Volume Two: Northern Realm's Race Against Death - Sick Spider

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you three so listless? Didn't I tell you to get some sleep?"

"""Sorry..."""

Ally looked disgruntled, which was understandable; we were about to leave, yet the three of us still had dark circles under our eyes and were yawning constantly. Givinia and I had stayed up late chatting because we suddenly discovered we shared the same hobbies. As for Ailin ...

She's back to her usual shy and adorable self, and her attitude towards her sister is the same as always, as if nothing happened last night. What should I do? Ever since I saw something I shouldn't have, I can't stop fantasizing whenever I see her!

"Let's eat dry bread and drink water. Let's try to reach the first supply point before noon! Okay, okay, let's get moving!"

"""Yes----"""

Thus, the Northern Realm Rally continued into its second day.

About ten hours ago--

After Emilia and the others left, the small ruins deep in the mixed forest returned to silence, with only the huge characters "Congratulations! C-095!" emanating from the pendant still hovering in the darkening sky, lingering for a long time.

It's like marking this location.

The rumble of racing cars could be heard in the distance, and soon a light blue racing car came speeding towards us.

"I said, did we really need to come and take a look? This is a plus point for someone, you know."

"Looking won't hurt me, I'm just curious about what the bonus points will be."

"Curious my foot! We're way behind!"

"Don't get excited... Since you're already here, at least feast your eyes."

The race car stopped, and four men and women got out and walked towards the ruins in the forest.

"Is this it?" A middle-aged woman looked around in disbelief.

"Isn't this too rudimentary? Or did the organizers deliberately make it like this?" A middle-aged man seemed quite dissatisfied.

"It looks like... ruins?" The youngest-looking boy carefully touched the broken walls.

"This taste is really not good... Huh? What's this?" The young man, around twenty-five years old, suddenly looked at an old tree next to him and touched it.

"What's wrong, Aijia?"

"Look, this looks like a thread!"

The other three people went closer and, using the car's headlights, took a closer look. Sure enough, there was an extremely thin thread hanging from the tree, emitting a faint silver light, which was quite beautiful.

"It seems to be a thread from a very high-end fabric, how did it end up here?" the middle-aged woman said, casually grabbing the thread.

"... Huh?"

A strange sensation came from my hand, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground, and at the same time, a sticky, wet liquid spurted out.

The other three took a few seconds to react.

The moment the woman's finger touched the thread, it was severed.

"Ah, ah, ah, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

The belated, excruciating pain caused the woman to let out a piercing scream. She clutched her severed finger and collapsed heavily to the ground. The boy immediately rushed forward to bandage her finger, while the other two assumed fighting stances.

"Who? Who is secretly harming people! Show yourself!" the middle-aged man roared, startling a flock of birds.

Silence, and then--

"... It's so noisy!"

Sizzle!

Without warning, several more silver threads emerged from the darkness, slicing across with lightning speed! In an instant, the man and the youth's bodies were cut into pieces by the silver threads, as easily as cutting tofu!

"What... what is this?! Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

Several silver threads coalesced and shot directly into the boy's mouth! His face immediately turned bluish-purple. He frantically scratched his cheeks and tore at his hair, as if countless ants were crawling under his skin! But his feeble struggle lasted only a second before he stopped—

All the orifices, including the eyes, mouth, nose, and ears, suddenly burst open, and countless silver threads pierced through them. In the next instant, the boy's head exploded from the inside! Brain matter and flesh were scattered all over the ground, and where the head had been, only a clump of silver threads remained, smooth and shiny, without a single drop of blood on it!

"Who... are you...?"

The middle-aged woman was nearly terrified, her eyes, filled with pain and fear, fixed on the depths of darkness, where a slender figure emerged.

She was a tall woman, exceptionally beautiful in both features and skin, but her cold expression and chilling killing intent were enough to keep everyone at a distance. Her black hair was styled into an elegant ponytail that cascaded down her back. She wore a crisp white shirt and a black leather jacket, a tie around her neck, and a monocle over her left eye. Despite her youthful face, her attire was mature and somewhat old-fashioned, making it difficult to guess her age.

"I didn't expect to encounter rats causing trouble so soon after arriving..."

"I'm so sorry! We were just curious..."

Before the middle-aged woman could finish pleading, the silver thread from the woman's hand severed her throat like lightning.

The woman didn't even glance at the corpse before indifferently walking towards the center of the ruins. As she approached, the ground of the ruins trembled slightly, the tremors growing stronger, as if something underground was about to emerge...

"Alright, let's begin, the first 'seal' to be broken!"

Special Class Combatant of the organization— Sick Spider, reporting for duty.

"Charge! Charge!!"

