BUG Spider-Sense

"It seems yesterday really was just an accident."

Waking up early this morning, Xu Ai and the others found no trace of the Golden Silk Demon Spider.

According to Yu Fei, who had been the last to observe it, the conclusion was simple: "It ran away!"

It had suddenly bolted far away, seemingly without any specific purpose.

"We still need to be careful. In nature, spiders mostly play the role of hunters."

Ye Yu reminded them.

That was true. Assuming the Golden Silk Demon Spider had hidden itself, it would be normal for them not to have found it, so they still needed to remain vigilant.

"Don't worry, I'll keep a close watch."

Jun Xia nodded. Aside from resting at night, she had been maintaining guard duty the entire time.

"Mm-hmm."

"Let's go. Following the previous groups, everyone split up and deal with last night's 'trash' first."

"Yes!" ×6

Located in the middle zone of City 0551, the monsters here were mostly Commander-level. Therefore, scavenging here could potentially earn more than fighting for one's life on the outskirts.

Of course, that was assuming you had the ability to survive here.

Xu Ai split them into three small groups, and they quickly finished collecting all the valuable materials in the vicinity.

During this time, Xu Ai and the others encountered several other scavenging squads just like them.

However, none of them made any move to greet the others; instead, they exchanged glances and then tacitly chose to leave.

There was no order in the wilderness. One had to be wary of others, especially unknown squads; it was best not to make contact from the start.

"I encountered two squads while scavenging just now."

"We encountered three."

"We ran into two on our side."

Ye Yu nodded.

"There are a bit too many squads around here. Although it seems safer, it's not conducive to our hunting, and it introduces many unstable factors. I suggest we move."

"I agree."

Liu Qingling was the first to respond, and Xu Ai and the others quickly followed suit.

"Alright then, let's move closer to the inner zone."

"Mm, let's check the satellite map first and find a few good spots to settle down."

Liu Qingling opened her communication watch, using the projection function to display the map, and then locked onto a few suitable locations.

"Let's go."

City 0551 was one of the major cities targeted by China for exploration. Its information had been largely mapped out and divided into four major zones.

The outer zone was dominated by Soldier-level monsters, with a small number of Commander-level monsters.

The middle zone, where Xu Ai and the others were currently located, was dominated by Commander-level monsters, with a small number of high-level Soldier-level and low-level Lord-level monsters.

The inner zone was dominated by low-level and mid-level Lord-level monsters, with a small number of high-level Lord-level monsters.

The core zone was where the three King-level Monsters of City 0551 resided, along with a small number of high-level Lord-level monsters.

Ye Yu's current target was the area where the middle zone met the inner zone; it was possible for low-level Lord-level monsters to appear here.

They checked two potential spots, but both had already been occupied by other squads.

By the time they reached the third spot, it was already afternoon.

This location was a hotel, one of the tallest buildings in the vicinity. It offered a wide field of vision, and the environment wasn't as dilapidated as the previous two spots; it was actually better.

"Sister Qingling, look! Instant noodles produced in 2012! The packaging is still intact—a real antique!"

"Then keep it..."

Liu Qingling rolled her eyes at Jun Xia.

Jun Xia happily tossed it into her backpack. She loved collecting these kinds of miscellaneous items, especially those from before the Great Nirvana period.

"Xiao Ai, come here for a second."

Ye Yu looked out the window and called out to Xu Ai.

"Look over there..."

Xu Ai looked over and saw a ruin—or rather, a nest formed by piles of ruins!

Surrounding the nest, various types of monsters stood without any conflict, guarding the nest in the center.

"Is that the nest of a Lord-level monster?"

"That's right."

Ye Yu nodded.

This definitely needs to be taught, otherwise, if someone foolishly stumbles into the territory of a lord-level monster, things will get troublesome.

"Alright, everyone, let's continue searching for monsters!"

Yu Fei picked up her calibrated sniper rifle and rested it on the windowsill.

The strategy remained focused on Yu Fei sniping the monsters, but they had switched to a new method.

