Chapter 127 - 121: The First Safe Zone Auction

Chapter 127: Chapter 121: The First Safe Zone Auction

Inside the private room, the expressions of the few men froze. Then, their eyes widened as they carefully read the auction’s details.

"The auction will be held in three days, at midnight in the Present Realm."

"Dream Descenders who wish to auction Treasures may have them appraised and registered at the appraisal office to the left of the Mission Hall."

"The auction will also feature many rare items provided by the Manager, including but not limited to Rare Level Curse Objects, Spell Scrolls, and more."

Duckbill Hat and the others no longer cared about the rest of the auction’s details. Their eyes were all fixed on a single line.

"Rare Level Curse Objects will be available for bidding at the auction!"

"And more than one!!"

The men fell silent for a moment, their eyes filled with a determination to acquire a Rare Level Curse Object.

Just then, Duckbill Hat asked, "Are we still going to tackle that large-scale Nightmare?"

Li Wei replied, "We are! With the auction just around the corner, we have to conquer that large-scale Nightmare. Otherwise, it would be pretty awkward to see a Curse Object we want but have empty pockets."

Old Wang said, "That’s right. And while we may be veteran members, we can’t compare to those old-school powerhouses in terms of wealth. But besides taking on the large-scale Nightmare, there’s something else we need to pay attention to. We have to make sure we’re still in a Fallen Dream on the night of the third day. That’s crucial."

This point was indeed crucial.

Among them, some had already been in a Fallen Dream for two or three days. Based on a normal cycle of five to seven days, they might unfortunately return to the Present Realm on the night of the third day.

For them, as members, this wasn’t much of a problem.

By switching their Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearls between a worn and a sealed state, they could roughly control the timing of their Fallen Dreams and their return.

The margin of error was about half a day.

But they had three days to prepare. A single day was more than enough to return to the Present Realm and enter a Fallen Dream again.

At this moment, inside the Safe Zone, the members who had learned about the auction all began calculating their Fallen Dream schedules to ensure they would be present.

The non-members, however, were starting to panic.

"An auction? I want to go too!!"

But as non-members, they didn’t dare to casually wear a Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl. Even after being sealed, the Pearl’s residual aura would still affect them, drastically extending their time in the Fallen Dream. If they failed to reach the Safe Zone, they could die because of it.

The non-member Dream Descenders could only despair.

Someone nearby said, "This auction is clearly for the big-shot members to compete in. It’s useless for small fry like us to go. We can’t afford anything anyway."

"No! Who says I can’t afford it!"

A Dream Descender’s eyes burned with intensity, and a faint Curse Pressure emanated from his body.

It was... an expert at the Perfection of the Control Stage.

However, the appearance of a Dream Descender at the Perfection of the Control Stage was no longer surprising. Experts at the Refining Stage passed through the Mission Hall from time to time.

’It’s only the Control Stage, after all.’

The Fusion Stage speaker wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He just offered a suggestion, "Buddy, if you’re really loaded and dead set on going, it’s not impossible."

"Oh? What’s the way?"

"Simple. Buy a Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl, then find a big-shot member to team up with. But at a time like this, there are probably a lot of people trying to team up with member big-shots."

...

「Inside a standard room at the Safe Zone’s hotel.」

Old Yao had also received the news.

He had recently been promoted; he was now the director of the new liaison department.

He summoned a team member. "This is our liaison department’s first mission. It must be completed perfectly."

Old Yao copied down every detail about the auction onto a sheet of parchment that could be brought back to the Present Realm.

Before long, the team member returned to the Present Realm through a special method.

...

「Headquarters.」

Captain Lu Qing had entered a Fallen Dream. Currently, Captain Bai, Captain Li, and Captain Fen were at the Headquarters.

Bai Yu said, "This auction in the Safe Zone seems to be mainly for Curse Objects, especially Rare Level ones."

Fen Huo said, "The Manager is likely doing this to give Dream Descenders in the First Refinement Realm a chance to obtain high-Grade Curse Objects."

The Manager was great. Nothing more needed to be said.

"That Manager has helped us in Baijiang many times. This time, the ones who will ultimately benefit from the Safe Zone’s auction are still the Dream Descenders of Baijiang. As Baijiang’s official organization, the Countermeasures Bureau must support it for every reason, both emotional and logical. In fact, we should give it our full support."

Bai Yu thought for a moment and said, "I’d like to take out a batch of Treasures to consign for auction in the Safe Zone. What do you all think?"

Fen Huo was now a member of the Safe Zone and one of the Manager’s supporters, so of course he had no objection.

Li Yunfeng also said, "We should indeed support it. Besides, other than the Manager, the Safe Zone only has a few Direct Lineage members. To be honest, the Safe Zone’s camp isn’t that large, so the Manager probably can’t provide too many Treasures. If we provide strong support with a batch of our own, it could solve the auction’s most pressing need."

His conjecture was reasonable and well-founded.

On a normal day, aside from charging small fees for food, drinks, and facility use, the Safe Zone didn’t take a ’cut of the spoils’ from Dream Descenders at all.

Under these circumstances, even if the Safe Zone’s Manager and his few Direct Lineage members were very strong, the Safe Zone’s inventory of Treasures couldn’t be that large.

