I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 128 Deeper Gains (5K)

A certain place in a pale wasteland region.

"Buzz!"

The dilapidated walls slowly transformed, and a door large enough for three people to walk side by side emerged from them.

The next moment, the door was pushed open.

The "senior alchemist at the Refinement Realm of the Wizard's House" stepped forward first.

This area was discovered by him and his teammates.

Following closely behind, Xuanjian, Luoshajian, Xixue, and Taozi, all peak experts of the First Refinement Realm, also pushed open the door and came out one after another.

This was the first time they had exercised their ability to "traverse the dream realm" in the depths of a nightmare.

"They really made it across? I was just in the Whispering Forest region! This time they've traversed the entire region."

"However, the areas we are in are all on the outskirts of these regions, so the spatial distance is relatively short."

The three areas are like three roads, each leading in a different direction into the depths of a nightmare.

At this point, although the areas they fell into were not the same, they were all basically not far from the starting points of the "three roads".

It's the outermost periphery.

Above: ● (Baijiang City)

Chinese: (Ruins Amu)

Below: ↓ (Three different areas extending downwards)

"It is said that if you continue deeper into the Pale Wasteland, traveling for about ten to fifteen days, you will reach another prefecture-level city, Lin Dong City."

"The pharmacist's teammate, who also became a disciple of the second seat of the Nen Master, asked."

Chen Baichuan nodded and said, "That's true. However, to get to Lin Dong City or Chong Shan City, we need a detailed route map. If we go directly deeper into the city, the most likely outcome is that we'll get lost in the nightmare."

"While we Dreamers can return to the mortal world," if we venture too far, reaching places very far from White River City, we may lose our anchor point for return.

Xuanjian, Xixue, and the others nodded slightly.

They did indeed know this knowledge.

However, given their current strength, they are far from being able to delve too deeply into the Nightmare. To truly walk in the depths of the Nightmare, they would probably need to reach the Transcendent Realm, or have a Transcendent being leading the team.

Their skills aren't even good enough to qualify them for this kind of team.

Chen Baichuan said, "Our first team from the Strategy Bureau travels between several cities year-round, exchanging information and trading treasures with Lin Dong City and Chong Shan City. They have even been to more distant cities."

"More distant cities? Which other cities?"

The one speaking is a charlatan.

Fa Gui was off work at the time, but instead of resting, he volunteered to join Xuan Jian and the others after hearing that they were preparing to conquer the Deep Nightmare.

Chen Baichuan said, "I haven't looked into which cities specifically, but it seems that there are currently eight surviving cities that have been discovered. And not all of these eight cities are our Great Xia cities; I remember one of them is a city of the Bald Eagle."

"A bald eagle?"

He was surprised and astonished.

If he remembered correctly, in the reality of Earth, the Great Xia and the Bald Eagle are separated by an ocean.

Chen Baichuan's teammate, another veteran Countermeasures Bureau agent, Team Leader Chen, said, "It's not just the Bald Eagle, but also cities in other countries. We don't know the specific reasons, but we can only say that we can't use real-world spatial distances to measure the Nightmare World. Space is inherently distorted here."

He paused and said, "It's not just the cities of the Bald Eagle; it's said that deep within the nightmares, we can even see people or cities from other worlds."

"alien?"

The Xuanjian and Luoshajian were also hearing about them for the first time.

In terms of intelligence, they naturally couldn't compare to the higher-ups in the Countermeasures Bureau.

But the group found themselves not to be too surprised.

The nightmare world is infinitely vast.

There are also intelligent groups amidst the eeriness.

So, the idea that "aliens are active in the depths of the nightmare world" doesn't seem so surprising anymore.

At most, it's just a bit of curiosity.

Chen Baichuan said, "I used to have a dream of joining the first team and following the captain to see the outside world."

Xuanjian: "And now?"

Chen Baichuan: "Now? I'm getting a bit ambitious. Forming an adventure team to explore the depths of nightmares isn't out of the question!"

They began to head towards their target area.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Baichuan and his group of nine arrived in front of an apartment building shaped like the Chinese character "回".

