“Brother, come back!” Liang Zhao called to him.
Liang Qu turned his head, his eyes unable to hide anger: “But—”
“Come back first. Protecting citizens is more important.”
Liang Qu bit his jaw, turned around and ran back to Liang Zhao’s side. Liang Zhao pressed his shoulder, comforting him saying: “That person can no longer be saved. The gasoline leakage here is severe. Our abilities are not suitable to be used here. First rescue the others and get them out, then we’ll talk.”
Liang Qu nodded. The red light between his eyebrows slowly extinguished.
And in just these few short minutes, dozens of mountain spiders climbed up the winding mountain road along the mountain rocks. Each mountain spider was as large as an adult human’s body. Four pairs of long legs were as thick as a bowl’s mouth. And the front pair of chelicerae were even thicker, like tree trunks, covered with sharp, pointed barbs. Six scarlet, blood-red eyes dripped with a salivating intent.
A-rank awakened species: Mountain Spider
Attribute: Pure Earth.
Characteristics: Solitary arthropod, often dwells in deep mountain caves, carnivorous, aggressive, venomous, strong reproductive ability, captures prey by spraying spider webs, and drags prey into caves to hunt and kill.
“How can there be so many mountain spiders here?” Liang Qu said puzzled: “These are much too big compared to number 1179 registered by Baize, right?”
After the atavistic bloodline appeared in YS1653, besides humans, some other organisms also manifested awakened bloodlines, but the numbers were very scarce. Awakened creatures have extremely strong territorial awareness. Most prefer to live alone. Currently, there are 1786 species of awakened creatures that have been discovered.
Since its establishment, NSMS headquarters has conducted thorough investigations and records of awakened species within the entire territory. The information is stored in the Baize big data system, and special species nature reserves have been established for the areas where awakened species live. While preventing humans from being attacked by awakened creatures, it also protects them to have good habitats and breeding environments.
As an A-rank awakened creature, although the mountain spider is carnivorous, it only eats sparrows, centipedes, moths, and larger ones can eat snakes. It lives in deep mountains and old forests and generally does not actively attack humans. The typical size of a mountain spider is about the size of a watermelon. The largest mountain spider ever found in the world was as large as a washbasin, living on Zhou Mountain, one of the five mountains in Nanzhen. That is the number 1179 that Liang Qu mentioned. For awakened species with high danger and growth potential, NSMS will capture them, mark them with pheromones, and then release them back into their habitats, tracking their movement routes 24 hours a day to prevent them from straying into human territory.
If the number 1179 recorded by Baize could be called the king of mountain spiders, then the mountain spiders appearing here are the emperor’s father, typical dad beating son, not even on the same level.
And there’s not just one of them, damn it.
These mountain spiders climbed up from all around, surrounding everyone in the middle of the road, blocking all exits. Some of them climbed onto car roofs, tore open the wrecked cars, dragged out the dead people inside, and pinched the corpses with their chelicerae, sending them into their downy, hair-covered mouthparts.
“Crunch crunch—” The sound of flesh and bones being crushed together chewing rang out, a wave of fishy stench assaulted the face, shredded meat and internal organs flowed all over the ground, such a scene of eating raw human flesh made everyone’s hair stand on end.
“Mountain spiders appearing in such a group entering human territory, yet satellites did not detect it in advance. This matter is not that simple. Everyone tighten the defense, prioritize rescuing and protecting people, be ready to assault at any time.”
If it were only mountain spiders, for Liang Zhao and his team it would not be difficult. A-rank is already considered rare and strong, but they are orthodox military, they haven’t yet considered A-rank worth their attention. But now there are many ordinary people here without even any abilities. Forcibly breaking through has too much uncertainty. They must first protect these people.
Liang Zhao stood at the front giving commands. All the soldiers moved back, forming a protective circle, shielding the survivors and the prisoner inside.
“Officer! Officer! They are awakened species! They have killed so many people! You must kill them now!”
“Sir! You will rescue us, right? You have to protect me! I don’t want to die! These monsters want to eat people! They are too terrifying!”
“Why are you still standing here doing nothing?! Take us and run! In a moment they will crawl over and eat us!”
“Okay okay, protect you protect you. ‘Sir’ what ‘sir’? We are serving the people, grassroots workers with the masses in our hearts. If the leadership finds out we were called ‘sir’, we’ll be locked in a small dark room. Come come, don’t cry anymore, calm down calm down, deep breaths, everyone lie down and don’t move.”
Liang Qu was pushed back and forth yet still had to reach out and comfort the excessively terrified and agitated civilians. He had just waved his hand telling people to move back, when a few people, whether because they were stunned with fear or not, screamed, pushed the soldiers aside, and ran forward. Liang Qu couldn’t even grab them in time.
“Fuck! Don’t run around!”
They probably entertained a fluke mindset, trying to find a gap to run out. They hadn’t run far when something stuck to them. Looking closely, it was extremely fine and dense spider silk.
Mountain Spider, A-rank ability: Web Swamp.
Attribute: Pure Earth. Control class, group control type ability.
The dense spider silk sprayed from the rear orifice of the mountain spider solidifies upon contact with air. After prey touches it, they become infected by the toxin attached to the web, causing physiological excitement, beginning involuntary convulsions and struggles. The more they struggle, the tighter the web entangles, like sinking into mud swamp, forever unable to extricate themselves. Finally, they are sensed and preyed upon by the mountain spider.
Note: Mountain spiders have increased movement speed within the Web Swamp.
