Things That Arrived with the Cold Wave

Sometime recently, or perhaps not long ago.

--The cold world outside, invaded by the Cold Wave, has become a little different from before.

This is the seventh floor, and the building has a total of 21 floors. Logically speaking, at the height of the seventh floor, apart from some small birds that can fly up here, you shouldn't be able to see anything else outside the window.

But at some point, a long, Black Shadow, arthropod-like leg dangled down from outside the window, blocking most of it.

Bai Zhi had the best eyesight; with the enhancement of [Pluto▪Deficient]'s Eagle Eye, he could even see the sharp barbs on that arthropod leg.

"What... exactly is this thing?"

Looking at the thing hanging down from above outside the window, Mu Qiansè's voice trembled slightly.

She had checked before; this was the seventh floor, and there was nothing below the window to stand on, nor was there an air conditioner unit. This meant that the Unknown Creature outside the window was already seven stories high just from the height of one foot... Just what kind of enormous creature was this!?

"I don't know. Judging from the shape of its legs, it looks a bit like a cockroach, and a bit like a spider... A spider or cockroach that's more than ten stories tall? Where did this thing come from?"

With a slight frown and no apparent hesitation, Bai Zhi walked straight to the window.

"Don't be so nervous, and there's no need to be so afraid... As Player, shouldn't you have already mentally prepared yourself to deal with all sorts of bizarre and strange things inside?"

"But... I understand."

Watching the little girl follow behind someone without flinching towards the window, Mu Qiansè gritted her teeth, suppressing her fear, and quickly followed.

--This is a Big Spider that is as tall as a building dozens of stories high.

The giant spider's eight segments burrowed deep into the buildings, its enormous body obscuring the Tian Kong, and one of its legs landed right in front of their window.

From their current vantage point, they could vaguely see a Giant Spider leg embedded straight into the wall to their left front.

"It's not a physical entity, just a phantom projection, and common don't seem to be able to see it..."

Looking towards the building opposite, Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly.

Eagle Eye's field of vision was absolutely top-notch. On the floor directly opposite his, through the tightly closed window, he could clearly see a thick spider leg hanging down from the ceiling and then disappearing straight into the floor.

The Master of that room was completely unaware of this, even though the spider leg had pierced through the Sofa and landed right next to him, he was still leisurely lying on the Sofa watching TV...

"... Will it really just be a phantom projection?"

Turning her gaze away from above, Mu Qiansè's face appeared slightly pale.

"But this spider... it was moving just now..."

Before she finished speaking, the spider leg that had been hanging in front of their window slowly lifted up and took a long step forward. During this process, the Giant Spider's movement did not cause any damage to the surrounding buildings. The eight long spider legs went straight into the buildings, as if the buildings were false projections.

In less than five minutes, the Giant Spider, which was as tall as a dozens of stories high, had already disappeared into the distance, quickly vanishing from their sight thanks to the obstruction of the city's buildings.

"Alright, stop looking, stop looking. The person left shyly, and you're still staring. It's just a spider magnified thousands of times, what's so interesting about it?"

By clapping his hands, Bai Zhi drew the attention of the other two.

"So what if it's not just a phantom projection? To deal with something this massive, I only need a slide tackle to disembowel it. A mere spider..."

"It's not just these few."

Qingyi exhaled and reached out to tug at his sleeve.

"Look at the horizon, it's to your left and behind."

"Horizon?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bai Zhi turned his head slightly to the side.

When he saw that scene on the horizon, his expression involuntarily turned gloomy.

In his vision, an indescribable and bizarre scene was emerging on the horizon. Above the bleak sky, a large number of leaden-black clouds had gathered, seemingly a sign of an impending storm... if one ignored the tentacles protruding from the clouds.

Dozens of long, blood-red tentacles dangled from the leaden-black clouds, twisting and tangling together in mid-air, yet stubbornly reaching out towards the world below.

... An incredibly realistic and absurd scene was unfolding before his eyes.

"Uh... I'm hungry again."

Turning his head, Bai Zhi solemnly addressed Mu Qiansè.

Could you please make me some takoyaki?

Mu Qiansè: "???"

When I type a question mark, it's not that I have a problem, it's that you have a problem.

"That really wasn't an octopus..."

Looking at the person sitting on the Sofa without any psychological pressure, Mu Qiansè repeated the sentence again with great helplessness.

"Octopuses have tentacles, and so do those tentacles that reach down from the clouds. According to the famous Occam's Razor Principle, I think the two can be equated."

Bai Zhi had a serious expression on his face.

"... I've never heard of that theory."

"Oh, of course you couldn't have heard that, because I made it up on the spot."

Bai Zhi waved his hand dismissively.

"The key issue right now isn't that, but something else entirely. We shouldn't shy away from the important details. Based on my observations, common can't see those things, but Player can. While we don't yet know the exact connection between that sudden Cold Wave and these things, there's definitely a link... So here's the question."

Bai Zhi tapped the Coffee Table in front of him with his finger, then looked at Mu Qiansè Qianse, who had unconsciously swallowed and seemed a little nervous due to the sudden serious atmosphere. Bai Zhi's expression was quite serious.

Do you know any shops that sell takoyaki near Xinglong Mall? Or any seafood shops that sell octopus would also be fine.

Mu Qiansè: "..."