Chapter 57 - 54: Produced by the Safe Zone, It Must Be an Essence Product!

Chapter 57: Chapter 54: Produced by the Safe Zone, It Must Be an Essence Product!

Anomalies in the real world were indeed much easier to handle.

This wasn’t because the anomalies in reality were weaker.

It was purely because, in reality, the Countermeasures Bureau could easily mobilize multiple experts at the Control Stage or even the Refining Stage, and they had plenty of items, equipment, and weapons at their disposal.

Firearms had a limited effect on anomalies, but the Countermeasures Bureau had researched and developed targeted anti-anomaly weapons. It was just that many of them couldn’t be brought into Nightmares.

With experts, weapons, and logistics, surrounding and killing an anomaly was a breeze.

Shi An believed it wouldn’t take long; perhaps without even waiting until tomorrow, this anomaly would be dealt with. However...

"When an anomaly is discovered in the city, it often means that more anomalies might be hiding in the shadows. This also means that the barrier of reality has weakened, and the Nightmare invasion is growing more intense."

Nightmares invading reality! The Countermeasures Bureau’s strategy! The expansion of the rookie department! The Nightmare’s Gaze!

Shi An stood by the window. Outside was an endless stream of traffic, and everything still seemed peaceful. But he knew very well that in places he couldn’t see, the Nightmare infiltration was becoming increasingly severe.

Today’s Safe Zone could push more and more Dream Descenders to conquer Nightmares. According to Profound Sword, as long as Nightmares were cleared out one by one, the frequency of Nightmares invading reality would naturally drop significantly. The crisis would resolve itself.

"But is that really all it takes?" Shi An wondered. "After all, it’s highly likely that Nightmares have their own consciousness."

Riding his electric scooter home, Shi An pondered how he should explore the Nightmares.

He had already settled dinner at his workplace’s cafeteria. The moment he returned home, he immediately closed the door, drew the curtains, and opened the portal to the Safe Zone. With a single step, he returned to the Safe Zone.

"As expected, the Safe Zone is the most reassuring place," he thought.

Sitting at the desk in the Manager’s Office, Shi An twirled a pen in his hand, his mind churning as he continued to scheme.

"For now, the most pressing matters are upgrading the Safe Zone and investigating the issue regarding the Nightmare’s Gaze."

For the former, he couldn’t rush it, and rushing would be useless anyway. He just needed to let it develop step by step at the current pace. As for the latter, he would have to take the initiative himself. However, there weren’t many clues.

"If there’s a chance, I need to obtain information from the Countermeasures Bureau. As long as the Safe Zone successfully hosts the first exchange meeting, we can just ride the momentum and keep hosting them."

"In the short term..."

"I should first figure out a way to contract a second anomaly employee. If I have two anomaly employees, one can stay behind to guard the Safe Zone while the other remains hidden from public view, ready to be summoned into reality when necessary. My safety would be much better guaranteed."

He, Shi An, possessed the Power of Containment and wielded the rare Curse Object, the Invisible Corridor. Completely crushing Control Stage Dream Descenders wouldn’t be much of a problem. But true anomalies were even more terrifying, often killing people without a trace.

"I need to convert an employee and find a Curse Object capable of autonomous activation with passive defensive abilities," Shi An calculated inwardly.

As for how to make the "contract employee" option appear during the pick-one-out-of-three loot phase, Shi An already had an inkling.

"It depends on the specific Nightmare. Large-scale Nightmares naturally have a much higher probability, but they are incredibly difficult to conquer. It’s not suitable to challenge them just yet. But as for small-scale Nightmares..."

The fact that the previous Nightmare Dormitory could drop the Blood Hand Seal was akin to striking gold on a single pull. Normally, the loot from ordinary Nightmares mostly consisted of complete Curse Objects, Curse Templates, Member Cards, items, and Dream Crystals. Drawing a blueprint was already a rare occurrence.

However, through his observations, Shi An had also discovered some patterns.

"The more mundane the Nightmare, the lower the probability of dropping rare items."

The Nightmare Dormitory, the Nightmare Hospital, the pitch-black street, the eerie bus... These were places that existed in reality, and they were also the most frequently applied templates for Nightmares.

Conversely, the Pollution Spring from the previous large-scale Nightmare was not an object of reality. And afterward, there were a full two pieces of loot modeled after the Pollution Spring, both of which were incredibly precious options.

"Therefore, I need to find this type of Nightmare and conquer it."

The person to conquer it, naturally, would be Hair Ghost. At this moment, Shi An truly experienced the benefits of having a Dream Descender employee.

Of course, he wouldn’t mistreat Hair Ghost. Conquering Nightmares would allow Hair Ghost, who was only a step away, to break through, and Shi An would also provide the necessary items and fallback guarantees during the conquest. However...

Shi An glanced over the interface.

