Chapter 43 - 40: Treasure Medicine and Upgrade

Chapter 43: Chapter 40: Treasure Medicine and Upgrade

The harvest from this large-scale Nightmare was abundant. As Manager Shi had put in a lot of effort, he would naturally take the remuneration he deserved.

Although, he was already considering establishing a "shelter mechanism."

As the number of Dream Descenders in the Safe Zone would only increase in the future, he definitely wouldn’t participate in specific events—nor was there any need to.

What he wanted to be was not a big shot among Dream Descenders, but rather the provider of a platform.

He withdrew his thoughts.

Manager Shi indeed didn’t think much of the loot remuneration.

Things like Complete Level Curse Objects, Dream Crystal Dust, Dream Materials, equipment, and so on were certainly nice, but compared to the "choose three out of five" reward he had gotten earlier, they were not worth mentioning.

It was like having just eaten a grand feast; facing appetizers afterward would leave one lacking interest.

His original plan was to take some items of decent value. At worst, he could pile them in the storage room and perhaps display them later for some small-scale trading.

Of course, Manager Shi wasn’t completely without needs.

He thought, "For example, building the ’Wizard’s Alchemy Workshop’ requires an assortment of miscellaneous materials."

Previously, for the choose three out of five reward, he had ultimately selected the Purification Spring, Member Card, and Alchemy Workshop Blueprint.

Shi An had actually really wanted to choose the Fallen Spring Spirit reward to convert it into his little shop’s second employee.

He had truly witnessed just how powerful Little Blood was this time.

Far surpassing Control Stage experts like Profound Sword, Little Blood could likely contend with many top experts of Baijiang City.

Such as the Captain Level powerhouses of the Countermeasures Bureau.

It was said that every captain in the Countermeasures Bureau was a Refining Stage expert, and not just an ordinary Refining Stage expert either—they might be in the Second Refinement or Third Refinement Realm.

Shi An coveted the Fallen Spring Spirit.

Unfortunately...

He realized, "The Safe Zone hasn’t been upgraded yet, so I currently can’t convert a second employee.

"I also can’t possess a second building, but the blueprint can be kept."

[Wizard’s Alchemy Workshop (Blueprint)]

[Construction Requirements: Belief Value 0/150, Dream Crystal Dust 0/3000g, any Incomplete Level Curse Object 0/3, Dream Black Pine Wood 0/3, Dreamland Cyan Grey Stone 0/3.]

[Prompt: There are currently no additional areas available for construction. Please upgrade the Safe Zone Level first.]

The construction cost was not low.

Among the requirements, the 150 points of Belief Value would have been a massive sum for Shi An before today, but now, he could manage to pull it out.

As for the Dream Crystal Dust, the Incomplete Curse Objects, and the two Ordinary Dream Materials, Shi An was counting on picking them from the loot.

There were indeed such materials among the loot.

Things like the black pine wood and cyan grey stone weren’t of high value, far inferior to an Incomplete Curse Object.

As for the Curse Objects...

Since they were plundering a large-scale Nightmare this time, the number of Curse Objects the Guidance Squad obtained was similarly not small.

"A full eight Curse Objects... HISS! Three of them are even Complete Level Curse Objects!"

Duckbill Hat and the others were dazzled by the sight.

When had they ever seen so many Curse Objects placed together?

Even a genius from a major organization like Profound Sword felt quite a sense of accomplishment.

Could the Curse Objects within an organization feel the same as the Curse Objects acquired by one’s own hands?

However, Shi An’s gaze fell on a few items not far away that looked like medicinal herbs.

One of them was the size of a palm, looking like a glossy ganoderma but displaying a dark, bloody red color.

The other was an inconspicuous little grass—or it would be, if not for the bursts of icy mist permeating around it.

Shi An stared intently.

But no fragmented information appeared.

He also temporarily couldn’t see any information regarding those Curse Objects either.

He wondered, "Is this because they don’t truly belong to me yet?

"But this leaves me a bit in the dark."

Without knowing the item information, how was Manager Shi supposed to choose?

