As the crowd dispersed, the scenes in each country's livestream abruptly switched to follow their own Chosen Ones.
The global audience's view was forcibly split apart.
That was because each country's livestream could only show the room where its own contestants were!
But the field wasn't empty.
More than a dozen sharp-minded people still lingered where they were.
Every one of them kept their eyes fixed on Chu He and the SSS-rank Eerie Girl beside him.
Among them was Jackson, the former Navy SEALs' devil instructor from Eagle Country.
An hour was more than enough time to choose a dorm room.
In his view, figuring out what had happened to this Dragon Country kid was far more important than rushing to pick an unknown dorm first!
This might be a hidden shortcut to clearing the instance!
After all, the tests behind the dormitory doors were surely random.
For more than thirty years, the rules of the eerie instances had been ironclad, and no one had ever managed to budge them.
Yet today, Chu He—the fragile, ordinary college student they'd dismissed as cannon fodder—had broken the eerie rules with a single move!
No, to be precise, with a single word—and he'd even broken the rules of an SSS-Class eerie!
Jackson of Eagle Country licked his dry lips, appraisal and greed mingling in his eyes.
He strode toward Chu He, taking the initiative, and forced a smile onto his face that he thought looked friendly.
"Friend, perhaps we could talk..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sudden change took place!
Xia Yao, who had been obediently clinging to Chu He's arm, had eyes that had just been shyly veiled with tears. In an instant, they became a pitch-black abyss that devoured all things.
Without warning, a terrifying pressure cold enough to freeze the soul came crashing down on Jackson like an invisible mountain!
Jackson's expression changed drastically. The instincts he'd honed on the edge of life and death made his scalp prickle, and he reflexively looked away.
Chu He's heart stirred.
Perfect. Time to test out the ability he'd just acquired.
He raised his eyes too, meeting Jackson's gaze. With a mere thought, he unleashed the beginner-level [Eye of Nirvana]!
Chu He didn't bother imagining any complicated attack. His mind held just one simple, vicious thought—I want this guy to taste the terror of having his soul pierced by needles!
If Xia Yao's pressure was the absolute zero of the cosmic depths, vast and frigid, making one feel small and powerless,
then Chu He's gaze was a red-hot steel needle—precise, vicious, and utterly merciless as it pierced through Jackson's layers of mental defenses and struck the deepest fear in his soul!
The effects of the Eye of Nirvana depended entirely on the user's imagination. It was no exaggeration to say Chu He could fire a laser and kill Jackson instantly, but he had no intention of killing him!
Under the double assault, Jackson's vaunted willpower crumbled instantly!
His whole body jolted as if he'd taken a heavy blow, his muscles locking up and his pupils contracting violently.
He stopped in terrified shock. Fear even made him take half a step back against his will, and he didn't dare move forward another inch!
The sight made all the elites from the other countries watching nearby, including the arrogant Eagle Country Soldier King, draw in a sharp, icy breath. It was as if an invisible hand had clenched their hearts.
Meanwhile, the livestreams of more than a dozen countries were instantly drowned beneath a tsunami of comments!
Eagle Country's livestream:
"What am I looking at? Instructor Jackson... is he scared? He's actually afraid of a Dragon Country college student's gaze?"
"No! That's impossible! Jackson is a war machine who crawled out of countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood. His will is as firm as steel! That Dragon Country kid must have used some kind of eerie ability we don't know about!"
"Cheating! This is definitely cheating! That Dragon Country kid seems to have gained eerie powers too! He's corrupted the rules! We have to report him to the system!"
USA's livestream:
"FUCK! What's Jackson doing? Attack! He's just a yellow-skinned monkey. What's there to fear? Tear him apart!"
"Something's wrong. Can't you see? Jackson's body is trembling! That girl's pressure is like a domain, and that man's gaze... It's like a blade stabbing straight into Jackson's brain! Damn it, none of this was in the intel!"
Cherry Blossom Country's livestream:
"Two completely different kinds of pressure, yet both equally terrifying! That girl is the embodiment of the rules, cold and vast, like a natural disaster. And that man... his gaze can directly attack the mind! This makes no sense! How could he master eerie abilities in such a short time?!"
