Chapter 128 - 122: Gathering of Big Shots, The Opening

Chapter 128: Chapter 122: Gathering of Big Shots, The Opening

At exactly ten o’clock in the evening, dozens of Dream Descenders had already gathered in the hall. More than half of them were Ordinary Dream Descenders who were lucky enough to descend into a dream at this specific time.

To extend their time in the dream and witness the grand spectacle of the auction, they even pulled strings just to touch a Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearl a few times.

It wasn’t that the members hadn’t descended into their dreams yet; rather, some were in the Training Ground, some were at the inn, and others were still actively clearing Nightmares.

But as the starting time drew nearer, the members gradually began to appear.

Some of the newer Dream Descenders couldn’t recognize who was who, but the Safe Zone veterans beside them would often let out gasps of surprise.

"It’s Werewolf Li Wei! Rumor has it that he can transform into a burly werewolf, and he once killed an anomaly in head-on combat!"

"That one is Locust Wood Man Yan Jing. Thinking back, Lord Yan and I arrived at the Safe Zone in the same batch, but he obtained his membership early on while I’ve only saved up sixty Contribution Points. Sigh, you really can’t compare yourself to others."

"You’re doing quite well with over half the Contribution Points needed. It took me more than half a month to save up just over forty," another Safe Zone veteran sighed.

The speed at which Dream Descenders accumulated Contribution Points varied, largely depending on their efficiency in clearing Nightmares. However, even with the Safe Zone’s "clearance trio" of items, various strategies, and the camp itself acting as a safety net, clearing Nightmares was still not something just anyone could achieve.

The mere thought of facing anomalies directly filled many Dream Descenders with fear and dread. Often, if the risks were even slightly too high, the clearance attempts would end in failure.

Most mediocre and cowardly Dream Descenders usually only played support roles within their squads. Naturally, the Contribution Points allocated to them after a successful run were meager at best.

As for the truly ruthless ones? Not only did they clear Nightmares immediately upon descending, but they also rented Dream-Dropping Treasure Pearls in the Safe Zone to achieve "clearing multiple Nightmares within a single descent cycle."

Such fierce individuals quickly widened the gap between themselves and Ordinary Dream Descenders, securing memberships and subsequently joining the ranks of the strong.

Nearby, a newcomer who was visiting for the first time listened to the veterans’ descriptions and immediately came to a realization. He understood that it wasn’t because these veterans were too weak, but truly because those ruthless individuals were simply too strong.

Clearing Nightmares didn’t just require being ruthless to oneself; ultimately, one still had to act within their limits.

"Clearing Nightmares for several days straight is indeed too difficult. A single misstep, and you’d die without even leaving a corpse behind," he chimed in.

The veteran nodded. "Exactly. Big shots like Locust Wood Man are certainly glorious, but plenty of those risk-taking Dream Descenders have fallen along the way. People like us might be a bit cowardly, but it’s much safer. By slowly accumulating Contribution Points, we can eventually exchange them for memberships, and life will be much easier after that."

They truly didn’t have grand ambitions; their pursuit of membership was merely a quest for stability. Yet, they undeniably envied and admired these glorious experts.

"Piaoxu Xu Qian!"

"Cross Dart Old Li!"

"Power King Wang Kui! He really came too."

One by one, the members entered the hall and found places to sit.

Amidst the exclamations of these veteran bystanders, even the newcomers who had just arrived at the Safe Zone instantly recognized a dozen or two big-shot members. Almost all of these individuals were experts at the Refining Stage, with a very small minority being at the Peak of Control Stage.

"There are so many experts here in the Safe Zone!" a Dream Descender marveled.

Where else could they possibly see so many Refining Stage experts?

But a veteran replied, "The number of big-shot members in our Safe Zone far exceeds a dozen or two. Some just haven’t arrived yet, and there are others who are..." He glanced around.

Not all members had their identities made public. The membership statuses of experts like Piaoxu Xu Qian and Cross Dart Old Li were mostly deduced by others. Of course, since these big shots never denied it, the speculations were accepted as truth.

There were also some experts who were even more low-key, hurrying in and out of the Safe Zone without ever drawing any attention. K was one such incredibly low-key member.

The reason for his low profile was that he never considered himself an expert. He had simply been fortunate enough to encounter the Manager during his very first dream descent, allowing him to arrive at the Safe Zone and clear a Nightmare. During his subsequent descent, he was lucky again to stumble upon the Training Ground right as it opened.

Fumbling his way along this path, he had somehow managed to snag a membership and, not long ago, crossed into the Refining Stage. It all felt rather surreal to him.

"Can I actually fight anomalies now?" K wondered to himself.

Cheng Ping was also among the low-key members, currently observing his surroundings.

"As expected of Dream Descenders who managed to obtain Safe Zone memberships, none of them are weak," he thought. "There are over a dozen other people in the crowd who don’t look simple either; I’d guess they’re members too. The total number of members is quite a bit larger than I imagined. This is a good thing. With so many members around, I won’t attract any attention."

He, Cheng Ping, only wanted to be an unremarkable Dream Descender. To become a glorious expert or hero in the eyes of others? He had never had any interest in that. Heroes usually died much faster than everyone else!

RING!

At the main entrance of the hall, another group of people walked in. They were clearly several Dream Descenders who had formed a team. Some Dream Descenders initially wanted to see which member was leading them, but upon looking, they spotted familiar figures.

"That seems to be... the founder of our Longchuan Black Market, Ye Chuan, Boss Ye!"

"And the chairman of the Tide Transport Company, Tide River Guest, Boss Jiang!"

The Dream Descenders who recognized the newcomers gasped in shock.

Both of them were experts at the First Refinement Realm. If it came down to pure strength, they weren’t necessarily stronger than the members who had arrived earlier. However, in the hearts of many Ordinary Dream Descenders, the names and influence of these two carried far more weight than those of the recently risen big-shot members.

