I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

As the auction draws near, more and more Dreamers are arriving at the safe zone.

The strong are as numerous as clouds, and the masters are as plentiful as rain.

Many veteran members treat the safe zone like their own home, wishing they could stay there eight days a week. But many powerful individuals are different. They have many important matters to attend to in the real world or within their own factions. Despite having membership, these powerful individuals can only visit the safe zone every few days.

Until recently,

"It's the Fire Captain of the Countermeasures Bureau; they're said to be on the verge of breaking through to the Transcendent realm!"

"That one is Xia Yuxiu, the captain of the Ninth Squad, and he is also a strong person who is qualified to challenge the extraordinary."

"And that one... wow, it seems like at least half of our Baijiang headquarters' captains are here today!"

"We can remove the 'feeling' part. I even suspect that if it weren't for the need to leave people in the real world to patrol and guard against the supernatural, the other team leaders might have come over too," several members muttered.

They sat in a corner of the hall, their eyes frequently glancing towards the entrance.

Today, they're not going to tackle nightmares or go to the training grounds—they're just staying here watching the arrival of these important figures, gossiping and chatting. "Look at that one, the senior disciple of the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy, the Broken Water Sword Luo Ping! A true transcendent being!"

"The one talking to Senior Brother Jiyi seems to be an extraordinary expert as well? I recognize him, he's Hong Jiangliu, the Special Advisor of the Chongshan City Bureau!" "I've counted more than ten extraordinary beings I recognize in the past half day. I estimate there are more than fifty experts at the Third Refinement Realm. And that's just the ones I recognize..." A young man stared intently at the passersby, occasionally jotting something down on a piece of paper.

He murmured, "There are still quite a few powerful individuals I don't recognize. Although I can't be sure, among those I don't recognize, there seem to be many extraordinary ones, and there's more than one! This auction will be very competitive." The main force in the last auction was the Dream Faller at the First Refinement Realm, and even those at the Control Realm had a chance to compete.

This time?

Controlling stage? First Refinement Realm? At best, I can only be a spectator.

Although those who were at the first level of the Refinement Realm are now at least senior second-level Refinement Realm cultivators, with most already at the third level and some even starting to prepare for extraordinary matters, they still won't be the main force in this auction.

As more and more people fell into the dream within the safe zone, Shi An instructed the patrol team members to pay more attention to maintaining order.

"It was the right decision to form this patrol team some time ago; otherwise, we might not have had enough manpower at this time."

The patrol team members were only at the second level of the Refinement Realm on average, which was insignificant compared to those at the Transcendent Realm, but Shi An didn't need them to actually fight. The patrol team members only needed to reason with the people and prevent the conflict from escalating. As for those conflicts that couldn't be stopped…

Xiao Xue and Zhuo Pu both have the authority to kick people out. After kicking out a few people as a warning to others, even some Dreamers with sharp conflicts among the visitors obediently followed the rules within the safe zone. At most, they would exchange a few sarcastic remarks, hum a few words, and then turn and leave.

"There are six hours left until the auction begins."

Most of the guests are here.

People who experience nightmares in real life often enter the nightmare a day or two in advance because they are afraid of the uncertainty of when the nightmare will occur.

In the distance, the inn, which had already been upgraded to LV3, was fully booked by morning.

This auction is far more grand than the last one, with the venue chosen to be the outdoor garden, which is currently being set up.

The auction will officially begin at midnight.

Nine o'clock in the evening.

There are only three hours left before the auction begins.

"We've finally reached the safe zone! We made it!"

A twelve-person team, looking travel-worn, pushed open the door and entered; it was none other than the top-tier Dark Hunter Mercenary Group.

This team only operates within the Whispering Forest area; most people in the safe zone don't recognize them. However, the entire Dark Hunter team exudes a menacing aura, clearly not weaklings. "Where did this powerful force come from?!"

Someone muttered to themselves.

In a corner of the hall, Chen Shouyi, the leader of the Giant Tree, who was disguised and looked unremarkable, was surprised. "It's the Dark Hunter Mercenary Group. They actually came too? It's rare to see acquaintances." Chen Shouyi did not step forward.

The Dark Hunter team has no weaknesses and can openly enter the safe zone, but the Giantwood Chief cannot.

