Mist Spider

The street beneath the thick fog looked eerie. Even the sunlight was almost completely blocked out.

Lin Xian and Kiki reached an empty stretch of road and suddenly stopped the motorcycle.

"Something's wrong."

Lin Xian felt an eerie presence too. He drew the short blade from his back and went on guard.

Rustle...

Patter, patter...

The sounds drew closer, quickly swelling into a deafening chorus of shrieks.

Both their expressions changed at once!

"Zombies?" Lin Xian cried.

"I don't think so..."

As they spoke, several zombies burst from the thick fog ahead. Lin Xian saw at once that they were nothing like the ones they had encountered before. Their skin was gray-white and rotting, they ran fast, and some charged on all fours like animals.

The sight reminded him of Old Man Li, whom he had encountered the night he rescued Kiki at the Jiang City shelter!

In the blink of an eye, a surging Corpse Tide rushed out behind the Strange Corpses. Kiki's face went pale. "Hold on!" she snapped.

She released the brake and twisted the throttle. The motorcycle's rear wheel spun under the powerful pull, kicking up a plume of white smoke against the road.

"Straight ahead!"

Without another word, Lin Xian raised his hand and fired a Wind Gun straight ahead, blowing the head off a Strange Corpse that leaped at them!

Aaargh!!!!

Shrill screams rose on every side as the motorcycle shot forward, barely slipping past the claws of several Strange Corpses. Lin Xian sat behind Kiki, hacking with the blade in his right hand and firing Wind Guns with his left as they fled through the unending Corpse Tide.

Bang!

A Wind Gun tore a female corpse in half at the waist. A black Strange Bug was blasted out of its back as well, and Lin Xian's face darkened at the sight.

"These aren't ordinary zombies!"

Alarm surged through him. In his experience, didn't Aberrant Entities only come out at night? Why were they outside in broad daylight?

"Damn it!"

Kiki saw more than a dozen Strange Corpses rush them at once. Gritting her teeth, she threw out a hand. Hum! A powerful Shockwave erupted, blasting the corpses aside and letting the motorcycle break through.

Seeing Kiki use her power, Lin Xian knew something was wrong. The handlebars trembled slightly. He glanced over and saw that her face had grown visibly paler, and even her hands shook as she steered.

He immediately used the Mechanical Heart to take control of the motorcycle. While Kiki was still wondering why it had suddenly stopped responding to her, Lin Xian pulled her back onto the rear seat and swung himself into the front. He opened the throttle, and they sped on.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

"There's something wrong with this fog. Don't use your ability unless you have to!"

Every survivor knew terrifying aberrations appeared at night. Since it was daytime, Lin Xian had thought that two Espers like him and Kiki could handle whatever came their way. The sudden appearance of these Strange Corpses had caught him off guard.

These Aberrant Entities were much faster than zombies. Without a gun, an ordinary person would have no time to react. Lin Xian began to think they should retreat. If Aberrant Entities appeared in the fog, didn't that mean something like the White Giant Monster or that crimson Giant Centipede might appear too?

He made up his mind to abandon their original destination.

"You need to turn left up ahead." Perhaps because she could feel how weak she was, Kiki didn't argue with Lin Xian for once. She clung obediently to his back like a kitten.

She had already been cold. After using her ability, chills ran through her whole body, and she instinctively held Lin Xian tighter, trying to draw warmth from his back while her heart fluttered wildly.

"We can't go where you wanted. We're heading back!" Lin Xian said decisively.

Kiki looked back at the surging Corpse Tide behind the motorcycle and grimaced. "And how are we supposed to do that...?"

Lin Xian checked the rearview mirror, then the map. To reach North Bay Station without retracing their route, they would have to make a long detour along the road outside the city. With the Corpse Tide on their heels, they had no way to turn around.

Just then, something sharp whistled through the air. Lin Xian stared into the fog ahead, every hair on his body standing on end!

He slammed on the brake and swerved. The next second, something like a bamboo pole shot down from above and struck the ground beside them with a clang, gouging a small crater in the concrete and sending stones flying!

Cold sweat broke out across Lin Xian's face. If he hadn't instinctively swerved, the thing might have skewered him.

"What was that?!" Kiki cried.

The rear wheel spun wildly with an ear-piercing screech. They had gone only a few meters when the whistling came again.

"Watch out!"

Thud!

Another sharp pillar dropped from above. Lin Xian swerved and nearly drove straight into it.

This time he got a better look. The "bamboo pole" seemed to be covered in fine black hairs. It looked like part of a living creature.

"Bad guy, look up!"

Kiki patted Lin Xian's shoulder in terror, and he looked up.

A huge, spider-shaped shadow loomed in the fog above them. The buildings along the street looked small beside it. Its six impossibly long, slender legs seemed to stretch more than ten meters, and the things that had stabbed down at them were clearly two of its legs.

"What the hell..." Lin Xian's pupils trembled. He cursed inwardly. He had only just thought of something like this.

The bizarre giant spider was enough to shred anyone's sanity. Without a second thought, Lin Xian opened the throttle all the way and plunged into the fog ahead.

"I'm so sick of this! Why is it always bugs or spiders?!" Kiki huddled against him, arms wrapped tightly around his waist as she cursed.

Lin Xian's face was taut with concentration. He kept his eyes fixed on the road through the fog.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

The spider had clearly set its sights on Lin Xian. Its slender legs moved rapidly, stabbing down through the fog again and again!

"Left!" Kiki shouted.

Lin Xian quickly turned.

"Above you!"

Lin Xian hit the brake again.

But the spider's legs were so long that it moved between the buildings much faster than Lin Xian could ride.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

He heard the huge creature climbing over the buildings above. A moment later, it planted several long legs across the intersection ahead, blocking his path as though toying with its prey.

"Damn it!"

As the giant spider slowly lowered itself out of the fog ahead, Lin Xian raised his hand to fire a Wind Cannon.

But then a car engine roared. White headlights pierced the fog from the other side of the intersection, and a huge modified pickup burst into view!

Bang!

The impact knocked several of the spider's long legs out from under it. It lost its footing and crashed down.

In the next instant, the pickup swung into a deft drift and stopped in front of them.

Clang!

The pickup's tailgate dropped, and a girl of about eleven or twelve shouted, "Get in, quick!"

Lin Xian understood immediately. Without hesitation, he opened the throttle and rode the motorcycle into the pickup's bed. The little girl slapped the side of the bed. "All set, bro!"

Vroom!

The modified pickup wasted no time. Its engine roared, and it sped away.

The spider seemed enraged at being outwitted. It let out a furious shriek, scrambled up on its six long legs, and raced after the pickup.