I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

The Ark of Salvation, inner hall.

The end.

There is a small shop here, with a dark brown wooden door and floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides covered in gray, obscuring the interior. But this little shop, placed in the Ark's main hall, is completely inconspicuous.

This place feels more like a small drink shop inside a cruise ship.

It blends so well into its surroundings!

If Tian Hua hadn't led them all the way here, and if they hadn't already heard the various legends about the safe zone, Director Dai would never have imagined that this was a gateway to a distant land.

Even so...

Director Dai couldn't help but ask:

"Is this really the gate to the safe zone? It's too ordinary!"

"Genuine or genuine."

Yan Xiangtian said, "It was through this gate that we arrived at the Ark, and then we were able to enter Tiannan City."

Yan Xiangtian added, "To be honest, anyone who sees this door for the first time will be surprised. This is probably due to the store manager's unique taste. However, it's not necessarily true that this door is ordinary or unremarkable."

"It's only because the safe zone shop is located in the Ark lobby this time that it blends in so easily. But normally, the safe zone's gate stands in the Nightmare Wasteland, an environment full of ruins, dead trees, and corpses. Wouldn't you say that's inconspicuous?"

"Let's go, Lao Dai. We can talk more once we're in the safe zone."

As he spoke, Yan Xiangtian grasped the doorknob and pulled the door open, then immediately stepped inside.

After taking two or three steps forward, his figure disappeared from the sight of Director Dai and the others.

This really is a portal to space!

However, it was quite different from the portal they had imagined, which resembled a vortex or a deep tunnel.

"Let's go."

Director Dai called to the others and they started walking forward.

He had heard Yan Xiangtian say that the space gate in the safe zone could cross domains very quickly, and one could reach the other side of the gate in the blink of an eye.

He initially thought it was just an exaggerated description.

Unexpectedly...

As soon as Director Dai stepped through the gate, the clamor rushed towards him like a tidal wave.

What came into view was a spacious hall, bustling with people, including many Dreamers dressed in standard combat uniforms. Some of these Dreamers carried swords and knives, hurrying past.

Some people were gathered in front of a huge screen, seemingly having a heated discussion about something.

But many others looked quite relaxed, sitting around a table, eating snacks and fruits, discussing interesting things that happened somewhere, or bragging.

Director Dai even saw people drinking while rolling dice, with several empty cases of beer bottles nearby.

Director Dai and Town Guardian Jiang: "???"

Is there something wrong with this?

If they remember correctly, the safe zone was a nightmare camp, right?

Could the Dreamers in Nightmare Camp be so relaxed and unguarded? That can't be! They're so drunk they're barely conscious; how could they possibly fight in danger?

This is irresponsible!

Director Dai frowned.

As the director of the provincial capital's countermeasures bureau, he carries the weight of countless lives and deaths on his shoulders. It's not that he can't bear to see those who have fallen into dreams resting and relaxing; it's true that those who have fallen into dreams are under a lot of pressure, but there are appropriate times for rest!

He wanted to rebuke them, but then he remembered that these dreamers were not his subordinates.

Director Dai held back.

and……

He frowned, displeased, but after calming down, he thought, "These people are all seasoned Refinement Realm experts; they've probably experienced nightmares countless times. Could they really be brainless, wasting their time on trivial pursuits?"

"Those who can't discern the appropriate situation will never reach the Refinement Realm!"

Thinking of this, Director Dai carefully observed his surroundings again.

He noticed that whether it was the Dreamers rushing around with a menacing aura or the people having heated discussions, they were all relaxed, judging from their expressions and gait, even though they weren't drinking!

The muscles weren't tense, and the brows weren't furrowed.

Some people wrap their cursed objects up in layers, as if they would never need to use them.

All of this seems to point to...

The Dreamers trust the camp and feel safe here.

"A safe zone? A safe place for those who have fallen into dreams to rest?"

Director Dai murmured.

Yan Xiangtian laughed and said, "It's much more than that, Lao Dai. Let's get a private room, sit down, and chat while we eat."

In the end, they didn't go to the private room on the second floor. Dai Xin wanted to sit in the lobby and watch the people coming and going.

Yan Xiangtian then explained, "Look, most of those people rushing around are going to explore nightmares. They're either teaming up to conquer the nearest nightmare, or they've taken on a quest, or they're going to collect some materials, gather some information, and so on."

Dai Xin understood why he was given the mission and then faced with nightmares.

but……

What does "the nightmare of conquering the nearest territory" mean?

The "Dream Breaker" strategy, which involves navigating nightmares, is a high-risk, low-reward endeavor.