"We have arrived at the destination. There are five monsters in total, that's correct."

"Alright, I'll count down, and we'll strike together."

Yu Fei said softly through her Bluetooth headset.

On the other side, Ye Yu, Xu Ai, and Jun Xia also responded, keeping their eyes locked on the five massive gray wolves.

Following Yu Fei's shot, one monster was killed instantly, and Xu Ai and Ye Yu rushed out to engage the four gray wolves that hadn't yet reacted.

Jun Xia's flying daggers killed one first, followed by a sword strike from Xu Ai!

Xu Ai pierced through a gray wolf's neck, then quickly withdrew her blade and slashed horizontally at another gray wolf, sending it flying.

On the other side, Ye Yu also killed a gray wolf with a single strike, then quickly pulled back, taking advantage of the wolf being knocked away to finish it off with another slash.

"All five monsters have been killed."

"There are no monsters passing through your area, you can harvest the materials."

Yu Fei said, and Ye Yu nodded.

"Alright then, keep a close watch."

Jun Xia stayed behind to stand guard, while Xu Ai and Ye Yu quickly collected the claws and fangs of the gray wolves.

Spiritual power gave Jun Xia a very broad 'field of vision,' often allowing her to notice movements that the naked eye could not see.

"Wait, there's movement..."

Xu Ai and Ye Yu stopped immediately and came to Jun Xia's side.

Liu Qingling and the others, observing from a high vantage point, were also constantly scanning with their binoculars.

"Did you sense it wrong? There doesn't seem to be any change."

Liu Qingling asked, puzzled.

"No, there is definitely something in that direction."

Jun Xia pointed guardedly toward the second floor of a nearby house.

"My spiritual power was weakened when it reached that spot!"

"Completely weakened?"

Xu Ai frowned. There was only one explanation for this: her spiritual power had collided with a living organism.

When spiritual power approaches a living being, it penetrates inside and is suppressed by the creature's own consciousness.

Watching them hunt the five gray wolves from such close range without making a sound—either it was terrified and trying to minimize its presence to survive, or... they were its prey as well!

"Let's approach slowly. Jun Xia, get your flying daggers ready. Yu Fei, keep your eyes peeled."

"Understood."

Yu Fei had been staring intently at the second floor ever since Jun Xia finished speaking.

"Climb straight up!"

Ye Yu leaped, her fingers piercing through the wall, and she came to a stop at the second-floor level.

Xu Ai jumped onto an air conditioning bracket, exchanged a glance with Ye Yu, and then used her sword to cut open the window screen as Ye Yu jumped inside.

"Golden Silk Demon Spider!"

Ye Yu blocked a claw and used the impact to flip out of the house.

Yu Fei fired a bullet; a round capable of killing lord-level monsters was something even the Golden Silk Demon Spider dared not take head-on, so it leaped out of the house.

"Attack!"

Xu Ai shouted, leaping forward to charge in front of the Golden Silk Demon Spider.

The Golden Silk Demon Spider jumped backward, dodging Xu Ai's unremarkable sword strike, while simultaneously blocking Ye Yu's blade with one of its claws.

It dodged my sword, but blocked Sister Yu's blade?

Xu Ai focused her mind. Combined with the feeling of being watched throughout the previous encounter, her strength must have been sensed by the spider's instincts!

"Yu Fei, watch Jun Xia's surroundings. Qingling, come and support us!"

"Understood!"

Liu Qingling moved out, while Yu Fei kept her sniper scope trained on the area around Jun Xia.

Jun Xia's flying daggers were as precise as ever, locked firmly onto the Golden Silk Demon Spider's spinnerets.

Unlike last time, Xu Ai had now joined the fray!

5x force amplification!

The Golden Silk Demon Spider had eighty percent of its attention fixed on Xu Ai. Sensing her movement, it didn't even care whether she could hurt it or not; it simply dodged!

Xu Ai's sword shadows filled the sky, stabbing and slashing at the Golden Silk Demon Spider in rapid succession.

