Chapter 87 - 84: Group Leader Song’s Safe Zone Experience

Chapter 87: Chapter 84: Group Leader Song’s Safe Zone Experience

Song Jianshen’s visit this time wasn’t just to call on the mysterious Manager and thank him for his help.

He had also brought a sum of Dream Crystals and a resource exchange catalog from within the Countermeasures Bureau.

He was here to settle the commission Old Yao had issued in the name of the Countermeasures Bureau on the spot.

Shi An could only sigh in admiration. ’As expected of a high-ranking official in charge of a logistics camp. He’s loaded. Truly loaded.’

However, Manager Shi was also a bit busy right now.

Old Yao just had to issue the commission.

Profound Sword and the others just had to complete the commission.

But he, the Manager of the Safe Zone, had a great many things to consider.

For example, the amount of contribution from each Dream Descender.

Shi An was using the standard contribution calculation method commonly used by Dream Descenders when they formed teams.

This ensured a general sense of fairness.

By using the Witchcraft Flying Eye to survey the battlefield, he could take in the entire situation at a glance and wouldn’t miss anyone’s contributions.

But even so, he had the data and the formulas. All that was left was... the sheer amount of work!

His Safe Zone platform took a cut from commissions because he was actually doing work.

’I’ll have to hire a few more employees to handle these things in the future. I need someone for the front desk, someone for the mission board, and someone for statistics...’

’It’d be great if there was a more precise and efficient way to calculate contributions.’

’This would probably require some special Ability for support, but where am I supposed to find someone with that kind of talent?’

Shi An’s mind drifted as he thought.

Song Jianshen observed the Manager.

He had never heard of the Manager before, but in the last hour, he had heard far too many legends about him.

It was no exaggeration to call him a legendary figure.

But looking at him now, he seemed ordinary—so ordinary he was like a regular person.

Like a normal person who had never been entangled in a Nightmare or tainted by a Dream Curse Object.

’But could this Manager really be an ordinary person?’

’He must have achieved a state of profound mastery!’

Song Jianshen chatted with the Manager for a while.

He said, "Manager, aside from coming here to pay the reward Old Yao promised, I also have a favor to ask."

"I was wondering if we could issue more commissions in the name of the Countermeasures Bureau?"

He had his eye on powerful individuals like Profound Sword.

The Countermeasures Bureau had always been short on this caliber of expert—those with little seniority but high combat power. That was why they had to borrow people from all over, bringing in a few experts from the Wizard’s House and the Extreme Intent Martial Arts Hall.

Even so, the assault team could hardly be said to have sufficient combat strength.

Or rather, their strength had been sufficient, but after the previous attack on the camp, Song Jianshen felt that the situation was developing in a more serious direction.

’The strangeness of the Ancient Village Nightmare is definitely not simple!’

’We must strike hard.’

In the past, the Countermeasures Bureau had tried every method, from cultivating its own to borrowing them, to gather powerful experts, yet their combat strength was still stretched thin. He never would have thought that right here, in the Ancient Village Region, there would be so many active experts.

Experts from large organizations and independent experts.

’Powerful, and in considerable numbers!’

Yet the Countermeasures Bureau had heard nothing about this before. Thinking of this, Song Jianshen wanted to go back and chew out his colleagues in the intelligence department.

’The people in the intelligence department are so unreliable. It’s fallen to me, a logistics group leader, to recruit people personally.’

Shi An pointed to the content on the display panel and said, "Of course. As long as it follows procedure and you can afford the reward, our Safe Zone welcomes anyone to post commissions here."

’Especially a big spen—... a big client like the Countermeasures Bureau!’

Shi An said, "After all, the purpose of our Safe Zone is to provide a platform where Dream Descenders can help each other."

Group Leader Song was filled with respect.

However, the specific commissions to be issued would have to be determined by the situation on the front lines.

This place was some distance from the front lines, and many communication devices only worked within a single Nightmare Area, making contact difficult. However, Song Jianshen had already sent several messages.

One was a request for reinforcements.

Another was to report they were safe and reinforcements were no longer needed.

And the last was about the commissions.

All he could do now was wait for news from the front; worrying wouldn’t help. With that in mind, Song Jianshen found a table and sat down. He prepared to experience for himself this camp that had attracted so many Dream Descenders.

But as for where to start his exploration of the Safe Zone, Song Jianshen couldn’t make up his mind for a moment.

Inside the shop, it seemed that besides the Manager, only Hair Ghost was an official staff member of the camp. The other Dream Descenders were just passersby staying for a short time.

But Hair Ghost was a senior Refining Stage expert and was also busy. Song Jianshen didn’t feel it was right to ask them to give him a tour of the Safe Zone.

Just then, the Dream Descender who had previously asked if he was a newcomer walked over.

He said, "Hey buddy, not sure how things work here? I can show you~"

Song Jianshen cupped his fist. "Thank you. I admit, my understanding of this place is limited."

"No need to be so formal. The Manager often says we Dream Descenders should help each other out."

The speaker was one of the Safe Zone’s members, Bearded Old Wang.

He was indeed an enthusiastic person, but he also had his own agenda.

’This guy Song in the black windbreaker is definitely a newbie to the Safe Zone, but I can’t actually treat him like one. He’s a high-ranking official from the Countermeasures Bureau.’

’If he becomes a regular here in the future, he’ll become a top player in minutes.’

