Chapter 29 - 26: Dream Descender’s Kill Threshold

Chapter 29: Chapter 26: Dream Descender’s Kill Threshold

Shi An lay in bed. His body was aching, but his mind was exceptionally clear.

Not long ago, when he cleared his initial Nightmare, the scratches on his arm had healed in an instant.

He thought, "The Countermeasures Bureau’s files briefly mentioned this. Clearing a Nightmare doesn’t just grant Dream Crystal Dust; it also accelerates one’s comprehension of Curse Objects and... restores the body!"

The higher the clearance rating, the greater the comprehension and recovery.

This was exactly what Xi Xue, Old Yao, and the others relied on when they dared to fight anomalies head-on. Otherwise, with the frequent use of Curse Objects—even if large organizations provided special recovery medicine—a Dream Descender’s body and Spirit would eventually break down.

He deduced, "Therefore, Dream Descenders must either work hard to conquer Nightmares, or at the very least, secure a high rating upon exiting to maximize their recovery.

"Alternatively, they have to ensure their own safety by avoiding injuries and the use of Curse Objects, striving for a run with neither merits nor faults."

That was how they guaranteed their survival.

But once this balance was broken—for example, if a Dream Descender repeatedly used Curse Objects without gaining enough rewards from the Nightmare World, and lacked the savings to buy recovery medicine—then...

They would likely fall below the Slash line.

The side effects of their Curse Objects would snowball. With their condition deteriorating, they would become increasingly powerless against Nightmares, making it impossible to earn high ratings or survive unscathed. Within two or three Nightmares, the Dream Descender would be truly Slashed, sinking into the deep sea of Nightmares.

Of course, Shi An would not be Slashed.

It wasn’t just him. In theory, as long as a Dream Descender obtained a long-term ticket to the Safe Zone, they would never fall below the Slash line again. No matter how unfortunate they were or what disasters they faced, with the Safe Zone as their safety net, they still had infinite possibilities in the future—as long as they survived.

Shi An sorted out his thoughts.

He reasoned, "The Safe Zone does indeed exist within the Nightmare World. Entering and leaving the Safe Zone is equivalent to entering and leaving the Nightmare World once.

"Even though I didn’t do anything in the Safe Zone... or rather, the Nightmare World—my stats for exploration, combat, and gathering were all zero. It was basically the absolute minimum requirement to clear a Nightmare. I was worse than a freeloader."

But it was still an experience. A zero-point experience was an experience nonetheless.

Through it, he could exploit a tiny loophole in the Nightmare World’s rules!

And he could abuse this to the fullest.

At this thought, Shi An stopped hesitating. He immediately sank into the deep sea of Nightmares and appeared in the Safe Zone. He took another deep breath.

"Exit the Safe Zone."

SPLASH!

Shi An opened his eyes in bed once again. Immediately after...

Enter, exit. Enter, exit.

He went in and out several times in a row, frantically spamming the Nightmare World’s recovery rules.

Little Blood, the Blood Hand Seal crouching on the bar counter, watched its Manager come in, go out, come in again, and go out yet again...

A giant question mark popped up over its large head.

Humans were truly neurotic creatures.

Hmph, humans!

It sneered and closed its eyes to continue slacking off.

Shi An glanced at it. Anomalies were truly neurotic creatures.

He ignored it. When he entered the Safe Zone once more, he made a sudden discovery.

He realized, "It’s gone!

"The sinister cold power lingering in my body has completely vanished!

"Even my sweat is gone, and my depleted stamina is fully restored.

"Right, and also..."

Shi An paced back and forth a few times. As expected, he didn’t bump into any walls or chairs anymore. The side effect of getting lost had disappeared as well.

From now on, whenever he used a Dream Curse Object, he would no longer have to worry about its side effects.

***

That night, Shi An occasionally brought out the Invisible Corridor and Pitch-Black Shoe Covers for practice. The rest of the time, he waited for customers to arrive.

