Chapter 16: The Moment the Outpost Light Shines

The curtain was pulled open, but the spotlight had already swept past and moved on, leaving the surroundings once again shrouded in darkness.

Outside the dim and frost-covered window, almost nothing could be seen.

Jon frowned as he saw the little dog hiding under the bed, about to push the sheet aside and poke its head out.

He didn't have time to think—

Why, even with the curtain pulled open, the dog hadn't been driven out of the room?

Jon had to act quickly. He grabbed the blanket from the bed.

Then he sat on the floor, continuously shuffling backward.

Jon moved at top speed to the corner of the room, curling his body and sitting with his back against the corner, wrapping the blanket tightly around himself.

Jon wasn't doing this out of fear but to avoid being watched.

At the beginning of the game, when he first arrived in this room, "It" had controlled the dog to watch him through the door crack.

That cold gaze falling on his back was a feeling Jon remembered vividly.

A gaze certainly doesn't have weight...

Jon now finally understood that the feeling of being watched was actually his own psychic energy being absorbed.

At the time, not much of his psychic energy was stolen, but it still caused cognitive pollution.

And Jon had seen in the cellar that "Its" mental pollution grew stronger in dark environments.

So, he had to be extremely vigilant now.

He must preserve his psychic energy, ideally not letting any of it be stolen.

Jon tightened the blanket and held his breath.

His mind was racing, thinking about how to handle the current situation.

In the quiet room, rustling noises began to emerge.

"Tap, tap, tap."

It was the sound of the dog's claws gently stepping on the wooden floor, getting closer.

Meanwhile, in Jon's classroom.

The students held their breath, staring tensely at the live stream.

They all saw the incredibly eerie scene—

The little dog crawling out from under the bed, with a horrifying human-like smile on its face, staring unblinkingly in Jon's direction.

It was like a spider, climbing up the wall and moving above Jon's head.

The whole class started to panic.

"What is up with that dog!"

"Did Jon break any rules?"

"Damn it, we told him not to pull the curtain! This stupid jerk is going to get us all killed!"

"I don't want to die, someone think of something..."

Some of the students who had been praising Jon moments ago suddenly turned against him, cursing him loudly.

They were genuinely terrified, fearing that Jon would end up like Leon, being killed three times in a row by the mutated dog and facing a grim elimination.

The brutal scene of the first-year Biomedical Class A being wiped out was deeply engraved in everyone's minds.

If they were really going to be stuffed into a locker later, they'd rather just kill themselves now!

The classmates didn't know what kind of predicament Jon was facing.

They had too little information, and Hanson hadn't had the chance to explain.

Naturally, these people assumed that Jon had ignored advice and insisted on opening the curtain, leading to such a dangerous situation.

Sitting at the side of the podium, Black Goat propped his chin with one hand, watching everything unfold with great interest.

The corners of his mouth slowly curled up into a mocking, playful smile.

He was enjoying this opera of death and despair.

Humans, these creatures that boast of being above all, using civilization to embellish themselves, arrogant to the point of ignoring everything.

But when facing slaughter, they still scream like livestock in agony...

Black Goat was obsessed with these screams, drawing nourishment from them and never tiring of it.

"Everyone, calm down. The dog's mutation wasn't caused by Jon!" Hanson, seeing the situation getting out of control, hurriedly began to explain.

"It's the dog being controlled by 'It' in the house!"

"Jon's analysis is that only the figure outside the window can drive the dog out of the room."

"That's why he opened the window, it wasn't intentional."

After Hanson's explanation, the overly emotional classmates finally calmed down a bit.

They continued to stare at Jon's live stream, silently praying for a miracle.

...

Meanwhile, Jon, hiding under the blanket, still had a calm expression on his face.

He had roughly analyzed the situation and found a way to break the stalemate.

The dog hadn't mutated, its condition was different from what Hanson described, so it wouldn't turn into a werewolf.

Also, the entity controlling the dog didn't seem to want to kill him directly.

Its current intention seemed to be to steal his psychic energy.

Jon believed that as long as he stayed under the blanket, avoiding eye contact and physical touch, the dog wouldn't be able to take his psychic energy.

And a dog that hasn't turned into a werewolf couldn't easily kill him.

Tonight, "It" controlled the dog to sneak into his room but was blocked by the table at the door.

That's why the rug on the first floor was set on fire, and the dog's barking woke him up.

Its goal was to sneak under the player's bed.

After the dog got under the bed, it somehow gained the ability to climb walls, but that was all.

And Jon's plan was—

If the dog dared to get closer, he'd simply cover it with the blanket.

Then, using his weight advantage, he'd pin it down.

At that moment, the outpost spotlight outside swept across the window again.

In the pitch-black darkness outside, the black figure finally appeared.

It was a human-shaped silhouette, entirely black, with indistinguishable features, except for hollow white eyes.

The shadow it cast blocked the light, engulfing the entire room in an instant.

"Howl, howl, howl—"

The dog clinging to the ceiling let out a piercing scream.

It instantly lost its ability to cling to the wall and fell heavily to the floor.

"Thud!"

The dog got up clumsily, its red eyes returning to normal.

Although the shadow outside had disappeared, it was still terrified, with its tail between its legs, quickly fleeing the room.

Jon, hearing the commotion outside, lifted a corner of the blanket to observe the situation in the bedroom.

The dog's frightened howls echoed from downstairs.

It looks like it's returned to normal. Jon finally breathed a sigh of relief, the current predicament was resolved.

Wrapped in the blanket, he pressed against the wall and reached out to pull the curtain closed again.

Jon mumbled softly, "What the heck, I thought my analysis was wrong. Turns out the shadow figure needs to coordinate with the spotlight..."

"Oh—I get it! That's what's going on!"

Jon's eyes widened, and he instantly understood everything!

The ranger's spotlight was a way to drive "It" away.

At the moment the light shone in, "It." the shadow figure, and the dog had a meeting.

The ranger's light drove "It" out of the dog's body.

As "It" left the dog, it startled the shadow figure away. At the same time, the dog, just regaining its senses after losing control, was frightened and fled in panic.

The entities surrounding Jon's room, coveting his psychic energy, scattered in all directions.

...

Meanwhile, in Jon's classroom.

Seeing this, the classmates finally relaxed and even began to cheer, some crying tears of joy.

They had really thought Jon's challenge was about to end right there.

"Thank goodness, we survived the night..."

"Jon is amazing! We really underestimated him, he actually managed to handle it."

"Who was cursing just now? Hurry up and apologize to Jon!"

"Exactly, his analysis was spot on!"

"A bunch of negative energy spreaders, can you please keep your mouths shut next time?"

Hanson also breathed a sigh of relief, keeping his attention on the live stream, continuing to gather information for Jon.

Although the free attempts were used up, there were still paid attempts available.

At that moment, another scream echoed through the live stream.

"Ahhhhhh—"

The whole class's attention was drawn.

In the live stream, Player 2, Tony's head, rolled to the ground.