I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 123 A Gathering of Big Names, The Opening (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

At 10 p.m. sharp, dozens of people who had fallen into dreams had gathered in the hall, most of whom were ordinary people who were lucky enough to fall into dreams at this time.

In an effort to prolong the dream-falling period and witness the grand auction, they even managed to touch the Dream-Falling Pearl a few times.

The members weren't yet out of the dream world; some were in the training grounds, some in hotels, and some were still working on tackling nightmares.

But as the time drew closer, the members gradually showed up.

Some newer Dreamers can't recognize who's who, but often an older player from the safe zone will exclaim in surprise.

"It's 'Werewolf' Li Wei! It's said he can transform into a massive werewolf and once single-handedly killed a strange being!"

"That's Yan Jing, 'The Locust Tree Man.' Thinking back, I arrived at the safe zone in the same batch as Boss Yan, but he got his membership much earlier, while I've only accumulated sixty contribution points. Sigh, you really can't compare people."

"You've already accumulated more than half of your contribution points, that's great. It took me more than half a month to accumulate just over forty contribution points."

An elderly person in the safe zone sighed.

The speed at which Dreamers accumulate contribution points varies, depending on their efficiency in conquering Nightmare difficulty. However, even with the current safe zone offering the "three-piece strategy set" and numerous strategy tips, and with the safe zone camp providing backup, conquering Nightmare difficulty is still not something everyone can do.

The thought of confronting the bizarre fills the dreamers with fear and dread, and sometimes, when the risks are too great, their attempts to succeed come to nothing.

Most mediocre and courageous Dreamers can only play support roles in the team, and naturally, they don't get many contribution points after each raid.

Some ruthless individuals not only conquer the Nightmare of Fallen Dreams, but also rent Fallen Dream Orbs in the safe zone in order to conquer several Nightmares in one Fallen Dream cycle.

Such ruthless individuals can quickly widen the gap between themselves and ordinary dreamers, obtain membership, and thus join the ranks of the strong.

Nearby, a newcomer visiting for the first time suddenly understood after listening to the descriptions from the elderly people.

He understood that it wasn't that these old people were too weak; it was simply that the ruthless people were too strong.

Conquering nightmares isn't just about being ruthless to yourself; you have to be realistic about your abilities.

"I've been trying to conquer the Nightmare mode for several days in a row. It's really too difficult. If I make even the slightest mistake, I'll die without even leaving a corpse behind."

He agreed.

The old man nodded. "That's right. Members like Huai Muren are indeed glamorous, but many of those who desperately try to become Dreamers also fall by the wayside. People like us are a bit timid, but it's also more reliable. We slowly accumulate contribution points, and once we get membership, life will be much easier."

They don't really have much ambition; their pursuit of membership is simply a search for stability.

But they also genuinely envied and admired these glamorous and powerful individuals.

"Xu Qian, the 'Floating Catkins'!"

"Old Li, the 'Cross Dart'!"

"Wang Kui, the 'King of Strength'! He's here too, as expected."

One by one, the members entered the hall and found a place to sit down.

Amidst the exclamations of these seasoned passersby, even newcomers who had just arrived in the safe zone quickly made acquaintances with a dozen or twenty senior members.

These people are almost all experts in the Refinement stage, and very few are at the peak of the Control stage.

"There are so many powerful individuals here in the safe zone!"

Those who had fallen into a dream were amazed.

Where else could they find so many Refinement Stage experts?

But the veteran member said, "Our safe zone has far more than just a dozen or twenty big shots. Some haven't arrived yet, and others are—"

He looked around.

Not all members' identities are public.

The membership identities of powerful figures like Xu Qian (飘絮) and Lao Li (十字镖) were mostly deduced by them. Of course, since the big boss didn't deny it, it must be true.

Some powerful individuals are even more low-key, moving quickly within the safe zone and never attracting attention.

K is a very low-key member.

He keeps a low profile because he never considers himself a strong person.

He was lucky enough to encounter the shopkeeper the first time he fell into a nightmare, which led him to a safe zone and allowed him to conquer the nightmare.

Then, by sheer luck, the training ground had just opened.

Along the way, he somehow managed to acquire a membership and recently entered the Refinement stage.

It doesn't feel real.

Little K secretly wondered, "So, I can play against the supernatural too?"

Cheng Ping was also one of the low-key individuals; he was observing his surroundings.

"As expected of the Dreamers who managed to obtain safe zone membership, each and every one of them is indeed formidable."

"There are more than ten other people in the crowd who don't look like ordinary people either; I guess they're members too. There are quite a few more members than I expected."

He thought to himself, "This is a good thing; with so many members, I won't attract attention."

Cheng Ping only wanted to be an ordinary dreamer. Why be a glamorous, heroic figure in the eyes of others?

He never had any interest. Heroes often die faster than others!

"Ding-a-ling!"

Another group of people walked in through the main entrance of the hall. This was clearly a group of Dreamers who had come in together.

One of the dreamers wanted to see which member was in charge, but upon looking, he spotted a familiar figure.

"That seems to be—the founder of our Longchuan Black Market, Boss Ye, 'Night River'!"

"And there's also the chairman of the Tide Transportation Company, Boss Jiang of 'Tide River Travelers'!"