"Baka! What's going on? That Dragon Country guy named Chu He has superpowers! This is way beyond the level of an ordinary Chosen One!"
Kimchi Country's livestream:
"Shibal! Cheating! How could shameless Dragon Country people make an SSS-Class eerie bow its head? This has to be an illusion!"
"I don't believe it! I absolutely refuse to believe it! Jackson is Eagle Country's trump card. How could he be scared off by a mere look? It's fake! It's all special effects! Dragon Country people are best at making this kind of fake stuff!"
Dragon Country's livestream had already become a boiling red sea, pride and the joy of vindication sweeping everything else away!
"Hahahaha! Did you see that? The Eagle Country guy almost pissed himself! One look from God Chu sent him running! What kind of damn Soldier King is he? He's nothing in front of God Chu!"
"What do you call kingly dominance? This is kingly dominance! He doesn't even have to lift a finger; it takes just one look! I used to think the protagonists in novels were too ridiculous when they showed off, but now all I want to say is, God Chu, turn it up! Don't stop!"
"I spent ages trying to find something to criticize, but I couldn't find a thing. I just can't bring myself to deny it this time. I'm willing to call him God Chu! God Chu is awesome!"
"Waaah, that beautiful female ghost is so domineering! Jackson only tried to get close, and she bristled! What kind of heavenly, domineering-protector romance is this? So sweet and fierce—I'm obsessed! I've brought the Civil Affairs Bureau over. Get married right here!"
Dragon Country, Supreme Command Center.
The enormous command room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone had stopped breathing as the soldier from Eagle Country on the screen, Jackson, walked toward Chu He.
Only when Jackson stopped in terrified shock, as if he'd seen a ghost, and even stumbled backward half a step did the taut string finally snap!
"Whew—"
Gasps escaped one after another, followed by a thunderous surge of joy!
"My God! He scared Jackson off!"
"That lunatic came out of the Navy SEALs! And Chu He sent him stumbling back with a single look!"
A young technical officer stared intently at the data panel, his voice trembling with excitement. "Report! Contestant Chu He's vital signs are stable! His mental fluctuations are normal! There are no signs that he's been corrupted by eerie forces!"
His words were like a shot of adrenaline, striking every person present right in the heart!
The bloodshot eyes of General Wang suddenly blazed with light!
"Bang!"
A calloused fist slammed down on the sturdy alloy command table, making a deep, resounding thud.
The cheering in the command room fell silent. Everyone turned to look at the Dragon Country war god.
General Wang slowly raised his head and looked around at the faces flushed with excitement. His cracked lips trembled, every word forced out through clenched teeth.
"He hasn't been possessed by an eerie!"
The old man took a deep breath, then summoned all his strength and spoke one word at a time, his voice shaking the roof!
"He... is controlling an eerie!"
Silence fell over the entire room.
Then came an even fiercer uproar, so loud it seemed ready to tear the roof off!
Controlling an eerie!
In the thirty years of blood and tears behind them, those four words had been the wildest fantasy imaginable! An impossible dream!
Yet now, it had happened right before their eyes!
"I knew it! That SSS-rank eerie was obviously guarding her food! But that final look from God Chu... that was the real killer blow!"
"One kiss, and he didn't die. Instead, he subdued the instance BOSS and even gained a divine skill that makes anyone he glares at afraid! How can this even be explained?"
"Stop, my heart can't take it anymore! Someone help me up. I feel like I'm about to take off right alongside Dragon Country!"
General Wang paid no attention to the commotion behind him. His gaze stayed fixed on the screen, sharp as an eagle's.
He whipped around, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.
"Pass on my order! Effective immediately, contestant Chu He's clearance level is to be raised to the highest, top-secret level!"
"Technical team! Analyze that kiss just now, along with every frame of him driving Jackson back! Go through it frame by frame! Don't miss a single pixel! I want to know exactly how he did it!"
After speaking, the old man turned back to the screen and looked at the young man trapped in the SSS-rank Eerie Girl's embrace, wearing a helpless "save me" expression. His heart, dormant for thirty years, burned with an alarming heat.
Kid... you have to hold on. Do your best to win over that eerie School Belle.
Perhaps Dragon Country would finally escape the devouring grip of eerie forces.
Before you continue