The pharmacist said, "This is it. According to our observation, there is a 90% chance that this building will be designated as an area."

"If we can defeat the strange leader inside the building, we'll most likely be able to conquer this area."

This sounds much simpler than the walkthrough for shallow nightmares.

Actually too.

No need for fancy reasoning or searching for key items, just defeat a boss.

But the difficulty lies in defeating the BOSS!

The complex steps to navigate the shallow areas are actually beneficial to those who have fallen into dreams, significantly reducing the danger they face when confronted with the bizarre.

In the deeper layers, the dreamers have no choice but to fight head-on.

Fighting head-on is one thing —

"We also need to be careful. If the battle becomes too loud, it might attract other terrifying and eerie things in the surrounding area! So, we need to observe and assess whether this place is suitable for our attack."

The Xuan Sword spoke.

The pharmacist replied, "Of course."

Nine people, divided into five groups, did not enter the U-shaped building, but instead each took out a magical flying eye.

The Witcher Eye's wings hummed and vibrated, emitting a barely perceptible low sound, as it scattered and flew in all directions.

Inside the building, they need to explore.

Outside the building, they also need to investigate thoroughly.

After a moment, he said, "Hmm, I haven't found anything terrifying or eerie on my end."

"On the west side, about six or seven hundred meters away, there is a rather peculiar and strange creature. It's probably most likely an elite-level being, and less likely a leader-level one. It won't have much impact on our strategy."

"There is a leader-level monster more than 2,000 meters to the north, but there are many other monsters around it."

That area is probably one that can be conquered.

However, its scope is obviously much larger than this U-shaped building.

Killing just that leader-level monster might not be enough.

At this moment, the sorcerer's magical teleportation eye made a discovery.

"I've spotted two people over here who seem to be Dreamers, but I don't recognize them. Could they be Dreamers from Baijiang?"

"About that."

Team Leader Chen said, "However, our entire Baijiang City has a population of three million. While it's said that there are very few people at the Refining Stage, it's not actually that few. In the civilian population, there are only 73 registered Dream Fallers at the Refining Stage, but in reality, I estimate that the number is more than double."

He glanced at Xuanjian, Xixue, and the others again.

It's not just among ordinary people.

The true number of Refinement Stage experts within the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy and the Wizard's House is certainly far greater than what is known to the outside world.

The masters of the Jiyi Martial Arts Academy only have six true disciples.

But in reality, are these six the only capable fighters in the entire Jiyi Martial Arts School? Far from it.

Only these six people have become famous.

Among the "outer disciples" of the Jiyi Martial Arts School, there are several who are also hidden masters. These are the ones that outsiders can see.

While it may seem that there are few true masters among the general public, there are actually many more hidden masters.

This is also determined by the nature of those who fall into dreams.

In Baijiang City alone, many new Dream Fallers were born in a single day. And what about the old Dream Fallers? Quite a few died in a single day as well.

Those who fall into the dream are easily killed by nightmares, but if they can withstand the killing, their advancement speed is also fast.

It might only take an ordinary person a year, half a year, or even less to go from falling into a dream to becoming a powerful cultivator in the Refinement stage.

Sometimes, those who fall into dreams may encounter opportunities and break through their limits in a short period of time.

What outsiders perceive as the fusion stage might actually be a powerful cultivator in the refining stage pretending to be weak.

The Countermeasures Bureau can't manage that much. Those who have fallen into dreams can hide their identities, as long as they don't do evil.

"Those two are very likely powerful figures from some hidden force. As long as they don't get any closer, we can ignore them."

Team Leader Chen said.

They certainly couldn't possibly collaborate with two complete strangers who had fallen into dreams.

There is no basis for cooperation.

The nine of them come from different factions. If it weren't for the safe zone as a platform and link, it would be almost impossible for them to work together to conquer a nightmare.

.

At this moment, two passersby in the Refinement stage also noticed several figures in the distance.

"Nine Dream Fallers? That's impressive!"

One of the dreamers had eerie eyes, clearly indicating that the cursed object he fused with was related to his eyes.

His companion remarked, "Indeed, it seems they're preparing to conquer a nightmare? That's quite a feat!"

