Chapter 14 - 11: I Choose You, Employee No. 1

Chapter 14: Chapter 11: I Choose You, Employee No. 1

About an hour after Xi Xue left the Nightmare World, K became the second to break free from the Nightmare.

Although K and Old Yao had entered the Nightmare at the exact same time, their seniority differed, which meant the duration of their fall into the Nightmare varied as well.

The time Dream Descenders spent in their fallen dreams would only grow longer.

Shi An noted, "This is another crucial piece of information. Better write this down."

A while later, the final visitor, Old Yao, also broke free from the Nightmare and returned to reality.

Accompanying Old Yao’s return, Shi An noticed thick white fog once again rolling in outside the Safe Zone’s main doors. It obscured all vision, completely isolating the store from the rest of the world.

Did this mean the Safe Zone had disconnected from the Nightmare Dormitory?

It was a known fact that when the white fog dispersed to reveal the outside environment, Shi An could step out of his small shop—he was simply too much of a homebody to want to go out.

But now, the Safe Zone had become an independent space.

"Not only is the connection severed," Shi An muttered, "but it seemed that right before it happened, a faint gray mist began permeating the dormitory building, breeding something ominous."

Judging by what the Dream Descenders had mentioned earlier, this probably meant a Nightmare was about to descend again.

How long had it even been since the anomaly was subjected to purification?

No wonder they said Dream Descenders could never know peace. Their plight was truly sympathetic.

"However," Shi An mused, "as long as I keep expanding the Safe Zone, I can build a true Sanctuary in this Nightmare World. Just thinking about it is quite something to look forward to."

By now, the Safe Zone had returned to silence, leaving Shi An all alone.

He took stock of the spoils before him.

These were the items left behind by Xi Xue and Old Yao.

"First up, one hundred and thirty grams of Dream Dust."

Dream Dust, fully known as Dream Crystal Dust, was a special material that typically only generated in small amounts when a Dream Descender awakened from a dream. Of course, scavenging or clearing the Nightmare World could also yield Dream Dust.

It could be considered a type of casting material, or perhaps a power source.

Shi An recalled, "A Dream Descender needs to expend a massive amount of physical stamina, and even Life Force, to use a Dream Curse Object. Depending on the Curse Object, this is often accompanied by all sorts of side effects. But as long as they consume Dream Dust, they can exempt themselves from a significant portion of the cost of using the Dream Curse Object.

"Moreover, this Dream Crystal Dust has other wonderful uses. Among the community of Dream Descenders, it can practically be seen as a universal currency."

This stuff wasn’t bad at all. The main appeal was that Dream Crystal Dust was harmless; holding it barehanded wouldn’t cause any negative effects.

Naturally, Shi An still chose to store it inside the shop’s cabinet.

Aside from the Dream Crystal Dust, there were a few Dream Materials whose specific uses Shi An wasn’t clear on yet. Similar to the Dream Crystal Dust, the defining trait of these dream creations was that they could transition freely between reality and the Nightmare World.

Only dream products capable of crossing the boundary between the two realms held any value in the eyes of Dream Descenders.

It was just that Shi An had absolutely no idea how high or low the value of these materials actually was.

After finishing his inventory of the spoils, Shi An rubbed his hands together. "After the appetizer comes the main course."

He genuinely didn’t care about splitting the loot, because the true harvest was already in his hands.

With a mere thought, information materialized before his eyes.

[Safe Zone Operation Settlement:]

[You have sheltered three Dream Descenders, gaining a total of 3.66 units of Belief Value.]

This was much more than he had received from the man in the black suit previously.

After all, there had been three guests this time. That was one factor; additionally, the three of them had stayed in the Safe Zone for a longer period than the man in the black suit.

"Looking at it this way, upgrading the Safe Zone won’t be difficult at all," Shi An remarked.

Of course, the settlement was far from over.

The substantial Belief Value obtained daily through hosting and sheltering was still just an appetizer.

