I created a safe zone in the nightmare world.

Chapter 100: The Six Key Employees (3K)

After the security zone was upgraded, there was also an office in front of the store manager's rest and living room.

The interview will be held here.

There were more than a dozen people who had fallen into dreams and were being interviewed.

This is after the resumes have already been screened once.

"W-why are there so many people?"

In the crowd, two girls dressed in sportswear who looked to be around twenty years old were huddled together and whispering.

Their demeanor was significantly different from that of most of the other interviewees.

He carried an aura of weakness that others lacked.

"I...I don't know either."

The other person looked bewildered.

Both of them were newbies who had come to the safe zone for the first time. They came over because they saw that there were job openings and quite a few people had signed up.

They came for the weekly wage.

A weekly salary of 1808 Mengchen is a huge sum of money for them.

Both of them were newbies outside the safe zone, both being Dream Fallers on loan. Even though they had already experienced four nightmares, they were still newbies upon their return, only luckily surviving each time.

"But for those powerful individuals who can extract profits from nightmares, this week's pay isn't that high, is it?"

But what they didn't know was that the vast majority of those who had fallen into dreams weren't there for Zhou Xin.

Either they simply want to curry favor with the store manager;

"Either they're here to enjoy membership benefits in advance."

Indeed, once they start working, they are no longer free dreamers. From now on, dreamers must obey work arrangements and can only do what they want in their spare time.

It seems that I am far less free than before.

However, the freedom of those who have fallen into dreams is worthless.

Being hunted and killed by the supernatural is freedom;

To walk on thin ice in a nightmare is freedom;

Many people are willing to trade this worthless freedom for a secure job in the safe zone, and the membership benefits are absolutely irresistible.

If you were to rely solely on your own efforts to accumulate contributions and eventually obtain a membership, how long would that take?

Half a month? One month? Two months?

But who can guarantee that they won't encounter any accidents during a nightmare that lasts for one or two months?

Moreover, one of the dreamers whispered, "Right now, a membership doesn't require much contribution or merit, but that might not always be the case!"

Many people believe that the price of membership will increase.

Many of those who have experienced dream-induced delusions feel an even greater sense of urgency.

The two girls glanced around furtively; most of the people present exuded a very powerful and fierce aura.

One of the men, dressed in a suit and sporting a slicked-back hairstyle, was someone they knew.

He was an elder of the Dreamers' Guild they had joined, a powerful figure in the Control Stage! He was someone they couldn't even see from behind.

Fortunately, this big shot didn't know them, these nobodys.

The two huddled in a corner like quails, trying to minimize their presence so as not to attract the attention of the big shots around them.

"Next interviewee, Wu Yue."

"Your name is Yang Linna, and you've already experienced 31 nightmares, currently at the peak of your control phase? And you used to work as a receptionist at a large company?"

Shi An looked at the smartly dressed female Dream Faller in front of him.

To him, the other person's resume was just average; being at the peak of the Control Stage wasn't a plus in this context. But after meeting her, the woman named Lina still managed to catch his attention.

The opponent's features are on their right hand.

It turned out to be a prosthetic limb, gleaming silvery-white under the light, looking technologically advanced, but it must be a mysterious creation infused with a cursed object.

Yang Linna said, "Yes, I used to be a dream-falling genius. I entered the control stage after only experiencing a dozen or so nightmares. I was full of vigor until I was stabbed in the arm."

After her arm was severed, she returned to reality alive and spent all her savings on surgery to get a prosthetic limb, managing to avoid being caught by the execution line.

But it has already lost its edge.

Or rather, after that experience, Yang Linna realized that taking risks, risking her life, and striving for higher goals were all less important than simply living a peaceful life.

Even if she succeeds in conquering the nightmare ten times, just one failure could cost her her life.

She just wanted to live a peaceful and stable life.

She didn't come for the training room in the safe zone; she came more for a sense of security.

In the entire Asian dream, there is probably no more stable job than being an employee of a safe zone.

Shi An asked, "You have experience as a receptionist, so let me ask you, if you were to process mission paperwork for a Dream Faller or discuss commission details with an agent of a large organization, what would you do?"

Why didn't they ask about your own nightmare experiences or your cursed abilities?

She hesitated for a moment, but quickly answered.

Shi An nodded slightly: "Very good, you're hired."

"

Yang Linna: "Huh?" I've been hired?

"Are you a chef at a five-star hotel?"

"That's right, manager. I'm good at Cantonese and Hunan cuisine. Although the conditions here in Nightmare World are a bit lacking, I'm still confident that I can develop a few dishes that suit the local characteristics."

This is Chef Rune.

Shi An didn't ask him if it was his real name or a code name; it didn't matter.

But this chef is indeed the one who seems to have the best cooking skills among today's interviewees.

When it comes to cooking, he talks non-stop—although the head of the restaurant mostly didn't understand him.

-

In the safe zone, the canteen has stoves, but there are no ingredients; all the dishes produced in the canteen are pre-made.

