Dark Spider Mother

The scene around Dark Street blurred and shifted. The old street quickly became even more dilapidated.

Expanses of black scorch marks spread across the ground, giving off the stench of burning.

The next moment, heaps of construction debris appeared in Dark Street. They looked as though they had been soaked by rain, forming reddish-brown puddles that filled the air with a rusty, bloody smell.

Lin Ye looked ahead. With the sound of soft paws striking the ground, a black cat slowly emerged from the shadows.

It was larger than an ordinary cat, nearly the size of a yellow dog.

Its fur was matted and tangled, clinging to its body in clumps. Its teeth were bared, saliva dripping from its mouth.

Its eyes were cloudy, a pale blue-white, and its expression was vicious.

It let out an unintelligible growl, nothing like a cat's cry—more like a zombie monster from a movie.

Before he could react, a cloud of black mist drifted by and gathered into words before his eyes.

[Achievement Triggered: Dark Predator's Pursuit]

[Achievement Description: The Dark Spider Mother has developed an appetite for you.]

[Unlock Conditions]

1. Explore at least 10% of this area (7%)

2. Kill one Cat-type Spider Puppet (Incomplete)

3. Escape "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" (Incomplete)

[Achievement Rewards]

1. Potential Point x3

2. Yin-Attracting Constitution +1

The black text scattered and vanished. Lin Ye's gaze fell on the back of his right hand.

The number of scales lit on the Ouroboros mark had not changed. It was still 52.

"So even if I haven't lit them all, something else can still come looking for me, like that Church."

"Flowing Shadow... Shadow Realm... Since the Monument distinguishes between them, they should be different types of things."

He thought of the title of that webpage.

"It's not you chasing Flowing Shadow. Flowing Shadow is chasing you."

"So what are the conditions for entering? An Altar? Nighttime? A remote place? Or... the Yin-Attracting Constitution?"

"They're different types of things, yet both can grant the Yin-Attracting Constitution. Does that mean they're connected somehow?"

He looked at the monstrous black cat ahead, his gaze turning cold.

The Cat-type Spider Puppet was probably this thing.

It was bigger than an ordinary cat, but not that large. If there was only one... it wouldn't be hard!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when another rustle sounded behind the black cat. Four Cat-type Spider Puppets slowly emerged from the shadows.

The five Cat-type Spider Puppets twitched their heads slightly, their cloudy blue-white eyes fixed vacantly on Lin Ye as if assessing the strength of their enemy.

Lin Ye narrowed his eyes and slowly shifted toward the construction debris on one side.

As though they had caught the scent of their prey's intent to attack, the five Cat Puppets growled and pounced.

Their paws struck the ground as their bodies became streaks of black, their movements agile and ghostly.

Lin Ye's pupils contracted. Without a moment's hesitation, he rolled aside and snatched up a long, thin rusted iron rod with his right hand, swinging it hard in front of him.

"Thud!"

The rusted iron rod struck one Cat Puppet squarely in the torso. Its body bent at a right angle and flew backward.

[Explore at least 10% of this area (Completed)]

[Kill one Cat-type Spider Puppet (Completed)]

Before he could draw back his hand, another Cat Puppet leaped at him.

It bared its fangs and snarled, biting down on his forearm. The smell of blood spread through the air.

Lin Ye's face twisted. He slammed his left hand down on the Cat Puppet's eye socket and forced his fingers in. Both eyeballs burst instantly.

He yanked hard and slammed it onto the ground.

He stomped down viciously. The Cat Puppet's skull cracked, killing it beyond any doubt.

But the next instant, pain shot through his calf. A Cat Puppet had clamped its jaws around it.

Before he could strike back, two more Cat Puppets sprang at him from either side. Their black paws were smeared with blood as they swiped for his throat.

In an instant, Lin Ye's heart pounded wildly, and time seemed to slow.

His mind raced for a way out, but his hands never stopped moving. He gripped the rusted iron rod and swung it at the Cat Puppet on his left.

"Thud!"

The iron rod came down, visibly caving in the Cat Puppet's head.

