Chapter 35 - 32: Stopping the Nightmare, We Are Duty-Bound

Chapter 35: Chapter 32: Stopping the Nightmare, We Are Duty-Bound

In the blink of an eye, the ten Dream Descenders had been resting inside the Safe Zone shop for over an hour.

Aside from the poor souls who had died at the hands of monsters right at the start, the remaining survivors felt their tension steadily lifting. They rejoiced at their good fortune in encountering a Safe Zone and receiving the Manager’s protection. Praise the Manager.

"If we can just keep staying in this shop... maybe for ten or twenty hours... wouldn’t we just safely outlast this large-scale Nightmare?"

"Could surviving a large-scale Nightmare really be this simple?"

Of course, they knew it wasn’t that simple. Furthermore, even though the Manager had offered them a place to rest without imposing a time limit, there was no way they would actually be allowed to loiter for over ten hours. Most of the Dream Descenders had enough self-awareness to know their place.

The Manager was protecting them out of the goodness of his heart, not out of any obligation. Shielding this many people likely came at a hefty price for him, and since they hadn’t even paid any compensation, they didn’t dare ask for more. That being said, driven by the basic human instinct to seek safety and avoid danger, they still secretly hoped they could stay inside as long as possible.

Having rested long enough, their confidence in tackling a hazard source had significantly grown.

Just then, Xi Xue made a proposal. "Let’s clear this large-scale Nightmare!"

The other Dream Descenders were stunned. They thought, "Wait, sis! This is a large-scale Nightmare! We barely have the confidence to clear a single hazard source, let alone the entire Nightmare!"

Even Hair Ghost, an expert in the Control Stage, felt this idea was far too risky. They had merely taken a short break; it wasn’t like their strength had multiplied tenfold.

However, Profound Sword surprisingly agreed with the proposal. "If we’re going to clear the Nightmare, count me in. I want to... completely conquer this large-scale Nightmare too."

Hair Ghost couldn’t quite understand. In his eyes, Xi Xue was just a boisterous little girl—inexperienced and prone to acting recklessly. Profound Sword, on the other hand, was clearly a seasoned and rational expert.

"Why do you say that?" Hair Ghost asked. "I’m sensing this urgent need from you—like you absolutely have to clear this Nightmare."

Profound Sword fell silent for a moment. Instead of answering directly, he asked, "I wonder, have any of you ever experienced a Nightmare invading reality?"

A Nightmare invading reality?

Duckbill Hat suddenly spoke up from the side. "I-I have! If the Countermeasures Bureau’s rescue team hadn’t arrived quickly that time, I probably would have died in there. A Nightmare that invades reality defies all logic!"

The pajama woman chimed in, "I’ve experienced one too, just half a month ago."

"Same here!"

Hair Ghost also spoke, his voice hoarse. "I’ve been through two. Well, that’s not counting the ones I voluntarily helped investigate."

One after another, the Dream Descenders shared their own encounters. Out of the exactly ten Dream Descenders present, a staggering eight had experienced an invasion event!

After all, none of them had been Dream Descenders for very long. Some had only awakened a month or two ago, and the most veteran among them had only been doing this for four or five months.

Even the most oblivious Dream Descenders realized something was wrong after comparing notes.

"Aren’t these Nightmare invasion disasters supposed to be rare?" Shi An asked in astonishment. His previous assumption, much like many others present, was that he simply had terrible luck and accidentally got swept up in a Nightmare invasion. Little did he know, everyone else was in the same boat; it wasn’t just his own rotten luck.

"In the past, Nightmare invasions were indeed rare," Profound Sword said. "However, I heard that maybe a year or two ago, the frequency of these invasions began to rise. Over the past few months, they have been happening constantly. Who knows how many of them occur in Baijiang City alone every single month."

Old Cai from the Countermeasures Bureau confirmed his claim. "Brother Profound Sword is right. I don’t know the exact numbers, but the Countermeasures Bureau has been deploying agents into the field far more often than before. Some of the guys at the bureau are buckling under the pressure.

"Indeed, right now Nightmare invasion events are still relatively manageable. But if these incidents continue to multiply and surpass a certain threshold, the balance will be completely shattered, and catastrophe could sweep across the world."

Old Cai realized what Profound Sword was about to say.

The next moment, Profound Sword took over. "And the reason Nightmare invasions are occurring so frequently is fundamentally because the number of Nightmare Worlds is constantly increasing. They are multiplying at a rate far exceeding our speed of clearing them."

He described it to them: Nightmare Worlds were like bubbles floating in the depths of the ocean. When the number of these bubbles continued to grow until they became overcrowded, some of them would be squeezed upward, crashing into reality.

"If we don’t clear these Nightmares as quickly as possible, there will come a day when large numbers of them invade reality. When that time comes...

"That is why I am so desperate to clear Nightmare Worlds."

Profound Sword offered a bitter smile. "However, this is a large-scale Nightmare. I honestly don’t have any certainty of success. We can only do our best."

Thinking about it carefully, attempting to clear a large-scale Nightmare with just their current group was indeed somewhat irrational.

But suddenly, the Manager spoke. "If you all wish to clear this Nightmare, I can provide you with some support.

"Not only can I offer you a sanctuary to eliminate any lingering worries, but if necessary, I can also step in to lend you a helping hand."

The Manager was going to make a move? Xi Xue’s eyes widened. The Manager had once claimed to be nothing more than an ordinary person, but that was obviously impossible; she wasn’t that gullible. Yet, how would the Manager intervene? She had a feeling he still wouldn’t step out of the shop.

Profound Sword was even more astonished.

The Manager was a Lost Person, right? For the Lost to survive, their top priority was to evade the gaze of the Nightmare World, blending in like aberrations or native creatures. While the Manager’s Safe Zone appeared stylistically antithetical to the entire Nightmare World, it was highly likely that within the Nightmare’s logical judgment, the shop was as inconspicuous as a dead tree or a dilapidated wooden cabin.

By sheltering them in the first place, the Manager’s risk of being detected by the Nightmare had already drastically increased. If he were to actively intervene now... No matter how powerful the Manager was, once he was locked onto by the Nightmare, there would be nowhere to run. Because at that point, what a Lost Person would have to face was far more than just the malice of a single Nightmare World.

Profound Sword remained silent for a moment before declaring, "We will not disappoint your expectations. We will definitely clear this Nightmare World!"

"Young people these days..." Hair Ghost said. "Well, since it’s come to this, count me into the Guidance Squad."

Old Cai and Knife exchanged a look. "Then our Countermeasures Bureau is even more duty-bound to help."

Duckbill Hat’s expression shifted wildly through hesitation and conflict before he gritted his teeth.

The pajama woman yelled, "I’m in!"

Duckbill Hat blinked in shock. "What? I-I’m in too!"

The remaining people steeled their resolve and joined in one after another. Even the young man with messy hair, codenamed College Student, declared that he was ready to risk it all.

"The first large-scale Nightmare clearance operation, centered around the Safe Zone, begins now!

"For Baijiang, for humanity, for the future—let’s fight the Nightmare with everything we’ve got, yeah!"