This time, Shi An did not obtain the achievement of ’Changing a Dream Descender’s Fate,’ but...

[You have conquered a Nightmare Dream Realm, gaining 30 units of Belief Value.]

[You may choose one of the following three options as your spoils for conquering the Nightmare.]

[1. Dream Curse Object: Blood-Colored Mud Seal]

[Description: If an ordinary person holds this mud seal, they can stamp a blood-colored handprint on any living creature. The stamp will devour flesh and dissolve bone. However, activating the mud seal also requires the wielder to pay a portion of their own flesh and blood as a price. More abilities are awaiting development.]

Shi An leaned back, gasping sharply.

This Blood-Colored Mud Seal Curse Object seemed even more vicious than the Shadow Giant Scissors, although the price for using it was also steep.

This was a complete Curse Object that didn’t need to be forged using Belief Value. Shi An figured it was roughly on par with the one in Xi Xue’s hands, except that the Safe Zone had detailed its method of use and the accompanying price for him, sparing the user from having to blindly experiment and figure it out.

Naturally, Shi An passed on it. This thing was far too ruthless.

He wasn’t cut out to be a ruthless man.

[2. Blueprint: Lounge]

[Description: Can be used to expand the Safe Zone and open up a special rest space. Inside the Lounge, a Dream Descender’s Spirit and injuries will slowly recover.]

[Note 1: Constructing the Lounge requires the consumption of Belief Value.]

[Note 2: The current Safe Zone Level is Level 1. Only one additional area can be opened.]

——

[3. Special: Blood Hand Seal]

[Description: Converts a special life form ’Blood Hand Seal’ and contracts it as a Safe Zone employee. The employee is under the jurisdiction of the Safe Zone Manager; however, the Manager must pay the employee a daily wage. The current wage for the Blood Hand Seal is: 0.3 Belief Value/day.]

[Note: The current Safe Zone Level is Level 1. You may have one, and only one, employee.]

Unlike the time he altered fate, Shi An was allowed to choose his own reward this time.

One out of three!

All three rewards were closely related to the Nightmare Dormitory. After ruling out the first reward, Shi An began to hesitate.

"The Lounge is a functional space. It’s very tempting."

After all, aside from providing safety, the current Safe Zone had no other effects.

But Option 3, converting and contracting a special employee... Shi An found it even more tempting.

What made him hesitate was—would the Blood Hand Seal employee pose any danger? And the fact that as an employee, the Blood Hand Seal actually needed to be paid a wage?

Paying wages was reasonable, but paying wages to an anomaly seemed quite unreasonable.

After pondering for a moment, Shi An ultimately made his choice. "I choose you, Option 3!"

Formless power surged, pouring into the remnants left behind after the Nightmare Dormitory anomaly had faced purification.

White fog gathered within the small shop.

Shi An widened his eyes, quietly waiting for the conversion to finish. What would his very first employee look like? Would it be like the dormitory anomaly—an invisible entity that only left blood-colored handprints wherever it passed? Or perhaps...

Shi An visualized one ferocious, terrifying image after another. Until the white fog dispersed, and an object about thirty to forty centimeters tall, completely brownish-red and round like a clay figurine... an employee, appeared on the counter in front of him.

Hmm. If its appearance were swapped out for a Maneki-neko and placed right here, it wouldn’t look out of place at all.

Shi An thought, dumbfounded, "Is this adorkable little clay figurine the true face of that terrifying anomaly?

"Wait, could it be that it’s been ’purified’ into something thirty times weaker?!"

The prompt message didn’t seem to explicitly state that this special life form, the Blood Hand Seal, was identical to the anomalous Blood Hand Seal.

However, Shi An could distinctly feel a tight connection existing between himself and this little guy.

He hadn’t been given the wrong goods.

As he pondered, the Blood Hand Seal opened its eyes, radiating a vibe that screamed: "I am super fierce!"