaciously survived Hell. It had now persisted Deep in the Nightmare for over a year. Over time, they had also rescued a number of Lost Persons, keeping the total population of the camp hovering around forty.

"But an intelligent anomaly has its sights set on our camp," a voice said. "These firestones of ours can fend off Ordinary anomalies, but defending against an intelligent one is extremely difficult! We have to find a way to relocate the camp."

"What did Cold Spring Camp say? Can they take our group in? A few of us old folks can stay behind," an elder asked.

"Village Chief, Cold Spring Camp rejected us, citing limited food. Those bastards! When Cold Spring Camp was driven into a corner before, you were the ones who lent them a helping hand!" a girl replied indignantly.

Despite the girl’s righteous anger, the old man remained silent, only shaking his head slightly. He knew very well that Cold Spring Camp’s situation was not much better. They could only save themselves. However, relocating and building a new camp was easier said than done. Yet, without the protection of a camp, how were they all supposed to survive?

"Village Chief, perhaps we can look for other camps," the girl suggested. "I believe there must be some other camps existing in our area."

The old man was silent for a moment before speaking up. "I once met an expert from the Countermeasures Bureau. I heard that the Countermeasures Bureau has also built a few camps Deep in the Nightmare, it’s just that..."

They had no idea where those camps were located.

The Nightmare was vast and chaotic. The map they had drawn up only covered a tiny corner surrounding their own camp. When Baijiang’s Dream Descenders plunged into Deep in the Nightmare, they were usually even less capable of figuring out where they were, unless they happened to experience a Fallen Dream near recognizable landmarks.

"Not only that..." The old man had another concern.

At least Cold Spring Camp was relatively close to them. As for the rest, even if they could pinpoint the exact locations of the camps, how many people would actually be able to endure a long trek through the Nightmare World to reach another distant camp?

The strength of their Elk Camp was actually not weak. Had they truly been weak, they wouldn’t have survived this long. They had several Third Refinements Realm experts within their camp, and the Village Chief himself was a Transcendent who had already undergone a Life Transformation. Yet even so, they were still walking on thin ice Deep in the Nightmare. The Village Chief simply couldn’t find a path to true safety.

"A camp, a camp!" the Village Chief murmured. "The Nightmare World is fraught with danger at every turn. Just where exactly can we find a place to call home?"