The Hero

Shangyuan Garden, No. 52.

Ayiguli's eyes snapped open!

It should have been dawn. She ought to have been in her spacious, comfortable villa, opening her eyes to its carefully designed European-style ceiling.

But the reality was that she was surrounded by darkness. A chill wind blew through it, tousling the hair beside her ears and bringing a faint coldness.

Where was she?

"Brother Jiang, you've gotten pretty capable, haven't you?"

A little darkness was not enough to intimidate the Saintess of the Sacred Mountain, who had killed countless people.

Even if she racked her brain, she wouldn't believe that a novice in the First State: Cognitive Form could hurt her in the slightest.

"You still haven't recognized the gulf between our abilities? Even if you absorbed my Spider Cocoon, I can still find you..."

Ayiguli curled her lips and stepped forward with her bare feet—squelch.

Sharp shards of glass stabbed into the "young wife's" sole.

Ayiguli groaned and lifted her foot, trying to pull the glass out...

Then the ground moved.

Standing on one foot, she didn't have time to shift her weight. She instantly lost her balance and fell!

Her back slammed into an enormous mirror.

The mirror shattered under the tremendous impact!

Shards flew in every direction...

Some cut Ayiguli's skin; others plunged straight into her body. Pain shot through her from head to toe, setting her nervous system ablaze.

"Brother Jiang... that's too much."

These prank-like mishaps left Ayiguli both shocked and furious!

Humiliation at being toyed with by her prey surged through her.

She transformed in an instant.

The "young wife's" body was lifted high. Her snow-white limbs were replaced by eight thick, powerful legs. Her hair and skin fell away, revealing eight symmetrical purple eyes, poised to watch for any movement around her.

In her complete form, the Peacock Spider could move with ease across any surface.

She was fully prepared to tear apart every last one of her prey—she was the hunter, not the hunted!

Until a pale figure appeared far ahead, blocking her path.

The Peacock Spider's sturdy stride faltered.

She knew that figure...

...The familiar build, the deep-set, sculpted features—so unlike the woman's vivid beauty in life.

A crushing sense of suffocation washed over her.

All eight pupils contracted at once. The nightmare that had dragged her into the abyss countless times was stirring in her heart.

A mountain basin, an immense forest of red maples.

A warmhearted, innocent girl, a stranger from beyond the mountains, a night when evil took root...

"Don't come any closer..."

The vivid Peacock Spider instinctively retreated, and the pale figure followed her every step.

She sprang up and scrambled away in any direction she could!

But no matter which way she turned, the figure still appeared before her, watching from a distance.

Ayiguli grew increasingly frantic. Webs poured from her, covering the figure and flinging it away, but the next moment, the figure drifted back into view.

Her desperate struggle only grew more intense!

Just like the beasts caught in her webs, Ayiguli seemed like a wind-up toy, fleeing frantically and destroying everything in her path, inflicting ever more harm at any cost to escape a single source of pain.

A quarter of an hour later.

Ayiguli shed her spider form and curled up on the ground, drenched in blood, covering her face as she broke down sobbing.

"Brother Jiang, I was wrong. Please... don't let her stay here!"

Tears poured from her eyes, slipping through her fingers, running into her mouth and down her thighs, mingling with the blood and grime.

She had retreated into a cramped, narrow corner. There was nowhere left to go.

But a hollow-eyed apparition still clung to her back, pressed tightly against her, its icy breath washing over her neck.

She didn't dare lift her head, either.

A graceful, pale figure stood forever before her. Whenever she looked up or turned in any direction, the figure would dart precisely into her field of vision.

It merged with every nightmare she'd had since childhood, bringing a bone-deep, piercing terror.

Only relentless killing could soothe the burning anxiety that fear brought.

She didn't know how long she cried. Ayiguli was nearly spent.

After countless struggles within herself, she finally raised her head again, trembling.

The nightmare's pale figure had vanished.

All she could see was a white candle on the table, casting a gentle, soothing glow.

In that moment, Ayiguli was like a prisoner just released after serving her sentence. Her taut nerves relaxed in an instant.

Her emotions surged, and disbelief flickered in her eyes.

Fear had made her body cold and tense, but the candlelight brought warmth and comfort. Ayiguli struggled toward the flame. Though her strength was rapidly draining away, she still reached out both hands as if compelled, hoping to drive away the lingering terror.

Her hands slowly drew nearer, and the flame seemed to welcome them.

It wrapped around her fingers, tugged at her arms, then swept her whole body into a vast golden vortex...

Shangyuan Garden villa district.

A flame flared in the kitchen on the second floor of one of the villas, followed by a deafening explosion!

Even on the way to the scene, Ye Xiaojing and her team could feel the aftershock.

Inside the operating room.

Dr. Cai finished closing Jiang Qian's chest, bringing everything to a successful conclusion.

Thanks to his super-species body's tenacious recovery, the damage caused by the surgery would heal quickly.

His life had been saved once again.

His condition was fairly stable, too.

Lan Junxian, Dr. Cai, and her medical team, along with the Special Operations Department colleagues from Jinping who had been stationed outside the Safe House, were even more overjoyed by the success than Jiang Qian himself.

Apart from looking a little tired, Jiang Qian didn't seem particularly surprised.

After all, ever since he'd encountered the Super-Species World three days ago, he'd faced a life-or-death crisis every single day.

He'd had more than enough.

But the consequences of this incident went far beyond that.

The fact that Jiang Qian had survived after escaping the Spider Cocoon had already exceeded most people's expectations.