The Golden Silk Demon Spider dodged repeatedly. Once the frequency increased, even if Ye Yu and the others were slow to react, they began to notice.

However, Ye Yu and the others didn't ask any questions; they were still in the middle of a battle!

"How can it be this broken!? This spider's reaction speed must be an innate secret technique!"

After being dodged several times in a row, even with Xu Ai using her 10-fold force amplification, she still couldn't land a hit. Every attack was predicted in advance, and this feeling was incredibly frustrating.

Then, she would try going all out!

Xu Ai was getting angry. She unleashed her Apprentice Level limit, 20-fold force amplification, and sword techniques and footwork that surpassed the realm of Intent—she used it all!

The Golden Silk Demon Spider suddenly shuddered. Ignoring Ye Yu's attack, it took a blade strike head-on and then turned to flee.

"Don't even think about escaping!"

The 20-fold force amplification acted directly on her legs. With a fierce leap, she instantly arrived at the spot where the Golden Silk Demon Spider had been.

Well, the reason it was "where it had been" was because the Golden Silk Demon Spider had jumped in advance, dodging early, and had even leaped onto a high-rise building.

Xu Ai's sword stabbed into empty air. She immediately stomped to a halt, then kicked off the ground to charge toward the roof, with Ye Yu and the others following close behind.

Unfortunately, by the time they chased it to the roof, the Golden Silk Demon Spider was nowhere to be seen.

"Zizhen?"

"No need to chase. After it got to the roof, it quickly jumped down the other side. That was my blind spot; I couldn't see it anymore."

Gu Zizhen gave a bitter smile.

Ye Yu sighed, though she wasn't disappointed. The difficulty of hunting a Golden Silk Demon Spider was already exaggerated.

It seemed that for this very reason, Lord-level Golden Silk Demon Spiders were extremely rare, and there wasn't a single King-level Monster among them.

"It escaped again. I hate spiders..."

Xu Ai was very disappointed. This was definitely the worst wilderness trip of her life!

The following period continued with Yu Fei sniping monsters while Xu Ai and the others coordinated to surround and kill them, only now with Liu Qingling added to the mix.

Sometimes they would encounter a passing monster herd—the kind with dozens of beasts.

There was no help for it; Xu Ai and the others could only abandon their prey and search for suitable targets again.

There were also a few times when they happened to run into roaming herds while harvesting materials, and they were spotted before they could even realize it.

With no other choice, Xu Ai and the others had to flee. If they fought and attracted a Lord-level monster, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Xu Ai might be able to win, but the same couldn't be said for Liu Qingling and the others.

In the end, Xu Ai and her team even had to discard some of their spoils just to escape.

"That was really close. We even alarmed that Lord-level monster."

Jun Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

They had moved to a new stronghold, as their previous location was too close to the Lord-level monster they had disturbed.

"By the way, Xiao Ai, the Golden Silk Demon Spider seemed very afraid of you. Why is that?"

Ye Yu looked at Xu Ai. She had been very preoccupied with the fact that Xu Ai had scared the Golden Silk Demon Spider.

It hadn't been convenient to get distracted while they were out there, but now she definitely had to satisfy her curiosity!

"That's right, I felt it too."

Jun Xia also looked at Xu Ai, causing everyone to stare at her.

"This, well..."

Xu Ai thought for a moment and, following her previous strategy, continued to hide some things.

"I... can use ten-fold force amplification..."

This was the truth; Xu Ai really could use ten-fold force amplification!

When everyone heard this, their expressions went blank.

"What did you just say? You can use ten-fold force amplification?"

"Ten-fold force amplification? Even the Ruthless Councilor only... oh right, you are the disciple of the Ruthless Councilor!"

"It's normal for the Ruthless Councilor's disciple to use ten-fold force amplification, right? As if! Even the Ruthless Councilor only uses ten-fold force amplification!"

"Perhaps, my master was holding back?"

Xu Ai said cautiously...