The Dreamers of Tiannan City also frequently attempt to conquer nightmares, but these are all actions led by their Strategy Bureau. Their conquests of nightmares also have purposes, such as clearing out a certain area or opening a passage.

A nightmare that can be navigated spontaneously?

Yan Xiangtian understood Dai Xin and the others' surprise. He said, "Conquering the Nightmare will get you rewards from the world rules, right? The rewards aren't much, but every little bit helps. And now, the various conquest teams in the safe zone are experienced and well-equipped. Unless they encounter a major disaster, they can basically conquer the Nightmare area without taking any damage."

No harm done, but with benefits.

This is indeed a decent deal.

But that's not all, is it?

Dai Xin looked over.

Yan Xiangtian said, "That's not all. What really drives members to relentlessly conquer Nightmare is the reward promised by the store manager. Within the safe zone, as long as someone conquers Nightmare and provides proof of the process, the Nightmare Conqueror will receive a contribution point."

"These contribution points are the currency circulating within the safe zone."

Seeing the expressions on Dai Xin's and the others' faces, Yan Xiangtian said, "Do you think that the currency within a faction isn't worth much? Wrong! Completely wrong! In the safe zone, a few dozen Dream Crystals for a commission is worth that much. The tasks that members really fight over are those that offer contribution points as rewards." "There are many times when even extraordinary members will fight over a single task."

"Because...within the safe zone, contribution points can be used to buy precious medicinal herbs, and to travel to various wonders for cultivation!"

Precious medicine!

Wonders!

Director Dai, Town Chief Jiang, and the others suddenly realized what was happening.

"You understand? No, you don't understand yet."

Yan Xiangtian smiled.

Just when you think you have a good understanding of the safe zone and have raised your expectations, you'll soon find that your estimates are still too low. Yan Xiangtian opened the control panel on the table and entered the trading section.

"Look at these."

"Rare elixirs, second-tier cursed items, pure essences, and even cursed artifacts suitable for most extraordinary beings!"

"These treasures either require Dream Crystals and Contribution Points to purchase, or you need to have a certain amount of Contribution Points. Because what the shopkeeper wants is to use these resources to cultivate warriors who dare to fight and dare to face and conquer nightmares."

Director Dai and the others opened their eyes wide. Suddenly, they realized they were not fighting alone.

They did the same thing in Tiannan City.

They select talent from ordinary people and devote a great deal of resources to cultivating a new generation of geniuses.

As long as someone is highly talented and willing to fight, they are willing to invest a lot of treasures to nurture them... even if they may not be able to make a profit!

"The safe zone has incorporated the use of wonders into the contribution point system, making them available to all Dreamers. That's quite a bold move, almost on par with our Tiannan City!"

Jiang Zhenshoudao.

He said "almost comparable" because in some cases, the wonders of Tiannan City are provided directly to Dreamers for free. For example, when Black Coats from brother departments like Baijiang and Lindong arrive, they are given a free quota of time to use the Surging Waterfall. Also, the geniuses of Tiannan City, even those not from the Countermeasures Bureau, are given some free quota of wonder usage.

But Jiang Zhenshou didn't think this was something to be proud of.

They are the authorities, so it's only right that they do this. They have a large workforce, vast territory, and abundant resources, and they are capable of providing better conditions for those who have fallen into dreams.

Conversely, the safe zone is merely a force of considerable size.

It is already quite remarkable that the safe zone has been able to achieve this.

Hearing Garrison Commander Jiang say this, Yan Xiangtian was somewhat surprised. He asked, "Can your Tiannan City's wonder really support several hundred people a day?"

What does it mean to supply several hundred people per day?

Jiang Zhenshou was stunned.

Their wonders are indeed open to the public, and many dreamers have the opportunity to use them.

However, the number of dreamers that the wonder can accommodate is limited! Although Tiannan City has developed some methods to expand the wonder's capacity by inputting treasures such as dream crystals, it is still impossible to accommodate several hundred people a day.

How big is the spectacle?

Like the cascading waterfall, it can be used by multiple people at the same time. However, for events like the pre-dawn Q&A, only one person can enter at a time, and there's a daily limit on the number of times it can be used.

At this moment, Director Dai opened the Wonders interface. He carefully read through the instructions, conditions, and fees for using the wonders. Then, he switched to the mission panel and looked at the rewards.

Director Dai fell silent.

"This safe zone's contribution points...a spectacle..."

"What's wrong with the bureau chief?"

"See for yourselves."

Jiang Zhenshou and the others looked around. They already knew that there were many wonders in the safe zone. Wait... what is the price for using these wonders?