’Even if he doesn’t, he’s still upper management in the Countermeasures Bureau. An ordinary Dream Descender wouldn’t even know where to start to make a connection like that.’

Old Wang generously ordered a table full of food.

There was a complete spread of food and drinks.

He said, "We’re still in the Nightmare World, after all, and I figure you’ve got things to do later, buddy. So let’s skip the alcohol. We’ll drink next time we get the chance."

Song Jianshen: "..."

’This Safe Zone camp even has alcohol?’

’Is this still a camp? The construction manual definitely didn’t say anything like this.’

’Cost-effectiveness, practicality, efficiency, safety—those are the things a camp should be pursuing!’

But as he looked at the relaxed expressions on the faces of the Dream Descenders in the shop, Song Jianshen understood that the Safe Zone had long since achieved all that. It was the same whether it was due to the camp’s powerful defensive facilities or the presence of a peak-level expert who provided enough reassurance.

The Safe Zone didn’t lack practicality, so the Manager had continuously added layers of comfort.

As a mid-to-high-level manager in charge of logistics, Song Jianshen could only see it as extravagant. He couldn’t imagine how many resources the Safe Zone had spent on all this.

But at that moment, he suddenly understood why Profound Sword and the others had seemed so uninterested when he had hosted them not long ago.

’My hospitality was completely subpar!’

Song Jianshen also ordered some food, and he ate and chatted with Bearded Old Wang and Old Yao.

Old Yao was too embarrassed to even call himself a regular of the Safe Zone.

He had only been posted here for a week or two on a mission from the Bureau, but by the time he turned around, the Safe Zone had developed so quickly it had left him in the dust.

’I haven’t even gotten on the bandwagon yet!’

Bearded Old Wang explained, "This here is the trading section. A lot of Dream Descenders post items they don’t need for sale here. Of course, you can also sell directly to the Safe Zone’s official shop. The Safe Zone will buy all sorts of dream items at sixty to eighty percent of the market price."

"Besides that, if you want to buy a rare item that isn’t in the trading section, you can go straight to the mission board and post a commission to buy it."

’For a single camp, these features are quite comprehensive.’

’If there were more people, the Safe Zone could even hold an auction.’

’No, it’s a camp built in the Nightmare World, after all. It’s impossible for it to attract that much foot traffic.’

Song Jianshen noticed there was also an official shop, so he tapped it open to take a look. The goods inside were dazzlingly diverse. Most were indeed dream items acquired from Dream Descenders—Curse Objects, items, and Dream Equipment. It had everything.

He also noticed that there were many ordinary items, like bandages and alcohol. These were mundane things, but sometimes they were probably more practical than dream-forged creations.

Old Yao was wrapped in quite a few bandages himself.

Bearded Old Wang said, "Look here."

He pointed to the very top of the official shop’s page.

"These few items are the essence of the Safe Zone’s shop. We call them the ’Dungeoneering Three-Piece Set’—oh, no, the ’Four-Piece Set’."

Torch! Special Drink! Reconnaissance Celestial Eye! Curse Power Potion!

Old Wang continued, "It’s because of this four-piece set—especially that amazing tool, the Reconnaissance Celestial Eye... oh, the official product name is Witchcraft Celestial Eye—that we Safe Zone Dream Descenders can tackle Nightmares so efficiently and safely."

"If you had to name a downside to this Divine Artifact, the only one would be that there are too few of these Reconnaissance Celestial Eyes. Sometimes you just can’t rent one."

"Look, that’s a Reconnaissance Celestial Eye right there."

Song Jianshen looked over.

He saw Hair Ghost approaching with a set of equipment, the core of which was a fist-sized eyeball with a pair of translucent wings on either side.

As a Dream Descender controlled it, the eyeball shot up into the air—WHOOSH—flying at an incredible speed, until someone shouted, "Hey, hey! No flying drones in the Safe Zone!" The person then scrambled to put the Witchcraft Flying Eye away.

This was clearly a ’country bumpkin’ using a Witchcraft Flying Eye for the first time.

Unfortunately, he, Song Jianshen, the esteemed Group Leader of the Countermeasures Bureau’s logistics division, was also one.

Bearded Old Wang said, "Let’s go, brother. I’ll take you to another great place. It’s the true marvel of the Safe Zone, a Treasure Land that countless Dream Descenders are vying for."

Song Jianshen couldn’t help but become curious, his expectations soaring.

...and ended up in a line with Bearded Old Wang.

On the left, three Dream Descenders were sitting, waiting in line.

On the right, three more Dream Descenders were also sitting, still waiting in line.

’Is this right?’

Bearded Old Wang gave an awkward laugh. "Ahem, I forgot it’s been crowded lately. There’s always a line for the Training Ground. But it’s fine. I can use my membership status to apply, so we should get in faster."

’It’s clear that this Training Ground is really popular!’

’Could it be...?’

An hour later, it was finally Song Jianshen’s turn. He walked into one of the training rooms with Bearded Old Wang and Old Yao.

Just a moment later,

"Holy shit!"

"The flow of Curse Power is so clear!"

"Could it be that I’m a genius too?"

Song Jianshen suddenly had an idea.

Compared to crudely posting commissions to call for reinforcements to the front line, wouldn’t it be better to...

have his colleagues from the assault team come for some advanced training?

’I’ll train first. We can talk after I’m done.’

...

「Meanwhile.」

The elites of the assault team were still fighting hard in the Ancient Village Nightmare. A bright future awaited them all.