Night Raid

As Lin Yun frowned at the numbers on the system panel, calculating his future hunting plans, a clamor of footsteps suddenly rose from downstairs.

Lin Yun instantly cleared his mind, his hand reaching back to rest on the short blade at his waist as he looked around.

The hunters on the second floor had also been alerted. Several seasoned hunters had already grabbed their weapons and were peering toward the staircase.

"Let's go down and take a look," the bearded man said in a low voice, getting to his feet and heading downstairs first.

Lin Yun followed behind the crowd.

The moment they reached the staircase on the first floor, they saw Black Brother leading four or five subordinates up from the underground parking lot passage.

Their trouser legs were stained with filthy water and dark green insect fluid. Black Brother held an alloy crowbar, its tip still dripping with residual acid, while his other hand carried several Black-Iron Ant corpses. Seven or eight veteran hunters had already gathered in the hall, all staring down at the insect corpses with grim expressions.

Black Brother walked to the open space in the middle of the hall and casually tossed the Black-Iron Ant corpses onto the floor, where they landed with several dull thuds.

The gathered hunters lowered their heads to look, and all of them frowned.

Fine grayish-white spider silk was wrapped around the Black-Iron Ants' shells. Two dense puncture wounds marked their thoraxes and abdomens, their edges slightly blackened. They had clearly been pierced by the mouthparts of some venomous insect beast.

"They didn't wander into the basement by accident." Black Brother's voice was low as he pinched a strand of spider silk between his fingers. It was extremely sticky; with a light tug, it stretched into a long, thin thread. "They were being chased and dug through the pipes to escape in a panic. What chased them was a spider-type mutant beast."

A nearby hunter's expression changed slightly. "Spider-type? Could it be Shadow Spiders?"

"Not sure yet, but they definitely won't be easy to deal with." Black Brother rose to his feet, his gaze sweeping across everyone present. "Everyone takes turns keeping watch tonight. Don't let go of your weapons, and stay alert. At dawn tomorrow, I'll take a scouting team to find a new base. This place isn't safe anymore."

Everyone nodded. No one dared let down their guard.

Anyone who had spent long enough in the fallen zone knew that spider-type mutant beasts were the most sinister. They could slip silently into a camp, and by the time they were discovered, it was often already too late.

Standing among the crowd, Lin Yun's gaze fell on that strand of spider silk, and he frowned slightly as well.

He had heard of Shadow Spiders. Most were late first-rank beasts, skilled at hiding and spinning silk to hunt. Their night vision was exceptionally strong, making them extremely troublesome.

Still, with Black Brother, a Martial Master realm powerhouse, holding down the fort, Lin Yun was not overly worried. He treated it as ordinary precaution.

That night, all the kerosene lamps in the base were extinguished on schedule.

To avoid attracting mutant beasts from afar, the base had always strictly controlled its light sources at night. Only a small lamp covered in black cloth remained at the staircase, its dim light barely enough to see the path beneath one's feet.

Lin Yun sat cross-legged on his bunk on the second floor, circulating his cultivation method to nourish his qi and blood. In the latter half of the night, drowsiness gradually overcame him, so he leaned against the wall and dozed lightly, his hand never leaving the short blade at his waist.

He did not know how long he had slept when a bloodcurdling scream suddenly tore through the silence, followed by the dull crash of something heavy hitting the ground and terrified howls.

"Wake the fuck up! Get downstairs!"

The shout trembled as it echoed through the empty stairwell.

Lin Yun's eyes snapped open, all trace of sleep gone from them.

Almost instinctively, he put on the Armybreaker Fistguards, grabbed his short blade, and rushed downstairs with the startled hunters.

Footsteps thundered chaotically through the stairwell. Everyone knew something had happened—and it was something serious.

The instant he reached the first-floor staircase, Lin Yun came to an abrupt stop. A chill shot up his spine.

In the dim light, more than twenty grayish-white "cocoons" hung densely from the ceiling of the first-floor hall.

They were wrapped layer upon layer in thick spider silk, swaying gently from the load-bearing beams. Human outlines could vaguely be seen within them.

Some exposed half a bruised purple face. Others dangled a stiff, blackened hand. There were barely any signs that they had struggled.

From the foremost "cocoon," a section of dark blue cloth showed through. It was the outfit Boss Chen often wore.

Aside from those hanging from the ceiling, there were almost no large bloodstains on the first-floor ground. The tables, chairs, and shelves were all perfectly orderly.