“HISS—!!” The prey had touched the hunting web. The mountain spider let out a roar, its two thick chelicerae waving, as it leaped fiercely towards the several people tangled in the web.
“Fuck!” Liang Qu cursed, flying into a lunge to block in front of the several people. At that moment, “BANG BANG BANG—” The sound of bullets splitting the air suddenly came from afar. Liang Qu’s ears twitched. He performed a side roll and nimbly dodged.
The mountain spider’s all over fuzz bristled. At the moment the bullets hit, it convulsed and rolled its entire body into a ball. The bullets hitting its body were like hitting a wall, clattering and bouncing off all over the ground.
Mountain Spider innate ability: Danger Sensing.
Attribute: Pure Earth. Auxiliary class, perception type ability, passive ability.
When danger approaches, sense it in advance, helping the mountain spider to predict and dodge. The sensing does not remain active at all times; each success rate does not exceed 20%. And after a successful sensing, the mountain spider cannot use the Web Swamp ability again for 24 hours.
Mountain Spider innate ability: Immobile Spider Ball.
Attribute: Pure Earth. Defense class, self defense type ability, active ability.
The mountain spider curls its abdomen, folds its eight legs together, and tightly contracts its head to form a ball. Fuzz grows on the outside of the ball. In a short time, cells massively proliferate, increasing density to form a shell as hard as a mountain, protecting the spider from harm. After the Immobile Spider Ball ability is deployed, the mountain spider cannot actively dissolve it; it must wait 30 hours for the ability to release on its own.
The mountain spider not only has the ability to sense danger, but also decent defensive ability and control ability that assists it in hunting. If it weren’t for the fact that these two innate abilities both have weaknesses, have time limits, and its toxicity is relatively weak, its awakened level might exceed A-rank, approaching S-rank.
“Deputy Liang!” Several police cars rushed straight from the opposite side of the road. A police officer shouted at Liang Qu. When he saw Liang Zhao not far away, he also said: “How are you all? Where is the prisoner being escorted?”
“Officer Chen?” Liang Qu said in surprise. These were all police from Bailu Prison. The one leading them was called Chen Guoyuan. Liang Qu had dealt with him a few times. He guessed that because the base was too far from here, sending people would take considerable time, so they first urgently contacted the closer Bailu Prison to rescue them.
“We all… Look out!” Before Liang Qu finished speaking, several mountain spiders, as if enraged, ran quickly toward the police cars. Their piercing-sucking mouthparts were wide open, slowly dripping thick green venom. The prison guards immediately drew their guns and fired. Several used the Immobile Spider Ball ability to protect themselves. Several others were even more ferocious, not deploying their defensive ability but directly enduring the bullets and charging straight over.
Liang Qu raised his hand and shot directly at a mountain spider’s blood-red spider eye. A mass of flesh and blood sprayed out. The spider screeched in pain. Liang Qu raised his foot and kicked the spider’s abdomen. The size difference between the two species was enormous, yet the spider was directly kicked flying, broke through the guardrail, and fell down the cliff.
“HISS—” The mountain spider crawling on top of a car roared wildly, turned around, and aimed its rear end at the protective circle formed by the soldiers. The oval-shaped rear orifice rapidly shot out streams of white spider web.
“Xiao Zhao! It’s using its butt’s eyes to shoot white XX at you!” Liang Qu shouted with wide eyes.
Liang Zhao didn’t have time to mind his goofball brother’s silly/stupid words. He yelled “Get down!” and directly pushed the people beside him away. The spider web tangled around Liang Zhao’s body. The mountain spider pulled on the web, dragging him back. The toxin spread. Liang Zhao instinctively struggled.
“Deputy Liang!” the soldiers called to him.
“Don’t mind me! First help them get the webs off, then immediately take these people and run outward, the farther away from here the better,” Liang Zhao replied.
The soldiers followed orders, immediately pulling and dragging the people who were too scared to move, running forward.
Screaming, crying, car horns resounded to the heavens, chaos everywhere.
Liang Qu had originally run over to remove the spider web from Liang Zhao’s body, but heard Chen Guoyuan roar, “Stop right there! Where do you think you’re going?!” Liang Qu looked up and saw that the prisoner had somehow broken free from the soldier guarding him and had run to the middle of the highway. The blindfold had fallen off during the earlier fighting and dodging.
The mountain wind howled. Long white hair fluttered in the wind, dense and no different from that snow-white spider web, a breathtaking beauty like falling moonlight and sparse snow unseen in the human world. He wore a muzzle gag. His pale face and that black object formed a stark contrast, making his complexion appear even paler. His eyes were dark and calm. A teardrop mole beside one eye was exceptionally vivid. He was limping closer to the mountain spider.
“Don’t shoot—!!” Liang Qu roared, reaching out to stop him, but Chen Guoyuan had already pulled the trigger. “BANG—” The bullet, like an arrow piercing through the air, quickly traced a straight line. As Liang Qu’s eyes widened in horror, it struck Shen Yue’s chest.
Blood splattered in the air. Shen Yue let out a muffled grunt. Yet a deep blue light still emanated from his eyes. The spider standing on the car roof suddenly lost control and roared loudly. Its six blood-red spider eyes flickered rapidly with chaotic light, like a computer CPU burning out. The spider web snapped at the sound. The spider, out of control, crashed heavily down from the car roof toward Shen Yue!
Liang Qu rushed over. A fierce wind suddenly arose. The mountain spider’s enormous body collapsed in front of Liang Qu. The tremendous wind force pushed everyone back to the edge of the cliff.