I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Upon hearing Shi An's question, the stall owner immediately scoffed, realizing he had encountered someone knowledgeable.

Team-based items are not very common.

Let alone ordinary people, many people who have experienced dream-induced delusions have only heard of them but may not actually recognize them.

Shi An had seen team-up items a long time ago.

That's right, when he was still a newbie store manager and had only opened for business for the second time in the safe zone, Lao Yao and Xiao K teamed up to enter the Nightmare World.

This shows that the Countermeasures Bureau is quite well-off.

Back then, K wasn't a rising star in the Countermeasures Bureau; she was just an ordinary, inexperienced Dreamer.

The stall owner said, "This prop, a Dream Crystal, is priced according to industry standards."

Shi An shook his head, "It's too expensive. This prop can only be used to form one more team."

The value of props for a two-person team is naturally very different from that for a three-person or four-person team.

In particular, experienced dreamers who aspire to conquer nightmares often need to form a team of three to four people. Two people are too limited and insufficient to conquer a nightmare.

Of course, the most important thing is that these team-up items are all one-time consumables. For the team-up to take effect, the two Dreamers must be of similar rank.

A Refining Stage expert and a Fusion Stage Dream Faller both pressed their handprints onto the object, but they would still separate when they fell into the dream realm.

This means that team-based items are useful, but only to a limited extent.

Shi An got up and left.

The stall owner called out, "Wait, nine hundred Dream Dust isn't out of the question either."

Shi An continued walking.

Stall owner: "Name your price, it's negotiable!"

Shi An walked away and disappeared around the corner.

He wasn't planning to buy it in the first place.

The stall owner had misjudged him; he was no expert at all, Shi An was just an ordinary person.

Where would he get the nightmare props?

……

Over there, Lao Song and his group were just looking around.

With a mix of wariness towards nightmares, people who suffer from nightmares, and curiosity.

A complete newbie.

Fortunately, the black market in Wanmeng City is relatively orderly and not a lawless place.

Lao Song had been here more than once. He said, "This black market is mainly managed by several organizations: the Suffering Self-Help Association, White Dove, and New Dream Alliance."

"These organizations maintain order in the black market and, of course, charge management fees. For example, the most ordinary stall here charges 200g of Dream Dust per day, and it's said that there are discounts for monthly subscriptions."

Two hundred grams!

"This is so expensive!" Zhang Yuning exclaimed.

A novice dreamer like her couldn't even save up this much Dream Dust in a month.

Shi An exclaimed in a low voice that it was too dark.

Compared to this safe zone, his home area is definitely much more accessible.

Lao Song shook his head. "It's not expensive at all. You know, some black markets charge an entrance fee or a toll fee directly. But this Wanmeng City black market is already a black market with a relatively high flow of people in Baijiang. The stall fee is reasonable."

Shi An noticed that there were indeed quite a few stalls here.

Many of the stall owners appear to be ordinary people who are selling their goods on behalf of others.

The stalls mostly displayed strange and hard-to-identify items, but a few were rare and precious treasures.

For example, cursed objects.

Even a flawed cursed artifact is a highly valuable treasure in the circle of ordinary dreamers.

For the vast majority of Dreamers who only possess one natal cursed item, having an additional cursed item is equivalent to having an extra means or skill.

Looking at the cursed objects that were simply laid out, Shi An seemed to be deep in thought.

"It seems that the black market is indeed quite orderly."

"really."

Lao Song revealed some rumors.

"This black market isn't without its share of troubles. Two seasoned Dreamers once robbed a shipment of goods, but it's said that the black market's manager didn't even show his face before severely injuring and subduing the two Dreamers."

"That's right!"

An older man passing by, who was very outgoing, chimed in, "I was there at the time. I saw from afar that the manager was commanding the strange creature to float over the black market. In the blink of an eye, the strange creature blocked the way for the two robbers."

"The earth turned into a pond, and the hair was like seaweed. The two robbers couldn't even hold on for a few breaths before their legs were broken."

There have actually been quite a few robberies on the black market.

Or sometimes, when the person experiencing the dream has an episode, they suddenly start fighting.

These were all destabilizing factors, but they were quickly brought under control by the management.

However, most of the time, the authorities use firearms and administer anesthetics—the Dreamers are all mortals, and they cannot exert much power using cursed objects; they are afraid of firearms.

However, compared to firearms, the ruthless actions of a master of the Fallen Dreams are more shocking and worthy of being talked about.

"Who is this expert?"

"I'm a complete novice dreamer," asked Zhang Yuning.

The outgoing older brother said, "It's Mr. Fa Gui from the Suffering Self-Salvation Association. Mr. Fa Gui is also the number one expert in the black market of Wanmeng City. It's said that he has conquered more than one Nightmare!"

Song Qiming was surprised.

Like Zhang Yuning, she has the backing of the Countermeasures Bureau, which is far larger than a small organization like the Self-Help Association.

However, an organization is an organization, and an individual is an individual.

Even in the eyes of ordinary Dream Fallers in large organizations, a master like Fa Gui is considered a top-tier expert.

Zhang Yuning: "Is this the demeanor of a master?"

Lao Song said, "Don't be discouraged, you will also have the opportunity to become such masters in the future."

He was also saying this to Shi An, Li Hao, Jiang Yilu, and the others.

Unless they are truly "nightmare immune", given their identities and circumstances, it's only a matter of time before they fall into nightmares; it's just a matter of whether it takes a few days, months, or years.

Shi An: "Ah, right, right, right."

Li Hao: "My goal isn't just to control the situation!"

But in fact, Fa Gui was about to break through to the Refinement stage, and Shi An planned to arrange a nightmare for him to help him break through.

……

When leaving the black market, newbies like Xiao Zhou and Jiang Yilu were still quite excited.

The black market here has the "Dream Fallen" atmosphere they imagined.

As for the countermeasures bureau?

At least the branch office is no different from an ordinary government office.

But as Shi An left the black market and prepared to take the elevator back, he frowned.

The toilet not far away had been sealed off at some point.

Two men in black trench coats were talking to the black market's management. Their expressions were rather grim.

Further away, inside the toilet, out of sight.

Shi An could sense from afar that a strong, chilling aura lingered there.

"This place has a bad omen; we should leave as soon as possible."

He said.

Lao Song said, "Yes, let's not stay any longer, let's go."

The group returned to the station unharmed.

Shi An noticed that Lao Song seemed to have gone to find out what was going on.

then,

After fishing in the training area for a while, he went to find Lao Song to ask.

Lao Song's expression was grave. He lowered his voice and said, "Something did happen at the black market. A Dreamer wearing a Pigsy mask died in a toilet stall."

"Normally, the death of one or two people isn't a big deal in the world of Dreamers, but..."

"Strange traces were found in the toilet stall!"

Surprising!

Is it a nightmare invading reality, while the eerie thing breaks free from the nightmare and escapes?

Shi An didn't understand, but felt a sense of solemnity.

Lao Song comforted him, "Don't worry too much. Real-life anomalies are easier to deal with than nightmares. This anomaly will probably be found and dealt with soon."