Chapter 48 - 45: Safe Zone Management Strategy

Chapter 48: Chapter 45: Safe Zone Management Strategy

Inside the shop, Shi An sat in his chair, pondering as he placed a thin slice cut from the Blood Ganoderma into his mouth.

He chewed and swallowed.

It tasted a bit fishy. The flavor of the Blood Ganoderma was indeed far from pleasant. So, Shi An immediately grabbed the Purifying Spring Water placed beside him and took a big gulp. GLUG GLUG.

With a bite of Blood Ganoderma and a sip of Spiritual Spring Water, he sat in his little shop, looking completely at ease.

With the Purifying Spring Water, Shi An theoretically could have eaten the entire Blood Ganoderma directly without suffering any side effects.

But the old saying was right.

"A weak body cannot withstand potent tonics," he mused. "Eating too much at once will do more harm than good. Besides, even if it were harmless, it would inevitably waste the medicinal efficacy of the Treasure Medicine."

Shi An chose to take it slow, eating it bite by bite.

After all, he only had the physique of an ordinary corporate drone; it was impossible for him to suddenly become built like a top-tier athlete. And if he could, he would have to deeply consider what the price might be.

Shi An pondered as he felt a warm current flow through his body.

He had indeed gained quite a lot from the last expedition into the Nightmare World.

However...

"The distribution and selection of the loot are far too tedious," he thought.

"Considering the prying eyes of the Nightmares and the shroud of malice out there, I won’t let Little Blood step out of the Safe Zone again until I fully grasp the situation.

"But the most important thing is..."

In the future, as more and more Dream Descenders arrived at the Safe Zone, there would be multiple teams exploring different Nightmare Worlds simultaneously. It was impossible for him to keep an eye on every single one of them.

It was too troublesome and completely unnecessary.

"I don’t need to personally step in and team up with the Dream Descenders," he murmured to himself. "While I do hope they conquer more Nightmare Worlds—since it benefits both me and all of Baijiang—all I have to do is set up the platform and establish the rules. Mature Dream Descenders will naturally go out to explore the Nightmare Worlds on their own.

"As for the matter of profit..."

After some consideration, Shi An decided to directly charge a "basic protection fee."

He hadn’t charged anything at first because he needed to gather Belief Value from the Dream Descenders. Plus, back then, he knew absolutely nothing about the Nightmare Worlds or the Dream Descenders’ circles; even if he had wanted to set a standard, he wouldn’t have known how.

But now...

"Many Dream Descenders have already expressed that their consciences are troubled by receiving protection for free, which is why they always try to offer up a share whenever they gain something from a Nightmare World," he analyzed.

"Meanwhile, a small minority of Dream Descenders are perfectly content to enjoy the Safe Zone’s protection without giving anything back."

Since both groups enjoyed the exact same protection, this situation was quite unfair to the former.

It would be better to charge a basic entrance fee to replace the "loot distribution" phase. Otherwise, there would be times when the loot scavenged from a Nightmare was simply subpar—should he take his cut then, or not?

"As for the materials I need to construct Safe Zone buildings or forge other items..." Shi An stroked his chin. "When the time comes, I can just issue quests to the Dream Descenders who visit the shop, using the Dream Crystal Dust I collected earlier as the reward. Once there are more people in the future, the Safe Zone can also accept quests posted by other Dream Descenders, transforming this place into a comprehensive platform for quest issuing, acceptance, communication, trading, and resting."

Given the Safe Zone’s positioning, this was entirely possible.

And the VIP members would serve as the backbone of the Safe Zone—a core group of Dream Descenders gathered tightly around him.

"However..." he mused. "How much should I set the fee at?"

After thinking about it for quite a while, Shi An came up with a number.

"A hundred grams of Dream Dust," he decided.

"Generally speaking, if a Dream Descender survives a Nightmare World by playing hide-and-seek, they can earn a little over a hundred grams of Dream Crystal Dust from a single Nightmare run. That’s practically the guaranteed minimum income."