"However, the entire team is here. Did the Dark Hunter Mercenary Group just happen to discover a random entrance?"

At this moment, the Dark Hunter Mercenary Group was also somewhat surprised.

"How could a place like this be built in a nightmare world?"

"But guild leader, we went to such great lengths to get to the safe zone, is it worth it?"

One team member still felt the pinch.

Not long ago, they went to the Stone Village camp and, with the help of some means there, obtained the coordinates of a random entrance to the safe zone. They paid a hefty price for this… even though their leader had a relationship with Shi Wannian, the chief of the Stone Village camp. Their leader, Dark Blade, had been somewhat worried beforehand.

His concern was that by the time he arrived at the coordinates, the random entrance to the safe zone would have disappeared.

Fortunately, although it took them two or three days to travel, the shops in the safe zone were still there when they arrived.

Anren said, "Of course, when have I ever lost money? We were quite lucky this time, arriving just in time for the auction." He asked around and confirmed that the auction wouldn't start for another three hours.

"Since we still have some time, Second Brother, go and auction off some treasures. I need to study the mission patterns of this safe zone."

Correct!

The other team members' eyes lit up when they heard this.

Apart from the two team members who went to the mailing shop with the vice-captain, everyone else gathered around.

They hadn't forgotten that their primary purpose in coming to the safe zone was to find commissions and see if they could expand the business scope of their Dark Hunter mercenary group. This was even more important than attending the auction.

Anren asked a waiter for an explanation and quickly understood how to operate it.

While operating the tablet-like device, he seemed somewhat dazed: "It feels like I've returned to Earth. How long has it been since I've touched this kind of electronic product?" It may not actually be an electronic product, but it looks like one!

He had also visited Red Maple Town. The town's core area was built in a magnificent and luxurious manner, just like the modern world, but many of the infrastructure facilities were not up to par or could not keep up. The core area of ​​Red Maple Town was at best the mansion of ancient nobles, but coming to the safe zone felt like returning to modern times, returning to that civilized society of the past.

"Although it's just an illusion, I have to say, the environment and facilities here give me an urge to stay for a long time." Dark Blade let out a long sigh.

He opened his tablet; the main page was simple, with only a few main sections: "Newcomer Guide," "Site and Equipment," "Communication Forum," and "Mission Platform." Before coming, Darkblade had heard that the training grounds in the safe zone possessed miraculous abilities, including an item that greatly aided in exploring dangerous areas. "I need to buy a lot of those Witchcraft Eyes, but I wonder if there's a purchase limit."

"I heard they sell life potions here in the safe zone... Red Maple Town is incredibly stingy with these; you have to negotiate a ton of conditions to buy even a few bottles." "Oh, and the safe zone also has a unique product called Purification Potion. While it doesn't heal, it's exceptional at removing corrosive effects." Dark Blade's mind raced with a list of items he wanted to buy, but he refrained from opening the trading platform and went straight to his initial target. Mission Platform!

Hanging high at the top of the task board is the long-term, permanent, and welfare task - Nightmare Guide.

The tasks that follow are varied and diverse.

Some tasks involve finding certain materials, while others involve hunting down strange creatures; these are all relatively basic tasks.

There are also high-end options.

"Pale Wasteland Region - Area B16 Map Drawing Mission"

"The Forest of Mysteries - Mysterious Group Extermination Mission"

"Escort Mission for the Baijiang-Lindong Caravan"

"The Mysterious Forest Region, D25 Area Perilous Exploration Mission - Note: This area contains extraordinary and bizarre phenomena."

... "

There are quite a few tasks!

Dark Blade turned the pages one by one, and after ten pages, he still hadn't reached the end.

He simply opened the overview.

Total tasks: 132.

[Normal tasks: 92.]

[Advanced Tasks: 40]

At present, the safe zone's task classification is relatively simple. However, some tasks are restricted to "members only" or "only those in the Refinement Realm/Third Refinement Realm can accept them." This is still far from the task level that Shi Anxin envisioned, in the eyes of Dark Blade and the other members of the Dark Hunter Mercenary Group...

Holy crap!

"So many commissions! How much money could I make if I got them all?"

"Dream on! How could we possibly take them all? But even if we only take on a few or a dozen high-level missions, that's still..." The speaker looked at the mission rewards.

