I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

"Thump!"

Shi An woke up with a start.

He lifted the blanket and looked at his arm.

There was indeed a bloodstain on it, but as the nightmare was defeated and he cleared the game, the bloodstain gradually faded until it disappeared completely.

The Blood Handprint Little Blood did not come to the real world, but returned to the safe zone.

Shi An also checked on Xiao Xue's condition.

The little blood-red creature's chubby body only had a few faint black spots.

Clearly, despite fighting the dark and eerie creature for dozens of seconds, the little blood creature had firmly gained the upper hand.

Of course, the fact that someone used himself as bait was also key to securing the victory.

The jet-black marks were originally highly corrosive, similar to Xiao Xue's blood-red palm print. But now, with the eerie disappearance of the jet-black marks, they became like a tree without roots, fading away rapidly in the blink of an eye.

It won't be long before its minor injuries heal.

"My number one employee, Xiao Xue, has the potential to be incredibly terrifying."

Seeing this, Shi An truly felt relieved.

Even so, recalling the scene just now, with its dark and eerie presence that seemed poised to pounce, he still felt lingering fear.

"I admit there was an element of gambling involved, but in the end I won."

As early as when she fell into the nightmare, Shi An had already made up her mind to completely clear the first nightmare.

Such an idea is undoubtedly absurd in the eyes of experienced and common-sense dreamers.

It's wishful thinking, it's unrealistic.

The information provided by the Countermeasures Bureau naturally did not include any relevant strategies.

"Indeed, under normal circumstances, how could an ordinary person possibly overcome the supernatural?"

"Even if an ordinary person possesses one, two, or three cursed items before being afflicted by the initial nightmare, it's useless."

Because ordinary people who possess cursed objects are at most equivalent to early-stage dreamers.

The power that the cursed object can exert is very weak.

They didn't have much time to study cursed artifacts, let alone fuse them. Before they could even fuse them, these people had already fallen into their initial nightmare.

However, Shi An possesses a small amount of blood, which gives him the potential to counteract the strange phenomena.

Of course, even so, it would still be very difficult for him to perfectly complete the first nightmare.

after all,

"In the initial nightmare, there may not be a mechanism to kill the monster. I need to rely on Little Blood's own power to defeat this monster."

Weird vs. Weird?

Both are unpredictable, but Shi An dared not gamble directly; he had to find a way to create opportunities and increase his chances of winning.

Using oneself as bait is a necessary risk.

and……

"The prerequisite for resisting or even defeating the nightmare is to make the nightmare appear."

"However, the original mechanism of the nightmare was... the eerie things don't appear. Or rather, they are blocked by the rules and cannot appear. Only when certain conditions are met can they break through the barriers and truly descend."

This is a good thing for dreamers who just want to survive.

However, for Shi An, who wanted to complete the game perfectly, it became an obstacle.

There are only two ways to bring about the supernatural.

One is constantly stepping on landmines, accelerating the eeriness.

The other is finding the exit from the nightmare. Just when the dreamer discovers the exit and is about to escape, it is also the most dangerous moment, as the eerie creatures can break through the barriers and pursue them.

These two are the only two opportunities that Shi An knows of that allow him to confront the bizarre situation.

However, Shi An wasn't very confident about finding a way out of the nightmare—he wasn't sure he could find it in just one day.

He was just an ordinary person, so he could only choose the former option.

To ensure a realistic portrayal and to allow for greater emotional turmoil, Shi An even self-harmed by cutting himself.

However, he couldn't be too harsh on himself and only got a small scratch.

Finally, the eerie thing was brought out.

……

Shi An lay on the bed for a full ten minutes until she was fully awake and had rested enough before she fell asleep again.

Glug glug.

The familiar, reassuring safe zone came into his view.

Little Blood stood on the bar, waving her round, chubby arms like a lucky cat, as if showing off her accomplishment.

Shi An rubbed Xiao Xue's head.

"Not bad, very good, very chubby, I'll give you a raise at the end of the year."

of course,

Before the end of the year, after the next upgrade of the safe zone is completed, if there are still enough faith points left, Shi An will use them on Xiao Xue to give the major contributor a version buff.

That's the most important thing.

A raise?

Cough cough, the bloody handprint is just a weird thing. It provides food, lodging, and even upgrades. It has no use for the increased salary.

Inside the shop, a pair of all-black shoe covers were lying on the ground in front of Xiao Xue.

A chilling aura emanated from it, making people feel uneasy.

This is a cursed object.

What was left behind after Little Blood swallowed the pitch-black monster.

It's a good product.

The cursed artifact obtained by defeating a strange creature will most likely be a complete cursed artifact.

But where should we begin?

Finding out the specific details of a cursed object is no easy task.

Just as An was thinking this, fragmented pieces of information suddenly appeared before his eyes, pieced together, and then became clear.

"Cursed Item: Jet Black Shoe Covers (Complete)"

"Description: A pair of shoe covers that can be slipped over any shoe. Once slipped on, the shoe covers will fit perfectly, regardless of shoe size. The wearer of the jet-black shoe covers will become invisible, leaving only the sound of their shoes stepping on the ground."

Side effects: Wearing black shoe covers can cause black spots to grow on the user's body. If used for too long, the entire person may become black and liquefied.

A complete cursed artifact!

Although the description suggests it's not very powerful, and its invisibility has significant drawbacks.

"But such a flaw should be able to be eliminated by improving control over the cursed object."

"And the stealth mechanism can definitely come in handy in some situations."

But what Shi An really wanted to figure out right now was—

"Why were we able to see the information about the cursed object directly this time?"

"Previously, the cursed artifacts of the man in the black suit and Xi Xue were very obvious, but I couldn't see through them directly. There must be some kind of variable involved."

There are too few clues to make a judgment.

Shi An is merely the god of the underworld.

The image of the shattered corridor from the nightmare resurfaced in my mind once again.

"You've perfectly cleared the initial nightmare."

"You have obtained 100g of Dream Dust."

"You have obtained the Cursed Dream Item: The Invisible Corridor (Rare)."

The nightmare, utterly shattered and vanished, left behind a remnant essence that transformed into a cursed object that existed between the tangible and the intangible, and fell before Shi An.

This time, Shi An didn't need to stare at it; he vaguely obtained information about the cursed object.

Basic information.

Perhaps this is the gift of the initial nightmare?

"But I didn't expect it to be a rare cursed artifact."

"Indeed, above incomplete and complete cursed artifacts, there must be higher-grade cursed artifacts. I just never expected that my first rare cursed artifact would be obtained through my own efforts and hard work."

"That's so me!"

The cursed object fully manifested, resembling a bracelet.

The bracelet is engraved with intricate patterns, such as stairwells, streets, and cities.

Shi An stared intently.

The fragmented information is reassembled and presented in greater detail.

"Invisible Corridor"

"Note: High-grade spell artifacts possess the ability to construct tangible and intangible spaces. Ordinary people find them difficult to use directly and must be able to resonate with the spell artifact itself."

"Side effect: After using this cursed item, the user is prone to losing their way for a certain period of time."