But right after that, another Cat Puppet slammed Lin Ye to the ground, sending the rod clattering away.

The Cat-type Spider Puppet biting his calf released him at once. It and the other Cat Puppet lunged for Lin Ye's neck.

Lin Ye twisted sharply onto his side, hooked one Cat Puppet around the neck with his arm, and clamped his legs around its body.

He heaved upward with his waist and abdomen. The Cat Puppet's head and windpipe were ripped free, and black blood sprayed everywhere.

"Hiss!"

The other Cat Puppet let out a piercing shriek and raked at him with its forepaws. Lin Ye's shirt tore apart, leaving a gash across his chest that began to bleed.

He casually tossed the Cat Puppet's head aside, grabbed the last one by the fur on its back, and sprang to his feet.

He knelt on the ground with his head bowed, panting heavily as he pressed the Cat Puppet's neck down with all his strength.

The Cat Puppet struggled and shrieked. The sound of paws pounding the ground came from both ends of Dark Street.

More than a dozen Cat Puppets slowly emerged from the shadows, closing in from both sides and trapping Lin Ye in the middle of the street.

"Crack!"

After the sound of a bone snapping, the Cat Puppet beneath Lin Ye went limp, its neck bent backward. Its tongue lolled out, and its eyes bulged.

Lin Ye released it and remained kneeling, arms hanging at his sides. He seemed completely drained as his labored breathing gradually faded.

The Cat Puppets on either side cautiously approached, growling as saliva dripped onto the ground.

Just as they became certain their prey no longer had the strength to fight back, Lin Ye's body began to tremble.

A thin, quivering laugh rang out, echoing through Dark Street.

Lin Ye trembled harder and harder, as if struggling to suppress something.

A few seconds later, he slowly raised his head. His eyes were sharply defined, black and white, and he grinned, blood seeping between his rows of white teeth.

He grabbed the Cat Puppet's corpse beside him and hurled it. At the same time, he sprang up, snatched the rusted iron rod he had dropped, and charged forward viciously.

The Cat Puppet across from him tilted its head and looked up. With a sway of its body, it dodged the incoming corpse—but then a shoe sole rapidly filled its field of vision.

"Thud!"

With a crack of breaking bones, Lin Ye planted a foot on the Cat Puppet's face. Its neck bent backward.

He swung the rusted iron rod sideways, smashing it into another Cat Puppet's neck.

Breaking their necks was the most efficient way he had found to kill them.

"Hiss!"

"Hiss... hiss..."

Growls rang out across Dark Street as the Cat Puppets launched themselves at Lin Ye.

No one knew how much time had passed. Lin Ye stood with one foot on a Cat Puppet's head, both hands gripping its lower jaw.

"Riiip!"

With a tearing sound, the Cat Puppet's body was ripped in half from its jaw down.

Blood sprayed in an arc, and its innards spilled messily across the ground.

He grabbed the rusted iron rod and used it to brace himself as he knelt on one knee, panting heavily amid the piles of Cat Puppet corpses.

A few Cat Puppets in the distance stared at him with lifeless, cloudy blue-white eyes. They shifted uncertainly, too afraid to approach.

"Clang! Clang!"

The sound of metal striking metal came from outside Dark Street.

At the same time, the black mist within Dark Street thickened. The surroundings seemed to recede and fade, and the sounds gradually grew distant.

Lin Ye raised his head, wiped the blood from the corner of his eye, and looked toward the street's entrance.

A gigantic, beautiful figure appeared faintly in the mist, but her lower body was the terrifying silhouette of an eight-legged spider.

Through the haze, he could even make out the sharp, spike-like protrusions on her exoskeleton.

"Could that be the Dark Spider Mother...?"

Before he could make out the face of the beautiful, terrifying figure, the mist gradually dissipated, and the surroundings returned to normal.

[Escape "Flowing Shadow · Dark Predator" (Completed)]

"Clatter!"

Lin Ye released the rusted iron rod and fell onto his back.

"Monument, unlock achievement..."

The next moment, thick mist poured from the Ouroboros mark on the back of his hand, and a chill spread through his body.