They finally understood why Director Dai had remained silent!

Training ground, one hundred Dream Dust at a time?

One hundred! Dream Dust!

It's equivalent to a piece of dream crystal.

What the hell is the difference between this and it being free?!

The same goes for the training grounds; the basic usage fee is only two hundred Dream Crystals. Additional paid services aren't much more expensive either.

"Complete a few missions, and you'll be able to use the advanced features of the safe zone wonders! The usage fee for these wonders seems quite cheap!"

"No, it's not just about being cheap."

A powerful figure from Tiannan City spoke up, "Don't forget, the safe zone has a tradition of rewarding contribution points for conquering Nightmare difficulty. This is practically a free wonder!"

The store manager doesn't work for free; he just doesn't want to cultivate lazy, good-for-nothing dreamers.

On the one hand, he guides those who have fallen into nightmares to confront the bizarre, and on the other hand, he guides them to contribute points so that they can use wonders through their own efforts.

This is teaching someone how to fish.

Saying that the safety zone's boldness is almost comparable to that of Tiannan City... Garrison Commander Jiang blushed a little.

Good news: Tiannan City is not fighting alone; the store manager in the safe zone also cares about humanity.

However, compared to the safe zone, their Tiannan City Countermeasures Bureau, which represents the official and orthodox authorities, seems to have done not enough or done well enough! Director Dai, Garrison Commander Jiang, and the others exchanged glances and suddenly felt immense pressure.

Surely they can't be inferior to even a grassroots force, right?

"Can't beat them?"

Yan Xiangtian and the other two lay down.

What kind of civilian forces? The Security Zone is clearly a peace zone for all of Great Xia and even all of humanity on Earth; it is the torch of humanity! It is the dawn of the world! It is a guiding light!

They were extremely confident that one day, ten or even decades from now, the people of Daxia would be able to connect through the safe zone.

"Although it's unclear how much of the store manager's personal funds were invested, it's obvious that there are many things we can learn from the safe zone." The training ground is mainly for ordinary dreamers.

They are not going.

In the training ground, advanced projects require contribution points.

They don't need it, and they won't go for the time being.

Therefore, their first stop was the library.

The library has two paid attractions: meditation rooms and spellbooks. They can't exchange the spellbooks, but they can view them.

The library itself is free of charge.

As you enter the museum, the noise quickly fades away.

But Director Dai discovered that this was not just a spectacle, but also a library.

Besides the area in the distance filled with spell scrolls, the surrounding bookshelves were also filled with books.

Some of the books were brand new, clearly just printed.

Most of the Dreamers headed straight for the spellbook section upon entering the library, but Director Dai immediately recognized the value of the ordinary books. Especially…

Sections include "Leisure Readings", "Cultivation Materials", "Nightmare Geography", "Spell Science", "Materials and Precious Medicines", "Strange Files", and more.

The library's collection of books seemed to be more extensive than they had imagined.

After taking a stroll around, Director Dai walked straight into the eerie archives area.

At a glance, there are countless bizarre files and documents here.

He casually pulled out a scroll.

"Item No. D037: The Withered Wood Spirit"

"Description: With bodies as hard as hardwood and speed as ghostly, the withered wood spirits are mostly ordinary and eerie, but there are also elite and leader-level individuals. They are commonly found in the following... types of areas, and are skilled in... and have the following weaknesses."

The information is very detailed.

Director Dai was certainly familiar with this strange phenomenon, and the records of the withered tree demon in the safe zone were similar to those in their Tiannan City.

Clearly, the safe zone has dealt with quite a few of these strange occurrences.

He put the volume of documents back and then took out several other volumes.

"Number D017: The Door-Knocking Ghost"

"Number D144: Bloody Handprint"

"Item C039: Mountain of Meat"

The items placed around the perimeter of the archives area are some of the more common eerie things.

Those who experience dreaming are highly likely to encounter this.

But as they ventured deeper into the archives, the more bizarre and unusual the records became.

"Number B012: Fake Person"

"Item No. B033: The Eye of the Film Roll"

"Description: An eyeball-shaped anomaly constructed from a massive film reel. This anomaly is at least at the transcendent level and possesses the ability to freeze space. Suggested countermeasures:..."

"Number B011: Sky Patrol Ship"

"Item B014: The Tyrant in a Suit"

As he browsed further, Director Dai suddenly discovered that many of the strange files recorded in the library were ones he didn't recognize! There were many dreamers in Tiannan City, and they had encountered and killed countless strange beings.

Because of their sheer size, they can collect a lot of bizarre data.

but,

How exactly does the safe zone manage to collect such a large amount of bizarre information?