It was just like the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall in their own Baijiang City.

The Master of Extreme Intent was very powerful, arguably the number one person in Baijiang. But aside from the Hall Master himself, the entire Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall only had a few True Inheritance disciples who were considered experts.

Naturally, the wealth of the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall was far less than that of their Countermeasures Bureau.

"For now, let’s head to the treasury and select a suitable batch of Treasures."

Captain Bai sent a notice to the logistics department.

Soon, the person in charge of the treasury personally led a dozen capable subordinates to welcome the three arriving captains.

"Captains, regarding the Treasures you requested, this batch should be quite suitable..."

...

The news that the Safe Zone was going to hold an auction didn’t exactly sweep through Baijiang City like a hurricane, but among the community of Dream Descenders who had been there, it was like a bombshell.

Even some Lone Wolf experts, who usually kept to themselves, were drawn out by the news.

「A certain Dream Descender black market.」

Cheng Ping, an expert at the Refining Stage, thought to himself, ’An auction? I definitely have to check it out. Good thing I applied for a Member Card a few days ago. Otherwise, I’d only be able to watch with envy as the auction takes place.’

He hadn’t really wanted to reveal his extraordinary strength.

Unfortunately, the status of a member was just too tempting; he couldn’t resist.

「Elsewhere.」

At a gathering of High Tier Dream Descenders, Li Wei arrived.

He announced, "I can offer three team slots, guaranteed entry into the Safe Zone."

He was the ’Wolf King’ who had slain a strange creature a few days ago. His identity was a guarantee of his credibility.

He intended to use this to raise more funds.

...

One by one, the independent experts began to move.

Besides the Safe Zone members, there were other experts among the general populace. For them, the auction’s appeal was immense.

The founder of the Longchuan Black Market, ’Ye Chuan’, was a renowned expert at the Refining Stage.

He had refused recruitment offers from large organizations, content to manage his own little corner of the world—the black market.

Over the days, Ye Chuan had also accumulated considerable wealth.

However, he wasn’t part of a large organization, after all. Much of the time, he had Dream Crystals in hand but nowhere to spend them.

’The Safe Zone... I hear it’s a powerful camp even the Countermeasures Bureau acknowledges.’

’But to guarantee I can reach the Safe Zone, I need to team up with a member.’

’A member... Who is a Safe Zone member?’

Ye Chuan was a man of high status and power. Besides founding the black market, he was also the boss of a large local company in Baijiang in the Present Realm.

Yet even so, he now had to spend a hefty sum to secure a team slot with a member.

And it was incredibly difficult to get one!

Most members wouldn’t expose their real-world identities. Only the Direct Lineage experts from large organizations didn’t care.

In the end, Boss Ye had to pull some strings and find an acquaintance in the Countermeasures Bureau just to get a single team slot.

Similar situations were happening all over Baijiang.

The independent Dream Descenders were incredibly excited for the auction, and so were the core members of the large organizations. Being from a major organization didn’t mean having a free supply of Curse Objects; the major organizations in Baijiang City weren’t that wealthy yet.

The Deputy Captain of the Countermeasures Bureau, the Direct Lineage of the Wizard’s House, certain old masters from the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall...

They all still hoped to win something good at the auction.

"But..."

"I wonder how many Rare Level Curse Objects the Manager will put up? I have a feeling the bidding pressure is going to be immense!"

’Thinking about it, there are bound to be very few Rare Level Curse Objects.’

’And there seem to be a few too many competitors.’

The vast majority of members were potential competitors, and there were also wealthy individuals among the non-members.

But with Rare Level Curse Objects right in front of them, they had no choice but to find ways to gather more Dream Crystals.

Time passed, and soon, the third day arrived as announced.

The Mission Hall had once again been expanded and its layout simply rearranged. A platform had been set up in the front desk area.

「Office.」

"Manager, the Dream Descenders have consigned more Treasures than expected. The Countermeasures Bureau consigned the most. They brought out a total of three Rare Level Curse Objects and twelve Treasure Medicines, one of which is even a Rare Grade Treasure Medicine."

Even Shi An was a little surprised.

The Countermeasures Bureau certainly wasn’t short on money. He immediately understood that this was their way of supporting the Safe Zone.

Besides the Countermeasures Bureau, various organizations and individual Dream Descenders also provided many items for auction. There were several dozen items in total, and that didn’t even include the lower-value ones that were rejected.

The variety of auction items was vast. If it weren’t for the ’Value Assessment Machine’, Wu Qing wouldn’t have been able to identify most of them. Of course, the same was true for Manager Shi.

Not just anyone could host an auction, but the Safe Zone just so happened to meet all the necessary conditions.

There was no place better suited to hold an auction than the Safe Zone.

"The midnight auction is going to be lively, I’m sure."

...

During the day, the Mission Hall was already quite bustling.

Many members arrived early. They were either there to consign Treasures or to seize the time to conquer Nightmares and earn a bit more.

As night fell and the start of the auction drew closer, the number of Dream Descenders gathered in the hall grew larger and larger.

One after another, powerful members and major figures from the Present Realm appeared before everyone’s eyes.

It was a grand event, a gathering of the powerful!