Currently, the Safe Zone was connected to two Nightmare Worlds. However, both of these locations were relatively ordinary, so he could just let the Dream Descenders conquer them on their own. The prerequisite to conquering the "special small-scale Nightmare" he wanted was finding it first. How to find it?

He certainly couldn’t rely on waiting. Given the speed at which the Safe Zone connected to new Nightmares, waiting three to five days would yield nothing. To find it, he had to delve deep into the Nightmares and search across the Nightmare Area.

"Nightmare Areas have always been traversable; one simply needs to find the gaps—or rather, the passages—between them. Dream Descenders often cross Nightmare Areas by chance, but I can actively look for them."

Relying on Hair Ghost to find it would be very difficult! Even though she was an expert at the Control Stage, she wouldn’t be much more efficient than an Ordinary Dream Descender when it came to searching for insignificant gaps.

Shi An had his own trump card.

He left the Manager’s Office and walked forward along the small corridor. On the left was the tool room, and on the right was the storage room. Inside the tool room, he had used Belief Value to modify a small single room.

At this moment, an extra branch path had appeared in the small corridor. Following the branch path forward, there was an archaic Obsidian door.

As Shi An approached, the Obsidian door rumbled open. The space inside was spacious but gloomy, with a bizarre black building standing tall within. Pipes crisscrossed across the building’s facade, and white steam hissed out from the pipe openings.

[Wizard’s Alchemy Workshop]!

Its appearance really did resemble a shady sweatshop. The previous introduction on the blueprint had been entirely unremarkable, but it wasn’t until Shi An built it that he realized the practicality of this Alchemy Workshop was much higher than he had imagined.

[Currently craftable items:]

[1. Wizard’s Witchcraft Flying Eye]

[2. I’m All Fired Up Special Drink]

[3. Flaming Torch]

[Note: There is a probability of failure and mutation during the crafting process.]

[Note: If there are additional crafting blueprints, they can be inputted into the Alchemy Workshop.]

All three items were incredibly practical!

The third item, the "Flaming Torch," was a torch that could be toggled on and off. And just how important was a torch in the Nightmare World? The Dream Descenders knew from profound experience. Many monsters and anomalies were weak to fire! At the very least, it could make them wary.

Such a torch was often even more practical than a Curse Object for Dream Descenders. At the very least, this thing had no side effects!

As for the second item, the special drink, after drinking it, one would feel as if an endless stream of power was surging throughout their body. At best, they could fight a great battle; at worst, they could oil their soles and slip away. It was just that the duration wasn’t long, and the user would become weak afterward.

The first item, the "Witchcraft Flying Eye," was also the item Shi An considered the most precious. It was a palm-sized eyeball with a pair of small feathered wings, capable of rapid flight.

[Witchcraft Flying Eye: Can transmit viewed images to the retina or a corresponding receiver. Comes with joystick control equipment.]

[Crafting Requirements: Cursed Dream Object: Incomplete x1, Dream Crystal Dust 500g, Materials containing Curse Power x3]

[Crafting Time: 3 Hours]

[Note: Investing additional Dream Crystal Dust can reduce the failure rate during crafting. A maximum of 1,000g of additional Dream Dust can be invested.]

The crafting cost was not low!

All in all, the cost of a single Witchcraft Flying Eye was close to three Dream Crystals! If it weren’t for the fact that the Safe Zone now collected a basic protection fee, he might not have even been able to craft two Witchcraft Flying Eyes.

Even so, and even though he had additionally harvested Incomplete Curse Objects over these past few days, Shi An had only managed to craft four Witchcraft Flying Eyes, and one of his attempts had even ended in failure. However, one of the crafting attempts resulted in a mutation—a positive mutation!

[Gloom Shadow’s Witchcraft Flying Eye: Possesses further visual range and faster flight speed.]

[Note: You can remotely control the Witchcraft Flying Eye through the Alchemy Workshop, but if the Witchcraft Flying Eye is in a Nightmare World that is not connected to the Safe Zone, a Member Card will be required as a relay.]

This was Shi An’s true reliance for exploring the Nightmare World! It could fly, and fly quickly at that. Wasn’t scurrying around the Nightmare World much better than relying on Dream Descenders?

Of course, Shi An kept this mutated Witchcraft Flying Eye for his own use. As for the remaining ones? Naturally, they would become another self-produced commodity for the Safe Zone, aside from the Purifying Water.

It was just that these things were limited in quantity and exorbitantly priced, making them unsuitable to be outright sold to Dream Descenders.

Thus, over in the business area, several Dream Descenders were waiting with eager anticipation.

"It’s here, it’s here!"

"The exploration weapon produced by the Safe Zone! The Witchcraft Flying Eye! I must rent it today!"

[Author’s Note: It’s a new week, begging for follow-up reads and monthly tickets~! Jian wants to push for the new book rankings, hoping for the support of all you wonderful readers.

Thank you so much~!

There will be an extra Chapter release at noon. Grinding hard through the New Year, I’ve done my best QAQ]