Team-up items can't accommodate that many people.

To bring the nine dreamers together, you need to use props, anchor points, and so on.

The cost is beyond imagination.

"Could that area be special? Should we go check it out? Maybe we can make some money!"

The Dreamer with the eerie eyes licked his lips.

His accomplices stopped him in time.

"There are nine people on the other side! How could you and I possibly mess with someone who can afford to assemble such a large team? Besides, it's just a small area of ​​Nightmare. That building looks ordinary no matter how you look at it, and it's impossible for it to contain any high-value treasures, unless we defeat the strange BOSS guarding the area."

Defeating bosses can yield considerable rewards.

The boss will drop high-level cursed artifacts. Defeating it will also grant rewards from the Nightmare World. High-value treasures may also lurk near the eerie boss.

but----

Fighting bosses is too risky and not cost-effective.

What if I get injured?

How many times would they need to activate their cursed artifacts to take down a strange boss? How much damage would it cause to their bodies?

Not to mention that they simply couldn't organize such a team of all-powerful individuals.

"Conquering nightmares? That only increases the risk! Searching for treasure doesn't require confronting powerful monsters directly. Avoiding powerful monsters, killing weaker ones, or simply not fighting at all, finding treasure and running away—that's the way we Dreamers survive!"

They, the dreamers, have always been like this.

Those people in the distance look rather young, perhaps they're just hot-blooded, but reality will teach them a lesson.

Even the dreamer with the eerie eyes calmed down.

The two slowly moved away.

After a while, they stopped discussing the raiding squad in the distance and started talking about the "safe zone" that had been making headlines throughout Baijiang City recently.

"Legend has it that there are many mysterious and precious places within the safe zone, and many powerful individuals are so immersed in them that they cannot extricate themselves."

"Legend has it that as long as you get a membership to the safe zone, you will no longer be killed by nightmares."

"Old demon, do you believe that?"

The other person hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you going to find this so-called safe zone?"

"No." The Dreamer who had spoken earlier shook his head. "I believe some of the legends about the safe zones; after all, they can't be entirely baseless. But finding a safe zone and becoming a member? I have no interest in that."

He doesn't believe in free lunches.

Become a member of the safe zone? What's the price?

They each founded their own Dreamers organization, which, while not as large as the Wizarding House, could still be considered a medium-sized organization.

Their power is only slightly inferior to that of the management organization of the Longchuan black market.

They are the leaders of the organization, how could they possibly work for another force!

Meanwhile, the strategy team had already explored the area inside and outside.

"Inside the U-shaped building, it can be confirmed that in addition to the bizarre BOSS, there are six ordinary bizarre entities."

"Only six!"

Once upon a time, the strange and unpredictable was a formidable obstacle in their path.

But now, they can indeed say that they despise the ordinary bizarre.

They quickly came up with a battle plan.

"We'll hold off the boss, you guys quickly eliminate the rest of the monsters. Then we'll surround the boss!"

"We're all veteran members of the safe zone; we must succeed in conquering Nightmare this time!"

The group rushed into the U-shaped building.

-

At this moment, Shi An was also watching, through the vision of the sorcerer's flying eye.

This battle can be considered the first attempt by members of the safe zone to conquer the deeper levels.

Under normal circumstances, those who fall into nightmares rarely attempt to conquer nightmares in the deeper levels.

"boom!"

The battle broke out.

This is a bizarre statue with six arms.

It has six bizarre arms, each holding a blood-stained knife and axe, and six eyes on its face; it is eerie and terrifying.

It moves as fast as the wind and its blade is as swift as a shadow.

But, "cunning".

Xuanjian closed his eyes and saw the killing intent coming from all directions.

This strange figure was no less formidable than the black-armored leader from that day, but he was now much more confident in dealing with him.

Another place.

The strange creature, Yu Gui, became entangled with a bizarre figure.

At the same time, "Boom!"

A coffin crashed down, landing eerily behind them.

The coffin lid was slashed open, revealing an interior that resembled a black hole, immediately sucking the bound and eerie creature inside.

