I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

As the nightmare's gray mist dissipated, the entire area was revealed: the extra trees that had grown out of proportion, the spiderwebs intertwined among the bushes, even the felled trees, and the sap-covered spider carcasses trampled underfoot...

They all gradually faded and disappeared.

The campus has returned to what it used to be, as if nothing had ever happened.

Shi An had already withdrawn the bloody handprint and could not see the situation in the central area of ​​the nightmare, but he was quite suspicious that the marks left by the flames would also disappear along with the nightmare.

When a nightmare strikes, it's as if a new layer has been laid on top of the original world.

Battle, destruction, and change all happen within it.

When the nightmare fades, no matter how much turmoil it caused, the real world remains safe and sound.

"This is perhaps part of the reason why the Countermeasures Bureau was able to keep the nightmare news under wraps."

By this point, Shi An was no longer of any concern.

He simply watched as groups of dreamers continued to sweep and inspect the surroundings, and he even spotted Old Yao among them.

He discovered that after the nightmares subsided, the extravagantly dressed dreamers did not immediately revert to their original attire.

But there's a subtle feeling that the outer layer is fading away?

"Speaking of which, when I was enveloped in the nightmare zone, my appearance didn't change at all, nor did Huang Zhou's or the university students'."

"Is it because we are directly enveloped by nightmares, or are we not dream-fallers?"

Shi An believes it is the latter.

After all, when an ordinary person first experiences their initial nightmare, their clothing won't change.

at this time,

The area around Baijiang University has been sealed off, but after the nightmare completely dissipated without any remnants, the countermeasures bureau's cleaning and control teams entered the area one after another.

The former is responsible for cleaning up any remaining traces of nightmares in certain corners.

The latter, of course, is to prevent information from being leaked.

Shi An indeed saw an acquaintance again.

"Team Leader Song."

Lao Song, a veteran team leader, was currently leading several team members to comfort the frightened survivors and prepare for the next step of memory erasure.

He was somewhat surprised to see Shi An, and then he realized, "So it was you who went deep into the nightmare area to rescue the survivors and organize them."

He naturally gleaned some basic information from the survivors and assumed that this rescue hero was a senior member of the department.

If someone has experienced multiple nightmares and has a military background, it would be reasonable for them to be able to do this.

However, this muscular man turned out to be Shi An.

Who is Shi An? He's an ordinary working man who graduated just six months ago. He's only just begun to understand nightmares and isn't much better than the average person.

It's amazing that he was able to remain calm, rational, and brave!

Dude, aren't you afraid of running into something weird?

People who have fallen into dreams are terrified of the supernatural, but you're just an ordinary person. If you encounter something supernatural, you won't even be able to feed it.

"Awesome! I couldn't be as brave as you in the same situation."

"where."

However, in Shi An's eyes, people like Huang Zhou, who are clearly afraid and worried but still bravely move forward to protect each survivor, are the real heroes.

He himself did nothing of note.

Song Qiming said, "The bureau doesn't require us peripheral staff to take risks, but Brother An, you rescued a total of twenty-two survivors this time, preventing many tragedies from happening. This is definitely commendable, and the bureau will reward you..."

Shi An waved his hand, "It's just my duty..."

Song Qiming added, "There's a substantial bonus, I think it starts at around 100,000? There will also be special material rewards."

Shi An: "Please be sure to report this to Brother Song and the brothers. I'll treat them to a big meal later."

……

Shi An, as both a "victim" and a "meritorious person," should have been able to go home and rest at this moment.

However, he still chose to stay on site to help.

The main purpose was also to take this opportunity to observe the procedures of the Countermeasures Bureau.

He couldn't see what the action team and the cleaning team were doing, but he could see what the control team was doing...

"The statistics are in: there are a total of 63 survivors, including three injured and two who tragically died in the disaster."

The newly hired clerks were a little upset by the result, but those who had been through a lot like Lao Song were used to it.

He said, "Among all the nightmare invasion incidents, today's case is relatively small in scope and has very few victims."

Shi An asked, "So, there are even more advanced nightmare intrusion events?"

"That's true." Old Song paused for a moment. "Most clerks don't know about these kinds of things either. However, since you've been through all this today, and it's not something that's explicitly required to be kept secret, I'll tell you about it."

"Nightmare invasions do indeed vary in intensity!"

"Like today's disaster, you may not know that nightmares don't disappear because they're defeated, but because they're unstable and simply vanish."

"This kind of nightmare is called an 'unstable nightmare' or a 'temporary nightmare.' Nightmares are usually not too intense, and even if left untreated, they will naturally dissipate after a while. Of course, if left untreated for such a long time, it's hard to say whether there will be any survivors within the nightmare area."

"And further up, there are the 'permanent nightmare' and the 'expansion nightmare.'"

Old Song didn't know much about these nightmares either; he had only heard about them from other people who had experienced them.

But just by looking at the name, Shi An could guess a thing or two.

"An expanding nightmare... If not dealt with promptly, the entire nightmare will continue to expand, swallowing up territory after territory? Hiss!"

Is there a limit to this expansion? Will it swallow up the entire city?

Shi An is unaware.

But since Lao Song can use the term "expansionary nightmare," it means that this kind of nightmare has happened before, probably more than once or twice.

An "unstable nightmare" like today is already very dangerous. If it is not dealt with immediately, the casualties could increase more than tenfold.

So, what about extended nightmares?

A nightmare that can expand is bound to be extremely dangerous and fraught with murderous intent.

"Furthermore, are there any nightmare intrusion events even more severe than expansive nightmares?"

Shi An frowned.

He has the bloody handprint on his body, but what if the nightmare keeps expanding and swallowing up areas? Wouldn't the whole reality then sink into ruin like the end of the world?

"No, the countermeasures bureau is still keeping an eye on it."

"Nightmare invasion incidents are obviously not that common, it's not that serious."

Despite trying to comfort herself, Shi An still felt a sense of urgency.

His strength is not enough.

Far from enough.

"The lives of those who have fallen into dreams are on a countdown, but ordinary people can also die mysteriously at any time."

Subsequently, Shi An witnessed the control group's "Great Amnesia Technique".

It was almost identical to the situation he faced yesterday.

After the situation was explained, most of the survivors were forced to accept the facts and fell into a deep sleep after being treated with a "beep" from the mysterious instrument.

Afterward, their memories of the nightmares will fade like dreams, until they disappear completely.

A few people made a similar choice to Shi An—to confront the darkness.

Then, most of them were eliminated, and only two college students barely passed the test. Shi An, as a senior employee, witnessed their onboarding.

……

"Nightmare invasion? My worrying won't help."

"I still hope that the safe zone will welcome more guests tonight."

Shi An returned home, washed up, and went to bed.

He closed his eyes and sank into the depths of his dream.

But this time,

"Clatter".

When An's feet touched the ground, the area before him was not the familiar safe zone.

-

P.S.: I'm changing the update time. Today is the 1st, but I'm not asking for monthly tickets. If you have any tickets, it would be great if you could vote for them tomorrow (Monday the 2nd). Thank you so much! (I'll update more tomorrow.)