Chapter 135 - 127: Deep Harvest

Chapter 135: Chapter 127: Deep Harvest

"To the west, about six to seven hundred meters out, a rather unique aberration is roaming. I’d say it’s highly likely an Elite Level, with a small chance of being a Leader Level. It shouldn’t have a major impact on our mission."

"To the north, over two thousand meters away, there’s a Leader Level aberration, but there are still quite a few aberrations around it."

That area looked like another conquerable ’zone’ as well.

However, its area was obviously much larger than this hollow, square-shaped building.

Just slaying that one Leader Level aberration might not be enough.

Just then, the Witchcraft Flying Eye controlled by the Thinker made a discovery.

"My end... I’ve spotted two people who look like Dream Descenders, but I don’t recognize them. Could they be Dream Descenders from our Baijiang?"

"Most likely."

Group Leader Chen said, "However, our entire Baijiang City has a population of three million. The Refining Stage is said to be rare, but in reality, that’s not quite true. For example, among the general populace, there are only seventy-three registered Refining Stage Dream Descenders, but I estimate the actual number is more than double that."

He glanced at Profound Sword, Xi Xue, and the others.

And it wasn’t just the general public.

The true number of Refining Stage experts inside the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall and the Wizard’s House was definitely far greater than what the outside world knew.

The Various Hall Masters of the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall only had six True Disciples.

But in reality, were those six the only capable fighters in the entire Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall? Not by a long shot.

It’s just that those six were the only ones famous to the outside world.

Among the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall’s ’Outer Sect Masters,’ some were also masters who hid their true strength, and those were just the ones outsiders could see.

The general public may seem to have few experts, but in reality, there were even more hidden ones.

This was determined by the very nature of being a Dream Descender.

In Baijiang City alone, many new Dream Descenders emerged each day. But what about the older ones? A significant number also died every day.

Dream Descenders are easily slain by Nightmares, but if they can survive, their rate of advancement is also fast.

An ordinary person can go from their first Fallen Dream to becoming a Refining Stage expert in just a year, six months, or even less.

Sometimes, a Dream Descender will have a stroke of fortune and break through multiple realms in a very short time.

Someone who looks like they’re in the Fusion Stage might actually be a Refining Stage expert just pretending to be weak.

The Countermeasures Bureau couldn’t manage all of that. Dream Descenders were free to hide their identities, as long as they didn’t cause trouble.

"Those two are most likely powerful individuals from some faction, hiding their identities. As long as they don’t come any closer, we can ignore them," Group Leader Chen said.

Of course, there was no way they would seek to cooperate with two unknown Dream Descenders.

There was no basis for cooperation.

The nine of them came from different factions. If not for the Safe Zone serving as a platform and a bond, it would have been nearly impossible for them to join forces to clear a Nightmare.

...

「At that moment.」

In the distance, two unaffiliated Refining Stage Dream Descenders also spotted the figures.

"A full nine Dream Descenders? Impressive!"

One of the Dream Descenders had demonic-looking eyes; the Curse Object he had fused with was clearly related to them.

His companion said, "You’re right. It looks like they’re preparing to clear a Nightmare. That’s a major undertaking!"

’Team-up items can’t handle that many people.’

’To gather nine Dream Descenders in one place, you need a combination of items, Anchors, and other things.’

’The cost must be astronomical.’

"Could that area be special? Should we go over and take a look? There might be something in it for us!"

The Dream Descender with the demonic eyes licked his lips.

His companion stopped him just in time.

"There are nine of them over there! Do you think we can afford to provoke people who could spend a fortune to assemble a team like that? Besides, it’s just a small Nightmare-infested area. That building looks completely ordinary; there’s no way it holds any high-value Treasure, not unless you take down the guardian aberration boss of the area."

’Fighting a boss can yield some decent rewards.’

’A boss will drop a High Tier Curse Object. Clearing the area also gets you rewards from the Nightmare World. And there might be high-value Treasures near the aberration boss.’

But...

’Fighting a boss is too risky; the reward just isn’t worth it.’

’What if we get injured?’

’To take down one aberration boss, how many times would we have to activate our Curse Objects? How much would that drain and damage our bodies?’

’Not to mention we could never organize a squad where every member is an expert.’

"Clear a Nightmare? That’s just asking for trouble! You don’t need to face powerful aberrations head-on to find Treasure. Avoid the strong ones, kill the weak ones—or better yet, don’t fight at all. Find the Treasure, grab it, and run. That’s the way we Dream Descenders survive!"

This had always been their way as Dream Descenders.

’Those people in the distance look pretty young. They’re probably full of youthful arrogance, but reality will teach them a lesson.’

The Dream Descender with the demonic eyes also calmed down.

The two of them slowly moved away.

「After a moment.」

They stopped discussing the distant clearing team and turned their conversation to the ’Safe Zone,’ the topic that had been causing a stir throughout Baijiang City lately.

"Legend has it that there are many mystical Treasure Lands inside the Safe Zone, and many powerful individuals have become completely captivated by them."

"Legend has it that once you become a member of the Safe Zone, you can no longer be slain by a Nightmare."

"Old Demon, do you believe it?"

The other man pondered for a moment, then asked, "Are you going to look for this so-called Safe Zone?"

"No." The Dream Descender who had spoken before shook his head. "I believe some of the legends about the Safe Zone; after all, there’s no smoke without fire. But to go looking for it and become a member? I’m not interested."

’He didn’t believe there was any such thing as a free lunch.’

’Become a member of the Safe Zone? And what’s the catch?’

The two of them had each founded their own Dream Descender organization. They couldn’t compare to major organizations like the Wizard’s House, but they could be considered medium-sized.

Their organizations were only a notch below the one that managed the Longchuan Black Market.