Chapter 279: Sleepless Night

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Sleepless Night

’Could it be that this time, the monster only enters the cabin after it has moved?’

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t jump to conclusions, nor was she in a rush to test her theory. She patiently used the firelight to clean her furniture, arranged everything in suitable spots in the kitchen and bathroom, and only then did she open the group chat Chrona had created.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Has anyone heard rustling sounds at night?

The question was abrupt, and it was also very late.

Even the most hardcore night owls would have their sleep schedules forced back to normal after just a couple of days surviving here.

Seraphina Sinclair originally expected few replies, but she had clearly forgotten one thing.

Though most survivors never spoke in the group, they had all quietly set up special notifications for her—the top-ranked player on the server-wide novice trial leaderboard.

Furthermore, Seraphina Sinclair never posted nonsense in the group chat. This convinced people that whenever Blacktiger spoke, it was something they absolutely couldn’t miss. They had even turned the volume for their special notifications all the way up.

As a result, the moment Seraphina Sinclair’s message went out, the group chat immediately erupted with activity.

"Holy shit! The legend has spoken! Front row for a group pic!"

"Damn!! I finally got a message from the legend! Gotta save this moment!"

"Can everyone please pay attention to what the expert is asking?"

"A sound? What sound? I haven’t heard anything... It’s really quiet over here, apart from the wind outside."

"...I was just about to sleep, but now that the expert mentioned it, I’m a little scared to. I listened closely for a bit, and I think... I think there might be a very faint sound, like sand rubbing together? But I’m not sure, maybe it’s just my imagination?"

"I heard it! Just now! It sounded like something crawling on the outside of my wall! It was very faint and fast. I thought I was imagining things, so I didn’t dare to move!"

As a few more replies popped up, more and more people in the group chat started to speak up.

"A rustling sound? I hear it too! I thought I was just being paranoid and hearing things!"

"I hear it! Me too, and it’s right under my bed! Shit, don’t tell me some kind of monster got in? I’m lighting a torch! What’s going on?"

"Under the bed? Wait, now that I’m listening carefully, the sound is coming from under my bed too."

"Nope, I have to see what’s going on."

"Holy shit! There are a few small holes on the back of my bed board! Like something bored through it!"

"I looked too! A small piece of my bed leg has been chewed off! There are tiny wood shavings on the floor!"

"What the hell is going on?! @Blacktiger Ford, expert, can you explain in more detail?"

Seraphina Sinclair frowned.

She was here to verify the reason for the bugs’ appearance, not to babysit these people.

’Weren’t only the top two from each Zone allowed in this group chat? What was the point of endlessly asking questions the moment a problem came up?’

Before she could say anything, Chrona spoke up.

[Chrona]: Everyone, calm down! Don’t panic! Listen to me!

[Chrona]: Since Ford asked, she must have discovered something. Everyone, stop spamming the chat. Just state your situation concisely: First, when did you start hearing the rustling? Second, the specific location and general characteristics of the sound. Third, whether you’ve found any damage to wooden structures. This will help the expert make a judgment.

Seraphina Sinclair saw the message too. Chrona was truly wearing herself out for this group chat.

She was online almost twenty-four hours a day, and the moment she spotted any sign of trouble, she would be sure to nip it in the bud.

She was the one who stepped up to handle the Mountainwind incident, and now here she was again.

But this was a good thing. Since Chrona had spoken up, Seraphina didn’t have to say anything more.

[Zane Pierce]: Chrona’s right! Everyone stop shouting! I’ve been hearing the sound for a few days now, probably since the day the system announced the new Zone. There’s a rustling under my bed now too, but I’ve checked, and there are no monsters under there!

After Rex Shaw’s death, this guy was the most arrogant person in the group.

But unlike Rex Shaw, this man was perceptive. He was flexible and knew who he could afford to provoke and who he couldn’t.

With him taking the lead, others began to speak up as well.

"I started hearing it a few days ago too, but it’s a bit different for me. The sound was very distant at first, and it’s gotten closer over the past few nights. It’s really weird, like something is chewing on my floor. I even got up several times last night to check, but I didn’t find anything before going back to bed."

"Same here, to the person above! The day before yesterday or maybe yesterday, the sound was really quiet. It’s not loud today either, but it’s definitely louder than before! It’s so weird."

"I, on the other hand, only started hearing the sound today, and I’m absolutely sure of it. I have a bit of a nervous condition, and the slightest unusual noise keeps me awake. The sound is right under my bed. I’ve already flipped the bed over to check several times, but there’s nothing there. So weird."

Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes lit up, and she immediately tagged the survivor who said they had a nervous condition.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Did you move in the last two days?

The moment the message was sent, the chat went quiet. Everyone’s attention was now focused on the "neurotic" survivor who had been singled out by the expert.

A few seconds later, the person replied, their tone a mixture of surprise, flattery, and nervousness:

[SleeplessNights]: Expert! I actually didn’t move for the past two days, the reason... the reason is a bit personal, but I did move today!

They moved today, and they heard the sound today.

It was exactly the same as Seraphina Sinclair’s situation. The answer—she had already found it.

The others in the group also realized something was off. One of the people who hadn’t moved immediately reacted: "Huh? So that’s why I haven’t heard any sounds in my cabin? Is it because I haven’t moved at all these past few days?!"

"So that’s how it is. No wonder I started hearing the sound—though it was very faint—the day I entered the new Zone. It’s because I’ve been moving every day."

"So, you’re saying that as long as you move, something will get into the cabin? And it makes a rustling sound? But it doesn’t attack us? What does it want?"

"My friend, did you forget our wooden furniture was chewed on? This thing that got in is definitely not a monster—it’s a wood-boring bug! It’s here to eat wood, isn’t it?"

"Eats wood?!?!"

As soon as this message appeared, many people immediately realized the gravity of the situation.

"Wait! My mobile cabin is made of wood. If it eats wood! My cabin..."

That unfinished sentence was like a block of ice, instantly freezing all discussion in the group chat.

Even those who had been joking around earlier held their breath.

Having wooden furniture get chewed on was something they could tolerate; they could just stop using it, worst-case scenario.

But what if... what if this unknown "wood-boring bug" was eating the wood that formed the main structure of the cabin?

The walls, the floor, the beams, the doorframe...

If their mobile cabins were gone, could they still survive in this godforsaken place?

Everyone knew the question mark was rhetorical.