Seeing the Manager’s gaze lingering there, Old Cai spoke up, "These are the Blood Ganoderma and the Ice-Numbing Grass."

Old Cai naturally believed that the Manager was definitely clear on the effects of these two Treasures.

However, among those present, people like Duckbill Hat and the college student most likely didn’t know.

Treasures were not often seen.

"These are Dream Treasures, which can also be called Dream Treasure Medicines," he introduced to the college student and the others. "The biggest difference between them and Dream Materials is that Treasures have inherent effects and can be used directly, and their effects are often extraordinary.

"For example, this Blood Ganoderma can simply be sliced and eaten directly, which can significantly enhance a person’s physical fitness.

"This Ice-Numbing Grass is also a good Treasure. Brewing it in water to drink can slowly enhance our Spirit.

"However, as they are products of a Nightmare after all, both have slight side effects. Excessive consumption will lead to symptoms like physical mutation and mental madness, though it’s not a big problem."

In the eyes of Dream Descenders, such minor side effects were indeed just small problems.

Not to mention, these slight side effects could easily be overcome as long as the consumption intervals were spaced out.

Clearly, Treasures possessing such significant effects were not much inferior in value to a Complete Curse Object.

In the eyes of big shots who weren’t lacking in Curse Objects, the value of Treasures was probably even higher than that of Curse Objects.

After all, Treasure Medicines were consumables and would always be in short supply.

As for Curse Objects, once one’s build system took shape, there was no need to acquire new ones.

"Of course, the value of these two Treasure Medicines is definitely far inferior to the Purifying Spiritual Spring Water that the Manager brought out earlier," Profound Sword added.

The Manager picked out these two Treasure Medicines and also selected a Complete Curse Object.

Afterward, everyone began to split the loot... dividing the spoils of war.

Shi An thought to himself, "The amount of Dream Crystal Dust harvested by the Guidance Squad this time is quite a lot. There are a total of eight Dream Crystals and 666g of Dream Dust."

Among them, a Dream Crystal was a higher-tier item of Dream Crystal Dust, equivalent to 1000g of crystal dust.

He could take half.

To be honest, this was exactly the material he urgently needed. At the very least, he no longer had to worry about the Dream Dust required to build the Wizard Workshop.

Subsequently, Shi An gathered Ordinary Materials like the black pine wood and cyan grey stone, and then picked out four Incomplete Curse Objects.

After the division of the loot and a brief rest, the time limit for the Dream Descenders was also up, and they successively departed from the Nightmare World.

Before the last person, Hair Ghost, departed from the Nightmare World, the entire Nightmare World began to be permeated by rolling grey mist once again. It was ominous and bizarre, as if attempting a resurgence.

Shi An could even vaguely sense that the previous peering, staring, and malice also showed signs of reviving.

However, before that malice could truly descend, Hair Ghost’s time was also up.

With his departure, white mist outside the Safe Zone surged again, completely obscuring the scenery outside the window. This also meant that the connection between the Safe Zone and this large-scale Nightmare World was thoroughly severed.

That malice which had yet to descend dissipated without a trace.

But Shi An still furrowed his brows.

He pondered, "What exactly was that malice?

"Could it be that the Nightmare World has a consciousness of its own?

"Although that malice was far from threatening the Safe Zone when it enveloped us earlier, it... must be guarded against."

Shi An frowned in thought.

But there was too little information.

He thought, "Since things have come to this, I should upgrade first."

He summoned Little Blood.

Little Blood transformed into a blood-red mark, branding itself onto the back of his hand.

The next moment,

[DING!]

[Prompt: 100 units of Belief Value deducted. The Safe Zone is upgrading.]

[Prompt: The estimated duration for this upgrade is 12 hours. During the upgrade period, the Safe Zone will be temporarily closed.]

The white mist completely enveloped everything.

Shi An’s consciousness flew like a bird, flying out of the Safe Zone and out of the boundless Sea of Nightmares.

He returned to the Present Realm.

However, right at the moment of his return, another cryptic prompt surfaced in his mind.

[DING!]

[Prompt: You have changed the destinies of eight Dream Descenders. Calculating...]