Chapter 61 - 58: Baijiang Research Institute

Chapter 61: Chapter 58: Baijiang Research Institute

The Dream Descender organization at Baijiang University was also an official institution.

With a small headcount, its functions leaned heavily toward research. Its full name was the Baijiang Research Institute. Many of the items used by the Countermeasures Bureau actually originated from this institute.

The two Dream Descenders were both wearing silvery-white coats. Though they looked like lab coats, they were actually combat suits. Their ability to defend against sharp weapons and resist corruption was significantly stronger than the everyday clothing Dream Descenders usually wore. They were the same type of standard-issue gear as the Countermeasures Bureau’s black trench coats. However, compared to many Dream Descenders from the Countermeasures Bureau, these two researchers were clearly much wealthier.

One of them was a Control Stage expert, and the other was also a Control Stage expert.

On the surface, they were both professors at Baijiang University. They each ran their own research groups and mentored students.

One of them, wearing a pair of special glasses, adjusted his frames and gazed at their surroundings. "This Nightmare is indeed quite unique. I can see crimson ’Double Happiness’ characters pasted in the distance. The elements of this Nightmare might be related to marriage."

The other Dream Descender first took out some special powder and scattered it around. He didn’t stop until he had laid down a complete circle.

"Marriage? A ghost marriage?" he said. "This type of Nightmare is quite rare, and the products of a Nightmare are closely related to its type. In a Nightmare like this, I reckon we can find some rare treasures.

"Jiang, maybe we could start a project to research the products of special Nightmare Worlds."

The professor surnamed Jiang pondered, "Which types of Nightmares yield which specific Treasures when conquered—that has always been something I wanted to research. It’s just that..."

Researching the items that could simply be found and their connection to a Nightmare World was fine. But researching the correlation between a Nightmare and the Treasures obtained by conquering it... that was incredibly difficult! Conquering a Nightmare was an extremely challenging and highly risky endeavor, after all.

For such a rare ghost-marriage-themed Nightmare, Researcher Jiang was itching to discover what Curse Objects might drop after conquering it, and whether there would be any extra gains. Unfortunately, he only dared to think about it; reason quickly suppressed his inner urges. Even though they were both in the Control Stage and possessed many items that others lacked, conquering it meant directly confronting anomalies... especially in this kind of unique Nightmare.

Researcher Jiang ultimately chose to play it safe. He would leave it for the future.

Shi An thought, "These two Dream Descenders seem a bit cowardly. They clearly look fully equipped and aren’t weak."

He guessed that at least one of them was a Control Stage Dream Descender, or possibly even both. When he first met Hair Ghost, a Control Stage expert, the man had looked rather haggard. He was nowhere near as energetic as these two.

He thought, "Control Stage experts being this cowardly have no future. Just look at all the regulars in my Safe Zone; they can clear Nightmares while only in the Fusion Stage."

But Shi An had somewhat forgotten a crucial detail. The Dream Descenders from his Safe Zone and those from the outside world... could they even be compared?

He mused, "I’ll just leave it to Hair Ghost to approach them about cooperating to conquer the Nightmare. Hair Ghost is a mature Dream Descender. He naturally knows what to do."

Shi An didn’t need to worry. He only had to handle logistical support and act as a safety net when necessary. For instance, if absolutely required, the Blood Hand Seal could still take action.

What counted as absolutely required? It wasn’t for conquering the Nightmare itself. If the Nightmare was truly impossible to beat, they could just move on to another one; there was no need to force it. But if Hair Ghost encountered a life-threatening crisis at a critical moment in battle against an anomaly, sending the Blood Hand Seal in to save his life and crush the Nightmare in one fell swoop was perfectly fine.

"The key is time!" Shi An reminded himself.