Those who recognized the newcomer gasped in shock.

Both of these individuals are experts at the First Refinement Realm, but in terms of actual strength, they may not necessarily be stronger than the previous members.

However, in the hearts of many ordinary dreamers, the names and weight of these two individuals are far greater than those of the newly emerging bigwig members.

Many of those present had visited the Longchuan black market multiple times, and some even made a living under the Longchuan Group and Chaoshui Transportation.

Many people's mindset has not changed.

In their eyes, Wolf King Li Wei and other members were just bigger shots who were better than them, but they were not incapable of catching up.

But Ye Chuan Ye, the boss, and Chao Jiang Ke, the boss, are undoubtedly big shots.

They need to look up to others.

However, today, such important figures have also come to the auction and are sitting in the hall just like them.

No, that's not all. It seems that both Boss Ye and Boss Jiang were able to get to the event by teaming up with the same member.

Suddenly, some people's views began to change.

"Indeed, Boss Ye is a big shot, but in the safe zone, he's just a non-member like us."

"In the safe zone, there is only one difference: members and non-members!"

On the other hand, Ye Chuan had already heard about and thoroughly understood the safe zone camp before arriving.

He knew that the safe zone had many wonderful features.

It is also known that after the emergence of the safe zone, some ambitious and promising dreamers from the general public have risen rapidly and joined the ranks of the strong.

But when we finally arrived at the safe zone, the scene we saw was still beyond our expectations.

"There were over a hundred people present!"

"It's hard to imagine that more than a hundred people who have fallen into nightmares could gather together in the nightmare world."

Even the three main camps of the Countermeasures Bureau could not gather so many Dreamers.

Ye Chuan squinted, silently sensing the wisps of curse pressure surrounding him.

He understood that the rumors were true; there were indeed many Refinement stage experts in the safe zone. However, he found it unbelievable that many of these experts had only been in the Control or even Fusion stage not long ago.

He didn't come here solely for the rare cursed artifact.

Ye Chuan, after all, was in charge of a large company and the black market for Dreamers. He had long ago used his connections to acquire rare cursed items, and not just one.

He was not entirely satisfied with these two cursed items.

A perfect match is inherently difficult, and he believes that at most a few rare-grade cursed items will be auctioned this time. The probability of him finding something satisfactory is very low.

Ye Chuan mainly wanted to see the legendary safe zone with his own eyes.

"There are more Refinement Stage experts at this auction than I expected, and the competition for rare cursed items is fierce. However, being able to witness such a grand occasion in the Nightmare World makes this trip worthwhile."

Since he was already there, Ye Chuan thought he should get a membership.

Time passed as the thoughts of those who had fallen into dreams and the powerful members drifted through the air.

Finally, it's midnight!

Shi An, as the store manager, made an appearance and only said a few words.

He concluded, "I believe this auction will not disappoint you all. Now, I hereby declare the first auction of the safe zone officially open."

The person in charge of hosting the auction was Lina, who worked at the front desk.

Many of those who have fallen into dreams now know that this is the renowned Phantom Dancer.

Yang Linna presented the first item for auction.

A brownish-yellow scroll.

When the scroll is unrolled, a mysterious and extraordinary pattern is engraved on it. The pattern is covered by a thin sealing film, making it appear somewhat blurry, but the shape of a sword can still be vaguely seen.

Yang Linna said, "This is a spell scroll called 'Chopping Slash.' After examination, this ordinary-grade scroll can still be used three more times. Now, the first item will be auctioned off. The starting price is 30 Dream Crystals, and each bid must be at least 0.1 Dream Crystals."

The very first item auctioned off caused a stir among the powerful figures present.

"Auctioning off spell scrolls directly? The shopkeeper's really going all out!"

"Although there are spellbooks available for study within the safe zone, they require contribution points. This cleaving spellbook doesn't require that, and moreover, we can buy it and give it to anyone."

"Chop? I've heard of this spell. It's simple, brutal, and powerful, and can be used with many bladed weapons."

"Once you master this spell, you might have the chance to defeat a strange being head-on!"

Even ordinary dreamers are deeply moved.

But soon, the price made them lose interest.

They had long understood that this auction was a special event for the big shots, but it was only now that they realized how big the gap was.

While many people couldn't even produce a single complete Dream Crystal, the big shots were already starting with dozens.

Some members present restrained themselves and did not intend to compete.

They might be able to afford the dream crystals, but they felt it was too extravagant to spend them on spell scrolls. Their spellcasting skills weren't yet high enough to require scrolls for breakthroughs.

But there will still be people who need it.

There are also some people who don't care about cost-effectiveness and are only interested in quickly improving themselves because they have strong financial resources.

After a moment of silence in the hall, calls for bids began to rise and fall.

"I'll bet 30.5!"

"I'll bet 31!"

"Everyone, be generous! I'll go first, 35!"

"40!"

Boss Ye shouted directly.

Not far away, the fifth captain of the Countermeasures Bureau, Fen Huo, along with his deputy captains Long Niu and Chen Baichuan, sat together.

Their policy bureau was only there to support the safe zone and had no intention of competing with the civilian dreamers.

However, Long Niu and Chen Baichuan exchanged a glance, their eyes burning with passion.

"I'll make my bid—"

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