The reward is not low; the Dream Items alone are more valuable than those they usually receive for missions. Here, in addition to Dream Items, the mission rewards also include contribution points from the safe zone. Dark Blade said, "In the past, we didn't have many missions available; the biggest client was Red Maple Town."

Red Maple Town offers the highest rewards, including life potions, which are usually only obtainable by accepting missions there. However, this also puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to commissions.

And now…

"I've taken a look. The commissions for the safe zone come from various factions, and while there are numerous of them, they're also overseen by the safe zone's platform, so there's no need to worry about not getting paid." "Moreover, if we're backed by the safe zone, taking on missions will be much easier in the future. We won't need to travel to the faction's location for meetings; we can just come directly to the safe zone." Go to the safe zone? They did spend a lot of time on this trip, but once they get a membership, they can freely enter and leave the safe zone. They could even treat the safe zone like their home. The Dark Blade leader said, "So from now on, we'll mainly take on missions from the safe zone's platform. Do you have any objections?"

"No, of course not."

Even the deputy commander, who had just returned from his busy work, had his eyes shining.

He said, "I'm not familiar with Red Maple Town. I think we shouldn't take any more commissions from Red Maple Town in the future. The commissions there are not only poorly paid but also very troublesome. Sometimes the commissioning party will even delay payment. Most importantly, if we take commissions from Red Maple Town, well, I'm afraid the safe zone will misunderstand."

The mercenary group had decided that the auction wasn't important; the crucial thing was to seize this opportunity to enter the safe zone and quickly obtain membership. Everyone needed to become a member so that the entire group could freely enter and exit the safe zone.

At this time,

"There is only one hour left before the auction begins. If any guests still wish to consign items, please do so as soon as possible, as the consignment channel will be closing soon." "Meanwhile, the auction venue is now open, and guests may enter at their own discretion."

Yang Linna held a microphone, and her voice echoed throughout the hall.

This notification was then transmitted to each membership card via the member messaging function.

Upon hearing the announcement, many members got up and headed towards the outside meeting room.

The outer garden has been completely transformed; the chairs are no longer arranged in a row, but rather around large round tables.

The table was covered with all kinds of drinks, desserts and snacks.

There is also a sign in the entrance area that reads: "Unlimited drinks and snacks available today."

These ordinary foods cost Shi An very little; the black box in the safe zone could produce them indefinitely, so it was better to provide them for free and liven up the atmosphere. The members who had come here originally just wanted to find a different place to chat and enter the venue early to wait, but now they were all drooling. "Free! This is free, unlimited! The manager has really invested a lot for today's auction."

"So, should we eat it or not?"

"Of course I'll eat! The food's all laid out; it would be a waste not to eat it, given the manager's good intentions!"

Most members of the safe zone are from the real world, so the food and drinks in front of them aren't considered rare. These are all real-world foods; even here in the nightmare world, they don't lack food. It's just that the food is free today, making it taste even better.

But those who had long been lost in the nightmare world and could no longer return to the present stared wide-eyed.

The powerful members of the Dark Blade Mercenary Group couldn't help but lick their lips.

"Boss, how long has it been since we've had these pastries, oranges, potato chips, and nuts?"

"These are all foods from the present world... Although the safe zone is connected to the present world like Baijiang City and Lindong City, the price to send these foods into the nightmare world must be quite high, right?" They had consumed many precious medicines.

Logically speaking, the value of such ordinary food is far less than that of precious medicine.

But they were craving it! Not just the taste, but also the memories of their past life in the real world.

Giant Tree Chen Shouyi's eyes widened as he drank heavily, appearing somewhat drunk. He didn't seem like an extraordinary being, much less a leader who bore the weight of the entire camp's fate. He thought to himself, "Luckily, I came here in disguise, so nobody knows me. Otherwise, I'd really feel embarrassed to eat and drink so much." On the other side of the same table.

Even in disguise, Shi Wannian was feasting: "This kind of opportunity—free from all burdens, where all I have to do is eat and drink—is truly rare." Meanwhile,

Shi An, with the authority of a store manager, overlooked the entire venue.

He couldn't see the members' specific information, but with his detailed control over the safe zone, he could clearly sense...

"A total of twenty-six extraordinary individuals!"

"Today's auction can truly be described as a gathering of big names."

The clock struck midnight.

The second auction in the safe zone has begun.