But it doesn't matter who you hire.

"You've been hired."

"

"Hmm, you said you're twins, and that you both always fall into dreams at the same time and return to reality at the same time, without using any team-up items?"

The twins, Wu Qing and Wu Yue, nodded like chicks pecking at rice.

Shi An sat up straighter.

He was currently wielding an exceptional-grade cursed artifact, and his senses were incredibly sharp. He could tell that the two girls before him were not lying.

That's amazing.

"Perhaps this is a kind of talent that has been awakened prematurely?"

"After a peak-level expert in the Three Refinements stage undergoes a life transformation and enters the extraordinary realm, they will awaken their innate abilities."

This is an extraordinary characteristic, a symbol.

It is said that this talent is closely related to the cursed objects one refines, but it is also related to the individual.

Some people are born with innate talent.

Shi An glanced at the two of them a few times.

They are twins, a beautiful sight to behold.

"Okay, you're hired."

"Huh? We can be hired too?"

Shi An entrusted the task of employee onboarding training to Fa Gui.

There isn't much to learn.

He assigned Yang Linna to the front desk to be in charge of the "tasks" section.

Wu Qing and Wu Yue were also assigned to the main hall—the main hall is where the most manpower is needed.

Lin Xiao then arranged for them to stay at a hotel.

Chef Ruen was naturally in charge of the cafeteria.

However, there isn't much work in the safe zone; most of the time, it involves flexible job assignments.

Fa Gui is the supervisor, responsible for patrolling the area.

Oh, no, patrolling is Xiao Xue's job.

The bloody handprint no longer acts like a sculpture all the time; instead, it occasionally wanders around the safe zone with its hands behind its back, showing off its presence.

A blood-red statue came to life; it was terrifying and eerie.

However, the safe zone had many amazing things, and the Dreamers quickly accepted them.

Lina and the other new employees quickly got to work and gradually became familiar with their jobs.

There wasn't much work to do in the safe zone; even the drinks and snacks in the lobby were self-service.

The staff mainly look after the newbies, mostly guiding them when they first arrive at the safe zone.

The front desk is relatively busy; sometimes it can go for hours without anyone coming to accept a task or post a commission.

Moreover, Dreamers can accept missions through the control panel on their desktop. It is only after the mission is completed that manual intervention is required for review, contribution statistics, and reward collection.

Yang Linna, Wu Qing, and Wu Yue are currently in charge of this area.

With the new employees recruited, the store manager of Shida Store is now much more relaxed.

He's currently tinkering with something new at the alchemy workshop—a spell power tester.

That was one of the spoils he obtained after completing the Ancient Village Nightmare walkthrough.

Of all the spoils of war, it was the one he looked down on the least.

However, since it was obtained from the nightmare of the ancient village, Shi An wanted to see exactly what this curse power testing device was capable of.

Special features.

"This spell power testing device is more expensive to make than the spell eye. The main materials are three incomplete spell artifacts, supplemented by various dream materials."

"I'll see if it's worth the price."

Soon, the first instrument emerged from the alchemical black box and was transported to us by a conveyor belt.

This spell power testing device is quite a large item, about the size of a double-door refrigerator.

The top is a crystal ball, and the side has a control panel. You can start using it by opening the panel and inserting a dream crystal inside.

Once activated, the spell power testing device will emit beams of light, forming a target area in front of it.

"By bombarding this target area with cursed objects or spells, one can test their level of control over cursed power?"

"The main test is on the level of control over spell power, not the amount of spell power output. It's not about how much force you use to get a high score, okay? Got it."

Shi An turned on the tester with a "beep".

Soon, the light rays converged, forming a target with a radius of half a meter in the area in front of them.

The target is marked in red at the very center, with concentric circles of dotted lines extending outwards.

"Beep~!"

"Test begins. Please use your cursed item to attack the red marked point."

A mechanical sound came from the instrument.

Shi An glanced at the three cursed artifacts he currently contained: Night Shadow's Mask, Invisible Corridor, and Steel Bone.

This is just a workshop; it's not appropriate to make a big scene here.

So Shi An reached out and beckoned, and a forearm-length bone appeared.

He gripped the bone club, imbued with the power of the cursed object, and slammed it down heavily on the target in front of him, where light and shadow intertwined.

"Boom!"

The wind howled, carrying a heavy force.

Shi An was very satisfied.

Unbeknownst to me, I have grown to this level. Even a simple slash has the terrifying power to break several bones in an ordinary person.

Shi An looked at the testing instrument.

The target has disappeared, and soon the light and shadow intertwine again to form an evaluation box.

The inscription reads: "Curse power output value: 1.1"

"Curse power output efficiency: 53%"

"Evaluation: This is a beginner-level control of magical power, with zero magical power. I suggest you go back to the drawing board and start over."

Shi An's face darkened.

This spell power testing device doesn't look very reliable at all!

So he stepped forward and formatted the test record.