It was as if these people had been silently bound and hoisted to the ceiling in their sleep, unable to even let out a complete cry for help.

"Old Chen..."

A hunter cried out involuntarily, unable to hide the lingering fear in his voice.

Boss Chen, over a dozen merchants, and the four of Black Brother's men stationed on the first floor were all here.

"Watch above you!"

Black Brother's furious roar rang out from the depths of the hall, snapping everyone out of their daze.

Lin Yun looked toward the sound and saw dark figures continuously leaping out of the shadows.

The mutant beasts stood nearly two meters tall. Eight long, barbed legs supported their round abdomens, and faint ghostly light shimmered across their bodies. Their eight compound eyes glowed with a terrifying green light in the darkness.

They were Shadow Spiders.

More than a dozen Shadow Spiders poured out from cracks in the ceiling, corners of the walls, and the underground passage entrance. Their silk shot toward the crowd like grayish-white arrows.

The first two hunters, unable to dodge in time, had their arms stuck by the silk. Their clothing was instantly corroded through, and their skin quickly reddened, swelled, and blistered.

Black Brother stood in the center of the hall, gripping a thick-backed saber. The qi and blood of the Martial Master realm coursed through the blade, giving off a chilling bloody glow.

Three or four Shadow Spider corpses lay sprawled at his feet. Each had been cleaved in two with a single strike, their shells shattered and dark green fluid spilling across the floor.

"You dare cause trouble on my turf!"

Black Brother's face was filled with rage. He twisted aside to evade spider silk coming from the side, stepped forward, and slashed upward with his thick-backed saber.

A flash of snow-bright blade light swept past. Before the pouncing Shadow Spider could even raise its forelegs, it was split cleanly from head to abdomen. Its huge body crashed heavily to the ground, its eight legs twitching twice before going still.

One strike, one late first-rank Shadow Spider slain.

Clean and decisive!

This was the strength of the Martial Master realm.

Its qi and blood refinement far surpassed that of a peak Martial Apprentice. Infused into a weapon, it tore through armor like paper and slaughtered first-rank mutant beasts as easily as chopping vegetables.

The veteran hunter beside Lin Yun sucked in a cold breath. "They really are Shadow Spiders! No wonder the brothers downstairs couldn't even send a signal..."

Before he could finish speaking, three even bulkier figures sprang from the passage at the back of the hall.

These three Shadow Spiders were a full size larger than the ordinary ones. Their shells were as dark as black jade and gleamed with metallic coldness. They were clearly three peak first-rank Shadow Spiders.

They did not pounce directly. Instead, they spread into a triangular formation and spat spider silk from three directions at once.

Three grayish-white strands of silk tore through the air, sealing off every possible retreat for Black Brother from different angles. The sticky silk spread into a great net in midair.

"Black Brother, watch out!"

Someone shouted.

But Black Brother's expression did not change. He stomped hard against the ground and shot into the air, forcefully twisting his waist to turn in midair.

His thick-backed saber traced a tight flourish before him as the qi and blood of the Martial Master realm erupted without restraint. The blade hummed, and even the air around it seemed to warp from the force.

"Break!"

With a low shout, the blade light suddenly flared.

The three tough strands of spider silk snapped at once, drifting lightly to the ground like severed cotton threads.

The instant Black Brother landed, he had already darted in front of the peak first-rank Shadow Spider on the far left.

The Shadow Spider had just raised its barbed foreleg to stab when Black Brother's saber precisely cleaved into the joint between its head and thorax.

With a crisp crack, the shell, hard as iron, split apart like tofu. The enormous spider head rolled to the floor, dark green fluid spraying half a meter away.

Seeing this, the remaining two Shadow Spiders pounced from the left and right at the same time. The barbs on their long legs glinted coldly as acid sprayed continuously from their mouths.

Black Brother neither dodged nor retreated. His thick-backed saber slashed horizontally and vertically, its movements steady yet swift. Every strike landed precisely in the gaps of their shells. Within three to five exchanges, the second Shadow Spider had its abdomen split open. Its organs and bodily fluid spilled across the floor as it died on the spot.

The third Shadow Spider saw that things had gone badly and tried to turn and flee back into the passage. Black Brother flicked his wrist, sending the saber tip whistling through the air. It pierced precisely through the creature's abdomen and nailed it firmly to the wall. Its eight legs kicked wildly, but it could not break free. After struggling for more than ten seconds, it finally went still.

Three strikes. Three peak first-rank Shadow Spiders, all dead.