But even with his life hanging by a thread, he had made the best possible use of the Spider Cocoon to pinpoint the wanted criminal Peacock Spider for the authorities. That had completely upended everyone's understanding of him!

The nature of the situation had changed entirely.

Jiang Qian—a novice in the First State: Cognitive Form who had only just become a License Holder—had gone from being a dangerous factor in urgent need of an official decision and assistance to becoming the hero of the Peacock Spider case in a mere three days.

The Special Task Force at headquarters, the assessment unit, the Peacock Spider Task Force, and the Beijing-Tianjin Special Operations Department would all have to reassess their positions on the matter, as well as the resources and support they were willing to commit.

By now, the other members of the medical team, along with the equipment, had been removed from the operating room.

Dr. Cai, however, had volunteered to stay with Jiang Qian, citing the need to monitor his postoperative condition.

In truth, she was still shaken by everything she had witnessed during the operation.

What impressed her most was the "Poison Resistance" Jiang Qian had displayed under her dual pupils. The only word she could think of to describe it was "broken."

"You're still a college student, right?"

While Lan Junxian was making a phone call at the door, Dr. Cai took the initiative to try recruiting him. "Would you be interested in joining my biological toxin laboratory after graduation? It's in the Jingcheng CBD, with abundant research resources and a generous salary. The lab will reimburse all your living expenses."

Dr. Cai's eyes burned with enthusiasm. It had been a long time since she'd wanted a young person on her team this badly!

But before Jiang Qian could answer, Lan Junxian returned with his phone in hand.

The two of them looked over.

Lan Junxian's expression was somewhat grave as he asked, "Jiang Qian, what exactly did you do?"

His question made Dr. Cai tense up, too.

Lan Junxian had asked the same thing earlier. Although Jiang Qian's answer had been flippant, Lan Junxian hadn't looked nearly this serious at the time.

Had something gone wrong? Dr. Cai wondered uneasily.

Jiang Qian alone remained calm, as if he'd done nothing important. "I saw some scented candles in the house, so I turned on the gas."

He was talking about what he'd done after their minds connected and he took control of the Peacock Spider's body.

It took time for the gas to escape from the cylinder. The Fear Demon Clone had bought time and distracted the Peacock Spider. Once the gas reached a certain concentration, even a tiny spark could blow up the entire house.

Lan Junxian fell silent.

Dr. Cai still seemed not to understand.

Judging by Lan Junxian's expression, she even thought he was about to hold Jiang Qian accountable!

"Peacock Spider has been apprehended."

After a moment, Lan Junxian spoke in a measured tone, getting straight to the point. "An explosion occurred at Villa 52 in Shangyuan Garden. By the time Xiao Jing arrived, Peacock Spider was already dead. Some of her remains have been recovered. We'll use genetic technology to reconstruct her appearance and confirm her identity, and then we can close the case."

"The villa's owner and her child have also been rescued. They're both safe."

Lan Junxian's expression gradually eased. He addressed Jiang Qian solemnly: "On behalf of the Peacock Spider Task Force, I thank you. Thanks to you, the capture operation ended smoothly without a single casualty!"

So that was what had happened... Hearing this, Dr. Cai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When she looked at Jiang Qian again, she felt even more admiration and respect for him.

A smile appeared on Jiang Qian's face, too.

"Xiao Jing does have some regrets about it, though. That's why she asked me to find out how you pulled it off."

Lan Junxian spoke in a teasing tone:

"No matter what method you used, until headquarters issues its personnel assignment, you don't have to hand over your cards or disclose your secrets to anyone. As long as it's legal, you're free to control and use your abilities and items however you like."

"Thanks for the reminder."

After speaking with Jiang Qian, Lan Junxian turned to Dr. Cai with impeccable courtesy.

"All right, Dr. Cai, I suggest you give up on trying to poach him. In less than half a day, the departments lining up to recruit this student will stretch from the Safe House to the Jinping airport. Your little outfit doesn't have much of an edge, so you may as well give up."

At that, Dr. Cai's cool, elegant face stiffened almost imperceptibly beneath her mask.

Then she rose gracefully and shook hands with Jiang Qian and Lan Junxian, bidding them farewell with poise, as if she hadn't minded at all.

"Teacher Lan, do you play mahjong?"

Before leaving, Dr. Cai was unusually interested in making small talk.

"Mahjong?" As a high-level business professional, Lan Junxian didn't seem familiar with this common pastime.

Dr. Cai smiled faintly and said sincerely, "I hope you and the player before you win together."

"Oh, thank you..." Lan Junxian replied politely.

After Dr. Cai left, he turned around and asked Jiang Qian in puzzlement, "What did she mean?"

"I've never played. I'm not sure," Jiang Qian answered without hesitation.

Just then, Team Bear knocked and came in.

"Teacher Lan, could I speak with you outside for a moment?"

The two men stepped out.

Only then did Team Bear lower his voice. "There's a woman who wants to meet Jiang Qian. She seems to be a public figure, and she has a letter of introduction from senior officials at the Public Security Bureau. What do you think...?"

Lan Junxian furrowed his brows slightly.

Was that how the Jinping Public Security Department did things?

Someone being held in isolation at a Safe House couldn't just meet whoever wanted to see him.

"No. Jiang Qian has just come out of surgery. He can't receive visitors right now." Lan Junxian rejected the request outright, showing no regard for the senior officials' influence.

Thanks to Yi Yun Yiyi, Bei Ming You Kun Xi, and Kai Shan Shu You Da Da for the monthly tickets!

And thanks to all the wonderful readers for your recommendation tickets and comments. Hugs~