Chapter 243: Silver Room Card

Chapter 243: Chapter 243: Silver Room Card

At first, Seraphina Sinclair was quick with the rewards. Every time Lucky pressed it, he got a piece of fish.

Then, it slowly became one piece for every four or five presses, then one for every seven or eight, until it was one every half hour.

Time quietly slipped by.

Nearing midnight, Seraphina Sinclair finally realized there was no way she could earn all the Black Fog Coins in a single day.

After the zone merge, there were too many survivors and the demand was too great. She and Lucky would probably need to work for several more days.

Seraphina Sinclair stood up and stretched, went to the bathroom for a shower, and had just changed into her pajamas when midnight arrived.

The negative effects of the Misty Forest instantly took hold of her body. In that moment, Seraphina Sinclair felt a slight dizziness, and a gray mist seemed to swirl at the edges of her vision.

She immediately activated the [Water Stopping] effect of her Silver Moon Earrings. A cool sensation spread from her earlobes throughout her body, and the discomfort instantly vanished.

Seraphina Sinclair frowned as she put on her Protective Clothing. After zipping it up, most of the negative effects were blocked out.

’The effect is pretty good.’

Lying back on her bed, Seraphina Sinclair had expected to sleep as soundly as she had last week, but she had clearly underestimated the intensity of the D-level area.

She had been asleep for less than half an hour when a strong feeling of being watched jolted her awake.

It wasn’t coming from outside the cabin, but was...

More elusive, more omnipresent.

She sat up and looked around.

Lucky was curled up on his mat, sleeping soundly. The Sunflower was also drooping its head. Everything inside the cabin was normal.

That feeling of being stared at intently by something in the dark was like a cancer clinging to her bones, impossible to shake off.

[Water Stopping] did have a resistant effect against Spiritual Pollution, but it couldn’t completely block this malicious perceptual interference that originated from the environment itself.

Seraphina Sinclair tried to ignore it and lay down again, but a chill kept running down her spine, making it impossible to fall asleep.

She could even feel the gaze lingering on her vital spots, like the nape of her neck and her forehead.

It was as if something was pressed right against her back.

"This is a problem."

Seraphina Sinclair sat up in frustration, knowing that getting a good night’s sleep was impossible tonight.

Since she couldn’t sleep, she might as well take out her rune paper and the gasoline mixed with powder to continue her rune painting.

But rune painting required concentrated spiritual power, and the feeling of being watched severely interfered with her concentration. Her unease almost caused her to misdraw the lines several times, wasting a few sheets of rune paper.

"It never ends." Seraphina Sinclair put down her brush, her brow deeply furrowed.

’Continuing like this is just a waste of materials and Spirit.’

She walked to the window and looked outside through her Single Lens.

Under the effect of [Mystic Insight], the mist appeared as a flowing, grayish-white expanse. The shadows of the trees were unsettling, and occasionally, a distorted black figure seemed to flash by, making it impossible to tell if it was real or an illusion.

And the source of that feeling of being watched seemed to be hidden deep within this boundless mist.

...

The next morning, Seraphina Sinclair had faint dark circles under her eyes, and her mood was not exactly pleasant.

Although with her current Constitution, one sleepless night didn’t have much of an effect, this continuous mental harassment was truly tiresome.

She couldn’t sleep, and she couldn’t paint runes. In the end, she sat cross-legged and meditated all night, but because she wasn’t fully immersed, the effects of staying up all night were still very noticeable.

Seraphina Sinclair glanced at the regional channel and her group chats. As expected, it was a scene of widespread misery.

"Help... I felt like countless pairs of eyes were staring at me all night. I couldn’t sleep at all!" ℴ

"Me too! I’m about to have a nervous breakdown! This Misty Forest is too damn creepy!"

"The D-level area is no joke... and this is just the first night!"

"Does any big shot have a way to deal with this feeling of being watched? Paying a high price!"

Things weren’t much better in the elite group chat. Although everyone managed to hold on thanks to better equipment and willpower, there were still plenty of complaints.

[Artemis]: This feeling of being watched is really affecting my condition.

[Seaview]: Same here. It’s impossible to enter deep sleep to recover Spirit.

[Frostleaf]: It’ll be fine once we get the Immunity Crystals.

[Chrona]: Everyone, pay close attention to your mental state. If something feels off, use an item immediately. This feeling of being watched might not just be a distraction. I suspect it’s also accumulating, and once it reaches a certain point, some kind of mutation might occur.

What Chrona said was certainly possible, but it was just speculation, so most people didn’t take it to heart.

Meanwhile, those who had chosen Thundering Gorge saw these posts and felt relieved they had made the right choice.

"...Hearing you guys say that, I’m suddenly finding the rumbling thunder over here quite pleasant. At least we can get a solid night’s sleep."

"I agree with the person above! Even though we have to dodge a Thunder Strike occasionally, at least we don’t have that creepy feeling of being watched. I slept okay last night."

"I’m so jealous I could cry! If I’d known, I would’ve chosen Thundering Gorge too! I’m afraid I’ll go crazy if I stay in this godforsaken place for too long!"

"Hehe, looks like we won the bet, huh? The lightning is intense, but it’s straightforward. It’s much easier to deal with than that insidious psychological torture."

Hearing them say this, many of the survivors who had chosen the Misty Forest were filled with regret, weeping and wailing in the regional channel.

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t dwell on it. She turned off the light screen, yawned, and rubbed the spot between her eyebrows.

After closing her eyes for a moment to gauge her condition, she gave a wry smile, took out a vial of Energy Potion, and drank it like a cup of coffee.

After the Potion took effect, Seraphina Sinclair patted her cheeks and managed to perk up.

She was about to tear open a meal ticket when her gaze swept around the room and suddenly froze.

The cabin... was different.

The once slightly rough wooden walls had been replaced by solid, smooth gray stone walls that gave off a steady and reliable feeling.

The wooden floorboards underfoot had also turned into neatly cut stone slabs, fitted together perfectly. Their smooth surface could even faintly reflect her image.

The area also seemed to have expanded a bit. The once slightly cramped space now felt much more spacious.

She looked up at the entrance. The familiar, flimsy little door was gone, replaced by a bronze door panel that glowed with a soft metallic luster. It finally added a bit of security to the mobile cabin.

Curiously, Seraphina Sinclair took a few steps back and forth on the new floor, feeling the solid, stable feedback under her feet. She then reached out to touch the cool stone wall. The irritation from her sleeplessness was somewhat alleviated by the brand-new surroundings.

"The wood cabin turned into a stone cabin..." Seraphina Sinclair murmured to herself. As her gaze fell on the Sunflower, she thought of the bronze room card. ’That must have changed too, right?’

She took out the room card and saw that it had indeed changed.

Before, it was a bronze room card. The entire card was made of bronze, and its edges even had some rough burrs.

But now, the card in her hand was completely different.

The main material was now silver, and the edges of the card were inlaid with a fine bronze metal border, outlining a more regular shape. It was smooth to the touch, and its weight seemed to have increased slightly.

In the center of the card, the once simple house-shaped pattern had become more detailed. The lines were fluid, and it faintly shimmered with an almost imperceptible glow.