Many Dream Descenders present had visited the Longchuan Black Market multiple times, and some even made their living working under the Longchuan Group or the Tide Transport Company. Many people had not yet shifted their mindset.

In their eyes, members like Wolf King Li Wei were simply big shots more outstanding than themselves, but not someone they couldn’t eventually catch up to. Meanwhile, Boss Ye and Boss Jiang were undisputed titans. They were figures that needed to be looked up to.

Yet today, even such titans had come to the auction site, sitting right here in the hall just like them?

No, it was more than that. Boss Ye and Boss Jiang seemed to have relied on teaming up with the same member just to gain entry to the venue.

In an instant, the mindset of several people began to shift.

"It’s true that Boss Ye is a titan, but here in the Safe Zone, he is nothing more than a non-member, just like us."

"In the Safe Zone, the only difference that exists is between members and non-members!"

On the other side, even before arriving, Ye Chuan had heard about and extensively investigated this Safe Zone camp through various channels. He knew the Safe Zone possessed all sorts of miraculous traits. He also knew that following the Safe Zone’s emergence, some driven and promising civilian Dream Descenders had rapidly risen to prominence, joining the ranks of experts.

But upon truly stepping foot into the Safe Zone, the sights before him still exceeded his expectations.

"There are over a hundred people present!" Ye Chuan thought. "It’s hard to imagine that over a hundred Dream Descenders could actually gather under one roof within the Nightmare World."

Even the three main camps of the Countermeasures Bureau couldn’t assemble this many Dream Descenders at once.

Ye Chuan narrowed his eyes, silently sensing the wisps of Curse Pressure permeating his surroundings. He realized the outside rumors were entirely accurate; the Safe Zone indeed housed many Refining Stage experts. However, when he considered that many of these experts had been merely at the Control Stage or even the Fusion Stage not long ago, he found it truly inconceivable.

He hadn’t come here entirely for the Rare Level Curse Objects. After all, as a man overseeing a large corporation and a Dream Descender black market, Ye Chuan had long utilized channels and connections to acquire Rare Level Curse Objects—and more than just one.

It was just that he wasn’t completely satisfied with the two Curse Objects he currently had. Finding a perfect fit was inherently difficult. He figured this auction would feature a few Rare Level Curse Objects at most, so the probability of him finding one to his exact liking was very low.

Primarily, Ye Chuan just wanted to see the legendary Safe Zone with his own eyes.

"More Refining Stage experts have shown up to this auction than I anticipated, so the competition for the Rare Level Curse Objects will be fierce," he thought. "Still, being able to witness such a grand spectacle within the Nightmare World makes this trip well worth it."

Since he was already here, Ye Chuan also fully intended to secure a membership.

Time ticked away as the thoughts of the various Dream Descenders and expert members drifted. Finally, midnight arrived!

Shi An made an appearance as the Manager, offering only a few brief remarks.

"I trust that this auction will not disappoint any of you," he concluded. "And so, I announce that the Safe Zone’s first-ever auction officially begins."

The person in charge of hosting the auction was the receptionist, Lina. By now, quite a few Dream Descenders had learned that she was the renowned Phantom Dancer.

Yang Lina brought out the first auction item.

It was a brownish-yellow scroll. When unrolled, an extraordinarily profound pattern could be seen engraved on it. A thin sealing membrane covered the pattern, making it appear somewhat blurry, but the faint shape of a sword could still be discerned.

"This is the Spell Scroll ’Slicing Strike,’" Yang Lina announced. "It has been appraised as an Ordinary Level scroll that can still be used three more times. Now, bidding for the first item will commence. The starting price... is 30 Dream Crystals, with each minimum increment set at 0.1 Dream Crystals."

This very first item alone was enough to jolt the experts present.

"Bringing out a Spell Scroll directly for auction? The Manager is really investing heavily!"

"Although there are Spell Scrolls available for comprehension within the Safe Zone, those require spending Contribution Points. This Slicing Strike scroll doesn’t. Not only that, but once we buy it, we can give it to anyone to use."

"Slicing Strike? I’ve heard of this Curse Art. It’s simple and crude, but highly powerful, and can be applied to many bladed weapons. As long as you master this Curse Art, you’ll have a chance to defeat an anomaly head-on!"

The Ordinary Dream Descenders were also incredibly tempted. But very quickly, the price snuffed out their temptation.

They had long understood that this auction was an exclusive playground for the big shots, but it was only now that they truly realized just how vast the gap between them was. While many of them couldn’t even scrounge up a single complete Dream Crystal, the big shots were already starting their bids in the dozens.

Some of the members present restrained themselves, choosing not to compete. They could perhaps afford that sum of Dream Crystals, but they felt that spending it on a Spell Scroll was far too extravagant. Furthermore, their mastery of Curse Arts hadn’t reached a level where they needed a scroll to force a breakthrough.

Yet, there were still those who needed it. There were also those who didn’t care about cost-effectiveness—experts armed with the sheer financial power to seek rapid self-improvement at any price.

After a brief silence in the hall, shouts of bids began to rise one after another.

"I bid 30.5 crystals!"

"I bid 31 crystals!"

"Let’s be a bit bolder, everyone! I’ll take the lead—35 crystals!"

"40 crystals!" Boss Ye shouted directly.

Not far away, Captain Wu Fen Huo of the Countermeasures Bureau sat together with Deputy Captains Long Niu and Chen Baichuan. Their Countermeasures Bureau was merely there to support the Safe Zone; they originally had no intention of competing with the civilian Dream Descenders.

However, Long Niu and Chen Baichuan exchanged a glance, their eyes burning with fervent desire.

"I bid..."