Sirius sped across the boundless black sand plains, leaving a trail of black dust hundreds of meters long, like a black serpent winding its way forward. Just ahead, a dark green mini-truck was swerving left and right, blocking our path. The mini-truck was much heavier than the off-road vehicle, but its speed was no less than Sirius's —a thick, almost tangible gust of wind enveloped its tires, greatly enhancing the truck's speed and maneuverability.

"You're so fat, yet you're so fast... How about it Ally? Can you catch up?" I asked.

"No problem! That gust of wind could be a product of supernatural power, or it could be that the vehicle itself is equipped with a high-grade Spirit Artifact or even Treasure Artifact —but the former would require the power of the convoy members, and the latter would consume the energy carried by the vehicle. No matter which it is, it cannot be sustained for long!"

"But don't forget there's a supply point up ahead. First come, first served. Just getting ahead isn't enough; you have to be way ahead of him! That way, you can finish resupplying before he catches up and avoid any conflict!" Givinia reminded her. As expected of the navigator, she was very thoughtful.

"There's a broadcast airship in the sky, we can't use force... we can only rely on you, Ally."

"Mommy, take care of me~~~~!"

It was that long-awaited burst of energy again. The pre-positioned Jet Point at the rear of the vehicle unleashed a powerful surge of energy, propelling Sirius forward. The steel beast, hurtling to 300 km/h, roared and closed the distance to the vehicle in front with unstoppable force! The dark green truck noticed Sirius's unusual movement and immediately moved horizontally, attempting to block its path, but—

"You're all too green to compete with me in terms of maneuverability! Buckle up!"

The Sirius's rear-side Jet Point roared out, a tremendous force propelling the race car from the side, causing it to perform a beautiful lateral jump! Having already prepared myself, I immediately buried my head between my knees to avoid being knocked unconscious like before.

In just a few seconds, Sirius overtook the truck, leaving the furious truck driver behind, and sped away.

"We've arrived! This is our first supply point!"

The first stage of Route 1 runs from Port Turltukha to the Arkham Town. Along this route, there are many aid stations set up by the organizers. Some are markets along the way, some are small towns, and some are just temporary mobile warehouses, some even unattended. The aid station we arrived at belonged to the third type.

There were two small warehouses in front of them, one for storing energy and the other for storing food, water, and some daily necessities. They were unattended and people could take what they wanted.

"Even though there's no one specifically watching over it, we can't take too much! Firstly, it's to leave some for those who come later—this is basic etiquette in cross-country rally racing. Secondly, taking too much will increase the load, which is actually detrimental to the race, understand?"

"""Clear!"""

"Then let's get started! I'll watch the car, Liu Ye, you and Ailin will move the Psionic Brick — Ailin will pick out the best Psionic Brick, Liu Ye will carry them, and Givinia, you'll be in charge of the rations and water. Alright, let's get moving!"

Without further ado, Ailin and I immediately went into the energy storage warehouse, Givinia went into another one.

The warehouse was filled with black boxes. When opened, they contained rectangular blocks that looked like glass bricks, emitting a faint blue glow. These were the mainstream energy source used in vehicles today— Psionic Brick. They were the product of refining and concentrating a large amount of spirit stones, making them easy to carry and cost-effective.

"Sister Ye, these kinds of Psionic Brick, with their sharp edges and soft glow, are usually high-quality. We're very lucky; no one has been here before, so all the good Psionic Brick are here."

"That's good. You choose, I'll carry them. Don't keep Ally waiting."

"Mmm!" Hearing that she couldn't keep her older sister waiting, the severe sister-complex-obsessed girl nodded her head like a chick pecking at rice... Is this girl just adorably silly? Or is she just endearingly unexpected?

One piece, two pieces, three pieces... Ailin carefully and quickly selected them, and I conjured the blood into a hand shape to take them. Picking and taking, we quickly completed the task.

"It's all done, go back now, your sister will definitely be happy... hehehe..."

This girl, she really can't stop talking about me...

Just as I was feeling sentimental--

Clang!

A large Psionic Brick suddenly crashed down at my feet. Luckily, I reacted quickly and immediately lifted my leg; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Sister Ye! Are you alright--"

"Don't come any closer!"

"Eh... Eh? I'm sorry..." Suddenly stopped by my shout, Ailin froze on the spot, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Don't apologize—or rather, now is not the time to apologize, there's an enemy attack!"

"Ha!?"

There's no mistake, that Psionic Brick just now was definitely not something that just happened to fall.

It appears to be in free fall, but it is not.

I saw it clearly; it was initially heading straight for me, but it lost speed mid-air, which is why it fell.

The Northern Realm Rally is truly fraught with hidden dangers...

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Do you have any good ideas about superpowers? If so, please share them in the comments!