By keeping the fee lower than the minimum income, he could ensure that the Dream Descenders wouldn’t cross the Nightmares’ execution threshold just to pay him.

Furthermore, since merely taking the guaranteed minimum yielded limited income, this fee would also motivate them to actively explore the Nightmare Worlds. As long as a Dream Descender had even a slight harvest and sold a few scavenged materials, their income for a single trip would far exceed a hundred grams of Dream Dust.

Shi An had another motive as well.

"The Dream Descenders who come to the Safe Zone, even if they’re only at the Fusion Stage, have the qualifications to conquer Nightmares if they work together. Such power cannot be wasted. After all, according to what Profound Sword and Old Cai said, the number of Nightmare Worlds is constantly expanding, and the Nightmares are continuously invading reality..."

Once the Nightmares swept across reality and disasters continuously erupted, was he supposed to just hide in the Safe Zone forever?

If all of Baijiang City fell into ruin, what would be the point of him eking out an ignoble existence alone?

"Perhaps, this is the very reason why the Safe Zone exists," he sighed softly.

A hundred grams of Dream Dust wasn’t much, whether it was for him or for any capable Dream Descender.

However, Shi An didn’t intend to rely on basic entrance fees as his primary source of income anyway. Paid services like the Purifying Spring Water and the lounges would be the real moneymakers. Maybe he could even take up a side hustle selling Curse Objects?

Of course, if the Safe Zone gained a variety of special facilities in the future and the platform became highly developed, he could even waive the entrance fee entirely.

With these thoughts in mind, Shi An opened his interface.

[Safe Zone]

[Tier: Level 2]

[Contracted Employees: Blood Hand Seal, (Pending Contract)]

[Additional Areas: Purification Spring, (Pending Construction)]

[Building Blueprints: Wizard’s Alchemy Workshop]

[Dream Curse Object Template: Shadow Giant Scissors]

[Resources: Belief Value: 320 units; Dream Crystal: 3.866 pieces; Curse Objects: ...]

[Stored Curse Objects: Invisible Corridor, (Pending Containment)]

[Currently Connected Nightmare Worlds: None, searching...]

[Upgrade Requirements: Belief Value: 320/1000; Dream Crystal: 3/20; Dream Descender Visitors: 23/100.]

Shi An glanced over it and gave a slight nod.

"The upgrade requirements for the Safe Zone still aren’t too difficult, but it seems other conditions have started to appear," he noted.

Twenty Dream Crystals—that was definitely not a small amount. But for someone dedicated to building a platform like him, it wouldn’t be too hard to scrape together.

As for the other condition, however...

"This number should refer to the total amount of visitors who have currently been to the Safe Zone," he deduced.

"Hm, and it probably deducts the ones who have already lost their lives."

With a thought, Shi An first activated the building blueprint he had obtained earlier.

[Prompt: Resources deducted.]

[Prompt: Additional Area "Wizard’s Alchemy Workshop" is currently being excavated and constructed. Time remaining: 8 hours.]

From a perspective that only Shi An could see, a shroud of white mist enveloped one side of the Safe Zone. From within it, the CLINK CLANK of hammering faintly echoed.

Immediately after, he utilized an authority that the Safe Zone had possessed from the very beginning: [Consume Belief Value to modify the interior of the Safe Zone] (Chapter 2).

With these modifications, he could conjure up ordinary tables and chairs out of thin air or add a folding screen to an area. He could also add to or patch up details within the Safe Zone’s existing rules.

However, he could not arbitrarily invent new rules, nor could he alter the underlying logic of the Safe Zone.

He couldn’t manifest special equipment like the Value Assessment Machine out of thin air, but he could modify how it was operated. He changed it from being free of charge to a self-service, pay-to-use model that required the insertion of Dream Dust.

[Prompt: Belief Value -36.5.]

After finishing his modifications, Shi An clapped his hands and called it a day.

"Well then, it’s time..."

The Safe Zone was officially open for business.