The upgraded Safe Zone was quite reliable. On average, it could pull in at least one batch of visitors throughout an entire day. However, most of the time, these batches consisted of only one or two people. Many Dream Descenders were excessively vigilant; even after seeing the Safe Zone store, they adamantly refused to step inside.

But as Shi An slightly tweaked his strategy and proactively left the door wide open, the Dream Descenders couldn’t resist stepping inside.

They just wanted to take a look, just one glance.

And with that single glance, well, they were too reluctant to leave. They even regretted ever hesitating in the first place.

Shi An thought, "Take it slowly. Once the Safe Zone’s reputation gradually spreads, Dream Descenders will be begging to find its entrance."

That night, two batches of Dream Descenders arrived—one was a solo visitor, and the other was a duo.

Of course, these Dream Descenders weren’t as fierce as Xi Xue and Old Yao. Upon realizing the store was safe and reliable, they chose to seize the opportunity to rest as much as possible.

Conquer the Nightmare? They wouldn’t dare.

Even so, they provided wave after wave of Belief Value. He was one step closer to upgrading the Safe Zone again.

Over the next three days, Student Shi An’s life was highly structured. During the day, he rode his electric scooter to Baijiang University to study, absorbing all kinds of knowledge regarding Nightmares. At night, he would wash up early and go to sleep, never carrying his fatigue over to the next day. When his colleagues heard about this, they all praised his extreme self-discipline.

Shi An was indeed disciplined. As soon as he fell asleep, he arrived at the Safe Zone. He greeted the guests, listened to the Dream Descenders brag, and occasionally, when the mood struck him, put on the act of a big shot.

He mused, "Just a few days ago, I was still an Ordinary person. Seeing a burly man in a black suit radiating a menacing aura would make my heart tremble.

"Who would have thought that in just a few days, I’d be effortlessly playing the role of a big shot."

During this time, Shi An also ran into a regular customer in the Safe Zone—Old Yao.

It had only been four and a half days, yet Old Yao experienced a Fallen Dream once again. It made Shi An sigh at how difficult it was to be a Dream Descender.

It had only been four days. He barely had any time to catch his breath.

Not to mention, Old Yao still had to work during the day. He either had to accompany his team to handle Nightmare invasion disasters, or, during his free time, guide the rookies.

These tasks were things he truly had no choice but to do. Shi An could only marvel. Old Yao was truly a man built like a workhorse.

Old Yao, however, was used to it. He even sighed and said, "Manager, this Safe Zone you’ve established can truly change the fate of us Dream Descenders."

He used to be very pessimistic, believing that he would lose his life sooner or later. But now, if he could frequently visit the Safe Zone to recuperate, Old Yao felt that surviving for another eight or ten years wouldn’t be difficult at all.

It was just... whether he actually could was the problem.

Shi An pondered for a moment before saying, "You are all tied by fate; you have a relatively high probability of finding this place again."

This was actually based on theory. Those who had visited the Safe Zone had already formed an invisible connection with it, so their chances of finding it again were higher.

However, it still depended on luck.

For example, the current Safe Zone could only connect to one Nightmare World at a time. If the previous batch of visitors hadn’t yet exited their Nightmare, and Old Yao fell into a Nightmare right at that moment, then no matter how lucky he was, he wouldn’t be able to reach the Safe Zone.

But Shi An believed that as the Safe Zone upgraded and developed, there would definitely be a solution to this problem. Regular customers were, after all, a vital part of the Safe Zone.

Old Yao looked at the still-empty store and couldn’t help but think, "If many Dream Descenders could come here and receive the Manager’s protection, I reckon the dark clouds looming over Baijiang would largely dissipate."

Thinking this, Old Yao chuckled to himself.

No matter how powerful the Manager was, he was still just one person. Besides, the Manager protecting them was out of kindness, not obligation. The pressure on Dream Descenders and the dark clouds over Baijiang were matters for their Countermeasures Bureau to handle. They couldn’t push that burden onto the Manager.

Yet, he still couldn’t help but wonder. If... if that day truly came, then all of Baijiang might finally see the sun.