"boom!"

The coffin lid was immediately closed again, and the entire coffin shook.

Another battlefield.

"Blazing fire, ignite!"

Xi Xue condensed her silver hair into a spear, and orange-red flames rose up from the silver spear, flowing like water.

The flaming spear shot straight through the eerie creature.

Then, in the next instant, it exploded with a deafening roar.

With the full force of the experts at the peak of the First Refinement Realm, the six strange beings were either sealed or killed.

Soon, the nine people surrounded the leader-level monster.

A vertical pupil opened on the forehead of the thinker, and one after another specially forged sharp blades flew up around him.

Team Leader Chen is holding a nail.

He threw the nail, which pierced the leader's eerie shadow.

The beam of light hit the strange object directly in the peach's hand.

The pharmacist took out various potions and threw them at the six-armed monster.

Weaken! Control! Bombard!

Under the relentless control and killing by the nine people, the leader was strangely unable to mount an effective counterattack for several minutes.

Until its massive body crashed down with a thunderous roar.

"We defeated a leader-level anomaly?"

"And surprisingly, the whole process wasn't too difficult."

There were several close calls along the way.

But it was just a shock; in the end, none of them were injured in the entire battle.

The entire strategy was far from easy; any mistake they made would come at a significant cost.

The ability to conquer the next deep nightmare is something to be proud of, something to be honored by, and something to remember.

At this point, they were still just "deep newbies".

"Witchcraft Eye has recorded our strategy, which is another contribution to the safe zone. Now, let's see what loot this nightmare has yielded."

The rewards for the Nightmare Walkthrough are falling down.

They all felt warm and their fatigue lessened.

Just some.

But where the leader-level creature had mysteriously collapsed, besides the cursed artifact that was being extracted, there was also—

Gray and white mist wisps intertwine and entwine.

After the fog dissipated, two items appeared.

None of them knew anything about appraisal, but they could still roughly determine that the two items were—

"A precious medicinal herb and a spell scroll? Not bad, not bad!"

They searched the entire area again and found three cursed items, four precious herbs, and seventeen materials.

Among them, a rare-grade material was also found near the eerie leader.

It's very profitable!

A deep dive into a nightmare yields far greater rewards than a shallow, large nightmare!

As for the risks?

There are indeed risks, and they are not small.

"But we members, who have the safety zone behind us, should forge ahead."

This is not for the purpose of contributing points.

It's also for my own sake.

On a grander scale, it's for the sake of the entire Baekgang region, and even for all of humanity.

They were still very weak at that time.

But what if everyone could forge ahead bravely, explore new frontiers, and become stronger?

Then, nightmares will no longer be something that everyone fears.

And now they have the possibility to keep moving forward.

At the same time, a notification sound rang in the ears of the store manager.

As expected, it will be a "choose three out of five" level reward.

But the specifications are not low.

Among them was the premium membership card that Shi An was extremely envious of.

This time, however, he did not choose the high-level card.

Instead, they chose ————

"Hint: You have obtained the special potion blueprint, the Life Potion."

"Hint: You have obtained the special potion blueprint, the Berserk Potion."

"Hint: You have obtained a special item, a fragment of a regional map."

-

After completing this deep nightmare strategy, it seems that the variety of loot obtainable is far greater than in the shallower stages.

Both medicines are quite practical.

Especially that life-saving potion.

"According to the description, aside from the inability to regenerate severed limbs, even those critically injured and on the verge of death can be brought back from the brink of death by drinking one dose!"

"For ordinary injuries, one dose of life-saving medicine is enough to heal them."

"But this thing—"

Like most items from Nightmare Worlds, it has side effects!

Moreover, the cost is high.

The refining of life-saving potions requires precious medicines of restorative and life-saving properties.

The refining cost could be several Dream Crystals.

"But no matter what, this is a life-saving miracle drug. The Countermeasures Bureau and wizarding houses may also be able to concoct such potions, but the production volume is definitely not high."

If the price is high, then every elite member of the Countermeasures Bureau should have a bottle.

And this fragment of a regional map?

Shi An looked over and was slightly taken aback.

7