Chapter Seven: Double Rear
Spider? Liu Ting's brain was like a lump of dough, and he didn't quite understand what was going on. Just as he was still feeling puzzled, the large and small labor spiders below seemed to have suddenly received some kind of instruction, and they all stopped their work, one by one, baring their teeth and claws towards Old Liu. The open mouths also emitted a hissing sound similar to that of a snake spitting out its tongue, which made people's scalps numb and feel cold. Just looking at the scene, it was clear that they wanted to drag Old Liu down and tear him apart. The situation in front of him seemed to have suddenly become extremely complicated, and even he himself had unknowingly become entangled in a conspiracy. Well, saying it was a conspiracy might be giving our Old Liu too much credit; it would be more accurate to say that his curiosity under pressure had gotten the better of him, and as a result, he had gotten himself into trouble.
"Hey, what's going on! You think you can bully me just because there are more of you?" Old Liu glared at the spiders below him with some annoyance, but having tens of millions of eyes (each spider generally has 8 single eyes) staring at him made him feel a bit uneasy. To be honest, even if it were just that many heads staring at him, it would still be intimidating! Being stared at by so many unblinking gazes, who could withstand it? It felt like he had really done something shameful.
Perhaps it was because Old Liu had been quiet for too long, the unknown entity sent another message, with the same content as before, but with a greater sense of urgency. This couldn't help but furrow Old Liu's brow (also spiritually), to be honest, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the content of these two messages. After all, considering his normal human thinking, what business did this entity have with him? Why should he listen to its orders without any benefits in return? However, if that was all there was to it, then so be it. What was truly bizarre was that as soon as Liu Ting heard the message's summons, his entire body felt an inexplicable sensation, as if he couldn't follow his own will, desperately trying to break free from his control, and recklessly charging forward to complete the task assigned by the message. If Old Liu didn't have extremely strong self-control, suppressing that foolish impulse with all his might, he would have probably unconsciously carried out a suicidal attack by now.
What is it? What's calling me over there? Why do I have this irresistible feeling! Old Liu was hesitant for a moment, not knowing whether to retreat or continue to stay and observe the changes. He couldn't help but feel a little impatient in his heart. However, he indeed had very good control over his own psychology, and soon calmed down: Having experienced something as unpredictable as time travel, what's there to be afraid of? Even if it's gods, Buddhas, ghosts, or monsters, what can they do to me? Hmph, whatever you are, I'll just go take a look and see.
Old Liu suddenly took off, ignoring the low-flying silly spider army and flying directly towards the direction where the message had come from. Along the way, the closer he got to that location, the more frightened Old Liu became. If what he saw earlier on the edge of the tree crown was just some ordinary spiders, now the ones he saw along the way were rare poisonous creatures. The spiders here were as big as an adult's thumb, with colorful stripes and a strange, eerie glow all over their bodies. Although they were quietly crouching on the ground, their dangerous aura was not reduced at all, but instead became more intense, making Liu feel like he couldn't breathe. The insect's instinct to avoid danger made Old Liu constantly increase his flight altitude, as if trying to avoid contact with these poisonous creatures.
When Old Liu flew close to the center of this green umbrella, which was also where the previous message came from, the distribution of spiders here was relatively sparse. However, these eight-clawed monsters with bulging bellies were huge and frightening. The smallest ones were about the size of a ping-pong ball, while the largest ones were similar to an adult's palm. On their dark green backs, a human face that seemed to be in pain and screaming was faintly visible. They were actually some low-ranking magic insects, Ghost-Faced Spiders, that lived deep in underground caves and grew stronger by absorbing death energy.
Strictly speaking, these ghost-faced spiders are no longer in the category of ordinary insects. They spend their lives deep in caves, excavating and burying the mountains and seas of corpses underground, and making a living by absorbing the breath of death. Tens of thousands of years of evolution have transformed this spider colony into a more toxic and ferocious demon insect, although it is only the lowest level. However, through continuous evolution, they still possess the possibility of hunting high-level demon beasts. Even in the ancient legends passed down by the Gaya Barbarian tribe, the Spider Queen Silvina, who once slaughtered the gods and caused the entire Gaya to suffer divine punishment, was a ghost-faced spider that had undergone countless evolutions and stood at the top of the pyramid. Of course, that's just a legend, and it's impossible to verify now. Compared to ordinary insects, the ghost-faced spiders are indeed very difficult to defeat in terms of evolutionary level. Their appearance is simply a nightmare for most insects.
Of course, all of this seems to have nothing to do with our old Liu. He only exclaimed that these spiders are huge and have a weird shape, and wondered if they had eaten some kind of golden pill. Apart from that, he didn't express any other opinions. Because he didn't recognize these dark and terrifying magical creatures at all, and relying on the fact that he was a pilot, he completely looked down on these non-flying "country bumpkins". However, taking a step back, these magical insects that can roam freely in their underground lairs would indeed be greatly weakened if they left their homes and came to the surface. If it were nighttime, it wouldn't be so bad, after all, the surface is just as dark as the depths of the underground at this time. But if they come out during the day, the scorching sunlight in the sky above the Gaya Rainforest would make them feel like they're being burned alive by flames, and over time, they would even be dried to death. So now, these ghost-faced spiders appearing here seems like a completely suicidal behavior. And yet, they climb so high, as if they're afraid that sunlight won't reach them, afraid that they won't die quickly enough.
No matter what kind of creature, they all have the instinct to seek good fortune and avoid calamity. Among them, humans are relatively more complex. Other species will diligently work for their food, water sources, and reproduction, without any other thoughts or ideas, let alone the complex notions that exist in human social relationships. Therefore, it is impossible for nature to produce some irrational, completely purposeless suicidal behavior. Just like on Earth's North Pole, there lives a peculiar creature called lemmings. They have strong reproductive abilities, and when their population grows too large, food begins to become scarce. In order to control the population size, most of the Arctic lemmings will collectively rush towards the sea, choosing suicide, leaving only a portion to continue reproducing.
So, what drives so many spiders to come here, and what is it that's worth protecting, even at the cost of their own lives? The answer seems to be right in front of Liu Ting. In the center of the green umbrella-like structure, a spider no larger than a ping-pong ball is laying eggs, forming an egg-shaped building made up of countless amber-like particles behind its tail. Other spiders are busily scurrying about like ants, bringing prey wrapped in spider silk to the front of the egg-laying spider - from small insects like ants and aphids to small animals like hummingbirds, with over a hundred species, many of which remain awake and frantically struggle to free themselves from the sticky silk. As soon as they are clamped by the mother spider's mandibles, they dry up at a visible speed, almost in the blink of an eye, turning into empty shells.
This should be the Spider Queen. So, the one who passed me the message earlier was... Old Liu's brow furrowed in deep thought, his body suddenly stiffening as he felt another message bursting into his consciousness, and this time the content of the message was clearer than ever before: I, the Blood Mosquito Empress, summon you to entangle the Spider Queen, disrupt her plans before my great army arrives!
Starting point. Welcome, book lovers! The latest, fastest and hottest serialized works are all on the starting point of original works!
