I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

The junior sister looked very innocent.

She was probably innocent; when the two met, Li Xixue was probably not a Dream Faller.

But it's hard to say about Professor Luo.

Shi An strongly suspected that there might be some hidden masters among the people he knew.

Oh, he's hiding his identity too? That's alright then.

On the surface, Shi An is an ordinary working person, but in reality, he is an employee of the Countermeasures Bureau, and at a deeper level, he is the store manager of the Safe Zone, a person who provides shelter and guidance to many lost dreamers.

"However, I didn't sense the aura of the cursed dream artifact from my junior sister, but I did sense it from Little K before."

"Is it that my junior sister isn't a Dream Fallen, or... are higher-level Dream Fallen who, because they've integrated the artifacts used to curse dreams into themselves, don't have any aura leaking out?"

Shi An leans towards the latter.

After all, Professor Luo seemed to be just an ordinary person in his eyes.

There's a small chance the junior sister is an ordinary person, but it's highly unlikely that Professor Luo, who's in charge of teaching the course, is an ordinary person.

……

"Ding-a-ling!"

The familiar school bell rang.

Professor Luo walked to the podium as if he were giving a public lecture, and opened his prepared PPT. However, the difference was: "Today I will talk about two main things: one is how to stabilize the anchor of reality, and the other is the cultivation of those who have fallen into dreams."

"As we all know, people who are active in the nightmare world all year round, also known as dreamers, must constantly stabilize their anchor in reality, otherwise they will easily get lost in the nightmare world."

"For ordinary people, augmented reality anchors can also reduce the probability of being plagued by nightmares."

Professor Luo's lectures are easy to understand, without using any obscure or difficult terms.

But is this really common knowledge?

Shi An said she didn't know! This course didn't take into account the newcomers.

Well, it's normal that the course didn't cater to newcomers, and it's understandable given the context.

"So, how can we solidify and strengthen our anchor in the real world?"

"It's very simple: just do what ordinary people do, like ordinary people do. Students should go to school, and employees should go to work. Your identity—a student at a certain school, an employee of a certain company—these are your weapons against future nightmares."

"Your classmates, friends, and colleagues—this network of relationships is the key to holding you firmly and preventing you from getting lost in a nightmare world."

"As is well known, the time that people fall into nightmares will become longer and longer. A single nightmare can go from lasting only one or two hours to several hours, ten or more hours, or even a day, two days or half a month."

"If time continues indefinitely, we will get lost in a nightmare world. The consequences of getting lost are self-evident."

"Of course, doing what needs to be done is just the foundation. To strengthen your anchor point on this basis, there are a few points to note:..."

So this is what an anchor point is. Shi An understands now.

No wonder I heard before that in addition to being an employee of the Countermeasures Bureau, the clerk also had the identity of an employee of a large company.

He had previously thought it was a disguise, since the Countermeasures Bureau didn't exist in the public eye. But now it seemed that in addition to being a disguise, it also served as an augmented reality anchor.

"Speaking of which, isn't it possible that K is both attending school and working part-time to solidify her position?"

"And then there's Junior Sister Li, a junior in college who also works as a teaching assistant, and she's really looking forward to her internship and starting work. Could it be that this is also...?"

It seems everything makes sense now.

According to Professor Luo's theory, those who live in damp, secluded places are the group most prone to nightmares, and they often disappear without a trace, only to be discovered much later.

Shi An thought it made a lot of sense, but after a moment she came to her senses, "Wait, this looks like me?"

Although he goes to work, he is too lazy to participate in social activities unless necessary, and he is only dragged out by Haji Lu and Lao He when he does go out.

They are clearly a high-risk group.

Well, now, Shi An isn't afraid of falling into nightmares anymore. Whenever he falls into a nightmare, he immediately opens the portal back to the safe zone, so falling into a nightmare is no different from going home.

The content of this first lesson is closely related to those who have fallen into dreams, as well as to the many staff members who are working on the periphery.

Most people don't want to be plagued by nightmares.

And the second period...

"Is this a story about the cultivation of those who have fallen into dreams?"

"Most people in this classroom are probably not Dream Fallers, but there are a few who are probably Dream Faller newbies like Little K."

Ordinary people are always trying to avoid being plagued by nightmares.

Listening to this content doesn't seem to be of much use.

But then Shi An thought about it again, "That makes sense. The clerks and logistics staff of the Countermeasures Bureau are frequently exposed to nightmare information, so their probability of experiencing nightmares is already far higher than that of ordinary people. In this situation, although they are said to be peripheral personnel of the Bureau, aren't they actually reserve dream sufferers?"

Since we're in the reserves, learning some things in advance will be more helpful for our survival later.

In fact, the information Lao Song gave me yesterday focused most on how to deal with one's "first nightmare".

Shi An took a look and had to admit that it was very useful.

If ordinary people knew these coping methods in advance, their chances of getting through the initial nightmare would be quite high.

Nightmares can't be spread, not even through hints or reminders from movies and TV shows. Shi An remembers complaining that there wasn't a single suspenseful or gory drama in the world.

"The Countermeasures Bureau staff have several main categories of work, one of which seems to be... finding those new recruits who have just been plagued by nightmares and teaching and guiding them through their first nightmare."

……

The second class has begun.

"As we all know, those who fall into nightmares will sink deeper and deeper into the sea of ​​nightmares as time goes by, and will face more and more dangers. At this time, it is often difficult to survive with wisdom alone; we also need some strength."

"When faced with certain nightmares that invade reality, the power of the dreamer is an extremely important reliance for us."

Shi An's gaze sharpened.

Yes, his guess was correct. The information yesterday also briefly mentioned that there are dangers in the real world.

Unfortunately, Professor Luo didn't elaborate on the topic of "nightmares invading reality." Perhaps such things are still too far removed from the lives of newbies/clerks like them.

Professor Luo continued, "The four stages for a Dream Faller to wield the power of dream-cursing objects are: borrowing, merging, controlling, and refining."

"Borrowing, as the name suggests, simply means using a cursed object, but there are differences. Ordinary people at most roughly activate the cursed object, while experienced dreamers know how to trigger it at a lower cost. When we use a certain cursed object frequently until we feel comfortable using it and can control it as if it were an extension of our own body, we can try to fuse the cursed object."

"Fusing with cursed objects, this is the most dangerous stage."

"Historically, the first generation of Dream Fallers often forcibly fused with cursed artifacts to combat nightmares, a process fraught with peril. But thanks to the successive sacrifices of Dream Fallers, our Great Xia has pioneered a safe path for fusing cursed artifacts, including a complete cultivation system from using to refining cursed artifacts."

"Of course, even so, using cursed artifacts will inevitably come with a price, that's unavoidable."

"The fusion period is the stage most affected by the cursed object. The cost includes one's own life force and the various strange effects of the cursed object itself. Therefore, this stage should not be delayed for those who have fallen into dreams. The faster they pass through it, the more potential they can retain."

"Of course, this stage is also the most important. We call the fused cursed object 'natal cursed object'. The quality of the natal cursed object is related to the future of a dreamer."

"Mastery period, as the name suggests, means that the dreamer can use their own cursed objects more perfectly, making the cursed objects exert greater power, while reducing the side effects they suffer."

"Refining stage? Grab the cursed object and refine it in an instant. If one can reach this stage, then one can be considered a master among the Dream Fallers."