Over the past few days, he had naturally conducted some tests. If the Blood Hand Seal stayed outside for a certain period, it would draw the Nightmare’s prying gaze. If it took action, the time before the Nightmare started spying would be drastically shortened. As for what would happen if the Nightmare’s prying and staring continued for a longer period? Shi An didn’t dare to find out. For now, he only dared to skim the edges of danger to test the boundaries.

"Speaking of which, when it intervened in that large-scale Nightmare last time, it really just happened to employ the most correct response," he thought.

Last time, from the moment the Blood Hand Seal stepped out of the store to when Profound Sword shattered the core of corruption, it had only been a short two or three minutes. The time the Blood Hand Seal actually spent fighting was even shorter—only twenty to thirty seconds. This current Nightmare wasn’t a large-scale one, so conquering it would be even faster.

Moreover, now...

Shi An looked at the Blood Hand Seal not far away. It had grown stronger.

[Employee: Blood Hand Seal]

[Abilities: Blood Hand Brand (+), Blood Concealment Body (+)]

[Note: Consuming 200 Belief Value can upgrade one of these Abilities again.]

Once his Belief Value became plentiful, Shi An upgraded both of Little Blood’s major Abilities. Unfortunately, since the Safe Zone lacked a Training Ground, it was difficult for the Blood Hand Seal to unleash its power, preventing Shi An from testing its current limits. But he had figured out a few things.

The upgraded ’Blood Hand Brand’ was no longer restricted to a simple slapping motion; it could now genuinely condense into a massive, blood-red hand. Meanwhile, the upgraded ’Blood Concealment Body’ allowed it to transform into mist or streak as a ray of light at much faster speeds.

Shi An thought, "The current Blood Hand Seal could probably finish off an anomaly in a very short time, even in a head-on confrontation. Not to mention, conquering a Nightmare rarely requires fighting head-on; there is often plenty of assistance."

Hair Ghost’s condition was relatively intact. Upon learning that two more Dream Descenders had arrived in this Nightmare World, he didn’t rest for long before heading out again.

Meanwhile, after formulating a preliminary plan, the two researchers in silvery-white coats were preparing to explore the Nightmare. Just then, Researcher Jiang adjusted his glasses. "Someone is approaching. It looks like an independent Dream Descender."

In their eyes, any Dream Descender not from a major organization was an independent. As for whether someone was from a major organization, that was easy to judge. Large organizations all had their own ’Standard Battle Robes,’ such as their own silvery-white coats.

Hair Ghost approached and stopped about a dozen meters away from the two. "Are you two interested in teaming up to conquer this Nightmare?" he asked directly.

After speaking, Hair Ghost manipulated his Lifebound Curse Object, radiating wisps of frigid Curse Power.

"He’s actually at the Control Stage!" Researcher Jiang and Researcher Wang from Baijiang University were somewhat surprised. Control Stage experts were already Elites among Dream Descenders and were not commonly seen, especially among independent Dream Descenders.

Of course, they were only slightly surprised. After all, they themselves were also at the Control Stage and came from the Baijiang Research Institute. Thinking of this, they released streams of their own Control Stage Curse Pressure in response.

Jiang Peng took a step forward. "Conquer the Nightmare? Indeed, we are somewhat interested."

He had wanted to conquer this Nightmare all along. It was just that relying solely on the two of them carried a high risk. But if there were three of them, and all three were Control Stage Dream Descenders... No, he was still just an independent Dream Descender.

Jiang Peng changed his tune. "We do have some interest, but do you realize this Nightmare is quite unique? If you treat it like an Ordinary Nightmare, let alone conquering it, it’s entirely possible to die here from a single moment of carelessness.

"Under these circumstances, do you still want to conquer it?"

He assumed that Hair Ghost was purely treating this location like an Ordinary Nightmare. With a Control Stage expert leading a team, conquering an Ordinary Nightmare was indeed possible. Even if accidents occurred, they would have a certain degree of risk resistance. But this particular one...

"Of course," Hair Ghost replied. "It is precisely because this Nightmare is unique that it holds greater value in being conquered."